Anxious

[00:00:00] Well, good morning. [00:00:07] That I came through. [00:00:09] That's fantastic. [00:00:11] We got a hot mic this morning, huh? [00:00:14] So I wasn't late this morning. [00:00:18] That's right. That's because my alarm started going off at 3 o' clock in the morning and didn't stop. [00:00:24] That was something last night, wasn't it? [00:00:27] For those of you who slept through it, God bless you. Congratulations on all of your success. [00:00:33] So one of the things that we are trying to do as a family, Kristin and I with James, is get him to communicate with us. You know, we send him off to school, we send him out to soccer, we send him out to do all these other things. We want him to share with us what's going on in his life in case there's something that we need to be aware of or that we need to get involved in. But what we don't want to have happen is we don't want him to turn into a tattletale. [00:00:57] Right? That's not a good thing. That's not what we're going for. But I'm throwing that all out this morning. [00:01:04] Chet, last week, Tina said you would be back, and I was the only one who clapped. [00:01:11] No one else clapped at all. I was the only one who clapped. So there we go. Just burn, tattletail. There we go. Yeah, just burning everything down this morning. There we go. [00:01:24] This morning, we're going to take a look at a portion of Jesus teaching from a section called the Sermon on the Mount. And it is cleverly called the Sermon on the Mount because Jesus is teaching from the side of a mountain. [00:01:38] Among all the things Jesus taught, the Sermon on the Mount is probably one of the most familiar things. If we've kicked around church for any length of time, we're likely familiar with, have heard, have read the Sermon on the Mount. [00:01:50] It's even familiar to people outside of the church. [00:01:55] It represents many ideas that society admires, or maybe I should say that society wants to admire. [00:02:02] In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls us to sincerity and integrity in our lives. [00:02:09] He warns us against things like materialism, against being judgmental, against being harshly critical, against being hypocritical. He promotes ideas like peace and reconciliation. He challenges the pride in our lives, which for some of us is a bigger challenge than others, and the idea of living only for ourselves, which is probably not uncommon at all. [00:02:32] So Jesus pushes his listeners, and that includes us, to think about not just our actions, but. But to think about our motives as well. [00:02:41] This is the pinnacle of Jesus teaching on what life looks like in the kingdom of God. [00:02:47] If you want to know what life looks like in the kingdom of God, we turn to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chapter five through seven, and we get an idea of what that life is supposed to look like. [00:02:58] And here's the thing. [00:03:01] None of us meet the standard of this teaching. [00:03:06] There's not a single one of us that meets the standard of this teaching. I mean, this isn't a list of behaviors we can learn to do, a list of do's and don'ts, especially those of us who grew up in really good Baptist churches. We got do's and don'ts on lock. But that's not what Jesus is doing here. He's not doing a list of do's and don'ts. [00:03:27] Jesus is calling those who follow him, including us here today, to character and ideals and guiding principles rather than merely a set of tasks. [00:03:38] So how many of us watch infomercials? [00:03:42] How many of us used to watch infomercials? There we go. That's much better. We used to watch infomercials because TV used to be really simple. When you were home sick from school, you would watch the Price is Right. [00:03:54] And then because there was literally never anything else on tv, you would flip through stations until you landed on an infomercial. [00:04:02] And you end up watching the Home Shopping Channel, watching infomercials until enough time went by that you could stop pretending to be sick and actually enjoy the rest of your day off. Amen. [00:04:12] Now, I was a little bit nervous that my parents would see this, but then I realized the statute of limitations has probably run out on that one, so I should be good for faking being sick. [00:04:23] Anyway, today is going to be an infomercial. [00:04:28] Probably not something you think for a sermon, but wait, there's more. [00:04:37] Beginning Sunday, September 27th at 9:30, I will be leading a discussion group through the Sermon on the Mount. [00:04:45] Yeah, there we go. [00:04:48] So for around 10 to 11 weeks, we'll look at Jesus teaching and talk through its meaning and implications and how to apply it to our lives. [00:04:55] So today we've got an infomercial that's just trying to sell us on. Not just trying to sell us on a class, but yeah, that was really bad in my head, but it was so much worse when I said it out loud. [00:05:08] I just. I don't even know how to bring this back at this point. [00:05:12] So