WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.000 I'm going to say what is probably the biggest cliche in the history of cliches, but life is short. 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:19.000 ! As a minister every year I get to lead a lot of funerals. 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:25.000 And among the different things that a minister does, I find that one of the most awesome privileges. 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:31.000 Every time it comes up, I can think, who am I to stand up at that moment, at the end of somebody's life that has been lived, 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:42.000 whoever they are, however old or young they've been, and it's just an awesome, awesome privilege to be around at such a moment and to take that role. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:52.000 But one thing that it does in my own mind is it reminds me over and over again that life is just so short. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:01:03.000 It's difficult to fulfil that function, if I can use that word in relation to the role, but in such a repeated way, 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:09.000 and not be continually reminded that life is so short. 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:16.000 And that each generation comes and goes. 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:27.000 And if you ever go to a cemetery and you look at a particular large one and you see all the different graves, the gravestones that are there, 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:34.000 it's difficult not to be in that environment and not be reminded, to be in that environment and not be reminded of that reality. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:41.000 Life is short and each generation comes and we go. 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:47.000 Now, forgive me if on a Sunday morning, and on a sunny one as well, that might sound a bit bleak. 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:49.000 It's really not meant to sound bleak. 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:59.000 But if we're to properly grasp the good news of the gospel, and that is what the gospel is, that's what the Christian message is, it's good news. 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:06.000 Absolutely first and last, right the way through, the best piece of news that you can ever encounter. 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:09.000 It is transformational. 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:18.000 And if we're really going to grasp that, the only way we can do so is to be honest about reality. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:22.000 Brutally honest about reality. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:27.000 Otherwise, otherwise we're sweeping reality under the carpet. 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:38.000 And when Jesus came into the world, and all the stories and his teachings that we have recorded, that is exactly what Jesus does. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:41.000 And he does it especially in this parable. 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:46.000 He grasps that nettle. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:49.000 There's no apology for sounding bleak. 00:02:49.000 --> 00:03:02.000 He's brutally honest with reality, because that is the only way that the good news of the gospel, and everything that is so wonderful about it, can really properly land. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:12.000 Now, it wasn't uncommon in the first century for people to take their unsettled disputes to their rabbi. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:14.000 And that's what happens now. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:17.000 This guy comes up, we don't know anything about his backstory. 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:24.000 Clearly, there's a family dispute going on over inheritance, and he wants Jesus to sort it out. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:32.000 But Jesus refuses to get mixed up in anyone's personal financial disputes here. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:48.000 But, out of the request came the opportunity for Jesus to address what the attitude of any Christian disciple should be. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:59.000 He takes it as an opportunity to speak into the human drive towards money and possessions. 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:11.000 And at this point, it's helpful, perhaps, to be reminded of some words written about 1500 years after Jesus, but inspired by Jesus. 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:15.000 Words from John Calvin, who said, 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:28.000 The human mind is a factory of idols, constantly elevating created things above our Creator. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:44.000 And that is precisely what Jesus is speaking into, those habits of the human mind, to elevate those things which are the things that have been created, above the Creator that gives those things to us. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:48.000 Let's think a bit about that drive. 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:55.000 What is it in us as human beings that drives us towards money and towards possessions? 00:04:55.000 --> 00:05:00.000 Firstly, it could be power. 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:06.000 Or rather, that quest for something that's in us that just likes to impress others. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:12.000 There's a story about a freshly minted lieutenant in the army. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:18.000 And he's really keen to impress the very first private that walks into his office. 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:20.000 So he hears somebody knock on the door. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:27.000 He grabs his phone, his landline phone, and says, 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:28.000 Yes, come in! 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:33.000 And the private comes in, and he says, over the phone, pretends that he's having a conversation with his general. 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:34.000 And he says, 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:35.000 Yes, general! 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:36.000 Thank you, general! 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:37.000 You can count on me, general! 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:38.000 Thank you! 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:39.000 Slams the phone down. 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:40.000 Turns to the private and says, 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:41.000 What can I do for you? 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:43.000 He says, I've just come to connect your phone. 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:48.000 Let's be honest with ourselves. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:50.000 Let's be brutally honest with ourselves. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:54.000 There's something in us that likes to impress. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:57.000 We've just got that promotion. 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:59.000 Or we've just been given that bit of recognition. 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:01.000 Or whatever. 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:07.000 It's something about us that perhaps just likes others to know about that. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:14.000 And maybe that may exist in different humans to a greater extent or a much smaller extent. 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:17.000 But it's part of what it is to be human. 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:25.000 Maybe it's that craving just to be recognized, that craving for connection, that just gets distorted along the way. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:28.000 Whatever it is. 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:34.000 Sometimes, it's messed up within all of that sense of craving because money so often creates power. