0:00:04.771,0:00:06.813
Okay, well, I want to revisit;

0:00:06.813,0:00:08.653
we looked at it two weeks ago.

0:00:08.653,0:00:11.677
We began to think about

0:00:11.677,0:00:16.408
this topic of anxiety.

0:00:16.408,0:00:25.593
So, Luke 12.

0:00:25.593,0:00:29.535
And this is just somewhat of a parallel

0:00:29.535,0:00:31.548
to what we looked at 2 weeks ago

0:00:31.548,0:00:33.497
just to start;

0:00:33.497,0:00:36.979
just to kind of prime the pump.

0:00:36.979,0:00:40.205
My Bible - now this isn't inspired -

0:00:40.205,0:00:44.543
it is not inspired, but at Luke 12:22,

0:00:44.543,0:00:46.991
I have a heading that says:

0:00:46.991,0:00:48.704
"Do not be anxious."

0:00:48.704,0:00:51.850
We're talking about anxiety.

0:00:51.850,0:00:55.485
And we talked about anxiety attacks.

0:00:55.485,0:01:01.034
Some, like between 20 [br]and 30 million people

0:01:01.034,0:01:03.901
have supposedly been diagnosed

0:01:03.901,0:01:07.222
with some form of anxiety attacks,

0:01:07.222,0:01:08.638
panic attacks.

0:01:08.638,0:01:10.084
Like I said last time,

0:01:10.084,0:01:13.121
perhaps that's the same thing

0:01:13.121,0:01:14.619
as a nervous breakdown.

0:01:14.619,0:01:21.581
Maybe that's just a bit of [br]an older description of this.

0:01:21.581,0:01:23.271
Anxiety.

0:01:23.271,0:01:25.906
The Bible has something [br]to say about anxiety.

0:01:25.906,0:01:27.404
It's not just the psychologists

0:01:27.404,0:01:30.043
that say something about it.

0:01:30.043,0:01:35.081
And verse 22, listen to what Jesus says.

0:01:35.081,0:01:37.445
"Therefore, I tell you,

0:01:37.445,0:01:43.790
do not be anxious about your life."

0:01:43.790,0:01:46.235
Do not be anxious.

0:01:46.235,0:01:48.319
That's what we're told in Scripture.

0:01:48.319,0:01:50.997
No anxiety.

0:01:50.997,0:01:56.762
Don't be anxious.

0:01:56.762,0:01:59.477
And we can look down through here.

0:01:59.477,0:02:02.999
Verse 25, "Which of you by being anxious

0:02:02.999,0:02:07.067
can add a single hour [br]to his span of life?"

0:02:07.067,0:02:08.194
You can't.

0:02:08.194,0:02:11.810
In other words, your anxiety

0:02:11.810,0:02:13.583
doesn't fix things,

0:02:13.583,0:02:15.201
it doesn't help things,

0:02:15.201,0:02:19.734
it doesn't improve the situation.

0:02:19.734,0:02:23.543
It doesn't do any good[br]is basically the thing.

0:02:23.543,0:02:25.773
Verse 26, "If then, you are not able

0:02:25.773,0:02:28.198
to do as small a thing as that,

0:02:28.198,0:02:31.746
why are you anxious about the rest?"

0:02:31.746,0:02:34.177
In other words, you should not be.

0:02:34.177,0:02:40.466
No anxiety.

0:02:40.466,0:02:43.098
Verse 29, "Do not seek

0:02:43.098,0:02:45.191
what you are to eat, [br]what you are to drink,

0:02:45.191,0:02:47.405
nor be worried."

0:02:47.405,0:02:48.595
So you have it.

0:02:48.595,0:02:51.124
Don't be anxious.

0:02:51.124,0:02:53.838
Don't be worried.

0:02:53.838,0:02:55.583
You keep reading a little further.

0:02:55.583,0:02:59.817
Verse 32, "Fear not, little flock."

0:02:59.817,0:03:01.913
So, don't fear.

0:03:01.913,0:03:03.296
Don't be worried.

0:03:03.296,0:03:05.292
Don't be anxious.

0:03:05.292,0:03:09.244
Here's one of the things [br]that we have to recognize.

0:03:09.244,0:03:15.503
The Gospel deals with anxiety.

0:03:15.503,0:03:17.540
And so we should have that expectation.

0:03:17.540,0:03:20.075
We should have the expectation

0:03:20.075,0:03:23.685
that we know, we recognize,

0:03:23.685,0:03:24.939
if you're not saved

0:03:24.939,0:03:26.420
and you don't know the Lord,

0:03:26.420,0:03:28.553
and you're in your sin

0:03:28.553,0:03:30.178
and death is coming

0:03:30.178,0:03:33.158
and you've got to face [br]God on judgment day,

0:03:33.158,0:03:35.844
there's all manner of [br]things to be afraid of,

0:03:35.844,0:03:37.344
to be worried about,

0:03:37.344,0:03:39.454
to be anxious about.

0:03:39.454,0:03:41.437
You have every reason to be fearful

0:03:41.437,0:03:42.855
and anxious

0:03:42.855,0:03:45.096
if you're approaching judgment day

0:03:45.096,0:03:48.370
and you do not have your sins forgiven.

0:03:48.370,0:03:49.436
You're in trouble.

0:03:49.436,0:03:52.993
You're in trouble. You should be worried.

0:03:52.993,0:03:54.425
But the Christian,

0:03:54.425,0:03:56.602
what Jesus is saying is look,

0:03:56.602,0:04:04.016
My people don't have a reason

0:04:04.016,0:04:06.136
to be anxious, to be worried,

0:04:06.136,0:04:08.193
or to be fearful.

0:04:08.193,0:04:09.958
They don't.

0:04:09.958,0:04:13.618
The Gospel deals with that.

0:04:13.618,0:04:15.895
And Jesus isn't just saying

0:04:15.895,0:04:19.377
that well, if you've got anxiety attacks

0:04:19.377,0:04:21.705
and you become a Christian,

0:04:21.705,0:04:26.538
I will help you manage your anxiety.

0:04:26.538,0:04:28.347
That's not it.

0:04:28.347,0:04:31.916
Jesus comes along and He says,

0:04:31.916,0:04:34.011
"don't be anxious.

0:04:34.011,0:04:37.267
Don't be worried. Don't fear.

0:04:37.267,0:04:40.549
Fear not, little flock."

0:04:40.549,0:04:41.947
Why?

0:04:41.947,0:04:45.345
I mean, you know the image [br]that came to my mind today?

0:04:45.345,0:04:46.976
Have you ever seen a parent

0:04:46.976,0:04:50.449
when a child is traumatized?

0:04:50.449,0:04:52.770
A child gets scared by something?

0:04:52.770,0:04:55.458
I have this image in my mind.

0:04:55.458,0:04:57.669
I remember when we [br]were planting the church

0:04:57.669,0:05:01.510
down in Stockdale, Texas.

0:05:01.510,0:05:07.794
Caleb Mussulman was about that tall.

0:05:07.794,0:05:10.151
He's already graduated from college

0:05:10.151,0:05:12.747
and got himself a job as an engineer.

0:05:12.747,0:05:14.884
But he was just this little guy.

0:05:14.884,0:05:16.610
We came out of the building

0:05:16.610,0:05:18.556
and there was a house back behind there

0:05:18.556,0:05:19.803
and they had a pit bull.

0:05:19.803,0:05:21.611
And this pit bull reared up.

0:05:21.611,0:05:23.603
We came out the door

0:05:23.603,0:05:25.264
and he was there

0:05:25.264,0:05:28.315
and I think his parents [br]were over by their van.

0:05:28.315,0:05:31.731
So there was a good distance between them.

0:05:31.731,0:05:34.579
That pit bull raised up over there

0:05:34.579,0:05:36.669
and it began to bark

0:05:36.669,0:05:39.648
and it came running full speed.

0:05:39.648,0:05:42.458
And it hit the end of its chain

0:05:42.458,0:05:46.258
and it stopped it dead in its tracks.

0:05:46.258,0:05:49.426
But Caleb was terrified.

0:05:49.426,0:05:54.441
And I went, but it's like, [br]he didn't want me.

0:05:54.441,0:05:56.540
He wanted his dad.

0:05:56.540,0:05:58.382
His dad was the place of safety.

0:05:58.382,0:06:00.284
And have you ever seen a father?

0:06:00.284,0:06:02.318
They pick up a child like that

0:06:02.318,0:06:03.561
and they say,

0:06:03.561,0:06:07.772
"It's okay. It's okay."

0:06:07.772,0:06:13.824
Well, isn't that the way a parent

0:06:13.824,0:06:15.715
oftentimes tries to comfort the child?

0:06:15.715,0:06:17.599
You know, they fall and they're crying,

0:06:17.599,0:06:22.617
or they get scared or something.

0:06:22.617,0:06:25.931
The parent puts their arms around them

0:06:25.931,0:06:27.968
and says, "It's going to be okay."

0:06:27.968,0:06:30.830
But you know the thing about that,

0:06:30.830,0:06:35.365
they don't really know [br]if it's going to be okay.

0:06:35.365,0:06:39.767
Parents can't protect their [br]children from everything.

0:06:39.767,0:06:42.591
What they say is going to be okay,

0:06:42.591,0:06:45.430
it may not be okay.

0:06:45.430,0:06:47.322
But you know when God lays His arms

0:06:47.322,0:06:48.865
around His children

0:06:48.865,0:06:52.481
and says it's going to be okay,

0:06:52.481,0:06:56.072
it is going to be okay.

0:06:56.072,0:06:57.780
And that's what we have.

0:06:57.780,0:07:00.215
That's what the Gospel answers.

0:07:00.215,0:07:02.996
It's going to be okay.

0:07:02.996,0:07:04.848
If He tells you not to fear, why?

0:07:04.848,0:07:10.002
It's because you don't have to fear.

0:07:10.002,0:07:12.709
Listen, if He's forgiven your sins,

0:07:12.709,0:07:14.429
what do you have to fear?

0:07:14.429,0:07:16.685
If you have God on your side,

0:07:16.685,0:07:18.767
and He's stronger than everything else -

0:07:18.767,0:07:20.918
in fact, He's not just stronger,

0:07:20.918,0:07:25.094
He is minutely in control.

0:07:25.094,0:07:26.907
You don't have to fear.

0:07:26.907,0:07:30.275
In fact, if Jesus says fear not,

0:07:30.275,0:07:33.575
if He says do not be anxious[br]and we are anxious,

0:07:33.575,0:07:34.460
it's sin.

0:07:34.460,0:07:35.891
And as we looked at last time,

0:07:35.891,0:07:37.614
the real issue is

0:07:37.614,0:07:40.894
we are questioning the character of God.

0:07:40.894,0:07:42.772
That's really the issue.

0:07:42.772,0:07:45.125
We're doubting God.

0:07:45.125,0:07:46.802
When God wraps His arms around us

0:07:46.802,0:07:48.841
and says, "you're Mine,

0:07:48.841,0:07:50.226
and you're going to be okay,

0:07:50.226,0:07:51.659
and you don't have to worry,"

0:07:51.659,0:07:53.439
if we go on worrying,

0:07:53.439,0:07:56.696
what we're really doing,

0:07:56.696,0:07:59.506
the big deal is that we're saying,

0:07:59.506,0:08:01.302
"we don't trust You."

0:08:01.302,0:08:03.214
"We don't believe You."

0:08:03.214,0:08:04.948
And see, we have to walk by faith.

0:08:04.948,0:08:06.622
Because you know, the thing is,

0:08:06.622,0:08:09.966
you know how God puts His arms around us?

0:08:09.966,0:08:13.860
Through words written in a book.

0:08:13.860,0:08:16.632
Not by actual arms

0:08:16.632,0:08:20.650
that we physically feel wrap around us.

0:08:20.650,0:08:22.296
What's my point?

0:08:22.296,0:08:25.078
My point is when a child is laid hold of

0:08:25.078,0:08:26.411
by a parent,

0:08:26.411,0:08:28.563
there are physical arms,[br]they feel the warmth,

0:08:28.563,0:08:31.540
they feel the security,[br]they feel the strength.

0:08:31.540,0:08:33.880
You know where our [br]strength, where our security

0:08:33.880,0:08:35.635
has to be felt?

0:08:35.635,0:08:39.172
Through words in a book.

0:08:39.172,0:08:40.161
That's it.

0:08:40.161,0:08:44.773
We walk by faith, not by sight.

0:08:44.773,0:08:47.216
But you know what?

0:08:47.216,0:08:50.923
Just because it's words [br]and not physical arms,

0:08:50.923,0:08:53.869
doesn't make it any less.

0:08:53.869,0:08:55.798
In fact, it's all the more,

0:08:55.798,0:08:58.556
because those everlasting arms,

0:08:58.556,0:09:00.922
if God is with us, who can be against us?

0:09:00.922,0:09:05.109
And when He says He's with us by word,

0:09:05.109,0:09:08.553
it would be more like the parent

0:09:08.553,0:09:13.798
yelling from far away to their little boy

0:09:13.798,0:09:18.886
in words, "Don't worry. [br]It's going to be okay."

0:09:18.886,0:09:21.462
God is speaking to us from Heaven.

0:09:21.462,0:09:24.731
He's speaking to us [br]through an inspired book.

0:09:24.731,0:09:31.551
Now, what happened last time is -

0:09:31.551,0:09:34.452
and I don't know if [br]everybody really recognized

0:09:34.452,0:09:38.830
or understood maybe

0:09:38.830,0:09:41.752
what our sister Claudia had brought up.

0:09:41.752,0:09:46.350
She asked a question -

0:09:46.350,0:09:50.145
sister, how did you ask the question?

0:09:50.145,0:09:55.247
(unintelligible)

0:09:55.247,0:09:56.649
Tim: Say that again.

0:09:56.649,0:09:58.941
James: When does [br]concern turn into anxiety?

0:09:58.941,0:10:02.599
Tim: Okay, when does [br]concern turn into anxiety?

0:10:02.599,0:10:03.972
How do you test it?