we're just going to jump in and read a small portion of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, chapter six. This is an important teaching from Jesus, and it really is deeply personal. For me, that's the benefit of only preaching occasionally, is you get to pick passages that are extra relevant to you. So here's some self study and some self reflection. And it's really important for me because I come from a long line of professional worriers. [00:05:41] Anyone else have both nature and nurture stacked against them? All right, anyone else lying? All right, so how many of us have ever felt anxious right now? [00:05:57] How many of us have ever felt maybe a little bit guilty about feeling anxious? [00:06:03] Shame. [00:06:04] I love it. [00:06:06] Maybe we've heard people say, Jesus said not to worry. [00:06:11] Jesus said, don't be anxious. [00:06:14] And maybe, just maybe, it comes across a little more like a bludgeon than it does a lifeline of grace and hope in our lives. So like I said, I come from a long line of professional worriers, so this is a deeply personal teaching for me. We're going to be in Matthew, chapter 6, verses 25 to 34. [00:06:32] You can read along in your bibles, you can follow along on the screen, or you can just listen as I read Matthew, chapter 6, verses 25 to 34. [00:06:42] Jesus said, Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, not about your body, what you will put on it. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? [00:07:09] And why are you anxious about clothing? [00:07:11] Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. [00:07:14] They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. [00:07:21] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [00:07:31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [00:07:41] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. [00:07:47] Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. [00:07:56] This is God's word, and it's given to us for our good. Let's pray. [00:08:03] Father, it is good to know you, and it is good to be known by you. I pray this morning, Lord, that the words of my mouth and the meditation in each and every one of our hearts would be acceptable in your sight. For you are our savior. You are a rock. You are our salvation. You are a strong fortress. Help us to take refuge in you at those times in our lives when anxiety might seem to rear its ugly head. [00:08:26] And give us your grace and your peace as we navigate this life, as we pray in Jesus name, Amen. [00:08:33] How many of you know the song no Woman, no Cry? Said the guy who's not on the worship team. [00:08:40] All right. Okay. So we got some reggae fans here this morning. That's good. [00:08:45] How many of you have seen the TV show the Office? [00:08:49] We got a bunch of millennials. This is a weird audience. We've got reggae loving millennials. [00:08:56] What a crowd. But there's a character in the Office and her name is Erin, and she joins the show partway through. [00:09:03] Her character is super sweet and kind and more than a little bit naive. [00:09:08] In one scene, she's really going through some stuff, having an interpersonal conflict that she's dealing with. And she says this. [00:09:15] Something like this, I was going to be sad, but then I remember the song no woman, no cry. [00:09:24] And she takes a message that is supposed to be consoling, supposed to be comforting, and turns it into something that's borderline, a rebuke and a command. [00:09:36] It's just this really intense moment. And Kristen and I have this wonderful thing where we say to each other periodically, no woman, no cry. [00:09:44] Well, Jesus just said, don't be anxious about your life. [00:09:50] But did he say it like that? [00:09:53] So here's Jesus preaching on the mountain, and he's speaking to people who have really heavy weights on their shoulders. They're burdened with uncertainties that life presents today and about anxieties about what's going to be coming down the pipe tomorrow. [00:10:09] My friend Kurt, he bought a farm and he said owning a farm has completely and totally changed his prayer life. He looked out on his fields and saw $30,000 of hay. If the weather cooperated, that would be enough to take care of all of his animals and it would be enough to sell and to make $30,000. And if the rain came at the wrong time, then he would have to buy feed. Instead of making money, he would end up having to buy feed for his animals. So we genuinely asked God, he said, what will I do if the rain comes at the wrong time? [00:10:46] And that's not really many of us here this morning, but there were a lot of people listening that would have been in similar situations from the original audience that was hearing Jesus speak. Financially, they may have to pay up to half of what they make or half of what they harvested in taxes, but they had no social safety nets whatsoever if things went badly. There was no unemployment, no Medicare, Medicaid, no Social Security, no snap. There was nothing. They had no safety net