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Max Lucado - FaithWorks, Living on Mission · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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  Speaker 1: I've got a few things I'm going to put on eBay.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: I thought maybe some of you might like to have
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: a shot at them first. I've been hoarding a few
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  Speaker 1: things and thought it would be wise, you know, to
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: share them with others. And then I had second thoughts
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: and I thought, no, I'm just going to make some money.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Off the Extra toilet paper. Here's some more. And some more.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: I've got some, here's some verses in the Bible that
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: talk about purify us, oh Lord. I think they have
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  Speaker 1: taken on a new dimension. These verses have.
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  Speaker 2: Some more. And some more. And you can't have it. Well,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: good morning, everybody. God bless you today.
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  Speaker 1: As Greg said, we're continuing this study in the beautiful
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  Speaker 1: epistle of James. So if you have a Bible with
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  Speaker 1: you or a smartphone device, either one, I would encourage
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  Speaker 1: you to have that open. And welcome to all of
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  Speaker 1: you watching today.
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  Speaker 2: Online. We're grateful that you're here.
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  Speaker 1: Those of you, I got a text from somebody on
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  Speaker 1: their way on a spring break vacation, but they're watching,
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  Speaker 1: or at least I hope they're listening, not watching as
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  Speaker 1: they drive, just listening live today. And if you're here
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  Speaker 1: visiting from out of town on spring break, thank you
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  Speaker 1: for including Oak Hills as a part of your travel plans.
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  Speaker 1: In AD 251, a plague struck the Roman Empire. Historians
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  Speaker 1: believe that the plague, the disease was the measles. Citizens
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  Speaker 1: of Rome, however, they did not know what it was,
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  Speaker 1: nor did they know what to think. All they knew
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  Speaker 1: was that a devastating, mysterious illness had settled over their
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  Speaker 1: regions like an evil fog. According to one report, 5,000
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  Speaker 1: people were dying a day in the city of Rome
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  Speaker 1: The trepidation was every bit as fatal as the affliction.
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  Speaker 1: Several on-site accounts survived the time. One historian wrote that
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  Speaker 1: the Romans believed the plague was the scourge of the gods.
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  Speaker 1: They would push a sufferer away and flee even from
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  Speaker 1: their dearest, hoping thereby to avert the spread and contagion.
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  Speaker 2: Of the fatal disease.
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  Speaker 1: Another reported that many were afraid to visit one another
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  Speaker 1: and they died with no one to look after them. Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: there were many houses in which all the inhabitants perished
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  Speaker 1: through the lack of any attention. There was one exception
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  Speaker 1: to this, however, Christians. Christians were the one segment of
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  Speaker 1: the population who fared better than any other. Listen to
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  Speaker 1: this summary as written by Larry Hackman. Christians responded differently.
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  Speaker 1: Trusting in God's promises of eternal life, they turned to
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  Speaker 1: care for the sickest. The ironic result is that the
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  Speaker 1: mortality rate of Christians was significantly lower because they cared
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  Speaker 1: for one another.
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  Speaker 2: That gave the a chance for.
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  Speaker 1: The measles sufferer to recuperate, whereas those who isolated themselves
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  Speaker 1: would inevitably perish from neglect, even if they survived the
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  Speaker 1: ravages of the disease. Because they did not fear death,
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  Speaker 1: the Christians lived. Do you think the Christians of that
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  Speaker 1: day would have a word for the Christians of this day?
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  Speaker 1: We're beginning to see the same fear. The coronavirus is contagious,
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  Speaker 1: but fear of the virus is even more so. It
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  Speaker 1: is one thing, and it is a very good thing,
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  Speaker 1: a wise thing, to make preparations and take precautions. Preparation
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  Speaker 1: is good, but panic is not. And so I'd like
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  Speaker 1: to begin and end my message with prayers. Prayers for faith,
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  Speaker 1: prayers for confidence, and prayers for peace. My prayer at
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  Speaker 1: the end of the message will be a collective prayer
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  Speaker 1: in which anyone who's facing any challenge whatsoever will invite
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  Speaker 1: you to come to the front and pray over everyone
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  Speaker 1: who comes one time as a group.
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  Speaker 2: I begin the sermon.
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  Speaker 1: However, with a prayer for us all. Whether you would
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  Speaker 1: come forward or not, I'm not giving you the choice.