0:10:03.972,0:10:07.445
And you know, I gave a little,

0:10:07.445,0:10:09.645
perhaps a minute answer to that,

0:10:09.645,0:10:11.798
which I think the things that were said

0:10:11.798,0:10:16.516
were right, but as time went on,

0:10:16.516,0:10:18.846
I thought more and more about that.

0:10:18.846,0:10:21.260
And I thought, you know what,

0:10:21.260,0:10:26.757
looking at good anxiety versus bad anxiety

0:10:26.757,0:10:32.668
would be a worthwhile [br]little study for tonight.

0:10:32.668,0:10:34.946
So, let's open our Bibles.

0:10:34.946,0:10:37.057
Look at Philippians.

0:10:37.057,0:10:45.764
We're just going to look at some of these.

0:10:45.764,0:10:56.871
Philippians 4:6

0:10:56.871,0:11:15.768
Somebody want to read [br]that if they find it?

0:11:15.768,0:11:18.798
"Do not be anxious about anything,

0:11:18.798,0:11:21.766
but in everything by [br]prayer and supplication

0:11:21.766,0:11:23.430
with thanksgiving,

0:11:23.430,0:11:26.086
let your requests be made known to God."

0:11:26.086,0:11:29.589
Tim: Okay. Don't be anxious for anything.

0:11:29.589,0:11:31.255
So, let me ask this question.

0:11:31.255,0:11:37.766
Is there a place for any anxiety?

0:11:37.766,0:11:40.604
If you're going to be honest to that text

0:11:40.604,0:11:41.754
what's the answer?

0:11:41.754,0:11:43.551
What's the obvious answer?

0:11:43.551,0:11:44.757
No.

0:11:44.757,0:11:46.603
But here's the thing,

0:11:46.603,0:11:50.024
Scripture will often make

0:11:50.024,0:11:56.328
dogmatic statements about something

0:11:56.328,0:12:01.114
when the truth is that the word

0:12:01.114,0:12:05.221
that's being used, like here "anxiety,"

0:12:05.221,0:12:09.645
don't be anxious about anything.

0:12:09.645,0:12:11.386
There are words in Scripture

0:12:11.386,0:12:13.532
that sometimes can be used

0:12:13.532,0:12:15.475
in a negative connotation,

0:12:15.475,0:12:17.684
and sometimes in either a neutral

0:12:17.684,0:12:19.376
or a positive connotation.

0:12:19.376,0:12:21.125
And what we have to do is recognize

0:12:21.125,0:12:22.918
how the word is being used.

0:12:22.918,0:12:24.952
There are places in our Bibles

0:12:24.952,0:12:29.159
where anxiety is actually a good thing.

0:12:29.159,0:12:30.557
But we have to understand it.

0:12:30.557,0:12:32.657
We have to understand it in context.

0:12:32.657,0:12:34.392
Because it's the same word.

0:12:34.392,0:12:35.717
It's the exact same word.

0:12:35.717,0:12:38.066
The exact same word can be used

0:12:38.066,0:12:39.187
in a good way;

0:12:39.187,0:12:41.133
it can be used in a negative way.

0:12:41.133,0:12:44.057
Can anybody think about any other word

0:12:44.057,0:12:45.669
that's used in Scripture

0:12:45.669,0:12:48.121
that can either be used in a bad way

0:12:48.121,0:12:49.428
and a neutral way,

0:12:49.428,0:12:51.179
or a bad way and a good way?

0:12:51.179,0:12:53.041
Same word.

0:12:53.041,0:12:55.565
World.

0:12:55.565,0:13:00.192
Following the course of the world.

0:13:00.192,0:13:03.422
Right there at the [br]beginning of Ephesians 2.

0:13:03.422,0:13:07.117
Obviously, dead in trespasses and sins,

0:13:07.117,0:13:08.866
following the course of this world,

0:13:08.866,0:13:11.302
following the prince [br]of the power of the air.

0:13:11.302,0:13:13.912
"World" there is bad.

0:13:13.912,0:13:16.274
Love not the world.

0:13:16.274,0:13:25.511
But, the world can be [br]that which God created.

0:13:25.511,0:13:28.179
What's another word?

0:13:28.179,0:13:31.059
Fear. Absolutely.

0:13:31.059,0:13:33.047
There is a bad fear.

0:13:33.047,0:13:35.115
Give me an example of a bad fear.

0:13:35.115,0:13:37.279
Well, we could say, Luke 12. [br]We just saw it.

0:13:37.279,0:13:38.957
"Fear not, little flock."

0:13:38.957,0:13:44.078
But then, I'm thinking of 2 Corinthians 7

0:13:44.078,0:13:47.835
where we're basically working out

0:13:47.835,0:13:49.507
this self-cleansing;

0:13:49.507,0:13:51.780
cleansing ourselves of every defilement

0:13:51.780,0:13:54.016
of body and mind.

0:13:54.016,0:13:57.782
Anybody know how?

0:13:57.782,0:13:59.581
Yes, bringing holiness to completion

0:13:59.581,0:14:00.942
in the fear of the Lord.

0:14:00.942,0:14:02.144
That is a good one.

0:14:02.144,0:14:06.694
Anybody think of any [br]other words like that?

0:14:06.694,0:14:08.531
Lust. That's another one.

0:14:08.531,0:14:11.874
Typically, when it gets translated "lust"

0:14:11.874,0:14:14.086
it has a negative connotation,

0:14:14.086,0:14:17.460
but the word is "passion" or "desire"

0:14:17.460,0:14:21.150
and it often can be a good one.

0:14:21.150,0:14:25.227
Any other words?

0:14:25.227,0:14:33.228
Hate?

0:14:33.228,0:14:39.255
Hate can be good and hate can be bad.

0:14:39.255,0:14:42.764
But that's got more to do [br]with the object of the hatred,

0:14:42.764,0:14:48.753
but yes, that could be in that category.

0:14:48.753,0:14:50.599
Law?

0:14:50.599,0:14:59.510
(unintelligible)

0:14:59.510,0:15:02.261
Yeah, there can be [br]different meanings to law.

0:15:02.261,0:15:06.167
That's for sure.

0:15:06.167,0:15:10.302
There are places like [br]where Scripture would say

0:15:10.302,0:15:13.007
that we're dead to the law.

0:15:13.007,0:15:15.156
Well, what that means is

0:15:15.156,0:15:16.853
whatever the law is there,

0:15:16.853,0:15:19.301
it's good that we die to it.

0:15:19.301,0:15:21.666
But then we're also living to another law,

0:15:21.666,0:15:24.419
so yes, depending on [br]how that word is used.

0:15:24.419,0:15:29.270
Maybe flesh has various [br]connotations to it.

0:15:29.270,0:15:31.519
Flesh can definitely be an evil thing

0:15:31.519,0:15:34.145
or a negative thing.

0:15:34.145,0:15:37.792
Works. Yes, works.

0:15:37.792,0:15:39.825
But anyway, you get the idea.

0:15:39.825,0:15:45.222
Anxiety falls into that camp.

0:15:45.222,0:15:49.272
I want to give you four of what I think

0:15:49.272,0:15:56.723
are the clearest New Testament examples -

0:15:56.723,0:15:58.283
when I say New Testament,

0:15:58.283,0:15:59.275
you have to remember

0:15:59.275,0:16:02.385
there is an Old Testament Greek.

0:16:02.385,0:16:04.600
It's the Septuagint.

0:16:04.600,0:16:06.771
And we can find the [br]word back there as well,

0:16:06.771,0:16:08.210
but in the New Testament,

0:16:08.210,0:16:11.333
the four most obvious uses.

0:16:11.333,0:16:14.147
And it's the exact same [br]word in the original.

0:16:14.147,0:16:16.968
Exact same.

0:16:16.968,0:16:21.024
One example would be found

0:16:21.024,0:16:23.810
in 1 Corinthians 12:25.

0:16:23.810,0:16:26.637
Let's look at that.

0:16:26.637,0:16:28.530
Somebody read that when you get there.

0:16:28.530,0:16:43.132
1 Corinthians 12:25.

0:16:43.132,0:16:45.694
"That there may be [br]no division in the body,

0:16:45.694,0:16:48.905
but that the members may have[br]the same care for one another."

0:16:48.905,0:16:50.322
Tim: That word "care,"

0:16:50.322,0:16:52.171
that is exactly the word

0:16:52.171,0:16:56.178
from Philippians 4:6 for anxiety.

0:16:56.178,0:16:57.924
Now the thing is,

0:16:57.924,0:17:00.008
you do have to recgonize this,

0:17:00.008,0:17:01.671
it's the same word,

0:17:01.671,0:17:04.112
but sometimes it's found [br]in the noun forms;

0:17:04.112,0:17:07.273
sometimes it's found in the adjective form

0:17:07.273,0:17:09.374
as we look at these different examples.

0:17:09.374,0:17:12.535
You have anxieties - that's the noun form.

0:17:12.535,0:17:16.252
Or being anxious - that's the adjective.

0:17:16.252,0:17:22.161
So, what we have here,

0:17:22.161,0:17:24.859
read that again about care.

0:17:24.859,0:17:25.829
Listen to this.

0:17:25.829,0:17:30.200
This has to do with being [br]in the same church together.

0:17:30.200,0:17:32.369
"That there may be no [br]divisions in the body,

0:17:32.369,0:17:34.801
but that the members [br]may have the same care

0:17:34.801,0:17:35.865
for one another."

0:17:35.865,0:17:38.701
Tim: See, the members of [br]this body have care.

0:17:38.701,0:17:42.831
This body is not this universal body.

0:17:42.831,0:17:45.629
You can't care for people [br]that you don't know

0:17:45.629,0:17:48.087
out in the middle of nowhere in China.

0:17:48.087,0:17:51.667
I mean, you might be able to support [br]a missionary that's going over there.

0:17:51.667,0:17:53.279
But the obvious implication here

0:17:53.279,0:17:54.902
of being a member of a body

0:17:54.902,0:17:56.467
is it's the local body.

0:17:56.467,0:17:59.383
You're living for each other.

0:17:59.383,0:18:01.538
And the actual word is:

0:18:01.538,0:18:05.704
you're being anxious for each other.

0:18:05.704,0:18:07.796
That's the word.

0:18:07.796,0:18:09.792
You're being anxious for each other.

0:18:09.792,0:18:12.501
I'll show you another similar usage

0:18:12.501,0:18:14.985
in 2 Corinthians 11:28.

0:18:14.985,0:18:17.105
Somebody can read that [br]when they get there.

0:18:17.105,0:18:23.670
2 Corinthians 11:28.

0:18:23.670,0:18:26.003
"And apart from other things,

0:18:26.003,0:18:28.529
there is the daily pressure on me

0:18:28.529,0:18:31.918
of my anxiety for all the churches."

0:18:31.918,0:18:33.427
Tim: Right, there it is again.

0:18:33.427,0:18:36.527
So you have members in the same body,

0:18:36.527,0:18:38.059
or members in this body

0:18:38.059,0:18:41.564
that are supposed to be [br]anxious for each other.

0:18:41.564,0:18:44.631
You have Paul who is admitting

0:18:44.631,0:18:47.352
that above all the trials [br]that he's dealing with,

0:18:47.352,0:18:49.326
one of the greatest ones

0:18:49.326,0:18:51.223
above and beyond them all

0:18:51.223,0:18:53.955
is the fact that he carries around anxiety

0:18:53.955,0:18:55.102
for the churches.

0:18:55.102,0:18:56.185
What churches?

0:18:56.185,0:18:57.304
Well, all the churches.

0:18:57.304,0:18:59.618
He even would write to churches [br]that he had never visited,

0:18:59.618,0:19:01.071
never seen them face to face.

0:19:01.071,0:19:02.555
And he would say to them

0:19:02.555,0:19:05.836
he's praying for them all the time.

0:19:05.836,0:19:07.509
He carried about a burden.

0:19:07.509,0:19:10.908
Let's see something similar.

0:19:10.908,0:19:14.173
Go back to Philippians 2:20.

0:19:14.173,0:19:15.554
I love this.

0:19:15.554,0:19:19.512
This is one of the great descriptions -

0:19:19.512,0:19:22.527
we often think about [br]qualifications for ministry

0:19:22.527,0:19:25.101
coming from the pastoral epistles.

0:19:25.101,0:19:29.912
Well, there are qualifications

0:19:29.912,0:19:32.867
that we can find in other places.

0:19:32.867,0:19:35.344
The book of Acts chapter 20 is tremendous.

0:19:35.344,0:19:41.642
1 Peter has some great [br]things to say about elders.

0:19:41.642,0:19:47.619
But this, what words are [br]spoken about Timothy!

0:19:47.619,0:19:50.511
You want to talk about [br]qualifications for the ministry.

0:19:50.511,0:19:54.865
Somebody read Philippians 2:20.

0:19:54.865,0:19:56.994
"For I have no one like-minded

0:19:56.994,0:19:59.827
who will sincerely care for your welfare."

0:19:59.827,0:20:01.374
Tim: That word "care" -

0:20:01.374,0:20:03.650
again, same word that we have

0:20:03.650,0:20:05.885
in Philippian 4:6

0:20:05.885,0:20:08.130
that says be anxious for nothing.

0:20:08.130,0:20:09.618
Isn't this interesting?

0:20:09.618,0:20:12.217
If you were listening to Paul speak

0:20:12.217,0:20:13.965
in the original Greek,

0:20:13.965,0:20:15.689
you know what he says?

0:20:15.689,0:20:17.756
He says to the church

0:20:17.756,0:20:19.756
I don't have any man like him.

0:20:19.756,0:20:21.732
He's anxious for you.

0:20:21.732,0:20:23.839
And then he turns around and says to them

0:20:23.839,0:20:27.704
be anxious for nothing.

0:20:27.704,0:20:30.753
And he uses exactly the same word.

0:20:30.753,0:20:34.037
Look, they're not going [br]to misunderstand him.

0:20:34.037,0:20:36.268
They recognize in one case

0:20:36.268,0:20:39.106
it's used in a very positive way.

0:20:39.106,0:20:40.805
In the other case,

0:20:40.805,0:20:42.842
it's used in a negative way.

0:20:42.842,0:20:46.239
Now keep reading. Who was reading that?

0:20:46.239,0:20:49.006
Keep reading.

