1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 However you spend your Thanksgiving, 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:03,960 I do hope it was a blessing. 3 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:06,320 And as we will get into shortly, 4 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:08,920 I hope you emphasized giving thanks. 5 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,080 Thanking your family for maybe putting up with you. 6 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,720 Thanking your friends for being there and supporting you 7 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:20,280 when they had reasons to not. 8 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:22,980 Thanking your God for loving you 9 00:00:22,980 --> 00:00:25,900 as if you were the only person alive. 10 00:00:25,900 --> 00:00:28,260 Thanking Christ for giving himself 11 00:00:28,260 --> 00:00:30,480 so you can have hope and salvation. 12 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,300 Not just then, but now. 13 00:00:33,300 --> 00:00:34,700 Did you give thanks this week? 14 00:00:34,700 --> 00:00:35,820 I hope so. 15 00:00:35,820 --> 00:00:36,660 I really do. 16 00:00:36,660 --> 00:00:38,440 We're gonna get into that a little bit more. 17 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:40,200 I am grateful. 18 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:42,460 If you haven't met him, my oldest brother is here. 19 00:00:42,460 --> 00:00:44,880 This is the one, I've been kind of sharing this. 20 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:48,600 This is the famed brother from all of my backpacking stories. 21 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,460 So he says that his job is to either affirm 22 00:00:51,460 --> 00:00:53,120 or correct those stories. 23 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:54,640 And I'm sure he will do a great job, 24 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:57,960 but I'm glad to see that he is being made to feel welcome. 25 00:00:57,960 --> 00:00:59,160 We're glad to have him. 26 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:00,500 Most of my family is here. 27 00:01:00,500 --> 00:01:02,720 My oldest son was down last weekend, 28 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,960 but he had to go back for this weekend. 29 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:09,960 So I hope you were able to see some of your loved ones. 30 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:12,080 I wanted to share a little bit. 31 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,320 I don't actually think I have a very exciting life, 32 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:19,200 but what I do share with you are the highlights. 33 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,160 I share a lot about my backpacking 34 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:22,640 because those are very adventurous for me, 35 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,400 but I've also shared a little bit about my dog. 36 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,200 My dog has brought a lot of energy into the household. 37 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:29,360 She's brought a lot of cuddles. 38 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,200 She's brought a lot of whatever puppies bring, 39 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,080 hair and so forth. 40 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:38,160 The last time I mentioned her might've been 41 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,520 maybe when she was biting or she was eating the whole pie 42 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,320 off of the counter or something like that. 43 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:46,520 This time it has to do with how big she's getting. 44 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,640 And I have an object lesson with this. 45 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:51,720 So we have a Newfoundland puppy. 46 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,700 She is six and a half months old. 47 00:01:54,700 --> 00:01:58,520 And a while ago, maybe three, 48 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:00,840 probably moving on four or five weeks or so, 49 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:05,080 she was about 63 pounds, something like that. 50 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:06,600 So a month passes. 51 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:11,200 I weighed her last week and she was 74.2. 52 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:16,120 I expect that she is north of 75 from last week to now. 53 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:17,280 And it's pretty obvious. 54 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:19,280 She can cruise along the kitchen counters 55 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:21,600 and she doesn't even have to really stretch 56 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,340 to get her nose up onto the counter. 57 00:02:24,340 --> 00:02:26,720 She's getting there. 58 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,680 We are expecting her to get rather big. 59 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:31,960 Well, I mentioned that not just because I wanna share 60 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:33,320 a little bit about my dog, 61 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:38,320 but she's very different than the last set of dogs 62 00:02:38,380 --> 00:02:39,680 that we had in our household. 63 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:43,880 The puppies that my wife and I had before Willow 64 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:45,820 were Chinese Cresteds. 65 00:02:45,820 --> 00:02:50,520 One of them at full grown was about 11 pounds, 66 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:52,920 maybe 11 and a half. 67 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:57,620 The other one at full grown, I think was six or seven, 68 00:02:57,620 --> 00:03:00,240 somewhere in that I'm getting affirmation from the back. 69 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,320 Six or seven pounds, full grown. 70 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:05,440 If they were ever had a haircut, 71 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:09,200 they might lose a few ounces, very small. 72 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:11,920 And it took them a little bit to get 73 00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:15,040 to their still very small size. 74 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:16,880 And so I wondered about that. 75 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:19,360 This is very new for us to have such a large animal 76 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:20,680 in our house. 77 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:22,540 All the food, all of the walks, 78 00:03:22,540 --> 00:03:26,360 all of the, when she jumps or bumps into you, you feel it. 79 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:28,920 I was amazed. 80 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:32,020 Boy, she's really growing very fast. 81 00:03:32,020 --> 00:03:34,080 And we know that for Newfoundland, 82 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:35,880 somewhere around seven to nine months 83 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:38,320 is a significant growth spurt 84 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:42,520 where we expect her to break that century mark in pounds. 