Anxious For Nothing

Introduction

Good morning. Girl, please open in your Old Testament with me to 1 Samuel chapter 8. 1 Samuel chapter 8. Many people were wondering if I would respond to Ken calling out Alabama’s quote unquote success on the football field or slamming Florida. But I felt no need because it’s baseball season, it’s just been basketball season, and Alabama doesn’t participate in either of those. And frankly, they didn’t participate in the national championship game either for football. So we’ll see. In 1 Samuel chapter 8. When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. Now this sounds good, Samuel, a man of faith, a judge of God’s people, faithful, good leader. But then verse 3, yet his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after gain.

They took bribes and perverted justice. And so there’s a big crucial problem in Israel. The leadership is failing. Because they’re not trusting in God to take care of them. They’re not trusting God’s plan. They’re not trusting in God’s law, and they’re certainly not following in God’s commandments. And so in verse 4, they have an idea. They have what they view as a brilliant idea. And notice who it is, even in verse 4, who comes up with it. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel and said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations. First of all, no good conversation starts with, you are old.

But more importantly, your sons don’t walk in your ways. We need, we want a king. Now, the problem with Israel wanting a king is not that there’s no such thing as kings. It’s not some sort of crazy idea. In fact, they wanted a king, not because God suggested it, but because who was doing it? Everybody else. Another good way to start a conversation. Everybody else is doing it. Let’s have a king. We want a king to lead us. We want a king to lead us into battle, to take care of our tough decisions. We want a king. And it sounds like it might be reasonable. Maybe a king is a little bit more controlling than a judge would be until you remember what the problem is.

And of course, the problem was not having a king. The problem was that Israel already had a divine leader. They already had someone to set the laws to judge them and to give them the standard upon which those judgments should be handed down. And so, not surprisingly, speaking of God in verse 6, this thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And so Samuel prayed to the Lord. And in verse 7, the Lord said to Samuel, obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.

Now then, obey their voice only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them. We’re not going to read the rest of this passage, but picking up right there, they were rejecting God. And by the way, God points out to Samuel, they’re not just rejecting me on a whim. They’re rejecting the entire history in which I God have done what for Israel? Everything. I have taken care of all of their needs. By the way, there is no Israel without me, going back to my promise to Abraham, that of him would be a great nation. That was Israel. They have had and taken advantage of a promised land because I gave it to them. I gave them those victories.

I gave them those monumental moments in their history. I fed them when they were in need. I gave them water when they need a drink. I have won them battles and wars. I have done everything for them. And so, Samuel, they’re not rejecting you. They’re rejecting me. Despite all I’ve shown them. Despite all I’ve done, they say, we need a man. We need a king to take our place and to lead us the way we want to be led. But if you notice that last verse we read, obey the voice of the people, but do what first? Solemnly warn them. If you notice in the next several verses in 10 through 16 in particular, he goes on to explain having a king is not so peachy.

He’s telling the people when you have a king, if you get what you think you want, Israel, how is it going to go for you? Not too well. The king’s going to take the best of what you produce. He’s going to take the best of your offspring. A king is going to take, take, take. And you’re not going to like it. You’re going to regret it. But because Israel was so divine in their wisdom and understanding of life, what did they say? No, we want a king. Verse 19. The people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, No, but there shall be a king over us that we may also be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go before us and fight our battles.

And God, allowing free will as he always has, says, give them a king. We look at Israel and we say, hey, that’s pretty foolish. After all God has done for them, after all he’s shown them, you can’t trust in him. You can’t rely on God. Look at all that he’s done. But then I remember Jesus’ words in the New Testament, and I recognize that I have a major problem. I struggle with worry. If you look with me in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 25. Matthew chapter 6 and verse 25. Jesus tells about a problem, a struggle that I think all of us can relate to. And if we’re honest, all of us are having this struggle. Maybe not today, but maybe tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, maybe next week.