0:20:49.006,0:20:50.656
"For all seek their own,

0:20:50.656,0:20:52.804
not the things which are of Christ Jesus."

0:20:52.804,0:20:55.983
Tim: Aye aye aye...

0:20:55.983,0:20:57.882
You talk about convicting!

0:20:57.882,0:20:59.024
When I read that,

0:20:59.024,0:21:00.170
every time I read that,

0:21:00.170,0:21:04.334
that is convicting.

0:21:04.334,0:21:06.839
I'm blown away by that statement.

0:21:06.839,0:21:08.004
Think about it.

0:21:08.004,0:21:10.881
How many men did Paul work with

0:21:10.881,0:21:12.237
over the years?

0:21:12.237,0:21:14.002
You just think through the epistles.

0:21:14.002,0:21:15.443
Who are the men that he names?

0:21:15.443,0:21:17.974
Who are the men that he's [br]sending in different directions?

0:21:17.974,0:21:19.606
He worked for a time with Demas.

0:21:19.606,0:21:21.073
We know Demas defected.

0:21:21.073,0:21:22.874
But he worked with Tychicus.

0:21:22.874,0:21:24.107
he worked with Onesimus.

0:21:24.107,0:21:25.429
He worked with Epaphras.

0:21:25.429,0:21:26.962
He worked with Apollos.

0:21:26.962,0:21:28.600
He worked with Timothy.

0:21:28.600,0:21:29.919
He worked with Silas.

0:21:29.919,0:21:31.343
He worked with Barnabas.

0:21:31.343,0:21:33.080
At least those guys.

0:21:33.080,0:21:34.233
He worked with Luke.

0:21:34.233,0:21:36.786
He worked with Mark.

0:21:36.786,0:21:38.880
(incomplete thought)

0:21:38.880,0:21:41.514
How about Epaphroditus?

0:21:41.514,0:21:43.772
He worked with all these different guys.

0:21:43.772,0:21:47.563
And yet, he's able to say,

0:21:47.563,0:21:50.579
nobody has the anxiety for your soul.

0:21:50.579,0:21:53.986
He doesn't mind his own things;

0:21:53.986,0:21:58.169
he minds the things of Christ

0:21:58.169,0:22:00.786
What a statement!

0:22:00.786,0:22:01.862
(from the room)

0:22:01.862,0:22:04.362
I think of Mary and Martha.

0:22:04.362,0:22:06.276
Martha actually told the Lord,

0:22:06.276,0:22:09.162
"do You not care that my sister

0:22:09.162,0:22:11.026
has left me to serve alone?"

0:22:11.026,0:22:12.190
But then Christ says,

0:22:12.190,0:22:14.855
"You're anxious and troubled [br]about many things."

0:22:14.855,0:22:17.315
(unintelligible)

0:22:17.315,0:22:20.312
Tim: Exactly, that's a bad anxiety.

0:22:20.312,0:22:23.044
So right there,

0:22:23.044,0:22:29.837
you care about the wrong things.

0:22:29.837,0:22:31.244
That.

0:22:31.244,0:22:32.885
That's at the heart of this.

0:22:32.885,0:22:35.694
See, this is really where we [br]want to make the distinction.

0:22:35.694,0:22:36.906
How do we know?

0:22:36.906,0:22:38.367
What are the tests?

0:22:38.367,0:22:41.363
When can you look at yourself and say,

0:22:41.363,0:22:43.229
wow, the anxiety that I'm feeling -

0:22:43.229,0:22:46.350
because look, if you [br]have the kind of anxiety

0:22:46.350,0:22:48.304
that Jesus says you should not have

0:22:48.304,0:22:50.031
and Paul says you should not have,

0:22:50.031,0:22:51.888
you know those are imperatives.

0:22:51.888,0:22:53.756
There are imperatives that are given

0:22:53.756,0:22:55.282
that say - it's a commandment -

0:22:55.282,0:22:58.256
don't be anxious.

0:22:58.256,0:23:01.012
Which means if you are, it's sin.

0:23:01.012,0:23:03.278
When you blatantly contradict

0:23:03.278,0:23:04.424
something in your life

0:23:04.424,0:23:06.140
that Scripture tells you not to do,

0:23:06.140,0:23:07.616
that's sin.

0:23:07.616,0:23:11.002
What is sin?

0:23:11.002,0:23:12.551
Sin is transgression of the law.

0:23:12.551,0:23:14.593
It's transgression of the commandments.

0:23:14.593,0:23:17.564
It's transgression of the will of God.

0:23:17.564,0:23:22.616
The will of God is what God [br]sets forth in His Word.

0:23:22.616,0:23:23.903
It's sin.

0:23:23.903,0:23:25.864
So how do we distinguish between the two?

0:23:25.864,0:23:27.069
Before we move on,

0:23:27.069,0:23:29.287
I want to give you one more example

0:23:29.287,0:23:32.170
of the positive use of this

0:23:32.170,0:23:37.725
and it's found in 1 Corinthians 7.

0:23:37.725,0:23:42.044
1 Corinthians 7:32-34,

0:23:42.044,0:23:44.645
we have an interesting usage

0:23:44.645,0:23:51.039
of the word anxiety several times.

0:23:51.039,0:23:52.377
Somebody that gets there,

0:23:52.377,0:23:53.634
you can go ahead and read

0:23:53.634,0:24:00.584
1 Corinthians 7:32-34.

0:24:00.584,0:24:03.626
"I want you to be free from anxieties.

0:24:03.626,0:24:05.436
The unmarried man is anxious

0:24:05.436,0:24:07.546
about the things of the Lord,

0:24:07.546,0:24:09.297
how to please the Lord.

0:24:09.297,0:24:11.263
But the married man is anxious

0:24:11.263,0:24:12.951
about worldly things,

0:24:12.951,0:24:16.205
how to please his wife."

0:24:16.205,0:24:20.120
Tim: Keep going.

0:24:20.120,0:24:22.869
"And the unmarried or betrothed woman

0:24:22.869,0:24:25.162
is anxious about the things of the Lord."

0:24:25.162,0:24:27.171
Tim: Okay, stop.

0:24:27.171,0:24:33.497
Now, look, isn't that [br]convoluted in itself?

0:24:33.497,0:24:36.614
Listen to what he says in v. 32.

0:24:36.614,0:24:40.676
He doesn't want them anxious.

0:24:40.676,0:24:43.172
And yet in v. 34, what does he say?

0:24:43.172,0:24:44.786
That the unmarried woman

0:24:44.786,0:24:48.211
is anxious about what?

0:24:48.211,0:24:49.899
The things of the Lord.

0:24:49.899,0:24:52.228
So when he says he doesn't [br]want them anxious,

0:24:52.228,0:24:53.785
is that what he's talking about?

0:24:53.785,0:24:55.195
Well, no, if you look at the flow,

0:24:55.195,0:24:56.828
it's obvious what he's talking about.

0:24:56.828,0:24:58.074
He comes along and he says

0:24:58.074,0:24:59.738
I don't want you anxious.

0:24:59.738,0:25:02.085
But there's a context there.

0:25:02.085,0:25:06.043
He's saying if you get married,

0:25:06.043,0:25:07.612
you're going to be anxious

0:25:07.612,0:25:09.376
about things of the world.

0:25:09.376,0:25:11.155
If you don't get married,

0:25:11.155,0:25:14.130
then you'll stay focused

0:25:14.130,0:25:16.222
and be anxious only about

0:25:16.222,0:25:19.803
the things of the Lord.

0:25:19.803,0:25:21.987
But that's a positive use right there.

0:25:21.987,0:25:25.302
Be anxious about the things of the Lord.

0:25:25.302,0:25:26.634
That's a good thing.

0:25:26.634,0:25:28.352
In fact, that's why he doesn't want

0:25:28.352,0:25:30.960
people to marry.

0:25:30.960,0:25:35.669
So any of you guys thinking [br]about getting married...

0:25:35.669,0:25:39.190
I still recommend marriage.

0:25:39.190,0:25:43.434
But okay, we don't need to sidestep.

0:25:43.434,0:25:45.495
But here's the thing.

0:25:45.495,0:25:47.651
There's good use. There's bad use.

0:25:47.651,0:25:49.725
You obviously see that from Scripture.

0:25:49.725,0:25:52.802
We looked at examples of both.

0:25:52.802,0:25:55.667
But the question that is on the table

0:25:55.667,0:25:58.682
is how do we know the difference?

0:25:58.682,0:26:02.341
Obviously, Jesus tells His disciples

0:26:02.341,0:26:04.934
don't be anxious.

0:26:04.934,0:26:07.342
We saw that in Matthew 6.

0:26:07.342,0:26:09.444
We looked at it today in Luke 12.

0:26:09.444,0:26:12.494
We heard from it our brother Tony

0:26:12.494,0:26:15.494
mentioned Martha.

0:26:15.494,0:26:17.057
Jesus said,

0:26:17.057,0:26:20.530
"Martha, you're anxious about

0:26:20.530,0:26:22.893
all sorts of things."

0:26:22.893,0:26:25.298
Good or bad? Obviously bad.

0:26:25.298,0:26:27.638
Why? What's the comparison?

0:26:27.638,0:26:29.359
Her sister.

0:26:29.359,0:26:32.291
Her sister who is not [br]full of these anxieties.

0:26:32.291,0:26:35.299
She's seated at the feet of Christ.

0:26:35.299,0:26:37.622
She's chosen the good part.

0:26:37.622,0:26:39.627
It wouldn't be taken away from her.

0:26:39.627,0:26:42.616
So how can we distinguish?

0:26:42.616,0:26:48.626
Because here's the thing.

0:26:48.626,0:26:51.881
I'll tell you this.

0:26:51.881,0:26:55.388
I have four children.

0:26:55.388,0:26:57.949
Somebody has said,

0:26:57.949,0:27:00.557
as a parent, you can only be as happy

0:27:00.557,0:27:03.684
as your saddest child.

0:27:03.684,0:27:06.176
There's something to that.

0:27:06.176,0:27:09.695
Do you know with every child that you have

0:27:09.695,0:27:13.288
a new set of anxieties?

0:27:13.288,0:27:16.188
(incomplete thought)

0:27:16.188,0:27:19.106
I went bike riding this afternoon,

0:27:19.106,0:27:22.601
which I typically do right [br]before this study with Craig.

0:27:22.601,0:27:24.579
And I told Craig that we had

0:27:24.579,0:27:26.097
a number of visiting families

0:27:26.097,0:27:27.683
and we had some people that were

0:27:27.683,0:27:29.405
looking at moving here.

0:27:29.405,0:27:31.334
We rode for a little while,

0:27:31.334,0:27:35.152
and Craig said something like,

0:27:35.152,0:27:38.869
I don't know if that's a good thing.

0:27:38.869,0:27:41.587
And I said, well, it's true.

0:27:41.587,0:27:44.371
It's kind of like a parent [br]having another child,

0:27:44.371,0:27:45.923
adopting another child.

0:27:45.923,0:27:48.045
With each family that comes to the church,

0:27:48.045,0:27:52.927
typically it brings responsibilities.

0:27:52.927,0:27:54.300
It brings anxieties.

0:27:54.300,0:27:56.062
Often, it brings problems.

0:27:56.062,0:28:02.972
And you know, if you think about it,

0:28:02.972,0:28:05.499
okay, Paul comes along and he says,

0:28:05.499,0:28:08.573
hey, I want you free from anxieties.

0:28:08.573,0:28:10.719
I just want you to be [br]anxious about the Lord.

0:28:10.719,0:28:13.056
So don't get married, [br]because if you get married,

0:28:13.056,0:28:14.016
you know what?

0:28:14.016,0:28:16.032
Then you've got concerns about a wife.

0:28:16.032,0:28:17.220
And if you've got a wife,

0:28:17.220,0:28:18.380
then you might have kids

0:28:18.380,0:28:22.465
and you've got concerns [br]about all those things.

0:28:22.465,0:28:24.120
And you know what?

0:28:24.120,0:28:26.789
You know what we could say?

0:28:26.789,0:28:29.424
I just want to withdraw.

0:28:29.424,0:28:31.025
I don't want to have a family.

0:28:31.025,0:28:32.526
I want to keep my distance.

0:28:32.526,0:28:34.576
You know, if you get too close to people,

0:28:34.576,0:28:36.468
then all of a sudden, you care,

0:28:36.468,0:28:37.917
and if you care,

0:28:37.917,0:28:38.963
it hurts.

0:28:38.963,0:28:40.594
And there's burden.

0:28:40.594,0:28:42.260
There's troubles.

0:28:42.260,0:28:43.509
Can you imagine?

0:28:43.509,0:28:45.921
There's that family that has 18 kids.

0:28:45.921,0:28:47.026
I thought about that.

0:28:47.026,0:28:49.191
Oh, 18 children...

0:28:49.191,0:28:53.204
it's like 18 children just multiplies.

0:28:53.204,0:28:54.223
I have four.

0:28:54.223,0:28:56.546
It multiplies by over four-fold

0:28:56.546,0:28:59.387
the things that you feel;

0:28:59.387,0:29:02.157
the potentials for them [br]to be in car accidents,

0:29:02.157,0:29:04.269
or get leukemia,

0:29:04.269,0:29:07.266
or to marry a lost spouse,

0:29:07.266,0:29:09.540
and the person divorces them,

0:29:09.540,0:29:15.556
or have your grandchildren be stillborn.

0:29:15.556,0:29:17.760
You could think that way.

0:29:17.760,0:29:19.062
And you know what?

0:29:19.062,0:29:20.872
You know what the truth is?

0:29:20.872,0:29:23.402
If I really don't want to have anxieties,

0:29:23.402,0:29:25.559
the best thing is don't be married,

0:29:25.559,0:29:26.854
don't have children,

0:29:26.854,0:29:28.392
certainly, don't be a pastor.

0:29:28.392,0:29:29.568
Don't be like Timothy.

0:29:29.568,0:29:30.913
Don't be like Paul who's got

0:29:30.913,0:29:32.857
all these anxieties over the churches.

0:29:32.857,0:29:34.004
Don't be like Timothy

0:29:34.004,0:29:36.516
who's got anxieties over [br]the people at Philippi.

