Good morning, everyone.
Whoa, nice and loud.
It's great to see you in the new year.
And one of the things that I asked on Facebook,
I'm sure some of you are my Facebook friends.
I'm happy to add you if you're not.
But one of the questions I asked on Friday is,
what do people fear?
And some people commented on my wall.
And I got a few responses.
Basically, there are a few types of things that people fear.
Some fears basically have no basis for these fears.
Some people fear that we might lose the ashes.
It's not going to happen.
And some people, but there are some more serious fears.
The word fear can mean frightened.
So some of the things that people fear are natural disasters like cyclones
or something that's man-made or caused by people like terrorism and wars.
But fear can also mean worry and anxieties.
And that type of fear is actually even worse for us
because if you're frightened of something,
if you have a spider, you just get shocked.
But if there's an anxiety, it gnaws at you.
This thing keeps you thinking at night.
And there's even a new acronym that has come out.
F-O-M-O.
I'm not sure how to pronounce it because I'm getting old now.
Is it FOMO?
I'm not sure.
It is.
Good.
So what does that stand for?
Fear of missing out.
That's right.
This is something that people...
If you don't know what that means, you can look it up on Wikipedia.
I did as well.
So it came up in 2004.
It originally meant that people,
when they see what's happening on Facebook or other social media sites,
they fear that they're missing out on something.
But I think this is something that's true of all of us.
This is the society that we live in.
In fact, this is the fear that consumes us.
This is the fear that we have at the start of the creation.
The serpent said,
don't you want to taste this fruit of good and evil?
Basically asking us,
you might miss out on that.
And this is true of all stages of life.
In our youth,
we might just think that we might...
If we don't do the things that our friends do,
we are missing out.
If you are single,
you might see that you might miss out on a relationship.
So you might date a non-Christian or drift into pornography.
And if you are working,
you might see that you don't get to tick off your bucket list.
I want to go to these places.
I want to travel.
I want to have all these experiences.
I want to go to that restaurant.
At work,
we might plow in many countless hours
because we fear that we don't get a promotion.
When colleagues participate in office politics,
we might fear that we don't get a promotion
because we are not hanging in the right circles
or saying different things to get ahead.
Once you are married,
you might fear that your kids might miss out.
Therefore,
you try to give them the best start in life possible.
Enroll them in different classes
or just swimming classes
or different types of tutoring.
Or you might want them to hang around different friends
or buy them the best things
so that they do not miss out.
And I've seen people that grow older.
One of the things that people of my parents' generation,
they keep saying to us is that,
I want to do this for you and buy this for you
because I don't want you to miss out.
They fear that we will miss out.
If you think about it,
all these fears are just
different manifestations of selfish fears
that drive us to hoard our money
and our time
to spend it on ourselves and our loved ones.
So you can see that today,
the things that we fear
might be very different
from what is seen in Psalm 46.
So the original title under the psalm,
so when you read the psalm,
there are little letters just below Psalm 46.
Those titles tell us
who is this psalm used for
and what is the situation.
Unfortunately, in this psalm,
they don't tell us,
the writer did not tell us
when these events happened.
But we can read,
if you read through the psalm,
you will have noticed that
it is about God rescuing them.
And there are many instances
in the Bible where
Israel or Judah
is surrounded by enemies.
And one of the passages
that fits in this sort of
description and context
is Psalm 2 Kings
chapters 18 to 19.
So what I'm going to do today
is do something a little bit different.
I'm going to read
this psalm alongside
with 2 Kings 18 to 19.
So that's like a little
backstory and illustration
to this psalm.
So we can actually feel
what it means
to be under siege
and be attacked.
So,
the only things that,
if you look at the psalm,
like any good sermon,
it's in three sections,
so it makes it easy for me.
There are three sections
in this psalm.
Verses 1 to 3,
God is present
to calm his people.
Second section is
verses 4 to 7,
God is present
to comfort his city.
The third section is
verses 8 to 11,
God is present
to control the nations.
So,
let's look at
the first section,
which is,
God is present
to calm his people.
So,
I want to set the scene
for this psalm,
so you can probably
read through the psalm.
The psalm is crying
to God
as their strength
and refuge.
And one of the things,
if you read 2 Kings
chapters 18 to 19,
you can see that
that's a situation
that God's people
needed rescuing from.
They were under siege.
And I haven't been
under siege,
which is great.