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to pray for you anyway. I would encourage
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  Speaker 1: you to turn your hearts toward heaven and bow your
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  Speaker 1: heads in reverence to our almighty God who loves us
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  Speaker 1: and protects us. And I'm opening my Bible to Psalm
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  Speaker 1: chapter 91, which is the recording of a beautiful psalm,
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  Speaker 1: a beautiful prayer, a prayer of protection. Heavenly Father, we
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  Speaker 1: adjoin our hearts now as we make this prayer our prayer.
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  Speaker 1: He who dwells in the secret place of the Most
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  Speaker 1: High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I
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  Speaker 1: will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my.
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  Speaker 2: Fortress, my God. In Him will I trust.
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  Speaker 1: Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the
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  Speaker 1: fowler and from the perilous pestilence. And he shall cover
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  Speaker 1: you with his feathers. And under his wings you shall
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  Speaker 1: take refuge. His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
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  Speaker 1: You shall not be afraid of the terror by night.
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  Speaker 2: Nor of the arrow that.
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  Speaker 1: Flies by day. Nor of the pestilence that walks in
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  Speaker 1: the darkness. Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
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  Speaker 2: Verse 9.
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  Speaker 1: Because you have made the Lord who is my refuge.
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  Speaker 1: Even the most high your dwelling place. no evil shall
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  Speaker 1: befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.
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  Speaker 1: For he shall give his angels charge over you to
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  Speaker 1: keep you in all your ways. In their hands they
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  Speaker 1: shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against
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  Speaker 1: a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
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  Speaker 1: the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
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  Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, we make this prayer our prayer. We dwell
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  Speaker 1: in the secret place of the Most High. We abide
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  Speaker 1: under the shadow of the Almighty God.
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  Speaker 2: And we say of you that you.
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  Speaker 1: Are our refuge and you are our strength and you
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  Speaker 1: we will trust. You shall deliver us. You shall cover us.
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  Speaker 1: We will not be afraid of the terror by night
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  Speaker 1: nor of the arrow that flies by day. nor of
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  Speaker 1: the pestilence that walks in the darkness, nor of the
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  Speaker 1: destruction that lays waste at noonday. We have made you
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  Speaker 1: our refuge, you the Most High, our dwelling place.
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  Speaker 2: No evil shall befall.
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  Speaker 1: Us, no plague shall come near our dwelling, for you
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  Speaker 1: have given your angels charge over us to keep us
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  Speaker 1: in all our ways. We thank you, Lord. And we
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  Speaker 1: receive this blessing in the name of Jesus. And all
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  Speaker 1: the church said, Amen. Well, I'm really grateful that Travis
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  Speaker 1: has called upon us to study the book of James.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, can I just say, I'm just grateful for Travis, period.
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  Speaker 1: Each weekend, his messages grow stronger. And each day, his
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  Speaker 1: leadership gifts become more and more evident. He's on a
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  Speaker 1: well-deserved spring break. So you are stuck with me this
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  Speaker 1: weekend and the next. He and I went to lunch
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: the other day. He, yeah, you can applaud the lunch.
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  Speaker 1: Is that what that is?
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  Speaker 2: Just kidding. Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: He and I went to lunch the other day. And
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  Speaker 1: an Oak Hills member walked over and she said, my
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  Speaker 1: favorite Oak Hills preacher. And she extended her hand to Travis.
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  Speaker 1: And when she then saw that I was at the
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  Speaker 1: table too, she was a bit embarrassed.
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  Speaker 2: But I was not. I was thrilled. I was thrilled.
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  Speaker 2: I was thrilled.
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  Speaker 1: It's been over 18 months since we officially passed the baton,
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  Speaker 1: Max to Travis, the senior minister. But sometimes what is
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  Speaker 1: official takes a little longer emotionally, but it's happening. Travis
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  Speaker 1: is walking in his anointing and he is displaying the
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  Speaker 1: presence and the power of the Holy Spirit and I
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  Speaker 1: am more confident than ever that this pulpit this privilege
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  Speaker 1: of preaching is in the capable hands of someone who
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  Speaker 1: can guard it and curate it well over the next generation.
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  Speaker 1: And for that, I'm immensely grateful. And so we turn
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  Speaker 1: our attention now to James chapter 2. As Travis pointed
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  Speaker 1: out last week, it's quite likely that James is the
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  Speaker 1: earliest of the epistles written early in the first generations.
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  Speaker 2: Of the first era. First church.