0:29:36.516,0:29:38.358
Don't get close to anybody.

0:29:38.358,0:29:40.113
In fact, withdraw.

0:29:40.113,0:29:45.548
Go build a cabin out somewhere far away.

0:29:45.548,0:29:47.021
Listen, I'm serious.

0:29:47.021,0:29:50.109
If you do that,

0:29:50.109,0:29:51.656
many of the anxieties -

0:29:51.656,0:29:54.485
now, I know, you could all of a sudden

0:29:54.485,0:29:57.049
have anxieties that a grizzly [br]bear's going to come

0:29:57.049,0:30:06.728
carry you off at night.

0:30:06.728,0:30:09.926
But, what we don't want to do clearly

0:30:09.926,0:30:13.062
is fall into that thinking.

0:30:13.062,0:30:14.956
Let me tell you,

0:30:14.956,0:30:16.999
a lot of people that struggle

0:30:16.999,0:30:19.172
with anxiety attacks,

0:30:19.172,0:30:20.676
you know what they end up doing

0:30:20.676,0:30:22.254
in the midst of their anxieties?

0:30:22.254,0:30:24.506
They end up withdrawing.

0:30:24.506,0:30:26.834
They don't want to be around people.

0:30:26.834,0:30:29.258
Why? It's too much.

0:30:29.258,0:30:30.525
It's just too much.

0:30:30.525,0:30:34.587
It's overwhelming anxiety.

0:30:34.587,0:30:36.636
But here's the thing,

0:30:36.636,0:30:38.391
we need to recognize

0:30:38.391,0:30:40.584
that there's good anxiety

0:30:40.584,0:30:42.510
and there's bad anxiety.

0:30:42.510,0:30:46.780
The reality is to love more people,

0:30:46.780,0:30:50.164
it's like the body in 1 Corinthians 12.

0:30:50.164,0:30:52.941
You be a member of this body.

0:30:52.941,0:30:55.133
You know what it says there?

0:30:55.133,0:30:59.837
We weep with those who weep.

0:30:59.837,0:31:02.444
You know if you weep with those who weep,

0:31:02.444,0:31:04.104
like if it's really true,

0:31:04.104,0:31:09.922
you can only be as happy [br]as your saddest child,

0:31:09.922,0:31:12.477
the truth is if that's what [br]God wants from us -

0:31:12.477,0:31:16.791
we're to weep with those who weep,

0:31:16.791,0:31:17.984
then you know what,

0:31:17.984,0:31:24.339
loving people brings certain sorrows.

0:31:24.339,0:31:28.061
You know what the problem [br]is if you love people?

0:31:28.061,0:31:32.492
It opens you up to pain.

0:31:32.492,0:31:34.851
And it opens you up to worry

0:31:34.851,0:31:35.929
very possibly.

0:31:35.929,0:31:37.559
Because if you love somebody,

0:31:37.559,0:31:40.506
you're concerned about them.

0:31:40.506,0:31:43.397
And what we certainly don't want to do

0:31:43.397,0:31:45.536
as we try to steer people away

0:31:45.536,0:31:49.435
from the negative anxieties,

0:31:49.435,0:31:51.461
we want to at the same time

0:31:51.461,0:31:55.616
encourage that they embrace

0:31:55.616,0:31:57.599
the good anxieties.

0:31:57.599,0:32:00.146
So how can you tell the difference?

0:32:00.146,0:32:04.125
How can you tell Paul

0:32:04.125,0:32:07.609
who says, look, above all the things -

0:32:07.609,0:32:11.498
somebody look at that [br]text in 2 Corinthians.

0:32:11.498,0:32:17.808
That text was found in 2 Corinthians 11.

0:32:17.808,0:32:22.345
And the text specifically was in v. 28.

0:32:22.345,0:32:27.100
Maybe I'll read that one.

0:32:27.100,0:32:32.707
2 Corinthians 11.

0:32:32.707,0:32:37.323
Listen to this.

0:32:37.323,0:32:43.543
(incomplete thought)

0:32:43.543,0:32:45.816
What Paul's doing here

0:32:45.816,0:32:47.393
is he's comparing himself

0:32:47.393,0:32:50.951
to these false apostles.

0:32:50.951,0:32:55.896
V. 22, "Are they Hebrews? So am I.

0:32:55.896,0:32:59.592
Are they Israelites? So am I.

0:32:59.592,0:33:02.440
Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.

0:33:02.440,0:33:05.111
Are they servants of Christ?

0:33:05.111,0:33:06.301
I'm a better one."

0:33:06.301,0:33:09.808
Now he's not speaking pridefully here.

0:33:09.808,0:33:12.768
He was a true apostle.

0:33:12.768,0:33:16.112
They were false apostles.

0:33:16.112,0:33:17.930
And he says it right away.

0:33:17.930,0:33:19.385
I'm talking like a madman.

0:33:19.385,0:33:21.328
He knew this sounds arrogant,

0:33:21.328,0:33:24.661
and he says I'm talking [br]like a madman here.

0:33:24.661,0:33:26.474
But I've been in far greater labors.

0:33:26.474,0:33:29.666
I've suffered much more [br]for Christ than any of them

0:33:29.666,0:33:32.620
because I'm preaching a [br]message that gets persecuted.

0:33:32.620,0:33:34.134
Unlike those guys.

0:33:34.134,0:33:35.396
They're ear ticklers.

0:33:35.396,0:33:36.886
They're man pleasers.

0:33:36.886,0:33:41.068
Anyway, look what he says.

0:33:41.068,0:33:43.784
"Far greater labors,

0:33:43.784,0:33:48.211
far more imprisonments."

0:33:48.211,0:33:52.187
Some of us have perhaps been in jail.

0:33:52.187,0:33:54.733
He was in jail for Christ's sake.

0:33:54.733,0:33:56.406
But not just that.

0:33:56.406,0:33:59.889
Countless beatings.

0:33:59.889,0:34:03.330
If we had one person in our midst

0:34:03.330,0:34:10.692
who had been beaten just once

0:34:10.692,0:34:12.801
for the name of Christ,

0:34:12.801,0:34:17.223
we would so highly esteem that person.

0:34:17.223,0:34:21.512
Any of you... (incomplete thought).

0:34:21.512,0:34:23.899
Kevin - he got punched right?

0:34:23.899,0:34:28.350
(incomplete thought)

0:34:28.350,0:34:30.481
Suffering for Christ's sake.

0:34:30.481,0:34:32.730
I mean, people that [br]are willing to do that.

0:34:32.730,0:34:35.941
I love that.

0:34:35.941,0:34:39.103
But he was beaten - he [br]didn't even know the number

0:34:39.103,0:34:41.646
of times he was beaten.

0:34:41.646,0:34:45.087
He was often near death.

0:34:45.087,0:34:46.296
Like he says at times,

0:34:46.296,0:34:50.460
they feared for their lives.

0:34:50.460,0:34:52.977
"Five times I received at [br]the hands of the Jews

0:34:52.977,0:34:55.000
40 lashes less one."

0:34:55.000,0:34:58.219
The most you could give [br]under Mosaic Law: 40.

0:34:58.219,0:34:59.698
So they always did 39

0:34:59.698,0:35:03.367
lest they should accidentally go over.

0:35:03.367,0:35:04.861
Can you imagine?

0:35:04.861,0:35:07.954
I've got a rod right there behind Wendy.

0:35:07.954,0:35:10.649
Can somebody imagine if I took that rod

0:35:10.649,0:35:14.035
and I beat you with it 39 times?

0:35:14.035,0:35:19.215
As hard as I could?

0:35:19.215,0:35:21.978
This is what he went through.

0:35:21.978,0:35:25.122
"Once I was stoned and left for dead."

0:35:25.122,0:35:26.605
We know about that account.

0:35:26.605,0:35:29.279
"Three times I was shipwrecked.

0:35:29.279,0:35:32.209
A night and a day I was adrift at sea.

0:35:32.209,0:35:34.475
Frequent journeys and dangers from rivers,

0:35:34.475,0:35:35.905
danger from robbers,

0:35:35.905,0:35:37.331
danger from my own people,

0:35:37.331,0:35:38.632
danger from the Gentiles,

0:35:38.632,0:35:40.849
danger in the city, [br]danger in the wilderness,

0:35:40.849,0:35:43.353
danger at sea,[br]danger from false brothers,

0:35:43.353,0:35:46.075
in toil, hardship, [br]many sleepless nights,

0:35:46.075,0:35:48.222
hunger and thirst,[br]often without food,

0:35:48.222,0:35:49.724
in cold and exposure

0:35:49.724,0:35:51.503
and apart from other things,

0:35:51.503,0:35:53.386
there is the daily pressure on me

0:35:53.386,0:35:56.279
of my anxieties for all the churches."

0:35:56.279,0:35:58.635
It's like he's gets done,

0:35:58.635,0:36:00.240
and it's like you want to know

0:36:00.240,0:36:04.140
what really is a burden to me?

0:36:04.140,0:36:06.742
Not all those things.

0:36:06.742,0:36:10.554
Daily I carry around this burden

0:36:10.554,0:36:12.164
for the churches.

0:36:12.164,0:36:13.085
We want that.

0:36:13.085,0:36:14.394
We want that kind of love.

0:36:14.394,0:36:16.339
That is a good anxiety.

0:36:16.339,0:36:19.282
We should pursue that.

0:36:19.282,0:36:22.171
But okay, how do we know the difference?

0:36:22.171,0:36:33.648
How do we know when we feel panicked,

0:36:33.648,0:36:36.265
or we feel cares, we feel burdens,

0:36:36.265,0:36:42.405
we feel anxiety, we feel cares?

0:36:42.405,0:36:43.947
What's a good mark

0:36:43.947,0:36:47.658
that the thing is good or bad?

0:36:47.658,0:36:48.795
Here's some things.

0:36:48.795,0:36:50.087
You guys can be thinking

0:36:50.087,0:36:52.037
if I don't hit on one that you think of,

0:36:52.037,0:36:53.566
I'll give you the opportunity

0:36:53.566,0:36:56.842
after I throw these out.

0:36:56.842,0:36:59.321
Number one,

0:36:59.321,0:37:02.387
here's a question that you need to ask.

0:37:02.387,0:37:07.598
What are you concerned about?

0:37:07.598,0:37:09.674
See, that's a good thing to ask.

0:37:09.674,0:37:12.236
Because I can tell you this,

0:37:12.236,0:37:15.707
every time in Scripture

0:37:15.707,0:37:19.916
that it's a good anxiety,

0:37:19.916,0:37:24.391
it's being anxious for people

0:37:24.391,0:37:26.405
or the 1 Corinthians 7,

0:37:26.405,0:37:32.432
it's being anxious for the Lord.

0:37:32.432,0:37:35.140
Versus the bad anxieties

0:37:35.140,0:37:39.647
which would be being anxious for money

0:37:39.647,0:37:43.090
or for clothing or for food

0:37:43.090,0:37:44.738
or for drink

0:37:44.738,0:37:49.466
or for the physical things.

0:37:49.466,0:37:50.592
You know what Paul said

0:37:50.592,0:37:52.245
when it came to financial things?

0:37:52.245,0:37:53.493
When it came to wealth?

0:37:53.493,0:37:55.427
When it came to provision in this world?

0:37:55.427,0:37:57.814
He said God has taught me

0:37:57.814,0:37:59.773
both how to be abased

0:37:59.773,0:38:01.948
and how to abound.

0:38:01.948,0:38:05.659
In other words, I don't [br]freak out either way.

0:38:05.659,0:38:09.687
He's taught me how to go through both

0:38:09.687,0:38:11.334
resting on Him

0:38:11.334,0:38:13.485
and trusting in Him.

0:38:13.485,0:38:16.386
He says this to the Philippians.

0:38:16.386,0:38:18.750
He's going to supply our every need

0:38:18.750,0:38:21.093
according to His riches [br]in glory through Christ.

0:38:21.093,0:38:23.736
It's going to happen.

0:38:23.736,0:38:25.061
He's taught us.

0:38:25.061,0:38:29.248
But think about what you're anxious about.

0:38:29.248,0:38:31.097
It doesn't mean that a bad anxiety

0:38:31.097,0:38:32.874
can't be attached to people.

0:38:32.874,0:38:35.891
But it's just a point well worth making

0:38:35.891,0:38:39.655
that when Paul was [br]anxious for the churches,

0:38:39.655,0:38:41.731
it was people.

0:38:41.731,0:38:47.142
When Timothy was anxious [br]for the Philippians,

0:38:47.142,0:38:50.901
it was people.

0:38:50.901,0:38:57.455
When you think about these examples

0:38:57.455,0:38:59.808
and then the 1 Corinthians 7,

0:38:59.808,0:39:03.087
where the person that marries,

0:39:03.087,0:39:05.275
he's anxious for the things of his wife

0:39:05.275,0:39:07.706
versus the girl that stays single -

0:39:07.706,0:39:10.517
she's anxious for the things of the Lord.

0:39:10.517,0:39:12.847
That's the first thing to think about.

0:39:12.847,0:39:14.812
What are we anxious about?

0:39:14.812,0:39:17.791
Is it people and is it the Lord

0:39:17.791,0:39:20.606
who are driving our concerns?

0:39:20.615,0:39:22.377
Or is it stuff?

0:39:22.377,0:39:24.857
Is it the fear of whether God's going to

0:39:24.857,0:39:25.935
provide for us?

0:39:25.935,0:39:27.953
Is it the fear of whether we're going to

0:39:27.953,0:39:29.763
get something that we think we want?

0:39:29.763,0:39:36.087
Even if that's a spouse.

0:39:36.087,0:39:40.350
Just panicking because you're not sure

0:39:40.350,0:39:41.601
about tomorrow.

0:39:41.601,0:39:43.838
You're just worried all the time.

0:39:43.838,0:39:45.446
How am I going to make it?

0:39:45.446,0:39:48.596
How am I going to take care of my family?

0:39:48.596,0:39:53.169
How is this going to happen?

0:39:53.169,0:39:55.734
So that's the first thing.

0:39:55.734,0:40:01.443
The second thing is this.

0:40:01.443,0:40:05.783
Look at Matthew 13:22.