whatsoever for them in a society. [00:11:15] In addition to that, this crowd had mothers and fathers who were worried about smallpox and plagues and hosts of diseases that regularly took the lives of their children. [00:11:26] And most of the people that Jesus was speaking to were one wrong word away from prison or even worse, at the hands of their Roman oppressors. [00:11:36] And, you know, even though our context is somewhat different, the uncertainties of life still haunt us in the same way, right? I mean, to the point where we become subject matter experts in the idea of what if? [00:11:51] And there's a reason for that. There's a reason we become subject matter experts in what if. [00:11:56] That's because truly terrible things happen every single day in this life. [00:12:02] And yet here we have Jesus saying, don't be anxious about your life. [00:12:07] So there are two things I think this passage calls us to wrestle with this morning. And the first is, how can Jesus expect this from us? How could Jesus expect us not to worry? [00:12:19] I say that because our anxiety is not always wrong, is it? [00:12:25] Our anxiety is not always wrong. And the second thing is, if we let Jesus words hold up a mirror to our lives, how much does our anxiety weigh? [00:12:37] In a world of burdens, are we also bearing the unimaginable and unnecessary weight of anxiety? [00:12:44] So what worries do we carry around with us? [00:12:47] What. What worries do we carry through our lives? What ways do they hinder us from living the life we were made for? [00:12:53] Does anyone else feel pressure turning up just a little bit? I mean, goodness, this was a hard message to prepare. And I gotta say, my personal anxiety got a few extra laps around the track this past week. [00:13:05] I mean, don't be anxious. [00:13:09] I remember Jesus saying his yoke was easy and his burden was light. [00:13:13] And now he's telling us not to be anxious. [00:13:18] So I want to be clear as we begin. [00:13:21] Jesus is not saying that his teaching is easy. [00:13:26] Oh, it's simple to understand. But he's not saying that actually doing what he says is easy. And Jesus is not trying to shame us for our anxiety. He knows that the command that he gives us is not one that is easy to implement and easy to follow in our lives. So he's not trying to shame us for our anxiety. [00:13:43] There Is nothing in us that sees these. There's something in us that sees these really straightforward words, words we can all understand, words we can all strive to live for. And since they're simple, we maybe use them in a way they were never intended. [00:14:00] I mean, anxiety is a natural reaction of being fallen and broken people living in a fallen and broken world. [00:14:08] We have to look at these words in the context of the rest of Jesus teaching to understand that maybe there's something more going on. [00:14:16] And when we do, we see what he's asking for. [00:14:20] It's impossible. [00:14:22] When Jesus says don't be anxious, it is an impossible thing that he's asking us. The only way, and I mean the one and only way that it is possible for us to be free of anxiety to any degree is because Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. [00:14:38] That's me. [00:14:41] So the command to not be anxious comes in the context of the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, which we'll talk about beginning September 27th for 10 or 11 weeks. [00:14:51] And Jesus is revealing to us. He's revealing to us, and he's living out a perfect example of what a kingdom life is supposed to be. He's living out the ideal ethical and moral center of. Of the kingdom life. He's showing us what it is, but he's also demonstrating it through his actions and through his teaching and through the way that he lives his life, what the moral and ethical center of a kingdom life is. And Jesus is living it, and he's teaching it. And in the rest of the teaching, he says crazy things, crazy things in the Sermon on the Mount. Like, if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off. [00:15:34] If you nurse anger towards someone, if you harbor anger in your heart, you're a murderer and God's going to judge you. [00:15:44] Love your enemies. [00:15:50] Pray for those who persecute you. [00:15:53] Jesus says crazy things in the Sermon on the Mount. And there is nothing simple or easy about anything in the Sermon on the Mount. There's nothing that is simple and easy. So what Jesus is doing is revealing the life he is inviting us into. It's the life we were created for. It's the life that we were always intended to have. [00:16:16] It is a standard that we cannot fully reach until the Resurrection. And yet the entire point of the Incarnation, the entire point of Jesus emptying himself of his heavenly glory, leaving the throne of heaven, coming down and being born and living and dying as one of us, is specifically to give us that life. [00:16:36] It's a standard that we cannot reach and impossibly it is a life that can be ours. [00:16:44] We can't do it, but it