WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.160 I'm reading from Luke's Gospel chapter 12 verses 22 to 23 and that as you see is on 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:13.599 page 871 of the church Bibles and it's on the screen. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:19.199 And he said to his disciples, therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:24.199 what you will eat, not about your body, what you will put on. 00:00:24.199 --> 00:00:29.359 For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:35.280 Consider the ravens, they neither sown nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:38.200 and yet God feeds them. 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:42.240 Of how much more value are you than the birds? 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:47.840 And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:56.000 If then you're not able to do a smaller thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:03.200 Consider the lilies, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:08.920 in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:15.159 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown 00:01:15.159 --> 00:01:22.240 into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:27.199 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 00:01:27.199 --> 00:01:33.159 For all the nations of the world seek after these things and your Father knows that you 00:01:33.159 --> 00:01:35.280 need them. 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:41.119 Instead seek his kingdom and these things will be added to you. 00:01:41.119 --> 00:01:46.879 Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:50.719 Sell your possessions and give to the needy. 00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:56.039 Start yourselves with money bags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that 00:01:56.039 --> 00:02:02.480 does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:10.719 For where your treasure is, there will be your heart be also. 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:14.120 May the Lord bless his reading of his word. 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:15.120 Amen. 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:16.120 All right. 00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:20.520 Well, today is the beginning of the Christmas season, the first day of Advent, which means 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:23.760 the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. 00:02:23.760 --> 00:02:30.840 Jesus came in Advent in the first century, not only to forgive us of our sins, absolutely 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:37.200 that, but also to bring hope and peace to our inner lives as well. 00:02:37.200 --> 00:02:41.040 So every single one of us has a psyche, a soul. 00:02:41.040 --> 00:02:42.360 That's who we are as people. 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:48.960 And Advent Christmas says that Jesus came not only to bring you the hope of forgiveness, 00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:54.360 but also the hope of peace, peace in your inner life, peace all the way to the bottom 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:55.879 of your soul. 00:02:55.879 --> 00:02:59.439 And so we talk at Christmas time about the incarnation. 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:07.840 Incarnation means incarnate, in flesh, the infleshment of the Son of God, that the Son 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:11.040 of God at Christmas took on a human body. 00:03:11.040 --> 00:03:12.480 He took on a human nature. 00:03:12.480 --> 00:03:14.159 He was in fleshed. 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:19.359 And that that has been prophesied, that was prophesied all throughout the Old Testament, 00:03:19.359 --> 00:03:23.560 up until the coming of Christ in the first century, in the moments that we read about 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:25.439 in the Gospels. 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:30.159 And in one of the passages I mentioned at the beginning of the service, Isaiah 9, it says 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:34.680 that Israel at that time were a people walking in great darkness. 00:03:34.680 --> 00:03:36.879 They were facing exile. 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:39.340 They were facing anguish and grief. 00:03:39.340 --> 00:03:45.319 And it says in that prophecy, the people who walked in darkness saw a great light. 00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:47.439 And it was in the past tense. 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:52.080 So it was a prophecy, but all the language was past tense. 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:55.480 They walking in darkness saw the great light. 00:03:55.480 --> 00:03:59.960 And it was in past tense because they knew it to be so certain you could speak about 00:03:59.960 --> 00:04:05.080 it almost as if it had already happened, that there would be a Messiah that was to come, 00:04:05.080 --> 00:04:06.080 the light of the world. 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:10.800 Matthew chapter 4 says that Isaiah chapter 9 was all about Jesus ultimately, that in 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:14.520 the incarnation, Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 9. 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:20.920 And just after that, it gives the four great names from the Old Testament to Jesus the 00:04:20.920 --> 00:04:21.920 Messiah. 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:29.360 It says that he is wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:36.040 And the people in Isaiah's day, they needed someone who could be mighty God for them. 00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:40.879 Somebody who could get them out of their bondage, a mighty warrior Messiah. 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:46.040 But they also needed wonderful counselor, someone who could actually talk and speak 00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:50.520 to their inner lives and give them the peace that they needed and their souls in the midst 00:04:50.520 --> 00:04:54.200 of such a time of grief and sadness and loss that they had experienced so many people around 00:04:54.200 --> 00:04:56.840 them gone. 00:04:56.840 --> 00:05:03.280 And today, Christmas says, Jesus Christ, the mighty God and the wonderful counselor has 00:05:03.280 --> 00:05:05.480 come. 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:09.840 And what I want to do over the next four weeks, the four weeks of Advent, is focus on just 00:05:09.840 --> 00:05:14.160 that one title, wonderful counselor. 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:16.080 That Jesus Christ is the wonderful counselor. 00:05:16.080 --> 00:05:21.200 He has come to bring counseling to you, to give peace to your inner life, to come down 00:05:21.200 --> 00:05:25.680 and meet you and exactly the problems you face in the depths of your soul and bring 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:27.640 you peace. 