0:40:05.783,0:40:12.284
This is the well known parable

0:40:12.284,0:40:17.754
of the four soils.

0:40:17.754,0:40:21.970
The third soil type

0:40:21.970,0:40:24.889
is found in Matthew 13:22.

0:40:24.889,0:40:28.861
The explanation, the interpretation.

0:40:28.861,0:40:34.924
Somebody want to read that?

0:40:34.924,0:40:38.209
"As for what was sown among the thorns,

0:40:38.209,0:40:40.461
this is the one who hears the Word

0:40:40.461,0:40:42.015
and the cares of the world..."

0:40:42.015,0:40:43.520
Tim: Right there.

0:40:43.520,0:40:44.712
The cares of the world?

0:40:44.712,0:40:47.161
That's the anxieties of the world.

0:40:47.161,0:40:48.334
Keep going.

0:40:48.334,0:40:50.350
"...and the deceitfulness of riches

0:40:50.350,0:40:53.689
choke the Word and proves unfruitful."

0:40:53.689,0:40:55.619
Tim: It chokes the Word

0:40:55.619,0:40:59.916
and it proves unfruitful.

0:40:59.916,0:41:05.294
Cares of the world

0:41:05.294,0:41:09.525
lead to no fruitfulness.

0:41:09.525,0:41:11.476
In fact, if you compare this

0:41:11.476,0:41:14.986
to the other Gospels,

0:41:14.986,0:41:19.974
what happens is it chokes,

0:41:19.974,0:41:25.952
it keeps the fruit from [br]coming to fruition.

0:41:25.952,0:41:28.372
Or, look at this text.

0:41:28.372,0:41:31.190
Luke 21:34.

0:41:31.190,0:41:41.350
Somebody read that when you get there.

0:41:41.350,0:41:42.673
"But watch yourselves,

0:41:42.673,0:41:44.826
lest your hearts be weighed down

0:41:44.826,0:41:47.542
with dissipation and drunkenness

0:41:47.542,0:41:49.271
and cares of this life

0:41:49.271,0:41:51.447
and that day come upon you suddenly

0:41:51.447,0:41:53.431
like a trap."

0:41:53.431,0:41:55.093
Tim: There it is.

0:41:55.093,0:41:59.274
Cares of this life.

0:41:59.274,0:42:02.375
Cares of this life.

0:42:02.375,0:42:06.098
You get weighed down by them.

0:42:06.098,0:42:10.090
And what does it say there in Matthew 13?

0:42:10.090,0:42:16.393
It said that there's a choking.

0:42:16.393,0:42:19.068
These cares choke.

0:42:19.068,0:42:20.725
And what happens?

0:42:20.725,0:42:22.532
There's not fruit.

0:42:22.532,0:42:25.947
And so the thing that [br]we need to ask is this:

0:42:25.947,0:42:32.217
Does your anxiety produce fruit

0:42:32.217,0:42:35.489
or does it choke it?

0:42:35.489,0:42:37.377
Because think about this.

0:42:37.377,0:42:40.612
If a person is having anxiety attacks,

0:42:40.612,0:42:42.275
and they can't even get themselves

0:42:42.275,0:42:44.412
to get out of their bed [br]or out of their home

0:42:44.412,0:42:46.656
on a Sunday to come to the service,

0:42:46.656,0:42:49.693
to use their spiritual gifts [br]to strengthen other people,

0:42:49.693,0:42:51.291
to encourage other people,

0:42:51.291,0:42:54.276
to get there to stir up one another

0:42:54.276,0:42:55.394
to love and good works

0:42:55.394,0:42:57.747
and not forsake the assembling together,

0:42:57.747,0:42:59.235
to get there and hear about

0:42:59.235,0:43:01.389
what's happening in other people's lives,

0:43:01.389,0:43:02.975
to bear one another's burdens,

0:43:02.975,0:43:04.710
to rejoice with those who rejoice,

0:43:04.710,0:43:06.874
to weep with those who weep -

0:43:06.874,0:43:08.616
if you're not able,

0:43:08.616,0:43:12.065
do you know what that anxiety is doing?

0:43:12.065,0:43:15.287
It's choking fruit.

0:43:15.287,0:43:19.299
Whereas Paul, thinking about [br]the churches all the time,

0:43:19.299,0:43:21.711
his care for the churches,

0:43:21.711,0:43:26.139
that didn't produce a choking.

0:43:26.139,0:43:29.606
That didn't produce a fruitlessness.

0:43:29.606,0:43:31.456
That didn't produce in Paul

0:43:31.456,0:43:34.004
a desire to fly away

0:43:34.004,0:43:36.604
and build a cabin out in the woods.

0:43:36.604,0:43:39.310
You know what it did?

0:43:39.310,0:43:43.412
Listen to him speak [br]to every single church.

0:43:43.412,0:43:47.785
He says I am constantly remembering you

0:43:47.785,0:43:50.178
in prayer.

0:43:50.178,0:43:52.035
That's fruit.

0:43:52.035,0:43:55.273
His anxiety caused him

0:43:55.273,0:43:56.852
to take those churches

0:43:56.852,0:43:58.516
before the throne of grace

0:43:58.516,0:44:01.910
over and over and over again.

0:44:01.910,0:44:04.199
It caused him to go to those churches,

0:44:04.199,0:44:05.642
to risk his life.

0:44:05.642,0:44:07.289
Do you remember what he said

0:44:07.289,0:44:08.716
to the church at Rome?

0:44:08.716,0:44:12.261
He says, oh, I have longed to come to you

0:44:12.261,0:44:15.126
that I might have some fruit among you.

0:44:15.126,0:44:18.120
He wanted to come and preach the Gospel.

0:44:18.120,0:44:20.105
He wanted his faith and their faith

0:44:20.105,0:44:23.559
to mutually edify each other.

0:44:23.559,0:44:26.105
Listen to how he talked [br]to the church at Corinth.

0:44:26.105,0:44:27.834
He talked about coming,

0:44:27.834,0:44:29.661
and what did he want to do?

0:44:29.661,0:44:32.504
He didn't want to come [br]and have to use the rod.

0:44:32.504,0:44:34.087
But he would if he had to.

0:44:34.087,0:44:35.591
Why? Because he would come

0:44:35.591,0:44:37.104
to set things in order.

0:44:37.104,0:44:38.602
What did Paul send Titus

0:44:38.602,0:44:43.446
to the churches in Crete to do?

0:44:43.446,0:44:45.690
Good things. Fruitful things.

0:44:45.690,0:44:47.854
When Paul and Barnabas

0:44:47.854,0:44:50.162
went through the churches in Acts 14,

0:44:50.162,0:44:51.772
do you know what they were doing?

0:44:51.772,0:44:54.331
They were encouraging the brethren

0:44:54.331,0:44:56.326
and appointing elders.

0:44:56.326,0:44:57.722
But good things.

0:44:57.722,0:44:59.362
They were risking their life.

0:44:59.362,0:45:01.376
They were risking imprisonment.

0:45:01.376,0:45:03.247
They were risking beatings.

0:45:03.247,0:45:04.445
Why?

0:45:04.445,0:45:07.515
Listen, when Paul said

0:45:07.515,0:45:12.625
that he could just as well die as live,

0:45:12.625,0:45:14.203
what did he say?

0:45:14.203,0:45:15.401
What did he say?

0:45:15.401,0:45:17.691
I desire to depart and be with Christ,

0:45:17.691,0:45:19.523
but what?

0:45:19.523,0:45:22.519
James: To remain in the [br]flesh is far more necessary...

0:45:22.519,0:45:23.874
Tim: For their sakes.

0:45:23.874,0:45:27.656
See, kill me. Chop my head off, Nero.

0:45:27.656,0:45:29.815
And I get to go to glory.

0:45:29.815,0:45:32.927
But you know what?[br]You know what's more needful?

0:45:32.927,0:45:36.320
Not that I fly away, build a cabin

0:45:36.320,0:45:40.392
outside of Frisco, Colorado.

0:45:40.392,0:45:46.181
He says it's more necessary that I stay.

0:45:46.181,0:45:49.574
Why? Because the people of God needed him.

0:45:49.574,0:45:53.219
See, this is what I would ask you.

0:45:53.219,0:45:56.400
Whatever anxieties you have in your life,

0:45:56.400,0:45:58.971
is it leading to fruit?

0:45:58.971,0:46:00.743
Because what we see

0:46:00.743,0:46:02.885
is that the anxieties of this world

0:46:02.885,0:46:08.882
choke the Word and there's no good fruit.

0:46:08.882,0:46:10.861
It doesn't come to fruition.

0:46:10.861,0:46:14.202
Versus the kind of care that Timothy had.

0:46:14.202,0:46:16.282
Listen, the kind of care that was there

0:46:16.282,0:46:17.927
in 1 Corinthians 12.

0:46:17.927,0:46:19.225
You've got this body -

0:46:19.225,0:46:20.995
this body full of these members.

0:46:20.995,0:46:22.193
And these members,

0:46:22.193,0:46:25.179
they have anxiety for each other.

0:46:25.179,0:46:27.124
And so what do they do?

0:46:27.124,0:46:29.191
They weep with each other.

0:46:29.191,0:46:30.664
They rejoice with each other.

0:46:30.664,0:46:32.148
And of course, that chapter

0:46:32.148,0:46:33.886
is speaking about spiritual gifts.

0:46:33.886,0:46:35.603
They're using their spiritual gifts

0:46:35.603,0:46:37.786
to build up one another.

0:46:37.786,0:46:40.311
You see, that's what you have to think.

0:46:40.311,0:46:45.640
Is your anxiety causing you

0:46:45.640,0:46:48.072
to pray for those people?

0:46:48.072,0:46:49.755
Is it for people?

0:46:49.755,0:46:51.459
Is it for the Lord?

0:46:51.459,0:46:55.898
And is it causing you to pursue fruit?

0:46:55.898,0:46:58.610
Are you anxious for the Lord?

0:46:58.610,0:47:00.594
If you cross reference what it says

0:47:00.594,0:47:03.179
about the young man who doesn't marry,

0:47:03.179,0:47:05.773
and the young lady who doesn't marry,

0:47:05.773,0:47:07.942
the young man, it talks about

0:47:07.942,0:47:09.972
being freed up so he can pursue

0:47:09.972,0:47:11.753
righteousness and holiness.

0:47:11.753,0:47:13.318
With the young lady, so she can

0:47:13.318,0:47:15.279
be anxious about the things of the Lord.

0:47:15.279,0:47:17.270
That's an interesting parallel.

0:47:17.270,0:47:20.641
What does it mean to be anxious [br]for the things of the Lord?

0:47:20.641,0:47:24.415
It means you're set [br]on a course of holiness.

0:47:24.415,0:47:28.206
You're set on a course of righteousness.

0:47:28.206,0:47:29.245
(from the room)

0:47:29.245,0:47:31.048
Early on, you were talking about

0:47:31.048,0:47:33.894
being anxious for people and for the Lord.

0:47:33.894,0:47:35.700
That text of Mary and Martha,

0:47:35.700,0:47:38.277
it seems to attach bad anxiety

0:47:38.277,0:47:40.520
with being distracted.

0:47:40.520,0:47:43.384
So Martha was distracted with much serving

0:47:43.384,0:47:46.345
whereas Mary, it says the Lord says,

0:47:46.345,0:47:49.138
one thing was necessary,

0:47:49.138,0:47:51.770
and so she chose it, right?

0:47:51.770,0:47:53.324
And she wasn't distracted

0:47:53.324,0:47:54.956
be the cares of this world.

0:47:54.956,0:47:56.550
They didn't choke out the Word.

0:47:56.550,0:48:00.788
She was focused on the Lord specifically.

0:48:00.788,0:48:05.867
Tim: I want you to think here.

0:48:05.867,0:48:08.677
You have one sister

0:48:08.677,0:48:12.396
sitting at the feet of [br]Christ as He teaches.

0:48:12.396,0:48:15.643
You have another sister in the kitchen

0:48:15.643,0:48:19.032
making food for Jesus.

0:48:19.032,0:48:23.207
Now I want you to really think about that.

0:48:23.207,0:48:26.565
We can fool ourselves.

0:48:26.565,0:48:29.014
And I think Martha did.

0:48:29.014,0:48:32.162
Martha believed:

0:48:32.162,0:48:34.918
what I'm doing, I'm serving the Lord,

0:48:34.918,0:48:38.180
and my sister is lazy.

0:48:38.180,0:48:39.529
And I need help.

0:48:39.529,0:48:42.605
And I think when she appealed to the Lord,

0:48:42.605,0:48:45.382
she fully expected the Lord to say,

0:48:45.382,0:48:49.863
Mary, get up off your rear [br]and go help your sister.

0:48:49.863,0:48:59.566
Because think if you're Martha.

0:48:59.566,0:49:04.386
Wasn't it Mary who brought out

0:49:04.386,0:49:08.099
the alabaster box

0:49:08.099,0:49:12.669
and she poured it on Christ?

0:49:12.669,0:49:17.713
Think about serving the Lord.

0:49:17.713,0:49:19.703
Serving the Lord.

0:49:19.703,0:49:21.920
It sounds good.

0:49:21.920,0:49:27.085
That's a biblical thing.

0:49:27.085,0:49:29.470
Here's the amazing thing.

0:49:29.470,0:49:32.688
You can get to where you're even anxious

0:49:32.688,0:49:35.032
about serving the Lord,

0:49:35.032,0:49:38.218
and it's a bad anxiety.

0:49:38.218,0:49:46.845
Because it's an anxiety that is the fruit

0:49:46.845,0:49:49.746
of not choosing the better part.

0:49:49.746,0:49:52.958
It's an anxiety that isn't focused

0:49:52.958,0:49:54.968
on the right things.

0:49:54.968,0:49:58.833
You see, Mary was focused on Christ.

0:49:58.833,0:50:01.974
And she sat there at His feet

0:50:01.974,0:50:05.147
and heard Him teach.

0:50:05.147,0:50:07.514
And this is subtle.

0:50:07.514,0:50:08.868
Because if you asked,

0:50:08.868,0:50:11.297
well, wait, isn't there good fruit

0:50:11.297,0:50:18.729
in making a meal for Jesus?

