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Well howdy, Mars Hill.

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We continue in our study
of Luke's Gospel.

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You can open your Bible
or your app to Luke 12:22-34.

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As you're doing that, we're taking
these 2 1/2 years of studying Luke

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to really examine the life and teaching
of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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And we find ourselves in Luke 12,
amidst a 3-week miniseries,

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where Jesus is talking a lot
about wealth,

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finances, possessions, and the like.

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So to serve you,
Pastor Jamie Munson, my good friend

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and your lead executive pastor,

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has put together for you a book,
"Money: God or Gift?"

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It's free

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and he has also compiled
for us a community group curriculum.

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So the community groups will be
going through a chapter of the book

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each week in conjunction
with the text of the sermon.

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If you didn't get one please make sure
to pick one up on your way out.

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We're giving them away for free
at the church.

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They can also be ordered
at Amazon.com.

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And Pastor Jamie wanted me
to tell you

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that if you're struggling financially
with making a budget,

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living within your means,
or making some tough decisions,

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money@marshillchurch.org
is a place you can e-mail

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and certified financial counselors
who are trained and love Jesus,

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people who are members of the
church, will meet with you free of charge

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and help answer your questions
and get your budget set up

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and give you
some beginning counsel.

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And we'd love to serve you in that way
if we could be of any help to you.

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Second resource as well
is that today,

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in conjunction with the sermon,

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I have a book that I'll recommend.

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This one is for sale for $14.

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It's called "Running Scared"
by Dr. Ed Welch,

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who is a very gifted Biblical
counselor and Bible teacher.

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And I read this book this week

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and it has helped me quite a bit
personally and it also has helped

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the sermon that I'll be preaching.

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So for those of you
who like to read,

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we say that readers are leaders
and leaders are readers,

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that might be a good resource
for you to pick up on your way out.

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That being said, I will pray

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and we will see
what Jesus has for us.

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So Lord Jesus, we thank you
that we get to be the church,

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that you've taken enemies
and you've made them family.

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Lord Jesus,
we thank you for the Scriptures

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which reveal to us who you are
and what you have done

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and what you have determined
that we should do.

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As we open the Scriptures today,
Lord Jesus,

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we invite you to send us
the Holy Spirit.

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And Holy Spirit, we ask you
to teach us about Jesus,

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to make us more like him,

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and to give us the power
to follow in his example.

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So we ask this, Lord Jesus,
in your good name, amen.

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Let me say this,
as we get into Luke chapter 12,

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we believe the Bible.

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We're a Bible-believing church.

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We believe the Bible is true,

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but it's not just true
like a crossword puzzle.

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It's true in a way that's helpful
and practical and personal.

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And because the Bible is timeless,
it's always timely

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for every person, every time,
every place.

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And so when we open the Bible
we receive it as truth.

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We look for it
to be helpful and practical.

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And the only way that can happen is
if we get to know Jesus.

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The whole Bible is ultimately
about Jesus.

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And so what we have seen so far
in Luke's Gospel

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is the life of Jesus,
that our God became a man,

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that he entered into human history,
that he walked the earth and endured

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the kind of things that we endure.

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And he relates to us and loves us
and sympathizes with us.

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And so Jesus is our example
of how to live a life.

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He's our instructor of how to live a life.

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And he is our savior who died
and rose to take away our sin

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and send us the Holy Spirit
so that we might live a life

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patterned after his life
by the same power that he did.

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So we saw early on
that the Holy Spirit

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descended upon Jesus
at his baptism.

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We then learned, as we have studied
Luke, that Jesus was

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filled with the Holy Spirit
and led by the Holy Spirit

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and rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.

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So we don't come to the Bible

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just to get principles
so we can do better and try harder.

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We come to the Bible
to learn the truth about Jesus

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and to have him take away our sin

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and have him send us the powerful
presence of God the Holy Spirit

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so we might live a life
that is obedient to his teaching

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and following in his example.

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And this is really important
as we get into this section today,

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because Jesus is going to talk
about fear and anxiety.

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Fear and anxiety.

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And he is going to teach us
some things, show us some things,

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but also then give us the power
to obey them.

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Read with me. We'll read
the whole thing to start with.

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Luke 12:22-34,

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"And he," that is Jesus,
"said to his disciples,

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"'Therefore I tell you,
do not be anxious about your life,

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"'what you will eat,
nor about your body,

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"'what you will put on.

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"'For life is more than food,
and the body is more than clothing.

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"'Consider the ravens:
they neither sow nor reap,

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"'they have neither storehouses
nor barns, and yet God feeds them.

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"'Of how much more value are you
than the birds!

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"'And which of you by being anxious
can add a single hour

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"'to his span of life?

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"'If then you are not able
to do as small a thing as that,

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"'why are you anxious about the rest?

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"'Consider the lilies, how they grow:

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"'they neither toil nor spin,
yet I tell you,

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"'even Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these.

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"'But if God so clothes the grass,
which is alive in the field today,

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"'and tomorrow is thrown
into the oven,

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"'how much more will he clothe you,

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"'O you of little faith!

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"'And do not seek what you are
to eat and what you are to drink,

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"'nor be worried. For all the nations
of the world seek after these things,

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"'and your Father knows
that you need them.

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"'Instead, seek his kingdom, and all
these things will be added to you.

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"'Fear not, little flock, for it is
your Father's good pleasure

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"'to give you the kingdom.

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"'Sell your possessions,
and give to the needy.

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"'Provide yourselves with moneybags
that do not grow old,

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"'with a treasure in the heavens
that does not fail,

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"'where no thief approaches
and no moth destroys.

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For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.'"

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Start with one of three questions
based on the teaching of Jesus.

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Number one,
what does your mind fear?

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What does your mind fear?

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Who, what are you afraid of?

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Jesus has this to say about fear,
Luke 12:32,

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"Fear not, little flock." Fear not.

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This is the most frequently uttered
command in the whole Bible.

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The first five books of the Bible
alone have 613 commands.

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And if you take
the totality of the Bible,

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the 66 books of Scripture,

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and you pull out
every single command,

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the one that is repeated
most frequently is fear not.

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How many of you,
that surprises you?

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This must be a perennial issue

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because the Bible was written over
the course of a few thousand years

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by roughly 40 authors
in multiple nations.

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And one thing is consistent:
People are governed by their fears.

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See the book is timeless
and so it's always timely.

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And Jesus says, "Fear not."

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Now what he doesn't say is,
"Don't plan and prepare."

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See some of you are lazy
or irresponsible or immature.

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You say, "That's why
I don't make a budget.

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"That's why I don't pay my taxes.
That's why I don't have life insurance.

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"That's why I don't have health insurance.
Jesus says, 'Fear not.'

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So I don't!"

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You should.

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The Bible talks a lot as well
about planning.

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If you read the book of Proverbs,
much of it is about wisdom,

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storing up, planning, preparing,

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strategizing, anticipating
your future, getting ready for it.

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And some of you would,
in a very irresponsible way,

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consider yourself very mature.

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"I'm totally disorganized
because I trust the Lord."

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God would say,

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"Administration is a gift
that I gave.

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"Meet someone who has it.
Ask them questions.

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"Get a budget. Get a plan.
Get a schedule.

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"Think about your future.
Think about your children's future.

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Think about your children's
children's future."

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But don't fear it.

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Don't freak out about it.
Don't stress over it.

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Do all you can and then trust God
with that that only God can do.

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So if you're like me,
we plan a little too much.

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The goal is to be ready for the future
and to trust God in it

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so that you can enjoy it
as it approaches.

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Now as we get into this as well,
what is fear?

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Well, fear is our response
to danger that is real or perceived.

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And it doesn't need to be real
to be real scary.

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That's the whole point of Halloween.
We just had it.

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The whole point is freak kids out.

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And they're not in real danger,

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but the fear is out of danger
that is real

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or danger that is perceived
to be potentially real.

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That's where fear comes from.

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And everyone fears.
Everyone fears.

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What do you fear?
You fear sickness? You fear death?

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You fear death by drowning?

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You fear death by burning?
You fear public speaking?

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You fear being single?

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What do you fear?

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You fear not being able
to have children?

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What do you fear?
Do you fear unemployment?

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What do you fear?
Everyone fears something.

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Many of us fear many things.

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And you can hear this
one of two ways.

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(sternly)
"Do not fear!"

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And that can sound pretty religious
and not very helpful.

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It can come off as a command.

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Or it can be received
as an invitation.

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(calmly)
"Fear not."

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I had this experience this week.
Two interesting experiences.

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What I find is, when I preach,
God puts people in my path

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who are dealing
with exactly what I'm studying

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because God is sovereign and good.

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And I met one man this week.

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A young man, he has a tattoo,
one tattoo on his bicep.

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And it says, in the Greek that this
was originally written in, "Fear not."

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So we had a quick little conversation
about this.

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He said, "It's the issue of my life."

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I said, "You know what,
if you're honest,

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I think it's the issue
of everyone's life."

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Not everyone has a tattoo,
but everyone has the same struggle.

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I dealt with another man this week.

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He's on a performance treadmill,
trying to get God to love him.

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He's got it all backwards,
because God's a loving father.

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His children start
with his affection.

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They don't have to earn it.
They start with it.

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There's no good father who,
upon holding his newly born child,

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says, "If you do a really good job,

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I might have affection for you
someday."

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A father says, "I love you.

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Whoever you are,
whatever you do, I love you."

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You start with the love.

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But he's got this
performance mindset with God.

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And he brought it up. He said,
"I have panic attacks. I have stress.

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"I have fears.
I'm anxious all the time.

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I really struggle with this.
What do I do?"

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I said, "Well the most common
command in the Bible is, 'Fear not.'"

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He said, "I know,
and I read it and I just hear,

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(sternly) 'Fear not! Fear not! Fear not!'
And it makes me more afraid."

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So I put a hand on his shoulder
and I looked him in the eye,

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and I said, "God wants me
to tell you that he loves you.

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"And he's saying it like this,
look me in the eye.

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(calmly)
"'Fear not. I'm your dad. I love you.

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"'I'm here. You're not alone.
I'm with you.

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It's going to be all right.'"

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Grown man, started crying.

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He said,
"Oh, I never heard it like that."

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That makes all the difference.

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See, Jesus' words are,
(sternly) "Fear not, little flock."

235
00:12:52,833 --> 00:12:55,208
That doesn't seem
to make a lot of sense, does it?

236
00:12:55,292 --> 00:12:57,792
(sternly)
"Fear not, puny little one."

237
00:12:57,833 --> 00:13:01,917
"Well, that's kind of why I'm
freaking out. I'm the puny little one."

238
00:13:05,500 --> 00:13:07,583
It's an invitation.
(calmly) "Fear not."

239
00:13:08,333 --> 00:13:09,833
Fear not.

240
00:13:10,125 --> 00:13:12,958
Who are you afraid of?
What are you afraid of?

241
00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,292
Let me unpack fear for you.
And fear begins in the mind.

242
00:13:17,042 --> 00:13:19,083
Fear begins in the mind.

243
00:13:19,667 --> 00:13:23,042
I'll give you some insights on fear
and on facing fear.

244
00:13:23,333 --> 00:13:26,042
Number one,
fear is vision without optimism.

245
00:13:27,250 --> 00:13:29,833
Some of you are visionaries.
You can see the future.

246
00:13:30,042 --> 00:13:32,958
Not perfectly, but you know
where the economy's going.

247
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:36,000
You know where your life is going.
You know where your health is going.

248
00:13:36,042 --> 00:13:37,750
You know where your relationships
are going.

249
00:13:37,833 --> 00:13:40,792
You know where your vocation is going.
You have an idea of what's next.

250
00:13:40,833 --> 00:13:42,292
You can see down the road.

251
00:13:42,333 --> 00:13:47,625
But you don't have any optimism
and so you're fearful.

252
00:13:47,667 --> 00:13:49,667
"Oh my gosh, that's going to go bad.

253
00:13:49,750 --> 00:13:52,375
"That could go bad. That could go
sideways. That could hurt.

254
00:13:52,458 --> 00:13:54,917
That could be costly.
That could fail."

255
00:13:57,500 --> 00:14:00,083
Fear seems reasonable to us
even when it's irrational.

256
00:14:00,167 --> 00:14:02,667
How many of you have
irrational fears?

257
00:14:02,708 --> 00:14:04,583
And people will try and reason
with you.

258
00:14:04,667 --> 00:14:06,833
It doesn't make any difference.

