Well, it was a few years back that we, my wife and I, were in our master bedroom and we were awakened about 4.30, 5 o'clock in the morning and There was a thud. There's a large round top window in our master bedroom, and there was a thud at the window, and then another thud, and then another thud against the window. We didn't know what was going on. We tried to go back to sleep. It didn't work. We found out that a robin was flying directly into the window. seemingly trying to kill himself or something. And we didn't know if he was suicidal or blind, perhaps, maybe a blind Robin. You've heard the rockin' Robin. This might have been the blind Robin. Was he unintelligent? We really didn't know. But he kept doing it. And so the next day it was the same thing. We had to go to bed early because we knew we were getting up around five o'clock to the rock and robin. We searched the internet and called the animal control officer to find out what's going on here and why us. Turns out that this was a male robin And in the area, he had a wife who was on the nest, if you will, with the babies and he was protecting his family. He looked into the round top window and what did he see? He saw a male robin. So he was attacking that robin because that robin kept attacking him. What to do? How to stop it? The key, of course, was for him to stop seeing himself in the window. We went to the internet again and to other people and they said, take soap and put it all on your window so it's non-reflective. Do that. Put paper on the window. None of those things worked. Put a flashlight, shine it through the window so we could see nothing but light. That didn't work. A friend came over with a BB gun and tried to shoot him. His name is being withheld upon request. That didn't work either. probably needed some kind of a bigger munition. But anyway, I'm happy to tell you that he lived and no animals were hurt in this particular transaction. But he kept fighting against himself. And folks, when you fight against yourself, you are very evenly matched. Right? And the war doesn't easily end. Worry is an epidemic in our world today. Worry causes stress, anxiety, and depression. We live in the age of anxiety. The breakdown of faith in God and in reason, coupled with the accelerated high pace, the high tension of modern life, has produced intense anxiety in many millions of people, that it would be fair to say that worry is one of the most widespread and debilitating ailments of our time. Just putting the sign out that said, you don't have to worry, or yesterday, a few days ago, caused a big Facebook discussion in the comments about the election. And I wasn't referring to the election. I was referring to the spiritual principle that you can worry, but you don't have to. You don't have to worry. But life tempts us from every direction and at every time. Growing up is worrying. Am I smart enough? Am I good looking enough? Will I get a good job? Will I find a husband or a wife? Work is worrying. Did I do my job right? Will I fit in with my coworkers? Will my boss be reasonable? Will I get a raise or a promotion? Being a woman is worrying. Will my kids be healthy and safe? Will my husband divorce me? God forbid. Will I get sick and die young? Having a home and family is worrying. Will I lose my job? Will we be able to make ends meet? Will the car break down? For some people, they're like $2,000 from bankruptcy. If a car breaks down, it is a major economic catastrophe in their lives. Past experiences are worrying. Could I have said that better? Could I have handled that differently? Was it my fault? Was it something I did? Getting older is worrying. Will our health hold up? Will our savings or social security be enough? Will I be alone? Will I go into a nursing home and be neglected? And what I get all the time is, will the state take our house? In the New Testament, Worry implies having a divided mind. It's a fighting against yourself. When you fight against yourself, you're evenly matched, the war doesn't end easily, and the Robin, you can only see yourself like him and imagine problems that do not exist. Right? You got a little ache and pain. What do you do? What's the first thing you do? Do you call the doctor? No, you can never get them on the phone. You call the nurse and they say, yeah, sure, we'll put your name down, call you back, like, whatever. So what do you do? You go to a doctor, Google. You got Google right there on your phone or your computer. And you Google it and you say, that's it. This is what I got. I'm dying. Dr. Google tells you that you only have months to live, and you start worrying. This week I had a little pain in my arm, a little nerve pain, and I went right to MS. I said, I think I got MS, I told my wife. So I was Googling it, and it's kind of funny because, you know, I'm like, imagining what it would be like to have MS, right? You come in in a wheelchair or whatever, and