Gateway Church Sermons
Ashley Road Site | 11th August 2024 | Nathaniel Hobby | The Birds Of The Air
And they send their love, so it was really nice to be up there this morning, speaking across both of our sites. And so, yeah, they send some regards to you. It was lovely to be there. So you'll have to excuse me for running in here all sweaty and kind of coming straight up. But if I've not met you yet, my name's Nathaniel. I'm one of the elders here at Gateway Church, and it's an absolute pleasure to be speaking to you this morning. We are in the next of our series on God of all creation. And today, we are considering the birds. So last month, I was texting with an old friend, and as can sometimes happen, I don't know if you've ever had the, it happened to you, you kind of wake up in the morning with a sense of just, I feel like God has asked me to pray for this person, okay? Like, I've just, I've had that sense that like, I'm going to reach out and so I text this old friend and then just say, hey, like, I don't know if this means anything to you, I just have really got you on my heart at the moment that God wants me to pray for you. How can I, how can I be praying for you? And as God often does, when, when you're prompted to do these things, my friend came back and said, actually, I could, I would love some prayer. It's exactly what I need at the moment and gave me a big, long list of things to pray for. And then very sweetly said, well, how can I be praying for you? And so I said, oh, thanks so much. And at the time, we've just done a fairly long stint of work. We had a summer holiday coming up, but I was feeling a little bit overtired and overworked and overwrought and generally was just kind of felt like I was limping into our holiday. And so I said, actually, there's a passage of scripture that I've been looking at recently and I'm really struggling with it. And my exact words to him were, I'm finding these to be the hardest verses in the Bible at the moment. Please pray I learned to rely on God. The following week, the preaching rotor comes out. Guess which verses I got? Oh, yeah, exactly. God's definitely got a sense of humor because it's these very verses that I'm going to be speaking to you about this morning. So actually, I think that there's some fairly serious stuff in here that we're going to be dealing with today. But please know, actually, I've wrestled with them as much as you have, especially as I've been preparing. And so I'm very much speaking to us this morning, myself included. So we are going to consider the birds and what God of all creation might say to us as well. Through it, if you've got one of these Bibles here, then you are on page 971, but it's Matthew 6 starting in verse 25, you know you're in trouble when the title in the Bible starts with the words, "Do not worry," okay? So that gives you a bit of a clue as to where we're going today. Do not worry. Let me read it for you, but it's on the screen as well behind us. "Therefore, I tell you," verse 25, "do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is life not more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your father in heaven feeds them. Are you, Gateway Church, are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Now like I said, I think these verses are up there with some of the hardest in Scripture. Don't worry, so simple, but so profound at the same time. And so you must know that actually I as much of anybody has struggled to put down worry when it comes my way. And I actually don't think that there's a single person here today that can't say that it's something that they experience from time to time, at least put my mind at rest, right? It's not just me, okay? Yeah, worry comes to us all, right? It's pretty much universal to the human experience, it's our ability to worry, especially over the big things in life, but worry unnecessarily sometimes as well. And so to the title of this morning's message, consider the birds, we're going to look at how the birds as a part of God's creation can help to point us towards God. And for those of you who like a little bit of a road map, the note takers amongst us, for where we're going, I've got three points, point number one, birds point to the God of all creation, point number two, consider the birds not just to survive but to thrive and point number three, and surprisingly, do not worry. So that's where we are. But first, who is ready for some amazing bird facts? I said, who's ready for some amazing bird facts? Oh yeah, come on, you might, if you know me well enough, know that I'm not the world's leading expert on birds, so I have fact checked all of these facts, okay? So they come from reputable sources. Firstly, there are over 10,000 species of bird around the world, 10,000 is quite a lot, right? Yeah, well, I thought it was quite a lot anyway. Some species of bird weigh less than a penny. The hummingbird, for instance, weighs less than a penny. Imagine that. There you go, you can feel it if you want, no, less than a penny and the hummingbird can also, it's the only bird that can fly backwards, which is quite cool as well. The fastest falcon can give a race car a run for its money, so think about the precision that's involved in creating a race car, think about the aerodynamics, how teams of scientists and expert work to shave off millisecond of time by making race cars perfectly aerodynamic