Father, we come to your word. You know, even this morning as we read your word, you know what heavy
burdens some of us are carrying. You know, Father, what heavy loads, what anxieties, maybe about
finances or about our marriage or about our singleness or, Father, you just, there's too many
to name, Father. You know that we, many of us are carrying very heavy loads and cares. And Father,
you also know that many of us are carrying cares and stresses that we're not even conscious of.
Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for Jesus. We ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit would
bring your word very deeply into the command center of our lives so that we would humble ourselves
under Jesus. And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. Please be seated.
So, I'm not going to say how long ago because it will make me sound really, really old. But
a few years ago, I started to develop very, very, apparently very, very serious heart problems.
I started to experience what it felt to me as if my heart was missing beats. And it would also seem as
if my heart was fluttering. And sometimes it would seem as if my heart was pounding too strong,
almost as if, I mean, those are contradictory symptoms. Not entirely contradictory, by the way,
when you talk to a doctor about it. And all of a sudden, their eyes go like this and they get very
concerned. But it would feel I'd have these, and I'd feel like I was having shortness of breath.
And so I went to my doctor. You know, I'm a typical guy. I worried about it for several months before I
finally told my wife. And my wife, of course, said, you better go see a doctor because those sound like
very, very serious conditions. And so I went to my doctor and he said, this could be very, very serious.
And he sent me, at the time we were living in Eganville, I was the minister there, and he sent me to the
the doctor, the specialist in Pembroke. And he was very concerned. In fact, he told me that I had to
stop exercising, and I had to wear a heart monitor. And he sent me as well for some tests. And after the
tests, he told me that he thought I had a very, very serious heart condition, that I had a valve that
wasn't working, and I had a diseased and enlarged heart. This is not the news you want to have.
When you are in your mid-30s, and you have a whole pile of young kids. And needless to say, I was very,
very, very worried about it. So I go back to my doctor in Eganville, because he's the one who's also
sort of, he wanted to see me and debrief me about the results. And my doctor in Eganville,
he, he, there was actually, there are only two people in Eganville who ran, me and my doctor.
Rural people don't run, as a general rule. And so my doctor, who was a runner, he was a bit suspicious
about the diagnosis. And so he called up the Heart Institute in Ottawa. And at the time in the Heart
Institute in Ottawa, there was a doctor who specialized. He had a, one of his subspecialties
was people who ran a lot, were very, very athletic, and also had heart trouble. Because at the time,
I was probably running about, I was probably running about 80 kilometers a week. So that's why it was
very shocking to find out that I had these, potentially a life-threatening heart condition
that could potentially kill me at any time. And so my doctor called up the Heart Institute,
found out that there was this doctor who had this subspecialty of people who had been not only
running like that a lot, but had been running for a long time. And because there's not too many of us
who do that, he took me almost immediately. I know for some of you, I've had to wait to see people in
the Heart Institute. I saw him within a week, I think it was, which is sort of like a bit of a miracle.
And so he put me through a whole pile of tests. And as a result of all of the tests,
he said that I had this condition, the name of which I can't remember. Maybe some of you would know
what it is. And basically, he said I had, in fact, my valve was fine. It was a faulty test in Pembroke.
And my heart condition was a result of accumulated and high stress.
Now, just before he told me that, I would have told you that I didn't experience stress.
I would have told you that I'm not an anxious person, that I'm a very calm person.
And so on one hand, it was a big shock to discover that my heart symptoms were meant that I had a
particular condition. He said that throughout the rest of your life, you might, some of these symptoms
might come. And he said, you should always have it tested out. But chances are, what's happened is
you're under a lot of stress and a lot of unconscious stress. And then he said, because we're in the,
he said he knew I came from Eganville. He said, you should take a couple of weeks off and go fishing.
Or you should talk to a counselor or something, or you just take some time off. You have to deal with your stress.
And on one level, it was a shock to discover that I was an anxious person,
that I was experiencing a lot of stress and didn't recognize it.
On the other hand, it was a huge relief to know that I wasn't about to die any moment from a heart attack.
And interestingly enough, my stress level went like in half, just as I was walking out of the hospital
after he told me that I didn't have a condition.
So the fact is, this was, the part of the thing which is so crazy about this whole incident
was that I actually have a counseling degree.
I know people wonder, why aren't I nicer?