00:05:27.640 --> 00:05:33.800 And Colossians 2.3, Paul says in the New Testament that in Jesus Christ are hidden all the treasures 00:05:33.800 --> 00:05:34.800 of wisdom. 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:39.280 And a counselor, a counselor is somebody who comes alongside you and brings wisdom to your 00:05:39.280 --> 00:05:44.560 life when you need it, who brings wisdom when you are way off the path, when your practice 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:48.840 is your habits, your behaviors, your inner life is completely broken. 00:05:48.840 --> 00:05:53.759 You need a counselor and he is the wonderful counselor. 00:05:53.759 --> 00:06:00.920 Now before we get into it today, looking at Luke 12, this word, this word wonderful, Isaiah 00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:04.480 9.6, wonderful counselor. 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:10.319 People there does not mean the term in the way we often use it. 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:14.319 This is a time of year where we sing the lyric from Andy Williams. 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:20.520 It's the most wonderful, yeah, no, I'm not going to do it. 00:06:20.520 --> 00:06:23.000 It's the most wonderful time of the year. 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:24.960 And we love Christmas. 00:06:24.960 --> 00:06:26.240 You probably like Christmas. 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:29.759 Some of, it's a wonderful time. 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:31.600 What we mean by that is we really like it. 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:32.600 It's nice. 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:33.600 It makes me feel good. 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:34.600 I like the market. 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:35.600 I like the Christmas market. 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:42.879 I like buying an 18 pound brought at the Christmas market, you know? 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:49.080 The word wonderful, wonderful counselor does not mean it's nice. 00:06:49.080 --> 00:06:54.600 It's a word that actually means unexpected and overwhelming joy. 00:06:54.600 --> 00:07:00.240 It's a word that means when you're at the very worst, you know, if you've watched some 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:01.400 great films in your life. 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:05.000 If you read a great book, oftentimes there will be a moment where things are at their 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:07.479 absolute worst, the darkness. 00:07:07.479 --> 00:07:14.719 And then what Tolkien called a eukatastrophe, an unexpected turn for the good comes about. 00:07:14.719 --> 00:07:20.199 That's what it means to say he is wonderful, unexpected wonder. 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:25.159 When you're walking in darkness, the counselor can give you something you don't expect, 00:07:25.159 --> 00:07:26.159 peace. 00:07:26.159 --> 00:07:29.199 And so let's take four weeks and look at the wonderful counselor, different episodes in 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:32.839 the life of Jesus and how he speaks to our souls. 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:41.039 And I want to look at each week, week one anxiety today, boredom, loneliness and sadness 00:07:41.039 --> 00:07:42.039 throughout these four weeks. 00:07:42.039 --> 00:07:43.759 So today let's think about anxiety. 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:44.759 We read Luke chapter 12. 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:46.639 Sheena read for us. 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:52.839 This is a scene where Jesus, the counselor, comes to speak to us about our anxieties and 00:07:52.839 --> 00:07:59.519 Jesus Christ, like a great counselor does, treats the mind, the heart and the will, all 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:03.560 three parts of what a person is, their soul, mind, heart and will. 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:05.000 So let's look at that together. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:10.079 The first Jesus counsels the anxious mind, our anxious minds. 00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:14.439 So if you look down, you'll see at the very beginning of this passage, he gives you a 00:08:14.439 --> 00:08:17.879 command, do not be anxious. 00:08:17.879 --> 00:08:22.479 Now in seminary, they tell you in preaching class, in order to get to people's hearts, 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:24.680 you got to go through their mind. 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:27.000 You got to go through the intellect to get to the heart. 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:32.680 Jesus, the great counselor, the master teacher, he first wants to talk to your mind for a 00:08:32.680 --> 00:08:33.680 little bit. 00:08:33.680 --> 00:08:37.000 And the first thing he says is, here's a command. 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:40.879 Hear the command, do not be anxious. 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:43.480 And he says, I want you to think about that. 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:50.080 And so he uses three times, twice translated, consider this verb, consider, consider the 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:52.520 birds, consider the ravens, consider the lilies. 00:08:52.520 --> 00:08:57.240 And this is a verb for reasoning, for thinking, for careful examination. 00:08:57.240 --> 00:09:00.360 And what he's saying is, one of the first things you need to do if you're an anxious 00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:05.120 person, if you struggle in your life with anxiety, is you need to stop whenever you struggle 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:07.200 and you need to think. 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:08.920 You need to use some arguments. 00:09:08.920 --> 00:09:10.600 You need to talk to yourself. 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:14.960 You need to say, self, remember the arguments. 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:15.960 What are they? 00:09:15.960 --> 00:09:19.960 The first thing is, he says, you need to think about what's happening to you in that moment. 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:21.560 You're anxious. 00:09:21.560 --> 00:09:23.360 What is that? 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:27.920 Just a little bit later in verse 32, he says, fear not, little flock. 00:09:27.920 --> 00:09:31.400 This is a parallel way of saying, don't be anxious. 00:09:31.400 --> 00:09:37.080 And so Jesus immediately registers that fear and anxiety are synonyms. 00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:39.080 Anxiety is a type of fear. 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:42.519 And so anxiety we see here is a state of fearfulness. 