Welcome to 721 live, the video arm of 721 Ministries. I'm Sam Hunter. I'm glad that you're with us today. Thank you for joining us. We're at the point in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus tells us not to worry. And at this point, most of us check out on Jesus because we have to worry. It's not even responsible not to worry. We all worry, and yet Jesus says, do not worry. Does he mean it? Is this a command? Can we actually live a life not worrying? And I think Jesus meant what he said, so let's talk about, let's dig into exactly what he means when he says, do not worry. George Washington had this to say about worry. So obviously, it's been around a long time, and George Washington had a lot to worry about. Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble. Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble. George Washington is saying you can choose to worry or you can not choose to worry. You can borrow worry and pay interest on it or you can choose not to. Now, last week, as we were working our way through the Sermon on the Mount, I love the Sermon on the Mount. I could just stay in it forever. We were in Chapter 5 for an entire year. We were working our way through Chapter 6. And last week, we looked at Jesus' statement about generous eyes. If your eyes are... Your translation probably says something like, your eyes are healthy, your eyes are good, or your eyes are bad, full of darkness. And the absolute best translation is, if your eyes are generous. Do you view people and life and your Heavenly Father in a light most favorable? Do you see the positive side of things? Or, if your eyes are bad, and that word would be suspicious and stingy, then your whole body's gonna be full of darkness. So we talked about where our eyes go. Are our eyes generous or are they stingy? And today I want you to keep that thought in mind of where are your eyes? What are you fixed on? Because when Jesus talked about our treasures, he talked about where our eyes go. So let's go back to one cleanup from last week. We talked about lavish or lack. We said, we quoted the passage from 1 John 1, 3, 3, 1 last week when we said, how great is the love the Father's lavished on us that we should be called children of God and that is what we are. now this week we see another passage about lavish last week it was how great is the love this week in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of god's grace that he lavished on us that he lavished on us so when you think of your heavenly father do you think in terms of lack or lavish because if you recall last week we talked about how satan was able to get adam and eve to fix their eyes on the one thing they lacked in the entire incredible garden of Eden, which we read in Genesis 2, 9, that God had planted with incredible trees, beautiful trees, beautiful to look at, luscious fruit to eat, all around the garden, and the center was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And that was the one thing that Satan was able to get them to fix their eyes on, what they lacked, not the lavish. So let's keep that in mind as we go through this talk today. Where are your eyes? Because and we'll talk about this in a moment satan will seek to divert your attention from god's lavishness His lavish love his lavish grace and sometimes that lavish is even material things not always he knows what's best for you but without question, it's lavish love and lavish grace. So, when Jesus says, Matthew 6, 33, after he gives us the talk about not worrying, he says, so do not worry, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. This is the one point where we dethrone Jesus more than any other scripture passage, I think. We don't believe him that you know John Orberg said you may believe in Jesus You just don't believe what Jesus believed and this might be the one passage that we all step back and go no no no no no Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things that we're worried about will be given to you as well We all say that's nonsense Jesus you were walking around the desert you had sandals on you didn't live in our world You don't understand our world This is one thing where we cannot seek first. No, I have to seek first taking care of my family. I have to seek first my job. I have to seek first my income. I'll squeeze you in. I know you're important, but don't ask me to follow this. And Jesus would say, well then, you're going to worry. If you don't listen to me, you're going to worry. So I have three questions for you now to get us started thinking about worry. Is worry a sin? That's number one. And then we'll say worry versus responsible. Is there a difference? And then the last, the third question is, is worry a choice? Let me ask you this. Is worry a sin? You think about that for a moment. Is worry a sin? And I get varying responses. Some people say, no, it's not a sin. It's just a natural thing we do. Others say, yes, it's a sin. So I'll ask, well, why do you say it's a sin? They say, because it's showing that you don't trust him. Now, yes, worrying is natural. But that doesn't mean it's something that has to master us. Just because it's a natural reaction for a human being, how soon can you bounce that worry off and go back to your trusting? Is worry a sin? In Romans 14, that is when Paul really gives us a treatise on sin, and the very last verse in that chapter is, and everything that does not come from faith is sin. Everything that does not come from trust is sin Because the Holy Spirit is telling us when you don't trust then you're going to act on your own when you trust You you you try to either work in tandem or leave it up to your Heavenly Father worry versus responsible I've had men tell me over the years. It's not responsible for a grown man not to worry. It's not responsible You've got to worry And of course what they're envisioning when you say not worry is somebody just