259
00:14:06,875 --> 00:14:09,625
You're like, "You're being crazy."

260
00:14:09,875 --> 00:14:12,875
Okay, just so you know,
if they are,

261
00:14:14,167 --> 00:14:17,083
reasoning
probably isn't going to fix it,

262
00:14:18,167 --> 00:14:21,167
because by definition
they're being unreasonable.

263
00:14:21,667 --> 00:14:26,458
So what we have is this entire list
of things that people are afraid of.

264
00:14:26,500 --> 00:14:30,333
Some of them are irrational,
but they're rational to the people.

265
00:14:30,792 --> 00:14:34,333
They're irrational to us,
but they're rational to them.

266
00:14:34,417 --> 00:14:36,458
I'll give you some examples.

267
00:14:36,500 --> 00:14:39,583
This is going to be an intense sermon,
we need little emotional break.

268
00:14:39,667 --> 00:14:41,417
You're welcome. All right.

269
00:14:44,500 --> 00:14:47,333
Are you afraid of that?
Does that scare you?

270
00:14:48,167 --> 00:14:50,500
Okay. If so, here's what you have,

271
00:14:51,625 --> 00:14:53,750
coulrophobia, a fear of clowns.

272
00:14:54,667 --> 00:14:56,667
It's actually a diagnosis.

273
00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,958
And I'll tell you what, I don't care
even if you don't have this,

274
00:15:00,083 --> 00:15:02,917
if you see a clown after midnight,
they're scary.

275
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:04,375
[congregation laughing]

276
00:15:04,458 --> 00:15:06,958
That's a clown up to no good.

277
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:08,875
[congregation laughing]

278
00:15:08,958 --> 00:15:12,333
How about this one?
Does this scare you? Peanut butter.

279
00:15:12,875 --> 00:15:14,292
If so, you may have--

280
00:15:14,333 --> 00:15:18,250
and I went to public school so I don't
know how this is going to go, but--

281
00:15:18,333 --> 00:15:21,917
arachibutyrophobia, which means--

282
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,083
it's the clinical definition
of fear

283
00:15:24,167 --> 00:15:27,500
of peanut butter sticking
to the roof of your mouth.

284
00:15:29,167 --> 00:15:32,167
You say, "I didn't even know
I had that. Now I--"

285
00:15:32,208 --> 00:15:35,000
How about this one? Okay.

286
00:15:35,083 --> 00:15:37,708
[congregation laughing]

287
00:15:37,792 --> 00:15:39,792
Are you scared of that?

288
00:15:40,750 --> 00:15:42,667
If so, here's what you have.

289
00:15:42,750 --> 00:15:44,750
Germanophobia.

290
00:15:45,750 --> 00:15:48,292
It is the fear of German people,

291
00:15:49,625 --> 00:15:53,083
which is a real bummer
if you have that and are German.

292
00:15:54,208 --> 00:15:56,167
You're very fearful.

293
00:15:56,208 --> 00:15:57,708
How about this one?

294
00:15:58,333 --> 00:16:01,833
All right, my good friend,
Dr. John Piper.

295
00:16:02,292 --> 00:16:04,667
If this frightens you,

296
00:16:05,083 --> 00:16:07,792
this man frightens you,
here is what you may have.

297
00:16:07,833 --> 00:16:10,583
Homilophobia,
which is a fear of sermons.

298
00:16:11,417 --> 00:16:13,917
Some of you say, "That's it.
That's why I'm never coming back.

299
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,042
I have a fear of sermons."
It's actually a diagnosis.

300
00:16:17,125 --> 00:16:20,667
And some of you don't find this
funny at all. You're not laughing.

301
00:16:20,708 --> 00:16:22,917
It may be because you have

302
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:24,917
geliophobia,
which is a fear of laughter.

303
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,667
So I apologize
for making fun of you.

304
00:16:31,292 --> 00:16:34,000
All right, some fears are rational,
some are irrational,

305
00:16:34,083 --> 00:16:36,667
but they're always rational
to the person who has them.

306
00:16:37,042 --> 00:16:38,583
Back to the list.

307
00:16:38,667 --> 00:16:41,083
Here's what fear's about
and I've observed this

308
00:16:41,167 --> 00:16:43,458
through counseling
and being a pastor

309
00:16:43,500 --> 00:16:45,875
and dealing with people's lives,
including my own.

310
00:16:45,958 --> 00:16:48,000
Fear is about one of three things.

311
00:16:48,042 --> 00:16:50,250
Not getting what we want.

312
00:16:50,333 --> 00:16:53,708
So your hope is hung on something.
"I want to get married.

313
00:16:53,792 --> 00:16:56,375
I don't think I'm going
to get married. I'm fearful."

314
00:16:56,458 --> 00:16:58,625
"We want to have kids. I don't think
we're going to have kids.

315
00:16:58,667 --> 00:17:00,875
We're fearful."
"I want to graduate.

316
00:17:00,958 --> 00:17:03,292
I don't think I'm going to graduate."
"I want a job."

317
00:17:03,333 --> 00:17:06,250
"I want to serve God."
"I want to go into ministry."

318
00:17:06,333 --> 00:17:09,292
"I want to own a house."
I--whatever.

319
00:17:11,083 --> 00:17:12,833
"I want a promotion.

320
00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:17,333
I don't think it's going to happen."
And the fear comes in.

321
00:17:19,042 --> 00:17:21,958
"I'm not going to get it.
It's not going to happen.

322
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:24,667
The answer's no."
And the fear comes in.

323
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:28,000
"What will happen?
What else will happen?

324
00:17:29,167 --> 00:17:31,042
How will I exist?"

325
00:17:31,125 --> 00:17:35,667
Or number two, getting what we want
and losing it. There's a fear.

326
00:17:35,750 --> 00:17:39,167
That's why sometimes success
is more fearful than failure.

327
00:17:39,542 --> 00:17:42,333
"We're married!
What if we get divorced?"

328
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,500
"We're pregnant!
What if we miscarry?"

329
00:17:45,583 --> 00:17:47,958
"The child was born!
What if they die?

330
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,042
Or what if they don't love God?"

331
00:17:51,625 --> 00:17:53,458
"I got the job!

332
00:17:54,083 --> 00:17:56,417
The economy's rough.
What if I get fired?"

333
00:17:56,500 --> 00:17:59,667
"We got the house!
What if we can't make the mortgage?

334
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:03,833
What then?"

335
00:18:03,917 --> 00:18:06,333
It's the fear of getting something
your heart longs for

336
00:18:06,417 --> 00:18:07,792
and then losing it.

337
00:18:07,833 --> 00:18:09,667
That can cause fear.

338
00:18:09,750 --> 00:18:12,792
Or number three,
getting what you don't want.

339
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,667
"I got cancer. I don't want it."

340
00:18:17,833 --> 00:18:20,500
"I got fired.
That's not what I wanted."

341
00:18:20,583 --> 00:18:24,083
"My spouse left.
Nobody wants to marry me."

342
00:18:27,292 --> 00:18:29,375
"This isn't want I wanted."

343
00:18:31,750 --> 00:18:34,417
And fear--fear comes.

344
00:18:34,875 --> 00:18:37,500
You feel that?
You feel it in the room, can't you?

345
00:18:37,583 --> 00:18:39,167
It's real.

346
00:18:39,667 --> 00:18:42,625
Fear reveals our values, our loves,

347
00:18:42,667 --> 00:18:45,167
our priorities, our longings.

348
00:18:46,333 --> 00:18:49,417
You only fear losing what you love.

349
00:18:50,333 --> 00:18:53,167
You only fear getting
what you hate.

350
00:18:54,625 --> 00:18:58,083
It reveals a lot about
what is essential to us,

351
00:18:58,167 --> 00:19:00,833
what is primary for us.

352
00:19:02,042 --> 00:19:04,417
Number five,
fear increases with more freedom.

353
00:19:04,500 --> 00:19:08,083
The more choices,
the more potential scenarios

354
00:19:08,583 --> 00:19:11,333
for not getting what you want,
getting what you want and losing it,

355
00:19:11,375 --> 00:19:13,875
or getting something
you don't want, getting it wrong.

356
00:19:13,958 --> 00:19:16,708
How many of you find as you get older
and you have more choices

357
00:19:16,792 --> 00:19:20,417
and more freedoms, there's more fear?
It's more stressful?

358
00:19:21,083 --> 00:19:24,417
This dawned on me not long ago
at the grocery store.

359
00:19:25,500 --> 00:19:30,167
Walked down the cereal aisle,
"Oh! I have to pick one.

360
00:19:31,167 --> 00:19:34,000
"And this will affect breakfast
indefinitely,

361
00:19:34,917 --> 00:19:38,417
"which is the most important meal
of the day some would say.

362
00:19:38,500 --> 00:19:41,000
"This could set in motion
a whole month of my life

363
00:19:41,042 --> 00:19:42,750
"in a positive or negative direction.

364
00:19:42,833 --> 00:19:45,500
"Do I go for the bran?
Do I go for the sugar?

365
00:19:45,583 --> 00:19:49,000
"I have gluten allergies, but all
of those seem to be the tasty ones.

366
00:19:49,042 --> 00:19:51,333
Will I deny myself? Argh!"

367
00:19:51,417 --> 00:19:53,500
It's amazing.

368
00:19:54,333 --> 00:19:57,042
How many of you just--
the number of choices?

369
00:19:57,250 --> 00:19:59,708
"Where are we going to live?
What are we going to do?

370
00:19:59,792 --> 00:20:02,375
What is my degree going to be?
Who am I going to marry?

371
00:20:02,458 --> 00:20:06,458
There's a lot of people on the earth,
I need to pick one. Argh!"

372
00:20:07,250 --> 00:20:11,333
You know, all these choices, they
lead to fears out of our freedoms.

373
00:20:13,042 --> 00:20:16,083
Fear turns us into false prophets.
Ed Welch makes this point in his book.

374
00:20:16,167 --> 00:20:17,625
I think it's very insightful.

375
00:20:17,667 --> 00:20:21,083
False prophets are those
who predict the future wrongly.

376
00:20:21,500 --> 00:20:23,500
And in our own lives
we can be false prophets.

377
00:20:23,583 --> 00:20:25,417
"It's going to go bad!
It's going to go horrible!

378
00:20:25,500 --> 00:20:26,917
"This could be worst case scenario!

379
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:28,667
Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!"

380
00:20:28,708 --> 00:20:32,542
And then when we get there, we're like,
"Nope. Sorry, I was wrong."

381
00:20:33,542 --> 00:20:35,667
How many of you, that's your life?

382
00:20:35,708 --> 00:20:38,833
You freak out about things
that don't happen? Okay.

383
00:20:41,792 --> 00:20:44,625
Just so you know,
this is your pastor.

384
00:20:44,667 --> 00:20:48,125
I'll just come clean
and tell you, that's me.

385
00:20:48,333 --> 00:20:51,458
I tend to be a visionary.
I see the future, I know what's coming.

386
00:20:51,500 --> 00:20:54,500
I freak out about it
and then it never happens.

387
00:20:54,708 --> 00:20:58,333
How do I know that? Because
I was up at 4:30 in the morning

388
00:20:58,542 --> 00:21:00,375
many times this last week

389
00:21:00,458 --> 00:21:03,917
just thinking about things
that probably will never happen.

390
00:21:04,417 --> 00:21:06,458
Meanwhile my wife is sleeping.

391
00:21:06,667 --> 00:21:08,375
[congregation laughing]

392
00:21:08,458 --> 00:21:10,250
I said, "Well I'm studying, 'Fear not.'"

393
00:21:10,333 --> 00:21:12,000
She's like, "Hmm. I was sleeping."

394
00:21:12,083 --> 00:21:15,250
"Ah, you probably know more
about it than me,

395
00:21:15,583 --> 00:21:17,583
because I was up stressing out."

396
00:21:19,333 --> 00:21:22,667
See, I tend to be that person
who is a false prophet.

397
00:21:22,750 --> 00:21:25,542
How many of you are false prophets?
All right, yeah.

398
00:21:25,625 --> 00:21:29,833
Your future is bleak and you will
freak out until it doesn't happen.

399
00:21:33,292 --> 00:21:35,333
You'll get that on the way home.

400
00:21:35,375 --> 00:21:38,000
I just pulled the pin on the grenade
and I'll leave it there.

401
00:21:38,083 --> 00:21:39,750
It'll go off later.

402
00:21:40,167 --> 00:21:43,792
Number seven, fear is not always
sinful, right? Not always sinful.

