WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:10.320 Let me just say, on behalf of Bo and Brian and myself, when it comes to the finances, please direct all questions to either Brad or Russ. 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:14.400 That was a paid-for announcement by the other elders. 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:21.039 We're totally comfortable with you taking all of that to those two guys. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:29.039 I have to say, I have such an appreciation for what Russ does on Sunday mornings. 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:31.280 This has been a fun week. 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:38.960 I mean, even just the technology and the wiring and all of it, it's it's impressive and something I never want to do again. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:40.320 Just kidding. 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:42.560 You know, I'm gonna do this. 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:51.840 I I we had a guest uh pastor one time that spoke in our church and he took his watch off, even though there's a nice big clock right there, and he said, I'm gonna lay that right there. 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:58.320 For those of you who are nervous about time, I'm not gonna look at it, but it's gonna make you feel better thinking that I might look at it. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:05.359 He said, My real call for when we've gone too long is when all the nursery workers start running this way, going, What's wrong? 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:07.280 Why aren't why are they still in there? 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:11.120 So I promise I won't uh I won't take it that long. 00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:21.120 Um we moved here three years ago from Savannah, and we went to a um a church there that uh was right in the heart of downtown. 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:32.719 If any of you have seen the movie Forest Gump, if you remember the steeple where the feather comes down in that movie, that was the uh steeple of the independent Presbyterian Church where we went to church. 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:43.120 And um didn't get to speak from the pulpit there very often, but every usually once a year we would have I would have to give a uh a stewardship talk from the pulpit. 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:57.519 And it was really interesting when you walk in this old sanctuary built in the 1800s, um, it's an elevated pulpit in the very center of the church, communicating the centrality of God's word, and that it's elevated and high above. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:05.280 But the most interesting thing about that is that as you get into that pulpit, you have to go behind, you actually can't even see it. 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:11.439 You enter from a back hall, and there's these stairs, this stairwell that leads up to the top. 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:16.240 And it's quite an intimidating thing once you get up there and realize, wow, you're up here, you see all these people down here. 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:22.560 But it's so interesting that there's a plaque right above your head before you take the last step. 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:27.439 And it says, that they may see Jesus. 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:32.960 And it was so cool because even though I was just talking about stewardship or whatever, I thought, man, that's powerful. 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:38.719 That every Sunday, before our ministers get up, that's what they see before they walk into that pulpit. 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:41.520 So let me pray for us this morning. 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:46.560 Father God, we are so grateful to have you as our Father. 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:49.520 We are thankful, Lord God, that you give us peace. 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:56.960 Father God, that in a world of uncertainty and crazy times, Lord God, we are not called to worry. 00:02:57.280 --> 00:02:59.919 As a matter of fact, you command us not to. 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:11.120 Father, for you teach us in your word that you are bigger than all of our cares and concerns, and that you, Lord God, are in complete and total control. 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:22.319 Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ this morning that you would give them eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts and minds to understand what you have for them. 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:32.800 And finally, Father, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:48.080 So we're going to talk this morning about a subject that, quite frankly, I feel very accustomed to, one that I know quite a bit about, but from the wrong perspective of it, and that is the topic of worry. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:52.879 And what does Christ teach us in the Sermon on the Mount about worry? 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:56.639 I have to tell you, it was so interesting as I was doing research this week. 00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:05.039 If you ever want to see how prevalent this issue is for Christians, just go out and Google anxiety and Christians. 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:12.159 And man, you will get taken to pages uh beyond your belief as far as what's out there. 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:20.000 Um it's very prevalent that we know that as Christians we do struggle uh with worry. 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:25.519 But yet Christ is very clear in the passage that you heard Russ read. 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:37.279 And so we're gonna get into the text, but before we get there, I want to talk a little bit just around the perspective of some other godly men around this issue. 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:53.759 Um, interestingly enough, Billy Graham issued this quote in one of his uh evangelism conferences where he said, historians will call our era the age of anxiety. 00:04:54.879 --> 00:05:05.759 Then he defined it as anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in or on anything short of God and his will for us. 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:12.399 Interesting thing about that was Billy Graham made that quote in 1965. 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:20.399 Who would have thought that 50 plus years later you could still say the exact same thing about this era, right? 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:25.839 Even Friday night, just watching the TV and seeing what happened in Paris, right? 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:32.639 Definitely anxiousness comes over us when we think that there are people in the world seeking to kill other people. 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:42.480 John Piper, as he has preached on this same text, said, I feel like I am actually a professional at worrying. 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:47.519 He said, if I were honest with myself, I hear of people who go to bed every night anxious. 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:50.079 He said, I do not struggle with that at all. 