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  Speaker 1: And I believe that James. Who wrote this epistle. To
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  Speaker 1: those who were suffering persecution. Would call upon us. As
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  Speaker 1: he called upon them. To be communities of courage. They
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  Speaker 1: had been banished. All over the then known world. A
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  Speaker 1: part of the diaspora. Spread around. And this letter written
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  Speaker 1: by James then circulated among the.
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  Speaker 2: Churches was a call to courage, a call.
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  Speaker 1: To even count it joy when we face various tribulation.
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  Speaker 1: James chapter 2 can be divided, at least I believe,
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  Speaker 1: into two very clear sections. The first section could be
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  Speaker 1: called the folly of favoritism. The folly of favoritism. Here's
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  Speaker 1: what James says. My dear brothers and sisters, how can
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  Speaker 1: you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus
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  Speaker 1: Christ if you favor some people over others? For example,
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  Speaker 1: suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes
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  Speaker 1: and expensive jewelry and another comes in who is poor
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  Speaker 1: and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention
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  Speaker 1: to and a good seat to the rich person. But
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  Speaker 1: you say to the poor one, well, you can stand
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  Speaker 1: over there or else sit on the floor. Well, doesn't
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  Speaker 1: this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?
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  Speaker 1: Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn't God chosen
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  Speaker 1: the poor in this world to be rich in faith?
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  Speaker 1: Aren't they the ones who will inherit the kingdom he
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  Speaker 1: promised to those who love him? But you dishonor the poor.
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  Speaker 1: Isn't it the rich who oppress you and drag you
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  Speaker 1: into court? Aren't they the ones who slander Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 1: whose noble name you bear? So James invites us to
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  Speaker 1: imagine a church service, a worship assembly, in which a
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  Speaker 1: billionaire walks in the door. His tan is Caribbean. His
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  Speaker 1: suit is white linen and his hat is Panamanian. It's
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  Speaker 1: as if the great Gatsby himself has come to church.
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  Speaker 1: The people turn and stare. They know who this man is.
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  Speaker 1: The ushers scurry down the aisle and tell the people
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  Speaker 1: on the front row to get up and leave so
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  Speaker 1: that our special.
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  Speaker 2: Guest can have the best seat possible.
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  Speaker 1: The pastor who stands in front of the church, having
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  Speaker 1: just begun his introduction, stops everything. And he issues a verbal, personal,
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  Speaker 1: warm welcome to this man who has bling bling on
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  Speaker 1: his fingers. And hopefully has a checkbook in his pocket.
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  Speaker 1: Who can write a great check to the church. Everybody
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  Speaker 1: notices the rich man.
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  Speaker 2: No one notices the common man.
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  Speaker 1: He is dressed in shabby clothes, as James says, in
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  Speaker 1: dirty clothes. He walked a long distance from the homeless
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  Speaker 1: shelter to come to the church.
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  Speaker 2: He carries all of his.
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  Speaker 1: Possessions in a grocery sack. And he's doing his best
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  Speaker 1: to turn away from the.
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  Speaker 2: Bottle and toward the Bible.
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  Speaker 1: But the pivot is not easy. And the cool reception
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  Speaker 1: that he receives at the church makes it even more difficult.
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  Speaker 1: Now James is not tolerant of this type of favoritism.
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  Speaker 1: In his comments directed toward the early church, Boy, they
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  Speaker 1: land like hand grenades on the congregation. He accuses them
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  Speaker 1: of evil motives. He reminds them that the poor in
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  Speaker 1: this world are rich in faith. A reason that they
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  Speaker 1: should be welcomed in the church. And then he has
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  Speaker 1: a bit of a cryptic comment. He says the rich
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  Speaker 1: are the ones who take you to court. I don't
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  Speaker 1: know what he was talking about there. Maybe some specific
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  Speaker 1: event that they would all remember or maybe just a
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  Speaker 1: plan a practice that was typical of the day but
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  Speaker 1: this much is clear James detests he.
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  Speaker 2: Hates favoritism.
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  Speaker 1: It's easy to see why remember James was none other
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  Speaker 1: than a half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ and initially
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  Speaker 1: he was an unbeliever in the gospel of John we
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  Speaker 1: read for even his own brothers did not believe in him.
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  Speaker 2: He was an unbeliever.
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  Speaker 1: He didn't believe that his brother was who his brother said. However,
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  Speaker 1: sometime in that period of 40 days in between the
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  Speaker 1: resurrection of Jesus and the ascension of Jesus into heaven,
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  Speaker 1: look what happened.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus appeared to whom? To James and to all the apostles.