so that they can go as fast as they can. Well, a peregrine falcon, when it spots its prey in the sky, can dive for its prey at speeds of up to 200 miles an hour, 200 miles an hour to get its prey, and you've got teams of scientists working trying to get cars to go, those sorts of speeds as well. Speaking of incredible, I think the migration patterns of birds are incredible. Like I said, I've fact checked all my sources. This is from the British Trust of Ornithology here, their map, not mine, but this is the migration pattern of swallows in the UK when autumn hits. I mean, you would if you could, right? That's the thing. The weather starts to turn, they're off, and this is their kind of migration pattern down, and then they come back when it warms up in the summer again. And it's just this incredible picture of the intelligence of birds to be able to migrate and to find their way and to rest themselves in the right place so that they can thrive. There's also academic research that shows that birds can bring back certain coins or rocks like the coin there in exchange for a treat, and there's research showing that some birds use tools or even use bait to catch their prey, to catch their food. They're incredibly intelligent creatures, these birds. And they're so intelligent, in fact, that they cause trouble of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in 2020, when five parrots learned how to swear, and so I had to get taken from away from the public because they were causing too much offence, so clever, clever birds. And for me, as we look at a series on the God of all creation, creation is one of the greatest arguments in favour of a creator. I just cannot look at the world around me and put it up to cosmic chance. For me, it takes more faith to look at the beauty and the intelligence of these birds, or the magnificent landscapes, or mountains, or rivers, or seas, or fields, or beaches that we're all going to be heading off to after this, or chimerage, Brancy Island, whatever it might be, I can't look at those things and put it up to chance or a happy accident. For me, when I consider the birds or the trees or the intricacy of the universe, these things clearly point to God as a creator. I can't look at those migration patterns or hear about the incredible intelligence of birds and say that they've just evolved that way, that's just how it sort of happened without a thought, without care, without attention. For me, it points to an inspired creator who holds his creation in perfect balance, who designed these birds to be intelligent enough to survive and migrate and fly backwards if they need to. I'm yet to find a theological explanation for the birds swearing, but rich is back next week, so we'll ask him. So I appreciate you might be here this morning and coming from a very different viewpoint and you might be skeptical of the claims of Christianity, and for you, my faith position on creation differs from your own views, but I don't want, please don't let that put you off. I really do believe that God wants to speak to us all this morning, so please don't leave me here. I would love to talk to you more about those things at the end and Christianity's claims if you've got any questions. And so, as the subject of this morning's message is to consider the birds, the first thing I want us to consider is what the birds point to. Next to when you're at home looking out your window, or you see a driving pass in the car and you see a bird flying or resting or diving or searching for food, I encourage you to allow yourself to think about its creator who made this bird, this intelligent species to interact with the rest of creation as a part of an ecosystem, this bird that's being held and cared for by a creator, who's placed this bird in a creation that sustains it and gives it the food that it's searching for. Genesis 1 gives us the story of creation, and on the fifth day we get introduced to birds for the very first time. Let me read Genesis 1, verse 24, "And God said, 'Let the water team with living creatures and let the birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky. God created and commanded these birds to fly and to flourish. And God, their creator, the one who created them, now holds and sustains them in his hand. The God of creation made these birds and knows them and cares for them, and so to see them to look at a bird in all its intricacy is to see their creator, to see what their beauty and their intricacy points towards. But not just that, these birds are a reminder to us that if God cares for them, how much more does he care for us, those of us that he has made in his image? That's what our passage is telling us. It points to a God that cares for you too, that's the first bit of good news from this morning's passage. God cares for the birds, but how much more then does he care for you and for me? So if God cares for you, that means that as we consider the birds, we've also got to consider that they weren't just made to survive but to thrive, not just made to survive but to thrive. Few years ago we decided we wanted to take our kids on their first little holiday abroad, and so we were looking for the right place to take them and we thought New Yorker would be the perfect place. A couple of hours away, you don't have to go too far, seem safe enough. We found a Geordie couple who rented us there, Airbnb, up in