403
00:21:43,833 --> 00:21:46,917
Right? You send your son
off to battle as a soldier.

404
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,125
There's real fear there.

405
00:21:49,333 --> 00:21:51,167
Your kid gets
their driver's license.

406
00:21:51,208 --> 00:21:53,750
Your daughter goes
on her first date, right?

407
00:21:53,833 --> 00:21:56,000
You're pregnant and you've had
a bunch of miscarriages

408
00:21:56,042 --> 00:21:57,417
and you're hoping to carry to term.

409
00:21:57,500 --> 00:22:00,292
Some fears are real.
Not all fears are sinful.

410
00:22:00,333 --> 00:22:03,167
You're kind of silly
if you don't have any fears.

411
00:22:03,208 --> 00:22:05,625
You're probably
not paying attention.

412
00:22:06,333 --> 00:22:10,333
But every fear is an opportunity

413
00:22:11,833 --> 00:22:14,500
to either run to or from God

414
00:22:14,542 --> 00:22:17,333
as the source of our comfort,
hope, and help.

415
00:22:17,375 --> 00:22:21,375
Who do you fear? What do you fear?
How do you fear?

416
00:22:21,833 --> 00:22:24,333
Fear is an enormous issue

417
00:22:24,417 --> 00:22:28,500
and it manifests itself
with something called anxiety.

418
00:22:28,917 --> 00:22:32,333
Now let me say this
before I go to the next slide.

419
00:22:32,667 --> 00:22:34,417
How wonderful is it

420
00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:39,167
that Jesus is talking about
these issues that are so pertinent?

421
00:22:42,500 --> 00:22:44,167
So pertinent.

422
00:22:44,583 --> 00:22:48,042
Number one category of prescription
medication in the U.S.,

423
00:22:48,125 --> 00:22:49,917
antidepressants.

424
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,167
One of the number one issues
is sleeplessness.

425
00:22:54,667 --> 00:22:56,667
People are anxious

426
00:22:56,708 --> 00:23:00,458
and they're stressed out.
They're freaked out. They're struggling.

427
00:23:00,500 --> 00:23:03,458
People are taking less
of their vacations than ever,

428
00:23:03,500 --> 00:23:07,208
bringing their phones
and laptops along to be connected

429
00:23:07,292 --> 00:23:12,792
to all of their responsibilities
because they're so afraid

430
00:23:12,833 --> 00:23:17,667
of not having control
that they can't even take a break.

431
00:23:19,500 --> 00:23:21,250
It's called anxiousness.

432
00:23:21,333 --> 00:23:24,333
Jesus is the wonderful counselor
and he's talking to us

433
00:23:24,417 --> 00:23:27,583
about these things,
because he really does love us

434
00:23:27,667 --> 00:23:29,667
and he wants to help us
and serve us.

435
00:23:29,708 --> 00:23:32,333
So here is what Jesus has to say
and here's my second question.

436
00:23:32,417 --> 00:23:36,583
When does your body manifest anxiety?
Okay, fear starts where?

437
00:23:37,292 --> 00:23:38,833
The mind,

438
00:23:39,292 --> 00:23:44,500
anticipating the future
and then being fearful of it.

439
00:23:45,542 --> 00:23:49,333
And this manifests itself
with anxiety in the body.

440
00:23:49,417 --> 00:23:52,083
And God designed our bodies
in such a way

441
00:23:52,167 --> 00:23:55,333
so as to give us clues
about our mental state.

442
00:23:55,875 --> 00:23:59,333
And Luke is a doctor.
He's a medical physician.

443
00:24:00,167 --> 00:24:02,833
He's reporting
what Jesus is teaching.

444
00:24:02,875 --> 00:24:05,042
Here's what Jesus says
in Luke 12:22,

445
00:24:05,125 --> 00:24:07,792
"Do not be anxious
about your life."

446
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,458
Now that is a big category.
Right? The life.

447
00:24:11,833 --> 00:24:14,208
Some of you say, "Yeah,
but what about finances?" Life.

448
00:24:14,292 --> 00:24:18,292
"What about health?" Life.
"What about relationships?" Life.

449
00:24:19,167 --> 00:24:25,000
Anything in life is something
that could potentially produce

450
00:24:25,083 --> 00:24:30,583
fear-based anxiety
and we need to not be anxious.

451
00:24:32,125 --> 00:24:36,000
Luke 12:25, he says,
"Which of you by being anxious,"

452
00:24:36,333 --> 00:24:40,083
we call it stressed, "can add
a single hour to his span of life?"

453
00:24:40,167 --> 00:24:43,042
Here's what Jesus is saying,
"I don't want you to be anxious

454
00:24:43,125 --> 00:24:44,833
because you're going
to hurt yourself.

455
00:24:46,417 --> 00:24:49,958
You're going to reduce
the quality and duration of your life.

456
00:24:50,917 --> 00:24:54,458
You're actually going
to shorten your lifespan

457
00:24:54,667 --> 00:24:57,958
if you're ruled
by your fears and anxieties."

458
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,667
Is that true? Does Jesus know
what he's talking about?

459
00:25:01,750 --> 00:25:03,500
How many of you have gone
to your doctor,

460
00:25:03,583 --> 00:25:05,167
say, "I want to live a long time."

461
00:25:05,208 --> 00:25:08,000
He says, "The key is to stress.

462
00:25:08,083 --> 00:25:11,708
"That definitely will--
you might see 400

463
00:25:11,792 --> 00:25:14,750
if you freak out. That'll help."

464
00:25:19,333 --> 00:25:23,458
Fear in the mind
leads to anxiety in the body.

465
00:25:24,167 --> 00:25:25,958
That's what Jesus says.

466
00:25:26,250 --> 00:25:32,208
Anxiety is the body's response
mechanism to fear of the mind

467
00:25:32,292 --> 00:25:35,000
and it results
in what they call fight or flight,

468
00:25:35,042 --> 00:25:39,125
meaning you're going to get amped up
and go to war, or run for your life.

469
00:25:39,167 --> 00:25:42,708
Most people in varying situations
do one or the other.

470
00:25:44,083 --> 00:25:47,750
Now let me say this, and I'm going
to talk about the physical,

471
00:25:47,833 --> 00:25:52,917
physiological signs
of fear-based anxiety.

472
00:25:53,583 --> 00:25:57,333
And let me say this.
I am chief of hypocrites.

473
00:25:58,458 --> 00:25:59,875
Okay?

474
00:26:00,583 --> 00:26:02,708
I'm chief of hypocrites.

475
00:26:03,542 --> 00:26:06,625
I'm not going to tell you,
"Here's what I've learned

476
00:26:06,667 --> 00:26:08,500
and you should be like me."

477
00:26:08,583 --> 00:26:12,667
I'd say, "Here's where I'm a hypocrite.
Let's be like Jesus together."

478
00:26:13,542 --> 00:26:16,458
My story is--some of you
know my story.

479
00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:18,792
God saved me at 19.

480
00:26:18,833 --> 00:26:22,250
Married at 21, in college. Fearful.

481
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,333
There's no money. We're married.

482
00:26:25,375 --> 00:26:27,833
Statistically, if you get married
at that age in college

483
00:26:27,875 --> 00:26:31,000
you're going to get divorced.
It's going to go really bad.

484
00:26:31,042 --> 00:26:33,500
Need to finish school.
Lot of fears.

485
00:26:33,542 --> 00:26:36,667
Graduate. Got to find a job.
Got to move back to Seattle.

486
00:26:36,708 --> 00:26:40,083
Got to start a church. Fearful.
We start the church.

487
00:26:40,167 --> 00:26:42,333
There's no money.
No salary for 3 years.

488
00:26:42,417 --> 00:26:44,583
Wife gets pregnant. More fear.

489
00:26:45,042 --> 00:26:48,333
Least churched city in America.
Who's going to come?

490
00:26:48,375 --> 00:26:51,458
Fearful.
Then I see the people who do come.

491
00:26:51,958 --> 00:26:55,292
More fear. Look at them.
Look at them.

492
00:26:58,250 --> 00:27:01,167
And I felt God had called me
to primarily reach young men

493
00:27:01,208 --> 00:27:03,333
who were single in their 20s.

494
00:27:03,417 --> 00:27:06,583
Then they show up
and they're all broke.

495
00:27:06,875 --> 00:27:09,750
And they don't give and their
girlfriends are all pregnant.

496
00:27:09,833 --> 00:27:11,333
More fear.

497
00:27:11,375 --> 00:27:15,333
Like, "If I succeed,
that's still failure." All right?

498
00:27:15,792 --> 00:27:18,125
Like, "I have the people
I'm trying to get.

499
00:27:18,167 --> 00:27:20,833
I don't even want them."
I'm like, "Argh!"

500
00:27:21,667 --> 00:27:24,833
Fear, we don't have a place to meet.
Fear, we're homeless.

501
00:27:24,875 --> 00:27:27,792
Fear, we have no money.
Fear, it starts growing.

502
00:27:27,833 --> 00:27:30,500
We don't have enough leaders.
Fear. Argh!

503
00:27:30,583 --> 00:27:33,542
It goes for awhile, a decade.

504
00:27:33,625 --> 00:27:36,000
[congregation laughing]

505
00:27:36,458 --> 00:27:40,167
Add more services, keep on moving.
And here's what I decide.

506
00:27:40,208 --> 00:27:43,208
I'm tough.
And I am, just so you know.

507
00:27:43,792 --> 00:27:45,208
I'm tough.

508
00:27:45,292 --> 00:27:47,667
So I'm going to be tough--
I'm just going to work hard.

509
00:27:47,708 --> 00:27:50,583
I'm going to work hard.
I come from a blue collar, hardworking,

510
00:27:50,667 --> 00:27:52,458
dad's a construction worker, family.

511
00:27:52,500 --> 00:27:55,833
I'm going to work harder.
I'm going to just grind it out.

512
00:27:55,917 --> 00:27:59,500
Preach, I don't know, 50 weeks a year.
Six, seven times a Sunday.

513
00:27:59,542 --> 00:28:02,583
Travel, plant churches, family.

514
00:28:02,667 --> 00:28:04,667
Just grind it out and go.

515
00:28:06,500 --> 00:28:10,000
And then, a couple of years ago,
I just tapped out.

516
00:28:10,583 --> 00:28:13,167
Some of you know my story.
I just tapped out.

517
00:28:13,208 --> 00:28:17,208
Now I should have seen it coming.
I wasn't paying attention.

518
00:28:18,333 --> 00:28:21,667
I couldn't sleep at all.
Two or three hours a night.

519
00:28:21,750 --> 00:28:23,667
I could not sleep.

520
00:28:24,167 --> 00:28:27,750
I'd go to bed, wake up
2, 3 in the morning.

521
00:28:27,833 --> 00:28:30,667
Weeks of this. I mean
I got black circles under my eyes.

522
00:28:30,708 --> 00:28:32,833
I am sleep deprived. I am dying.

523
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,333
I have heartburn.
I have allergies.

524
00:28:36,417 --> 00:28:39,667
I had a sinus infection
that lasted over a year.

525
00:28:41,667 --> 00:28:46,000
As a preacher,
that's really a complication.

526
00:28:46,458 --> 00:28:49,292
Sore throat
and can't breathe for a year.

527
00:28:50,875 --> 00:28:53,833
I started getting
all kinds of sickness

528
00:28:53,875 --> 00:28:56,833
and stomach problems and headaches

529
00:28:57,542 --> 00:28:59,875
and just finally hit the wall.

530
00:28:59,958 --> 00:29:02,667
I think probably, clinically,
I don't know.

531
00:29:02,708 --> 00:29:05,250
I'm not a doctor,
but I would say I would have met--

532
00:29:05,333 --> 00:29:08,042
I've read
the "Are you depressed?" list.

533
00:29:08,125 --> 00:29:11,875
And usually at the end,
it just pops up, "We're sorry,"

534
00:29:11,958 --> 00:29:15,333
you know, every time
I'd take one of those tests.

535
00:29:16,250 --> 00:29:19,250
All right, because, I mean,
I'm a straight A student

536
00:29:19,333 --> 00:29:20,833
on the depression test.

537
00:29:20,917 --> 00:29:23,250
At least I was at the time.

538
00:29:23,333 --> 00:29:25,875
And by God's grace
it's getting better.

539
00:29:25,958 --> 00:29:27,667
But yeah,
I think I was depressed,

540
00:29:27,750 --> 00:29:30,333
because I got to the point
I didn't want to see anybody.