85 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:44,880 She'll be well above a hundred pounds. 86 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:47,280 Well, it got me thinking. 87 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,680 Why is this standing out to me quite so much? 88 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:52,680 Maybe you have thought of this 89 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:54,840 or maybe you have had conversations with someone. 90 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,800 I've had multiple conversations that went something like, 91 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,320 I have a faith in Christ. 92 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:05,060 I read my Bible. 93 00:04:05,060 --> 00:04:06,880 I pray. 94 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,820 I just feel like I'm not growing like, 95 00:04:09,820 --> 00:04:12,760 and they might name a person that they see. 96 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:15,840 Someone that just oozes faith and peace, 97 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,820 and they seem to always have the right words to say. 98 00:04:18,820 --> 00:04:22,320 Or someone is new in the church and they're on fire 99 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:23,720 and they're growing and they're learning 100 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:25,760 and they're like a sponge absorbing it all in. 101 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,380 And just like that, they can start reciting things 102 00:04:28,380 --> 00:04:30,460 and we're happy for that. 103 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:33,400 But then someone else might tell the story, 104 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:35,920 I'm going on 30 years 105 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:38,080 and I feel like I still have the same struggles 106 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:43,080 and I still, have any of us ever had these kinds of thoughts 107 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:45,920 either on the one side or maybe on the other, 108 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:47,080 somewhere in between? 109 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,480 I want to encourage you. 110 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,120 When I was considering our experience 111 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:54,440 with the dogs in our house, 112 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:58,360 I had to remind myself that they are, 113 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:02,880 all of them are dogs, but they're different. 114 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:04,400 And in their uniqueness, 115 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:09,040 some are going to grow much, much, much faster 116 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:13,920 than others, take a little longer to reach their maturity. 117 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,920 But that doesn't mean that either one of them are wrong 118 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:21,600 or failing or are going to ultimately come up short. 119 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:23,320 You know, in your spiritual walk 120 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:25,240 and your relationship with Christ 121 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,880 and your growth in sanctification, 122 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:31,520 if you think you're here or you think you're there 123 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:33,940 and you wonder why maybe mountain top experiences 124 00:05:33,940 --> 00:05:37,540 are so far apart, God's with you. 125 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,260 You don't have to compare yourself to someone else. 126 00:05:41,260 --> 00:05:44,440 God knows for you, uniquely and individually, 127 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:46,140 what is best for you. 128 00:05:46,140 --> 00:05:49,280 And if you had the same kind of divine insight that he has, 129 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:53,360 you would not ask for any other growth experience 130 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:55,880 other than what he is leading you through. 131 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,640 So if you happen to be the Newfoundland, 132 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,220 don't compare yourself to the Chihuahuas. 133 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:04,440 If you feel like a toy poodle, 134 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:06,560 don't compare yourself to the Rottweilers 135 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:08,320 or the Great Things. 136 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,320 I'm not calling you dogs, but I think you get the point. 137 00:06:12,700 --> 00:06:14,960 With that being said, a little bit of encouragement. 138 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:16,520 Let's have one more brief word of prayer 139 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:18,420 we'll get into our message for today. 140 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,600 Loving Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus. 141 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:26,400 We thank you, we thank you for loving us. 142 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:28,040 We thank you for creating us. 143 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:30,160 We thank you for sustaining us 144 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,080 and we thank you for your inspired word, 145 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:35,560 preserved through the ages so that it wasn't only 146 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,680 for your people in history past, 147 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:40,700 but it's also for us, your people today 148 00:06:40,700 --> 00:06:42,080 and your people soon to come. 149 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,140 So we pray that you would bless us, inspire us, 150 00:06:45,140 --> 00:06:48,100 help us to learn and grow from what we consider. 151 00:06:48,100 --> 00:06:50,840 From your word, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. 152 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:53,180 And amen. 153 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,120 Did you say thanksgiving this past week? 154 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:00,020 What did you give thanks for? 155 00:07:00,020 --> 00:07:04,040 Maybe you said, I'm thankful that I got to celebrate 156 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:06,600 another rotation around the sun. 157 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:07,940 Whether you're having a birthday 158 00:07:07,940 --> 00:07:09,580 or you just marked that calendar and said, 159 00:07:09,580 --> 00:07:12,520 it's thanksgiving in 2022 and that's one year 160 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,040 after thanksgiving in 2021 and so forth. 161 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:17,880 Praise God for another year of life, right? 