But I actually have a graduate level degree in counseling.
And one of the things you learn in counseling is how powerful and destructive stress can be in your lives,
a person's life, but I didn't recognize it in my own life.
And the fact is, often when people come to me because they have some type of problem,
one of the things, depending on what the problem is,
one of the things I start to ask them questions about is to see if, in fact,
what's happening is that there's a lot of stress that's going on in their lives that they don't recognize.
Because it's a very common problem.
We have a lot of things that cause us stress, that cause us anxiety, that cause us care, cause us worry.
And believe it or not, a lot of us don't experience it directly.
We experience it indirectly, and part of the way we deal with it is through very, very bad things.
We drink.
We go shopping, which isn't necessarily a bad thing,
but it is if you spend money with your credit card that you don't have.
And that actually ends up causing, of course, more stress,
just like drinking ends up causing you more stress.
Or you watch pornography, or you get involved in some type of risky behavior.
In other words, often what we end up doing without realizing it is we try to numb
or run away from the terrible burden of stress and anxiety,
which we might not even be directly conscious of.
So, it's a very, very common problem.
It's a very destructive thing.
And believe it or not, the Bible has something profoundly wise to say about it.
So, if you would open your Bible...
Actually, you don't have to open it.
Well, open your Bibles because you might want to underline it.
But, Andrew, if you could put the text up on the screen.
And, by the way, this is another one of those sermons.
And the point of this sermon is you remember the verse, not my story,
or some other things I'm going to say about trying to unpack this text.
This is a profound text to memorize and to think upon and to learn how to pray.
If you go back, I think it's in the bulletin, and if you got an email about it,
I've turned this verse into a prayer that you could pray for yourself.
Or you can just take...
It's called In Growing in Grace.
Or you can just try to memorize this text and then learn to pray for it yourself.
And just one other thing.
Here's a bit of a teaching moment.
You'll see how it says it's 1 Peter 5, 5c to 7.
And sometimes you see things like A, B, or C, or a D even after a verse.
What that means is that in verse 5, there's at least three parts.
And we're not memorizing or looking at all of verse 5, just the last bit, which I call 5c.
That's what the little letter to a verse, that's what it means.
And originally I asked you just to memorize 1 Peter 5, 6, and 7.
But as soon as I started to work on the text, I realized if you just look up there,
say the second line, the therefore.
The therefore means it's following something that was said earlier.
And so I had to put it in the text.
And that's how I've memorized it.
So if you would join with saying this with me, that would be really, really good.
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God,
so that at the proper time he may exalt you.
Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
It's a very, very, very powerful verse.
And, you know, it's...
So that first little bit up there, see that?
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
And you'll notice...
Actually, it's entirely right up there on the screen.
It's missing bigger quote marks.
But anyway, that first little bit, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
That's a quote from the book of Proverbs.
I think it's...
I don't have it in my...
I'm writing in my preaching notes here, but I think it's Proverbs 330.
And that's a description of God.
You've heard me say, not for a little while,
that I do not believe in the God that Canadians believe in.
I don't.
In terms of Canadians, when they talk about God, I'm an atheist.
But I believe in the God that's revealed by Jesus.
I believe in the God that's revealed in the Bible.
That's the God I believe in, not the God that most Canadians believe in.
And this verse, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
That's a quote from the book of Proverbs.
It's a description, one of the New Testament descriptions,
because it's also in the Old Testament, of what God...
Who is God?
And it's a very, very, very profound description of God.
In the original language, it's the word opposes and the word gives grace
are both in the present tense.
It means that when Christians, when Jewish people were reading this maybe 2,500, 2,800 years ago,
at that very moment that they were reading that verse,
the God who really does exist opposed the proud and gave grace to the humble.
It means that when Peter wrote this to the Christians in the late 50s or the early 60s,
it meant at that very moment, the God that really does exist opposed the proud
and was giving grace to the humble.
It means that right now, as I read this text, the God that really does exist
is a God who opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.
And it's a very, very powerful text, because one of the common complaints about religion
is that often, more often than not, God is used to prop up the powerful.
God is used to legitimize those in positions of power.
One of my people that I have, one of my friends that I have very regular conversations with,
who's a very, very committed atheist,
and he loves to tell me stories,
and he has a particular fascination with the Orthodox Church.