541
00:29:30,417 --> 00:29:33,292
I would just sit home,
watch cage fighting.

542
00:29:33,333 --> 00:29:35,000
[congregation laughing]

543
00:29:35,083 --> 00:29:39,167
And smile, like,
"Look at that. Nice."

544
00:29:39,417 --> 00:29:42,542
That is a symptom
of depression, right?

545
00:29:42,625 --> 00:29:46,208
When like the only thing that cheers
you up is someone being assaulted?

546
00:29:46,292 --> 00:29:47,833
[congregation laughing]

547
00:29:47,917 --> 00:29:49,833
Like probably depressed.

548
00:29:49,917 --> 00:29:53,708
So I go to my doctor.
My doctor says, "You need a new job."

549
00:29:53,792 --> 00:29:56,333
I say, "You know,
that's a great idea right there.

550
00:29:56,375 --> 00:30:01,458
I'd like to be a mattress tester.
That's what I've always wanted to be."

551
00:30:01,500 --> 00:30:04,792
But I remembered, "No, Jesus said
to plant a church and preach the Bible

552
00:30:04,833 --> 00:30:07,250
and train men and marry Grace.
So I got to do that."

553
00:30:07,333 --> 00:30:10,625
So then for me it was diet,
health, nutrition, exercise,

554
00:30:10,667 --> 00:30:12,000
theological change.

555
00:30:12,083 --> 00:30:15,625
I started reading books on stress
and adrenaline and cortisol

556
00:30:15,667 --> 00:30:19,542
and anxiety, counseling books,
medical books.

557
00:30:19,625 --> 00:30:22,375
I'm still reading
all this kind of stuff.

558
00:30:22,458 --> 00:30:25,875
And you know what I found out?
Jesus is right.

559
00:30:25,958 --> 00:30:29,333
Fear in the mind leads
to anxiety in the body.

560
00:30:29,417 --> 00:30:32,833
So I'll share with you some things
that I've learned through studies.

561
00:30:32,875 --> 00:30:35,917
And I tell you this not to judge you
and say, "I've figured it out.

562
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:37,833
Let me tell you how to do it,"

563
00:30:37,875 --> 00:30:41,333
but as a guy who's always learning the
same lesson over and over and over.

564
00:30:41,375 --> 00:30:44,375
I like to drive
around the cul de sac.

565
00:30:45,458 --> 00:30:48,375
Here's what happens
when fear in the mind results

566
00:30:48,458 --> 00:30:50,000
in anxiousness in the body.

567
00:30:50,042 --> 00:30:54,792
The brain signals
the release of pituitary

568
00:30:54,833 --> 00:30:57,958
and adrenal hormones.
Your hypothalamus kicks on.

569
00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,250
Your body becomes alert.
You're on.

570
00:31:00,333 --> 00:31:02,000
All right?
Your systems start to fire.

571
00:31:02,042 --> 00:31:04,500
This is like putting the key
in the ignition for a car.

572
00:31:04,583 --> 00:31:07,875
Everything starts up.
All the systems start firing.

573
00:31:07,958 --> 00:31:11,833
The adrenaline then starts pumping,
as does the cortisol.

574
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,875
You're going to live off
of this energy source.

575
00:31:15,208 --> 00:31:18,375
For me, I lived off it for so long
that I fatigued,

576
00:31:18,458 --> 00:31:20,500
tapped out, my adrenal gland.

577
00:31:21,042 --> 00:31:24,250
All right, my adrenal glands started
taking vacations without me.

578
00:31:24,333 --> 00:31:26,583
It's like, "We're done. Good luck."

579
00:31:26,667 --> 00:31:28,917
No energy at all.
So then I start drinking

580
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,875
lots of caffeine and energy drinks

581
00:31:31,958 --> 00:31:36,125
and just trying to push beyond
what God even intended for my body.

582
00:31:36,375 --> 00:31:39,000
Your hair stands up,
your heart races, you sweat,

583
00:31:39,083 --> 00:31:41,833
your stomach churns,
your blood thickens,

584
00:31:41,875 --> 00:31:44,375
your blood pressure elevates.

585
00:31:44,833 --> 00:31:48,542
Endorphins are released to numb
the pain so you don't even feel it.

586
00:31:48,625 --> 00:31:50,917
How many of you are athletes

587
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,125
and when you're competing
you don't feel anything?

588
00:31:53,167 --> 00:31:54,833
It's the letdown,

589
00:31:54,917 --> 00:31:58,333
the hours and days afterward,
where the pain kicks in?

590
00:31:58,667 --> 00:32:02,292
So when you're pushing it,
you're not feeling it.

591
00:32:02,917 --> 00:32:06,875
Okay, God designed our bodies,
in moments of terror or danger,

592
00:32:08,208 --> 00:32:10,708
to use all of our energies
for survival.

593
00:32:10,792 --> 00:32:13,833
But the problem is we live in a world
where we're stuck on.

594
00:32:13,917 --> 00:32:16,958
We're always in that state
of perpetual stress.

595
00:32:17,625 --> 00:32:20,208
Glucose is released
for quick energy.

596
00:32:21,458 --> 00:32:24,833
What happens then is
as your adrenaline fires in seconds

597
00:32:24,917 --> 00:32:26,792
and is moderated by your cortisol,

598
00:32:26,833 --> 00:32:30,250
it can take hours to come down
because you feel high.

599
00:32:30,333 --> 00:32:32,042
So for me, Sunday nights,

600
00:32:32,125 --> 00:32:36,208
it's quite frankly hard for me
to get to bed before 2 a.m.

601
00:32:36,292 --> 00:32:39,542
Before 2 a.m., because it takes,
usually for me,

602
00:32:39,625 --> 00:32:42,625
a good 4 hours--
if you're under moderate stress,

603
00:32:42,667 --> 00:32:44,917
2 hours,
but if you're under a lot of stress,

604
00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:48,792
4 plus hours--for the adrenaline
to just run its course

605
00:32:48,833 --> 00:32:51,167
and for you to come down
from the high.

606
00:32:53,042 --> 00:32:56,167
What happens as well, your vision
is clear, your attention is focused,

607
00:32:56,208 --> 00:32:58,875
your memory's aware, you feel alert,
you feel powerful,

608
00:32:58,958 --> 00:33:01,250
you feel on, you feel good.

609
00:33:02,667 --> 00:33:05,250
That's why people get addicted
to the high.

610
00:33:06,958 --> 00:33:10,833
What happens though is, if you're
in this perpetual state of anxiety,

611
00:33:11,208 --> 00:33:14,833
you get unusual mood swings,
anger, depression.

612
00:33:15,833 --> 00:33:19,500
A pastor buddy of mine,
he was out for a run in great health

613
00:33:20,250 --> 00:33:23,417
and found himself
just sitting on the side of the road,

614
00:33:23,500 --> 00:33:26,875
bawling uncontrollably
and he knew not why.

615
00:33:27,333 --> 00:33:30,667
Just his emotions
were out of control.

616
00:33:31,333 --> 00:33:33,458
Sometimes it's just exhaustion.

617
00:33:33,500 --> 00:33:36,833
You ever wake up,
"Did I even go to bed?"

618
00:33:37,875 --> 00:33:40,667
See the average American
is sleep deprived.

619
00:33:40,708 --> 00:33:43,375
They say it takes
8 to 10 hours of sleep--

620
00:33:43,458 --> 00:33:45,500
that's what the average person
requires.

621
00:33:45,583 --> 00:33:47,667
Let's say it's an average of 9.

622
00:33:47,708 --> 00:33:51,750
Most of you are getting a few hours
less sleep than you should,

623
00:33:52,292 --> 00:33:55,750
meaning you're paying for it
out of your account of health

624
00:33:55,833 --> 00:33:57,958
and with things like coffee.

625
00:34:00,375 --> 00:34:02,167
Nervous twitch.

626
00:34:02,250 --> 00:34:05,500
When I get stressed, I get a nervous
eye twitch in my left eye.

627
00:34:05,583 --> 00:34:07,167
So if I'm preaching you think,

628
00:34:07,250 --> 00:34:09,833
"He's hitting on all of us.
I do not know why."

629
00:34:09,875 --> 00:34:13,750
He's not hitting on all of you.
He's freaking out. Pray for him.

630
00:34:14,833 --> 00:34:17,333
How about disassociation
or checking out?

631
00:34:17,375 --> 00:34:19,500
How many of you,
there's whole days you--

632
00:34:19,542 --> 00:34:22,167
the day's over and you're like,
"What did I even do today?

633
00:34:22,208 --> 00:34:25,333
I don't--I mean I was on auto--
I was mentally elsewhere."

634
00:34:25,375 --> 00:34:27,125
How many of you
have had that commute?

635
00:34:27,167 --> 00:34:30,458
You get in the car, you drive home.
You get home and you're like,

636
00:34:30,500 --> 00:34:33,667
"I'm home.
I do not remember driving home.

637
00:34:33,708 --> 00:34:36,500
"I'm going to look around
the front of the car for blood.

638
00:34:36,542 --> 00:34:38,917
"I don't know what happened
on the way home.

639
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:42,208
I was not there.
I was disassociated, checked out."

640
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,958
One of the elders at Mars Hill,
I won't tell you which one,

641
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:47,917
but you'll know.

642
00:34:48,125 --> 00:34:50,833
He gets canker sores
when he's stressed out.

643
00:34:50,875 --> 00:34:53,458
I'm like, "Are you stressed?"
He's like, "How do you know?"

644
00:34:53,500 --> 00:34:56,250
"Well, I can tell."
He gets canker sores.

645
00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:58,958
Paranoia and suspicion.

646
00:34:59,458 --> 00:35:02,833
Weight change. You put on a lot
of weight. You lose a lot of weight.

647
00:35:02,917 --> 00:35:04,833
Moments of panic,
feeling overwhelmed.

648
00:35:04,875 --> 00:35:06,500
Fantasizing about dying.

649
00:35:06,583 --> 00:35:09,000
Some people get to the point
where they're suicidal.

650
00:35:09,042 --> 00:35:12,500
For Christians, they tend to start
reading books about the rapture.

651
00:35:12,583 --> 00:35:15,250
Kind of like, "I'm going to leave.
Jesus, it's Monday.

652
00:35:15,333 --> 00:35:18,583
Monday's always a good day
to take me home. Take me now."

653
00:35:18,667 --> 00:35:21,417
You start fantasizing
about getting out.

654
00:35:21,875 --> 00:35:23,750
Insomnia.

655
00:35:23,833 --> 00:35:25,958
You start self-medicating
then with alcohol,

656
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:29,000
trying to get yourself
to come down from the high.

657
00:35:29,083 --> 00:35:30,792
But that negatively affects
your sleep.

658
00:35:30,833 --> 00:35:34,167
Or tobacco,
trying to calm your system.

659
00:35:34,542 --> 00:35:36,542
High blood pressure.

660
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:39,167
Junk food, unhealthy eating.

661
00:35:40,250 --> 00:35:42,167
We call it comfort food.

662
00:35:43,417 --> 00:35:46,542
It's a way of regulating
the body's systems.

663
00:35:46,625 --> 00:35:49,542
Irritability.
Reckless, aggressive driving.

664
00:35:49,625 --> 00:35:51,792
Like I did last night in traffic.

665
00:35:51,833 --> 00:35:55,667
Laid on the horn. Somebody went
into the intersection and blocked it

666
00:35:55,708 --> 00:35:58,583
twice for an entire green light.

667
00:35:59,833 --> 00:36:02,542
And so I wanted to notify them.

668
00:36:02,625 --> 00:36:05,417
[congregation laughing]

669
00:36:12,208 --> 00:36:13,875
Just trying to serve.

670
00:36:13,958 --> 00:36:16,042
[congregation laughing]

671
00:36:17,750 --> 00:36:21,500
Physical symptoms. Irritable bowel
syndrome, headaches, heart trouble,

672
00:36:21,583 --> 00:36:25,125
chronic sickness, stomach troubles,
a victim mentality.

673
00:36:25,167 --> 00:36:28,250
"Everybody's against me.
God's not here to help me."

674
00:36:28,875 --> 00:36:31,250
Some of you use shopping sprees.

675
00:36:31,792 --> 00:36:34,792
"I'm depressed.
I'm going to the mall."

676
00:36:34,833 --> 00:36:38,625
Okay? Some people do that.
Some of you ladies do that too.