the North, up in Alcudia, and it was this perfect place, nestled in this little town, it was nice and quiet, and it was a really nice family holiday, and my favourite memory from that holiday was this Airbnb had a little roof terrace, and we used to sit every night on the roof terrace and watch these starlings swirl and dance and dive and display this beauty across the sky. It was the most amazing thing to behold, these massive flocks, actually another bird fact for you. I found out that a flock, a group of starlings are called a flight, so you're welcome. But these flights of starlings, kind of swooping and swirling and displaying this beauty as they were going. Just, it's the memory that has stayed with me. Part of the reason that the memories stayed with me and the beauty stayed with me is because our kids, the time I think they were like two and four, and they like to pretend that they were part of this flight, and so they were kind of screeching and swirling themselves around on this roof terrace. So what might have been beautiful for Emma and I, I think it was probably a nightmare for the neighbours, listening to our kids have to screech every night for ten days. But, I thought it was absolutely beautiful, and as I was preparing this message, I felt God lead me to this memory and the fact that these birds weren't just surviving, they weren't just scrambling round for morsels of food, they were thriving. They were dancing and displaying beauty in the air. They were flourishing in their environment, and for these birds, it wasn't just a case of getting by, but having the energy to dance through the air, to glide, and as the sunset, there was this sense of beauty in creation. It wasn't just surviving, it was thriving. If God cares for them and cares for us all the more, then we should too be expecting that the God of all creation doesn't just have survival in mind for us either, but he's got a great plan and a richness for us as well, not just to survive but to thrive. Now for anybody who might be here, and it's slightly worried that I'm straying close to prosperity gospel territory, let me put your mind at rest because the birds of the air can also struggle, and so do we. And we do see that time and again where actually it doesn't seem particularly like life is lending itself towards flourishing, I've certainly had seasons of that in my own life where God has allowed a measure of suffering in my life that might actually make it fairly hard for me to dance with joy at the moment, frankly, actually it does feel a little bit more like surviving and a little bit less like thriving. And sometimes surviving is enough, and we can still be thankful to God, our creator and sustainer in times where it feels like we're just holding on. And certainly those times in my life have been some of the times where I've actually felt closest to God and most reliant on God. However, I believe a proper exposition of this passage isn't just to tell us not to worry and survive but to take joy in God in season and out. God has made us to experience joy, to look at the birds in the air as they swirl and dance and to get pleasure from it. And I think understanding not to worry is understanding that in good times and in bad experiencing joy and experiencing pain in season and out of season, we can still look to God as the author and perfecter of our faith. And we can still look to the God of all creation and know that he's about a greater work than that which we can sometimes see. It's understanding that even when we walk through pain, we can take comfort and joy in knowing that the God who holds the universe in his hands is in control and moves towards us in love. Even when we might not feel like we're particularly flourishing, even then God holds us in his hand and he's moved towards us in love. That's what it means for me to thrive, I think, and not just survive. It's the understanding that even when we feel threadbare, God's never going to let that thread snap, that's what it means for us. Zambian pastor and theologian Joe Capolio says this, "Jesus' instruction not to worry about tomorrow in this passage does not forbid thrift or thoughtfulness and careful provision for the future. These qualities are good. It does, however, forbid the sort of worry about clothes and food and future that so consumes a person that there is no joy left in life, that there's no joy left in life. Not worrying doesn't mean prosperity gospel, but it also doesn't mean carelessness either. But it is, please hear me here, it is a gospel issue because worry can sometimes be a symptom of a lack of trust in God. I'm going to say it again so you don't miss it. I do believe that today's message is a gospel issue because worry can sometimes be a symptom of a lack of trust in God. Choosing not to worry means trusting God in all circumstances and finding joy in God and not letting worry consume and take joy from you, whether you're flourishing and feel like you're flourishing or whether you feel like you're just surviving. Even then, it means learning not to let worry consume you. It means working hard and using the gifts that God's given you and maintaining a quiet confidence in God for the future, trusting in that future bought for you by Jesus, trusting in our faithful God in season and act because God will provide and it might not always be in the way that you think, but he will and we