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:54.959 I sleep and then I wake up totally anxious every single day. 00:05:55.199 --> 00:06:14.480 And he said, the only thing that that forces me to do is to realize that I have to start each morning reframing my head away from my natural tendency to think about all the problems, issues, stresses that I have to handle and that I have to face. 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:28.480 And he says it's because of that that I know my greatest need is to get in God's word so that I can be of his mind and have his reference on all those things that I will face. 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:36.160 So I too, with uh John Piper, um, can say that I understand worry. 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:56.480 When John spoke on the same passage, he led it off by saying that God does not secure his kingship by keeping his people anxious or worried, but rather the aim of his kingship is to free us from all anxiety, worry, and all fear. 00:06:56.720 --> 00:07:05.040 Now you know there were times in kings and kingdoms where the kings wanted the people to live in fear because they believed that would keep them loyal. 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:14.879 If they were worried about where they were going to get their next meal, if they were worried about where they how they were gonna raise their children and be kept safe, it was all in the king's control in their mind. 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:26.319 But our king defines his kingship by having us trust in him completely, knowing that we have no reason for fear or worry. 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:30.079 So, what is the definition of worry? 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:46.160 If we look in the Webster dictionary, worry defined, it's defined as worry is a mental distress or agitation resulting from concern, usually from something impending or anticipated, synonymous with the word anxiety. 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:58.959 So, as I said, there's lots of literature out there, but I wanted to just share with you some thoughts that John MacArthur, in an article he wrote called The Worried Christian. 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:03.279 We all have to admit that worry is a common temptation in life. 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:06.319 For many, it is a favorite pastime. 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:14.480 America, the most affluent society in the world, is also the most worry-filled society in the world. 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:21.199 That is, if spending on security, mental illness, and intoxicants are any indication. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:24.800 Americans worry, and worry is a sin. 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:28.319 It is neither insignificant nor inconsequential. 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:34.399 And for the Christian, it is absolutely contrary to faith in Christ. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:38.480 If you worry, what kind of faith do you manifest? 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:42.320 Little faith, according to Jesus in Matthew 6, 30. 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:46.639 Now, if you are a child of God, by definition you have a heavenly father. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:50.159 To act like you don't, nervously asking, what shall I eat? 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:51.440 What shall I drink? 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:53.440 With what shall I clothe myself? 00:08:53.679 --> 00:08:56.799 Is to act like an unbeliever in God's eyes. 00:08:57.039 --> 00:08:59.039 Verses 31 and 32. 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:00.799 Think about it this way. 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:18.720 Christians who worry believe God can redeem them, break the shackles of Satan, take them from hell to heaven, put them into his kingdom, give them eternal life, but just don't think he can get them through the next couple of days. 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:21.039 That is pretty ridiculous, isn't it? 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:30.240 That we believe God for the greater gift and then stumble and not believe him for the lesser one reveals an embarrassing lack of faith. 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:35.440 So let's talk for a second about the condition of worry. 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:46.080 And the sources, all of us, if you think about it, even from a very young age, our children in the nursery, when can we see worry and anxiety come upon them? 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:50.639 Generally, it's most often found when they think they're alone, right? 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:58.399 They can't find mom or dad because they desire protection, they desire security, they desire comfort, right? 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:03.039 So even as a child, small children can experience this worry. 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:07.519 Then let's take it up to the time you're a youth, middle school and high school. 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:09.120 What do you worry about? 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:10.559 Acceptance. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:13.600 The praise of men, right? 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:19.759 Then as we move into adulthood, we still have all those same desires that can make us nervous, right? 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:21.679 We want to protect our family. 00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:23.440 We want to keep them safe. 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:25.200 We want our job to be secure. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:27.600 We want to be able to financially provide for them. 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:31.679 So throughout this entire spectrum of life, it only gets bigger. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:43.679 But we still have the same natural tendencies for things and areas where we can get insecure, and if left to our natural devices, we'll worry and stress and get anxious over these issues. 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:53.919 And it may be money, maybe your health, maybe that you're working out so hard to remain fit so that you don't get overcome by a health issue. 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:58.480 Maybe your profession, your career, worrying about raising your kids, right? 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:04.320 The options are endless in terms of the things that we can stress and have anxiety over. 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:08.159 So when we worry, what's the condition of our mind? 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:11.039 And we're going to talk about this as we look at the text too. 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:15.440 But you think about the times when you are the most stressed out and the most anxious. 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:18.159 Where is your focus at that point in time? 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:21.200 Generally it's on you, right? 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:29.919 You're not thinking of the power of the God that put the stars, the sun, the moon into space, but you're thinking about right here. 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:43.919 In Psalm 73, just for a little perspective, Psalm 73, verses 14 through 17, all day long I have been plagued. 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:45.919 I have been punished every morning. 