677
00:36:38,667 --> 00:36:40,917
"I'm going to go buy clothes
that make me feel better

678
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:42,500
until I get the bill.

679
00:36:43,250 --> 00:36:46,625
And then I'll have fear
of paying off the credit card."

680
00:36:46,667 --> 00:36:48,667
We go shopping as therapy.

681
00:36:49,083 --> 00:36:51,292
A lot of caffeine, panic attacks.

682
00:36:51,333 --> 00:36:54,833
And pretty soon everybody starts
to feel like yet another burden

683
00:36:54,917 --> 00:36:59,375
and God seems really far away.
That is anxiousness.

684
00:36:59,458 --> 00:37:02,250
Jesus says,
"If you have anxiousness,

685
00:37:02,333 --> 00:37:07,000
you are reducing the quality
and length of your life.

686
00:37:07,333 --> 00:37:09,125
It's going to kill you."

687
00:37:09,792 --> 00:37:13,375
There will be seasons
of anxiousness and stress.

688
00:37:13,458 --> 00:37:18,333
Life in a fallen world is inevitably
going to include those seasons,

689
00:37:18,417 --> 00:37:22,500
but particularly when they become
consistent and constant

690
00:37:22,542 --> 00:37:26,333
that means that we are in the process
of killing ourselves.

691
00:37:27,208 --> 00:37:30,583
And that's our whole culture.

692
00:37:31,292 --> 00:37:34,375
I mean to me this really scared me
some years ago.

693
00:37:35,042 --> 00:37:37,000
I had a bunch of buddies

694
00:37:37,042 --> 00:37:40,042
who had faster growing churches
and were young pastors.

695
00:37:40,125 --> 00:37:42,375
All of a sudden I start getting
e-mails and calls, like,

696
00:37:42,458 --> 00:37:44,958
"They're in the hospital."
Why? "Panic attack.

697
00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:46,667
They thought
they were having a heart attack."

698
00:37:46,708 --> 00:37:48,083
"Really? They're in their 30s."

699
00:37:48,167 --> 00:37:50,000
"Oh yeah, that person has cancer."

700
00:37:50,083 --> 00:37:54,167
Start studying
that anxiousness depletes

701
00:37:54,250 --> 00:37:59,333
the ability of the body to fight
against sickness and illness.

702
00:37:59,417 --> 00:38:02,833
It reduces the health and well-being
of the immune system,

703
00:38:02,917 --> 00:38:05,583
which means whatever
your weak point is in your health,

704
00:38:05,667 --> 00:38:07,833
stress is going to exacerbate it

705
00:38:07,917 --> 00:38:11,250
and is going to make you
incredibly vulnerable.

706
00:38:11,333 --> 00:38:13,000
It's going to expose it.

707
00:38:13,833 --> 00:38:18,083
Buddy of mine's losing blood.
A buddy of mine had a heart attack.

708
00:38:18,458 --> 00:38:20,333
Multiple guys with cancer.

709
00:38:20,375 --> 00:38:22,000
All young guys

710
00:38:22,042 --> 00:38:25,083
with fast growing ministries,
living off of the pressure.

711
00:38:25,167 --> 00:38:29,875
Fear of failure, fear of the critics,
fear of finances,

712
00:38:29,958 --> 00:38:33,083
fear of success, fear of failure,

713
00:38:33,167 --> 00:38:36,125
fear of expectations,
fear of demands.

714
00:38:36,167 --> 00:38:38,625
Just completely overwhelmed.

715
00:38:40,458 --> 00:38:42,500
Completely overwhelmed.

716
00:38:42,917 --> 00:38:45,750
And you start thinking, "If that's
the way that a lot of pastors are,

717
00:38:45,833 --> 00:38:47,792
how are their people doing?"

718
00:38:49,333 --> 00:38:52,833
It sets in motion a whole culture
of sickness and death.

719
00:38:54,333 --> 00:38:58,667
So friends, how wonderful is it that
Jesus would talk about these things?

720
00:38:59,542 --> 00:39:01,167
And you know what?

721
00:39:01,250 --> 00:39:03,167
He does so sympathetically.

722
00:39:03,208 --> 00:39:05,375
Here's what is so wonderful
about Jesus.

723
00:39:05,458 --> 00:39:07,542
Unlike other religions' view
of gods,

724
00:39:07,625 --> 00:39:10,833
where God is far away
and he's never been here

725
00:39:13,292 --> 00:39:15,500
and God just says, "Fear not!"

726
00:39:15,542 --> 00:39:17,458
That's easy for you to say!

727
00:39:17,500 --> 00:39:20,500
In heaven getting worshiped
by the angels.

728
00:39:20,958 --> 00:39:22,958
That's really different

729
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:27,500
than living here on the earth as
a sinner in a crooked, fallen world

730
00:39:27,542 --> 00:39:30,333
with a bunch of people
you can't depend on.

731
00:39:30,833 --> 00:39:33,833
And our God comes into human history.
God becomes a man.

732
00:39:33,917 --> 00:39:35,167
His name is Jesus.

733
00:39:35,250 --> 00:39:37,667
In Hebrews it says,
we do not have a high priest

734
00:39:37,708 --> 00:39:39,417
who is unable to sympathize with us

735
00:39:39,500 --> 00:39:41,167
in our weakness
because he's been here.

736
00:39:41,250 --> 00:39:43,333
He gets it. He knows it. He feels it.

737
00:39:43,375 --> 00:39:47,583
Great. So when Jesus is talking
about fear and anxiety,

738
00:39:48,167 --> 00:39:53,500
who could possibly have greater fears
available to them than Jesus?

739
00:39:54,833 --> 00:40:00,000
Jesus is going to go to the cross
and atone for the sin of the world

740
00:40:00,042 --> 00:40:03,125
and endure the wrath of the Father.

741
00:40:04,417 --> 00:40:06,667
Jesus does have

742
00:40:06,750 --> 00:40:10,667
some difficulty, some distress,

743
00:40:10,708 --> 00:40:13,083
and he works this through
with the Father

744
00:40:13,167 --> 00:40:15,167
like we have to work it through
with the Father.

745
00:40:15,208 --> 00:40:18,333
That's why in the garden
of Gethsemane he is literally

746
00:40:18,417 --> 00:40:21,625
sweating drops of blood
as he's anticipating

747
00:40:21,667 --> 00:40:24,167
his own execution and murder.

748
00:40:24,208 --> 00:40:26,250
When Jesus says,
"Fear not,"

749
00:40:26,333 --> 00:40:29,000
he understands what it's like
to suffer physically.

750
00:40:29,083 --> 00:40:31,000
He understands
what it's like to die.

751
00:40:31,083 --> 00:40:34,542
He understands what it's like to have
people malign your reputation.

752
00:40:34,625 --> 00:40:37,625
He knows what it's like to have
your family think you're crazy

753
00:40:37,667 --> 00:40:39,917
or disown you
or turn their back on you.

754
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:42,500
He knows what it's like to have
friends you can't depend on,

755
00:40:42,542 --> 00:40:45,583
because his were all asleep in the
garden when he needed them the most.

756
00:40:45,667 --> 00:40:48,042
He knows what it's like
to have someone you love

757
00:40:48,125 --> 00:40:50,458
sabotage their own life,
steal from you,

758
00:40:50,500 --> 00:40:52,500
betray you, and kill themselves.

759
00:40:52,583 --> 00:40:56,417
His name was Judas
and Jesus loved him and served him.

760
00:40:56,500 --> 00:40:59,167
Jesus knows what it's like
to be single and alone.

761
00:40:59,208 --> 00:41:02,125
He's at this point
broke and homeless,

762
00:41:03,500 --> 00:41:05,500
heading toward the cross.

763
00:41:06,375 --> 00:41:08,792
So isn't it wonderful

764
00:41:08,833 --> 00:41:12,292
that Jesus isn't just
another religious guy

765
00:41:12,333 --> 00:41:16,500
with a cushy, comfy life
giving us principles

766
00:41:16,542 --> 00:41:19,167
that he himself has no need of?

767
00:41:19,250 --> 00:41:21,167
That's not our Jesus.

768
00:41:21,542 --> 00:41:26,000
Don't you love this Jesus?
So when he says, "Fear not," okay.

769
00:41:26,625 --> 00:41:28,667
You understand.

770
00:41:29,208 --> 00:41:31,875
And you're not just giving me
something to do.

771
00:41:31,958 --> 00:41:34,125
You're trying to lead me
in a new way of life

772
00:41:34,167 --> 00:41:36,500
that's good for me
because you love me.

773
00:41:36,833 --> 00:41:38,625
That's our Jesus.

774
00:41:39,708 --> 00:41:42,958
And Jesus is going to go a direction
that I would have never expected.

775
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:46,375
Like I said, I've read a stack
of books as tall as me on adrenaline,

776
00:41:46,458 --> 00:41:51,167
stress, anxiety,
the psychological, sociological,

777
00:41:51,208 --> 00:41:57,167
philosophical, biological, theological
aspects of fear and anxiety.

778
00:41:57,500 --> 00:42:00,958
And not one of them has gone
where Jesus is going to go.

779
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:05,333
Jesus is going to go
a completely different direction.

780
00:42:05,875 --> 00:42:09,000
Every book I've read, it's about
paying attention to yourself,

781
00:42:09,083 --> 00:42:11,833
getting to know yourself, loving
yourself, taking care of yourself.

782
00:42:11,917 --> 00:42:13,292
And you know what?

783
00:42:13,333 --> 00:42:16,125
To some degree, you need to be
a good steward of your body

784
00:42:16,167 --> 00:42:17,833
and a good steward of your life.

785
00:42:17,917 --> 00:42:22,000
But what Jesus does, he redirects
all of our focus away from ourself.

786
00:42:22,042 --> 00:42:24,625
And he says, "You know
what part of the problem is?

787
00:42:24,667 --> 00:42:27,333
If all you ever do
is think about yourself,

788
00:42:27,417 --> 00:42:30,042
you're going to end up
with fear and anxiety.

789
00:42:30,125 --> 00:42:34,083
And if you start thinking
about your Father and those in need,

790
00:42:36,750 --> 00:42:40,250
it'll completely alter
the way you face your life."

791
00:42:41,167 --> 00:42:43,042
See part of the problem is,

792
00:42:43,667 --> 00:42:47,250
if I worship me,
then learning to worship me better

793
00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:50,500
only makes me
more fearful and anxious.

794
00:42:52,042 --> 00:42:54,750
That's where Luther says
that sin is ultimately

795
00:42:54,833 --> 00:42:57,125
the self turning in on the self.

796
00:42:57,375 --> 00:43:01,208
And repentance is,
"What about God and other people?"

797
00:43:03,417 --> 00:43:05,917
So Jesus' third question is,

798
00:43:06,333 --> 00:43:08,167
"Where is your treasure?"

799
00:43:08,208 --> 00:43:10,708
Your money, your possessions.
Are you kidding me?

800
00:43:10,792 --> 00:43:13,125
Jesus goes to your stuff.

801
00:43:13,500 --> 00:43:16,333
He's going to go to your stuff.
Are you kidding me?

802
00:43:16,417 --> 00:43:18,167
"Jesus I'm freaking out!"

803
00:43:18,250 --> 00:43:20,167
"Yeah, what about your car?
What about your house?

804
00:43:20,208 --> 00:43:22,833
What about your job? What about your
credit cards? What about your giving?

805
00:43:22,917 --> 00:43:25,083
What about the poor? " "What--

806
00:43:25,167 --> 00:43:28,625
Jesus, what does my stuff
have to do with my stress?

807
00:43:28,667 --> 00:43:31,958
Is this just another sermon
where you take my stuff?"

808
00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:34,583
Jesus says,
"I'm not trying to take your stuff.

809
00:43:34,667 --> 00:43:36,875
"I'm trying to take your stress.

810
00:43:37,250 --> 00:43:40,625
And a lot of your stress
is connected to your stuff."

811
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:44,000
This is unexpected.

812
00:43:44,958 --> 00:43:49,083
Here is what he says.
We'll just unpack it. Luke 12:23,

813
00:43:49,500 --> 00:43:52,542
"For life is more than food."
Really?

814
00:43:53,333 --> 00:43:56,000
How many of you,
food is a big deal?

815
00:43:56,042 --> 00:43:58,125
Jesus is not saying here,
"Don't eat."

816
00:43:58,167 --> 00:44:02,167
I would recommend it.
It's a big part of seeing tomorrow.