you go through all that. And then I woke up in the morning, and I was working on a case the day before, and the words came right to my mind about what it is. And all it is is a pinched nerve in my neck. which just needs to be unimpinged, and then the pain subsides, called cervical spondylosis. And I'm like, oh, thank you, Lord. Forget you, Dr. Google. We can carry things that are just not true. It's like carrying a load that you shouldn't carry at all. Worry is an old man with a bended head carrying a load of feathers which he thinks are lead. It's a distraction from our devotion to God. But thank the Lord, Jesus can transform our fear of bees into faith, our anxiety into adoration, Our turmoil into trust and our worry into worship. And goodness, there's not enough true worship of God in the world, is there? Really true worship of God. There needs to be so much more, even in the church, for goodness sake. We are worshipers. We're created to worship God. The old Westminster Confession says in question one, man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Turning to Matthew 6.25, we'll be reading verses 25 to 34, one of the most elegant and beautiful passages on the words of our Lord Jesus. These should be carved into our minds. This is Jesus speaking. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we air? Where? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." The Word of God. This is what worry is like. You ready? This is the musical portion of the sermon. Are you ready? This is what worry sounds like in the human heart. That, of course, is the memorable theme from Jaws. When they made the movie Jaws, they said, how are we going to do a shark, a mechanical shark? Because this was a while ago. It was in the 70s, I believe, that it was released. And they said, you know what? We're not going to even try to do it. We're not going to make a mechanical shark. It's too hard to make it look realistic. We're just going to do it with the music. And we're going to get the audience to hear that. And every time they hear that, they're going to say, the shark's there. And when you hear that, so to speak, in your life, you're looking for the fin, aren't you? The fin in your life, whatever that is. So, it's a frightening thing. And anxiety comes from this. We all want to be in control of our lives. Maybe even in control of other people's lives. But guess what? You can't. You cannot be in control of your own life completely, nor can you be in control of anybody else's life completely. So stop trying, okay? Because who's in control of life? God is in control of all of our lives, whether we believe Him, believe God, are Christians or not. He is in control of every life. We said that a few weeks ago. There are no rogue molecules. There are no rogue people even. They're rogue people. But they're under God's control, believe it or not. How does that work? I don't know. I don't quite understand it all. I don't have to. Because I, get this, trust him with my life. Why do I trust him with my life? Because I trusted him with my soul. The only thing I've got, the only thing you've got is your soul. You're going to lose your body. Your body's going to go, right? And as you get older, you'll lose it step by step. I saw a little clip this morning about Elton John walking from a limo into a hotel or something. And, you know, he kind of looks the same, right? He's got the wig and everything, and you can kind of, you know, hey, look, he's old, right? But he was walking like... Right? Have you seen the clips of Frankie Valli? It's like 90 years old, and they put him up on a stage. And I'd love to see him sing acapella, because I don't think he's singing anything. His lips are barely moving. Point is, you're going to get old, and you're going to be like that at some point. You're not in control of your own destiny. Then you die. So it's good to trust God now while you can. I've trusted him with my soul. And Martin Luther had it right. He would look at his friend Philip Melanchthon during the days of the Reformation, And he could tell that Melanchthon had anxiety and worry, and he would say this to him. He'd say, let Philip cease the rule of the world. It's like, Philip, you can't rule the world. It's not yours to run. Trust God. Worry is actually senseless. If you think about it, Jesus says, look it, These small things are true. Therefore, the big things have to be true. It's logic, isn't it? He feeds the birds who do not farm, who do not gather. They do not reap or store in barns. And God feeds them. And you're much more valuable than a bird. Did you know that? Even though some people may think their bird is more valuable than you or their dog is, it's not true. You are a human being made in the image of God and you are more valuable than anything. If he takes care of the birds, will he not take care of you? It's complete logic from the lesser to the greater. So we