162 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:22,460 Maybe you are thankful that family came and traveled 163 00:07:22,460 --> 00:07:24,280 or you got to go see someone. 164 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:27,400 Maybe you went to your in-laws and it's normally not there. 165 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,460 Maybe someone came from out of state 166 00:07:29,460 --> 00:07:32,840 and you don't see them often and you get to catch up 167 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:35,400 and share stories and laugh. 168 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:39,880 And maybe you got to enjoy the beautiful weather. 169 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:42,080 It was beautiful this week. 170 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:44,000 The rain, I think we had rain yesterday 171 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,780 but it was kind of done and then it was beautiful 172 00:07:46,780 --> 00:07:48,840 and it's gorgeous today. 173 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,900 Did you say thank you that we had beautiful weather? 174 00:07:51,900 --> 00:07:55,400 Did you say thank you that you have health? 175 00:07:55,400 --> 00:08:00,400 Whether it's good and improving or you're alive 176 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,820 and praise God that air filled your lungs in the morning. 177 00:08:04,820 --> 00:08:06,400 Praise God that your eyes open. 178 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,120 Praise God that you could walk or you had family 179 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:11,440 and friends that could help you be mobile. 180 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:15,520 Did you praise God that, I don't know, 181 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,860 did you thank God for something this week? 182 00:08:19,740 --> 00:08:22,120 Did you remember to thank your family 183 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,840 for again, what they put up with? 184 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:26,320 All of us have our little thorns. 185 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:27,880 All of us bite sometimes. 186 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:32,720 All of us lash out and sometimes we are grateful 187 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,040 that the family and the friends still love us 188 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:36,600 regardless of that. 189 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:37,640 Did you thank them for that? 190 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:38,880 Did you give them a big hug and say, 191 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:39,880 I know I can be difficult. 192 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:41,480 Thank you for loving me anyways. 193 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:47,400 Did you thank your spouse for committing themselves 194 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:50,280 to you in that union? 195 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:52,880 Did you thank your husband or your wife 196 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:57,880 for adding and complimenting and affirming 197 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:02,640 and uplifting you when you needed those kind 198 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:05,320 of words or supporting you in your career 199 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,640 or helping raise the kids together? 200 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:09,020 Did you thank your spouse? 201 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:12,600 Did you thank the community that supports you? 202 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,800 Did you offer something up on the broader networks 203 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:17,920 and just say, thank you everyone for being a part 204 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:19,480 of my life or thank you everyone 205 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:21,040 for your charitable contribution 206 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,680 or thank you for whatever the case may be? 207 00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:25,740 Did you say thank you? 208 00:09:25,740 --> 00:09:30,740 Or were your holidays a little bit more anxiety ridden? 209 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:36,560 Maybe a little bit more stressful 210 00:09:36,560 --> 00:09:40,900 because we all know that the statistics bear this out 211 00:09:40,900 --> 00:09:43,880 from middle of November-ish until a little 212 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:48,880 after New Year's-ish is the most stressful time in America. 213 00:09:50,740 --> 00:09:54,000 Men and women, boys and girls, it's tough. 214 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,800 Pretty much across our coast to coast. 215 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:00,560 Getting together with family is not always a blessing 216 00:10:00,560 --> 00:10:03,120 for everyone and I think we need to remember that. 217 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:07,040 For those of us that could affirm, yes, I said thank you 218 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:09,700 to my parents or thank you to my siblings. 219 00:10:09,700 --> 00:10:12,400 There are others who will just go, 220 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:14,840 can I survive without losing it? 221 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:20,160 Or can they make it and then they go home 222 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:22,120 and what is spinning around in their head 223 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:24,440 is that much harder? 224 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:25,440 It's a real problem. 225 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:31,120 I wondered a little bit about what the ER might experience 226 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:33,000 going into Thanksgiving. 227 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:34,680 Are you going to have people coming in 228 00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:37,580 because of some of these concerns? 229 00:10:37,580 --> 00:10:39,180 Do you struggle with the anxiety? 230 00:10:39,180 --> 00:10:44,180 The last time I was here, we talked about anxiety 231 00:10:44,300 --> 00:10:46,760 and we talked about what the Bible has to say 232 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:50,400 and I wanna propose one reason why there seems 233 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:55,040 to be extra anxiety when it comes to the family 234 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:59,120 and why this might segue into what we can be thankful for 235 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:03,040 is because the idea about the nuclear family 236 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:08,040 is being undermined and the more you go after that idea, 237 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:11,320 the more anxiety it causes. 