Our Lord began to answer a question to a gentleman in the crowd there, Luke chapter 12, beginning in verse 13. Our Lord had been speaking about persecution, really, and hypocrisy. And verse 13, then one from the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. But he said to him, man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you? And he said to them, take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses. Then he spoke a parable to them, saying the ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do since I have no room to store my crops? So he said, I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, fool, this night your soul will be required of you. Then whose will those things be which you have prepared? So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." Pretty serious. That man called out, teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. Jesus didn't directly take up the case. Jesus was a teacher, a rabbi. Perhaps he could rule and settle this dispute over the inheritance. Well, Jesus didn't directly address it. He took it on himself to speak of covetousness. Verse 15, he gave a command, right? And he said to them, take heed and beware of covetousness. A word not very common in our English language. We don't even talk about it, right? We don't even think about it. How many Americans woke up this morning worrying about covetousness? What do you think? Being afraid of it. How many professed Christians woke up this morning, said, you know, I'm afraid of something. I'm afraid of covetousness. What do you think? Anybody get up like that this morning? Well, Jesus said we ought to get up like that. Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of things. So He gives us the command, He gives us that great principle we looked at last week. He defines what life consists of and it doesn't consist in abundance of things. God defines what your life consists of. Whether you agree or not, you can't change it and we won't have a repeat. God defines what you are and what your life consists of. And in this passage, we're going to see a fool who lived his life in conflict with God's definition of it. And that's the man who built the bigger bombs. God had a definition for that man's life. And he lived in rebellion to that definition. And God said he was a fool. One's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses. That's the definition. And then he spoke that parable to illustrate it. And Jesus's parable describes a person who has not been on his guard regarding covetousness. He hasn't worried about it. He hasn't thought about it. He hasn't thought that he is the lawbreaker of the 10th commandment. The 10th commandment, you shall not covet. In some ways it's a summary command, but he didn't think he was a lawbreaker. Can you imagine that? Somebody actually thinking, because they really desire this stuff and they want it and they want it, that they're actually sinning against God? Oh, that sounds like hate speech. Can you imagine that? All these young children Coveting the new sneakers? Can you imagine that, boys and girls? Coveting those sneakers? Gotta have them. Gotta have them. That you're sinning against God? Imagine that. Pretty startling, isn't it? God's jealous. God's a jealous God. That's what he said. You shall have no other gods before me. What you love, what you seek, it's your God. It's that simple. What you covet is your God. Paul said that. Greed amounts to what? Idolatry. Greed and covetousness, they're synonyms. Paul said that. Greed amounts to idolatry. God is to be worshipped, he is to be number one. Number one. And this command brings all that forth. So yes, it is a warning. Beware of covetousness. And God required the soul of this fool. But God said to him, fool, this night your soul will be required. I thought I owned myself, right? What do you mean? I'm free. I'm free. No, you're not. No, you're not. You're owned. Everything under heaven and earth belongs to God. And God decided to call this soul back that night. Now, man, you know, I'm sounding mean and harsh. I'm just trying to... This is serious. I don't know what else to say. You know, you're not an animal. I'm not an animal. This is serious. That's what I'm trying to impress you about. This is God. The Lord is serious. We're eternal beings. We have souls. That man's body went to the grave that night but his soul didn't. This is all very serious and the gospel awakens us to the fact that God made us and God offers to save us from our sins and to call us and not to spend ourselves on possessions and coveting and we need to move on. So the illustration, so start being on your guard for covetousness when you are young, and this is what I wanted to say last week, when you are young before it becomes a deeply rooted pattern of your life. And folks, Your children aren't necessarily blessed because they have been raised with all this material prosperity. Because it is a danger to this sin and habit. So start being on guard for covetousness when you are young before it becomes a deeply rooted pattern of life. Verse 21, he calls to that self-examination, verse 21, then, so is he, referring to the fool, so is he, every man is like that fool, so is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Can you imagine that? Thinking about trying to be rich toward God, how many people wake up in the morning and wonder how their investments are going to do today? You know, I wonder how my investments are going to do today. I wonder how my business is going to do today. How many wake up and wonder about being rich toward God? Well, we've been told we're animals. Now we're living