lie to die through life, not paying attention, walking around not being purposeful, not being responsible. Well there's a big difference between worry and being responsible. There's a big difference between worry and taking care of business. There's a big difference between worry and being purposeful and prudent. Worry is a whole nother category. You know, if you know anything about cows, and I know nothing about cows, but I do know that they chew grass, they swallow it, they bring it back up, that cud, and they chew it more, and that's like worrying. You just keep bringing it back up and chewing on it. And then the third question, and this is the real question for us to think about, is worry a choice? Is worry a choice? And I would say that, yes, we choose to worry. So we're going to tease that out a little bit more. We're just getting started on this worry thing. We're going to talk about it even this week and next week because Jesus meant it. And I want us to get to a point where we say, you know, I'm not going to worry. That is something I used to worry about. I'm not going to worry. Worry is not going to be a dominant issue in my life any longer. So, fixing your eyes. Matthew 6, 21, your eyes are fixed on your treasures. And Jesus says, for where your treasure is, that's where your heart's gonna be also, which is where your eyes are gonna be fixed. Matthew 16, 25, Jesus gives us this poignant statement, for whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. Let me add what Jesus says about treasures. For whoever wants to save their life, their worldly treasures will lose it. But whoever loses, loosens their grip on their worldly treasures, for me, will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world with his worldly treasures, yet forfeit their soul." Now Jesus says twice here, if you're going to try to hold on to your worldly treasures. Then you're going to lose it. But if you're willing to loosen your grip on your worldly treasures, move your eyes off of your treasures. Your heart is on your treasures. Are your treasures with your Heavenly Father? Are they eternal? Or are they fixed on worldly treasures? And he says this word, it, twice. You'll either lose it or find it. What is it? What is he referring to when he says, we'll lose it? Whoever tries to save their life will lose it. But whoever loosens their grip will find it. He's talking about the abundant life. He's talking about life to the full which he told us He came to give us in John 10 10 the life that is truly life in 1st Timothy 6 19 He's talking about that life that he has for us and if your eyes are fixed on worldly treasures, then you're going to worry if you can raise your gaze and view and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and your Heavenly Father, then you won't worry and If worldly treasures, you'll worry. If eternal treasures, there will be no worry. So now we get to the point where we're moving on in the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus says, 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 not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air. Now, let me stop right there. You're if you're a grown-up if you're a man and you see this look at the birds of the air now We've really checked out cuz he's talking about the birds of the air Who's got time to look at the birds of the air? We've got business to run. We've got things to take care of if you're a mother It's the same thing who's got time Jesus you're talking about birds in the air and we're talking about real world. I But remember, in Matthew 10, 29, Jesus says, now, two sparrows. What are they worth? A nickel. Yet not one of these sparrows falls from the sky apart from your Father's will. Nothing happens, no matter how insignificant, apart from your Father's will. He sees it all. He knows it all. And then He goes on to say, He even knows the number of hairs on your head. That's A lavish Heavenly Father who knows and is involved in the details of your life. Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in the barns and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Are you? Are you not? Do you not realize that you are much more valuable than birds to your Heavenly Father? You know, he talks about birds, and he says that they don't worry about taking care of themselves, yet I see birds making sure they do things. They're flying around, they're building nests, they're getting food. So we're not talking about sitting in a closet and expecting God to take care of your life. We're talking about keeping a pace in life, doing what you're supposed to do each day, but not worrying about the outcome. And that's what most of us stress about. This is the passage from Jesus. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father's will, and even the very hairs of your head are all numbers. So don't be afraid. Don't worry. You are worth much more than many sparrows. Now in Matthew 6, as he concludes this talk about worrying, he says, can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? Can any one of you, by worrying, control the outcome? And that's really what we're talking about. We worry about the outcome. We may have a little bit of worry about the process, but it's typically the outcome. So let's talk about where we worry. And we'll do it in general terms first. We'll ask ourselves two questions. What areas of life do we worry about? And what do you choose to worry about? So, what general areas of life do we worry about? Now think about that. What general areas? Not specific, but just general. money, marriage, health. We have determined, we call it the three M's, just about any man that we deal with in our men's ministry, and I'm sure this is true of ladies too, is typically upside down or not where they want to be in one of these three areas, money, marriage, or malady. Their money is not right, and that usually goes back to their work. Their