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:36.000 Maybe that's what drives it sometimes. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:40.000 But it may not be that. 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:46.000 Another thing to think about is entitlement. 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:53.000 That sense within us that just locks on to a sense of, well, I deserve this. 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:54.000 I should have this. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:59.000 Again, I remember the story of two friends that met up. 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:02.000 And one of them said to the other, you don't look very happy. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:03.000 He said, well, no. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:13.000 He said, I got this letter about a month ago from a solicitor that I don't know about a family member that I'd never even heard of. 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:14.000 A distant relative. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:18.000 And it's taken them years to trace me. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:22.000 But apparently this distant relative has just recently died. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:24.000 He said, I'm sorry to hear that. 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:28.000 He said, yeah, well, apparently they were quite rich. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:31.000 And, well, they chose to leave me. 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:34.000 Well, they chose to leave me £100,000. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:35.000 Wow. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:38.000 And you'd never met them before? 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:39.000 No. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.000 Well, I'm sorry to hear of the bereavement there, even though you'd never actually met them before. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:48.000 But, you know, you're £100,000 up a month ago. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:51.000 He said, yeah, well, that's not the end of the story. 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:53.000 He said, well, what else has happened? 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:57.000 Well, two weeks later, I get another letter from a different solicitor. 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:58.000 You wouldn't believe this. 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:03.000 From another relative that I'd never even heard of, who has also recently died. 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:06.000 I said, yeah, what happened? 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:09.000 He said, well, it turns out that they were even richer. 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:10.000 I said, really? 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:13.000 He said, they've left me half a million pounds. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:14.000 Wow. 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:17.000 He said, sorry, I don't quite understand. 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:20.000 You've had these two letters over the last month. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:22.000 Why are you looking so upset? 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:26.000 He said, well, two weeks have passed and I haven't had anything this week. 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:32.000 That sense of entitlement can be a real reality. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:40.000 When we receive anything for long enough, we start to feel entitled to it. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:44.000 Think about that for a moment. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.000 Think about what that might mean and what that might look like in your own life. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:52.000 When you have been received of something for long enough, it becomes absorbed. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:59.000 You begin to feel that it's part of you, that almost it's part of your definition that, well, that's been mine. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:02.000 It always has been mine and therefore I'm entitled to it. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:09.000 If we have something long enough, entitlement can set in. 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:22.000 Of course, on the other hand, there is, I'm just trying to paint this picture of this drive that exists as part of human nature towards accumulation of wealth and stuff. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:28.000 There's what we could just call plain old fashioned selfishness. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:39.000 I think it was years ago, one of the broadsheets said, write in, write in to, in response to this question, what is wrong with the world? 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:42.000 Huge wide open question. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:45.000 And I think, don't quote me, I think it was GK Chesterton. 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:49.000 It was somebody like that, if it wasn't GK Chesterton. 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:54.000 I think it was GK Chesterton, wrote in and said, sir, you ask, what is wrong with the world? 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:58.000 The answer is, I am. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:11.000 That biblical claim that there is nobody who is perfect, that every single one of us falls short of the glory of God. 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:15.000 It's so powerfully true. 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:20.000 There is within all of us that selfish instinct. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.000 And if we deny it, then we are just denying reality. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:34.000 There is something within every human being that has ever lived, except for Jesus, because Jesus is God and human. 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:45.000 But within every single human being that has ever lived, there is within us that bias, even though, even though we know what is right. 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:50.000 And even though we know what is the right thing to do and what is good and what is real and what is true. 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:59.000 No matter how much we know what the right course of action may be, it doesn't take away that instinct, that drive in us to just go for the self. 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:01.000 What the Bible calls sin. 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:07.000 Sin is not so much the stuff that we do, but rather the thing that exists within the human heart. 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:13.000 That drive, that drive for the self. 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:20.000 And where such motives are self-centered, Jesus is quite blunt about this in this parable. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:28.000 You see, the rich fool in this parable that he tells wouldn't see beyond his own little world. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:33.000 Let me just read back the parable itself. 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:43.000 And just take note of how many times I or my or mine or myself occur. 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:47.000 They actually occur more times than in any other parable that Jesus told. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:48.000 Listen to this. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:51.000 He told them this parable. 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:56.000 The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:12:02.000 He thought to himself, what shall I do? 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:06.000 I have no place to store my crops. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:10.000 Then he said, this is what I'll do. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:15.000 I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones. 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:19.000 And there I will store my surplus grain. 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:25.000 And I will say to myself, you have plenty of grain laid up for many years. 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:27.000 Take life easy. 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:29.000 Eat, drink and be merry. 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:43.000 Or get the message translation or message paraphrase, if you like, of this passage. 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:45.000 Then he told them this story. 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:49.000 The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:52.000 He talked to himself, what can I do? 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:55.000 My barn isn't big enough for this harvest. 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:57.000 Then he said, here's what I'll do. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:12:59.000 I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:02.000 Then I'll gather in all my grain and goods. 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:06.000 And I'll say to myself, self, you've done well. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:10.000 You've got it made and can now retire. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:15.000 Take it easy and have the time of your life. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:26.000 One commentator says, there's just too much ego in this guy's cosmos. 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:31.000 We should all confront ourselves with that question. 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:33.000 With that challenge. 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:39.000 How much does the I, the me and the my come up within our own thought patterns? 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:49.000 All of us, whoever we are and wherever we are and whenever we are, need to be tuned into that. 00:13:49.000 --> 00:14:00.000 But especially when we live in an affluent town, where affluence is normalized. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:06.000 But there is another form of that drive behind money. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:07.000 There's selfishness. 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:10.000 There can be that sense of wanting to impress. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:13.000 There can be a sense of self-entitlement and all of that. 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:18.000 But I want to suggest that perhaps there's something else that is part of our humanity still, 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:22.000 which may not necessarily be to do with being selfish as such. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:27.000 And may not really necessarily even be to do with greed or anything like that. 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:31.000 Where perhaps we might not consider ourselves at all materialistic. 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:36.000 But nevertheless, there's something of that drive that lies within us, 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:39.000 which I think Jesus is trying to talk into. 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:44.000 Sorry, Jesus is talking into when he tells this parable. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:56.000 And that has to do not so much with greed or selfishness, but with fear. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:03.000 And it's important to name that because it's an important part of understanding our human brokenness. 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:10.000 You see, money promises security and peace of mind. 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:19.000 And it's not necessarily selfish or greedy to pursue those things. 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:34.000 But we need to be aware of whether those things motivate us to pursue money and to turn to money rather than God. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:39.000 Or to try to turn to money before we turn to God. 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:44.000 Let's just try and understand that a little bit more. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:48.000 The economist John Kenneth Galbraith said, 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:53.000 Money ranks with love as man's greatest joy. 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:58.000 And money ranks with death as his greatest source of anxiety. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:07.000 Money anxiety has been described as a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:14.000 If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:16.000 Does that resonate? 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:21.000 If we don't have enough, we worry about how we're going to get it. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:28.000 If we have plenty, we worry about whether it's really enough and how to hang on to it. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:36.000 So it's little wonder why Jesus did actually talk so much about the subject of money. 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:39.000 In fact, he talked more about it than anything else. 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:44.000 If Jesus was a preacher in a church today, his congregation would be saying, 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:46.000 Why does that guy never stop talking about money? 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:53.000 There's nothing wrong with seeking peace of mind and security. 00:16:53.000 --> 00:17:02.000 Except that when we find it's money rather than God that we go to for that peace of mind and security. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:09.000 And as such, there's a sense in which money is God's biggest rival. 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:13.000 Because the things it claims to promise are the very things that Jesus promises. 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:16.000 Peace of mind, security. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:23.000 And if we are in that place of worry, we need to take note that this parable, 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:32.000 after Jesus tells this parable, is when Jesus then goes on to talk about worrying in the broader sense. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:34.000 Because after he finishes this by saying, 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:38.000 this is how it will be for whoever stores up things for themselves, 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:40.000 but is not rich towards God. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:41.000 He says, 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:45.000 Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:48.000 what you will eat or about your body, what you will wear. 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:51.000 For life is more than food and the body is more than clothes. 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:52.000 Consider the ravens. 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:56.000 They do not sow or reap or they only have a storeroom or barn, 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:57.000 but God feeds them. 00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:02.000 And how much more valuable you are than the birds. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:06.000 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:09.000 And so Jesus goes on and says, 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:11.000 Do not worry. 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:16.000 Jesus forbids anxiety. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:21.000 Now, generally speaking, if we are worried, 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:23.000 and we are talking about this like the somebody, 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:25.000 and somebody else turns around to us and says, 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:26.000 Oh well, don't worry. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:28.000 That can feel flippant, can't it? 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:31.000 In fact, if you are really anxious about something, 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:35.000 and somebody's response, having told them that you are worried about something, 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:37.000 and they turn around and say, Oh well, I shouldn't worry. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:40.000 It can be about the worst thing you can possibly hear. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:43.000 Because it sounds like they are trivialising things, 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:45.000 like they are not taking it seriously. 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.000 So when Jesus turns around and says, Don't worry. 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:51.000 You know, you could think to yourself, 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:55.000 Well, Jesus clearly has not read the pastoral care manuals. 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:07.000 Jesus, though he is fully human, is fully God. 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:14.000 So when we hear Jesus turn around and say, You are not to worry. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:16.000 Do not worry. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:18.000 Do not worry. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:19.000 Do not worry. 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:20.000 Repeatedly. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:23.000 We need to hear that not merely as a human voice, 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:25.000 but as the word of God. 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:33.000 And there is, carries that objectivity, that power, 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:35.000 to cut through everything else, 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.000 when we hear that this is not just human wisdom. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:43.000 This is not just good old fashioned common sense. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:46.000 This is not philosophy. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:51.000 This is the living word of the living God, who says, Do not worry. 00:19:51.000 --> 00:20:00.000 Jesus says instead, Be rich towards God. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:06.000 He says, This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves, 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:09.000 but is not rich towards God. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:12.000 And then he goes on to talk about not worrying. 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:19.000 So, it would seem that it would make sense for us to latch on to, 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:23.000 what does it mean, therefore, to be rich towards God? 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:28.000 One, because Jesus says, This is how we are to approach life, 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:31.000 rather than attaching ourselves onto money and to possessions. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:35.000 But two, it would seem that being rich towards God 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:42.000 would seem to be the basis of everything that Jesus then goes on to say about do not worry. 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:48.000 So therefore, if we can become rich towards God, whatever that means, 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:54.000 maybe, just maybe, that is what Jesus might be saying to us 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.000 about impractical terms dealing with worry. 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:06.000 I share this with you, not as somebody who has felt, I've got this sorted. 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:09.000 I'm one of life's worriers. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:13.000 And I've time and time and time and time and time again, 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:16.000 you will probably hear me say that. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:20.000 But as somebody who is very much a work in progress, 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:24.000 I find this the most powerful thing. 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:33.000 that it's God's living word and not human wisdom that says do not worry. 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:40.000 And it is God's living word that invites us to be rich towards God. 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:43.000 So what might that mean? 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:47.000 I just want to share this one thing with you 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:50.000 as we then move into a time of prayer. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:57.000 Our emotions are connected so much with what goes on in our brain, 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:01.000 with the whole neural network and everything that's kind of happening, 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:03.000 the way we think, 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:06.000 the way that the body then transmits all of that to the body, 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:09.000 so that the brain transmits that to the rest of the body. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:15.000 The emotions that we feel and the physical sensations that we experience in our body, 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:18.000 when you know if you're really worried, you can feel uptight, 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.000 you can feel it in your legs, you can feel it in your arms, 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:22.000 it can keep you awake at night, you can feel sick, 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:24.000 you can feel all of those different things. 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:28.000 So, you know, when we're thinking about any kind of emotion, 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:31.000 understanding what's going on in the brain is so important. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:42.000 But certain neural pathways are shaped and formed different ways, 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:45.000 depending on those habits of thought. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:49.000 And in recent years, 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.000 neuroscientists have discovered that there are certain neural pathways 00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:58.000 that can be formed and shaped. 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:01.000 They call it neuroplasticity. 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:08.000 And what was actually instinctively kind of understood by, 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:12.000 in psychology 50, 60 years ago, 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:16.000 in more recent years with scanning technologies, 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:20.000 have actually made it possible for neuroscience 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:23.000 to actually demonstrate as a physical reality. 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:28.000 One of those things that has come to light 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:31.000 is that it would seem that it is actually impossible 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:35.000 for the human brain to be intensely anxious 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:40.000 and intensely grateful at the same time. 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:45.000 And the reason for that is because 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:48.000 we're talking about the same neural pathways. 