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Don't Be Anxious · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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The chapter we read in Matthew's Gospel, Matthew chapter 6, I'm going to read from verse 25 on to the end.
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We've already read it, but it says at the beginning,
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Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,
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nor about your body, what you will put on.
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And then it says down in verse 33,
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But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
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and all these things will be added to you.
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Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself,
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sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
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Now the word anxious comes from a word which means to divide,
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and you and I know that there is nothing in life that divides us quite like anxiety.
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When we're anxious over anything, there's always this kind of divided mind.
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Now when Jesus says here that we are not to be anxious,
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let us not therefore be anxious,
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we've got to realize that he's not saying to us that there will never be any point in your life
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when you're not to be anxious about things.
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Because it's very specific here what he's talking about.
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It says, therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life,
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what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.
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He's talking here about the basic lifestyle as it were.
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Because you and I know that there are loads of things that crop up,
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very difficult things, very painful things,
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very harrowing things that inevitably will bring a level of anxiety.
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But the principles that Jesus talks about, even into these things,
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these principles do bear upon us here.
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And it shows us that so often in life we are anxious
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over things that we shouldn't really be anxious about.
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And often our anxiety, often, not always,
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but often our anxiety comes about through a lack of trust in the Lord.
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And the great truth that if we, the Lord tells us that if we seek first the kingdom of God
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and his righteousness, all the other things,
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often these things that we are anxious about,
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the Lord promises that these will be added to us.
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Now, in the AV, it says,
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take no thought for your life rather than don't be anxious.
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And again, sometimes translators,
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they have a little bit of difficulty in figuring out just exactly what's being said.
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But people think that when it says,
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take no thought for your life,
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that people are not to make any plans for life.
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So you just, you take every day and you just go with it,
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that you don't do any preparations or plans or anything like that.
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Well, that's absurd.
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Because when Jesus tells us to look at the birds, to focus on the birds,
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but remember birds make preparation.
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They build nests, they migrate, they do all these sort of things.
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So that's not what Jesus is talking about here.
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So we're not to have this idea that we're not to have any sort of preparation
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or in life or anything at all.
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But Jesus is here showing not to be anxious about the basic things in life.
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And if we are, we are showing, as it were, little faith.
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That's what it tells us in verse 30.
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Oh, you of little faith, if you're anxious about these things.
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And the Lord is reminding us that our heavenly Father knows all about us all the time.
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And Jesus uses two very simple and powerful arguments
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to show of how the provision for life is being made.
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Now, I think one of the things that we've got to remember is that
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when the Lord promises to provide, he's promising to provide, look after us,
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to provide food and clothing and the basics of life.
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Now, if we went back, say, three, four generations, three generations, or even less,
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back then, the people were simply our forefathers,
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our, probably going back to certainly even fathers when young, our grandfathers,
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it was basic, their lives were basic.
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It was the essentials of life.
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There weren't luxuries.
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There were no luxuries then.
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We're living in a day we've been kind of spoiled.
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We've grown up at a time, as time has developed on,
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where we have received so much.
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And I fear that we have received so much, and I'm talking nationally,
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we have received so much, and we've received it from God,
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that we haven't returned thanks to him.
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And I fear that more and more we're moving back into a place where
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all these almost like luxuries and extras that we had in life,
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that maybe they're starting to get less and less.
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Because God said to his people, remember when they were crossing the Jordan
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and going into the promised land,
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and he said, you know what I'm going to do?
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I'm going to bless you.
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And you're going to build good houses,
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and the produce of the land will be rich,
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and there'll be lots of resources there for you.
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You're going to get on really well.
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Beware.
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This is where the Lord, he's underlining this.
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You'll find it a few times.
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And beware that you forget not the Lord your God.
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But it is the Lord your God who gives you these things,
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gives you the abilities to get these things,
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who provides these resources.
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And then he goes on to warn that if you forget me,
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then I will take these things from you.
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And you know, that's in a sense,
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I would say that it's almost what we're seeing
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in the very day that we're living in.
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So we lived through very often in that time
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where different to our parents and grandparents,
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who very often struggled and just had the bare minimum,
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the bare existence.
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There weren't the luxuries of life.