like animals, right? That's exactly right. That's not true. That's not true. So don't end your life as this fool that Jesus warned us about. And start early, young people, start early. You know, start early. A man's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses. And by the time we get done with this chapter, Jesus is going to say, get rid of it. Sell it. Give it away. Don't hoard it. This passage is going to go a complete turnaround. We're going to start with warnings about covetousness. And when we get down to verse 33, we're going to be on a complete other end of sell. Sell what you have. Give it away. Okay. That's where this passage is going. Now, what about the two brothers? What about the two brothers that were struggling over the inheritance? What would happen to those two brothers if they had received the Lord's warning about covetousness? What would have happened? Well, I think this is what would have happened. The man who called out and said, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. I think he would have dropped the dispute, okay? He would have dropped the dispute, he would have become content, and he would have gone on in the verses 22-34. I think that's what he would have done. And while he had, as soon as he had dropped the dispute and gone on in verses 22-34, what about the other brother? I think he would have been, knock, knock, knock, knock. Hey brother, here's half of the inheritance. Okay That's what I think would have happened to the two brothers so I think Jesus Answered his question. What do you think? I think so. I Think Jesus answered the brothers as how he responded Now, now it turns to the disciples. Verse 22, Mike read the passage for us. Then he said to his disciples, the crowd you see is made up a wide ranging of attitudes and people about Christ. Some of them hate him. Some of them think they might follow him. But the disciples are those who have begun to believe in him. They've begun to say Jesus is the Christ. He is the Messiah. And they've begun to follow him. And so Jesus turns to them and he begins now addressing those people that profess faith in Jesus Christ. He's going to talk to his disciples now about these matters. And he's going to instruct them. Not only must they avoid covetousness, they must also avoid worrying over the basic necessities of life. Now the text doesn't explicitly state that there is a relationship between worrying and covetousness, but it does begin with a therefore, doesn't it? So there may be a relationship between the two. Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life. There's a relationship. You know, one may hoard even in the areas of food and clothing because of insecurity, which Jesus is going to reprove. One may be covetous even in the areas of food and clothing because of fear and worry. So I think there is a connection here. Therefore, do not worry about your life. In verse 21, Jesus referred to those who reach the end of their lives and are not rich toward God. In this next section, he gives a positive message on how to be rich toward God. As you can see by the conclusion, look at verse 32 and 33. How can you be rich toward God? Well, here it is in verse 32 and 33. Verse 33, sell what you have, give alms, provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail where neither thief approaches nor moth destroys. Okay, nor inflation eats away, okay, or taxes consume. You see, here's the person rich toward God, treasures in heaven, contrasting the man who's building bigger barns, treasures on earth. Now, verses 22 through 34 describe a very different lifestyle from the fool in the parable. Very different type of life. Those who live as exhorted here have been on their guard against covetousness. They are the ones who will become rich toward God at the end of their lives. They are disciples of Jesus Christ. Now there's quite a range of feeling in this passage. The passage starts out with, do not worry and be anxious about having enough to eat. And it ends with what? Sell what you have and give to the poor. Look at that transition. It starts, don't worry, don't be anxious. And at the end, what are we doing? We're selling what we have and we're giving to others. Now may I suggest that that is the transition that your life needs to go through as you become a believer and a follower in Jesus Christ. Your transition's got to go through that line. Your life has to go through that transition. And boys and girls, you too. You start out, me, me, me, my, my, my, right? And you've got to go through this transition of believing in and following Christ and you've got to end up where this passage ends up. It's quite a set of exhortations and may God bless us to bring us through that type of transition that's represented in this passage. Well, the Lord starts out here, we got four negatives, do not worry, do not seek, do not have an anxious mind, do not fear, and then we've got a couple positives, seek the kingdom of God, sell what you have and give alms. Verse 22 and 23 begins here. Do not worry about your life. And what he means is the basic necessities. Verse 22. Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. He's talking about the most basic necessities. He says, don't worry about those things. Now, I don't want to be a wet blanket. And I don't want to be misunderstood about what I'm about to say. Bear with me. And I will use myself as an example. Now we need to keep in view what Jesus is really saying. And truthfully, my response to what Jesus is really saying is, huh? What do you mean? No, Roland's got it. Roland understands what I'm saying. What are you talking about? Worrying about how much, having enough food to eat. I don't know what, I've never worried about that. I'm 52 years old. I'm 52 years old. And I know this is true. I have never in my 52 years committed that particular sin. You get it? I have never worried. in 52 years about not having enough to eat. I never have. And I have never in 52 years worried about having enough clothes to protect me from the elements. I never have. What are you talking about, Laura? Now that's not true for some of you, and I know that. And I know that some of you have worried in this way, but not most of you. We haven't. We really haven't. And for most of you, not all of you, your experience is the same as mine. Not all of you, I know that. Now, why am I saying these things? Well, I'm saying these things for a number of reasons. The text is speaking about the basic necessities of life. Jesus is speaking about the daily bread in the Lord's Prayer we studied earlier. Jesus is speaking about necessary bodily coverings to be protected from the elements. Children, when have you ever worried about that? Teenagers, when have you ever worried about that? We're worrying about how we're going to look in front of our friends. Are we going to be cool or not? Okay, we're coveting. We're coveting their praise and glory. We're not worrying about, can my body be protected from the elements? See, the text is speaking about those basic necessities of life. It's speaking about Genesis 3.15, in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread. This text lines up with that view of the earth and life. So, that's one of the reasons I'm saying it, you know, and this is what God promises to provide for His people. You see, we've got to define this right because we need to really understand what God actually promises to provide to you. He doesn't provide, He doesn't promise in this passage to provide beyond this. Now, He often does. But this is what He promises to provide. And this is where you and I ought to be content. So that's why we're doing this. That's why we're defining this as to what it really means, as to what it meant in the culture when Jesus gave it. And this is what God promises to provide for His people. Now He often gives much more. But this level is that which he promises and which we should keep straight in our thinking. The other reason I'm saying this is to prevent us from misapplying the text. Man, I can barely make ends meet. I'm living from hand to mouth. I can barely make ends meet. But God tells me don't worry. That's not what this text is about. Come on. When we say I can barely make ends meet, what do we mean? I can barely sustain this lifestyle that I've adopted. That's what we mean. You know, I've got three cars, I've got this and I've got that, and I've gotten it as fast as I can get it by borrowing and I'm enjoying all this stuff. I can barely make ends meet. What we mean is I can barely hang on to this lifestyle with all this stuff. We're not talking about this. You've never thought, man, I've got four kids and I'm not sure if I can feed them tomorrow. That isn't what you've meant when you say I can barely make ends meet. You know? You see, so that's why I'm saying this. Not to be mean, but the Word of God And our brothers and sisters in Korea and other places, North Korea and other places, they're under a different type of suffering and persecution, okay? And a temptation. But let me tell you, folks, we're under a different type of temptation in regard to our profession of being followers of Jesus Christ. And it relates to these things, okay? So we've got to get our thinking adjusted. The worry our Lord describes here is not worrying about maintaining a certain lifestyle for us and our children. And we have a fairly decent government, even if we do go broke and run out of food for our children. We have a government that steps in. Okay? We even have that! So, I don't know if I can even relate to this. Again, I'm enough of an exegete, you see, that I can exegete it for you. Okay? I can tell you what this really meant, what Jesus spoke it, and what it meant to the people who originally heard it. Can I relate to it? I don't know. Now, I'm not saying that there aren't some Americans that spend a lot of time worrying about food and clothing. There are. We have a segment in our society of people that are worried about food and clothing and so don't misinterpret me to say that we don't and we ought to be doing what we can in the right way regarding those folks. But Jesus here, this is what he's talking about. All right, now third, now, nor is the Lord being unfaithful to us if we have to change our lifestyle in order to meet our basic necessities. Hmm? Nor, let me say that again, nor is the Lord being unfaithful to us if it so happens that we have to change our lifestyle to meet our basic necessities. That's not an evidence of his unfaithfulness to his children. And neither is the church failing if it does not help people maintain their previously attained lifestyles. Right? No. God doesn't call the church to help people maintain A lifestyle that is so far and above and beyond what he promises. Think about this. And neither is it unloving or ungodly counsel when someone would actually counsel a Christian to downsize their lifestyle to make ends meet. You know, you're going to counsel someone, and they're all stressed out, and they're all worried, and they're all tied up in this stuff. And you're going to counsel them. How are you going to do that? Well, if you're going to counsel them biblically, you're going to have to point out to them. They can be free from all that by making a few changes. They're still