But I like watching movies
with sieges in it,
especially like
the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Those siege scenes
are awesome.
And siege scenes
are always great
because you know that
there's a lot of pressure
built up
and there are always
heroic armies
marching out.
And you know that
the people under siege,
they tend to escape,
which is always
a good ending,
a happy ending.
But in reality,
sieges are actually
very scary.
Sieges are
a horrible way
to conquer a city
for those that are
under siege.
They might die
of disease
and starvation.
And usually,
it doesn't end well,
unlike most movies.
And the situation
described in 2 Kings
is especially
terrifying.
So let's do some math
to help us understand
why it is terrifying.
We have to do,
fast forward to
2 Kings
chapter 19,
verse 35.
We know that
the Assyrian army
had at least
185,000 people
because that's how many
got
slaughtered
at the end of the story.
And
in the middle,
when
the king of Assyria
taunted
Hezekiah,
he implied that
Jerusalem didn't even
have 2,000 men
to be mounted warriors
to meet this army.
So you can think
of it as the math,
185,000
to 2,000.
That's 92 to 1.
These are not good odds.
Humanly speaking,
there's no way
for them to survive.
Let's trace the story
back to the beginning
in 2 Kings.
So if you have the Bible,
turn to 2 Kings
chapter 18.
If not,
you can just follow
this story along with me.
So in 2 Kings
chapter 18,
verse 13
onwards,
we can see that
the Assyrians
is a very
large and cruel army
coming from the north.
They've come,
destroyed
all the other nations,
and they're now
coming up to Judah.
Hezekiah
is the king
of Judah
and Jerusalem.
he is scared
of the Assyrians,
so he tried
to appease
this king
by giving him
a tribute.
He basically
tried to find
all the gold
and all the wealth
that he can find,
even by scraping off
all the gold
from the temple
and giving it
to the king
of Assyria,
Sennacherib,
as a tribute.
He thought
that that might
appease the king,
but instead
of appeasing
the king,
the king
of Assyria,
Sennacherib,
taunted Judah,
taunted them
for the fact
that they tried
to rely
on Egypt
and taunted
them,
taunted
Judah's god.
We can see
this taunt
in 2 Kings
chapter 18,
verses 19 to 23.
I'll read that now.
On what do you
rest this trust
of yours?
Do you think
that mere words
are strategy
and power
for war?
In whom
do you now trust
that you have
rebelled against me?
Behold,
you are trusting
now in Egypt,
that broken reed
of a staff,
which will appease
the hand of any man
who leans on it.
Such is Pharaoh,
king of Egypt,
to all who trust
in him.
But if you say
to me,
we have removed,
we trust
in the Lord
our God,
is it not
he whose
high places
and altars
Hezekiah
has removed,
saying to Judah
and to Jerusalem,
you shall worship
before this altar
in Jerusalem.
Come now,
make a wager
with me,
my master,
the king of Assyria.
I will give you
2,000 horses
if you are able
to,
on your part,
set riders
on them.
So you can see
in this taunt,
he's saying
that there's no way
for Israel,
for Jerusalem
to survive.
With this background,
and we know
the end of the story
that God
rescued Jerusalem,
we can actually
understand why
the psalmist
was so glad
to sing
that God
is our refuge,
our very present
help in trouble
in verse 1.
Judah needed
a place to hide,
and although
they were tempted
to buy off
their enemies
and rely on Egypt,
at the end
they realized
that,
Hezekiah realized
that the only
place to hide
is God.
What's more,
they needed
to be delivered
soon,
because they
were besieged.
We will trace
the story back
a little bit later
to see how close
they were
to destruction.
That's why
the psalmist
prayed that
it's a very
present help
in trouble.
God helped
them just
at the right
time when
they needed
help.
You can
actually,
remembering
the odds,
the overwhelming
odds that they
have,
92 to 1
man,
185,000
army to
2,000,
is a miraculous
salvation.
That's why
the psalmist
kept singing
in verses 2
and 3,
that though
we will not
fear,
though the
earth gives
way,
though the
mountains be
moved in
the heart
of the sea,
though the
waters roam
and fall,
raw and foam,
though the
mountains tremble
at its
swelling.
What is
mentioned
here are
all the
terrifying
natural
disasters,
like
earthquakes
and the
sea.
And if
you know
the Bible
in the
Old Testament,
the Jews
are scared,
absolutely
terrified of
the sea.
At the
beginning of
creation,
darkness
and the
sea is
a total
chaos.