238 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:14,720 If you look at husbands and wives, men and women, 239 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:18,920 and you start with the idea that either 240 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:20,880 there are no differences between them, 241 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,240 they're perfectly the same in all things, 242 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:27,360 which also means why do I need one or the other? 243 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:31,480 Famously, it was quoted by a leading lady in this field 244 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:34,600 that a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle. 245 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:37,840 Well, if you start with there's no difference 246 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:39,960 between the two, well then maybe that would be 247 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:41,760 a logical conclusion. 248 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:44,000 Well, if you follow that train along, 249 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:47,280 then you might say, why have the husband or the wife, 250 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:49,200 the mom or the dad in the household? 251 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:51,880 You can just do it alone as a single parent. 252 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,200 And since that thinking has become more and more popular, 253 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,560 single parent households have just grown, 254 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:03,080 really skyrocketed, that has not borne out to be good 255 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:05,160 in our society, increased crime rates 256 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:07,360 and depression and so on. 257 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,320 If you keep on going and you take that idea 258 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:13,320 and then it goes into, well, if there's no difference 259 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,200 between men and women, then what's the difference 260 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:17,120 in marriage? 261 00:12:18,140 --> 00:12:21,020 All of a sudden you have that type of redefinition. 262 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:25,160 Well, then it can go even farther if you chase this 263 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:28,640 and many, many years ago, some would have said, 264 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:33,640 this is starting off on a slope that seems a little slippery. 265 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:36,240 And when people argue back, that's a fallacy. 266 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:38,520 I just go, no, that's a prediction. 267 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:39,800 You start with the one thought, 268 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:41,680 you might end with the other. 269 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:44,720 We now have things like this. 270 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:49,720 A author and teacher who has written many books, 271 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:54,200 Sophie Lewis, she is considered an expert in this field. 272 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,780 She spoke at UMass Boston on November 16 273 00:12:57,780 --> 00:13:01,160 at an event named after her most recent book titled, 274 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:05,520 Abolish the Family, a Manifesto for Care and Liberation. 275 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:07,560 Abolish the family. 276 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:09,520 We don't need it, get rid of it. 277 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:11,180 Wholesale, let it go. 278 00:13:11,180 --> 00:13:15,660 Lewis, Sophie Lewis has said in her various writing 279 00:13:15,660 --> 00:13:18,560 and interviews that her goal through abolishing the family 280 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:22,340 is to reimagine the notion of the family past fatherhood 281 00:13:22,340 --> 00:13:25,780 and motherhood into a more universal sense 282 00:13:25,780 --> 00:13:29,020 where children are not quote property of parents, 283 00:13:29,020 --> 00:13:31,980 but raised by society as a whole. 284 00:13:31,980 --> 00:13:36,260 That idea is shared in other parts of our society. 285 00:13:36,260 --> 00:13:39,380 For example, parents shouldn't have a say 286 00:13:39,380 --> 00:13:41,860 in the education of their child. 287 00:13:41,860 --> 00:13:43,960 Children feed them, house them, 288 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:46,820 but then when they send them to the six to eight hours 289 00:13:46,820 --> 00:13:49,720 at a school, parents have no say 290 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:52,020 and teachers have all the say. 291 00:13:52,020 --> 00:13:54,400 That's built on this idea. 292 00:13:56,860 --> 00:14:01,860 She goes on, one online description for her speeches say, 293 00:14:03,500 --> 00:14:06,300 let us overthrow in short the family. 294 00:14:06,300 --> 00:14:09,500 She has become something of an expert on this. 295 00:14:09,500 --> 00:14:14,500 We all deserve better than the family, Lewis argues, 296 00:14:14,700 --> 00:14:18,260 and it's up to all of us to build new forms of solidarity 297 00:14:18,260 --> 00:14:22,700 and care that reach beyond biology or even kin, 298 00:14:22,700 --> 00:14:25,780 even if we don't know quite what they'll look like. 299 00:14:26,820 --> 00:14:30,860 So she's saying she doesn't have a replacement, 300 00:14:30,860 --> 00:14:32,740 she's just starting with abolish it 301 00:14:32,740 --> 00:14:34,820 and we'll find out along the way. 302 00:14:34,820 --> 00:14:36,000 What's she saying? 303 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,240 Abolish the family will make you want to find out. 304 00:14:40,620 --> 00:14:44,140 To abolish the family is not to destroy relationships 305 00:14:44,140 --> 00:14:46,300 of care and nurturance, but on the contrary, 306 00:14:46,300 --> 00:14:49,140 to expand and proliferate them, 307 00:14:49,140 --> 00:14:54,140 meaning that it is then taken into a utopia kind of idea. 308 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:57,360 She further describes children as being likened 309 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,080 to property in modern culture, 310 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,400 which is a facet of her rationale 311 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:07,400 for utopia style familial ideal with no sense 312 00:15:07,460 --> 00:15:10,700 of individual parental relationships. 313 00:15:12,900 --> 00:15:15,600 Maybe some people are having anxiety over their families 314 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:17,900 because they bought into this. 315 00:15:17,900 --> 00:15:19,380 I don't need my mom and my dad, 316 00:15:19,380 --> 00:15:21,900 I don't need the support system that comes 317 00:15:21,900 --> 00:15:24,580 with what has been understood for millennia 318 00:15:24,580 --> 00:15:29,580 as the core social unit, the family. 319 00:15:29,580 --> 00:15:34,580 Maybe you just go home and you visit mom and dad 320 00:15:34,580 --> 00:15:36,940 or the grandparents and you go, 321 00:15:36,940 --> 00:15:39,020 I don't know what I'm thankful for with them 322 00:15:39,020 --> 00:15:40,500 because I don't really need them, 323 00:15:40,500 --> 00:15:43,940 I have been told by the experts. 