He loves to tell me stories of the most recent excess of Putin giving expensive gifts
to the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church,
because he uses the Russian Orthodox Church to prop up his power and popularity.
And my friend loves to tell me the latest terrible thing that's gone on there.
I don't know if I've shared this with you.
After he'd done this, because I'm really slow at responding to things,
after he'd said this several times, I said to him one day,
well, you know, not all Christians are like that.
I said, we, because we believe the gospel, we walked away from our building
and walked away from our property to follow Jesus.
And he paused and said, yeah, but you folks are different.
And just as a compliment from an atheist to the congregation,
that we would walk away from our property rather than doing whatever we could to keep it.
But it's a very, very common complaint about religion
by people who are non-Christians or just who would say that they have no religion whatsoever.
And in fact, it's historically true that often, in fact,
religion and spirituality is used to prop up the powerful,
is used to oppress the weak.
It is used for that purpose all of the time.
And you see, that's one of the reasons why it's important for us to learn
that we don't believe in the God or the gods of this world,
but we believe in the God who is revealed by Jesus,
who is made known by Jesus.
And the God that really does exist is not a God who says to Putin,
I'm going to do everything I can to make you more powerful.
I'm going to do everything I can to make you more proud
and have a higher opinion of yourself.
I'm going to do everything I can to help you look down on others
and have an exalted view of yourself.
No, that's not the God that does exist.
The God that does exist is God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
That's the God that really does exist.
And if he exists, if that God really does exist,
the same fellow who is my friend,
who likes to tell me stories of the latest excess
of the Russian Orthodox Church,
or he'll also say something about the Roman Catholics or evangelicals.
I mean, he has a particular interest in the Russian Orthodox Church,
but he'll pick any Christian.
And he asked me on Friday what my sermon was about,
and I told him it was this verse,
and he said,
Ah, God is just a social construct.
It's just something we human beings have invented.
You're not going to give the congregation good advice.
He said,
What matters is the journey,
not the end.
It's not some end in God.
What matters is the journey.
I said to him,
because I have an odd relationship with him,
I said,
You know, that can't be true.
You don't believe that.
And he said,
I do.
It's not, the end doesn't matter.
I said,
Well, surely it makes a difference
if you're driving to the cottage
than if you're in a train
to the gas ovens in Auschwitz.
Surely the end matters a lot in that journey.
And I said to him,
If your end is just death,
and if the end is just the death of all things,
don't you think that makes some difference
to how you live your life now?
To which he had no reply,
but you can pray for him, my friend.
I pray for him almost every day.
But if, in fact,
God is just a social construct
used to prop up the powerful,
then thinking about God
in terms of your anxiety
isn't going to help you at all.
Because, in fact,
one of the main problems,
one of the main ways
that the world deals with anxiety
is to tell you to just imagine things.
It's a technique to visualize success,
to visualize,
you know, if you're,
what's that,
I don't know if they still tell you that,
the old,
I don't know,
if it's just like a bit of an urban myth
that if you're speaking in front of a crowd
and you're going to be nervous,
just imagine them all naked
and you'll be less nervous.
I mean,
in fact,
often the world's advice
to dealing with anxiety
is to just imagine something.
And if, in fact,
God is just a part of our imagination,
then that's,
I mean,
that's not very,
at the end of the day,
it's not really helpful advice
just to imagine things
that aren't real,
that are not in front of you.
But if, in fact,
God does exist,
and if, in fact,
the God that does exist
is described by this sentence,
God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble,
there has to be some therefores
in terms of how we live our lives.
I think one of the attitudes
that I wrote in the Growing in Grace,
if you look at it later,
and I,
in fact,
after my friend said about it's,
it's,
you know,
God is just a social construct,
I said to him,
if, in fact,
I showed him the quote,
I'm going to get it slightly wrong,
I should have written it down in my notes,
if God really does exist,
the God described here really does exist,
then to live in light of that God's existence
is to actually live in the real world.
If God does exist,
and you live your life as if God doesn't exist,
you're not actually living in the real world.
And if God,
the God described here,
is the God that really does exist,
there's going to be a therefore.
So,
why don't we say this verse together again,
I mean,
you're all looking at it,
but can you say it out loud with me again?
God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves,
therefore,
under the mighty hand of God
so that the proper time
he may exalt you,
casting all your anxieties on him
because he cares for you.