can be ours. It is absolutely a paradox. [00:16:50] So in light of all of that, what is it that Jesus is commanding us this morning when he says, don't be anxious? What does it mean to be anxious? [00:16:58] Well, anxiety is not the same as fear. [00:17:03] Fear is a reaction to a real and present threat. Anxiety is fear that has flooded, like my backyard last night, beginning at about 3 o' clock in the morning. It's fear that has overflowed the banks of the threat. It's becoming a generalized sense of dread about something. [00:17:24] Anxiety is about potential danger or potential loss or potential trouble. [00:17:30] And here's something that's hard for me to get my mind. [00:17:33] We should fear anxiety. We should have fear for anxiety. [00:17:42] I know that's a weird thing to say, but another of Jesus teachings. In Matthew, chapter 13, Jesus gives a parable about a man who spreads seed on the ground. And the seed represents. [00:17:53] It represents the goodness and the salvation that Jesus offers us. Well, there's some seed that falls among the thorns and it gets choked out. [00:18:02] When Jesus explains this teaching, he says the thorns represent the care of the world. The cares of the world are one of the big three threats that keep the gospel from taking root and bearing fruit in our lives. So the imagery that Jesus uses of worry is that of thorns that grow up and choke the life out of you. This is how Jesus describes the impact that worry has in our lives. It is like thorns that grow up and choke the life out of you. Worry is like a parasite that feeds off us and steals the nutrients that would help us grow and mature into the people that we were made to be. [00:18:40] A couple little examples. [00:18:42] What begins as a worry about money troubles can lead us to hold onto our stuff with closed fists. [00:18:52] So the good gifts that have been given to us by God can then become treasure. Can something we treasure and can become a priority in our lives and can ultimately become an idol that leads us away from what God wants for our lives. [00:19:05] Or what about anxiety in relationships? [00:19:11] Can that lead us maybe to be a little bit exacting and overbearing in some of our relationships? Kristin reminds me regularly. [00:19:19] I mean, I remind Kristen regularly how this shows up in her parenting, right? [00:19:27] No, that's not how that works. [00:19:30] Or maybe anxiety in our relationships can lead us to be defensive. [00:19:35] As I demonstrate when Kristen reminds me about how my exacting and overbearing nature shows up in my parenting. [00:19:42] Hey, chill out. [00:19:46] I can't say that to her. [00:19:50] But she can, rightly? And appropriately. Say it to me. [00:19:54] So, man, we end up operating with anxiety in our relationships instead of seeking God's grace and goodness for ourselves and for the other person. [00:20:03] So in our passage, Jesus shows he has compassion for two very deep misunderstandings that add to our anxiety. When we misunderstand certain things, it increases the anxiety in our lives. [00:20:15] So these misunderstandings on our part, they're the unnecessary things we carry around that keep our face to the ground, that keep us from looking for the kingdom, and more importantly, keep our eyes from seeing the King himself. And the first misunderstanding is our illusion of control. [00:20:34] We are not in control. [00:20:37] And Jesus has compassion on our illusion of control. [00:20:41] He asks this question in verse 27. He says, which of you, being anxious can add a single hour to his lifespan? [00:20:51] What a terrible question to ask when I'm in the middle of worrying. [00:20:56] So when Jesus asked this question, it was meant to be a rhetorical question, right? It doesn't need an answer. The answer is obvious. The answer is. [00:21:04] So when he asked this question originally, it was meant to be a rhetorical question because 1st century Jewish people in occupied Israel, yeah, they couldn't do anything to add an hour to their lives. [00:21:15] But for us today, maybe, maybe there are some ways that we can have control that they didn't. I mean, modern medicine gives us a remarkable degree of power to ward off sickness that people even 100 years ago could never imagine. [00:21:30] And we carry in our pockets a supercomputer which allows us to push a button and access all the information in human history, or to order whatever we want and have it delivered directly to our door. [00:21:45] And all of this conspires together to give us an illusion of great power. And when we find ourselves nurturing our anxiety, it means we believe, even a little, that we have the power to ensure that things will turn out the way we want. [00:22:02] Anxiety means we think we have the power to make things work out the way we want, that we can, through our own efforts and through our own energy, determine the outcome. [00:22:16] Do we believe we can do that? [00:22:19] I hope not. [00:22:21] But do we live like we can do that? [00:22:24] I think the answer for me is