817
00:44:02,208 --> 00:44:03,875
All right, feel free to eat.

818
00:44:03,958 --> 00:44:06,500
But what he's saying here is that
food can become all consuming.

819
00:44:06,542 --> 00:44:09,333
And in these times
that Jesus is teaching,

820
00:44:09,375 --> 00:44:11,167
people only had food for the day.

821
00:44:11,250 --> 00:44:14,000
For us it's a different problem.
Their concern was starvation.

822
00:44:14,042 --> 00:44:15,833
Ours is obesity.

823
00:44:15,875 --> 00:44:18,250
They didn't have enough to eat.

824
00:44:18,333 --> 00:44:20,125
We eat too much.

825
00:44:20,167 --> 00:44:23,667
They're saying right now
about a third of Americans are obese

826
00:44:23,708 --> 00:44:26,750
and within the next decade
it'll be 42%.

827
00:44:27,417 --> 00:44:31,167
But you know what that is?
That is, like Paul says elsewhere,

828
00:44:31,542 --> 00:44:34,208
our stomach becomes our God.

829
00:44:36,208 --> 00:44:38,000
Our stomach becomes our God.

830
00:44:38,083 --> 00:44:41,625
When we're happy,
we reward ourselves with food.

831
00:44:42,250 --> 00:44:45,542
When we're stressed,
we comfort ourselves with food.

832
00:44:45,625 --> 00:44:48,542
We have a relationship with food
that is more akin

833
00:44:48,625 --> 00:44:51,375
to the relationship
we're supposed to have with God.

834
00:44:51,458 --> 00:44:54,542
"I'm stressed. I need comfort."
The Holy Spirit's the comforter.

835
00:44:54,625 --> 00:44:56,458
"I don't care. What's in the fridge?

836
00:44:56,500 --> 00:44:59,375
I'm not going to go to God,
I'm going to go to the fridge."

837
00:44:59,458 --> 00:45:02,250
How many of you, like me--
I ask my wife this every day.

838
00:45:02,333 --> 00:45:03,625
"What's for dinner?"

839
00:45:03,667 --> 00:45:05,625
Because I like to think
about it all day

840
00:45:05,667 --> 00:45:10,667
and prepare myself and if I don't
like it then I want to have an option.

841
00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:15,417
Food is an indicator

842
00:45:15,750 --> 00:45:19,458
of where we're running
with our fears and anxieties.

843
00:45:20,958 --> 00:45:23,833
How much of your time
is considering food,

844
00:45:23,875 --> 00:45:26,625
preparing food, consuming food?
Is it bad to enjoy food?

845
00:45:26,667 --> 00:45:29,500
No, God's a good God.
God gives good gifts.

846
00:45:29,542 --> 00:45:33,958
But are you expecting something from
food that you can only get from Jesus?

847
00:45:35,292 --> 00:45:37,833
"Life is more than food,
and the body more than clothing."

848
00:45:37,917 --> 00:45:39,917
Are you kidding me?

849
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:44,000
This sounds like hippie talk, right?

850
00:45:44,667 --> 00:45:47,250
I mean, let's just be honest.

851
00:45:47,625 --> 00:45:49,958
"You know life
is not about clothing."

852
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:52,833
"Oh really, Mr. Toga? Really?"

853
00:45:53,500 --> 00:45:56,500
How many of you,
really life is about clothing?

854
00:45:56,583 --> 00:45:58,542
You have to wear the right clothes.

855
00:45:58,625 --> 00:46:01,833
And they're only right for a few months
because there's new right clothes.

856
00:46:01,917 --> 00:46:04,917
They keep changing
what is right clothes.

857
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:11,833
That's the whole point of the fashion industry.
"This is fashionable.

858
00:46:12,042 --> 00:46:13,833
"And now it's not.

859
00:46:13,917 --> 00:46:15,833
"You got to go shopping again.

860
00:46:15,917 --> 00:46:18,292
"You want to be up
with the times and the trends.

861
00:46:18,333 --> 00:46:20,833
Aren't you afraid
of what others will think?"

862
00:46:20,875 --> 00:46:23,875
"Yes I am, so I will go buy those
clothes." And then you have debt.

863
00:46:23,958 --> 00:46:26,667
"Aren't you afraid of your debt?"
"Yes! I'm afraid of my debt!

864
00:46:26,708 --> 00:46:31,167
I'm afraid of not looking my best
and I'm afraid of paying for it!"

865
00:46:31,208 --> 00:46:34,333
Is it is a sin to wear clothes?
No. Thank you for wearing some.

866
00:46:34,375 --> 00:46:36,375
Personally, I appreciate it.

867
00:46:36,458 --> 00:46:38,500
[congregation laughing]

868
00:46:38,958 --> 00:46:41,208
But how much time is put forth

869
00:46:41,292 --> 00:46:43,667
presenting ourselves
as someone we're not?

870
00:46:43,750 --> 00:46:46,792
We want to look like we're together.
We want to look like we're fine.

871
00:46:46,833 --> 00:46:50,458
We want to look like we've nailed it
and we're lying.

872
00:46:50,500 --> 00:46:53,458
"How are you?" "Great."
"Well you look great."

873
00:46:54,292 --> 00:46:56,500
"No, actually I'm freaking out,

874
00:46:56,917 --> 00:46:59,958
but I was hoping you'd look
at my jeans and not my face."

875
00:47:00,083 --> 00:47:01,750
[congregation laughing]

876
00:47:03,333 --> 00:47:06,542
"Consider the ravens."
This is--what?

877
00:47:06,917 --> 00:47:09,833
I never read this
in an anti-stress book.

878
00:47:09,917 --> 00:47:13,042
Chapter four, nasty birds.

879
00:47:13,125 --> 00:47:14,667
What?

880
00:47:16,375 --> 00:47:19,792
Ravens are nasty birds, right?
Nevermore.

881
00:47:19,833 --> 00:47:21,792
They're nasty.

882
00:47:21,833 --> 00:47:25,125
They're nasty. Pastor Bill said it.
We were talking earlier.

883
00:47:25,167 --> 00:47:28,917
He said that ravens are on the list
of unclean, nasty animals.

884
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:31,083
They're nasty. And they are.

885
00:47:31,167 --> 00:47:33,333
They are. Nobody has pet ravens.

886
00:47:33,375 --> 00:47:34,958
[congregation laughing]

887
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:38,250
All right, you don't.
If you do, call 911.

888
00:47:38,333 --> 00:47:41,292
There's something
profoundly wrong with you.

889
00:47:41,917 --> 00:47:44,167
If ravens show up, what do they do?

890
00:47:44,250 --> 00:47:46,833
They're scavenger birds.
They steal stuff.

891
00:47:47,042 --> 00:47:49,333
They're horrible. I hate ravens.

892
00:47:50,167 --> 00:47:51,792
I just do.

893
00:47:51,833 --> 00:47:53,375
[congregation laughing]

894
00:47:53,458 --> 00:47:57,417
Jesus says, "Consider the ravens."
You're like, "Mm, okay.

895
00:47:58,625 --> 00:48:01,667
Consider what?"
"They neither sow nor reap."

896
00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:05,333
Did you know that ravens
are not farmers?

897
00:48:06,458 --> 00:48:08,500
They don't have combines.

898
00:48:09,083 --> 00:48:10,667
Right, they don't.

899
00:48:10,708 --> 00:48:13,167
Not like they're all, right now,
trying to figure out

900
00:48:13,208 --> 00:48:15,833
how to get their food
to the raven grocery store.

901
00:48:15,875 --> 00:48:19,333
"They have neither storehouse
nor barn, yet God," does what?

902
00:48:19,708 --> 00:48:23,500
He "feeds them." They're unclean,
nasty, and vile and he feeds them.

903
00:48:23,583 --> 00:48:26,833
I don't even like them
and God feeds them.

904
00:48:26,917 --> 00:48:30,000
Here's the point.
Some of you will feel like a raven.

905
00:48:30,042 --> 00:48:32,417
"I'm just dirty and nasty and vile."
And you know what?

906
00:48:32,500 --> 00:48:34,375
God loves you and he feeds you.

907
00:48:34,458 --> 00:48:37,208
And if God's going to feed a raven,

908
00:48:37,708 --> 00:48:39,333
a nasty bird,

909
00:48:41,333 --> 00:48:44,333
he loves us more
than those nasty birds

910
00:48:44,375 --> 00:48:46,292
and we bear his image, unlike them.

911
00:48:46,333 --> 00:48:49,833
And so he is willing
and glad to help us.

912
00:48:50,500 --> 00:48:54,500
"Of how much more value are you
than the birds!

913
00:48:55,208 --> 00:48:58,667
"And which of you by being anxious
can add a single hour to his lifespan?

914
00:48:58,750 --> 00:49:02,000
"If you are not able to do
as small a thing

915
00:49:02,083 --> 00:49:05,125
as that, why are you anxious about
the rest?" Here's what he's saying.

916
00:49:05,167 --> 00:49:08,042
There's some stuff
that's just out of our control.

917
00:49:08,125 --> 00:49:09,792
Now...

918
00:49:10,583 --> 00:49:14,833
See, we believe here in the sovereignty
of God, that God rules and reigns.

919
00:49:14,917 --> 00:49:18,042
And when we freak out,
we're acting like heretics.

920
00:49:19,167 --> 00:49:21,333
So I do this.

921
00:49:22,083 --> 00:49:25,667
Now what I wish I were is sovereign.

922
00:49:26,583 --> 00:49:28,458
I call it being organized.

923
00:49:28,500 --> 00:49:31,042
But what I mean by that
is sovereignty,

924
00:49:31,125 --> 00:49:32,625
that I wish I knew the future

925
00:49:32,667 --> 00:49:35,500
and I could prepare for it
so I could control it.

926
00:49:35,875 --> 00:49:39,375
But invariably, it doesn't always
work out like I was anticipating.

927
00:49:40,667 --> 00:49:42,542
And what he's saying is,

928
00:49:43,542 --> 00:49:48,417
"There is far more that is out
of our control than we even imagine."

929
00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:53,208
He's not here saying,
"Be irresponsible,"

930
00:49:53,500 --> 00:49:55,833
but he is saying, "Be reasonable."

931
00:49:59,000 --> 00:50:01,667
If you're trying to predict the future

932
00:50:02,125 --> 00:50:05,667
and control it,
you are trying to be God.

933
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:09,875
Now it is not a sin
to anticipate the future,

934
00:50:09,958 --> 00:50:12,458
and as a good steward,
prepare for it.

935
00:50:12,667 --> 00:50:15,042
But if you're trying to control it

936
00:50:15,500 --> 00:50:19,667
and if you're fearful of it
and anxious about it,

937
00:50:20,667 --> 00:50:23,625
you're in the position
that's reserved for God.

938
00:50:23,667 --> 00:50:25,792
And that's not good for you.

939
00:50:27,500 --> 00:50:30,792
What are you worried about
that really is in the hands of God?

940
00:50:30,833 --> 00:50:33,792
You've done all you can do.
You got cancer?

941
00:50:33,833 --> 00:50:36,000
You've done everything
your doctors said to do.

942
00:50:36,083 --> 00:50:37,792
That's all you can do.

943
00:50:37,833 --> 00:50:42,000
All right, you've applied for a million
jobs, you're doing everything you can?

944
00:50:42,042 --> 00:50:44,167
You've done what you can do.

945
00:50:44,458 --> 00:50:47,000
You've pursued your spouse,
you've tried to reconcile,

946
00:50:47,042 --> 00:50:49,250
you've forgiven them,
you've prayed,

947
00:50:50,417 --> 00:50:53,292
you've made every effort
to work it out?

948
00:50:53,500 --> 00:50:55,833
You've done what you can do.

949
00:50:56,875 --> 00:50:59,833
It's hard to be there, is it not?

950
00:51:01,583 --> 00:51:03,750
And Jesus is saying,

951
00:51:04,375 --> 00:51:07,875
"If it's out of your hands,
don't be fearful.

952
00:51:09,250 --> 00:51:10,833
Be faithful."

953
00:51:14,125 --> 00:51:16,083
"Consider the lilies."

954
00:51:16,458 --> 00:51:18,000
What?

955
00:51:18,625 --> 00:51:21,500
Seriously, does this not sound
like a community college prof

956
00:51:21,583 --> 00:51:24,000
who smokes a lot, right?

957
00:51:24,333 --> 00:51:26,333
"Consider the lilies...