In the original language,
for reasons of English style,
they move the therefore
to after humble yourselves,
but in the original language,
the therefore is immediate.
It would be,
God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble,
therefore,
humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God
so that the proper time
he may exalt you,
casting all your anxieties on him
because he cares for you.
The way the world in Canada
would help us to deal with stress,
I mean,
there's some good things in it,
by the way.
They understand
that you need to be active
in dealing with it,
but that you have to,
they'll often give you good advice
that you have to walk towards your stress
rather than away from your stress,
which is good advice,
but often a lot of the advice
that the world gives
is either find some way to numb
or medicate
or soothe your stress,
like take up meditation,
learn how to chant a mantra
while you do some yoga
as a way of calming yourself,
but that's actually not,
I mean,
that's just the advice.
The other type of advice
is to,
is basically to pump yourself up,
so you,
you,
you learn how to meditate
or medicate yourself
so that the stress
gets a little bit lower,
and then you work at different things
about how to pump yourself up.
You can do it.
You deserve it.
You're,
you're powerful.
You are able.
Visualize success.
But if,
in fact,
and in a sense,
often the advice of the world
is to become more proud.
And if,
in fact,
there is a God that does exist
who opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble,
some of the advice of the world
will actually only be making
the problem worse
rather than better.
But some of you might say,
whoa,
George,
like,
humble yourself.
Good grief.
Do you know what the world is like?
Do you know how dog-eat-dog
the office is?
Do you know,
you know,
George,
do you know what it's like
in certain social circles
in terms of,
of just trying to,
to get ahead?
Like,
George,
your advice to humble yourself
and to be weak,
that's,
like,
that just doesn't make any sense.
That's not how the world works.
Well,
if you look at the verse again,
one of the things which is very clear about the text,
if you start to think about it,
is that humble doesn't mean weak.
This text,
God knows what the world is like.
He knows what your social circle is like.
He knows what your office is like.
Nothing in your life will surprise God.
He knows all about it.
And,
um,
the text doesn't say,
make yourself weak.
Humble doesn't say,
isn't saying,
make yourself weak,
put a shirt on that says,
kick me,
please.
Uh,
it's not saying,
put on a shirt that says,
I am a doormat that you can wipe your feet on.
It's not telling you to be passive.
And it's not telling you to tell yourself lies,
as if trying to pretend that you're stupid when you're smart is,
uh,
is what humility is.
Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God,
so that at the right time,
he may exalt you,
casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.
Humble yourself means to come to an acknowledgement,
amongst other things,
that you can't deal with all of these problems by yourself.
But it doesn't mean,
therefore,
you're screwed.
It means that you are to remember as a Christian,
that there is a God who saved you,
that you are in fact coming to God who is greater than you,
who loves you.
And you're bringing to him these particular problems,
acknowledging his sovereignty.
It's not saying,
uh,
Lord,
I'm really,
really stupid and can't do math.
So help me with calculus too.
I mean,
maybe that's,
you're not worried about calculus too,
because you're good at math or you,
whatever.
It's just,
the text is pointing you towards God when you have your anxiety,
in terms of being honest with him about what exactly is going on that's causing you the anxiety.
That's the powerful thing about the text.
But some people might say,
George,
okay,
I'm going to try to get my mind around what this advice is,
but George,
don't you think that this is actually a bit of a frightening image,
not a comforting image?
Like,
George,
isn't it saying,
humble yourself under the mighty hand of God?
As if God has this big,
clenched fist
that will bang and beat you into submission,
and you need to recognize that God has this big,
angry fist,
his mighty hand,
and you have to humble yourself under that.
Doesn't that,
in fact,
the whole image,
George,
doesn't the,
isn't the image sort of contradictory?
I had a very angry father.
And they definitely believed in corporal punishment.
In fact,
just about everything could be solved with lots of spanking.
When my mom could no longer hit us hard enough to make us cry,
my dad made a specially designed stick for her
so that she could hit us with the stick
to discipline us and make us cry.
He,
he got the right type of wood.
He spent a long time crafting it
so that it had a nice grip that fit my mother's hand
and was of the right type of light wood
so she could move it quickly.
And he had it,
he,
he worked with the wood
so that it flared out and went narrow
so that it could hit nice and broad
and really hard
and really hurt you.