shouldn't be filled with fear. And human life is more important than food, drink, and clothing. Not only is life more important than the food which sustains it, it also consists of much more. Worry is irrelevant. It doesn't do anything to help you cope with the problem. And for some people, worry is a pastime. We love it, right? You know, we can become addicted to negative emotions. I used to be in a rock and roll band and there was a guy who used to say, we'd be traveling like to the next place in the truck and he'd be in the truck and he would say, you know, I'm starting to get really worried. That's how he started. And then he would say, I'm getting really worried about, and then he'd put something in there, whatever it was. I'm getting really worried about this. I'm really worried about that. Then he used to say, I'm getting really worried about the worrying. He took worry to an art form. But it shouldn't be a pastime of the Christian. It's not good for the heart and soul. It cannot add to your life. It can only detract from your life and distract you with a divided mind. It accomplishes nothing except to put God out of the picture, right? Second, worry is sinful. Jesus said, be not anxious. Right? Take no thought for the morrow, says the KJV. He doesn't mean don't plan. Don't save your money for when you get old. He's not saying that. but don't be overly concerned with tomorrow because you don't know what tomorrow will bring. Be responsible today. Plan for tomorrow, but don't freak out. Live today. Some people don't live today. That's the most tragic thing. They live in the past, right? They're concerned about what happened in the past with their parents, or, you know, oh, I did everything wrong when I was bringing up my kids, or I made mistakes, or whatever. So they live in the past, so they can't enjoy the present. Or they live in the future, and they're so concerned about the future and freaked out about the future that they can't live in the present. And the present is the only place where you can live. So what kind of a life is that, right? What kind of a life is that? Now, let's go from, we went from the lesser to the greater, let's go from the greater to the lesser. And the Lord does that in Romans 8, 32. He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also graciously give us all things? If the Lord God gave you his son to die on the cross to save your soul from an eternity in hell, he will help you pay the electric bill. Amen? And any other lesser thing that you can come up with, may it be your health or whatever, your relationships, whatever they are, if he solved your biggest problem, he'll solve all the others because they're lesser problems. It's pure logic. Remember Solomon? Solomon, the Lord said to Solomon, Solomon sacrificed a thousand cattle when the temple was opened, a thousand burnt offerings. And the Lord said to him, ask for whatever you want. And Solomon didn't ask for riches. He didn't ask for any of that. He asked the Lord for wisdom and knowledge to rule the people, and the Lord was so blessed by that that he said, you know what? I'm gonna give you the wisdom and knowledge to rule the people, and I'm also gonna give you great wealth. And he did. And Jesus then uses this as an example. He says, why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. And the lilies of the field are only temporary, right? You throw them away. This is the time we're doing that right now, right? We have morning glowers growing on our garage. The beautiful blue, I think, purple flowers. And now they're starting to turn and we just rip them off our garage and throw them in the trash. But they're beautiful, much, much beautiful. And he says, how much more will he clothe you of little faith? Think about this. Think about how much sin comes from anxiety. Right? Anxiety about finances can lead to coveting and greed and hoarding and stealing. Anxiety about succeeding at a task can make you a bear, a tyrant, right? You're trying to do something and your spouse comes over and you're like, leave me alone, right? Anxiety about relationships can make you withdrawn and indifferent about caring for people. Anxiety about how someone will respond to you can make you careless with the truth. You may put on airs. If anxiety could be conquered, and it can, it will eliminate a lot of sins. How do you do this? How do you do it? Very simple. Jesus gives us the anecdote. Of course it is trust, right? It's either worry, anxiety, or trust in God. But he says this, Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well. Seek his rule in your life. Seek his rule in the world by the gospel. And all these things will be added to you as well. It is amazing. If you are more concerned about the Lord's business, the Lord's mission than yours, he'll provide for you in ways you never anticipate. I've seen it in my own life. I guarantee it. I'll sign a document. Guaranteeing