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:50.399 If I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed your children. 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:51.919 Then listen to this. 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:56.879 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me. 00:11:57.679 --> 00:12:01.039 Until I entered the sanctuary of God. 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:04.639 Then I understood their final destiny. 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:13.039 The point in verse 17 of that psalm is that we are reordered when we are in the presence of God. 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:26.159 So when we refocus away from us and focus back on Him and what He has done, then we're reordered in our mind, in our perceptions, and in the way we view things. 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:31.360 So let's look into the text now at Matthew 6, 25 through 34. 00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:37.679 The great thing about this text is if you want to know the main message, it's pretty clear, right? 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:40.639 Because you can look in verse 25. 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:46.080 Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink. 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:48.480 Then let's look in verse 31. 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:54.720 So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:57.039 And then look in verse 34. 00:12:57.440 --> 00:13:00.000 Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow. 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:00.639 Right? 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:07.120 So if any of you were like me and in high school you didn't necessarily want to have to read the whole book and you went to go get the Cliff Notes version. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:12.320 I think the Cliff Notes message here is this do not worry, right? 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:18.639 That's clearly what Christ is teaching here in the Sermon on the Mount, is that we are not to worry. 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:26.240 So let's dig a little deeper into the passages to see exactly where the worry comes from and what the message for us is. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:39.679 So the commentators on this particular passage basically are all seeming to say the same thing, that there's four weighty arguments that Jesus gives here against worry and anxiety. 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:47.759 So in verse 25, therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:53.519 Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:58.960 Well, concern over worldly goods is foolish. 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:04.159 And it's foolish because life itself is more important, right? 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:15.840 So one of the messages that comes through this passage is if we are so focused on our life and our needs, what are we not focused on? 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:21.679 The kingdom of God and his greatness to supply us those needs. 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:22.559 Right? 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:28.559 So in verse 26, look at the birds of the air. 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:33.919 They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:37.279 Are you not much more valuable than they? 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:40.639 So God will take care of his own. 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:53.200 And if he takes care of those birds, how much more so is he going to take care of you? 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:59.279 The third point is expressed in verse 27, and I love this one. 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:05.039 Who of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to his life? 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:07.200 So, what's the message? 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:14.720 Anxiety is actually useless, it accomplishes nothing. 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:16.399 Right? 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:27.440 So if you can't add a single hour to your life, and that's a small thing, spending time worrying is surely not going to help you accomplish the bigger things. 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:28.399 Right? 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:33.919 And then lastly, the fourth point in verse 28 through 32. 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:38.480 And why do you worry about clothes? 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:40.639 See how the lilies of the field grow? 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:42.879 They do not labor or spin. 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:49.120 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon, in all of his splendor, was dressed like one of these. 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:57.519 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you? 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:00.000 O you of little faith. 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:05.600 So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? 00:16:05.840 --> 00:16:06.960 Listen to this. 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:13.840 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:26.799 So the fourth point here is that as heirs to the inexhaustible riches of the kingdom of God, believers should not worry about earthly details or anything like that. 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:29.759 God knows you have need of these things. 00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:32.240 God knows you need them. 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:44.399 He promises to provide them, but when we focus on them and we stress on them and we get anxious over not having them or how we will provide them, it tells us here that we're acting like pagans. 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:51.440 Because honestly, those who don't have the hope of Christ do have reason for anxiety, right? 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:59.039 If you don't have the peace of Christ, if you don't have the surety of his promises, that is reason for anxiety. 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:03.120 So we as Christians are called not to have that. 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:12.000 Philippians 4.19 tells us that, and my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:15.519 So what's the solution here? 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:23.680 I think it's pretty clear we have four powerful points that tell us not to worry and why not to worry. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:27.359 But in this passage, where's the what we are to do, right? 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:30.079 Is there something that he wants us to focus on? 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:32.000 That's in verse 33. 00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:40.799 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:44.400 There's the answer, right? 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:46.400 There's the solution. 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:58.000 The solution is left to our own devices, left to our own power to think that we have to handle it all, we're gonna stress. 