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:53.000 And if that neural pathway is actively grateful 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:55.000 and in an intensive way, 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:58.000 there is no space, there is no room 00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:02.000 for the intense anxiety. 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:06.000 Now, this is very much work in progress 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:10.000 and it's very much an area that is still, 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:12.000 we're learning more and more each year. 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:18.000 But should it really surprise us that 2,000 years ago, 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:22.000 in scripture, we find in different ways, 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:24.000 over and over again being told, 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:26.000 do not be anxious, 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:28.000 but always be thankful. 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:31.000 Give thanks in all circumstances. 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:35.000 The importance of gratitude 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:38.000 and being rich towards God. 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:41.000 And so what I want to suggest 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:43.000 is we move into a time of prayer now. 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:48.000 Is that we move into a time of thanksgiving. 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:52.000 But not just as something as we pray, 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:55.000 but something to take in to this coming week 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:58.000 and whatever you've got going on in your life right now. 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:00.000 And maybe you're not feeling particularly worried 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:02.000 about anything right now, that's great. 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:04.000 But you know, there's always room for more gratitude. 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:09.000 But what I'd like to suggest is maybe, 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:13.000 just maybe, if we can focus our thinking 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:16.000 and our thought patterns more on those things 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:19.000 for which we are to be thankful before God. 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:24.000 Then as Paul says, 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:30.000 we may be transformed by the renewing of our minds. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:33.000 Let's pray. 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:34.000 Let's pray. 00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:44.000 Lord God, as we come before you to pray, 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:47.000 we do so as we are, 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:49.000 because we can come no other way. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:51.000 And you know everything about us, 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:53.000 even more than we do. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:57.000 You know all about our selfish instincts. 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:00.000 You know all about whether it's, 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:03.000 whether our motives and our instincts 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:06.000 are to do with trying to impress others 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:08.000 or a sense of entitlement 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:11.000 or whether it's just the selfish bias 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:13.000 within our humanity. 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:22.000 Lord, you also know about our human longing 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:25.000 human longing for peace and for security. 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:29.000 And Lord, you know all about us 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:32.000 when we seek that reassurance 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:36.000 in material things and in financial means 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:38.000 rather than in you. 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:42.000 So Lord, first, let's just lay all of that before you 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:44.000 and say that we are sorry. 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:45.000 Ask for your forgiveness. 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:55.000 Lord, we thank you that in Jesus, you come and you meet with us right where we are. 00:26:56.000 --> 00:27:01.000 And you meet with us in our anxiety. 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:07.000 So Lord, thank you that we can know that we are forgiven. 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:09.000 Thank you that we can know that we are forgiven. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:12.000 Thank you that we can know that you love us 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:14.000 and that you will always love us 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:17.000 and you have the most amazing future for us 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:19.000 for all eternity. 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:27.000 Lord, in our prayer now, 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:30.000 we take just a few moments 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:33.000 to bring before you 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:36.000 our gratitude. 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:42.000 So in the prayer, let's each one of us now 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:43.000 just think about some things. 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:46.000 Might be really basic, simple things 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:48.000 but things that we are thankful for now. 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:50.000 We might have to dig a bit deep 00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:52.000 if we are not feeling in a great place right now 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:55.000 but just think about some of those basic things 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:56.000 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:58.000 that you can be thankful for. 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:00.000 Go for it. 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:01.000 Go for it. 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:13.000 Holy Spirit, as we bring before you 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:16.000 things that we are grateful for 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:19.000 and we continue to do that for a few more moments 00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:26.000 that will inspire us to be able to bring to the surface those things that we are really thankful for. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:35.000 Lord, cultivate in us that sense of thanksgiving and gratitude and appreciation 00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:40.000 such that our focus may be on you. 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:44.000 Not just now, not just when we are gathered in a place of worship 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:46.000 but throughout the week 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:48.000 as we face whatever decisions that we face 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:51.000 may we know that you are Lord 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:56.000 and you only are God. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:57.000 our God. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:02.000 In Jesus name we pray and we give you thanks. 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:04.000 Amen.