that if you put the Lord in His mission first in your life, He will take care of everything. The Psalms say He'll be your rear guard. He'll go before you and He'll be behind you. Amen? That's the most important thing is Him. Folks, He's entrusted us with His mission. He's entrusted us with bringing the gospel to Westboro. You, that's why you're sitting here. Cool. Amen? I don't care. They can put me on the stake. I burn happily for Jesus' sake. Amen? And you know, when that happens, He'll take care of the things that you never thought that you'd even think about. You're like, wow, the Lord did that. And so we do have to work for our daily bread, right? Most of us. Some of you of the trust funds don't have to know. No, but we work for our daily bread, but as we do in our mind, the real thing, what's really about our work is the Lord, right? And those Times that we are at work bring opportunities of unparalleled nature. Some of you are sitting here because you stumbled into my law office. Right? You stumbled into my law office. Now you're sitting in the church. And I didn't come to work that day and say, yeah, I'm going to you know, bring a bunch of people to church today. But it's always in my mind because He's always on my mind. And to glorify Him is my whole gig. I have no other gig. And that's the gig I want. Right? So, remember Martha and Mary? Martha, Martha. Martha's in there, you know, she's working in the kitchen. Lord Jesus is over for dinner. Mary's at Jesus's feet. And Martha's worried about the meal and all the preparations. And Mary's just sitting there listening to Jesus. And Martha says, Lord, tell my sister to help me. And the Lord says, what? Martha, Martha, you are upset and worried about many things, but only one thing is needful. Mary has found it, and so it will not be taken from her. Right? Do you live in the presence of God? Do you just sit there sometimes and bask in the presence of God? Try it. Get rid of all your phones, and your things, and your papers, and your books, and your tasks, and your whatevers, and just be alone with God. Just bask in His presence. What that will do for your heart. And then pray. Are you concerned about something? Just bring it to the Lord. Just ask Him. We have not because we ask not. And we ask not, we ask amiss when we ask. He deserves undistracted, single-minded worship. God cares physically for those who care for him spiritually. Take that to the bank. Right? Now this doesn't mean, you know, if you get hooked up in this stuff that you're not a believer and that you're not going to heaven. It doesn't mean that. That's not what we're saying. By the way, Jesus is talking to Christians here. He's not talking to non-Christians. John Piper gives a good example of what's going on here. You see, there's always a battle. It's always a battle between fear and faith, isn't it? Between trust and turmoil. Take your pick. Turmoil is always there, ready to gain ascendancy, and so is fear. And the Christian life, it's part of what we go through as Christians. It's normal. And if it's happening in your life, you're just normal. But don't go with it. Fight it. Piper says, it's like the bee. No, Piper says it's like, that bee is a good sermon illustration. The person that needs epinephrine, they're like, yeah, bro, it is a good, no. But think about it like this. You're in a race, driving a race car. And the enemy is near you, and he throws dirt on your windshield. Now you're in the race, you're heading to the finish line, but the enemy's throwing dirt on your windshield so that you won't get there. And Piper says, dude, put on the wipers. Put on the window washer. And he likens that to trust in the Lord and seeking his kingdom. And when you do that, you can see much more clearly your goal. Psalm 56.3 says this, when I am afraid, I put my trust in thee. That's not a non-Christian speaking, that's a Christian speaking. someone who follows Yahweh, when I am afraid, and I will be, I'll be afraid at some point, I put my trust in Thee. Worry also is a waste of time. And you have no time to waste. You can't live in tomorrow, and you can't live in the regrets of yesterday. The past is truly past. Let it go. Right? And so, much of the things that we worry about in the future never happen. Right? They never happen. And, We sang it, well, no, we will sing it. There's this beautiful line from Deuteronomy 33, 25. As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure. Whatever you need for strength to overcome the worry and the things that assault you will be there. As Corrie Ten Boom once said, you get your ticket when you get on the train. You may not have the faith that you need right now, but when you need it, you'll have it. And you just got to trust the Lord for that. Now, I don't know about you, but I have liked to talk about these things. A little personal thing. Once they took my heart out of my chest. I was without