324 00:15:45,700 --> 00:15:48,940 Maybe Thanksgiving is just simply how's the food 325 00:15:48,940 --> 00:15:51,420 and how's the parade and how's all those other things 326 00:15:51,420 --> 00:15:55,640 and what should be knitting us together as a family 327 00:15:55,640 --> 00:16:00,540 is no longer something people are thankful for. 328 00:16:00,540 --> 00:16:03,260 I think Paul speaks to this in the book of Romans 329 00:16:03,260 --> 00:16:06,500 if you're wanting to look at it, it's Romans chapter one. 330 00:16:09,620 --> 00:16:14,620 Leading up to it, he talks about how God's wrath comes 331 00:16:17,980 --> 00:16:21,700 because he himself is imprinted in nature. 332 00:16:21,700 --> 00:16:26,020 He's revealed himself through a natural revelation 333 00:16:26,020 --> 00:16:29,540 in his created world. 334 00:16:29,540 --> 00:16:33,680 In other words, the complexity, the detail, the order, 335 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:37,140 the fact that certain organisms and certain mechanisms 336 00:16:37,140 --> 00:16:40,460 don't work if you remove one element out of it 337 00:16:40,460 --> 00:16:43,720 speaks of at minimum an intelligent design 338 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:47,220 but most accurately a loving creator 339 00:16:47,220 --> 00:16:50,340 because that's all over everything 340 00:16:50,340 --> 00:16:54,720 but men and women have chosen to deny it, reject it. 341 00:16:56,300 --> 00:17:00,220 Then God's wrath is directed towards them 342 00:17:00,220 --> 00:17:04,700 because we read in Romans one and 21, 343 00:17:04,700 --> 00:17:07,020 for although they knew God, in other words, 344 00:17:07,020 --> 00:17:09,100 they perceived in the creation of the world 345 00:17:09,100 --> 00:17:11,620 that there was a God, although they knew God, 346 00:17:11,620 --> 00:17:15,860 they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him 347 00:17:16,820 --> 00:17:18,980 but they became futile in their thinking 348 00:17:18,980 --> 00:17:21,920 and their foolish hearts were darkened. 349 00:17:22,980 --> 00:17:27,020 Even though they knew God, they failed to honor him as God 350 00:17:27,020 --> 00:17:29,840 and then thank him as God 351 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:33,600 and so they were then given up to their futile thinking. 352 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:37,180 They believed their wisdom to be greater and higher 353 00:17:37,180 --> 00:17:39,700 than that of God's. 354 00:17:42,740 --> 00:17:46,180 Famed economist Thomas Sowell speaks to this 355 00:17:46,180 --> 00:17:47,020 when he says, quote, 356 00:17:47,020 --> 00:17:50,300 some of the biggest cases of mistaken identity 357 00:17:50,300 --> 00:17:53,000 are among intellectuals who have trouble remembering 358 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:54,600 that they are not God. 359 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:58,940 When you don't remember that you are not God 360 00:17:58,940 --> 00:18:03,700 and you don't give credence and gratitude to God, 361 00:18:03,700 --> 00:18:07,340 then you flip things out of order and out of sync 362 00:18:08,260 --> 00:18:10,320 and when you don't give credit to God, 363 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:11,900 you ultimately don't give credit 364 00:18:11,900 --> 00:18:15,340 to what God has set in place, things like the family 365 00:18:15,340 --> 00:18:20,340 and you start to disrupt it, break it down, tear it apart. 366 00:18:21,340 --> 00:18:24,220 Rather than being progressive in your thoughts, 367 00:18:24,220 --> 00:18:27,380 you are transgressive in your attitude 368 00:18:28,380 --> 00:18:29,840 and that leads to anxiety. 369 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:34,540 God in his wisdom and his love knew exactly 370 00:18:34,540 --> 00:18:37,020 what you and I needed in our lives 371 00:18:37,020 --> 00:18:40,140 and he speaks to that repeatedly throughout scripture. 372 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:43,800 Male and female, he created them. 373 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:46,260 In his image, he shaped them, formed them, 374 00:18:46,260 --> 00:18:49,980 breathed life into them and then he gave them a purpose. 375 00:18:49,980 --> 00:18:52,280 God knew that we needed a purpose in life. 376 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:55,340 We weren't just supposed to sit around and do nothing. 377 00:18:55,340 --> 00:18:57,500 He gave them work. 378 00:18:57,500 --> 00:18:59,980 For the man, name those animals. 379 00:18:59,980 --> 00:19:01,740 Adam noticed that something was amiss. 380 00:19:01,740 --> 00:19:03,820 He was alone, they had pairs. 381 00:19:03,820 --> 00:19:05,920 Here comes the woman. 382 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,460 But then the two of them go and tend the garden, 383 00:19:08,460 --> 00:19:11,700 take care of the plants, maybe shape the vines 384 00:19:11,700 --> 00:19:15,060 or order the roses in a particular way. 385 00:19:15,060 --> 00:19:18,140 Weave the branches and the leaves together 386 00:19:18,140 --> 00:19:20,440 to make your coverings and so on. 387 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:24,600 He gave them a work because he knew that men in our mankind, 388 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,460 in our intellect and in our desire to be active, 389 00:19:28,460 --> 00:19:32,980 it was for our better good to have a purpose in life. 390 00:19:32,980 --> 00:19:34,320 You have increased anxiety 391 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:36,500 if you don't know your purpose in life. 392 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,560 Well, he also knew that what was best for our health 393 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:46,560 was a less processed, more natural, simplistic diet. 394 00:19:49,900 --> 00:19:53,180 You know, I fully believe that the longer 395 00:19:53,180 --> 00:19:56,540 the ingredient list with words you cannot pronounce, 396 00:19:56,540 --> 00:19:58,940 the less healthy it is for you. 397 00:19:58,940 --> 00:20:01,220 If you can simplify that and get it back 398 00:20:01,220 --> 00:20:05,540 to maybe six or seven ingredients, probably better for you. 399 00:20:05,540 --> 00:20:07,620 Find a little balance in your spices 400 00:20:07,620 --> 00:20:09,800 and your sugars and your fats and your, 401 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,960 find some balance to it and you will be healthier for it. 402 00:20:13,860 --> 00:20:17,980 God knew that after the fall, 403 00:20:17,980 --> 00:20:22,660 that there needed to be the introduction of herbs. 404 00:20:23,500 --> 00:20:27,220 I have been reliably told by a New Zealander 405 00:20:27,220 --> 00:20:30,180 that you do say the H, herbs. 406 00:20:31,620 --> 00:20:33,220 You introduce the vegetables, 407 00:20:33,220 --> 00:20:36,140 you introduce the herbs of the ground, why? 408 00:20:36,140 --> 00:20:39,480 Well, we have since learned that in vegetables 409 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:42,820 and the herbs and some of the other spices, 410 00:20:42,820 --> 00:20:44,900 different than fruits and nuts, 411 00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:48,100 you get minerals and vitamins that affect your brain 412 00:20:48,100 --> 00:20:51,520 in a way that lets you discern right and wrong 413 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:52,820 a little bit more clearly. 