958
00:51:26,417 --> 00:51:28,417
"Oh.

959
00:51:29,500 --> 00:51:33,458
I love Philosophy 101. Yeah, lilies."

960
00:51:34,958 --> 00:51:38,000
This is from a construction worker
named Jesus.

961
00:51:38,042 --> 00:51:40,667
I think it's supposed to be
disorienting.

962
00:51:40,917 --> 00:51:44,417
"Consider the lilies."
Something I've never done.

963
00:51:46,292 --> 00:51:48,708
I've never had my lily day.

964
00:51:48,792 --> 00:51:50,125
Now don't raise your hand, gentlemen,

965
00:51:50,167 --> 00:51:52,833
but how many of you
have never had your lily day?

966
00:51:52,875 --> 00:51:56,125
You're like, "Today I'm going
to meditate on the lily.

967
00:51:56,417 --> 00:51:59,417
"I'm going to observe the lily
and I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit

968
00:51:59,500 --> 00:52:03,083
to reveal to me deep spiritual truths
from the lily."

969
00:52:04,500 --> 00:52:06,125
Okay?

970
00:52:06,167 --> 00:52:08,792
Again, this just sounds weird.

971
00:52:09,333 --> 00:52:12,708
How many of you,
this is not what you're expecting?

972
00:52:12,792 --> 00:52:15,750
"Fear, anxiety, lily!" What?

973
00:52:15,833 --> 00:52:17,333
[congregation laughing]

974
00:52:17,417 --> 00:52:20,167
"Or raven! Either one,
whatever works for you!

975
00:52:20,958 --> 00:52:23,375
Nasty bird, pretty flower." What?

976
00:52:23,833 --> 00:52:27,167
"Consider the--"
"Okay, Jesus. You're God."

977
00:52:28,708 --> 00:52:30,417
"How they grow;

978
00:52:30,708 --> 00:52:32,708
they neither toil nor spin."

979
00:52:33,458 --> 00:52:36,917
Lilies don't have fashion shows.
Lilies don't have malls.

980
00:52:37,875 --> 00:52:40,667
Lilies don't have
"What Not To Wear" episodes.

981
00:52:42,708 --> 00:52:44,333
And lilies look awesome.

982
00:52:45,458 --> 00:52:48,000
I mean lilies look good.
How many of you love spring?

983
00:52:48,083 --> 00:52:50,583
The flowers come,
you're like, "That's amazing.

984
00:52:50,667 --> 00:52:53,583
Thanks, God. Nice."

985
00:52:53,667 --> 00:52:55,958
And the lilies
aren't freaked out about it.

986
00:52:56,000 --> 00:52:58,458
All right, "Does this petal
make my butt look big?"

987
00:52:58,500 --> 00:53:01,417
They're not freaked out about it.
You know?

988
00:53:03,417 --> 00:53:05,250
I just made that up.

989
00:53:05,333 --> 00:53:07,667
[congregation laughing]

990
00:53:09,167 --> 00:53:12,000
"They neither toil nor spin,
yet I tell you, even Solomon,"

991
00:53:12,083 --> 00:53:14,083
this rich, wise man,

992
00:53:14,167 --> 00:53:17,708
"in all his glory was not arrayed
as well as these."

993
00:53:19,458 --> 00:53:22,125
That's amazing.
"But if God so clothes the grass,

994
00:53:22,167 --> 00:53:24,875
which is alive in the field today,
and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,

995
00:53:24,958 --> 00:53:28,000
how much more will he clothe you,
O ye of little faith!"

996
00:53:28,917 --> 00:53:32,625
Look, your Dad's a good Dad.
He'll take care of you.

997
00:53:33,583 --> 00:53:36,833
"Do not seek
what you are to eat, drink,"

998
00:53:37,042 --> 00:53:40,417
coffee, good coffee, wine,
good wine, beer, microbeer,

999
00:53:40,625 --> 00:53:42,458
water, bottled water,

1000
00:53:42,500 --> 00:53:46,042
filtered water, triple filtered
charcoal filtered water.

1001
00:53:46,125 --> 00:53:48,042
[congregation laughing]

1002
00:53:48,833 --> 00:53:50,667
Why?
"Cause I'll get cancer and die."

1003
00:53:50,750 --> 00:53:52,500
"Nor be worried.

1004
00:53:55,917 --> 00:53:59,208
"For all the nations of the world
seek after these things,

1005
00:53:59,292 --> 00:54:02,583
and your Father knows
that you need them." Are they bad?

1006
00:54:03,500 --> 00:54:08,125
No. Your Father knows
you have some needs like clothes

1007
00:54:08,167 --> 00:54:10,417
and food and drink.

1008
00:54:10,500 --> 00:54:12,375
It's not a sin to have
and enjoy them.

1009
00:54:12,458 --> 00:54:16,625
It's a sin to allow those needs
to so dominate your life

1010
00:54:16,667 --> 00:54:19,083
that it produces fearful anxiety.

1011
00:54:20,667 --> 00:54:23,125
"Instead, seek his kingdom."

1012
00:54:24,083 --> 00:54:26,292
It's a kingdom that never ends.

1013
00:54:26,333 --> 00:54:28,333
"And these things
will be added to you."

1014
00:54:28,375 --> 00:54:32,000
These are blessings,
benefits, and bonuses.

1015
00:54:33,958 --> 00:54:35,500
"Fear not, little flock,

1016
00:54:35,542 --> 00:54:38,000
for it is your Father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom."

1017
00:54:38,042 --> 00:54:39,958
Now this is pretty fantastic.

1018
00:54:41,417 --> 00:54:45,792
"Fear not!"
"Why? I'm a little flock!"

1019
00:54:46,875 --> 00:54:49,500
How many of you think--
when you think,

1020
00:54:49,542 --> 00:54:52,917
"Fear not,"
you think a few baby lambs?

1021
00:54:54,083 --> 00:54:58,708
All right, if any group
ever had a reason to be terrified--

1022
00:54:59,208 --> 00:55:01,792
not only lambs.
No one is afraid of lambs.

1023
00:55:01,833 --> 00:55:07,292
There's never been a horror film,
you know, with a lamb on the loose.

1024
00:55:08,125 --> 00:55:11,458
Never on the news--it's like,
"There's a cougar! There's a bear!

1025
00:55:11,500 --> 00:55:13,292
They're loose!
There's a lamb loose!"

1026
00:55:13,333 --> 00:55:15,792
Everybody's like, "Well, good,
I hope he comes to my house.

1027
00:55:15,833 --> 00:55:19,083
I'd love to pet him."
You know, like there's no fear of a--

1028
00:55:19,167 --> 00:55:21,333
let alone a baby lamb.

1029
00:55:21,375 --> 00:55:22,958
A baby lamb, right?

1030
00:55:23,000 --> 00:55:25,500
You got a whole flock of them,
you're like, "That's ridiculous.

1031
00:55:25,583 --> 00:55:28,583
It's like a cotton ball ad.
That's fantastic."

1032
00:55:31,708 --> 00:55:35,500
And you think, "Okay,
so God looks at us like baby lambs.

1033
00:55:35,833 --> 00:55:39,042
And then he says, 'Fear not!'"
You're like, "Well,"

1034
00:55:41,167 --> 00:55:43,833
because he goes on to say what?

1035
00:55:45,250 --> 00:55:46,833
What does he say?

1036
00:55:46,875 --> 00:55:51,250
"It's your Father's good pleasure to
give you the kingdom--" "Oh, you're kidding me."

1037
00:55:51,333 --> 00:55:53,542
He's not saying,
"There's nothing to fear!"

1038
00:55:53,625 --> 00:55:55,917
He's not saying,
"You're tough, you'll be fine."

1039
00:55:56,000 --> 00:55:58,792
What he's saying is,
"You have a Father who loves you

1040
00:55:58,833 --> 00:56:00,625
and he happens to be a king.

1041
00:56:01,167 --> 00:56:02,583
You'll be all right."

1042
00:56:02,667 --> 00:56:04,875
Generally speaking,
when the Bible says, "Fear not,"

1043
00:56:04,958 --> 00:56:06,875
it then tells you who God is.

1044
00:56:07,958 --> 00:56:09,958
Because your theology

1045
00:56:10,000 --> 00:56:13,833
results in biography, culminates
in doxology, meaning this.

1046
00:56:14,083 --> 00:56:17,667
Who God is changes how you live
and why you worship him.

1047
00:56:21,333 --> 00:56:24,500
I love that Jesus is honest.
"Life is scary.

1048
00:56:24,542 --> 00:56:26,625
You're not going to make it

1049
00:56:28,208 --> 00:56:30,542
unless you're with your Father.

1050
00:56:31,458 --> 00:56:33,042
Then you'll be fine."

1051
00:56:33,125 --> 00:56:38,875
Oh, so all of a sudden my focus is
to shift from my fears to my Father.

1052
00:56:40,167 --> 00:56:42,667
"Oh, my dad is much bigger
than my enemies.

1053
00:56:43,000 --> 00:56:46,083
And he loves me and he'll take care
of me and he's generous and good."

1054
00:56:46,167 --> 00:56:48,417
Wow, that makes a big difference,
doesn't it?

1055
00:56:48,500 --> 00:56:49,958
So you say, "Okay, I believe this.

1056
00:56:50,000 --> 00:56:53,208
I believe that God is a loving Father,
takes away my sin,

1057
00:56:53,292 --> 00:56:54,792
adopts me into his family

1058
00:56:54,833 --> 00:56:58,500
through the death, burial, and
resurrection of my big brother Jesus.

1059
00:56:58,542 --> 00:57:01,708
I believe that God is my Father,
that my heavenly Father is a king,

1060
00:57:01,792 --> 00:57:04,250
that he has a perfect kingdom,
that he's a generous giver,

1061
00:57:04,333 --> 00:57:07,333
and he wants to take
good care of me. I believe that."

1062
00:57:07,417 --> 00:57:08,958
We'll see.

1063
00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:13,125
Again, Jesus is going to absolutely
stun us with something unexpected.

1064
00:57:13,917 --> 00:57:17,500
Jesus is the most unpredictable
teacher in the history of the world.

1065
00:57:18,625 --> 00:57:22,542
Faith is an internal conviction
that leads to an external action.

1066
00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:27,833
It's what you believe
that results in how you behave.

1067
00:57:28,667 --> 00:57:32,542
So if you're saying and agreeing,
"Yeah that's the issue.

1068
00:57:32,833 --> 00:57:36,042
Fear is conquered by Father.
That's the issue!"

1069
00:57:36,125 --> 00:57:38,208
Here is what he says, "Let's see it."

1070
00:57:38,292 --> 00:57:42,167
"Sell your possessions,"
verse 33, "and give to the needy.

1071
00:57:44,333 --> 00:57:47,083
Provide yourselves with moneybags
that do not grow old,

1072
00:57:47,167 --> 00:57:49,292
with the treasure in the heavens
that does not fail,

1073
00:57:49,333 --> 00:57:51,708
where no thief approaches
and no moth destroys.

1074
00:57:51,792 --> 00:57:55,958
For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also."

1075
00:57:56,333 --> 00:57:59,333
Your life follows your money.
Where does your money go?

1076
00:57:59,375 --> 00:58:01,833
Odds are your money goes
to your fears.

1077
00:58:02,208 --> 00:58:04,417
You want security,
so it goes to a home.

1078
00:58:04,500 --> 00:58:06,583
You want comfort,
so it goes to entertainment.

1079
00:58:06,667 --> 00:58:08,833
You want status,
so it goes to possessions.

1080
00:58:08,917 --> 00:58:11,792
You want approval,
so it goes to clothes.

1081
00:58:11,833 --> 00:58:14,417
You want friends,
so it goes to gifts.

1082
00:58:18,625 --> 00:58:20,083
He got us.

1083
00:58:20,167 --> 00:58:23,083
He got us all,
because he loves us all.

1084
00:58:26,917 --> 00:58:28,750
So God is saying here,

1085
00:58:30,667 --> 00:58:35,708
"Give. If you really believe that
the Father is a generous king, give.

1086
00:58:37,333 --> 00:58:40,000
Give your best."
We call it first fruits.

1087
00:58:40,042 --> 00:58:43,833
Don't give your worst. Some of you
are saying, "That's a great verse.

1088
00:58:43,917 --> 00:58:46,375
"'Sell your possessions,
give it to the needy.'

1089
00:58:46,458 --> 00:58:49,208
"I have some junk I want to get rid of.
That's a great idea.