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:16.960 But when we realize that instead we should be focusing on Christ and His kingdom and fully embrace the fact that that's where our focus is to be, then all the other areas seem to be smaller in light of how big He is and the promises that He has made. 00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:20.079 So that's our solution. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:30.240 I love one other thing that I wanted to share with you from John MacArthur's topic on this, or writings on this topic. 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:38.480 He said, When you worry, you are choosing to be mastered by your circumstances instead of by the truth of God. 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:46.160 When you catch yourself worrying, go back to Scripture and let God open your eyes again. 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:55.440 Let God's track record in Scripture and in your own life assure you that worry is needless because of God's bounty. 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:59.200 It is senseless because of God's promise. 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:09.279 It is useless because of its impotence to do anything productive, and faithless because it's characteristic of unbelievers. 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:16.880 So three things he mentions there prayer, God's word. 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:20.960 I think most of us know I call this my 4 a.m. 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:21.519 prayer. 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:25.599 So John Piper says he gets up and is anxious. 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:28.079 I sometimes have a 4 a.m. 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:30.079 wake-up call of anxiousness. 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:34.480 In Philippians 4, 6 and 7, I call my 4 a.m. 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:35.440 alarm prayer. 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:44.000 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:51.359 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:59.359 So, one other thing that I would mention as opposed to going back to God's Word and going to God in prayer. 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:01.680 Um I think I'm gonna hear. 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:02.480 I don't know. 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:08.400 My wife bought me a journal, I think, on our second wedding anniversary. 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:14.880 And this literally dates back to uh, oh, I was wrong, sorry. 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:16.079 Valentine's Day. 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:16.559 Yeah. 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:19.119 Valentine's Day, 2001. 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:22.400 She's not here, she had to leave, so don't share that detail. 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:25.119 And erase that off the recording, please. 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:30.400 Um, so as I was saying, Valentine's Day, 2001, my wife gave me this journal. 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:39.920 And um it was awesome because, and I'm not the world's best journaler, but last year on my birthday, I decided to take a little time and read back through this because I had filled it up. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:45.440 So it literally covered from 2001 to July of 2014. 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:57.200 Now, the reason I bring this up is because it brought me to tears to read what had happened in the 13 years that spanned in this book. 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:21.599 But what was overwhelming was through a miscarriage, uh, through loss of a father, through closing down a business, through uh changing jobs and multiple times in different ways, uh just the amazing ability where I read how God sustained us and delivered us through every single situation. 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:36.880 And it's because of his faithfulness in the past that I should be able to look forward and hope no matter what the stress is, no matter what the worry is, he's proven to me so many times, so many times, he's got this. 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:41.680 As a matter of fact, it's far better for him to have it than for me to even think I've got it. 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:42.559 Right? 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:46.880 So I say that only to encourage you if you haven't. 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:50.559 This is a great way to capture what God has done in your life. 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:54.960 And for me, it humbles me more and more and more every single time I read through it. 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:57.440 So, what's our conclusion here? 00:21:58.079 --> 00:22:06.720 The conclusion is this that God does not want you to be to worry or to be anxious. 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:17.359 I'll close with John 16, 33, because this is a pretty interesting time in Jesus' earthly ministry. 00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:26.000 This is his last interaction with the disciples before he goes off and is arrested. 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:36.319 So as he's meeting with his disciples before he goes to pray, he says, uh, well, I'm going to read a little bit up ahead, sorry. 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:41.039 But a time is coming and has come when you will be scattered, each to his own home. 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:42.720 You will leave me all alone. 00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:45.759 Yet I am not alone, for my father is with me. 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:51.200 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:55.519 In this world you will have trouble, but take heart. 00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:57.920 I have overcome the world. 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:00.319 Let us pray. 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:04.319 Father God, thank you so much for your word. 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:08.880 Thank you so much for your Son and our Savior Jesus Christ. 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:15.759 Thank you for your Holy Spirit who abides in us, who guides us, who teaches us, who comforts us. 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:23.759 Father God, thank you, Lord, that we can cast all of our cares upon you because you care for us. 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:27.119 Help us to not be of little faith. 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:29.519 Grow us in our faith, Father. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:35.440 Help us to seek you and your kingdom first and your righteousness, to focus on you. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:43.920 Help us, Lord God, not to be swayed by the circumstances of our life and the uncertainty of these times. 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:45.920 May we hold fast to your word. 00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:48.160 May we hold fast to you. 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:50.079 Thank you, Heavenly Father. 00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:51.680 It's in your name we pray. 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:52.559 Amen.