So
they are
scared of
the sea
and they're
scared of
all these
natural
disasters.
So what
is mentioned
here is
total chaos
destruction.
And the
psalmist is
saying that
even in
this
environment,
they are
not going
to fear.
They will
not be
moved.
So we
can actually
see how
God has
rescued them.
We can
actually move
from the
second section
of verses
four to
seven.
We can
summarize how
God is
present to
comfort his
city.
So let's
pick up the
story of the
siege of
Israel in
2 Kings.
So you've
got an
army approaching
the city of
Jerusalem.
And Jerusalem,
if you know
the geography
around it,
God has
actually given
them little
fortresses and
little small
cities,
satellite cities
around Jerusalem.
And one of
these cities is
called Lipna.
And you can
see that story
in 2 Kings
chapter 19.
The Assyrian
army moved
closer to
the city of
Jerusalem and
attacked Lipna.
And they
did it
throughout the
day.
And because
it took a
while, they
needed to
take a break
in the
afternoon.
And the
Assyrians
sent another
taunt to
Hezekiah and
Jerusalem.
Now he's
taunting God
directly,
taunting how
has the
Lord helped
you?
He's not
going to
rescue you.
So in
this situation,
we can see
that Hezekiah
really needed
to rely on
God.
So we can
actually see
how he
prayed in
2 Kings
chapter 19
verses 15
to 19.
I'll read
from verse 15.
Listen to the
words Sennacherib
has sent to
ridicule the
living God.
It is true,
Lord, that
the Assyrian
kings have
laid waste
these nations
and their
lands.
They have
thrown their
gods into
the fire and
destroyed them.
For they
were not gods
but only wood
and stone,
fashioned by
human hands.
Now, Lord,
our God,
deliver us from
His hand,
such as all the
kingdoms of the
earth.
May I know
that you alone,
Lord, is our
God.
Notice that
in this prayer,
Hezekiah isn't
centred on the
need for
rescuing.
If I was the
king in this
situation, I
would have just
prayed, God,
please help us.
There's a big
army outside.
Please destroy
the Assyrians.
But Hezekiah
didn't pray that.
He appealed to
who God is,
the Lord.
The Lord is
the name Yahweh
for God in the
Old Testament.
He appealed to
God being the
one that is
different.
He is above
all the other
nations.
Notice that he
describes the
Lord in verse
15 as
enthroned between
the cherubims.
The cherubims are
two little angels
in the temple.
It's representing
that God is in
the temple in
Jerusalem.
It's describing
how God is
present above
the Ark of the
Covenant.
Therefore, we
can see that
Hezekiah is
appealing,
for God to
save Jerusalem,
not because
it needed
rescuing,
but because of
His name and
His place,
Jerusalem,
where He dwells
in the temple.
This is why
in verse 4 of
Psalm 46,
we can see that
the psalmist is
saying that
there's a river
that flows
and that makes
glad the city of
God.
This is where
the Most High
dwells.
God dwells in
Jerusalem in
Jerusalem in the
temple.
And you can
actually see the
contrast between
the total chaos
outside being
besieged and
how they felt
inside because
God is with
them.
So we are
reminded of
earthquake and
chaos and
destruction outside,
but the picture
inside is that
God is in the
midst of her.
She will not be
moved.
And God will
help her when
the morning
dawns.
And these
are amazing
words,
considering
they were
besieged
overnight and
they are
awaiting their
fate the next
morning.
And we can
actually see what
happened that
night when
Hezekiah prayed
in 2 Kings
chapter 19,
verse 35.
That night the
angel of the
Lord went out
and put to
death 185,000
in the Assyrian
camp.
When the people
got up the
next morning,
they were all
dead bodies.
So God's
angel is God's
means of
destroying the
Assyrian armies.
This is why in
verses 7 and
11, the
psalmist can
sing,
The Lord of
hosts is with
us.
The God of
Jacob is our
fortress.
The phrase,
the Lord of
hosts, or the
Lord Almighty,
depending on
which translation
you use, is
describing God
as the warrior
king over his
angelic armies.
So let's step
back.
We use the
siege as an
illustration of
Psalm 46.
We think about
what happens in
this siege, and
indeed some of
the sieges in
the rest of the
Old Testament.
We can see that
usually human
means does not
work.
In this instance,
nothing that
Hezekiah did,
whether it's
paying a tribute
to Assyria,
forming an
alliance with
Egypt, that
didn't work.