can take comfort and joy from that as we continue to put our trust in him who has proven trustworthy time and time again. This is such an important point this morning as we consider the birds, as we consider what it means to thrive and not survive. We need to understand that the instruction not to worry is all about where we put our ultimate trust. Are we going to put it in our feelings? Are we going to put it in our emotions? Are we going to put it in that worry? Or are we going to give it over to the only person who has proven trustworthy time and time and time again? And that is what this passage is speaking to and we're going to keep coming back to that point. So please do keep a pin in it there. One thing I can say for certain and I think many others here can also attest is that my life hasn't gone exactly the way that I've planned it. If aged 18, I put a big whiteboard up and started to map out where I think I was going to go and where I'd be living and what I'd be doing and the sort of career that I have, actually, I'm not sure I'd be standing here today because my plans would have been a little bit different to the way that things turned out. I've certainly had prayers that have gone unanswered and thoughts and plans that have come to nothing whilst other aspects of my life have surprised me. But God's plan for my life hasn't failed and it's more about me getting on board with God's program for my life than me trying to convince God that my way is the best way. And I think that's what it means to thrive as a Christian. It's not about prosperity, gospel, health, wealth and happiness, but it's about allowing God to work in your life and make you more like Jesus and lead you on an adventure of faith and to take confidence in him by trusting him in all situations, whether you feel like you're flourishing or whether you feel like you're surviving knowing that God still has a plan for your life that he has given you a hope and a future and that you can put your trust in him in all things. That's what it looks like to thrive in the Christian life, okay? In other words, don't worry about your future because you can't control it, but God can. His plan for your life might not be what you expect, but he's the God of all creation with infinite wisdom outside of time to see and to know what's best for you. And that's what a quiet confidence and joy in the Lord is all about. It's about aligning yourself with God's plan and not your own, staying in step with God and then you don't worry because your worry isn't rooted and based in how you feel or your own circumstances, it's rooted and it's established in who you are through Jesus, who made you and created you and loves you and sustains you and holds you in the palm of his hand and that's what it means as a Christian to thrive, okay? Great, so this is the third of three points we're on to now and this is really the crux of today's message. This is the kind of the main bit. It is do not worry, do not worry. So we're going to read the passage again. This time I'm going to read it in its full context, so we're going to read right the way to the end of chapter six and then we'll dive in again, okay? So do not worry, therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear is life not more than food, the body not more than clothes. Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them, are you this morning you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow, they don't labor or spin, yet I tell you not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that's how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? So do not worry saying what shall we eat, what shall we drink, what shall we wear, for the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own and don't we just know it? So I said at the beginning, I found these verses to be among the hardest verses in all scripture and I mean it, I think it's easy enough to say hey, don't worry, are you worried about that? Don't worry about it, you know, that's easy enough to say really hard to apply into your own life, sometimes isn't it? Let's be honest, sometimes that worry creeps up when you often it's at two o'clock in the morning when you can't sleep and your brain goes into overdrive and you just can't escape those overworked feelings when they come. Funnily enough, a couple of weeks ago we took the kids to the cinema to watch Inside Out 2, anyone seen Inside Out 2? Okay, well one or two, for those of you who haven't seen it, it's an animated comedy and the whole point of this film is that it kind of personifies the emotions in your brain. And so there's this giant control room in your brain with this big control panel and all of these different emotions are kind of in charge of the control panel in responding to the circumstances of your life and so you've got joy and you've got sadness and you've got all these other emotions and they're at this control panel here and they're pressing buttons and they're working you to make sure that your emotions kind of stay in check. And Inside Out 2 introduces us to this character, this is anxiety, me anxiety, there you go. Well this funny little thing is introduced to us in the second movie and the movie is essentially a lesson on what happens if anxiety is in the driving seat of your emotions, what happens if anxiety is at the control panel in your brain and how it can end up overtaking