probably. [00:22:27] I've been in banking and finance for a while now, and I work for a Christian financial organization. I see a lot of people, and some of them even have a lot of money, a lot of possessions, a lot of stuff. [00:22:39] Some of them wake up in the morning with their minds on their stuff that they think they need to be okay. And once they get it, something happens every single time to show that they're still vulnerable, and that stuff doesn't solve their problem. [00:22:56] So they go back to trying to amass more and more stuff in a truly hopeless effort to restore that illusion of control, attempting to soothe our anxiety this way. It's like drinking salt water. [00:23:08] The more you drink, the thirstier you become. And if we're caught up in this kind of anxiety, this kind of illusion of control through stuff, it's like writing in money. We trust across our faith as opposed to believing the inscription on our money which says, in God we trust. [00:23:26] At the end of the day, the illusion of control breaks down. And when life happens, and it has happened to every single one of us, and it will happen to every one of us again, anxiety leaves us stuck in the present while our wheels spin, hopelessly worrying about the future. [00:23:44] When we think about it, how much control do we really have in life? [00:23:48] I don't even have control over my body. [00:23:51] I didn't design it. I don't know how all of it works or how all of it fits together. And every time I think I've got things figured out and I start feeling better and making progress on putting myself back together, something happens. [00:24:07] But no matter what, none of us can stop the process of decay. I am not as fast or as strong or as unbreakable as I was even 10 years ago. My body just is isn't able to do what it could. And I'm sure even LeBron is going to slow down sooner or later. [00:24:24] And since he decided not to come back, I kind of hope mainly that it's sooner rather than later. [00:24:32] But we are not ultimately in control. [00:24:37] We're not. And our expectation that we should be in control, it's a burden Jesus says we can just lay down. [00:24:44] We don't need to carry that burden. [00:24:46] And the reason we don't need to carry the burden of control is because of the second misunderstanding. And that is that we don't truly realize how much God cares for us. [00:24:58] We minimize God's care for us. Look at what Jesus says in verse 26. He says, look at the birds of the air. They're not farming, but your Heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you more valuable? [00:25:08] And what about the lilies of the field? [00:25:10] They're not desperately working to make clothes, but they're still putting on a show. [00:25:14] If God takes care of grass, won't he take care of you? [00:25:18] Jesus argument here is simple. [00:25:21] If the less significant thing is taken care of and provided for, then how much more will God care for those he created in His Image. [00:25:30] If the less important thing is taken care of, how much more will he take care of those who are worth the life of his son? [00:25:40] One of Jesus closest friends and follower Peter says in First Peter 5, 7, he says, cast all your anxieties on him. Not like we're doing some sort of cosmic trauma dump and Jesus doesn't want to hear it, but cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. [00:26:00] I don't think we realize how much God cares about us. [00:26:03] Now again, I know the right words to say. And so I have taught James that God loves him way more than I ever could and way more than Kristen ever could and way more than anyone else ever will. [00:26:16] But do I believe that? [00:26:18] I mean, I believe it, but do I believe it? [00:26:23] So we see this issue that we have, this misunderstanding about how much God cares for us. It doesn't show up in our words necessarily, but it can show up in our lives. [00:26:35] God cares about the details of your life. And what Jesus is doing is inviting us to change our focus, to take our eyes off the uncertainty of the future and instead just look around. [00:26:47] When we look around, we see all the details of creation, all of the mundane and ordinary provisions in this world, from flowers to birds to trees to grass, all of it. We see all of it. [00:26:58] And all of the provision in this world is the handiwork of a near and present and attentive God. [00:27:06] God cares for you. [00:27:10] He cares for you. [00:27:15] What most of us want in times of anxiety is a guaranteed outcome. And I know there are times when I do, and I gotta say there is nothing wrong. [00:27:27] There is nothing wrong with the desire to have a guaranteed outcome. That desire is a hunger for goodness. [00:27:34] Goodness that Jesus purchased for us through the cross, through the resurrection, through his ascension, and now as he makes intercession for us. There is nothing wrong with the desire for goodness. One day Jesus will fully and finally make all things new. [00:27:49] He will. And when