00:09:42.519 --> 00:09:44.720 He uses the word worry. 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:49.320 And it's a word for him that means something like apprehensiveness because you're sort 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:53.200 of floating, not sure what's going to happen. 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:58.120 And so if you put all that together, you realize that anxiety is a bad type of fearfulness, 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:05.360 a state of fearfulness, where you are concerned, you're worried about the future and what might 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:11.320 happen to you in some type of state of loss, losing the good things that you love or never 00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:14.680 getting the good things that you've always wanted to get. 00:10:14.680 --> 00:10:16.840 And so it's bearing down on your heart and you're fearful. 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:18.960 You're in a state of constant fearfulness. 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:21.440 And so he says, what do you do with that? 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:25.360 The next thing he does, he says, now you've got to think about what you're anxious about. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:30.800 And so he says, don't be anxious about your life, what you eat, about your body, what 00:10:30.800 --> 00:10:33.800 you put on, about clothing, he goes on to say. 00:10:33.800 --> 00:10:38.280 So immediately he then turns and says, okay, think for a second and ask yourself, what 00:10:38.280 --> 00:10:41.200 is it that you're afraid of losing? 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:43.000 What is it that you're afraid of never getting? 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:45.920 What are you anxious about? 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:52.319 In this context, clearly he's concerned with material possessions and wealth, not being 00:10:52.319 --> 00:10:56.079 able to have housing and shelter and food and drink and clothing and all that sort of 00:10:56.079 --> 00:10:57.079 stuff. 00:10:57.079 --> 00:11:01.679 He's talking to disciples, his disciples who he's sending out, they're poor, so they're 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:06.559 probably going to be prone to worry about their food and their clothing in ways that 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:10.199 for us is not as relevant right now in the 21st century. 00:11:10.199 --> 00:11:14.759 In the passage just before this, he had talked to a bunch of rich people and he had given 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:19.759 the parable of the rich young ruler because they were so anxious about money out of greed, 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:20.759 out of hoarding. 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:24.439 One of the first things that you see, whether it's about money or something else is you 00:11:24.439 --> 00:11:31.360 can, well when it comes to money, you can be rich and very anxious about money. 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:36.000 You can be poor and very anxious about money. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:40.399 The same object, no matter what circumstance you're in, can capture you into a state of 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:41.399 fearfulness. 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:45.600 And so he says, are you worried about life in general? 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:48.199 Whatever it is, it might be money, it might be something else. 00:11:48.199 --> 00:11:53.079 All of us have that something, that object that we're extremely fearful of. 00:11:53.079 --> 00:11:55.439 So he says, are you worried about life? 00:11:55.439 --> 00:12:01.959 Some of you can name the very specific object of fearfulness that gets you, that you struggle 00:12:01.959 --> 00:12:02.959 with. 00:12:02.959 --> 00:12:09.199 Some of you maybe often feel anxious every morning when you wake up and you're not quite 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:12.840 sure where to place that anxiety. 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:16.759 You're in a state of anxiousness, a fearfulness where you're just anxious about life and 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:18.720 fearfulness all the time. 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:22.280 And so he says, you've got to think about that and you've got to consider what is it 00:12:22.280 --> 00:12:25.200 that I'm struggling with exactly. 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:30.560 But let me say, we'll see this in just a moment, that there are only actually four things you 00:12:30.560 --> 00:12:33.040 can really be anxious about. 00:12:33.040 --> 00:12:34.440 Just four. 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:40.040 And if you look at the very specific object of your anxiety in life right now, underneath 00:12:40.040 --> 00:12:45.600 it, there's just four things to worry about, four deep things. 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:49.160 And they are always something like this. 00:12:49.160 --> 00:12:55.280 Losing comfort, where you have a longing for pleasure in this life, but you might lose 00:12:55.280 --> 00:12:57.040 it. 00:12:57.040 --> 00:13:02.120 Losing power, where you have a longing for influence and respect. 00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:07.039 And to be recognized as a person that matters. 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:12.759 Losing control, a longing that everything goes exactly the way you've mapped out in your 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:15.000 life plan. 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:21.240 Or losing approval, and this is the most important one, where you're afraid of losing a relationship 00:13:21.240 --> 00:13:25.840 of love and value, where somebody looks at you and says, I know you and I love you. 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:28.560 These are really the only the four things that you can worry about. 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:33.079 In every object, individual object, we worry about falls into one of these four spaces, 00:13:33.079 --> 00:13:36.159 approval, comfort, control, and power. 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:37.839 And so look at Jesus' argument. 00:13:37.839 --> 00:13:38.839 This is what he says about it. 00:13:38.839 --> 00:13:44.559 He says, now listen, when you're struggling, first you got to talk to yourself. 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:47.479 The great counselor Jesus says, think for a minute, consider. 00:13:47.479 --> 00:13:48.479 What does he say? 00:13:48.479 --> 00:13:53.599 He says, think about, consider the birds and the lilies. 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:59.480 So he gives a specific example of ravens and lilies, and he's arguing here from the lesser 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:01.600 thing to the greater thing. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:06.920 And he says, if you're worried, look out at the ravens. 00:14:06.920 --> 00:14:09.120 Could be translated crows, we don't know. 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:11.120 Crows, ravens, something, some kind of bird. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:13.159 Not that valuable of a bird. 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:15.200 Nobody cares that much, right, about crows and ravens. 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:16.200 He could have said eagle. 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:19.519 No, he said, look at the crows and the ravens. 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:22.120 They're not the best birds even. 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:27.279 Look at the lilies of the field, and God adorns them with beauty. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:29.639 And he says, are you not of much more value than they? 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:30.639 You see what he's saying? 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:32.820 Consider, think from the lesser to the greater. 00:14:32.820 --> 00:14:36.840 If you look out and see the ravens and the birds and the lilies, don't you know that 00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:39.480 God puts more value on you than them? 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:40.919 You see what Jesus is saying? 00:14:40.919 --> 00:14:47.080 You've got to think and realize that if you are concerned about approval, idols of approval 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:51.799 in your life, you're fearful that somebody, something will not value you. 00:14:51.799 --> 00:14:57.279 He says, think, tell yourself, you've forgotten about the Father in heaven who values you, 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:00.959 who approves of you, who says to you, I love you. 00:15:00.959 --> 00:15:06.039 And then he goes on from there and he says, verse 25, his second argument, can you add 00:15:06.039 --> 00:15:09.359 an hour to your lifespan by being anxious about it? 00:15:09.359 --> 00:15:13.359 Okay, this is the kind of thing our parents say to us when we're teenagers. 00:15:13.359 --> 00:15:14.359 Why are you worried about it? 00:15:14.359 --> 00:15:17.559 Can you add a single hour to your life by being worried? 00:15:17.559 --> 00:15:22.839 But Jesus, the master counselor here comes and says, no, of course, right, it's a rhetorical 00:15:22.839 --> 00:15:24.159 question. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:26.039 What are we doing when we're worried? 00:15:26.039 --> 00:15:32.719 And Jesus says, think for a second, can you add time to your life if you're so afraid, 00:15:32.719 --> 00:15:37.759 if you're so worried about your physical body, your health perhaps? 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:40.959 And he says, no, you're not in control. 00:15:40.959 --> 00:15:44.879 See on the one hand, if you consider the ravens, you realize you don't need to be concerned 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:47.000 about approval because you've already got it. 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:51.399 If you look out and think about this question Jesus asked, can you add an hour to your life? 00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:53.919 You say, I want to be in control. 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:57.080 I want to have my life plan go the way my life plan was meant to go. 00:15:57.080 --> 00:15:59.600 And he says, you're not in control. 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:01.720 Can you add an hour to your life? 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:04.440 No, you've got to be free. 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:05.440 You've got to be free. 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:06.759 You've got to let God be in control. 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:07.759 You got to think. 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:09.360 You got to say to yourself, you're not in control. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:10.879 You've already got the approval you need. 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:16.200 And then the third and final one, he says in verse 23, don't you know that life is more 00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:20.080 than food and clothing, material wealth, circumstances? 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:23.800 He then appeals and says, think about the meaning of life. 00:16:23.800 --> 00:16:31.240 Life is more than asking the question, will my life matter if I don't accomplish X, Y, 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:32.240 or Z? 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:33.400 You see what he's appealing to? 00:16:33.400 --> 00:16:37.320 He's saying, are you afraid of losing power? 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:42.120 Do you think that if you don't accomplish this, if you lose this, if your career flops, that 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:44.920 you won't have mattered, that you won't be a person that has ever mattered? 00:16:44.919 --> 00:16:47.719 And he says, is not life more than that? 00:16:47.719 --> 00:16:50.039 Turn to the meaning of life itself. 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:52.599 He's saying, in other words, let me put it this way. 00:16:52.599 --> 00:16:55.919 He's saying, you've got to do theology on yourself. 00:16:55.919 --> 00:17:00.120 You've got to remember what the Father says about you. 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:01.519 Who the Father says you are. 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:03.719 How much the Father has loved you. 00:17:03.719 --> 00:17:07.399 He's got to say, you know, he says, don't you know in verse 32 that I long to give you 00:17:07.399 --> 00:17:08.899 the kingdom? 00:17:08.899 --> 00:17:10.599 What do you think your life's not going to matter? 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:15.119 About the meaning of life much more than your career? 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:21.480 Secondly, Jesus, the wonderful counselor here, not only talks to the mind, but then he goes 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:26.159 through the mind to be a great surgeon and get down to our hearts. 00:17:26.159 --> 00:17:31.679 And like a great surgeon, a great surgeon will cut you open. 00:17:31.679 --> 00:17:34.240 And that is a hard thing. 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:35.759 But they do it in order to heal you. 00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:40.400 And so here he goes through your mind and he's asking you to look down deep into your 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:44.000 heart and be exposed for a minute so that he can heal you. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:48.000 And this is how he puts it down in verse 32. 