your life. Now for what was supposed to be a kid's animated comedy, frankly it was harrowing, oh my goodness. Anxiety everywhere, it was wrought with emotion, it was horrible but you know the kids loved it and that's the important thing right. But behind all the animation and the funny jokes there is a point because as humans we're not supposed to let anxiety and worry sit in the driving seat and rule our decision making and the way that we act and to be honest that is true whether you are a Christian or not. And it might be that if you are a Christian the worry that you experience has been at the control panel for so long, has been in charge for so long that it's ended up taking the place that is rightly reserved for God. Do you think that might be true? Sometimes worry can be so over wrought in your mind that it actually ends up taking the place that is reserved for God. Because our ultimate authority in life isn't based on how we feel in any given moment. My life would be a mess if it was. Our life isn't based on how we feel but who we are through Jesus. That's what we're rooted and established in, that's what we are, that's who we are. Our identity is in Christ who has set us free from sin and condemnation through the power of the cross that gives us a freedom to choose to move towards God and let Him rule when emotions are tempted to get the better of us. That's what it means. So here as we consider the birds, are they wrought with emotion? Do they rest in the moment that they're in? They, as we're told in the passage, don't sow or reap or worry about tomorrow. Whereas the passage continues, we can consider the flowers or the grass or any other number of wonderful things in God's creation, all held together by God without the problem of worry, which seems to be a uniquely human thing that we experience. And we're told if God can look after the birds and feed them and sustain them and help them to flourish, how much more will our Father look after you to help and sustain you and to help you to flourish? Our role is not one of worry, but one to rest in God, our Creator and our provider and our Sustainer and our Father. We don't let worry when it takes hold, rule our decision-making, rule our lives, instead we move towards God who has already moved towards us, through His Son, who loves us so much, who has made a plan for us, and what rules our decision-making is who we are in Jesus, not how we feel. And that's really important in the Christian faith. The passage also goes on to say that worry as a human feeling cannot add a single hour to our lives. There is not a single hour that can be added to our life through worry, but what it can do is it can rob hours and hours of joy from it. It can't add anything to our lives, but it can rob hours and hours from it. We were on holiday last week, that's partly where the sunburns from, thanks for asking, but we decided to explore the south coast. So we didn't really go very far, we were in Somerset and Dorset and kind of exploring those sorts of areas and we had a lot of fun doing it. One of the days we took a day trip across the border into North Devon and we went to a little place called Linton and Limbeth. Anybody ever been Linton and Limbeth? Great. Lots of people have been to Linton and Limbeth. Well, if you've never been, it's this beautiful little North Devon seaside town and it's got kind of beaches and all of the amazing things that you'd find in a beachside town. But the one thing you've got to know about it is to get there, it is steep. And I mean steep. You think older road steep, you've got no problems on older road. Older road is flat compared to Linton and Limbeth. Frankly, it's got a bit out of hand there, all right? That's kind of what's going on when you get to Linton and Limbeth. It's actually famed for this cliff railway and I've got a photo of it here. And it was built. It was the steepest railway line in the world when it was built. That gives you an idea of quite how steep it is. And so we decide, let's go and visit Linton and Limbeth. I remember it as a kid, it's supposed to be this amazing place. Let's go and have a day out there. And so we start driving and then we're going down the hill and then there we go really go down the hill. And then we start going down the hill so much that I think we might fall off. I don't think this car is going to stay on this road. It's practically vertical at this point. I'm thinking, we're in trouble here, like this car is not going to get down there. If you've never been, it's the sort of place that just has the smell of burnt clutch in the air. It's just wherever you walk around Linton and Limbeth, that's what it seems to be. And so we get to the bottom of this hill and we park up the car and the clutch is stinking and I'm like, oh my goodness, how am I going to get this car out? Am I going to get this car out of this massive steep hill? And so the rest of the family immediately move towards the mode of joy. They are having a great day and we go and get an ice cream and we're playing at the beach and we're doing what and I am, nothing but worried about how am I going to get this flipping car up that hill and that, like I don't know what I'm going to do. And so then we start going up this cliff railway and the kids are loving it and they're waving at everybody as they're going by and I'm like, I've got to get a car up here. I've got