And,
for many people who've grown up under abuse,
this potentially is a very,
very,
very hard image.
Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.
But I'm going to explain
what the mighty hand of God means in a moment.
Andrew,
could you put up the image?
But just before I describe what the humble,
what the mighty hand of God is,
this is actually a far better image to think of.
It's a famous picture by Anne Geddes.
Amen.
You see,
the phrase,
the mighty hand of God
is used
almost exclusively in the Old Testament
to describe God
redeeming his people from slavery.
It's an Old Testament reference
to the fact that God
deals with tyrants
and oppressors
to deliver his people
from slavery
and to call them
into a relationship
with him
where they will be protected
by his power
and will become free
and that they will know
that they are his precious
possession
and treasure.
That's what the mighty hand of God means
in the Old Testament.
And so,
for us as Christians,
if you read through the whole book
of 1 Peter,
you'll see that Peter
has several very,
very powerful
and moving descriptions
of what it was
that Jesus
does for us
on the cross.
That,
for Christians,
the whole story
of the Exodus
is both something
that happened
in time
and history
and space
which is completely
and utterly true,
but it also points
to this far greater
Exodus,
this far greater
act of deliverance,
this far greater
mighty hand of God
acting to reveal
not just the people
of Israel
but everybody
who puts their faith
and trust in him.
The mighty hand of God
is revealed
when God,
the Son of God,
sets his side,
his glory
and splendor
and divine prerogatives
and all of his appearance
is God
and he is actually
willing to,
by remaining
fully human
to take into himself
our human nature
and be humble
to the point
of being born,
of being placed
in the womb
of the Virgin Mary
and be born
and live a humble life,
a life in complete
dependence upon God
and complete obedience
to God
and then he continues
to humble himself
by dying on the cross
and Christians
understand
that when Jesus
is dying upon the cross
he's doing
two things for us.
He is dying
in our stead
and so that
every claim
of demand,
every demand
of justice,
everything that we
have ever done wrong,
that we deserve
some type of punishment
or accounting for,
every single thing
that has ever gone on
in our lives
where we,
there is a proper demand
for some type
of justice.
Jesus deals
with all of that
as he dies
on the cross
for us.
And when we put
our faith and trust
in Jesus,
we discover
that not only
when we put
our hands in his,
that he was condemned
for us,
he died for us,
by his wounds
we are healed,
that he does
everything to deal
with all of the wrong
that we've done,
he deals with that
completely,
not only the justice
that would unmake
you and me,
he says,
George,
let me bear
what will unmake you
and I will do this
because I love you.
And not only that,
his perfect life
of obedience
will stand for us
so that for us
as Christians
when we understand
the mighty hand of God
we not only think
of all of the times
in the Old Testament
when God delivered
his people
but preeminently
we look
at Jesus'
death upon the cross
that he humbled himself
to the point of death
and tasting all there is
to taste of death
that you and I
might be free.
The doom
that you and I deserved
fell on him.
The destiny
that he deserved
is offered
to you and me.
Could you put
the scripture text
back up?
So when this text says
God opposes the proud
but gives grace
to the humble.
Humble yourselves
therefore under
the mighty hand of God
so that the proper time
he may exalt you
casting all your anxieties
on him
because he cares for you.
Notice what it's saying.
It's saying
humble yourself
under Jesus.
It's not saying
humble yourself
under the proud.
Humble yourself
under the tyrants.
Humble yourself
under the powerful.
Humble yourself
under the aggressors.
Humble yourself
under the violent.
It's not saying
humble yourself
under any of these things.
It's saying
humble yourself.
Willingly come to Jesus
and be willing
to accept him
as your savior and Lord.
Understanding that
he is God.
Come to him
with all of your cares,
all of your burdens,
all of your worries.
Understanding that
he alone is the one
who will justify you.
He is the one
who will make you
right with God.
He is the one
who is life.
He is the one
who is health.
He is the one
who will feed you
and care for you.
You humble yourself
under him.
This is a bit of a side.
One of the reasons
that we know
that the world's advice
doesn't work
is that everybody
ends up being humbled.
Death humbles us all.
We might not want
to be humbled under death,
but not only death,
failure.
Everyone fails.
Age,
if we live long enough,
those of us
who are getting older,
age humbles us,
doesn't it?