0:50:18.729,0:50:23.238
Yeah, perhaps, but here's the thing.

0:50:23.238,0:50:26.844
When we think about what [br]we're being anxious about,

0:50:26.844,0:50:28.417
I didn't put that in here,

0:50:28.417,0:50:31.643
but that is a good thing to ask yourself.

0:50:31.643,0:50:34.927
Is my anxiety -

0:50:34.927,0:50:36.602
even though it may seem good,

0:50:36.602,0:50:37.792
it may seem biblical,

0:50:37.792,0:50:41.685
it may seem right and righteous,

0:50:41.685,0:50:44.244
but is my anxiety causing me

0:50:44.244,0:50:49.235
to miss the best parts of Christianity?

0:50:49.235,0:50:51.415
Christ Himself.

0:50:51.415,0:50:55.203
Are my anxieties distracting me?

0:50:55.203,0:50:56.776
Because that's what she was.

0:50:56.776,0:50:58.037
You're distracted.

0:50:58.037,0:51:00.622
You're anxious and you're distracted

0:51:00.622,0:51:01.814
about many things.

0:51:01.814,0:51:03.035
Distracted from what?

0:51:03.035,0:51:08.934
She's chosen the good part.

0:51:08.934,0:51:11.240
That's a good question to ask.

0:51:11.240,0:51:15.802
Is my anxiety in any way

0:51:15.802,0:51:19.921
drawing me away from Christ,

0:51:19.921,0:51:23.851
even if it's serving Him?

0:51:23.851,0:51:26.156
Because I find this,

0:51:26.156,0:51:32.474
if I have a healthy anxiety for you

0:51:32.474,0:51:36.362
as a pastor,

0:51:36.362,0:51:39.334
it takes me to Christ.

0:51:39.334,0:51:40.669
It takes me to Him.

0:51:40.669,0:51:43.689
It takes me to Him to plead

0:51:43.689,0:51:46.245
for you to Him.

0:51:46.245,0:51:50.687
It makes me think,

0:51:50.687,0:51:53.381
honestly, I recognize,

0:51:53.381,0:51:57.012
what I'm preaching on [br]right now in the church,

0:51:57.012,0:52:00.565
that you really focusing [br]on the love of Christ

0:52:00.565,0:52:02.227
is the most healthy thing.

0:52:02.227,0:52:05.132
I recognize you beholding [br]the glory of the Lord

0:52:05.132,0:52:08.289
is at the heart.

0:52:08.289,0:52:10.183
So we need to ask ourselves that.

0:52:10.183,0:52:13.996
Do our anxieties cause us

0:52:13.996,0:52:17.157
to choose Christ and focus on Christ?

0:52:17.157,0:52:19.152
That's a good sign

0:52:19.152,0:52:20.876
that that's a healthy anxiety.

0:52:20.876,0:52:23.331
Or does it, even if it's serving Him

0:52:23.331,0:52:24.927
in a certain respect,

0:52:24.927,0:52:29.267
does it causes us to [br]be distracted from Him?

0:52:29.267,0:52:33.425
Good thought there.

0:52:33.425,0:52:36.538
Number 3 and closely associated to this,

0:52:36.538,0:52:40.856
how do my anxieties [br]affect my prayer life?

0:52:40.856,0:52:42.179
Because remember -

0:52:42.179,0:52:43.595
James probably can quote it -

0:52:43.595,0:52:44.956
Philippians 4:6,

0:52:44.956,0:52:46.621
"Do not be anxious about anything,

0:52:46.621,0:52:48.976
but in everything with [br]prayer and supplication

0:52:48.976,0:52:50.053
with thanksgiving..."

0:52:50.053,0:52:51.284
Tim: Did you hear that?

0:52:51.284,0:52:52.937
Prayer and supplication.

0:52:52.937,0:52:54.864
You are supposed to make your requests

0:52:54.864,0:52:55.853
known to God.

0:52:55.853,0:52:56.891
Here's the thing.

0:52:56.891,0:53:00.017
Be not anxious, but...

0:53:00.017,0:53:01.639
rather...

0:53:01.639,0:53:03.370
what are you supposed to be doing?

0:53:03.370,0:53:05.016
It's like Paul sets these things

0:53:05.016,0:53:06.124
against each other.

0:53:06.124,0:53:08.247
Anxiety over against

0:53:08.247,0:53:10.860
taking these things to the Lord.

0:53:10.860,0:53:12.484
I would ask you this.

0:53:12.484,0:53:17.779
A good indication as [br]to whether your cares,

0:53:17.779,0:53:20.553
your concerns,

0:53:20.553,0:53:22.172
your anxieties,

0:53:22.172,0:53:24.873
whether they're good or bad

0:53:24.873,0:53:28.639
is do they tend to take you to the Lord

0:53:28.639,0:53:29.989
in prayer?

0:53:29.989,0:53:31.857
Or do they traumatize you?

0:53:31.857,0:53:34.295
Do they cause you to neglect the Lord?

0:53:34.295,0:53:36.541
Do they cause you to ignore the Lord?

0:53:36.541,0:53:42.924
Do they cause you to be [br]distracted from the Lord?

0:53:42.924,0:53:45.094
What does it do for your prayer life?

0:53:45.094,0:53:48.468
Because you know what?

0:53:48.468,0:53:51.348
That parent who says

0:53:51.348,0:53:53.071
I have all these children

0:53:53.071,0:54:00.502
and I'm anxious for them,

0:54:00.502,0:54:05.959
well, when you say [br]you're anxious for them,

0:54:05.959,0:54:09.456
does that mean, like Paul [br]being anxious for the churches,

0:54:09.456,0:54:13.116
that you're taking your children

0:54:13.116,0:54:16.154
before the throne of grace all the time

0:54:16.154,0:54:20.609
and pleading, pleading on their behalf?

0:54:20.609,0:54:22.223
Like Job did.

0:54:22.223,0:54:24.425
Bringing that sacrifice.

0:54:24.425,0:54:26.692
Bringing that offering to God,

0:54:26.692,0:54:28.445
in case your children sin.

0:54:28.445,0:54:32.355
You're pleading for their souls.

0:54:32.355,0:54:34.446
Does it bring you there?

0:54:34.446,0:54:36.740
Or is it the kind of thing where

0:54:36.740,0:54:38.012
no, it doesn't.

0:54:38.012,0:54:39.714
You just worry, worry, worry, worry

0:54:39.714,0:54:43.144
and going to God doesn't help,

0:54:43.144,0:54:44.581
and so you don't go there.

0:54:44.581,0:54:46.031
You tend to neglect that.

0:54:46.031,0:54:48.486
Now that's a big indicator

0:54:48.486,0:54:51.304
that your anxieties are basically

0:54:51.304,0:54:53.967
coming from idolatry.

0:54:53.967,0:54:55.591
You've made too much of a god

0:54:55.591,0:54:57.876
out of the thing that [br]you're anxious about,

0:54:57.876,0:55:00.209
whether that be [br]your children or whatever.

0:55:00.209,0:55:07.564
But examine the prayer life.

0:55:07.564,0:55:13.197
I put here "good anxiety suffers."

0:55:13.197,0:55:15.823
We already kind of talked about that.

0:55:15.823,0:55:21.111
But obviously, if being [br]anxious for one another

0:55:21.111,0:55:23.885
means that we weep for one another,

0:55:23.885,0:55:27.437
it means if our brothers [br]or sisters are hurting,

0:55:27.437,0:55:29.614
we seek to enter in.

0:55:29.614,0:55:32.636
We don't seek to be distant.

0:55:32.636,0:55:35.384
And I guess that's one of the things

0:55:35.384,0:55:40.136
that we need to ask ourselves.

0:55:40.136,0:55:44.287
Are we pursuing those kinds of anxieties?

0:55:44.287,0:55:47.286
Are we seeking to feel

0:55:47.286,0:55:51.215
for what other people feel?

0:55:51.215,0:55:55.114
Are we seeking to enter in to bear

0:55:55.114,0:55:59.233
one another's burdens in that sense?

0:55:59.233,0:56:02.440
Because true anxiety -

0:56:02.440,0:56:05.335
the good anxiety -

0:56:05.335,0:56:07.528
is willing to feel pain,

0:56:07.528,0:56:11.863
obviously, from that [br]1 Corinthians 12 passage.

0:56:11.863,0:56:15.356
It's willing to feel pain.

0:56:15.356,0:56:19.614
It's willing to hurt with others.

0:56:19.614,0:56:20.819
(from the room)

0:56:20.819,0:56:23.264
Proverbs 12:25 says,

0:56:23.264,0:56:26.438
"Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down,

0:56:26.438,0:56:29.382
but a good word makes him glad."

0:56:29.382,0:56:33.265
(unintelligible)

0:56:33.265,0:56:35.126
Tim: Well, let's talk about that.

0:56:35.126,0:56:39.928
I'll just shoot right to that one.

0:56:39.928,0:56:42.586
Read that proverb again.

0:56:42.586,0:56:46.193
"Anxiety in a man's heart [br]weighs him down..."

0:56:46.193,0:56:49.249
Tim: What proverb was that?

0:56:49.249,0:56:56.230
Proverbs 12:25

0:56:56.230,0:57:01.123
Tim: But listen to that.

0:57:01.123,0:57:06.752
Here's one of the questions I want to ask.

0:57:06.752,0:57:12.335
What did Peter say about anxieties?

0:57:12.335,0:57:14.431
Cast them on the Lord.

0:57:14.431,0:57:19.414
Can anybody quote it? I Peter 5:7.

0:57:19.414,0:57:21.794
(unintelligible)

0:57:21.794,0:57:25.053
"Casting all your cares upon Him,

0:57:25.053,0:57:29.633
for He careth for you." (KJV)

0:57:29.633,0:57:32.277
But think about that - casting.

0:57:32.277,0:57:37.828
You know, that comes from a psalm.

0:57:37.828,0:57:39.985
It comes from - somebody find this,

0:57:39.985,0:57:43.135
Psalm 54:23.

0:57:43.135,0:57:45.408
Somebody look that up.

0:57:45.408,0:57:48.623
Tony, throw me a water.

0:57:48.623,0:58:04.073
(unintelligible)

0:58:04.073,0:58:10.937
Psalm 54:23.

0:58:10.937,0:58:24.025
(unintelligible)

0:58:24.025,0:58:25.900
James: It's Psalm 55:22

0:58:25.900,0:58:29.193
Tim: Is it? Both my [br]numbers were off by one?

0:58:29.193,0:58:30.740
Okay, go ahead and read it.

0:58:30.740,0:58:33.318
James: Cast your burden on the Lord?

0:58:33.318,0:58:35.283
Tim: How was I off that much?

0:58:35.283,0:58:38.074
That's really bizarre.

0:58:38.074,0:58:41.752
Anyway, but listen,

0:58:41.752,0:58:44.891
I want you to get this,

0:58:44.891,0:58:47.033
because this is a big one.

0:58:47.033,0:58:50.230
And this is helpful.

0:58:50.230,0:58:53.849
Peter basically says [br]"cast all your cares."

0:58:53.849,0:58:56.246
Cast your anxieties.

0:58:56.246,0:58:59.243
In the Septuagint,

0:58:59.243,0:59:02.844
the word anxiety is [br]used right here as well.

0:59:02.844,0:59:07.799
And this is really where [br]Peter gets this from.

0:59:07.799,0:59:09.858
If you look at the word in the English

0:59:09.858,0:59:12.624
in our ESV and probably in [br]most of the translations,

0:59:12.624,0:59:14.740
it's "burden."

0:59:14.740,0:59:18.629
Cast your burden.

0:59:18.629,0:59:22.119
Okay, think about the proverb.

0:59:22.119,0:59:25.634
Anxiety does what?

0:59:25.634,0:59:28.927
It weighs us down.

0:59:28.927,0:59:31.122
Cast your burden.

0:59:31.122,0:59:35.363
A burden is heavy.

0:59:35.363,0:59:37.530
Let me give you another one.

0:59:37.530,0:59:42.837
Somebody look at 2 Corinthians 11:28

0:59:42.837,0:59:45.578
and read it.

0:59:45.578,0:59:59.490
This is of course Paul [br]talking about the churches.

0:59:59.490,1:00:01.244
Can somebody read that one?

1:00:01.244,1:00:03.083
"And apart from other things,

1:00:03.083,1:00:04.990
there is the daily pressure on me

1:00:04.990,1:00:06.075
of my anxieties..."

1:00:06.075,1:00:07.063
Tim: Right there.

1:00:07.063,1:00:11.546
The daily pressure of the anxiety.

1:00:11.546,1:00:12.744
Let me give you one more.

1:00:12.744,1:00:18.885
Somebody read Luke 21:34 again.

1:00:18.885,1:00:21.700
Because there is a recurring theme.

1:00:21.700,1:00:23.410
There is a pressure.

1:00:23.410,1:00:28.349
Proverbs says anxiety weighs.

1:00:28.349,1:00:30.300
2 Corinthians 11:28,

1:00:30.300,1:00:32.319
there's a pressure.

1:00:32.319,1:00:36.513
Psalm 55, there is a burden.

1:00:36.513,1:00:40.050
Now listen to what Luke 21:34 says.

1:00:40.050,1:00:41.804
Somebody read it.

1:00:41.804,1:00:42.966
"But watch yourselves,

1:00:42.966,1:00:44.796
lest your hearts be weighed down..."

1:00:44.796,1:00:46.509
Tim: Your hearts what?

1:00:46.509,1:00:50.088
Weighed down.

1:00:50.088,1:00:52.740
This is a big one.

1:00:52.740,1:00:57.413
What I would ask you is this.

1:00:57.413,1:01:03.280
When you take your anxieties to the Lord,

1:01:03.280,1:01:06.353
are you lightened?

1:01:06.353,1:01:10.944
See, I think you have a good feel,

1:01:10.944,1:01:15.712
and look, this isn't make-believe.