to get a car up here. What am I going to do? I can't believe that. I'm asking the locals. I mean, is there like a better road? I've come down that way but is there a road that I'm afraid it's just what it is? And so the moment comes I've spent the entire day worrying about how to get my car out. The rest of the family have had a wonderful day full of joy at a seaside town in North Devon. I'm over wrought with worry. I'm at the point of panic attack at the point that we get back in the car. Do you think I had any reason to worry? Well if you know a mechanic who's good with clutches, can you please get them to come and see me? No. There's absolutely nothing to worry about. We found this route out of Linton Limoth that was a beautiful drive over the top and the car was absolutely fine. So when I say that worry can do nothing to add an hour to your life but can certainly rob hours of joy from it, I mean it. I was miserable that day and everybody else had a wonderful day. And that's what we're talking about when it comes to worry. It can lead us to be robbed of joy. And for me it was also unnecessary. And I know it's a silly example and there are sometimes things that we worry about that can be so trivial like driving a car up a big hill. But other times not so much and I appreciate that even this morning I'll be speaking to people who have worries that are far less trivial than how to get a car up a hill. It might be that you're worried about money or actually you're worried about how to put food on the table this week. You might be worried about work or making rent or mortgage payments. You might be worried about your children. You might be worried about their behavior or their health or whether they'll grow up to know God the way that you do. You might be worried if you're at school about what's coming up in September, the next academic year if you're at university or going to university what that might mean for the year ahead. You might be worried about relationships or lack of relationships. You might be worried about your parents, about their health, about looking after them as they get older. You might be worried about your own health and actually all of these things seem much less trivial, much, much less trivial than driving a car up a hill. In fact, they seem pretty fundamental to how we live our lives frankly, right? Money and putting food on the table and our health and our family. Actually they're pretty fundamental things and when we're faced by challenges like this we can't possibly have a preacher stand up on a Sunday morning and say, "Don't worry. Don't worry about it. The Bible says just don't worry, so just don't worry, right?" Actually it's really, really difficult thing to do. We can read it in our Bibles and we can hear a message on it but how do we actually apply it to our lives in a way that is meaningful, of the things that I've just listed. More than a few have occupied my mind and caused me to worry and I've spent far too many nights awake with my mind worrying or pasting the living room at two o'clock in the morning because I'm just so full of adrenaline that I can't get out of it. It might even be that you've stopped watching the news at the moment because every time you turn it on and you see riots taking place up and down the country or the effects of climate change on the environment that actually it's just causing worry in you. Then when these things come, do we trust in the God of all creation, to have even these things under control or do we let ourselves worry more unduly than we should? Like I said, I'm not trivializing these things, they're worrying things, they can be worrisome. However, I believe God is calling us to a greater discipline this morning and I think actually a proper reading of this passage is more about Christian discipline in what we do when worry comes. The worst thing that can happen after you hear a mess, John, worry is that you go away worried about being worried. That's kind of a circular argument that I'm not sure I can do very much about and so I do want to provide some reassurance to you this morning. My message this morning isn't to tell you that worrying is wrong or that if you ever worry you're somehow doing something that's against God. Actually, we all have times of worry and worry as an emotion is something that comes and happens to us all. So please don't go away this morning worrying about worrying. My message this morning isn't about bringing condemnation, but it's what you choose to do about worry when it comes that Jesus is dealing with when he addresses the issue here and that's what I want to finish by addressing for us as well. Because as I was preparing and meditating on these verses I think the real application here isn't to make sure that we never find ourselves in a state of worry, never take a risk or do anything that might unduly cause stress or worry in our lives, that's not the point. Worry will come, worry essentially is a lingering concern about things which are by and large outside of our control and in those moments we're not trying to quash those feelings but we're trying to put our trust in something that's more powerful and more permanent than anything else that we might face. Like I said earlier we put our trust in the one who has proven trustworthy time and time and time again. And so a proper reading of this passage isn't that we should never