I’m going to ask for some help from the booth. If you could turn on the PowerPoint slide behind me, that would be helpful. In Matthew chapter 6 and verse 25, Jesus says, Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body or 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 so into the oven, will he not much more clothe you? Oh you of little faith. As we think about the Israelites and their lack of reliance on God, I’m pointed to the end of verse 30. Where Jesus is addressing a problem as stated in verse 25. Do not be anxious about your life. And what’s the problem, verse 30? They were of what kind of faith? Little faith. You see, it’s not just to say, well, God wants us to rely on him in times of trouble. It’s that if we don’t rely on him, this worry, this anxiety that Jesus is saying is not to be had shows that we’re just like the Israelites.

We’re ignoring all that God’s done for us. All that he’s promised he will do for us. And we’re trying to find our own solution to the problem. Otherwise, why worry at all? In fact, it’s been said that 40% of the things that people feel anxiety over are things that will never happen. 30% of things that people are anxious about are about the past, things that cannot be changed or altered. 12%, with regards to common anxieties criticism from others, which we can either control nor maybe accurate. 10% is about our health. And unfortunately, health gets worse when we stress worry and allow anxiety to plague us. And about 8% of the average person’s anxiety is on real problems that can be addressed and fixed in the future.

That means 92% of those things either make our health worse or serve no positive purpose. There’s a reason that we are told by Paul in Philippians chapter 4 at the inspiration of God. There’s a reason Jesus says in Matthew chapter 6 to not be anxious. Or as Paul would record for us, be anxious in or for nothing. I appreciated the help from the booth. I also got help on this, if you can imagine, from my wife Kashka. If you didn’t think that she helped me, I just say, look at the smiley face behind me. You can imagine Koshka looked at this background. When we think about Christians, though, we often think about the good news, and we talk about how you need to take advantage of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and we should.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, that’s the centerpiece of the gospel. We think about being a Christian means subserving ourselves and our will to God’s commandment, like the Israelites should have done. And we should do that. And we must if we’re going to be pleasing to God. But do we ever stop to think that God’s people should be peaceful? God’s people should be in the proper context of the word, happy. We’re so afraid to talk about happiness because we think it dilutes the gospel message. If Jesus died for your sins, you have been forgiven. You can be with God forever. That should bring a smile to our faces. We shouldn’t be plagued with worry. Why? Because with God’s help, we can surpass any and all obstacles.

God’s shown us what he does with his people. With Israel, what did he do? Made them a nation, took them out of the control of another nation, gave them a land and blessed them as long as they were faithful. That’s good news. In our lives, no matter what happens, even though the book of Ecclesiastes says both in chapter 1 and in chapter 3, life is a cycle. And there’s ups and there’s downs, there’s struggles and there’s moments of triumph. That God is there no matter what. That should allow us to have peace. Too often we think of Christianity as some sort of burden that we should just willingly bear. When in fact, Christianity being anxious for nothing means that we have a God who helps us bear those struggles as long as we willingly submit to him the way the Israelites should have, all the way back in 1 Samuel chapter 8.

And so the question is, why is this so difficult? Why does Jesus say don’t be anxious? Well, he give some good reasons. One of them in verse 25 is we have a priority problem. Look in verse 25 again when he says, do not be anxious, or some translations, worry about your life. Notice what he talks about. Nor what you will eat, what you will drink, or what you will wear. Don’t worry about your life. Don’t worry about what you will eat, drink, or wear. Now, if I stop for a moment and ask for a show of hands, who worries about things, everybody’s hands should go up, or we’re going to have to switch the sermon topic to honesty. But if we think about these three things, we’d say, now, wait a minute.

These are pretty important things. If there is something in life to worry about, it’s your life. It’s what you eat, it’s what you drink, it’s what you wear. These are necessities. But notice in saying do not be anxious about your life, Jesus says, including what? Those fundamental necessities. And that sounds strong. How is that possible? God knows Jesus better than all because he lived as a man. He knows we have needs. He knows that we have weaknesses, struggles, desires. He understands. And it has Jesus in our form who says, don’t be anxious or worried about these things. And so we see that worry exposes a priority problem. We’re going to punctuate this a little bit later in the lesson, but worry, according to verse 30, Jesus says, is a faith problem.