414 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:55,740 You didn't need perhaps some of that 415 00:20:55,740 --> 00:20:58,940 before sin's introduction, but now we do. 416 00:20:58,940 --> 00:21:02,140 God said, now they need something, I'm gonna benefit them. 417 00:21:02,140 --> 00:21:06,180 After the flood, we saw a different type of element 418 00:21:06,180 --> 00:21:09,440 added to the diet because they didn't have all of the crops 419 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:11,500 and the vineyards and the fields, 420 00:21:11,500 --> 00:21:14,140 so there was an introduction of the clean meats. 421 00:21:14,140 --> 00:21:15,900 Nothing wrong with that, Jesus ate fish, 422 00:21:15,900 --> 00:21:17,220 we know this, probably ate lamb, 423 00:21:17,220 --> 00:21:20,060 he probably had a typical Mediterranean diet, 424 00:21:20,940 --> 00:21:22,160 olives and the like. 425 00:21:23,660 --> 00:21:24,860 God knows what you need, 426 00:21:24,860 --> 00:21:28,160 God knew that it was not good for man to be alone 427 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:31,620 and so God performed the first marriage ceremony 428 00:21:31,620 --> 00:21:35,060 and then he knew that we needed babies, 429 00:21:35,060 --> 00:21:37,340 so he encouraged babies. 430 00:21:37,340 --> 00:21:41,300 Have young ones, pass on the lineage, share with them. 431 00:21:41,300 --> 00:21:46,300 He knew that the family unit was critical for humanity. 432 00:21:47,580 --> 00:21:50,280 We are social creatures, we need it. 433 00:21:51,140 --> 00:21:56,140 He knew that at some point we would need revelation 434 00:21:57,180 --> 00:21:58,520 from him to us. 435 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:01,420 Now that sin had separated us from him 436 00:22:01,420 --> 00:22:03,520 in a literal physical sense, 437 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:05,100 we can't walk with Christ 438 00:22:05,100 --> 00:22:07,420 through the cool of the evening anymore. 439 00:22:07,420 --> 00:22:10,540 He needed to reveal himself in other ways. 440 00:22:10,540 --> 00:22:13,380 We have inspired writings, we have miracles, 441 00:22:13,380 --> 00:22:17,400 we have divine appearances recorded in the Bible. 442 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:22,400 We have these other accounts that we know and hear and read 443 00:22:24,260 --> 00:22:28,300 and that's God yearning to let himself be known to us. 444 00:22:29,500 --> 00:22:30,940 He knows that we need that 445 00:22:30,940 --> 00:22:35,100 and I believe that when we start to reject it, 446 00:22:35,100 --> 00:22:39,020 it leads to anxiety, it leads to stress, 447 00:22:39,020 --> 00:22:40,960 it leads to a lot of the problems 448 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:43,960 that we find ourselves in the middle of. 449 00:22:45,700 --> 00:22:47,220 Well Jesus touched on that when he says, 450 00:22:47,220 --> 00:22:49,760 don't worry about your food or your clothing 451 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:51,140 or your shelter. 452 00:22:51,140 --> 00:22:52,540 God takes care of the sparrows, 453 00:22:52,540 --> 00:22:53,540 he takes care of the lilies, 454 00:22:53,540 --> 00:22:55,860 will he not take care of you 455 00:22:55,860 --> 00:22:58,220 because aren't you more valuable to him 456 00:22:58,220 --> 00:23:01,020 than a flower or a bird? 457 00:23:01,020 --> 00:23:03,540 We get down to Paul and Philippians 458 00:23:03,540 --> 00:23:05,860 and if you want to join me there, Philippians 4. 459 00:23:07,020 --> 00:23:10,100 Paul after a lengthy discourse about the hope he has 460 00:23:10,100 --> 00:23:12,260 in the resurrection from the dead, 461 00:23:12,260 --> 00:23:14,820 that gift of eternal life, 462 00:23:14,820 --> 00:23:16,140 we covered this last time, 463 00:23:16,140 --> 00:23:21,140 he no longer considers his identity to be the old man. 464 00:23:21,180 --> 00:23:22,860 He forgets what was behind 465 00:23:22,860 --> 00:23:24,700 but now he presses towards the goal, 466 00:23:24,700 --> 00:23:27,260 he is a new creature in Christ. 467 00:23:27,260 --> 00:23:28,780 That's his identity, 468 00:23:28,780 --> 00:23:31,380 that's the hook he hangs his faith and hope on. 469 00:23:32,300 --> 00:23:34,840 Now that is moving him towards something. 470 00:23:37,220 --> 00:23:40,180 And in chapter four and verse four, rejoice. 471 00:23:40,180 --> 00:23:42,460 We have a lot to rejoice in the Lord for. 472 00:23:43,980 --> 00:23:46,600 We have a lot to be joyful over. 473 00:23:47,580 --> 00:23:49,760 Let your reasonableness or your meekness 474 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:51,660 be known to everyone, be a witness, 475 00:23:51,660 --> 00:23:53,100 that's for your good. 476 00:23:53,100 --> 00:23:55,520 Be a witness to others. 477 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,620 Do not be anxious about anything 478 00:23:59,540 --> 00:24:04,060 but in everything by prayer and supplication. 479 00:24:04,060 --> 00:24:05,500 We touched on that last time. 480 00:24:05,500 --> 00:24:10,220 You don't have a reason for common anxiety in life 481 00:24:10,220 --> 00:24:12,860 because God has said I'm taking care of you 482 00:24:12,860 --> 00:24:16,060 and I'm giving you a hope of a world better than this. 483 00:24:16,060 --> 00:24:18,540 You don't have a reason for just common, 484 00:24:18,540 --> 00:24:21,500 just letting the anxieties get in your head 485 00:24:21,500 --> 00:24:23,760 and not letting them go. 486 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:25,480 We understand that stress has happened 487 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:26,780 and we're not talking about that. 488 00:24:26,780 --> 00:24:30,500 We're talking about an unreasonable approach to anxieties 489 00:24:30,500 --> 00:24:33,820 when God has said you don't have to worry about it. 490 00:24:35,820 --> 00:24:38,500 And the solution, prayer helps. 491 00:24:38,500 --> 00:24:40,140 Prayer, supplication. 492 00:24:41,180 --> 00:24:45,180 But that fulcrum that those sit on 493 00:24:45,180 --> 00:24:47,660 and are balanced with is the thanksgiving. 494 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:51,720 With thanksgiving, if all you're doing 495 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,140 is just pressing in your wants and your desires, 496 00:24:54,140 --> 00:24:55,820 if all you're doing is thinking of God 497 00:24:55,820 --> 00:24:59,560 as some lottery machine and you put your prayers in 498 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:01,260 and you pull the handle and maybe you get 499 00:25:01,260 --> 00:25:02,760 the answer you're looking for, 500 00:25:05,420 --> 00:25:08,160 I can only imagine that will lead to more anxiety. 501 00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:10,400 Maybe you get the jackpot, amen. 502 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:16,200 Maybe you get snake eyes and then you think what? 503 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:18,120 I failed God or he doesn't listen to me 504 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:21,340 or whatever the case may be. 505 00:25:21,340 --> 00:25:24,900 God is not a vending machine. 506 00:25:24,900 --> 00:25:27,340 He is not a gambling machine. 507 00:25:27,340 --> 00:25:28,380 He is not any of that. 508 00:25:28,380 --> 00:25:30,240 God is faithful. 509 00:25:31,780 --> 00:25:34,980 And that faithfulness we remember when we offer up 510 00:25:34,980 --> 00:25:39,620 our prayers and our supplications with thanksgiving. 511 00:25:41,180 --> 00:25:43,260 That thanksgiving is so important. 512 00:25:43,260 --> 00:25:44,760 Why do we give thanks? 513 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:47,160 Why do we give thanks? 514 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,820 I'd like to propose three reasons why we give thanks. 