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:51.119 Remember that he had said, do not be anxious. 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:52.119 It's a command. 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:56.920 But then the parallel verse is fear not little flock. 00:17:56.920 --> 00:18:03.039 And when he says fear not, he's giving us the synonym for anxiety, but he's giving you 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:07.680 the posture that he's taken up when he's commanding you not to be anxious. 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:12.159 It's not do not be anxious like the Ten Commandments. 00:18:12.159 --> 00:18:19.680 This is him saying, fear not, don't be anxious, my little one. 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:25.119 Jesus has gotten down on his knee here and he's got his hand on your shoulder. 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:29.399 And he's saying, I want you to know what peace is like in this life. 00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:35.280 And then right after that, he turns it then it says, okay, but and I'm about to cut you 00:18:35.280 --> 00:18:37.320 open. 00:18:37.320 --> 00:18:40.519 And I want you to know that fear not little flock, but I'm going to do some surgery on 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:41.720 your heart. 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:47.480 And so he turns in verse 32 and 33 and he says, this is about what you treasure the most in 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:49.360 your life. 00:18:49.360 --> 00:18:55.240 And so will you take a minute with me, just a couple of minutes to examine your heart 00:18:55.240 --> 00:19:02.599 and ask the question, what is it that I love the most in this life? 00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:06.120 What are the treasures that I long for above everything else? 00:19:06.120 --> 00:19:09.960 That's the question Jesus brings you to, to open your heart up today. 00:19:09.960 --> 00:19:10.960 And this is what he's saying. 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:16.519 He's saying, when you examine your heart, if you struggle with anxiety, anxiety is like 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:20.039 smoke rising up from the forest. 00:19:20.039 --> 00:19:26.200 And you've got to trace that smoke down to where the fire really is. 00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:28.399 Anxiety is a symptom. 00:19:28.399 --> 00:19:30.399 Anxiety is a sign. 00:19:30.399 --> 00:19:32.159 It is smoke coming up from the wilderness. 00:19:32.159 --> 00:19:35.839 And you've got to go to the bottom and find the fire. 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:39.839 And at the bottom, you will find in the depths of your heart, whatever little thing, little 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:45.639 object, little love that you are sacrificing to, that you're worshiping down at the bottom 00:19:45.639 --> 00:19:47.039 of the smoke of anxiety. 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:51.720 And he's asking us to ask ourselves, what is it that we treasure the most in this life? 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:53.759 What is it that we love the most in this life? 00:19:53.759 --> 00:20:00.039 And so he turns to this issue of verse 33, this illustration with money bags. 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:02.079 And he's talking here about idolatry. 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:08.759 Idolatry, idolatry is treasuring something in this world more than treasuring God. 00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:12.559 And John Calvin put it so well in the time of the Reformation. 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:15.039 He writes in his famous book, The Institutes. 00:20:15.039 --> 00:20:21.319 The human heart is an idol-making factory, perpetually just churning idols out, 24-7. 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:27.839 Jesus says in verse 33, he says, if I can find it, here it is, sell your possessions 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:32.720 and give to the needy, provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:34.119 What is he saying here? 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:40.599 He's saying that a money bag is the thing in your life that you love the most. 00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:49.519 And whatever it is, if it's your career and finding meaning and approval through the obtaining 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:55.399 of power and wealth, if it's a person's approval, if it's that relationship that you seek, that 00:20:55.399 --> 00:20:59.519 you long for the most, whatever it is, whatever is most important to you, eventually there's 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:02.039 going to be a little tear in the bottom of the money bag. 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:08.199 Money bags in the first century are just purses and everybody would carry one around and you 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:12.840 would put your treasures into your money bag, just like we might do today prior to the digital 00:21:12.840 --> 00:21:13.840 age. 00:21:13.840 --> 00:21:17.759 And he's saying that these money bags were made out of leather and things like that, 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:20.600 and eventually it's going to get a tear in the bottom of it. 00:21:20.600 --> 00:21:25.640 And so the more you put into this thing that you love, eventually a hole is going to get 00:21:25.640 --> 00:21:28.600 ripped in it and everything is going to fall out. 00:21:28.600 --> 00:21:31.000 You're going to put your time, you're going to put your talent, you're going to put your 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:35.920 treasure into this thing that you've made the great object of your desire, but all the 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:41.039 money is just falling out on the road, all the inputs, all the value you've given it. 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:47.080 If you put your greatest loves in anything in this life, any creaturely object, a person, 00:21:47.080 --> 00:21:50.880 a career, then you're going to be just dumping your money out on the ground. 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:52.759 It's never going to satisfy you. 00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:53.759 It's never going to fulfill you. 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:57.960 You're never going to store up for yourself great treasure in your soul that will never 00:21:57.960 --> 00:21:59.160 go away. 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:00.960 That's what he's saying here. 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:07.440 In 2018, I read recently this interview from Jim Carrey. 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:10.160 There's an interview series called The Talks. 