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And God doesn't promise us the luxuries of life,
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although in his goodness, he does give us these as well.
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But he has promised us, as it were,
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the basic provisions of life.
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And in order to do this, Jesus tells us,
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and he argues, as it were, from the greater to the lesser.
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And the Lord is saying,
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if God is looking after you as a person
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and caring about you,
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don't worry about the smaller things.
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And he was saying,
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Jesus is saying,
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in order to emphasize,
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like in verse 27,
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he says,
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which of you,
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by being anxious,
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can add a single hour to his life?
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That's what we see him saying there in verse 27.
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Now, again,
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translators struggle with this
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because you'll notice that it's down,
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if you have the Bible there,
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it's got,
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it's got down to the margin.
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It tells,
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or a single cubit to his stature.
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A cubit was about a foot and a half
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or 45 centimeters.
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It tells us that there.
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So translators struggled with this actual,
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what exactly it means,
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because it can go either way.
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But the point is this,
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whether it's adding a foot and a half
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to our height,
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or whether it's adding an hour
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to the length of our life,
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we can't do either.
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I can't think myself any taller than I am.
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In fact, I'm shrinking.
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And I think it's one of the things
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as we get older,
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we discover,
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I wish you could make yourself a little,
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but you can't.
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It's impossible.
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That's what the Bible tells us.
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We are the height we're at.
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God has given us.
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This is what he's made us.
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And we cannot add to the days of our life.
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Disappointed,
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and to a man once to die,
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and after death,
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the judgment.
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There is a time to be born,
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and a time to die.
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And God is overruling all these things.
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And in the framework of his care,
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this is all part of where we're at.
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Even although there are many things
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we don't understand in his providence,
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and in the way that he works.
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So we've got to remember that we can't add,
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or subtract, or anything like that.
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And so God is the one who is looking over our life,
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and he ultimately is the one who holds our life together.
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And in Jesus,
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as it were,
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he's from the lesser to the greater.
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And Jesus points to the birds,
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and he shows that God feeds them.
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And he points to the flowers of the field,
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that God clothes them.
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And he's saying,
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if God feeds the birds,
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and clothes the flowers of the field,
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how much more is he going to care for you?
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And we've always got to remember that.
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Now,
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when Jesus says,
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to look at the birds,
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or consider the birds,
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it's not like a casual glance,
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but that we're actually to study them.
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And you know,
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we learn a lot from nature,
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that we are to actually study,
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it's like a measured consideration.
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Fix our eyes upon them.
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And the Lord,
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Jesus himself,
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used the creation often to illustrate things.
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And that's what Jesus is saying to us,
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to fix our eyes on them,
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and we learn a lot of spiritual truths from them.
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Now,
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God, of course,
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doesn't feed the birds,
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as it were,
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by dropping things from heaven.
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And he doesn't feed us,
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by dropping meals from heaven.
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You know,
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you go to the shop,
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and you get ready meals.
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God doesn't do that.
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But God has made provision,
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for the birds.
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And God has made provision,
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for us as well.
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Yes,
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the birds fed Elijah,
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but that was a rare occurrence.
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But God has made provision,
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for us as well,
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in everyday things.
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And so,
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we've got to acknowledge,
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that's why we say grace,
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when we have our meal.
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It's one of the things we do,
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we acknowledge God,
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as a provider.
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We,
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we term it,
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we give thanks.
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Now,
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I suppose,
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a question arises,
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and people say,
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well,
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if what you're saying,
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here is true,
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and that God,
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is providing,
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the basics in life,
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the basic necessities,
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of food,
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and drink,
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and clothing,
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and all these things,
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how is it,
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that so many in the world,
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today,
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are starving?
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How many don't have water?
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How many don't have food?
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How many don't have clothing?
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Well,
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it's true,
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there's many don't.
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But we cannot,
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lay the charge,
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against God,
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because,
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there are sufficient,
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resources,
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in this world,
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to feed,
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the whole world.
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The reason that,
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there are many today,
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starving,
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is when we look at,
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all the conflicts,
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and all the wars,
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and all the greed,
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and all the mismanagement,
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some of the countries,
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that,
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where there is starving,
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it has come about,
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some of these countries,
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have great natural resources.