going to have plenty to eat. Your kids aren't going to be running across the street barefoot. But there's a way. There really is. And God's going to be faithful to you in all of that. I mean, how are you going to get down here? Folks, what are you going to do with the command to sell what you have so you can give to other people? How are you going to do that command? All I'm doing, and I'm here with you, is I'm calling us just to face and think about the words of the Lord Jesus. These are His words about our lives. And don't accuse me of being a legalist. You have never heard from this pope of how much money you're supposed to give and to who you're supposed to give it. You have never heard a word. I've preached here eight years now. I've never preached on money. And Ananias and Sapphira, they didn't need to sell any of that property, right? They didn't need to sell any of it. And God didn't strike them dead because they didn't sell any of it. He struck them dead because they were liars, okay? But he didn't strike them dead because they only sold half of it or a tenth of it. No, this is for Christ's disciples. And when Christ's disciples hear his word, they get encouraged and they want to do it. They want to follow him. All I need to do is explain to you what he really said and how that relates to our lives. And it is very challenging. And what would you expect? Anything less from the Lord Jesus? You know, he says, take up your cross daily, follow him. Man's life doesn't consist in the abundance of things. He who seeks to save his life or what, lose it. And boy, the freedom that comes. The freedom that comes. All right? The freedom that comes. Can you imagine the freedom that comes? No, some of you probably can't. But then you just need to trust and obey and you'll experience the freedom that comes. So he's talking about the basic necessities and I wanted to point that out. So nor is it unloving, ungodly counsel when someone would counsel a Christian to downsize their life to make their ends meet or to eliminate debt or something, you know, to make it work. That's not ungodly counsel. It's not unloving. And neither is a husband failing if he can't provide a certain lifestyle but keeps food on the table and clothes on the back of his family. All right? Neither is a father failing if he keeps food in the stomach of his sons and clothes on their back. All right? What do I mean? You understand what I mean. Do I need to say more? I don't need to say anymore. All right. So, you see, if we allow the Lord's definitions to creep from the basic necessities to a certain level of lifestyle. It affects our attitudes about many other things. Okay. Don't end life like that rich fool. Now, our Lord was speaking to disciples who could look around themselves and were tempted to worry if they could put a pair of shoes on their children's feet. When he spoke to his disciples, those men could look around them, and they were tempted to anxiety as to whether they could put shoes on the feet of their children, and yet they're going to follow him. He said, I'm going to make these men and these women my followers. That's the type of people he was talking to. Some of the most comforting, some of the most comforting words in all of Scripture are given in these passages. And he speaks these comforting things. Verse 22. Verse 23, life is more than food and the body is more than clothing. This is a metaphysical answer. What do I mean by that? He's reasoning, isn't it? It's metaphysical reasoning. Life is more than food and the body more than clothing. It's beyond physical, metaphysical. Life is more than food. Life is more than the physical dimensions and a worry over the physical dimensions is a waste of one's life. It is a wrong focus. That's what he's saying. And he's saying it about the most basic of necessities. Life is more than, you know, a good haircut. We could understand him saying that. You know, life is more than having attractive clothes. We could understand him saying that. But he's talking about the basic stuff! And he denied Maslow's Pyramid. Any psychology majors in here? Huh? Maslow's hierarchy of human needs, the very top, he just denied it. And in this passage he's going to deny it. Life is more than food and the body more than clothing. All right. A man's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses, and life is more than food and clothing. Don't accept the world's definition of what your life is all about. If you do, you will end up exactly in the position Jesus urges you to avoid. And if you are not on your guard, you'll wake up one day and you'll wonder, how in the world did I ever get here? It all starts before you're 18. Jesus, having given this metaphysical lesson, still knows we are not disembodied spirits. He knows that. And he knows that the physical matters can become very pressing, so in some of the most reassuring and tender words of all the Bible, he gives us illustrations to encourage us to trust in him as our Heavenly Father and be free from the worry about these necessities. Verse 24 addresses the what we shall eat matter. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn. And God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? Look at the birds, he says to his disciples. God feeds them. They also manage to feed their young. Consider them. If God has that kind of benevolent care, over the birds. Surely he will feed you. He will feed his people. That's what he's saying. Think about that. Think about it. He feeds them. Our worry is unjustified. Consider the ravens. That's what he's saying about those necessities. Next, what does he say? He uses a different approach. This one is almost humorous. Verse 24, 25 there. Verse 25, And which of you, by worrying, can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Now, we've got to think about this a little bit. First off, let's deal with the translation. Who can add one cubit to his stature? Or does it mean to add one hour to your lifetime? You can translate the Greek word either way. The Greek word can be used either of stature, your height, or it can be used of length of time. When Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus was what? Short. And he ran ahead and he climbed up in the tree, the scripture says, because he was of a small stature. But when the text says that Sarah Sarah, let me get it exactly right, Sarah was long past her stature of conceiving. That was age. You see, the term can go either way. The term can refer to length of time or it can refer to stature. Now, we might think cubit or adding to your stature is the right translation, right? The reason we might think that is because cubit is a measure of distance and stature is how high you are. You know, you don't add apples to bananas, you add apples to apples, so you add cubits to statures. So we translate it stature. But a cubit is a foot and a half. Paul's figured it out. A cubit is a foot and a half. Now, you know, verse 25 says, verse 26, and if you are not able to do the least, So this adding a cubit to whatever is doing something really small. Now what if I showed up here next Sunday and I was 7 foot 4 inches? I wouldn't have just done the least, right? I would have done something really significant, all right? So probably it's a reference to time. Who can add a single hour to one's life? And it's not a reference to physical height. And that's why a lot of your translations have a single hour or a single day. Because Jesus says adding this cubit to whatever is the least of things, okay? It's a small thing which you can't do. And adding 18 inches to someone who's 5'10 is not a small thing. So he's probably saying which one of you by worrying can add a tiny bit. to the length of your life. No one can do that. So why worry about doing the bigger things? His reasoning is, if you can't do the little thing, why worry about doing the big thing? Now if you're really logical, and I happen to be that kind of a person, man, I don't get it. I should worry about, I can't do these little insignificant things, but these big important things, I ought to worry about those. You see what I'm saying? It almost sounds like fatalism. It kind of sounds like fatalism. You see, you can't If you can't keep yourself from starving to death, so why worry about it? You can't keep yourself from starving to death, you can't do the littlest things, much less keep yourself from starving to death, so why worry about it? It sounds like fatalism, but it's not fatalism. You see, so instead of being anxious for the rest, We should begin trusting God for the rest and not worry. It's not fatalism because there is a God. There is a God who's full of mercy. You can't do the little things, much less the big ones. So why worry about any of them? There's a different way. Trust. Faith. Because God's your creator. And as a disciple of Jesus Christ, God's your Redeemer. You see? No, it's not fatalism. I can't change anything anyways. Why worry about it? I'm going to starve to death anyways. Why worry about it? No. No, no, no. It's not fatalism. God is a faithful Creator and a faithful Redeemer. And that's what Jesus is saying. Verse 27 uses a third illustration. Now he goes over to the clothing. Consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin, and the idea about spinning is making clothes, okay? Spinning to make your garment. Can you see that? A lily's out there spinning to put on a beautiful garment. They neither toil nor spin, and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. And if God then so clothed the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, they burnt it for fuel, thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you? God puts those beautiful clothes on the grass and yet in a very short period of time it's thrown in the oven and it's burnt for fuel and yet God put those beautiful clothes on the grass. How much more will He not clothe you who are His children, who are His special creation? In all of these illustrations, underlying Jesus' reasoning is the fact that God created all nature and mankind with a great distance between them. I just want to say this. Jesus' reasoning about the ravens and the grass and the lilies And the fact that he takes care of you is because you are so much more valuable and you are so different from all that other created stuff. Right? Okay. That's what he's saying. And that's very important, right? The reason we mistreat human life in this century more than any other is because humanism has shut that gap. That big gap between every other created living thing and a human being is why these illustrations work. Okay? We're created in the image of God. Those ravens aren't. Okay? That's why these illustrations work. And they do work. And we are His special creation. All right, verse 28 ends with a gentle reproof. O you of little faith! If then God clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more, how much more will He clothe you? O you of little faith! It's a gentle reproof. He's been reasoning with us. Life is more than food. The body is more than clothing. God feeds the ravens. They don't sow, reap, or store in barns. You have much more value than God. You have much more value to God than the ravens. Why then do you worry that you will be fed? The grass and the lilies