515 00:25:50,820 --> 00:25:55,600 One, the connection with Romans is we give thanks 516 00:25:55,600 --> 00:26:00,020 and in giving thanks we acknowledge God for who he is. 517 00:26:00,020 --> 00:26:03,480 We don't get caught up in that mistaken identity crisis 518 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:07,520 where we think we are God and he is not. 519 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,920 When we give him a thanks and we say thank you 520 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:14,560 for who you are, for shaping Orion 521 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,000 and putting the solar systems in place 522 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,280 and sparking light at the far distant corners 523 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:22,280 that we're only now getting to see 524 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:23,760 on the James Webb Telescope. 525 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:26,160 I told you I'm fascinated by that. 526 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:31,160 Thank you for being all of that and you still love me. 527 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:37,360 That's acknowledging him for who he is and who you are. 528 00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:40,960 We don't get caught up in that identity crisis. 529 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:44,980 That can bring some peace to your life. 530 00:26:44,980 --> 00:26:47,320 When it's bigger than you, when it's harder 531 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:50,800 than what you can handle, when it seems insurmountable, 532 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:55,640 when you are weak and exhausted and frustrated 533 00:26:55,640 --> 00:27:00,640 and impatient and angry and anxiety ridden. 534 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:05,560 But you remember that there is a God 535 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:09,220 bigger than all of that combined plus some. 536 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:13,200 That can bring peace into your life. 537 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:17,640 I was one of the follies of the Romans 538 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:18,740 that Paul was addressing. 539 00:27:18,740 --> 00:27:20,600 They didn't acknowledge God for who he is. 540 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,240 When we give him thanks, we acknowledge him 541 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,480 as our creator and our God and our sovereign Lord. 542 00:27:28,300 --> 00:27:33,280 Two, when we give him thanks, we recognize 543 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:37,520 where he has already blessed us in our lives. 544 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:40,680 Too often we walk around and we either take things 545 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:45,320 for granted, that's just nature. 546 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:49,040 It's just the revolving of the hours and the minutes. 547 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:53,280 When we hesitate on giving God thanks, 548 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,260 when we just go through life and say these are 549 00:27:56,260 --> 00:27:59,700 the mundane steps of Sunday through Sabbath, 550 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,160 then you become tempted to think that God 551 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:05,740 doesn't have a hand in my life. 552 00:28:05,740 --> 00:28:10,680 He is not a personal God who draws close to me 553 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:15,480 and blesses me and has a hand in gifting me. 554 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:19,080 And God wants to do that. 555 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:21,120 He does bless us. 556 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:23,080 He does make himself known to us. 557 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,400 He does reveal himself in the natural world 558 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:29,200 but also in inspiration. 559 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,200 He reveals himself to us in a changed heart 560 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:35,480 and corrected in a healthy attitude. 561 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:40,000 He reveals himself to us in a victory over sin. 562 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,820 He reveals himself to us in many ways 563 00:28:42,820 --> 00:28:44,840 and when we take it for granted, 564 00:28:45,820 --> 00:28:49,000 then we run the risk of excluding him out of our lives 565 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,200 when he very much wants us to acknowledge 566 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:53,120 his inclusion in our lives. 567 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:58,500 Give thanks for what he has done already for you. 568 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:03,360 Because number three, when you acknowledge 569 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:05,820 what he has already done for you, 570 00:29:05,820 --> 00:29:08,660 then that adds weight to your prayer and supplication. 571 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:13,320 You can then ask and seek, 572 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:15,640 believing by faith that you will find. 573 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:20,160 When you lift up your words of prayer heavenward, 574 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:22,720 because you've already acknowledged 575 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:24,740 where he's already made himself present, 576 00:29:24,740 --> 00:29:27,240 you know he will listen. 577 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,820 You know he will turn his ear towards you. 578 00:29:29,820 --> 00:29:34,060 You know it's not falling on cosmic emptiness 579 00:29:34,060 --> 00:29:37,360 but rather on an attentive, loving, personal, 580 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:41,780 caring, gracious, merciful and long-suffering God. 581 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:45,880 When you give him thanks, 582 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,600 it then bolsters your faith 583 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:51,060 to lean ever closer into his presence. 584 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:55,760 And that can dispel a lot of the anxieties. 585 00:29:55,760 --> 00:29:56,760 Will he listen? 586 00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:57,600 Yes, he will. 587 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:00,080 You've already mentioned that he has before. 588 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:00,920 Do it again. 589 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:02,760 Does God love me? 590 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:05,240 Yes, he does, because you've already acknowledged 591 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:06,960 that he's given Christ to you. 592 00:30:08,780 --> 00:30:09,920 Seek him again. 