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But,
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the between,
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because of the corruption,
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and the greed,
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all the wealth,
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is creamed off,
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and even,
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a lot of aid,
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that goes out,
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in order to help,
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never arrives.
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The corruption,
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the greed,
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the war,
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the mismanagement,
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of things,
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is absolutely horrendous.
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So,
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we cannot lay the blame,
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at God's court.
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It's because of,
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our mismanagement,
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of this world,
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and all that we've been given.
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And so,
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the Lord,
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there is more than sufficient,
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we would say,
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to feed the whole world.
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Now,
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the Lord hasn't promised us,
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a trouble-free life,
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through,
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this world.
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We will have the problems,
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we will have the difficulties,
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there will be the heartaches,
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there will be the sad times.
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But you see,
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if we had,
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which we did,
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but if we go back,
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to verse,
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19,
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Jesus says,
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do not lay up,
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for yourselves,
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treasures on earth,
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where moth,
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and rust destroy,
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where thieves,
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break in and steal.
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But he tells us,
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where,
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to lay up treasures,
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in heaven.
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And,
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you know,
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it's,
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it's so true,
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that if our focus,
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is purely upon,
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the things of this world,
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if we get caught up,
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with the things of this world,
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we will face,
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incredible disappointment,
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because the treasures of this world,
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they're temporary,
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they're only for a little,
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and they bring trouble with them,
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they bring worry.
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A lot of the worries in life,
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come about,
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through what we have,
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yes,
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and what we don't have,
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but often,
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what we do have.
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It was,
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a lot of people think,
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that if they,
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if they amass a fortune,
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if they get a,
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a huge amount of wealth,
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then that will give them,
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great security in life.
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They'll say to themselves,
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I'll,
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I'll be so secure,
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I will have,
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security for,
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all my life,
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if I have great wealth.
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Well,
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there's Charles Price,
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writing in his book,
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on,
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on this very thing,
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he tells about,
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where he was in a,
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not,
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he doesn't tell where,
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but it was somewhere in Asia,
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and was a,
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excuse me,
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a city,
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that is known for its extreme wealth,
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and extreme poverty.
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And he was staying in this house,
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a,
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a beautiful,
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like a mansion,
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and was a big,
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with courtyards and everything.
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And,
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he said that,
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outside the walls of this house,
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and the,
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outside the courtyard,
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it was,
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there were slums,
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of,
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shacks,
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with doors hanging off them.
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This is where the people stayed.
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But he said that,
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the house,
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and the,
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that,
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that he was staying in,
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for whatever length of time,
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he said there was broken glass,
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into the,
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into the,
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put into the walls.
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There were steel gates,
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everywhere,
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with alarms,
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all round.
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All the windows,
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had,
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they were like,
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being in a prison cell,
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with bars across them.
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There were security alarms,
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at every turn.
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In fact,
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all the people,
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as they moved about,
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had loaded guns.
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And he was saying,
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right,
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you look outside,
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and there's,
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these shacks,
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and the doors are hanging off,
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there's no security.
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And he was making the point,
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that here,
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here are these people,
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and they've amassed,
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so much wealth.
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But,
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they have no,
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they're,
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they're absolutely,
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beside themselves,
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with wealth.
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That they're going to be,
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because of their wealth,
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they're going to be attacked,
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they're going to be shot,
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they're going,
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everything's going to be stolen.
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So he's making the point,
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that the more you have,
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the more you have to worry about.
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And that's what,
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the very point,
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that Jesus is making.
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That our focus,
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ought to be,
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in heaven.
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Because what,
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if,
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what,
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the riches that we have there,
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can never be touched.
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And these are riches,
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that are,
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they're forever.
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The,
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the,
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the riches of this world,
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are temporary.
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The riches of heaven,
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are eternal.
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And they're,
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they're satisfied,
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they will satisfy us,
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eternally.
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And in fact,
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in that very thing,
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he makes a point,
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I was just glancing through it,
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this,
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this afternoon.
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And he was talking about,
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the reward of heaven,
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and of how,
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people say,
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how,
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how can there be various,
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degrees in heaven,
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or various,
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differing,
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kind of rewards.