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  Speaker 1: I'm wondering if this direct reference to Jesus appearing to
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  Speaker 1: James suggests that Jesus sought James out.
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  Speaker 2: Sought James out.
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  Speaker 1: Even though James had been, maybe he still was at
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  Speaker 1: this time, an unbeliever. But now James saw his brother, Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: They had exited the same womb of Mary and now
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  Speaker 1: Jesus had exited the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea and
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  Speaker 1: James became a believer. What stories he could tell about Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: They grew up in the same house. They might have
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  Speaker 1: wrestled in the same yard. They surely slept in the
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  Speaker 1: same room. He knew that Jesus was fully human, but now,
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  Speaker 1: having witnessed the resurrected Christ, he knew that Christ was
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  Speaker 1: fully divine. And this God-man, this Jesus the Christ, made
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  Speaker 1: a special appearance to receive James. And James says that
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  Speaker 1: the one who has received us is an example. having
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  Speaker 1: been received by Christ, should we not receive others? If
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  Speaker 1: anybody could claim to be treated as a favorite, it
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  Speaker 1: could have been James, right? He could have claimed, hey,
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  Speaker 1: I grew up with our Lord. But he makes no
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  Speaker 1: reference to that.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, he.
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  Speaker 1: Calls for a wide open door for all people, whether
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  Speaker 1: they believe or struggle to believe.
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  Speaker 2: To be received.
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  Speaker 1: Whether they're affluent or poor. Whether they're healthy or sick.
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  Speaker 1: Whether they seem to have it all together. Or quite
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  Speaker 1: candidly don't have anything together. He says we need to
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  Speaker 1: receive one another. Jesus made room for us. Dare we
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  Speaker 1: not do the same for others. No partiality is permitted.
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  Speaker 2: At all. Period.
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  Speaker 1: Dare we who have been received by Christ. refuse to
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  Speaker 1: receive others who search for Christ. And dare we who
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  Speaker 1: have benefited from the greatest work of God not be willing.
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  Speaker 2: To do our best to do good works for God?
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  Speaker 2: This is James' second point.
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  Speaker 1: The second point is the impossibility of inactivity. Again, he
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  Speaker 1: begins this section the same way. My brothers and sisters,
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  Speaker 1: as if signaling that we're continuing but moving into a
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  Speaker 1: slightly different topic. If people say they have faith but
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  Speaker 1: do nothing, their faith is worth nothing. Can faith like
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  Speaker 1: that save them? A brother or sister in Christ might
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  Speaker 1: need clothes or food. If you say that person, if
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  Speaker 1: you say to that person, God be with you. I
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  Speaker 1: hope you will stay warm and get plenty to eat.
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  Speaker 1: But you do not give them what that person needs.
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  Speaker 1: Your words are worth nothing. In the same way, faith
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  Speaker 1: by itself that does nothing is dead. Someone might say,
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  Speaker 1: you have faith, but I have deeds. Show me your
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  Speaker 1: faith without doing anything, and I will show you my
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  Speaker 1: faith by what I do. You believe that there is
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  Speaker 1: one God, good. But the demons believe that too, and
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  Speaker 1: they tremble with fear.
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  Speaker 2: You foolish person.
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  Speaker 1: Must you be shown that faith that does nothing is
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  Speaker 1: worth nothing?
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  Speaker 2: Now this passage, in a sense.
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  Speaker 1: seems to posit James against the Apostle Paul. Remember, the
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  Speaker 1: Apostle Paul is the one who championed that we are
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  Speaker 1: saved by faith alone in Christ alone. We wonder, would
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  Speaker 1: James disagree with a statement like this from the pen
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  Speaker 1: of the Apostle Paul? We maintain that man is justified
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  Speaker 1: by faith apart from the works of the law. James
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  Speaker 1: seems to champion works. Paul seems to champion faith. Are
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  Speaker 1: they at odds one with the other?
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  Speaker 2: Not at all.
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  Speaker 1: The message of Paul is addressing before conversion. The message
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  Speaker 1: of James is addressing life after conversion. In no way
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  Speaker 1: do good works save us. Let's be clear. Good works
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  Speaker 1: in no way save us Good works, however, are a
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  Speaker 1: sign of the saved. How can we who have been
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  Speaker 1: made right by God's grace not seek to lead righteous lives?
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  Speaker 1: Salvation by grace through faith is the root. Works that
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  Speaker 1: honor God are the fruits of We know we have
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  Speaker 1: been saved because of the deeds of our lives. And
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  Speaker 1: others know this as well. Well, James wants us to
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  Speaker 1: envision another scenario. This time he wants us to imagine
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  Speaker 1: a person who is in need.