1:01:15.712,1:01:19.615
When a true Christian goes out

1:01:19.615,1:01:22.111
before the Lord and prays

1:01:22.111,1:01:24.039
and their heart is full of all manner

1:01:24.039,1:01:28.884
of cares and burdens and anxieties,

1:01:28.884,1:01:30.537
and you take those

1:01:30.537,1:01:34.048
and you cast them on the Lord,

1:01:34.048,1:01:37.431
if I have a burden on my back;

1:01:37.431,1:01:39.479
if I'm carrying a couple

1:01:39.479,1:01:42.277
40 pound bags or 80 pound bags

1:01:42.277,1:01:45.739
of concrete,

1:01:45.739,1:01:51.292
and I cast those on somebody else,

1:01:51.292,1:01:53.829
I feel it.

1:01:53.829,1:01:55.421
I'm lightened.

1:01:55.421,1:01:57.393
The thing that all these verses said

1:01:57.393,1:01:58.549
is a recurring theme.

1:01:58.549,1:02:03.374
I kept looking at this Greek word

1:02:03.374,1:02:05.743
in the adjective form [br]and in the noun form

1:02:05.743,1:02:07.898
and I just kept going [br]through them all today

1:02:07.898,1:02:09.630
and just looking at them [br]and looking at them.

1:02:09.630,1:02:10.874
And it jumped out at me -

1:02:10.874,1:02:12.048
this idea of pressure,

1:02:12.048,1:02:13.113
this idea of weight,

1:02:13.113,1:02:17.467
this idea of these things being a burden.

1:02:17.467,1:02:19.958
They weigh the heart down.

1:02:19.958,1:02:22.246
I know this,

1:02:22.246,1:02:25.921
if you're told to cast all your anxieties

1:02:25.921,1:02:27.962
upon the Lord

1:02:27.962,1:02:29.998
because He cares for you -

1:02:29.998,1:02:31.678
I know this,

1:02:31.678,1:02:36.081
that if you actually cast a burden on Him,

1:02:36.081,1:02:38.035
it's no longer on you.

1:02:38.035,1:02:40.392
And I know this.

1:02:40.392,1:02:42.861
I know the reality

1:02:42.861,1:02:46.429
of having such heavy cares.

1:02:46.429,1:02:48.387
Throughout my life,

1:02:48.387,1:02:49.836
there have been times

1:02:49.836,1:02:52.379
I have such cares about my children

1:02:52.379,1:02:54.739
or such cares about the church -

1:02:54.739,1:02:56.331
individuals in the church -

1:02:56.331,1:02:59.382
and you go and pray,

1:02:59.382,1:03:02.308
and it's just like,

1:03:02.308,1:03:04.154
yes, I can go forward now

1:03:04.154,1:03:07.767
because I've unloaded that.

1:03:07.767,1:03:09.485
I still feel the anxiety;

1:03:09.485,1:03:11.229
I still have a concern,

1:03:11.229,1:03:15.785
but the Lord had promised.

1:03:15.785,1:03:17.304
He's promised to help.

1:03:17.304,1:03:20.778
He's promised to be [br]One Who answers prayer.

1:03:20.778,1:03:23.066
He's promised to do all manner of things.

1:03:23.066,1:03:24.691
And I know He cares.

1:03:24.691,1:03:27.809
And I know He's working everything [br]for good for His people.

1:03:27.809,1:03:31.091
And I know that He loves this [br]church far more than I do.

1:03:31.091,1:03:33.151
(incomplete thought)

1:03:33.151,1:03:35.427
And this is one of the [br]things you want to ask.

1:03:35.427,1:03:37.640
Because I'll guarantee you this,

1:03:37.640,1:03:41.451
if you try to pray, you attempt to pray,

1:03:41.451,1:03:43.749
you're full of these anxieties,

1:03:43.749,1:03:45.173
you're having panic attacks

1:03:45.173,1:03:47.008
and whatever other thing,

1:03:47.008,1:03:49.141
and you seek to go to the Lord,

1:03:49.141,1:03:50.630
and it doesn't help

1:03:50.630,1:03:52.983
and it doesn't do anything,

1:03:52.983,1:03:54.351
you don't feel light;

1:03:54.351,1:03:55.673
you don't feel helped;

1:03:55.673,1:03:57.276
you don't feel that weight,

1:03:57.276,1:04:01.493
that pressure lifted,

1:04:01.493,1:04:06.390
then I would say there's something wrong.

1:04:06.390,1:04:10.545
Because casting those burdens on Him

1:04:10.545,1:04:12.268
should be a reality.

1:04:12.268,1:04:15.138
And if we're carrying anxieties,

1:04:15.138,1:04:17.786
we should be able to unload them there.

1:04:17.786,1:04:19.231
And if that's not happening;

1:04:19.231,1:04:22.448
if you're not feeling that freedom

1:04:22.448,1:04:24.070
and that lightening

1:04:24.070,1:04:25.843
and that weight and that pressure

1:04:25.843,1:04:27.423
being relieved,

1:04:27.423,1:04:30.993
then you're not really [br]casting your cares on Him.

1:04:30.993,1:04:32.275
So that's key.

1:04:32.275,1:04:34.322
I think that's so key

1:04:34.322,1:04:36.603
to examining your prayer life there.

1:04:36.603,1:04:39.807
(incomplete thought)

1:04:39.807,1:04:41.845
It's because the Septuagint

1:04:41.845,1:04:45.030
doesn't use the same Greek word there.

1:04:45.030,1:04:46.933
That's why I didn't find that proverb,

1:04:46.933,1:04:48.335
but that's very helpful

1:04:48.335,1:04:52.278
because it's basically [br]saying the same thing.

1:04:52.278,1:05:04.666
(unintelligible)

1:05:04.666,1:05:06.520
Tim: Lifting up your heart.

1:05:06.520,1:05:08.561
That's what happens when you feel

1:05:08.561,1:05:10.670
the weight come off.

1:05:10.670,1:05:12.096
And I can tell you, see,

1:05:12.096,1:05:14.296
I like to pray out in [br]these fields over here,

1:05:14.296,1:05:16.255
but I can tell you, there's been times

1:05:16.255,1:05:19.481
I've gone out that door heavy,

1:05:19.481,1:05:22.793
and I've come back in that door

1:05:22.793,1:05:24.311
a lighter man.

1:05:24.311,1:05:25.890
Now sometimes may not as light

1:05:25.890,1:05:28.048
as I would like to have been lightened,

1:05:28.048,1:05:31.538
but definitely many times much lighter.

1:05:31.538,1:05:33.526
(unintelligible)

1:05:33.526,1:05:40.457
Tim: I would not put a weight to it.

1:05:40.457,1:05:48.207
How about this?

1:05:48.207,1:05:50.221
I put this one:

1:05:50.221,1:05:57.381
Can we rejoice, sleep, play?

1:05:57.381,1:06:00.338
What I was thinking about here

1:06:00.338,1:06:03.671
is again, this weighed down thing,

1:06:03.671,1:06:05.883
but think about it.

1:06:05.883,1:06:09.429
Here's Paul with all these anxieties.

1:06:09.429,1:06:11.810
And yet, when he was in Philippi

1:06:11.810,1:06:13.392
and he got thrown in jail,

1:06:13.392,1:06:16.352
what did he and Silas do?

1:06:16.352,1:06:18.337
They sang.

1:06:18.337,1:06:20.709
What did Paul say to the Philippian church

1:06:20.709,1:06:22.408
when he told them they need

1:06:22.408,1:06:24.699
to be not anxious?

1:06:24.699,1:06:26.838
Take everything to God in prayer -

1:06:26.838,1:06:29.078
what did he say to them?

1:06:29.078,1:06:32.878
Just right in those verses?

1:06:32.878,1:06:34.884
In Philippians 4.

1:06:34.884,1:06:36.770
Rejoice in the Lord.

1:06:36.770,1:06:41.145
And again, I say, rejoice.

1:06:41.145,1:06:43.603
Sleep.

1:06:43.603,1:06:45.663
(incomplete thought)

1:06:45.663,1:06:46.750
Think about it.

1:06:46.750,1:06:50.472
Herod just puts James to death.

1:06:50.472,1:06:52.522
And then he sees it pleases the Jews,

1:06:52.522,1:06:53.542
so what does he do?

1:06:53.542,1:06:55.259
He goes out and captures Peter.

1:06:55.259,1:06:56.927
Have you ever thought about Peter

1:06:56.927,1:06:58.681
when he was there in jail

1:06:58.681,1:07:00.586
and the angel came?

1:07:00.586,1:07:03.908
Do you know what the angel did?

1:07:03.908,1:07:08.823
Did he find Peter wide awake,

1:07:08.823,1:07:11.385
fretting that he was [br]going to die tomorrow,

1:07:11.385,1:07:13.407
wringing his hands?

1:07:13.407,1:07:17.377
Anybody remember what he did?

1:07:17.377,1:07:19.792
He kicked him.

1:07:19.792,1:07:22.220
He kicked him. He was sound asleep.

1:07:22.220,1:07:23.560
You ever think about that?

1:07:23.560,1:07:25.416
Here's Peter in prison.

1:07:25.416,1:07:28.921
He knows full well his close friend,

1:07:28.921,1:07:30.997
used to be partner in business -

1:07:30.997,1:07:32.306
in the fishing business

1:07:32.306,1:07:34.232
back there on the Sea of Galilee -

1:07:34.232,1:07:35.887
is dead.

1:07:35.887,1:07:37.342
One of the close comrades!

1:07:37.342,1:07:38.819
One of the Twelve!

1:07:38.819,1:07:41.334
He's the first one and he's dead.

1:07:41.334,1:07:44.344
They're just barely into the book of Acts!

1:07:44.344,1:07:48.291
And now he's been caught.

1:07:48.291,1:07:50.596
He's been caught. He's in prison.

1:07:50.596,1:07:53.814
Well, Herod did it to James.

1:07:53.814,1:07:57.418
And Peter's sound asleep.

1:07:57.418,1:08:00.521
So I would ask you this,

1:08:00.521,1:08:04.842
can you take your anxieties to the Lord

1:08:04.842,1:08:10.456
and put those on Him?

1:08:10.456,1:08:12.337
What was the guy's name?

1:08:12.337,1:08:15.468
Maybe it will come to [br]me as I'm telling the story.

1:08:15.468,1:08:20.213
Anybody remember the evangelist

1:08:20.213,1:08:22.393
who was evangelizing people

1:08:22.393,1:08:31.364
after the Titanic went down?

1:08:31.364,1:08:34.658
I can't think of it right off.

1:08:34.658,1:08:36.704
Yeah, there was one that drowned.

1:08:36.704,1:08:39.198
But there was another guy.

1:08:39.198,1:08:45.486
There was a guy who was in the water

1:08:45.486,1:08:47.197
in the North Atlantic.

1:08:47.197,1:08:49.373
It's in the dark.

1:08:49.373,1:08:51.838
And he found a board,

1:08:51.838,1:08:53.246
and he was holding on to it.

1:08:53.246,1:08:57.275
And he was able to get his [br]body on top of the board.

1:08:57.275,1:08:59.791
And he said,

1:08:59.791,1:09:03.381
"Lord, there's no sense [br]both of us staying awake.

1:09:03.381,1:09:05.797
So I think I'm going to go to sleep."

1:09:05.797,1:09:07.794
And he slept on that board.

1:09:07.794,1:09:09.361
And this guy was rescued.

1:09:09.361,1:09:13.073
There was a guy that was the last convert

1:09:13.073,1:09:17.962
of... maybe his name was Brown.

1:09:17.962,1:09:20.807
But he went to sleep.

1:09:20.807,1:09:25.197
I remember one of these last times

1:09:25.197,1:09:27.429
that maybe two or three years back,

1:09:27.429,1:09:31.217
Ryan Fullerton was at the [br]Denton conference with us,

1:09:31.217,1:09:35.622
and we were talking just about trials

1:09:35.622,1:09:37.987
that we'd gone through in the church.

1:09:37.987,1:09:39.471
And Ryan said -

1:09:39.471,1:09:46.019
I think I was telling him about

1:09:46.019,1:09:49.864
the number of things [br]that we were dealing with

1:09:49.864,1:09:51.382
at a certain time.

1:09:51.382,1:09:53.329
And he said, yeah, he said,

1:09:53.329,1:09:55.303
isn't it amazing?

1:09:55.303,1:09:58.347
He said I was saying this to our elders

1:09:58.347,1:09:59.559
the other day.

1:09:59.559,1:10:03.320
He was telling his elders,

1:10:03.320,1:10:05.955
we can be dealing

1:10:05.955,1:10:10.576
with five major problems in the church.

1:10:10.576,1:10:13.428
He said, any one of which

1:10:13.428,1:10:15.988
when we were young pastors

1:10:15.988,1:10:18.277
would have just traumatized us.

1:10:18.277,1:10:20.640
He says now we can experience five

1:10:20.640,1:10:22.202
problems of that magnitude

1:10:22.202,1:10:25.542
and still go home and [br]play with our children.

1:10:25.542,1:10:27.159
This is what I'm talking about

1:10:27.159,1:10:28.553
when I'm talking about:

1:10:28.553,1:10:30.154
can we rejoice?

1:10:30.154,1:10:31.803
Can we sleep?

1:10:31.803,1:10:33.610
Can we play?

1:10:33.610,1:10:37.342
You see, can you take your anxieties -

1:10:37.342,1:10:40.454
people that are suffering panic attacks

1:10:40.454,1:10:44.706
and they just want to [br]curl up in a fetal position,

1:10:44.706,1:10:46.935
that's not what we're talking about here.

1:10:46.935,1:10:49.343
We're talking about taking your fears,

1:10:49.343,1:10:50.940
taking your cares,

1:10:50.940,1:10:53.484
and being able to cast them on the Lord

1:10:53.484,1:10:56.227
to the place where you can actually

1:10:56.227,1:10:58.616
play with your children,

1:10:58.616,1:11:00.962
and you can actually sleep soundly,

1:11:00.962,1:11:03.262
and you can actually rejoice in the Lord.

1:11:03.262,1:11:04.587
You can go to church

1:11:04.587,1:11:06.422
and you can sing the songs

1:11:06.422,1:11:08.765
and you can be lifted up to glory.

1:11:08.765,1:11:11.731
Yes, there's still burdens there.

1:11:11.731,1:11:15.611
But you're able to unload them.