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:14.960 I think it's actually a German company that does these interviews with different important 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:16.200 people. 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:21.440 And in 2019, they interviewed Jim Carrey, the great comedian, the actor, and they asked 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:26.720 him at the beginning of this interview, are you spiritual? 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:30.640 And for the rest of the interview, he kind of worked through that question. 00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:31.840 And this is what he ended up saying. 00:22:31.840 --> 00:22:42.200 He said, it's a shock when you have accomplished everything you ever dreamt of and even more. 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:45.080 And then you realize that you're unhappy. 00:22:45.080 --> 00:22:50.080 You realize, my gosh, it is not about this. 00:22:50.080 --> 00:22:57.600 And he said, I wish for everyone to be able to accomplish all their dreams. 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:01.599 He says, I really wish that every single person would accomplish all those things they think 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:02.799 they want most. 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:08.799 I think everyone should get rich or whatever else that they desire just so that they can 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:13.679 finally see that that will not be the answer for them. 00:23:13.679 --> 00:23:18.719 Another person said it like this, if you find that there are desires in your life that have 00:23:18.719 --> 00:23:22.919 no object, that there is no object in this world that can satisfy them, then that has 00:23:22.919 --> 00:23:25.959 to mean that you were made for a bigger and better world. 00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:30.039 Now, do this exercise with me and we'll move to the final point. 00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:32.840 Examine your heart for a moment and ask this. 00:23:32.840 --> 00:23:33.840 Let me ask you this. 00:23:33.840 --> 00:23:43.120 What do you love more than God that makes you afraid in this life, afraid of losing? 00:23:43.120 --> 00:23:48.400 What is it that if you lost it, if you never got it, you would feel like your life was 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:51.000 valueless, meaningless? 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:52.400 All of us have an idol. 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:53.400 What is it? 00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:54.400 Let me ask you this. 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:56.040 Let me just say this way. 00:23:56.040 --> 00:23:57.040 You have little faith. 00:23:57.040 --> 00:24:01.720 What little faith are you putting in a little object in this life? 00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:03.640 Here's a test. 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:04.640 Life is meaningful. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:05.840 Life is worth it. 00:24:05.840 --> 00:24:11.360 If I have power and influence over others, life is meaningful. 00:24:11.360 --> 00:24:12.360 Life is worth it. 00:24:12.360 --> 00:24:14.840 If I'm respected, life is meaningful. 00:24:14.840 --> 00:24:21.080 If I'm loved by the person that I think is most lovely, life is meaning if I have pleasure 00:24:21.079 --> 00:24:25.599 experiences in my life more often than pain experiences. 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:28.199 Life is meaningful if I'm able to control my wealth. 00:24:28.199 --> 00:24:34.599 Life is meaningful if there is someone there to protect me and be my number one person. 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:38.519 Life will only be meaningful if I'm free from obligations and responsibilities. 00:24:38.519 --> 00:24:40.159 If I'm highly productive. 00:24:40.159 --> 00:24:44.799 If I'm known by other people as a good person who adheres to my principles. 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:49.799 Life will only be meaningful if I am a free thinker, totally independent of traditional 00:24:49.799 --> 00:24:51.519 religion. 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:54.879 Life will only be meaningful if I'm known as the smartest person in every room I walk 00:24:54.879 --> 00:24:56.079 in. 00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:58.359 If people say to me, you do a good job. 00:24:58.359 --> 00:25:01.359 If my children are happy and doing really well. 00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:06.159 If other people know my children are happy and are doing well. 00:25:06.159 --> 00:25:09.079 Life is meaningful only if Mr. and Mrs. Wright is in love with me. 00:25:09.079 --> 00:25:16.960 If I'm known as a person who, life is meaningful if I'm known as the person who is always suffering, 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:20.120 always the victim. 00:25:20.120 --> 00:25:24.360 Life is only meaningful if my political or social cause is making progress. 00:25:24.360 --> 00:25:26.120 If my body looks a particular way. 00:25:26.120 --> 00:25:28.360 If I'm called beautiful. 00:25:28.360 --> 00:25:29.840 And if I don't get these things, I fear loss. 00:25:29.840 --> 00:25:31.759 I fear never gaining. 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:32.920 I fear humiliation. 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:34.160 I fear rejection. 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:38.360 I fear irrelevance. 00:25:38.360 --> 00:25:45.000 Let me give you an insight to ministry anxiety that I think every minister struggles with. 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.920 I think to some degree every pastor in the world who's ever been a minister has yet to 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:52.559 beat anxiety fully. 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:56.960 And they've yet to beat it because they think every single week at the bottom of their soul, 00:25:56.960 --> 00:26:00.440 even if it doesn't come up into their mind, am I going to show up to church this week 00:26:00.440 --> 00:26:02.920 and nobody be there? 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:05.920 Now I once heard our previous minister say that from the pulpit. 00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:08.599 He said, I wonder every week am I going to show up and nobody be here? 00:26:08.599 --> 00:26:13.119 I planned to say that, but I didn't know that that minister was going to be here today. 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:16.319 So it's a little awkward, but no. 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:19.799 But it's exactly the right, the ministry secret, the not so secret ministry secret is that 00:26:19.799 --> 00:26:24.399 every pastor struggles to some degree with thinking, am I doing this so that I can be 00:26:24.399 --> 00:26:26.919 told good job at the end of every Sunday? 