ever worry and we should be concerned if we ever feel worry in our lives, a proper reading of this passage is when worry comes what are you going to do about it, what action are you going to take, are you going to let it rule your life and rule the decisions that you make or are you going to give it over to God, the God of creation, the God of all of eternity who can do something about it and that's the proper read of this passage when worry comes what action are you going to take as a result. In that way the commands do not worry is less about feeling worry and more about action when worry comes are you going to give into its grip or will you give it over to God, will you purposefully turn worry to prayer and turn towards God and trust your worries into his hands. David Holden wrote a book called Battle for the Mind and in it he speaks of the mind as a battleground and he says that winning the battle isn't about the removal of thoughts because that's not always possible but replacing those thoughts with something better. As with worry we can't remove it from our lives nor should we necessarily seek to when it comes but we can actively work to replace that worry with something bigger and something better. David Holden says we need to exchange those thoughts taking captive for Christ with the right thoughts, the Bible is very clear about that, Paul tells us to set your mind on the things above not on earthly things, successful substitution comes from being rooted and grounded in Christ's work, if your mind is full of the truth of God then there is no room for the enemy to land. So next time you're prone to worry will you lean into that worry will you let it fester and cause obsession and fixation in your life or will you turn that worry to prayer and look to God your father in heaven your creator who made you and knows you and turn that worry instead into trusting him. Because I think that really is truly the point of this morning's message, actually when worry comes like I said earlier I think this is a gospel issue because are we going to give it over to the God of all eternity who is proven trustworthy and can do something about it or are we going to give into it and let it rule our emotions and rule our actions and rule the way that we live our lives, if worry is in the driving seat and ruling your life then it's a gospel issue because you aren't trusting enough that the God of all creation can do something about it and hold it all in the palm of his hand and that's what we're talking about this morning. Replace the worry with the truth about who God is, the God of all creation who feeds the birds and clothes the flowers and who knows you and loves you and has a plan for you who's more powerful than any force or person or circumstance that you might face and who is working for your good and his glory even when it might not feel like it. God loves you so much that he sent his son Jesus to earth to live the perfect life and speak wisdom like this into our lives and then he died taking on the punishment that we deserve so that those of us who believe in him can have a relationship with the Father, a relationship with the God of all creation who gifts us with peace and patience and strengthens us and has given us a new identity and a hope and a future and that is what we put our trust in, not how we feel in any given moment but who we are by the blood of Jesus that has paid and bought for our salvation, that's who we are, that's our identity. We are now children of God. That's our identity, that's where we put our trust, that's what our foundation is in, not in our temporary circumstances and the things that cause us worry but in what is eternal, the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever, who will never change, who is working for your good, who move towards you in love by sending his son Jesus so that he can have a relationship with you and as you move back towards him, it's going to be for your good, okay? So take action and take captive the worries when they hit and give them to the only one who has proven consistently trustworthy to do something about them and that's God. Believe on the words of Jesus, the act of worrying is active, it requires action for us when it comes to ensure that we never let anything take us away from the God who loves us and never let anything rob us from joy in life and joy in God. And that I think is a true reading of this passage, it's not about never worrying, it's about the action that we take when worry comes and choosing to move towards God, choosing to turn it into prayer, choosing to speak truth into our lives instead and not let the worry be the thing that rules our hearts, let God be the thing that rules our hearts. That's it. So as we come to respond now, I'm incredibly aware that for some, this subject is a real difficult one because for you, anxiety or worry isn't something that can happen from time to time but actually it's a bit of a daily reality in your life, a real battle in your life and please don't miss hear me, I know also that there are some even in our own community who have kind of medical diagnoses for anxiety, for worry and who are working through this subject with incredible difficulty. And my message this morning, like I've said, isn't to condemn at all because I understand that there are some real kind of physiological issues that can be in play. But I also do