Because as we’ll continue reading, we’re going to see Jesus says, not only should we not worry, but there’s a reason you shouldn’t worry. Not just that it’s bad for your bodies, which it is, but there are fundamental understandings which should prevent worry and lead to greater service to God. One of those examples is that God has promised to provide. God has promised to provide. In verse 26, look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. And notice the question Jesus asks, rhetorical, of course, are you not of much more value than they? If we’re keeping track, if we’re wondering, does God notice, does God care? As I am struggling, as I am feeling like I am alone, I am burdened, I can’t make it any longer.

We sometimes have to stop and say, either God doesn’t care for me, or I have to find help somewhere else, because God’s clearly not stepping in and doing anything about it. But Jesus says, hold on. In verse 27, do you see how God takes care of the birds of the air? Are you not of more value than they? Yes, who put that value there? God did. In Genesis chapter 1, he made us man in his image. So if he takes care of the birds, certainly he can take care of us. Notice verse 28. Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow. Yet they neither toil nor spin. And I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

If we think we don’t have much more value than birds, what about grass or lilies of the field? If God takes care of them, 28, 29, and 30, will he not see to our needs being fulfilled and taken care of? We have to see as the text continues in verse 31 and 32. Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? 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. Did you see that in verse 32, though? Your heavenly Father knows you need these things. Jesus says, Don’t worry.

Why? Verse 32, God knows you have that problem. He sees it. And in verse 33, if you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, what will he take care of? Those very things we need. Now, that word need is of critical importance here. Because keep in mind in Matthew 6, Jesus is talking about true needs that we shouldn’t be worried or anxious over. Now we step back and we go back to when I put my hand up. It’s that I’m worried about something. It’s probably not, although it could be food, clothing, or water. And so if I’m worried about something, does that mean if I’m faithful, God’s going to give it to me? I’m worried about needing a million-dollar house. And so I’m worried about it.

I’m going to be a good Christian for a week, and poof, there’s my mansion. No, what we need. God will provide all of our needs, not all of our greeds. He has promised to provide. So the question that’s left is do I trust him? Do I trust that God means what he says or not? And here’s the other reason that Jesus gives, and this is perhaps my favorite, in verse 27. By the way, which of you, by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Modern day translation, it doesn’t do any good. I’ve asked this before. Has anyone ever had a family meeting thinking about their life and said, you know what was really good? You know what really helped us in the time of crisis and turmoil was when we got really worried and anxious about it.

When all of us were in one room and we were anxious and frustrated and upset, that led to the best moments our family has ever had. Not at all. Being anxious not only can deteriorate the body from within. It doesn’t do any good anyway. Even if we feel alone, deserted by God’s people, even if we feel as if God’s not actually helping me, my anxiety and worry that’s being spoken of by Jesus here in Matthew 6 still does no good. And so as I’m preaching this lesson to myself, as someone who would have my hand up, but the question, do you struggle with worry and anxiety? I have to ask myself, why do I do it? And there’s only really one answer from what Jesus says.

My priorities are wrong. And or I’m not putting God first. You see, on the one hand, it could be I’m worried about things that don’t matter, things that don’t have eternal consequence, and in that sense, my priorities are wrong because God should be first in always. But maybe I’m worried about something of substance. Maybe it’s one of those 8% of real problems that actually take some thinking through, and then who should be helping me with that? Once again, God. When Jesus says do not be anxious, he doesn’t say do not think about problems. He doesn’t say don’t be moved by grief. Jesus is found in Matthew chapter 26, before the crucifixion, fixated on what? The crucifixion. The pain. In fact, he is so moved, and he’s praying not once, not twice, but three times, and he’s also what?