Hezekiah didn't
even send an
army out to
meet the
Assyrians.
God's army
destroyed the
Assyrians before
they did
anything the
next morning.
This is why
God alone is
a strength and
refuge.
The third
section of
the psalm is
verses 8 to
11.
We can see
how here God
is present to
control the
nations and
what he asks
of us in
response.
So if you
think about
an ancient
battle, when
a country
wins, it
doesn't affect
just the
relationship
between these
two countries.
When a victory
is achieved,
all the other
nations around
them are going
to hear of
it.
So this is
what happens
in verses
8 to 11
of the
psalm.
Notice that
there's a
difference between
the tone
between verses
1 to 7
and 8 to
11.
So in
verses 1 to
7, we
can hear how
the psalmist
described how
God saved
his people.
But in
verses 8 to
11, there
are two
instructions for
the people of
Jerusalem, or
the readers of
the psalm.
In verse 8,
the instruction
is for them
to come.
Come to see
what the Lord
has done.
Come to see
how the Lord
has destroyed
his enemies.
It's important
to see how
God do
things differently.
Whereas Hezekiah
is trying to
use alliances
to appease
and to
strategize,
God alone
is the king.
He alone
can crush
everyone else.
He can use
his own means
to do
everything.
But the
thing is,
his destruction
is fair.
Some people
might ask
whether it's
cruel for
God to
be the
Lord of
everyone,
and to
shatter the
spears,
and to
destroy other
enemies.
In this
instance,
we can see
that the
Assyrian king
taunted
the Lord
and his
people.
But in
fact,
if you look
at the
context of
the psalm,
in Psalm 2,
that is true
for all
peoples and
all kings.
Because all
nations have
conspired to
go against
the Lord.
And it's
fair for
God to
judge
everyone
and anyone
that
taunts and
defies God.
And it's
actually important
for the people
of Judah to
recognize that
God is fair
in judgment.
And the
psalmists tell
them,
come and look
at the work
of the Lord.
The Lord is
able to
destroy his
enemies.
You need to
see the work
of the Lord
to see how
powerful he
is.
The second
instruction
given to
the reader
is to
cease
striving.
This is
found in
verse 10.
They need
to stop
using their
own means
to plot
and strategize,
but instead
come to
know that
they need
to know
God.
So I've
quickly looked
through what
the psalm
means.
Let's look
through what
it means
for us.
So one
of the
ways to
work out
what it
means for
us is
to work
out what
it doesn't
mean.
So I
want to
quickly step
through what
it doesn't
mean for
us before
we work
out what
it does
mean for
us.
Firstly,
right now,
no nation
on earth
can claim
that they
are God's
nation and
can claim
that God
is fighting
on behalf
of them.
We can't
transfer what
is said
to Israel
or Judah
or the
people of
God in
the Old
Testament
to us
right now
because
no nation
on earth
are God's
chosen
nation,
no earthly
nation.
And that's
important because
we don't want
to use the
Bible to
unjustly
justify
religious
wars.
Secondly,
God's holy
city promise
right now
is not
the earthly
Jerusalem.
If you
look at
on Google
Maps
on Jerusalem,
if you look
at the city
and look
at the
rivers,
there's
actually no
river flowing
through
Jerusalem
right now.
In the
middle section
of the
psalm,
even in
Hezekiah's
time,
there's a
river flowing
through
Jerusalem,
but it's
something that
Hezekiah
dug underneath
to supply the
city with
water.
So that's
probably not
the promised
city that we
are looking
forward to.
We are
looking forward
to a heavenly
Jerusalem.
Certainly,
this psalm is
not saying
that God
is like a
magic genie
in a lamp.
If we need
help,
just pray
and rub
the lamp.
He is our
present help
in trouble.
We will
solve any
trouble that
we have.
So we
have to
work out
what this
means for
us right
now.
The
instructions
given to
the people
of God
in the
Old
Testament
is also
true for
us.
We are
to also
see,
come to
see the
work of
the Lord.
The natural
question for
us is,
we are
not Jews.
How can
we come
to see the
work of
the Lord
and be
happy about
that?
We need
to understand
now,
it's not
the Jews
that are
the people
of God.
It's those
that trust
in Jesus.
And on
the flip
side,
it's those
that defy
Jesus that
face a
similar
judgment
to the
Assyrians.