1:11:15.611,1:11:17.084
This is critical.

1:11:17.084,1:11:23.439
Maybe one more.

1:11:23.439,1:11:26.857
Did you notice

1:11:26.857,1:11:29.977
in the parable of the soils,

1:11:29.977,1:11:34.539
it actually says - yes, the fruit

1:11:34.539,1:11:38.707
doesn't mature,

1:11:38.707,1:11:42.223
but did you see what's actually choked?

1:11:42.223,1:11:46.972
It chokes the Word.

1:11:46.972,1:11:50.072
So here's the thing that I would ask you.

1:11:50.072,1:11:53.023
If you have anxieties,

1:11:53.023,1:11:54.230
if you have cares,

1:11:54.230,1:11:57.525
you want to know if they're good or bad?

1:11:57.525,1:12:03.361
Do those anxieties choke the Word?

1:12:03.361,1:12:06.038
What does that mean?

1:12:06.038,1:12:09.850
This is the Word.

1:12:09.850,1:12:12.078
You know what, you're living

1:12:12.078,1:12:15.339
with healthy anxieties

1:12:15.339,1:12:18.820
if you really care, you're concerned

1:12:18.820,1:12:20.988
about your holiness.

1:12:20.988,1:12:23.050
You hate the sin in your life.

1:12:23.050,1:12:24.535
You hate falls.

1:12:24.535,1:12:27.123
You hate coming short of Christlikeness.

1:12:27.123,1:12:29.349
You've got concerns.[br]You think about it.

1:12:29.349,1:12:30.728
There's anxieties.

1:12:30.728,1:12:32.425
You have anxieties about people

1:12:32.425,1:12:33.740
because you love people.

1:12:33.740,1:12:35.090
You care about people.

1:12:35.090,1:12:36.601
You want to see people make it.

1:12:36.601,1:12:38.426
You don't want to see people perish.

1:12:38.426,1:12:40.068
You have people in your life

1:12:40.068,1:12:42.007
that you've invested in.

1:12:42.007,1:12:43.750
You want to see them succeed.

1:12:43.750,1:12:45.622
You want to see them please the Lord.

1:12:45.622,1:12:48.222
You're invested in that.

1:12:48.222,1:12:49.429
Here's the thing,

1:12:49.429,1:12:59.446
do your cares choke what's in here?

1:12:59.446,1:13:03.313
Or do they fuel what's in here?

1:13:03.313,1:13:05.013
You see, the bad cares

1:13:05.013,1:13:07.739
choke the Word.

1:13:07.739,1:13:11.321
If your big concern all the time

1:13:11.321,1:13:14.853
is, "oh no, I need a better car."

1:13:14.853,1:13:17.286
"Oh no, what about the TV?"

1:13:17.286,1:13:19.644
(incomplete thought)

1:13:19.644,1:13:21.724
Yes, my air conditioning [br]was out last week,

1:13:21.724,1:13:24.683
but if that's all your living about -[br]the cares of the world.

1:13:24.683,1:13:27.248
Where you're so caught up [br]with the air conditioning,

1:13:27.248,1:13:28.080
and the car,

1:13:28.080,1:13:29.633
and you're caught up with money,

1:13:29.633,1:13:31.535
and you're caught up with retirement,

1:13:31.535,1:13:33.355
and you're caught up with your shoes,

1:13:33.355,1:13:36.242
and you're caught up with [br]what the Smith's have next door,

1:13:36.242,1:13:37.859
and you're caught up with your lawn,

1:13:37.859,1:13:39.355
and you're caught up with the garden,

1:13:39.355,1:13:40.898
and you're caught up with the trees,

1:13:40.898,1:13:42.454
and you're caught up with your stuff

1:13:42.454,1:13:43.462
and your hobbies,

1:13:43.462,1:13:46.285
and you're just so consumed.

1:13:46.285,1:13:48.129
Or even if you're caught up with people,

1:13:48.129,1:13:49.579
you're caught up with your kids,

1:13:49.579,1:13:51.464
you're caught up with [br]what you're going to eat

1:13:51.464,1:13:52.452
for the next meal.

1:13:52.452,1:13:55.188
You're just so caught up with these things

1:13:55.188,1:13:57.690
that you know what?

1:13:57.690,1:14:02.320
You don't really live for other people.

1:14:02.320,1:14:05.309
Think about the Word.

1:14:05.309,1:14:07.770
I was hungry and you fed Me.

1:14:07.770,1:14:09.764
But you're so concerned about

1:14:09.764,1:14:10.994
your own bank account

1:14:10.994,1:14:12.589
and your own shirts that you wear

1:14:12.589,1:14:13.848
and your own belt

1:14:13.848,1:14:14.895
and your own purse

1:14:14.895,1:14:17.794
and your own everything.

1:14:17.794,1:14:19.594
The cares of this world.

1:14:19.594,1:14:21.623
Oh no, what am I going to do for college?

1:14:21.623,1:14:23.189
What am I going to do for a job?

1:14:23.189,1:14:27.138
And you're so caught up in your stuff

1:14:27.138,1:14:30.973
that you never have time [br]to love somebody else.

1:14:30.973,1:14:33.663
You don't have time to [br]invest in other people.

1:14:33.663,1:14:39.221
You know, if you're really [br]anxious about somebody -

1:14:39.221,1:14:40.516
James was just telling me

1:14:40.516,1:14:44.123
about somebody he and his wife

1:14:44.123,1:14:48.221
have chosen to care for in another place.

1:14:48.221,1:14:51.330
If you choose to invest in people's lives,

1:14:51.330,1:14:53.201
you're thinking about their needs.

1:14:53.201,1:14:55.161
You're thinking about how to give to them.

1:14:55.161,1:14:57.563
You're thinking about how I can help.

1:14:57.563,1:14:59.331
You see, that's what judgment day -

1:14:59.331,1:15:02.425
Jesus says as much as you did it [br]unto one of the least of these.

1:15:02.425,1:15:04.771
What did they do?

1:15:04.771,1:15:06.450
You don't visit people in prison

1:15:06.450,1:15:08.169
unless you're thinking about those.

1:15:08.169,1:15:11.597
I mean, I don't know, how many of you

1:15:11.597,1:15:14.254
think about Johannes on a regular basis?

1:15:14.254,1:15:19.048
I know he's not there [br]because he's preaching Christ,

1:15:19.048,1:15:24.616
but he professes to be a Christian.

1:15:24.616,1:15:27.428
You know, if you think,

1:15:27.428,1:15:29.194
you feel sighs...

1:15:29.194,1:15:33.373
if you feel warm, fuzzy feelings,

1:15:33.373,1:15:36.136
but you never meet people's needs,

1:15:36.136,1:15:38.331
that's no different than you can

1:15:38.331,1:15:40.673
watch a movie that's a sad story,

1:15:40.673,1:15:41.838
and weep tears.

1:15:41.838,1:15:43.097
You know what that is?

1:15:43.097,1:15:45.121
That's just sentimentality.

1:15:45.121,1:15:46.873
There's no love in that.

1:15:46.873,1:15:50.159
That isn't the kind of anxiety.

1:15:50.159,1:15:55.212
Look, bad anxieties choke the Word.

1:15:55.212,1:15:58.580
Good anxieties do the Word.

1:15:58.580,1:16:03.475
In fact, good anxieties fuel

1:16:03.475,1:16:06.445
the commandments of Scripture.

1:16:06.445,1:16:08.987
When you care about people

1:16:08.987,1:16:10.690
and it produces anxieties,

1:16:10.690,1:16:13.142
like Timothy cared about the Philippians,

1:16:13.142,1:16:14.969
Paul cared about the churches.

1:16:14.969,1:16:16.176
You know what that does?

1:16:16.176,1:16:21.286
That fuels the Scriptures.

1:16:21.286,1:16:24.209
It causes us to all the more embrace them

1:16:24.209,1:16:26.532
and not be hearers only,

1:16:26.532,1:16:28.137
deceiving your own selves,

1:16:28.137,1:16:30.461
but to be doers.

1:16:30.461,1:16:33.673
Oh, I guarantee, true [br]and undefiled religion

1:16:33.673,1:16:34.791
before the Lord

1:16:34.791,1:16:37.418
is to visit the widow and the orphan

1:16:37.418,1:16:42.231
in their afflictions.

1:16:42.231,1:16:47.215
We have people - their Christian life

1:16:47.215,1:16:49.673
is just trying not to sin.

1:16:49.673,1:16:51.261
They're just trying to survive,

1:16:51.261,1:16:52.542
not falling into drugs,

1:16:52.542,1:16:54.131
not falling into alcohol,

1:16:54.131,1:16:56.062
not falling back into prostitution,

1:16:56.062,1:16:58.041
not falling into pornography.

1:16:58.041,1:17:02.182
They're just trying to survive.

1:17:02.182,1:17:08.374
Look, if your anxieties stop there,

1:17:08.374,1:17:12.347
that's not good.

1:17:12.347,1:17:14.383
The good anxieties in Scripture

1:17:14.383,1:17:16.705
is when you care about people

1:17:16.705,1:17:18.966
and it produces fruit

1:17:18.966,1:17:23.549
and it doesn't choke the Word.

1:17:23.549,1:17:27.977
It's consistent with keeping the Word.

1:17:27.977,1:17:29.957
You care.

1:17:29.957,1:17:32.227
You care and you invest your life.

1:17:32.227,1:17:34.707
You care and you share the Gospel.

1:17:34.707,1:17:39.059
You care and you give.

1:17:39.059,1:17:43.374
Good anxiety is an outflow of love

1:17:43.374,1:17:45.696
and love gives.

1:17:45.696,1:17:47.447
And people who give,

1:17:47.447,1:17:49.654
people who are anxious -

1:17:49.654,1:17:52.125
why would somebody be anxious?

1:17:52.125,1:17:54.390
When Paul says he's got this anxiety

1:17:54.390,1:17:56.488
for the churches, you know what it means?

1:17:56.488,1:18:01.287
He's thinking about them all the time.

1:18:01.287,1:18:03.651
You know, we're thinking about new elders.

1:18:03.651,1:18:05.466
I'll tell you, that's what you want.

1:18:05.466,1:18:07.294
You want men who are going to be

1:18:07.294,1:18:09.982
anxious about you.

1:18:09.982,1:18:11.644
That's a good thing.

1:18:11.644,1:18:12.830
I mean, if you find out,

1:18:12.830,1:18:16.036
wow, don't you want somebody like Timothy?

1:18:16.036,1:18:17.642
He doesn't mind his own things;

1:18:17.642,1:18:19.077
He minds the things of Christ,

1:18:19.077,1:18:20.645
and I have no one else like him,

1:18:20.645,1:18:21.658
and he's anxious.

1:18:21.658,1:18:23.545
Wouldn't you like to be able to say that

1:18:23.545,1:18:29.222
about all the elders at our church?

1:18:29.222,1:18:30.669
That we're anxious

1:18:30.669,1:18:34.544
for every single one of you?

1:18:34.544,1:18:36.597
God give us more of that anxiety.

1:18:36.597,1:18:38.668
There is a good anxiety in Scripture.

1:18:38.668,1:18:44.166
Something desperately to be sought.

1:18:44.166,1:18:46.117
We want that anxiety.

1:18:46.117,1:18:47.924
As parents, we want it.

1:18:47.924,1:18:49.577
As elders, we want it.

1:18:49.577,1:18:54.151
As Christians, we want it.

1:18:54.151,1:18:56.048
Anybody want to add anything to that?

1:18:56.048,1:18:57.103
(from the room)

1:18:57.103,1:18:58.533
Could it be said

1:18:58.533,1:19:00.502
that bad anxiety tends to be more selfish

1:19:00.502,1:19:03.302
and good anxiety tends [br]to be more selfless?

1:19:03.302,1:19:04.944
Tim: Yes, definitely.

1:19:04.944,1:19:08.255
The good anxiety is definitely

1:19:08.255,1:19:10.130
a love-motivated thing

1:19:10.130,1:19:15.784
where it seems like the bad anxieties

1:19:15.784,1:19:17.969
turn away from Christ,

1:19:17.969,1:19:19.596
they turn away from the Lord,

1:19:19.596,1:19:24.232
they turn away from others

1:19:24.232,1:19:27.508
and they bring the focus to us,

1:19:27.508,1:19:29.427
even if it's idolatry.

1:19:29.427,1:19:31.642
There's lots of people [br]that get really anxious

1:19:31.642,1:19:33.062
over family members.

1:19:33.062,1:19:34.448
They're just afraid.

1:19:34.448,1:19:35.778
They can't trust the Lord.

1:19:35.778,1:19:38.532
They're afraid something's going [br]to happen to my family member.

1:19:38.532,1:19:42.301
Somebody's going to kill my child.[br]Somebody's going to rape my child.

1:19:42.301,1:19:44.420
There are people that just can't

1:19:44.420,1:19:47.268
trust the Lord with those things.

1:19:47.268,1:19:51.505
There, the thing has stopped being love

1:19:51.505,1:19:54.197
because it doesn't trust the Lord.

1:19:54.197,1:19:56.709
Anything that doesn't [br]trust the Lord is not good

1:19:56.709,1:19:58.800
no matter what kind of [br]spin you're putting on it

1:19:58.800,1:20:00.588
because if you're not trusting the Lord,

1:20:00.588,1:20:02.161
and you're just freaking out

1:20:02.161,1:20:04.879
in a frenzy over -

1:20:04.879,1:20:07.080
oh, I just can't trust the Lord with this

1:20:07.080,1:20:10.671
and so I'm worried all the time.

1:20:10.671,1:20:12.082
Well, that's bad

1:20:12.082,1:20:15.226
because you're not trusting the Lord.

1:20:15.226,1:20:17.546
You're not seeing the Lord for Who He is.

1:20:17.546,1:20:22.516
You're not casting your care on Him.

1:20:22.516,1:20:24.168
It may seem like it's love,

1:20:24.168,1:20:26.458
but what it really is is idolatry.

1:20:26.458,1:20:31.297
You've made a god out of those children.

1:20:31.297,1:20:34.135
And you're not willing [br]to trust the true God

1:20:34.135,1:20:36.330
to take care of them.