1. Recognize That We Have a Faith Problem

He’s crying. Being anxious doesn’t mean thinking about something that’s going to happen. Being anxious doesn’t mean being sad about something that has happened or will happen. The type of anxiety and worry that Jesus is saying is wrong is that which displaces our trust in God, much like the Israelites demonstrated in 1 Samuel chapter 8. Do we see the difference in being sad and reacting and trusting God to help us overcome versus being sad and trying to find our own solution and stubbornly being upset that life isn’t going the way we think it is. There’s a difference. As we think then about what Jesus says, we’re come to three points, and the lesson will be yours this morning. How to be anxious for nothing. Well, one of them is to see the passage where it says that, but to recognize that we have a faith problem if we struggle with worry.

Now, does that mean that if I struggle with worry, I don’t have faith that I’m not faithful? No. It means that I, like everybody else, have a struggle, a temptation, and you know who’s working that needle? Satan is. Because if I can let him in and he can make me worry, then what’s going to happen? My trust and reliance on God lessens. My trust and reliance on God’s people breaks. And then I find myself by my own choices and my own designs alone. And when I’m alone, I am far more vulnerable than I’m with God’s people, or when I’m with God in his corner, allowing him to propel me to the same height that he propelled Israel to in the Old Testament. Look at me in Philippians chapter 4.

Let’s note the phrasing of Paul. This is, of course, after the crucifixion of Jesus, after his resurrection in Philippians chapter 4. And in verse 4, notice instead of anxiety, which we know is coming in verse 6, there is a different attitude we should have. It’s that sunny disposition. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything. But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And notice verse 7, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4 does not just say in verse 6, be anxious for nothing.

Although it’s there. He says in verse 4, rejoice, how often? Always. Rejoice where? In the Lord. Verse 7, why? How? The peace of who? God, which surpasses understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Where does the disposition come from? Where does the defeat of worry come from? It will never be just from me. I can’t do it on my own. I need who? I need God. And that’s the problem with anxiety and worry. It treats God as if he can’t or won’t help. And when we get to a point where we think God can’t or won’t help, we’re isolated again. But Paul says, no, there is the peace of God that surpasses understanding, which can be yours, and it will guard your hearts.

It will guard your minds in Christ Jesus. Pick up the reading in verse 10. I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I’m speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am in to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing both plenty and hunger, abundance and need. Verse 13, of course, I can do all things through Him, Christ, who strengthens me. I have to recognize that as I worry, then it’s because I’m putting the pressure on myself to take care of my problems.

And just like the Israelites, we have to know that will never work. Does that mean take no personal responsibility? Of course not. Does that mean I don’t have to try? Does that mean I don’t do anything? I wait for God to puppeteer me to do the right things and to get over my problems? Of course not. Does that mean that if I am a faithful Christian, that God will make all of my dreams worldly and fleshly come true? No. But going back to Matthew chapter 6 and verse 32, my heavenly Father knows my needs. And in verse 33, if I seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, then all these things shall be added to you. We can overcome worry. And by the way, what we’re worrying about, because God can overcome anything.

2. Draw on God’s Plan for Strength

I don’t have that ability to just overcome anything. But when I am with God, when God is on my side, when I’m allowing God to pilot me, we can be successful. And so I have to draw on God’s plan for strength. And this is uncomfortable. And this is difficult. In 1 Peter chapter 5, this is the easy part. In 1 Peter chapter 5, note what God says about our anxieties. And by the way, to the point of do we ever have anxieties? Do we ever have struggles? Yes. So when Jesus says, do not be anxious, of course, there is a specified meaning there. But what do we do with the worries? What do we do with those concerns when we have them? Well, God has two plans.

One of those is in 1 Peter chapter 5, beginning in verse 6. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so at the proper time he may exalt you. Verse 7, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. I mentioned before that as Christians, we should be excited, happy, peaceful people in the true biblical meaning and understanding. Do you see the end of verse 7 how amazing that is? God cares for you. Matthew chapter 6 and verse 32, your Heavenly Father knows your needs. Can we say that over and over? God knows your need, He cares for you. Always remember, God knows your needs and He cares for you. And so in verse 7, what do I do? Cast my anxieties on Him.