believe that our God isn't beyond bringing a measure of healing and freedom and relief from those this morning as well. If you were at our church weekend a few weeks ago, Abby stood up and gave a word where she said actually she felt like God was wanting to deal with anxiety and depression in people's lives and to seek prayer for it if it was something that you were experiencing. If you were here the Sunday after that shell I was so grateful you stood up and gave testimony of how you'd felt a measure of healing from that in your own life. Isn't that incredible? God can actually do it. It's amazing. We want to see that more and more happening. I believe that God can do that this morning if that's you. Let's be quick to go into battle for one another on this prayer is a powerful weapon we can use both privately and together when we're faced with worry and it might be that this morning the things that you're worried about that if you've let take control over your feelings in your emotions you now need to give over to God and say I trust you, I trust you with this above and over all things. It might be this morning that you want to speak to somebody here and ask God again that he might meet you in the midst of what you're facing and bring a sense of freedom and peace and relief to you in the midst of your worry. The longer context that we read in Matthew 6 provides the solution to worry. It says seek but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. We need to be people who look to God in all circumstances who replace worry with the truth about who we are, our identity as children of God. To get a bigger view of the God that we worship, that's what we're going to come and do when Stephen the band leaders in worship again, they're going to lead us in these songs that give us a bigger view of who God is so that in comparison our worries seem like nothing. In comparison to the God of all creation who created and sustains the universe and holds it all together in the palm of his hand and then we've got our worry. Do we not believe that God can also deal with that the way that he deals with this? The way that he feeds the birds and clothes the flowers and holds all things together? Can he not also deal with this thing here? Of course he can and that's what it's about. It's about putting your trust in the God of all creation with all the things that you're worried about knowing that he has a plan and a purpose and a hope and a future for your life and that is what we're talking about when we read this passage. We need to be people who look to God in all circumstances. People who replace worry with the truth about who we are, that we might give it over to the God of all creation who made the birds and keeps them and feeds them and helps them to thrive. He's all powerful and eternally are thrown. He's our Father who loves us and he has moved towards us in love and the act of moving back towards him is what we're talking about when we say do not worry. It might be that even this morning you feel worried about something you've walked through the door this morning and actually you've been consumed by worry, you've had that experience that I've had time to time where you're just up at two in the morning and your brain's over working. Actually this morning's the morning to come and get prayer for it. That thing that's occupied far too much of thought in your life caused worry over and over has done nothing to add an hour to your life but has done everything to rob joy from it. These are the things that we can start to take action on this morning as we bring them to God and I really want to encourage us to be on the front foot with praying for one another this morning of speaking truth, the truth of God into one another's lives and going into battle for one another on these issues so that we might be brought closer to God as we do. Give your worries over to God this morning and trust that he's a good Father who knows what to do with them. God loves you and he cares for you so this morning give your worries over to him and trust him with them. Like I said we're going to come back and we're going to worship. We're going to sing truth about God and who he is, get this bigger view of God so feel free to come on back up, why don't the rest of us just stand and I'll pray for us as the band come back. I thank you Lord that you are the God of all creation, that you are all powerful, that you are eternal, that you are the same yesterday, today and forever. You are the creator and sustainer of all things, that there is nothing that is beyond your control, no circumstance or issue that is that you could not reach your hand out and sort and Lord it's to you we pray, the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever and we know that in all things we can put our trust firmly in you. Thank you that our identity, who we are to our very core is rooted and established in what you have done for us, our identity is in you, we are children of God. Lord help us to stand rooted and established in that identity this morning that we might give anything over, that it's stopping us, that it's taking the joy that we receive from you, from us, Lord those worries, those anxieties, those temporary problems Lord we give them over to you and trust them into your hand this morning. Lord I pray give us a bigger view of who you are, your name I pray, Amen. (guitar music)