are magnificently clothed by God. Even though they live a very short life compared to you, why then do you worry if you will be clothed?" Our worry gives testimony to our unbelief. Oh, you of little faith. At this point, in Jesus' speaking, he goes deeper, doesn't he? After these three illustrations, worrying just seems to be out of the question. Worrying seems to be ridiculous. What can explain the timidity and the fear of my little flock, my disciples, you see? What can explain it? So Jesus puts, you know, after those illustrations and they're reasonable and they're true, it's like worry is ridiculous. How can I explain the fear and the timidity of my little flock? Oh, you of little faith. You see? And he almost interrupts his discourse. Worry is ridiculous. And then he looks over at them. You know, and they're worrying, you know, and they're on shaky legs, right? And he, what can explain this? And he says it graciously. Oh, you of little faith. Okay? And he calls his disciples. to realize He is worthy of more trust than that. God is worthy of more trust. Jesus is worthy of more confidence, folks. Think of it that way. Your Lord and Savior is worthy of more trust than what we demonstrate when we're full of anxiety and fear over these things. Oh, you of little faith. It's an encouragement to see the unreasonableness of our fear and to learn to trust. It is comforting he didn't say, oh, you unbelievers. No, he didn't say, oh, you of little faith. Oh, that's good. That's good. No, in this paragraph he is speaking to those who have gotten up on their shaky legs and begun by faith to follow him. But their faith is little and the slowness to which they cast away worry leads to Jesus' description of these men and women as of little faith. Jesus used this description of the twelve when they were in the boat and the storm and he used it in other places. As Jesus observed these disciples and us, I'm sure it was clear that they were not taking to heart the comfort that they should have derived from God's promises and powers. They're not taking this to heart. They're not believing this. They're not thinking about this. Consider the ravens. Consider the lilies. Turn the TV off. Push the paper aside. Step outside and look at the birds and think about this. That's what he's saying to do. Think about this world as God has made it and what is going on. Consider these things. They weren't taking it to heart. They weren't believing it. Faith doesn't come like taking a pill or getting an injection or getting emotionally pumped up on Sunday morning. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. And Jesus is saying, consider, think of these things. Think on my promises. If you don't think on the promises of God, you won't have anything. If you don't live off the promises of God, man shall not live by bread alone, right? But by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And you don't live by faith without eating the Lord's bread, which is His Word. Right? And so we need to take that comfort, and it comes by believing in Him and thinking about what He has said. Now, I'll just say this. We of little faith need to take time to hear what the Lord has said, to think about it, and to resolve to believe it. Then put away worry. We need to resolve to believe it. Say no to worry. Worry becomes a habit. Anxiety becomes a sinful habit. Do you understand? Worry becomes a habit. In an unbelieving world, that's all they ever do is worry because they've denied God, they have no savior. And when you live in that mindset, anxiety and worry becomes a habit of unbelief. And in order to get out of it, you have to resolve to trust God. and not worry. You have to resolve to believe in His promises. That's what you have to do. He's saying, I will trust in His promise. This is what He has said. And I will stop worrying. That's how you do it. I will believe what He has said. He is worthy. And I'll get on with it. And I'll stop this worry and anxiety by faith. David said it. Psalm 56, three through four, and we sing it. Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you. Understand that? You can't just say, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't be anxious. No, it doesn't work that way. Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you. Use anxiety and worry to be a call to faith. Do you understand? When you feel that anxiety coming in, that temptation to give in, that is a call to you to faith. Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you. Renew your mind, do it that way. Whenever I'm afraid, I will trust in you. Listen to this. In God, I will praise his word. I'm reading the next words out of David's mouth. Whenever I'm afraid, I will trust in you. In God, I will praise his word. In God, I have put my trust. I will not fear what can flesh do to me. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that you are gracious. We thank you that you made that expression, O you of little faith. We thank you that you knew your disciples needed the lessons that you've given. And we thank You that You've given those lessons to us in Your Word, and You know what we need, Lord. And for this we're grateful. Lord Jesus, we thank You that You lived a life of faith as a man, that You've been tempted in every way as we have, that You know of which You speak, You know about what You speak, Lord Jesus, we will pray as your disciples did. Increase our faith. Lord, forgive us. You're worthy of far more trust than we display. Lord, we're offended when people don't trust in us. We get huffy. We take it personally. Oh, Father, forgive us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.