he does, that promise will be fulfilled by the outcome will be guaranteed. [00:27:56] But right now, right now, we live in an in between time. [00:28:03] Jesus has restored us to a right relationship with our Father, but still we wrestle with the consequences of being fallen and broken people living in a fallen and broken world. [00:28:14] So when trouble hits and our anxiety spikes, Jesus invites us to know our good and wise Father. [00:28:21] He sees and anticipates our needs in the same way that a loving and attentive parent does with their child. [00:28:29] But here's the irony. [00:28:31] The people sitting on that hillside listening to Jesus, they don't yet realize that the one pointing to them, to their good Father, is actually the one who is showing us the face of the Father when God himself, when God offers us what God offers us in the midst of our anxiety is Himself. God offers us Himself in the midst of our anxiety. It is the face of Jesus. And I'm not talking about the color of his eyes or the shape of his nose or anything like that. I'm talking about God with us, with us present and attentive in our lives, looking at us with an expression that always holds compassion, a mouth that always speaks love and. And delight over us, eyes that weep with us when we experience sorrow and loss, even as they promise us an ultimate reality where death and sorrow are no more and where his hands will be the hands that wipe every tear from our eyes. [00:29:31] His is the face that never turns away. [00:29:36] And Jesus came so that we would know as a deep and unshakable truth, as fundamental to who we are, that the Father loves us and cares for us and is always at work for our best, always, always. [00:29:55] The ultimate picture of his care. If we ever come to a point in our lives where we doubt the care of God for us, the ultimate picture of his care for us is, of course, the cross. It is there we see that God is doing far more than taking care of our food and clothing. [00:30:11] He is bringing us into his family where we can be called daughters and sons of God. [00:30:18] And one of the things that I tell James every night, almost every night, is, you are a son of God. And when I first started telling him that, he said, and you are a daddy of God. [00:30:34] Bud. That's not how it works, but thank you. [00:30:41] It's who he is. I want him to understand that what Jesus has done for us has brought us into the family of God and that he is a child of God. [00:30:52] And since we have such a father, Jesus says in verse 31, therefore, do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat, drink, wear? [00:31:01] Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. [00:31:05] Jesus is saying, when we aren't familiar with the kindness and goodness of God, when we don't know his face and his care, then, as treasure seeker, as people who are wired to pursue things, to pursue treasure and value in our lives, we will always run after the thing that gives us a sense of control, that makes us feel less vulnerable. We will by nature, our fallen nature, trust in the provision, trust in the stuff that has been provided rather than the one who provides for us. [00:31:38] So by now we know the answer. We're supposed to turn to our good Heavenly Father, we know that he will provide what we truly need, if not what we want, but he will provide what is best for us. Now, knowing that in our heads doesn't always help our hearts. [00:31:54] I've got to say, there is different difference between feelings of anxiety on one hand and clinical anxiety on the other. By all means, please seek medical intervention from a mental health professional if you are dealing with clinical anxiety. [00:32:07] But for those of us who are dealing with feelings of anxiety, the question becomes, what help does Jesus offer in our anxiety? I mean, that has to be the question, right? Has to be the question. [00:32:18] I think the answer is actually pretty unexpected. Jesus says in verse 33, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things will be added unto you. [00:32:33] Now, I don't know how this sounds to you, but does it sound a little bit transactional? [00:32:40] It sounds a bit like Jesus is saying, if you do this, I'll do this for you. [00:32:46] Quid pro quo, right? If. If you do this, I'll do this for you. If I do my best to be good and follow the rules, God will take care of all the basic stuff that I need and maybe throw in some of those fancy lily garments, because who doesn't love a good floral print, right? [00:33:04] But Jesus, throughout the entire Sermon on the Mount, has been giving us beautiful glimpses of his kingdom. [00:33:11] And we're starting to see a picture of a community of love that he is building here on earth. It's a kingdom of righteousness and justice. It's a kingdom of peace. [00:33:21] The kingdom is defined by wholeness, by beauty, by joy. And God brings us in to participate in the work of establishing his kingdom here on Earth. He allows us to participate in his building of the kingdom here on