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  Speaker 2: A brother or sister who is in need. Who knows why?
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  Speaker 1: Maybe they're in between jobs. Maybe they've never had a job.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe they made the mistake and got into debt. Maybe
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  Speaker 1: they've got mortgage payments up to their eyeballs. For whatever reason,
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  Speaker 1: they're in a difficult circumstance. So difficult that they need clothing.
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  Speaker 1: They even need food. James warns us against empty words.
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  Speaker 2: He warns us against that.
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  Speaker 1: Strategy that goes to the person and says, Oh, may
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  Speaker 1: God bless you in your time of need. May you
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  Speaker 1: be warm. May you be filled. But does nothing. He
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  Speaker 1: warns us against that. Now blessings are good. But blessings
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  Speaker 1: don't buy blankets. Blessings don't stock a pantry. Blessings don't
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  Speaker 1: help somebody make a car payment. Blessings are good. But
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  Speaker 1: blessings without deeds are empty. Empty words are a sign.
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  Speaker 2: Of an empty faith.
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  Speaker 1: A frontier preacher happened across a friend whose horse had
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  Speaker 1: been accidentally killed. A crowd of onlookers had gathered around,
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  Speaker 1: each of whom was expressing their sympathy toward the man
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  Speaker 1: who had just lost his horse. The country preacher said,
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  Speaker 1: I'm sorry as well. In fact, I'm sorry, five dollars worth.
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  Speaker 1: How much is your sorry worth? He said to the others.
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  Speaker 1: It's one thing to say I'm sorry. It's another thing
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  Speaker 1: to help somebody. The Apostle Paul agreed with this. There's
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  Speaker 1: no contradiction here. The Apostle Paul said grace teaches us.
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  Speaker 1: Grace truly received is a life led differently.
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  Speaker 2: It teaches us.
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  Speaker 1: It teaches us not to live against God nor to
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  Speaker 1: do the evil things that the world wants us to do.
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  Speaker 1: Instead that grace teaches us to live in the present
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  Speaker 1: age together. in a wise and right way that shows
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  Speaker 1: we serve God. So grace appropriately received results.
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  Speaker 2: In a life that honors God.
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  Speaker 1: Again, we're not saved by what we do, but being
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  Speaker 1: saved changes and affects what we do.
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  Speaker 2: And as I bring this message.
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  Speaker 1: To a close, Can I say that grace not only
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  Speaker 1: changes what we do, it changes the way we look
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  Speaker 1: at the challenges of life.
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  Speaker 2: It creates a sense.
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  Speaker 1: Of assurance, a sense of peace. And boy, do we
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  Speaker 1: need it today. The great affliction of our day is anxiety.
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  Speaker 1: This is the most anxious nation in the history of
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  Speaker 1: the world. We begin assuming this, but now we are
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  Speaker 1: documenting this. In 2018, the American Psychiatric Association revealed a
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: study that indicated that 51% of Americans describe themselves as anxious.
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  Speaker 2: 51%.
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  Speaker 1: For the first time, we've tipped the scales over the
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: 50% mark. And the land of stars and stripes has
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  Speaker 1: become the land of stress and strife.
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  Speaker 2: We're anxious.
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  Speaker 1: And our anxiety is stealing our peace and robbing our
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: sleep and hurting our health and invading our relationships. We
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: are anxious people. Have I told you that story about
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: the man who went to the doctor and the doctor said,
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: what's wrong? He said, well, I'm having this weird dream.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: One night I dream I'm a pup tent. The other
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: night I dream I'm a teepee. The doctor said, well,
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: I see your problem. You're too tense.
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  Speaker 2: Tough crowd. Tough crowd. We're all too tense. We're all
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: too tense.
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  Speaker 1: And these studies, the study I'm referring to, of course,
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  Speaker 1: predates coronavirus.
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  Speaker 2: Coronavirus.
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  Speaker 1: Imagine what results we'd find were we to take such
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: a study today.
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  Speaker 2: Here's my belief.
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  Speaker 1: I believe that Satan peddles anxiety. I believe he traffics
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  Speaker 1: in fear. I believe that he runs a language school
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  Speaker 1: dedicated to teaching one topic, the language of anxiety.
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  Speaker 2: And down in the.
