If the ‘worries of this life’ fall under the category of ‘something you can do about it’ - then do something about it. Don't sit around. Don't let me come back next year, and you have the same list of the stuff you can do something about. Man, do something about it! If you don't know what to do, then go sit with somebody who does. I promise you, there's somebody - and do something about it.
On the other side, are things that you cannot do anything about. This would include any worry you have, that involves the actions, behaviours and emotions of another person. They're responsible for them. This involves any worry you have about: approval from somebody else. This involves any worry you have about: a need that you have, that only somebody else can meet. This involves any of those things.
With the things that you can't do anything about - oil prices; the price of milk going so high, that you can drink Bourbon cheaper than you can drink milk, hmm. I mean just for financial reasons, mothers could be giving their kids whiskey - it's cheaper than milk! This would include all of those things.
Everything that you cannot do anything about - here's what I want us to do; and we've had a light hearted moment, and I'm glad because God wants us to be light-hearted. But I can tell you this, that for most of us - some of us, we might have worked this out, and that's great - but for most of us, we need to have a holy moment with God, and we need to repent; for the worries of this life, and the deceitfulness of wealth - choking God's best out of us.
I mean, does anybody besides me need a moment with God with that? We need to take a stand in faith against the worries of this life, and the deceitfulness of wealth, and just say: you can't have my life one more day. You're choking God's best out of my life, and I am taking a stand, right now.
Maybe we need to take the other side of that list, and we need to have a holy moment with God, and have a Sabbath, and just say: you know what? I'm taking a Sabbath from worrying about these things; and I'm taking a permanent vacation from worrying about the other, because I'm going to do something about it.
But for this side of the list: Lord, You are God, and I am not, and I'm tired of choking. I don't want to choke one more day. I want Your best. I want Your word to take root, and I want Your best to come through my life. It is so freeing, and the pressure's off from me, to let You know that You're God, and You're going to have to handle this.
I'm not talking about some cliché - just leave it with Jesus. I'm talking about the feelings and the emotions that you would feel, if all of that anxiety was off of you now.
Mr Soundman, if there's like a Terry MacAlmon CD or something back there - I gave you no warning on this, and if there's not don't worry about it; but like, I don't want you to put on any rock 'n roll or anything. That'll come later, you know. “Back In Black” is not appropriate right now.
But here's what I want you to do. I want us to take from now, to the end of the night, whenever God's done; and I want us to have a holy moment with God, where we stand in faith, and say: “the word of God will take root in my life, because I am going to stand against the worries of this life, and the deceitfulness of wealth”. We need to repent for it.
Maybe some of you need a moment around the tassels. We need to remind ourself, that God's way is the best way for my life. That my life is covered in the word of God, the name of God, the ways of God, the grace of God, and the nature of God.