00:26:26.919 --> 00:26:31.119 Am I doing this so I can see more people here than a year ago? 00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:36.879 And when a person in ministry gets to that place in their soul, they have made their 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:43.320 money bag into being a person that's respected, into being a person that's successful, right? 00:26:43.320 --> 00:26:47.240 And they're dropping change down weekend and week out and it's just falling empty on the 00:26:47.240 --> 00:26:48.240 ground. 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:49.240 Never fulfilled. 00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:50.240 Why? 00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:53.360 Because we're going to preach bad sermons. 00:26:53.360 --> 00:26:54.360 That's why. 00:26:54.360 --> 00:26:57.600 You know it'll never fulfill you because you're going to get up here one day and you're going 00:26:57.600 --> 00:26:58.800 to preach a terrible sermon. 00:26:58.800 --> 00:27:00.720 Of course. 00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:05.720 Always good music, sometimes okay preaching, right? 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:10.600 And if you live in whatever it is that you keep dropping your treasures into as your 00:27:10.600 --> 00:27:14.519 ultimate source of satisfaction, it will leave you empty. 00:27:14.519 --> 00:27:15.519 You are empty. 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:17.360 You're feeling it. 00:27:17.360 --> 00:27:18.360 Chasing and chasing and chasing. 00:27:18.360 --> 00:27:20.039 So finally, what do we do? 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:21.360 How do we change? 00:27:21.360 --> 00:27:25.480 Jesus not only talks to your mind and says you got to think. 00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:28.640 He not only gets down to the bottom of your heart and ask you, have you really looked 00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:30.740 at yourself? 00:27:30.740 --> 00:27:35.120 Because if you're not pulling the weeds of idolatry, they are always growing. 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:38.679 And then finally he says, now let me talk to your will. 00:27:38.679 --> 00:27:39.679 So what does he say? 00:27:39.679 --> 00:27:44.679 He says in verse 30, he says just after that, seek first the kingdom of God. 00:27:44.679 --> 00:27:45.679 So that's seek. 00:27:45.679 --> 00:27:48.759 That's a verb pointed at the will. 00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:50.119 You got to do something. 00:27:50.119 --> 00:27:51.119 Seek. 00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:53.919 Pursue the kingdom of God first. 00:27:53.919 --> 00:27:56.719 Above these little objects of devotion and worship. 00:27:56.719 --> 00:28:00.879 And let me just close by giving you four quick things you can do to do this. 00:28:00.879 --> 00:28:01.879 First. 00:28:01.880 --> 00:28:06.760 First is if you're going to seek the kingdom of God and fight the anxious thoughts in your 00:28:06.760 --> 00:28:09.480 life, find peace. 00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:13.520 First you got to see the truth about who you are. 00:28:13.520 --> 00:28:16.300 You got to let yourself be exposed. 00:28:16.300 --> 00:28:20.600 And in verse 30, he adds this little line, you know, don't you know friends that all 00:28:20.600 --> 00:28:22.600 the nations pursue these things? 00:28:22.600 --> 00:28:24.120 All the Gentiles pursue these things? 00:28:24.120 --> 00:28:27.960 He's in other words, he's saying, look, don't you know that everybody is out there doing 00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:30.600 the same thing? 00:28:30.599 --> 00:28:34.359 Putting objects in this life they think will satisfy them? 00:28:34.359 --> 00:28:35.359 That's what everybody does. 00:28:35.359 --> 00:28:39.719 In other words, he's saying the pagans do it, meaning it's the default. 00:28:39.719 --> 00:28:42.079 And you've got to know that is my default. 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:46.599 If you've not yet come to a place where you can register, it is my default to chase things 00:28:46.599 --> 00:28:48.519 in this life and love them more than God. 00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:50.399 He says you got to get there. 00:28:50.399 --> 00:28:51.399 You've got to be willing to say that. 00:28:51.399 --> 00:28:54.919 You got to be willing to say, I'm always sliding back to idolatry. 00:28:54.919 --> 00:28:58.039 I'm pulling weeds or the weeds are coming back. 00:28:58.039 --> 00:28:59.039 Always. 00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:02.200 He says, seek first the kingdom. 00:29:02.200 --> 00:29:11.279 The kingdom of God is his way of talking about God through Jesus gathering his people in 00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:18.599 his ultimate place, the new heavens and the new earth under his ultimate power with peace. 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:23.319 And he says here in other words that the only way you're going to fight, beat anxiety and 00:29:23.319 --> 00:29:29.279 bring peace into your life is if you seek to train your affections right now, it's been 00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:34.279 said many times, the only way to beat anxiety is by replacing whatever it is you love most 00:29:34.279 --> 00:29:38.039 with a greater thing to love, a bigger affection. 00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:43.679 Our dear friend, our forerunner in the free church, Thomas Chalmers in the 19th century 00:29:43.679 --> 00:29:47.480 wrote one little famous sermon that is the most famous thing that probably that's ever 00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:49.919 come out of our tradition. 00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:54.279 He called it the the explosive power of a new affection. 00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:58.759 And he says the only way that you're going to expel a power that does not fix you and 00:29:58.759 --> 00:30:06.960 satisfy you is to bring in a better affection, a new affection to replace your distorted 00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:10.680 objects of love with a greater object of love. 00:30:10.680 --> 00:30:15.039 And Jesus is saying that object of love has got to be the kingdom. 00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:20.920 God, his power, his reign, his people, the land that he is bringing, the peace that he 00:30:20.920 --> 00:30:21.920 offers. 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:31.200 Thirdly, Christmas, that means can be a time where you really feel the reality of those 00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:32.319 misplaced desires. 00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:35.960 You really feel pain and loss in the season quite often. 00:30:35.960 --> 00:30:40.559 Anxieties come up more than ever, maybe during Christmas time. 00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:46.159 And today to seek first the kingdom, and this is the most important thing, lift up your 00:30:46.159 --> 00:30:54.279 head, lift up the head that's down in the bottom of your soul and look and look at Jesus 00:30:54.279 --> 00:30:59.079 and know that he really is the mighty God and wonderful counselor. 