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  Speaker 1: Bowels of hell, There is a cavern that serves as
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: a classroom for demons who are being trained. And that
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  Speaker 1: there is a professor, a lieutenant of the devil himself,
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  Speaker 1: who stalks about in the room teaching his students, his minions,
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  Speaker 1: his demons, the fine art of parlaying fear. And he
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: points his bony finger in the air and he speaks
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: through a snarl saying, you must sow seeds of distress
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  Speaker 1: in the minds of these children of God.
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  Speaker 2: Their target are not unbelievers. Satan already has them. Their
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: target is you. You.
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  Speaker 1: And according to the training manual and according to the
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  Speaker 1: three words written on the whiteboard of the language classroom,
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  Speaker 1: the strategy is exaggerate, overstate, and amplify. Exaggerate every problem,
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: overstate every issue, and amplify every concern. Wake them up
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: in the middle of the night. Better still, don't let
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: them go to sleep at all. Create within them an
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: addiction to news. Let them find fear on CNN and
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: Fox and MSNBC. Keep their Bibles closed. Keep them out
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: of church. Keep them listening to other anxious voices so
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: that they then can communicate this anxiety to others. Because
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: as we all know, Fear is the most contagious virus.
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  Speaker 1: I'm wondering, are they whispering in your ear? If so,
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  Speaker 1: your Lord Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: Gives you this invitation. Cast all your anxiety on Him. Why?
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: Because He cares. Because He cares.
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  Speaker 1: It is not His will that you go through life
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  Speaker 1: weighed down with anxiety and worry. And he will help
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: you find a life that is peaceful as opposed to
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  Speaker 1: panic marked. One way he does this is by giving
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  Speaker 1: us promises. In fact, he urges us to remember his promises.
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  Speaker 1: There is one time, in fact, in the Old Testament
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  Speaker 1: in the book of Isaiah. He says through Isaiah, put
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  Speaker 1: the Lord in remembrance of his promises.
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  Speaker 2: Keep not silence.
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  Speaker 1: In other words, pray like we prayed out of promises
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  Speaker 1: of Psalm 91.
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  Speaker 2: Remember, Lord, you.
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  Speaker 1: Said this another time. God himself says, put me in remembrance.
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  Speaker 1: Let's contend together. You don't have to contend by yourself.
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  Speaker 1: You don't have to fight this by yourself. He will
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: fight with you. He will walk with you. Put me
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: in remembrance. You said, Lord, you would never leave me
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: or forsake me. You said, Lord, that you would walk
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  Speaker 1: me through the valley of the shadow of death. You said, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: that you would walk me through the waters. You said, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: let your prayer be marked with you said, you said,
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: you said, and let your time be spent meditating on
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: the great and precious promises of God. Find a promise
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  Speaker 1: that fits your problem and build your prayer around it.
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  Speaker 1: How many of you think that we could use a
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: quorum of people in our society whose lives are marked
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  Speaker 1: by promises and.
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  Speaker 2: Not by panic?
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  Speaker 1: Maybe you could be that person in your schoolroom. The
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: Apostle Paul says, let your gentleness be made evident to all.
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: Let your gentleness.
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: In Philippians 4, that passage can also be translated, let
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: your cool-headedness. When everybody else is losing They're cooled. You're
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: keeping yours. You're the one who in the midst of
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: the anxiety says, yes, but God. But God is still
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: on the throne. But God is still in control. But
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  Speaker 1: God is still with us. I know these are tough times.
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: And he never calls upon us to be naive or
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: blind or foolish. But he calls upon us to be
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: people of faith. People who simply trust. People who believe
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: that our God is still a good God. And that
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  Speaker 1: he will walk us through. And our society is in
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: dire need. Your family perhaps is in dire need. Your
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: workforce perhaps. Your school room perhaps. Is in need of
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: a few people.
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  Speaker 2: Who will come in with a voice of faith. The
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: voice of faith. And help others.
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  Speaker 1: Deal with the fear. Would you be one of those people?
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: Would you move forward in faith? I believe that James
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: would call upon us to be a community of courage.
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: A community of hope. To place our trust as those
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: in Rome did in A.D. 251. In the living God.
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  Speaker 1: And that as a result would give us courage to
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: move into the future.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus said this. We close with his words.
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  Speaker 1: He said live so people will see the good things
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: you do. the good things you do, and praise your
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  Speaker 1: Father in heaven.
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  Speaker 2: No favoritism.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: Toward the rich, no neglect of the poor, and no
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: fear of the future. I think that's a pretty good
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: description of a good life, don't you? Amen.