We can
see that
in the
New Testament
in 2
Thessalonians
chapter 1
verses 6
to 8,
God
considers it
just to
repay
affliction
those who
afflict you
and to
grant relief
to you
who are
afflicted
as well
as to
us.
And the
Lord Jesus
is revealed
from heaven
with his
mighty angels
in flaming
fire,
inflicting
vengeance on
those who
do not
know God
and on
those who
do not
obey the
gospel of
Lord Jesus.
We don't
often celebrate
the fact or
actively tell
people to
look at
God's
judgment.
But in
some situations
this is
exactly what
is needed
to comfort
those people.
You don't
have to cast
your mind
far back
in the news
to see how
that is
going to be
of comfort
to some
people.
Just a
couple of
weeks ago
you would
have probably
heard in
the news
that a
few Christians
in Tyrol
was killed
during the
Christmas
period
inside the
church.
Under that
sort of
religious
persecution
Christians
will be
comforted
by the
fact that
God is
going to
repay
those that
will afflict
them.
The second
instruction
is in
Psalm 46
verse 10.
the
psalmist
is telling
God's
people
to
seize
and
know
the
creator.
The
word to
seize
driving
doesn't
mean to
stop
trying,
drop
everything
and
just
let
God
do
everything.
The
instruction
to
seize
driving
is to
seize
driving
and to
know
God
our
creator.
and I
want you
to cast
our
mind
back
to
the
examples
I've
given
about
fears
in
particular
some
of our
worries
and
anxieties
in our
life.
A lot
of our
striving
is not
about
God
and we
actually
need to
know
in here
the
important
thing
is
not
for
God
come
to
God
to
solve
our
problems.
The
instruction
is to
seize
driving
and
know
our
creator.
We
need to
know
God
not
for
the
relief
that
he
gives
but
for
the
God
that
he
is.
Remember
the
illustration
I gave
at the
start
FOMO
if we
try to
obtain
everything
in our
life
so we
don't
miss out
on
anything
in our
life
that
is
one
form
of
striving
we
are
strategizing
to
provide
for
ourselves
and not
trust
in our
God.
It's
a
lifestyle
that
denies
that
Jesus
is
Lord
and
the
most
important
thing
in our
life
and
it
doesn't
take
into
the
fact
that
our
city
is
the
city
of
Jerusalem
in
heaven.
Heaven
is what
we
need
not
the
earthly
things
that
we
have
right
now.
If
we
know
that
heaven
is
our
home
we
don't
have
to
fear
that
we
will
miss
out
on
anything
on
earth.
So
at
the
which
area
are
we
striving
to
be
secure
in
ourselves
secure
in
our
earthly
competencies
and
pleasures
rather
than
to
live
for
God.
So
we're
going to
explore
that
a
little
more
next
week.
We
need
to
work
out
how
to
strive
for
God
and
the
sermon
next
week
might
touch
on
that
a
little
bit
more.
But
just
as
we
have
at
the
start
of
the
year
we
need
to
take
stock
to
come
to
know
God
and
come
for
us
to
strive
to
save
ourselves.
I
want
you
to
join
in
the
work
of
telling
others
how
they
can
come
to
know
God
and
see
striving.
I
want
to
actually
tell
you
a
story
of
someone
that
I
met
last
year.
Her
name
is
Rose.
And
she
is
a
lady
although
she
doesn't
know
God
yet,
she
is
trying
to
work
out
how
to
know
God
and
see
striving
for
herself.
I
will
tell
you
a
little
bit
of
the
story.
Rose
is
a
typical
lady
that
goes
to
ESL
right
now.
They
are
quite
a
group
of
people
right
now
that
go
to
ESL.
They
accompany
their
children.
So
their
children
studies
in
Australia
and
because
the
parents
are
scared
they
want
to
be
with
the
children.
They
want
to
look
after
the
children.
And
Rose
is
one
such
lady.
So
she
wants
to
look
after
her
child
here.
And
at
the
same
time
she
is
separated
from
her
husband
because
not
legally
separated
but
just
because
she
has
to
be
here
to
look
after
her
child.
And
she
worries
about
a lot
of
things
back
in
China.
She
has
ageing
and
sick
relatives
that
she
needs
to
take
care
of.
And
she
is
trying
to
strive
to
plan
life
both
in
Australia
and
in
China
to
work
out
how
to
make
the
best
of
everything.
So
we
rose
along
with
a few
other
people
from
ESL.