Can't do what we used to do.
Mind doesn't work
as well as it used to work.
Everyone will be humbled.
Christians alone
are invited
to understand
that the God
who really does exist,
the real God
of the real universe,
that he always
opposes the proud
and gives grace
to the humble.
And so,
he gives grace
to those who
humble themselves
coming to Jesus
saying,
Jesus,
you alone
will make me right
with God.
You alone.
I cannot,
I have so much pride
in my life.
I have so much
self-centeredness
in my life.
I have so much
things in my life,
so much self-preoccupation
in my life.
I can't leave myself
to save myself.
Only you can save me.
I come to you
that you might save me.
And the text is saying,
humble yourselves
under the mighty hand
of God,
under Jesus Christ crucified,
so that at the proper time
he may exalt you,
casting all your anxieties
on him
because he cares for you.
You see,
how do I humble myself
before God?
The text gives me
a very,
very clear thing.
I humble myself
under God's mighty hand
by casting
all my anxieties
on him.
The cross reminds me
that Jesus cares for me,
that he loves me.
It tells me that
the world might forget
that I exist.
The world might no longer
take any notice of me,
but Jesus always remembers me
because I am his
and he will never abandon me.
He will never let me go.
He will never leave me.
And when it says
that he will exalt us
at the right time,
that's not just
some sort of dodge.
It's saying that
it's actually like
an end time word
that no matter what happens
on this side of the grave,
the fact of the matter is
is that when we put our faith
and trust in Jesus,
when we come to him
with our cares and anxieties,
the one thing that we can be
absolutely certain about
is that Jesus will return.
And when Jesus will return
and when there is
the end of all things,
the word that all creation
will hear about you and me
when we put our faith
and trust in Jesus
is well done,
my good and faithful servant.
Well done,
my beloved child.
Come to me and live with me
and be with me forever.
I have longed once again
to walk with you
in the garden
in the cool of the day.
So this text is saying
that one of the main ways
that we humble ourselves
is to learn to cast
all our anxieties
and worries
on Jesus.
One of the things I do sometimes
when I start to
maybe just realize
my mind's going in places
that it shouldn't be going
or that I'm just
really feeling depressed
or I'm really feeling down
or I can just even
very directly feel
that I'm starting
to get very anxious.
One of the things I do
and I encourage you
to consider doing it
is I say,
sit down at a desk
and get out a piece of paper
and I know that's
old-fashioned for people
but you get a pen
and a piece of paper
and just say to Father,
maybe even pray this prayer.
Say,
read this text
and say,
Jesus,
I'm coming to you right now.
I'm humbling myself.
I come to you.
I want you to be my Savior.
I want you to be my Lord
and I thank you
that at the proper time,
at the right time,
you will fit me
for the new heaven
and the new earth
and that is my final home
and Lord,
I ask now,
I want to live this verse.
I want to cast
all my anxieties on you
and so Lord,
could you reveal to me
all those loads
and burdens
and worries
that I am carrying
and so say
some simple prayer.
It doesn't have to be
as long as that.
It might just even be
read this verse
and then just say,
Jesus, help me
and then just write down
on a piece of paper
one by one
all of the different things
that are worrying you
and I encourage you
if you do this
to write down
really, really big things.
You know,
I'm worried
because my credit card debt
is at $40,000.
I'm worried
because I think
I'm going to get fired.
I'm worried
because I think
my marriage is in trouble.
Like, write down big ones.
But write down
every aspect of it
and write down
even the smallest things.
I'm worried about
getting my laundry done.
Like, write down
all your anxieties.
There's this old hymn,
Count Your Blessings,
Name Them One By One
and it will surprise you
what the Lord has done.
This is sort of like
the opposite of it.
Count your worries,
name them one by one
and it will surprise you
how many worries you have.
Sometimes I've done this
and it takes
two or three pages
of stuff
that I've actually
written down
because going into it
it was as if
all these worries
and all these anxieties
and all these cares
it's sort of as if
it buzzes around
in your head
and buzzes around
in your heart
and you can't even
keep them straight.
So you put them all down.
I'm aging.
My weight.
My money.
My relationships.
The unkind,
the email
that I got
the other day
that just seems
to be so mean
like write them
all down.