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And he was saying,
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he,
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he doesn't understand,
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or no,
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but he was,
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bringing forward the idea.
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And he said,
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you know how,
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you can have a painting.
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And,
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you can have two people,
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look at the exact same painting.
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Or two people listening,
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to the exact same piece of music.
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And one person,
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looks at it and says,
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oh,
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that's nice.
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Enjoys it.
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But the other person,
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is just,
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totally focused,
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and enraptured with it.
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And similarly,
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with a piece of music,
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one person will say,
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oh,
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that's nice.
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I really enjoy that.
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But another person,
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is enraptured with it.
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And he's saying,
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maybe that's how it is in glory,
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with the differing degrees,
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the differing spiritual capacities.
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As we have been in this world,
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it follows on.
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The greater knowledge that we have of Christ,
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the greater understanding that we have of Christ,
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the greater service that we have of Christ,
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the more that we'll be able to appreciate him in glory.
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And although the person with less capacity,
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won't have any sense of less,
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but they don't have the ability or the capacity to enjoy in the fullness of others.
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And maybe that is,
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I don't know,
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but that could very well be how it is.
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If our focus in life is all about Christ,
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and while he takes up the main,
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yes,
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we're involved in this world,
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but he's at the center,
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then seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
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And then it loosens us.
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It gives us freedom.
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The most chilled,
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as it were,
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person in this world is a Christian
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who's not taken up with his world,
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but has taken up with Christ.
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Because they know that the Lord will look after the other things,
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that we can rest in him
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and be assured that he'll watch over us.
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And that's why he said,
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therefore,
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don't be anxious about tomorrow.
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Because you and I know that so often we're anxious,
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whether we think about our home,
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our families,
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our work,
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what we've done,
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what we haven't done,
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all these things.
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And the Lord says,
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you know,
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isn't it true?
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A lot of the things we worry about,
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they never materialize.
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A lot of the things that we're anxious about.
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I'm sure,
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as you look back over your life,
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there were days and nights you were riddled with anxiety about certain things.
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Never worked out that way.
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And so,
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that is why every day,
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we should seek to bring our day at the very start to the Lord
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and seek to trust him
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and to follow him.
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Every single day,
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in order to deliver us from the unnecessary anxieties.
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Because he wants us,
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it's repeated all throughout scripture,
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casting our cares upon him.
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Why?
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Because he cares for us.
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You know what he says?
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Cast all your cares.
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Not some of them,
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not most of them,
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but all,
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every single one you have.
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Cast your burden upon the Lord
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and he will sustain you.
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He'll hold you up.
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If tonight you feel you're going down.
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And remember,
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the word is,
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cast your cares,
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cast your burden,
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not put on and leave a hand.
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You know,
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we're good at that.
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Giving Christ,
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we'll say,
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well,
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Lord,
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I'm really,
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this is really getting to me.
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And you,
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you bring it to the Lord,
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but you're kind of holding it there as if the Lord isn't able to deal with it properly.
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And you're saying,
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I need,
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I need,
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I still need to,
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still need a part of this.
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No,
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the word is cast.
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Lord is saying,
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I'll take it,
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but I can't take it until you give it to me.
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And so this is where we,
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we need the faith.
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We need the grace.
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We need the trust to give our burden to the Lord,
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to cast our burden,
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but he cares for us and he'll sustain us.
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And he will deliver us from undue and unnecessary anxiety in this world.
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Let's pray.
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Lord,
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our God,
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we pray that you will bless us tonight.
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Oh,
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we need you.
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We need you every day.
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So often we feel that we're up against a wall.
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Sometimes we feel down.
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Sometimes we feel that as Christians,
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we're really,
21:00
really struggling.
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And yet the amazing thing is that you will never let us go.
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Although we sometimes wonder and although sometimes we don't think of you the way that we should,
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it's never true that you don't think of us because your eye is upon us all the time.
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Lord bless us.
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We pray.
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Bless all those who are in need,
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all those who have been prayed for tonight,
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all those whose hearts are heavy and sore.
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We commit them to your care and keeping.
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Bless us and take us to our home safely and forgive us our sin.
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In Jesus name,
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we ask it.
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Amen.
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Amen.
21:35
Amen.
21:35
Amen.