a heart, right? It's called open heart surgery. They take your heart out, and they put you on the heart-lung machine, and they do, you know, whatever they do with your heart, like Benihana. Put you on the bench, and then they stick your heart back in, and they, you know, hook it back up again. And you're good. But a few things follow from that. One of the things is, you can't walk 10 feet without being out of breath. And you're like, oh no, what did they do to me? The other thing is, when they talk about the heart, it's like where emotions are. There's something about having your heart worked on that does do something to you emotionally. So there I was in this big hospital some years ago, and feeling sorry for myself, and a nurse came in. Actually, it was a PNA. What is it? CNA? PCA? A CNA. Certified Nurse's Aid. She came in, and she had a Jesus thing on. So I asked her, do you love Jesus? She said she did. I said, oh, that's beautiful. And there was another guy there, too, kind of a tall man. And I was trying to be the evangelist, even though I was like, you know, just trying to survive. And I said, do you love Jesus? He says, I do. He says, do you? I said, yes, I do. So we were having some church in there, right? Three people. And he says, and what does that mean? I'm like, what do you mean? I'm like, I'm a pastor, I know what that means. And I told him what it meant. It means that Jesus came and died for our sins, our sins are forgiven, and that we will live with him eternally, one day, and all those things. And he said, and what else does it mean? And I'm like, huh? And he said, What else does it mean? I'm like, huh? And he said, it means that he'll never give you more than you can, and I said, handle, referring to 1 Corinthians. And I started to weep because it renewed my faith that whatever I was going through was something that the Lord prepared meted out and gave me all the strength I needed to get through it. Once there was a man, his name was Hiro, Hiro Onoda. He was a Japanese man. And he was 20 during World War II. And he was assigned to an island in the Philippines, as we say, or the Philippines. He was trained in guerrilla warfare, and his superior told him, don't stop the mission until I come back for you. Less than one year later, World War II was over, and Japan had lost. And they tried to find old Hiro out there in the jungle of the Philippines, but they could not find him. They dropped leaflets from airplanes, told him the war was over. And it is said later on that he did get a leaflet, but he thought it was propaganda from America. So he didn't believe it because he thought there's no way the emperor of Japan can lose. Then about 20 years later, still out in the jungle, hero out there living in the jungle, still believing that the war was going on, even though it was far over. A college student had a desire before he started his work career to do three things, to find Bigfoot, to find the Abominable Snowman, and to find Hero Onoda. Onoda's family is thankful because the first thing he set his pawn is finding Hero. He went to the Philippines, he went to the jungle, and he found Hero. And he said, man, it's over. It was over 20 years ago or whatever. And he said he wouldn't believe him. And so they didn't know what to do. This guy is still out in the jungle fighting a war which is over. What did they do? They dug up Hiro's commanding officer. He was working in a bookstore. And they said, you got to help us. He'll only listen to you. So they dug him up and they put him on a plane and they brought him into the Philippines and they led him to Hiro. And the commanding officer said, hey, brother, this is a command. Get out of here. It's over. We lost 29 years ago. And so at the age, get this, of 52, he finally came out of the jungle and surrendered his samurai sword. He was in the jungle for 29 years fighting a war that was long over. You're fighting a war, perhaps, and that war has been won. Right? The Christ has won the war. It's up to you by drawing on his strength to win the battles. Amen? Praise God. God is our refuge and strength and ever-present help and trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. He says, be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. The Lord Almighty is with you, Christian. Just be still and know that He is God. He is for you. He's for you. Who can be against you? Who can? Anybody? Can anybody take them on and win? We have no cause for worry or for fear. Can I get a hearty amen? When I said hearty, I meant hearty. Amen. Now that's a whole lot better. Don't worry. That bee won't sting you. Let's pray. Our Lord and our God, we do indeed thank you for the comforter of your word and your promises. We thank you, Lord Jesus, that your words have been recorded for us in the holy book. Help us, Lord, to be comforted by them and to live them. This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.