Earth. [00:33:37] You see, to seek first the kingdom of God is to love What God loves is to hope for what God hopes for. It is to put God's vision for the world, his ultimate triumphant new creation, a fully restored and redeemed creation, as the first priority in our lives, and to be engaged in moving society and our own lives and our own community toward that new creation. [00:34:02] And when this happens, when our heart and lives and priorities align with God for the kingdom of God, our anxiety magically disappears. [00:34:13] No. Amens. What? [00:34:16] No, it doesn't, does it? I mean, we know it doesn't. We know our anxiety doesn't magically disappear, but our anxiety is. We actually begin the process of putting our anxiety in its proper place, where it is contained, where it is rightfully contained. [00:34:33] And we will be more and more able to say, I don't know what tomorrow may bring, but I do know the Father. [00:34:41] I do know Jesus. I know his love for me. I know his closeness. I have seen his face. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. [00:34:50] So practically, I think that there are two things we can do to move toward right containment and faithfulness in our anxiety. [00:34:58] I. I just want to mention them, two of them. First is intentional community. [00:35:04] God does not mean for us to be alone in our anxiety. [00:35:09] We all learn to trust his care for us, in part through the care that we receive from one another. [00:35:16] In fact, we see Jesus himself do this in Matthew 26 as he's in the garden, right, just hours before his trial, just hours before his execution. [00:35:25] At the time of his greatest anxiety, he reaches out to his three closest friends for comfort. [00:35:32] Jesus himself, at the time of his greatest anxiety, reaches out to his three closest friends for comfort. [00:35:40] You see, God pursues and loves us as individuals, but we are not just individuals. We are called to be a people. [00:35:50] We are called to be together. [00:35:52] Nothing we read, nothing we learn in the Bible makes sense apart from a community of faith. [00:35:59] Nothing in here makes sense apart from a community of faith. There is no solo journey Christianity solo journey Christianity is not seen or reflected anywhere in the kingdom life that Jesus calls us to. So while God loves us as individuals, we are called to be a people in relationship with one another. [00:36:17] That means genuinely giving and receiving grace and support and care. [00:36:22] We need to be giving grace and care and we need to be open to receiving grace and care as well. Both of them giving and receiving grace and care in community. [00:36:37] And this is a lifelong pursuit that is slow moving. [00:36:42] It takes time to cultivate that kind of love. It takes time to cultivate that kind of community and will never happen if it's not a priority for us. [00:36:54] So the first practical way we put our anxiety in its place is intentional community. And the second is prayer. Prayer is where our hearts begin to know and trust God's care in a personal, intimate way. So if prayer is new for you, or if you struggle to find the language of prayer, even what to say, then I just want to encourage you to read the Psalms. [00:37:15] The Psalms are rich and deep in the way they help us communicate with God. They are without a doubt the greatest tool I have found in constructing a language of prayer. And that is a language that captures all of my emotions, the depth of my heart, and the presence of the God who created my heart. [00:37:32] God created my heart. He can handle what comes out of it. He can handle the fear, the concerns, the anger. [00:37:39] And yes, he can even handle my anxiety. And reading the Psalms has helped me to be more honest in my prayer life. It's helped me to see that God welcomes all of my questions and concerns and even my anxiety. [00:37:54] So what Jesus says, don't be anxious. [00:38:00] But it's not a command that Jesus gives us to add to our burdens. [00:38:04] Instead, what Jesus is doing is pointing us to the Father. [00:38:08] We don't need to be anxious because God cares so deeply for us, because God is for us. And if God is for us, then we'll probably be able to make it through all right. [00:38:21] So let's pursue him. [00:38:23] Let's pursue his kingdom and his righteousness. Let's be people who are deeply committed to one another, and let's be people who pray. And in that we can start to find a bit of healing in the here and now for our anxiety. [00:38:38] Let's pray. [00:38:42] Lord God, we do love you and we praise you. And I pray, Father, that we would love you more than anything else in our lives and that we would praise you above all things, for you alone are worthy of praise. [00:38:57] Father, I ask that you would help us in those times when our wheels start spinning and we start to be more focused on the future. [00:39:06] Help us to turn our eyes to you, to see you, to see your care for us, and to follow you more closely. This I pray in Jesus name. Amen.