But what about when I do that? And nothing changes. Certainly nothing gets better. Maybe things get worse. Where’s that great plan then?

In Matthew chapter 6 and verse 25, Jesus is teaching us not to be anxious on the basis of a faith and priority problem. And if God’s not answering my prayer in the way I have designed, it very well may be that my plan doesn’t align with God’s plan. And going back to 1 Samuel chapter 8, who was Israel’s true king? God. If I am a Christian, who is my king? Jesus the Christ. Whose plan must I follow when my way goes left and God’s way goes right? God’s plan. Can we acknowledge that’s hard, though? It’s very easy to say, hey, take God’s way. It’s the narrow way, it leads to life. That’s better than the broader path that leads to destruction. Take that path. But when I for years have had a plan or a vision for my life, or in a moment that plan evaporates and falls on top of me.

How can I really think that it’ll be that easy to follow God’s plan then? There’s only one or two ways. One of them is to say, God’s will be done. And again, Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane three times before his crucifixion. What was his prayer? If it be possible, don’t make me do this. But nevertheless, your will be done. That’s the attitude we have to have. But then there’s something else. What about the here and now? How do I draw on God’s strength here and now? I know I cast my anxieties on him. That involves a life of prayer, not just one or two times in the closet, but a lifestyle that says, God will help me insofar as his will aligns with what is right.

But look with me in James chapter 5, and perhaps a little bit of a review from previous lessons. In James chapter 5, God does have a plan for how we are to act. God has a plan for how we draw strength. When we are struggling, when we have even a sinful problem in James chapter 5, what do we do in verse 16? Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Part of God’s plan for overcoming worry and overcoming what we’re worrying about is that we trust other people. Not random people, but God’s people. When you see in James chapter 5 and verse 16, confess your sins to one another.

You’re talking about Christians. People who will pray. Why? How do we know that? At the end of verse 16, the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous person availeth much. Older translations render it. Am I willing to reach out to other people for strength, though? It’s funny. We all know we have worry, but almost none of us, at least speaking for self, like to be the first person to go and say, hey, here’s my struggle. Will you help me? And then we lament that nobody helps me with my struggle. It would be funny if it wasn’t tragic. God has given us brothers and sisters for a reason. We are to work together. We are to trust one another. And to be a family means we talk about these struggles.

3. Don’t Look Back

We work together not to blame, not to cast dispersions, but because we want to please God, who is our rightful first priority. We cast our anxieties on God because He cares for us. We pray with one another because we need the strength of God’s plan. God said, Here’s your plan for worry. The choice we have now is do we take it? And so finally, and I ask that you hang in there with me, is don’t look back. Look in Philippians chapter 3. In Philippians chapter 3, one of those categories that it said that we worry about are things that happened in the past. And this is one of the greatest blessings of God. You we do not have to be controlled or held back by what happened in the past.

Philippians chapter 3. Notice in verse 12, even beginning. Not that I have already obtained this or I’m already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Verse 13, brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do. Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.

Don’t look back. Look forward. Does that mean there’s nothing to gain from the past? Of course not. Paul would undoubtedly be able to draw on his Jewish experience to work with Jewish converts. That is, of course, not what he’s saying. What he’s saying is his goals, his everything that is Christ, that is God, that is the prize that God offers through the Christ is ahead. And so where does he work? Ahead. In fact, though he doesn’t just do that, if you notice at the end of verse 13, it’s not just forgetting what lies behind, straining forward, actively, strenuously pushing on. Don’t let worry paralyze you. God will overcome it with you. Your brothers and sisters who are around you this morning will help you through it.