marriage is not where they want it to be, or somebody's got an illness. So we have those things to worry about. What else do we in general worry about? Well, we worry about our children. We worry about our jobs. Do you worry about the future? Do you worry about the past? I'll ask you this question. Do you worry about things you can control? And most people say, no, I don't worry about the things I control. I worry about the things I cannot control. Well, that's a good start, but the truth is you really do not control anything. You may think you do, but if you really drill down, we don't control much in this life. So we better learn not to worry about either one of these. So in general, we worry about a lot of different things. Now specifically, and this is the question you'll have to answer, what do you choose to worry about? What do you choose to worry about? Because there's lots of stuff we could worry about. We could worry about the future. We could worry about our country. We could worry about our children, our grandchildren. We could worry about our children's marriages. We could worry about our children's school. We could worry about our wives or our husbands, their jobs, how they're doing, our health. There's lots of things we could choose to worry about. And you know, just to be transparent, There's been more than one time where I'll say I'm walking around the kitchen, I'm walking around the office, whatever, and I'll go, wait a minute, there's something I'm supposed to be worrying about, and it's nagging at me. I cannot remember what it is I'm supposed to worry about. I've forgotten, and I'm trying to recreate it so I can choose to worry about it. What do you specifically choose to worry? Because it is a choice. You do not have to worry about it. If it's something you can control, then you take the steps to fix it or take care of it. If you cannot control it, which is most things, then you're going to have to learn not to worry about it. And realize, and this is where we're going to go for the rest of our talk, who is in control of your life? I remember just recently I was walking with a friend and he got a business call and something wasn't going right at work and it was very frustrating to him. And I asked him this question, can you fix it? And he said, yes, I can fix it. I said, well, then there's nothing to worry about. Because when I was in the renovation business, and the electrician didn't show up, which meant the plumber couldn't do his work, which meant the tile would be delayed, which meant the shower door and the shower fixtures and all would be delayed. I couldn't fix that. The electrician had to do it. And I had no control, and I knew that phone was gonna be ringing from the homeowners. And I understood it, but I couldn't fix it. And I had a lot of worry. I had a lot of angst about that. What do you choose to worry about, and can you? as we move forward through this, can you learn to see your Heavenly Father, to see Jesus, your Savior, your best friend, involved in the details so that you do no longer worry about these things. Now, I want to ask you this question. I'm going to hit this in two different ways. What do people, to those who do not know God as their loving Father, and that would be pagans, what do they look like? How do they behave? How do they act in life? You know, pagans, when Jesus calls someone a pagan, He's not saying anything negative about them, necessarily. Pagans are people who don't know God. Now, remember, we talked about how we view God with our eyes. Generous? Is He a lavish God, or is He a lack God? Is He just going to mete out some bread and water to me, or is He going to take care of me? those who do not know god as their loving father who is involved in the details and jesus tells us this about prayer and then what we're talking about today and when you pray do not keep on babbling like pagans babbling like pagans Matthew 6 31 so do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we wear and what shall we drink and what shall we wear for the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly father knows that you need them notice in verse 80 says do not be like them for your father knows what you need before you ask him Then we get the next verse 32 for the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly father knows that you need them I want to just pull out two words That I hadn't really noticed before I was talking about this your father knows what you need Your father knows that you need them So it's one thing for my heavenly father to know what I need But for him to know that I need them that they are necessary in my life that that just gives me a sense of comfort that he knows not just what i need but that i need him and he's going to take care of me in both of these cases he says pagans babble on they chase after things because they don't think their heavenly father is going to take care of them they don't know him as heavenly father do you? is he god to you? or is he a perfect loving compassionate Involved in the details lavish in his grace and lavish in his love Heavenly Father Because that's really what we're talking about here. How do you see him? People who don't know do not know God is their loving Heavenly Father. They they are they were they hurry and they worry they hurry and they worry They look like people who just cannot sit still and trust their Heavenly Father and Dallas Willard said this, we must ruthlessly eliminate hurry. We must ruthlessly eliminate hurry. People who don't know God as a Heavenly Father, a lavish, loving Heavenly Father, they hurry and they worry. But what about people who do? Who have their eyes fixed on their Heavenly Father, who see Jesus in the details of their lives. What do they look like? Oswald Chambers in his August 5th devotional in his Mount Most for His Highest, he says, a Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, don't miss this, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God. Should it be? should a calm, relaxed pace be characteristic of a child of God? A child who sees God as their Heavenly Father, should they have a calm, relaxed pace? Remember, there's a pace. We're moving, but it's calm and relaxed. I remember another Dallas Willard observation. He said, the one word that comes to mind when I think of Jesus, the one word, and most of us would say love, he said relaxed. You just couldn't rattle him. He was never in a hurry. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and wisdom of God as their Father, not in his own abilities, if we have a purpose of our own. And that usually comes back to our treasures. If our eyes are fixed on our treasures, we have a purpose of our own because we are going to protect those treasures. But a calm, relaxed pace is what someone who sees their Heavenly Father as lavish and loving and therefore can relax. There was a story in John 4. Jesus is coming back up. He's talked to Nicodemus. He's talked to the Samaritan woman at the well. He's coming back into Galilee. And a man whose son is dying rides out to see him, meets him out and says, my son is dying. It's in John 4. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son who was close to death. Picture yourself, you're this father, you're this mother, and your son is dying, and you approach Jesus and you say, please come heal him. And Jesus says, go, your son will live. Go, your son will live. And the man took Jesus at his word and departed. Now, that has always stunned me. A simple statement, the man took Jesus at his word and departed. Because if I were that man, I would say, well, aren't you coming with me? How are you going to do it? I have a million questions. The man took Jesus at his word and departed. That man didn't worry. Jesus told him things would be okay. Jesus told him he'd take care of it. Jesus told him he was involved in his life. Jesus told him, I know the details. Jesus said, if you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, I'll take care of these other things. And the man took him at his word and departed. He abandoned the outcome to God. One of those key phrases we've learned over these 20 years of men's ministry, he abandoned the outcome to God. He took him at his word. Now, I have a few practical steps about worrying. Because I used to do a whole lot of worrying. Because there was a stretch in my life due to my own mistakes where I had it pretty rough. Things weren't going my way. So I learned a few things. Practical steps, what to do instead of worrying. Do not, do not, do not project out into the future ever. Don't say what about. this happening? What about if this happens? How will I if this happens? Do not project out into the future. I tell people this all the time who are going through a divorce, who are going through an illness, who are business collapsed. Do not project out in the future which is what we all do. How will I? I cannot live this way for the next 20 years. You have no idea what's gonna happen in the future. All you're doing, as George Washington says, is paying interest on worry that you, trouble that you borrowed. You don't know, so do not project out in the future. Remember that one. Write down the worst possible outcome. Can you survive that? I mean, if things are really upside down in your life, write down the worst possible outcome and see what you think about that. Write down your words and put them in a shoebox. I did this once. I just wrote down my words and just writing them down and part of that was the worst possible outcome. Just put them in a shoebox and put them in my closet. I said, okay, there they are. I'm not gonna go back and open that shoebox again. And when I did, forgot all about it. When I did go back and open it, the worst didn't happen. Or, if the worst did happen, it wasn't that bad. My Heavenly Father brought good out of it. So if you're really upside down and you're worried sick about something, write it down. One other thing that I tell people to do, often, is pull up a chair. Sit down in a chair and pull up a chair and talk to Jesus as if He's in that chair, because He is. And just tell Him what you're worried about. Tell him everything. Get it off your chest. You'll feel so much better. And he is listening to you. And then just imagine his response, that loving smile on his face, that caring, that compassion, that sympathy, that empathy. Pull that chair up. Two more things. Write down your current situation in a daily devotional you read every day and compare it to the eventual outcome in the coming years. I read Oswald Chambers every day. I hope you have a devotional book that you read. If you don't, I highly encourage you to get one that you read every day, year after year. And I write down things as they're happening. And I've got one written down. It was September 6, 2002. And I read it to the men this week. And I wrote down a little yellow sticky. I actually ended up having hepatitis A from drinking water while mountain hiking. It lasted about a year. And I didn't feel good for a year. But it went away. But at the time, people were getting West Nile fever. And so I wrote down. I think I have West Nile fever. What does it matter if I'm sick? My life is worthless. I have nothing to live for. It's just going to be one trouble after another. That's what I wrote. And I go back each year. Not just that one. Lots of others. My father dying. Nine years later, my mother dying. My daughter graduating from high school, going to college, going from college into the business world. My wife, Dina, coming into my life. I write these things down and then each year I come back and I go, look what God did. Look what my father did. Look how he worked this out. How he blessed the situation. How he brought good. And it just bolsters my trust. Try that. And then the last thing is replace worry with worship, gratitude, and thanksgiving. Just stop worrying and start thanking him for all the things he's done in your life. Go back to the gratitude. Think about all the wonderful gifts. Think about all the times he has pulled you out. all the blessings and if you have trouble send me an email and we'll go over all that all the wonderful blessings because he what if you cannot see them it's because Satan has blinded you and got you fixed on the lack and not on the lavish which is exactly what he wants to do so practical spiritual steps fix your eyes on Jesus That's what we read in Hebrews 12 too. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. He will calm the storms without and the storms within. And remember, Satan's three D's. This is from Search Ministries, another men's ministry. His three D's, destroy, distract, discourage. See, destroy, distract, discourage. And you've heard me say this many times. If he can keep you out of a relationship with Jesus, and he'll do that by distracting you, then he's got your soul, and that's his main objective. But if he loses that battle, and you are born again, and you are saved, then he will seek the rest of your life to distract you and discourage you. And when he has distracted you, you will get discouraged. Satan will say, look over here, just like he did to Adam and Eve. No, don't look at the lushness of the garden. Look over here. Look at this one thing you cannot have. And that's what he does, and we'll see that in a moment, how he gets us to not look at Jesus, not to fix our eyes on Jesus, but instead divert our eyes, look over here, get distracted. That's what he wants to do. You know, there's been so many times when I think about Hebrews 12 that I want to create a little skit, sort of, where I would give the men around me posters with all the various things that distract us. And then I would have a straight line set out, and I'd be walking towards Jesus on that straight line, and the men would be rattling those posters all around, trying to divert me, trying to distract me from keeping my eyes on Jesus. And that's what Satan does. Look over here, look over there, don't fix your eyes on Jesus. So we go back to Jesus saying, if your treasures are on earth, that's where your heart's gonna be, that's where your eyes are gonna be. And then you'll worry. But if your treasures are Jesus and eternal life and the life that he has for you, then you won't worry, because nothing can happen to those. He will calm the storm without, sometimes, not always, but sometimes. Mark 4 is the story of the disciples being in the boat on the Sea of Galilee. The storm comes up. They're about to drown. The boat's about to topple over. It's about to fill up with water. They cry out to him, don't you care? We're about to die. And Jesus, we see he got up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, quiet, be still. Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? You see, Satan had their eyes fixed on the storm, not on Jesus. Jesus is riding the boat with them. And Jesus looks at them and says, I don't understand why you're still worrying. I don't understand why you're still so afraid. Don't you see me? I'm right here with you." And he's saying that to you today. Don't let Satan get your eyes fixed on the storm. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, your best friend, your constant companion. Now, just because everything I read in the New Testament, I'm beginning to believe is you're going to find something in the Older Testament that is exactly what you're reading in the New Testament. And just for the fun of it, I thought I'd give you Psalm 107, 28. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper. The waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. He calms the storm without, but he always calms the storm within, if we'll let him. You remember the story in the first three Gospels about the man who was the demon-possessed, a legion of demons, and then the 3,000 pigs ran into the water and drowned? That man was described as out of his mind, running around naked, cutting himself, screaming in agony, chasing, running up, scaring the disciples to death as he charged towards Jesus, and Jesus His calm relaxed face just waited till he came and then he brought the storm out and calmed the storm within And he'll always do that if we let him here's how we finish that story when they came to Jesus That was the people from the village nearby. They saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons Sitting there dressed and in his right mind and they were afraid They were freaked out because they had known this man to be crazy, to have such a violent storm within himself he couldn't even live with people. And now Jesus has taken that storm away and he'll do that for you. So if we fix our eyes on Jesus, that's our first spiritual step. The second step is to realize that we live in a God-saturated world. We live in a God-saturated world. And you are hemmed in. I love these two passages from Isaiah 52 and 58. But you will not leave in haste or go in flight like the pagans would, running after everything. For the Lord will go before you. The God of Israel will be your rear guard. Isaiah 58. Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear, calming the storm within. Then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. You are hemmed in. As you look towards the future, if there's any reason to worry, realize that your Heavenly Father is out before you. If you look to the past and want to worry about the past, realize your Heavenly Father has your rear guard. You're hemmed in. He's got you forward and backwards. He is taking care of you. This is what I'm really trying to get to the root of our worry. We don't think He's involved. We don't believe he's involved in these details. We're like John Ortberg. We believe in Jesus. We just don't believe what Jesus believes. No. You live in a God-saturated world. You are hemmed in. And therefore, as we conclude our talk today, Philippians 4, 6, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice in the Lord always. Let your gentleness, your calm, relaxed pace be evident to all. The Lord is near. You're hemmed in. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition. Petition means asking for things. With thanksgiving. And I got a comment on that in a moment. Present your request to God. Lay it all out there. Put Him in the chair in front of you and just tell Him everything that's going on and the peace of God that calms that storm within, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. That word guard in the Greek is garrison. So yet again, you're surrounded. You're in a fort of His love and His protection. He's going to take care of you. When the Holy Spirit prompts Paul to say, when you get ready to put all this before Jesus, do it with thanksgiving. One of the things that has really bumped my trajectory, has transformed my worrying life, is I say this now to Jesus. I am going to thank you now, my Father, before I see how you work this out, because I know I will be thanking you later. And that has changed my whole life. I start getting upside down. I started getting tense, worried, afraid. I'll just stop and say, I'm going to thank you right now. Before I see how you work this out, because I know you're going to work it out, and I know I'm going to thank you later. And I would rather thank you now than sheepishly thank you embarrassed. thank you later because you worked it out and I was such a pagan who ran around frenetically babbling and chasing after things because I didn't know you as my Heavenly Father. No, I stopped. I said, I want to thank you now. And imagine how that transforms my worrying self into a trusting self. I go from worry to worship, thanksgiving, gratitude. We do not need to worry. We want to replace worry. We want to fix our eyes on Jesus. He's got us. He's got you. You're hemmed in. He's out before you, and He's your rear guard, and Jesus is walking right there with you. And if you're safe, all of this is true, and the Holy Spirit is moving inside of you. As Jesus would say, so why are you still so afraid? Why do you still worry so much? Okay, I have two things to finish up, and then we're done. Do you worry about eternity? There's a lot of things we worry about. Do you worry about eternity? I have two things to say about that. You better. You better be worried about eternity in the sense of it better be something you you know You've got to you've gotten taken care of that You know that you have surrendered your life to Jesus that the Holy Spirit has moved in you that you've been born again You better worry about that I I have men who will approach me and say, you know that Matthew 7 21 22 and 23 where Jesus says I don't know you away from me you evil evildoers. They'll say that really worries me and I say well it better worry you because if it worries you you're not where you need to be and But you don't need to worry about eternity. If you're saved, it's taken care of. And in John 14, and this is the Eugene Peterson message translation, he says, this is what Jesus says to his disciples on the last night. In just a little while, the world will no longer see me, but you're going to see me because I am alive and you're about to come alive. I love that. You're about to come alive at that moment. That for them was Pentecost for us is when we have surrendered our life to Jesus and we're born again at that moment You will know absolutely. I love that. You will know absolutely that I'm in my father and you're in me and I'm in you I know I'm saved. And I know just as assuredly that it was not anything I could do or earn. That His lavish grace and His lavish love brought me to Him. I surrendered my life to Him in 1995. I don't worry about eternity. But there are plenty out there who better have it in mind. They better be thinking about eternity. But not for us. Now here's the last thing. We've been talking about where our eyes are fixed and where your Heavenly Father, how you see Him, and this is when we finish. 2 Chronicles 16 and I love this. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth, the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. I love that image. And then I conclude with number 624. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. In the Jewish world, they picture a father picking up a child and just loving on that child, his face just beaming on that child. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Your Heavenly Father's eyes are on you. When I was 10 years old, the movie Dracula came to Sumter. My dad said, I don't think you ought to go, son. Nothing good is going to come out of that. It's going to scare you. And I said, Dad, I really want to go. My friends are going. So I went. And I remember to this day how frightened I was during the movie and after the movie. And that night, Trying to go to sleep in my bedroom, and I had two twin beds. I knew Dracula was under the bed. I knew he was in the closet. It was awful. It was terrible. I was terrified. So I called out to my father. I said, would you come sleep in the room with me? And being such a wonderful father, he did. Well, he got in that single bed, and I remember laying there in bed and saying, you know, he's too far away to protect me. I said, Dad, are you awake? He said, yes, son, I'm still awake. I thought, well, he's awake. At least he can protect me. And then I lay there and I said, wait a minute, Dad, are you looking at me? I wanted his face turned towards me so he could see me and protect me. Are you looking at me? May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. His eyes are on you. He's going to take care of you. There is no need to worry. Because there's so much more in following you. You know it. Come and find it.