00:30:59.079 --> 00:31:02.000 Meaning, look, you need a counselor today. 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:05.839 You need somebody to come alongside and walk with you through your fears. 00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:11.119 But you also need that very same person to be mighty God. 00:31:11.119 --> 00:31:12.720 You can have a good counselor in this life. 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:13.720 We need that. 00:31:13.720 --> 00:31:14.720 We all need that. 00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:18.199 We're recognizing more in our 21st century how much we need counseling. 00:31:18.199 --> 00:31:23.720 But all of our earthly counselors cannot be mighty God. 00:31:23.720 --> 00:31:29.480 And that's why Jesus is the wonderful counselor, not just another counselor. 00:31:29.480 --> 00:31:32.799 And you've got to lift up the eyes of your heart and see this, that is mighty God and 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:35.119 wonderful counselor. 00:31:35.119 --> 00:31:37.279 Look at the cross. 00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:40.839 Are you struggling with approval? 00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:45.439 Thinking if I lose this, I don't know if anybody's going to know me and love me. 00:31:45.439 --> 00:31:48.119 But lift up your eyes and look at the cross and realize that Jesus Christ, the Son of 00:31:48.119 --> 00:31:52.039 God came into this world to say, I know you, I see you, and I love you right through your 00:31:52.039 --> 00:31:54.039 son. 00:31:54.039 --> 00:31:56.399 You have approval. 00:31:56.399 --> 00:32:00.119 And look at the cross and realize, you know, do you think, I just want to be comfortable 00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:01.119 in this life. 00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:03.599 I just want pleasures all the time. 00:32:03.599 --> 00:32:05.079 He says to you, look, you've got to understand. 00:32:05.079 --> 00:32:10.759 The reality of sin and disease and death and know that at my right hand, there are pleasures 00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:11.759 forevermore. 00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:15.159 Put that away in this life. 00:32:15.159 --> 00:32:17.919 That's coming only in him. 00:32:17.919 --> 00:32:18.919 You want power. 00:32:18.919 --> 00:32:19.919 You want to mean something. 00:32:19.919 --> 00:32:22.079 You want to be a person that matters. 00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:24.399 You want to accomplish something in this life. 00:32:24.399 --> 00:32:30.960 He says to you, son and daughter, prince and princess, you will inherit the nations. 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:35.200 You will rule the land when he comes. 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:39.519 If you want control, there is nothing more freeing to lift up your eyes at the cross 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:42.799 and see at the moment that Jesus died, it was not an accident. 00:32:42.799 --> 00:32:44.920 God was in utter control. 00:32:44.920 --> 00:32:48.640 There's nothing more freeing than to let go of control in this life and to say, I'm just 00:32:48.640 --> 00:32:50.640 not in charge. 00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:51.920 This is God's world. 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:53.880 I'm not in charge. 00:32:53.880 --> 00:33:00.360 Look at the cross and realize God's immeasurable affection for you today and know that despite 00:33:00.359 --> 00:33:04.000 your idolatries, despite you running from him, despite the fact that you're anxious about 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:08.399 everything, God does not come and point his finger at you today. 00:33:08.399 --> 00:33:09.559 He comes with open arms. 00:33:09.559 --> 00:33:13.079 He comes with his hands out and says, fear not, little flock. 00:33:13.079 --> 00:33:15.039 Jesus Christ has died for you. 00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:16.359 The incarnation has happened. 00:33:16.359 --> 00:33:18.639 The light of the world has come. 00:33:18.639 --> 00:33:20.839 Peace is available to you. 00:33:20.839 --> 00:33:26.079 And then lastly, I think one way to conclude this is to say he's inviting us here to see 00:33:26.079 --> 00:33:31.679 that the meaning of life is much more than often what we make it in our day to day. 00:33:31.679 --> 00:33:37.480 And this Christmas, let me just invite you to re-initiate, to initiate for the first 00:33:37.480 --> 00:33:41.079 time maybe and ask yourself the question, what is the point of this life? 00:33:41.079 --> 00:33:46.559 Is not life more than chasing the stuff we chase after? 00:33:46.559 --> 00:33:50.839 And here's, if I could put this whole sermon, this whole, I think, passage into one sentence, 00:33:50.839 --> 00:33:55.480 this is it, and we'll close. 00:33:55.480 --> 00:34:05.079 The degree to which your ultimate love is pointed at something you can lose is the degree 00:34:05.079 --> 00:34:08.760 to which you will always be fearful. 00:34:08.760 --> 00:34:16.199 The degree to which your loves in this life are pointed at things you can lose is in proportion 00:34:16.199 --> 00:34:21.079 to how much fearfulness you will walk in. 00:34:21.079 --> 00:34:27.799 But if you make your ultimate love something that cannot be lost, you don't have to be 00:34:27.799 --> 00:34:32.799 afraid. 00:34:32.799 --> 00:34:37.119 Isaiah 55, why spend money on what is not bread? 00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:39.599 Here's God's invitation to you. 00:34:39.599 --> 00:34:42.440 Why spend your labor on what does not satisfy? 00:34:42.440 --> 00:34:49.799 Listen, listen to me, eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest affair 00:34:49.799 --> 00:34:50.799 forever. 00:34:50.800 --> 00:34:51.800 Let us pray. 00:34:51.800 --> 00:34:55.560 Father, we ask that you would give us peace. 00:34:55.560 --> 00:35:01.120 We just pray, Father, I pray for the anxious today and ask Lord Jesus, wonderful counselor, 00:35:01.120 --> 00:35:03.960 that you would bring peace in the lives of many this morning. 00:35:03.960 --> 00:35:11.039 We know that it's not a button that we press, that it's a long battle, and so we recognize 00:35:11.039 --> 00:35:12.039 that this morning. 00:35:12.039 --> 00:35:16.560 We ask that you would give us the tools to fight until Jesus comes again through the 00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:22.400 life of the mind and the heart and the will, Lord, point us ultimately to seeing the cross 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:25.440 and all that it means for the hope of peace. 00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:32.559 And so I pray over folks today who are very anxious and ask Lord Jesus, by the spirit 00:35:32.559 --> 00:35:35.000 that you would bless them with great peace. 00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:36.519 And we pray that in Jesus' name. 00:35:36.519 --> 00:35:46.519 Amen.