Write every single
one down
until you cannot
possibly think of
even the tiniest
one that's left
and then say to Jesus,
Jesus,
these are the anxieties
and the worries
that I have
and I want,
I'm giving them
to you.
I'm giving them
to you.
May you guide
and provide
for me
but I give
them to you.
And I'm not
going to say
to you that
magically you're
going to feel
better
although every time
I have done it
I have felt
better just
getting it off
and giving it
to Jesus.
And the thing
is that when you
do something
like this
the text doesn't
say that God
is magically
going to take
all of your
problems away.
but it's amazing
when you ask
the Lord
you put them
all down
and you ask
him to guide
and provide
how often
it helps you
to be able
to walk
towards some
of those things
and be able
to deal with it
or just to be able
to have a bit
of a more honest
conversation with Jesus
for what's going
on in your life
and how you need
his help to guide
and direct you
to what to do.
And when I'm
going through
periods of
great stress
I might have
to do that
every day.
And here's
how the devil
works.
The devil
will say
George you're
really being
immature
you just
did that
yesterday
you don't
have to
do it
today.
But you have
to say
to the devil
shut up.
Like don't
listen to the
devil think
of the text.
It doesn't
say here
gosh George
if you have
to do this
two days
in a row
are you ever
a loser?
That's what
the text says.
It says
humble yourself
George.
Humble yourself.
And there are
some times in our
lives when we
are so filled
with anxiety
we might have
to do this
more than
every day.
We might have
to do it
several times
a day because
the worries
start to once
again flood in
and carry us
down and bear
us down.
And this text
is saying that
one of the
primary ways
that we
humble ourselves
is to cast
all of our
anxieties
plural
onto Jesus
remembering who
Jesus is.
He is God's
mighty hand
to save me.
God so loved
the world
that he gave
his one and
only son
to the end
that all who
believe in him
will not perish
but have
eternal life.
And one of
the things
which I'm
very slowly
learning is
that anxiety
amongst other
things is God
knocking on the
door of my
heart saying
George I
exist.
I am mighty
to save.
Come to me.
Give me your
cares and your
worries and lay
them on me.
I am big
enough to handle
them.
And you
will find rest
for your
soul.
Lay your
cares and
anxieties on
me and allow
me to walk
with you as
you walk
towards them
to deal
with them.
Humble
yourself
Sinclair
to list
them and
give them
to me so
that we
might walk
towards them
together.
Your anxiety
is God
knocking at
the door of
your heart
to remember
that Jesus
is your
Savior and
your Lord
and he is
strong and
mighty to
save and
that he will
give you
rest.
Please stand.
let's just
bow our heads
in prayer.
Father,
some of us
here are
under great
stress and
they were
like me and
often still
like me that
they're not
even aware of
the great
stress that
they're under.
maybe
their best
friends or
their boss
or their
husband or
their wife
or their
boyfriend or
their girlfriend
can see that
we're under
great stress
but we can't
see it
ourselves.
So Father,
we ask that
the Holy Spirit
would gently
but powerfully
move in our
lives to help
us, Father,
to recognize
how much
anxiety and
stress that
we're carrying.
Father,
some of us
need this work
of your Holy
Spirit in our
lives.
And others
of us,
Father,
know we're
under great
stress right
now.
And we ask,
Father,
that you would
bring this
word,
your word,
and you would
write it in
our heart,
that it would
become a
habit of how
we live,
that we would
remember that
you oppose the
proud but give
grace to the
humble,
that we would
remember that
we are to
come to Jesus
remembering who
he is,
and we are to
humble ourselves
by casting all
of our anxieties,
even the ones
which seem so
silly,
that if we
told our
friend that
we were
worried about
it,
they'd laugh
at us.
But,
Father,
we know that
Jesus will
not laugh at
us,
that he wants
us,
that you want
us to cast
all of our
anxieties and
cares,
no matter how
immature,
no matter how
tiny,
no matter how
big,
that you desire
us to cast
them all on
you.
And,
Father,
we thank you
for Jesus.
We thank you
that he knows
us.
We thank you
that he knows
that we deal
with anxiety.
We thank you
that he wants
to bear them
for us.
We thank you
that he wants
to walk with
us towards
our problems
and deal
with them.
Father,
thank you for
Jesus.
Write this
word in our
heart.
And we ask
this in Jesus'
name.
Amen.