We
did
a
Bible
study
on
Friday
night
because
Friday
night
is
a
great
time
for
Bible
study
for
these
people.
Their
children
go to
youth
group
and
they
go
and
do
Bible
study.
So
we
went
through
the
gospel
and
read
through
Acts
17.
When
we
presented
the
picture
that
God
is
different
from
any
of
the
gods
that
the
Greeks
knew,
that
God
is
in
control
of
all
the
nations
and
God
is
in
control
even
where
people
live
and
how
everyone
moves,
she
is
confident.
She
wants
to
know
that
God.
She
wants
to
cease
thriving
and
know
a
creator
that
is
in
control
of
all
the
nations
and
everything
that
we
do.
But
from
an
atheistic
background,
she
finds it
very
hard
to
accept
that
there
is
actually
a
God
like
that.
She
is
still
wrestling
with
the
truth
of
the
gospel.
You
can
see
that
there
are
many
non-Christians
like
Rose
exploring
the
gospel
and
trying
to
work
out
what
it
means
for
them.
So
we
desperately
need
people
in
ESL
to
teach
and
we
need
people
if
you
can't
teach
English
or
do
other
things.
We
need
people
just
to
talk
with
these
people
on
a
Tuesday
and
Friday
morning.
We
have
a
play
group
called
Jelly Beans
on
Tuesday
and ESL
on
Friday.
It would
be
great
if
we
just
make
friends
with
them,
talk
to
them,
so
that
they
can
come
to
hear,
come
to
see
God,
come
to
see
His
work
and
come
to
know
the
Creator.
So
I
suggest
another
opportunity
for us
to
help
the
community
around
us
to
know
the
gospel.
And
this
is
actually
by
joining
me
in
going
on
a
global
mission.
I'm
planning
to
lead
a
team
to
go
to
China
at
the
end
of
the
year.
So
this
is
a
great
time
for
us
to
learn
how
to
be
in
a
different
culture.
And
try
to
cross
cultural
bridges.
And
this
is
the
things
that
we
need
exactly
to
reach
the
community
around
us.
We're
desperate
for
people
to
know
Jesus
and
encounter
Jesus.
So
we need
to
equip
ourselves
to
do
that
properly.
So
if
you're
interested
either
in
the
local
work
or
the
global
work
please
come
to
me
write
it
on
the
card
and
tell
me.
I'd
love
to
know.
I
want
to
end
the
sermon
though
on a
word
that
we
haven't
looked
at.
It's
in
verses
3,
7,
and
11.
It's
called
Selah.
So
in the
Amplified
Bible
it
translates
as to
pause
and
think
on
that.
So
the
psalm
usually
is
written
in
the
Bible
so
we
have
a
paragraph
we
need
to
pause
and
think
on
what
that
means
for
us.
And
incidentally
there's
also a
name
of
Takeshi
and
Katie's
daughter.
You
can
ask
them
why
they
chose
that
name
at
the
end
of
the
service.
If
you
don't
get
to
speak
with
them
today
you
can
ask
them
throughout
the
year.
There
are
many
opportunities
to
do
that.
Actually
I
haven't
really
asked
you
properly.
I
have
asked
you
but
I
will
join
the
queue
at
the
end
of
the
service.
But
for
us
right
now we
need to
actually
pause
and
think
what
the
psalmist
is
trying
to
tell
us
to
do.
I
want
us
to
pause
and
think
on
two
questions
based
on
the
two
instructions
that
he's
given
us.
When
Jesus
comes
to
destroy
his
enemies
are
you
confident
to
stand
before
him?
Are
you
confident
by
the
fact
that
he's
going
to
destroy
his
enemies?
If
you
are
not
please
come
and
know
Jesus
so
that
you
will
be
glad
of
his
coming
judgment.
The
second
question
I
want
to
ask
you
is
are
you
taking
steps
to
stop
some
of
the
things
that
you
are
doing
so
that
you
will
know
God
that
is
going
to
be
exalted
amongst
the
nations?
Are
there
things
we
need
to
actively
stop
doing?
Are
there
things
that
we
need
to
stop
pursuing
in
our
lives?
So
that
we
can
have
the
energy
to
strive
to
know
God
and
strive
to
do
things
for
him
not
for
ourselves
not
for
our
security
but
so
that
he
is
exalted
amongst
the
nations.
I'm
going to
hand the
time back
to Nick
and help
us to
pause
to think
on
that.