Don’t look back. Duke University came out with eight examples of how we can be more happy and fulfilled in our life and not as caught up in struggles and worry. Perhaps you’ll think as I do and did, going through this list, that as usual, God puts it right first. First example to overcome anxiety and self-doubt. We need to have an absence of suspicion and resentment in others. Put it another way, we need to remove suspicion and resentment of others. Heard that before. In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul says, put all bitterness and clamor and malice away from you. Second point. Don’t live in the past. Paul just said that in Philippians chapter 3. We can’t be fighting things that we can’t change. Jesus said that in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 27.

Remember? Which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his span of life? Verse 4. We have to stay involved with the world. We can’t pull back and remove ourselves from help. Elijah, when he was depressed at Mount Carmel after that great victory, finds himself alone, and he’s saying, God, I alone am left to serve you. And God says, You’re not alone. First of all, God was there with him. And secondly, who else was there? I have 7,000 that haven’t bowed the knee to Baal. We’re not alone. Verse number five, no self-pity when life gives you a raw deal. The truth of the matter is, life has given plenty of God’s best people a raw deal, including Jesus himself. We remembered this morning that he gave up his body and blood for us.

But think about the injustice he faced even before that. He was called the prince of demons. Through the crucifixion, he was mocked, beaten, spat upon. That didn’t have to happen. But his death did. What happened to his closest followers? They were persecuted. Justly? Of course not. For their righteousness. Life gives us raw deals. It happens. Don’t let the devil use somebody else’s raw deal to pull you away from him. Number six, cultivate values like love and compassion. One look at 1 Corinthians chapter 13 teaches God knows something about that. Number seven, don’t expect too much of yourself. In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus gives us the parable of the talents. There was a five-talent man, a two-talent man, and a one-talent man. If you think that you can’t do that much, I challenge you to think with God you can do everything and anything.

But even if you want to say I can’t, I refer you to the two talent man. How many talents did he produce? Five? Not even four or three. He produced two more talents, and Jesus gave him the same commendation he gave the man of five who produced five more. And number eight, you have to believe in something bigger than yourself. And I find myself wondering did someone read the New Testament and write this list.

Conclusion

But to say that doesn’t mean just sitting down on our knees and praying is all that there is to be done. It means that we say, What does God want? He wants me praying to him, taking advantage of the fact that he cares for me. He wants me also to reach out to others to say, hey, you can help me. Because I’m struggling and you’re struggling, and we both want to please God. Don’t let the devil separate you from who you’re meant to be with to propel you forward. Don’t look back. Press on towards the goal of the prize that’s found only in Christ Jesus. And you’re not alone on your way there. God will grant you a peace of mind that surpasses understanding and will guard both your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Be anxious for nothing. How? Because God makes it possible. Get over our worries. Why? Because it distracts us from what’s really important. And what’s really important and what should bring us true joy and peace is the fact that our sins can be forgiven. Whatever raw deal life has given you, whatever distorted picture of life that you had that has been changed by your experiences, don’t let it shake you from the fact that God says, live for me, not for this world. You might have the raw steel naturally, you might be a modern day Job, but no, God still cares for you. And that there is an eternity in heaven where there is no pain, no sorrow, nothing bad, because God is there. If you never become a Christian, though you don’t, you haven’t taken advantage of that great promise of God.

But if you hear the good news of the gospel, you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, you’re willing to confess Him as Lord and all that that means. Repent of our own sinful disposition that says, I can figure it out on my own, like the people of Israel in 1 Samuel 8. And we are baptized, we can have our sins forgiven, taking advantage of that sacrifice of Jesus. Or maybe you’re a Christian here and you’ve done those things. You’ve become a child of God, but like the Israelites, you lost your way. You began to doubt. We try to do it on our own. Know that we will pray with you, we will pray for you. If you can be a better servant of God this morning by coming forward, do so.

If you can become a better child of God by devoting yourself to prayer this day, do so. Life is but a vapor. Please God and redeem the time. If we can help you in any way, come forward as we stand and sing the invitation song.