1090
00:58:49,292 --> 00:58:53,417
That must mean garage sale
in Greek. That must mean--"

1091
00:58:54,667 --> 00:58:56,667
Don't give junk.

1092
00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:05,333
Don't give junk to the needy,
to the poor.

1093
00:59:07,875 --> 00:59:09,625
Give good things.

1094
00:59:10,125 --> 00:59:12,625
Take something you love,
give it away.

1095
00:59:12,667 --> 00:59:16,000
Take something you've worked
very hard for, give it away.

1096
00:59:16,083 --> 00:59:19,458
Take something that is very
significant to you, give it away.

1097
00:59:20,333 --> 00:59:24,750
Take something that actually
pains you to lose, give it away.

1098
00:59:26,833 --> 00:59:30,167
Find someone who is needy.
Not in a patronizing way,

1099
00:59:33,125 --> 00:59:35,000
but in a perspective way.

1100
00:59:35,083 --> 00:59:37,208
Because see, what can happen
is all we think about

1101
00:59:37,292 --> 00:59:39,125
is people who are better off than us

1102
00:59:39,167 --> 00:59:42,000
and we become fearful
that we won't get what they get.

1103
00:59:42,083 --> 00:59:45,333
We tend not to look at people
who are more needy than us and think,

1104
00:59:45,375 --> 00:59:49,125
"I've got it pretty good
and I need to be generous."

1105
00:59:50,167 --> 00:59:53,292
So don't give garbage.
Give good things.

1106
00:59:54,292 --> 00:59:56,500
"For God so love the world he,"

1107
00:59:56,833 --> 01:00:02,500
what did he do?
"He gave his Son,"

1108
01:00:04,125 --> 01:00:06,250
his only begotten Son.

1109
01:00:06,500 --> 01:00:09,250
The gift that the Father
gives to us is none other

1110
01:00:09,333 --> 01:00:11,208
than the life, death, burial,
resurrection,

1111
01:00:11,292 --> 01:00:13,583
the righteousness, the salvation,

1112
01:00:13,667 --> 01:00:16,750
the kingdom citizenship,
of Jesus Christ,

1113
01:00:16,833 --> 01:00:19,833
the second member of the Trinity,
the Son of God.

1114
01:00:20,708 --> 01:00:24,042
God gave because he loved
and God gave his best.

1115
01:00:24,667 --> 01:00:26,667
We need to give our best.

1116
01:00:27,292 --> 01:00:29,292
We need to give our best.

1117
01:00:30,417 --> 01:00:34,750
And as we give our best,
God isn't taking our stuff.

1118
01:00:35,042 --> 01:00:37,500
He's taking our stress.

1119
01:00:39,708 --> 01:00:41,667
He's taking our stress.

1120
01:00:43,625 --> 01:00:45,667
It is such a joy to give.

1121
01:00:46,167 --> 01:00:48,583
It's such a joy to be generous.

1122
01:00:48,833 --> 01:00:52,083
It starts to reorient our hearts
and our minds and our lives

1123
01:00:52,167 --> 01:00:54,625
and our eyes away from ourselves.

1124
01:00:55,417 --> 01:00:58,125
It allows us
to get to know the Father.

1125
01:00:58,167 --> 01:01:00,500
It allows us to get to love others.

1126
01:01:00,583 --> 01:01:03,167
And Jesus here
with our possessions is saying,

1127
01:01:03,250 --> 01:01:05,417
"What you really have
is a heart problem.

1128
01:01:05,500 --> 01:01:08,708
"And just dealing with a heart problem
will not be sufficient

1129
01:01:08,792 --> 01:01:11,958
"until you've dealt with the wealth
problem because ultimately

1130
01:01:12,000 --> 01:01:14,083
"your heart follows your wealth.

1131
01:01:14,333 --> 01:01:18,667
"So don't just make this another
psychological principle for health,

1132
01:01:18,708 --> 01:01:20,500
"cleansing, and transformation.

1133
01:01:20,542 --> 01:01:23,958
Make it a financial principle
for generous giving."

1134
01:01:24,833 --> 01:01:26,833
Some of you say, "I knew it!

1135
01:01:26,875 --> 01:01:30,333
"I knew the megachurch pastor
was gonna try and get my money!

1136
01:01:30,417 --> 01:01:33,417
I knew it!" Fear not.

1137
01:01:33,708 --> 01:01:36,333
[congregation laughing]

1138
01:01:36,375 --> 01:01:37,958
Fear not.

1139
01:01:38,417 --> 01:01:41,333
God doesn't want
to just take your stuff.

1140
01:01:41,417 --> 01:01:43,167
He wants to take your stress

1141
01:01:43,208 --> 01:01:45,750
and so much of your stress
is connected to your stuff,

1142
01:01:45,833 --> 01:01:49,417
that as you give,
you're giving your stress to him,

1143
01:01:49,500 --> 01:01:52,250
you're giving your stuff to others.

1144
01:01:53,167 --> 01:01:56,917
Let me close with this about
your Father. A couple of things.

1145
01:01:57,708 --> 01:02:00,667
You combat fear
by knowing the Father. Amen?

1146
01:02:01,875 --> 01:02:04,292
Your Father is a rich
and generous king.

1147
01:02:04,333 --> 01:02:06,292
Your Father's kingdom
has nothing to fear.

1148
01:02:06,333 --> 01:02:09,500
There's no lack, there's no thieves,
there's no decay.

1149
01:02:09,708 --> 01:02:14,250
The transmission will not blow up
in the kingdom of God.

1150
01:02:14,458 --> 01:02:16,500
Your Father has proven faithful.

1151
01:02:16,542 --> 01:02:19,792
He feeds nasty birds
and clothes little flowers.

1152
01:02:19,833 --> 01:02:21,500
He'll take care of you.

1153
01:02:21,542 --> 01:02:25,333
And your Father asks you to be
generous as an act of faith. Why?

1154
01:02:25,417 --> 01:02:28,958
Because one of the ways that
the Father feeds and clothes others

1155
01:02:29,000 --> 01:02:31,458
is through his sons and daughters.

1156
01:02:32,042 --> 01:02:35,625
And we're in this wonderful season.
It's fantastic!

1157
01:02:35,667 --> 01:02:38,333
Everybody's broke!
Nobody's got anything!

1158
01:02:38,417 --> 01:02:42,167
Everybody's freaked out!
What an opportunity!

1159
01:02:42,875 --> 01:02:46,125
We just had an election
and the whole point of an election

1160
01:02:46,167 --> 01:02:48,792
is freak everyone out,
make them terrified!

1161
01:02:48,833 --> 01:02:50,667
Whoever makes you the most scared,

1162
01:02:50,750 --> 01:02:52,875
you'll vote for them
to save you from hell.

1163
01:02:52,958 --> 01:02:54,667
Hell as they define it.

1164
01:02:54,833 --> 01:02:58,458
Not the real hell, but the one
they're making you fearful of.

1165
01:02:58,667 --> 01:03:01,417
And so then everybody just votes
and they all vote,

1166
01:03:01,500 --> 01:03:05,292
"No more taxes! No more programs!
Downsize the government!

1167
01:03:05,333 --> 01:03:08,333
"We can't do anything for anyone!

1168
01:03:08,375 --> 01:03:10,583
Everybody's on their own!"

1169
01:03:10,667 --> 01:03:15,292
Yes! Yeah, perfect!
We're finally needed!

1170
01:03:16,333 --> 01:03:19,875
There's an opportunity here,
when the voters say, "No,"

1171
01:03:19,958 --> 01:03:23,417
and the government says, "No,"
and the church says, "Yeah.

1172
01:03:24,333 --> 01:03:25,875
Yeah."

1173
01:03:26,625 --> 01:03:30,083
Some of you say, "I don't have a lot
of money." You got a lot of stuff.

1174
01:03:30,167 --> 01:03:31,708
Have less.

1175
01:03:32,625 --> 01:03:34,250
Give it away.

1176
01:03:34,708 --> 01:03:39,083
Give some stuff away.
Sell some stuff, give the money away.

1177
01:03:39,167 --> 01:03:41,083
Be generous.
Pick someone who's in need,

1178
01:03:41,167 --> 01:03:44,500
not just nameless, faceless poor.

1179
01:03:44,917 --> 01:03:49,000
Somebody you know. Single mom,
underemployed, unemployed dad.

1180
01:03:50,167 --> 01:03:51,667
Give it.

1181
01:03:51,750 --> 01:03:55,667
See what happens in your heart.
See what happens in your heart.

1182
01:03:55,708 --> 01:03:59,417
See what happens with your fears.
See what happens with your anxieties.

1183
01:04:01,000 --> 01:04:03,333
Oh what a good season this is.

1184
01:04:04,792 --> 01:04:07,333
What a great season this is.

1185
01:04:07,417 --> 01:04:10,083
The world is teed up
for an opportunity

1186
01:04:10,917 --> 01:04:14,250
for the sons and daughters of God
to just give.

1187
01:04:14,917 --> 01:04:17,500
We're going to collect our offering
in a moment.

1188
01:04:17,583 --> 01:04:19,542
Let me close with a few things.

1189
01:04:21,917 --> 01:04:24,958
Who gives at Mars Hill?
About three-fourths of the people.

1190
01:04:25,000 --> 01:04:28,000
Out of 10,000, about 7,500
last year gave anything,

1191
01:04:28,042 --> 01:04:30,083
a dollar once or regular giving.

1192
01:04:32,542 --> 01:04:36,042
Additionally, the average person
gives $1,800 a year.

1193
01:04:36,125 --> 01:04:37,958
The average deacon
gives three times that.

1194
01:04:38,000 --> 01:04:40,667
The average elder gives five times
that, which is awesome,

1195
01:04:40,750 --> 01:04:42,667
because where your treasure is
your heart is

1196
01:04:42,708 --> 01:04:45,500
and your pastors' hearts
are in the most!

1197
01:04:45,542 --> 01:04:47,750
Yes! Praise God for that.

1198
01:04:48,000 --> 01:04:51,500
How much do we give?
So far this year, $2.2 million away.

1199
01:04:51,583 --> 01:04:53,667
Awesome, praise God.
We want to give more

1200
01:04:53,708 --> 01:04:56,458
and you're going to give individually
as well to help the poor.

1201
01:04:56,500 --> 01:04:59,208
We'll collect our offering as a church
and then you're going to leave

1202
01:04:59,292 --> 01:05:02,333
and you're going to figure out who
you're going to give some stuff to,

1203
01:05:02,417 --> 01:05:05,250
who you're going to sell stuff
to give money to.

1204
01:05:05,792 --> 01:05:08,792
Yes, we get to take our offering now!

1205
01:05:08,833 --> 01:05:11,333
Yes, we get to take our offering now.

1206
01:05:11,375 --> 01:05:15,333
All right, I'm going to pray.
We're going to take our offering.

1207
01:05:15,500 --> 01:05:17,583
You should be excited.

1208
01:05:19,292 --> 01:05:22,208
Father God, thank you that
you're a Dad who loves his kids.

1209
01:05:22,292 --> 01:05:24,458
Thank you that you feed nasty birds.

1210
01:05:24,500 --> 01:05:27,500
Thank you that you clothe
simple flowers.

1211
01:05:27,542 --> 01:05:30,750
Thank you that your kingdom
doesn't have a lack.

1212
01:05:30,833 --> 01:05:32,750
Thank you that you gave us
your Son.

1213
01:05:32,833 --> 01:05:34,875
Thank you
that you give us good things.

1214
01:05:34,958 --> 01:05:37,125
Thank you that you give us
eternal life.

1215
01:05:37,167 --> 01:05:39,000
Thank you that you give us the truth.

1216
01:05:39,042 --> 01:05:41,250
Thank you
that you give us the Holy Spirit.

1217
01:05:41,333 --> 01:05:43,292
Thank you
that you give us one another.

1218
01:05:43,333 --> 01:05:47,625
And thank you that one day the world
as we know it will come to an end

1219
01:05:47,667 --> 01:05:49,875
and we'll have nothing to fear.

1220
01:05:49,958 --> 01:05:53,917
Until then, please teach us
as a little flock to fear not

1221
01:05:54,292 --> 01:05:58,042
for it is our Father's good pleasure
to give us the kingdom.

1222
01:05:58,125 --> 01:06:01,417
God, thank you that you don't just
take our stuff, you take our stress.

1223
01:06:01,500 --> 01:06:03,500
We give it to you
in Jesus' name, amen.