593 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:14,600 This thanksgiving, giving thanks is very important 594 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:16,460 because with all of those things in mind, 595 00:30:16,460 --> 00:30:18,900 we can avoid a lot of the anxieties in life. 596 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:23,080 When we first go to God, acknowledging him for who he is 597 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:24,800 and offering him thanks for what he's done 598 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:26,280 and we have the faith and the assurance 599 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:27,680 that he'll continue to do it, 600 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:32,380 what does that do with our anxiety? 601 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:35,200 Can it help alleviate it? 602 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:38,080 Can it help soften it? 603 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:42,560 Can it help take it from a 10, if not a zero, 604 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:45,440 maybe a six or a four or a two? 605 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:50,800 Can it help some of that and can it at times 606 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:53,920 be something you don't understand? 607 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:56,480 Because when you go to God with your anxieties 608 00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:58,200 and you press into him with your prayer 609 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:00,120 and you offer up your thanksgiving, 610 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:04,800 the promise is that the peace of God is given to you. 611 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:09,400 This world will only give you tribulation and stress 612 00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:12,400 and pain and disappointment and hurt. 613 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:14,160 If you are looking for peace in this world, 614 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:17,500 they have been screaming peace for how many years? 615 00:31:18,500 --> 00:31:21,600 Peace through strength, peace through diplomacy, 616 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:24,680 peace through open trades, peace through, 617 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:25,880 I mean they have peace attached 618 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,700 to all these different attempts at solving 619 00:31:28,700 --> 00:31:31,480 our global anxieties, our social anxieties. 620 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:33,280 How much of that has actually worked? 621 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:38,680 Not a whole lot, have you looked at any amount of news? 622 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,780 But from on high, outside of ourselves, 623 00:31:43,780 --> 00:31:46,880 above and beyond what we can comprehend, 624 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:51,880 surpassing our understanding, the divine peace 625 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:55,600 from God himself is gifted to us. 626 00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:59,520 This world can't offer it but he surely can 627 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:01,600 and when we thank him, 628 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:06,940 then that allows a perfect opportunity 629 00:32:06,940 --> 00:32:08,220 for peace from on high. 630 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:12,600 And it's that peace that guards us, 631 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:16,900 guards our hearts, guards our minds, 632 00:32:16,900 --> 00:32:19,820 guards our responses and our reactions 633 00:32:19,820 --> 00:32:21,660 because when we have a peace from God 634 00:32:21,660 --> 00:32:24,940 and we've given up our anxieties about things, 635 00:32:24,940 --> 00:32:27,320 then he will bring us back into harmony. 636 00:32:28,340 --> 00:32:31,860 You will have a better improvement 637 00:32:31,860 --> 00:32:34,540 on the peace in your life when you, 638 00:32:34,540 --> 00:32:36,540 different than this scholar, 639 00:32:36,540 --> 00:32:40,220 different than many of the experts in life, 640 00:32:40,220 --> 00:32:44,320 when you acknowledge that God knows what's best for you 641 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:47,500 and you stop fighting him and you accept 642 00:32:47,500 --> 00:32:51,560 that what he has created is good for you, 643 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:54,860 you'll have a peace. 644 00:32:54,860 --> 00:32:57,220 When you acknowledge him as a God who creates you 645 00:32:57,220 --> 00:32:59,180 and loves you, you will have a peace. 646 00:32:59,180 --> 00:33:03,140 When you have the thanksgiving in your heart 647 00:33:03,140 --> 00:33:05,980 wherever you go, it will protect you 648 00:33:05,980 --> 00:33:09,720 from so many of the lies that we face ourselves with. 649 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:11,620 It will protect you from the lie 650 00:33:11,620 --> 00:33:14,220 that there is not a God who shaped things, 651 00:33:14,220 --> 00:33:16,140 you're just an accident. 652 00:33:16,140 --> 00:33:18,180 It will protect you from the lie 653 00:33:18,180 --> 00:33:22,620 that anything male associated is purely toxic 654 00:33:22,620 --> 00:33:23,880 from its inception. 655 00:33:25,260 --> 00:33:28,860 Or anything overtly female should be bent 656 00:33:28,860 --> 00:33:30,800 towards a more masculine approach 657 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:31,980 and they should, I don't know, 658 00:33:31,980 --> 00:33:34,780 there's different ways that that's encouraged. 659 00:33:34,780 --> 00:33:38,860 Or your parents only want to control and coerce 660 00:33:38,860 --> 00:33:41,700 and they aren't really there for your betterment 661 00:33:41,700 --> 00:33:43,820 and we should abolish that whole structure 662 00:33:43,820 --> 00:33:47,580 and instead let other outside forces decide 663 00:33:47,580 --> 00:33:48,540 what's best for our young ones. 664 00:33:48,540 --> 00:33:49,520 Those are lies. 665 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:52,200 How do I know they're lies? 666 00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:55,900 Well, because when I open up God's word 667 00:33:55,900 --> 00:33:59,700 and I see that he formed and shaped a particular way 668 00:33:59,700 --> 00:34:01,100 and then he said, trust me, 669 00:34:02,060 --> 00:34:03,920 I know that everything else is a lie. 670 00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:08,920 If you want to be guarded from anxieties in life, 671 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,640 rejoice in the Lord always. 672 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:17,360 Be a witness to others about what he has done in your life. 673 00:34:18,720 --> 00:34:21,280 Don't stress about the common things 674 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:24,280 because Jesus says, I will take care of you. 675 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:29,840 Press into his presence with prayer and supplication 676 00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:31,520 and don't forget the thanksgiving. 677 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:34,020 Don't forget offering up your gratitude 678 00:34:34,020 --> 00:34:36,380 to your heavenly father. 679 00:34:36,380 --> 00:34:39,460 When that gratitude is expressed, 680 00:34:39,460 --> 00:34:41,660 we have a promise of peace. 681 00:34:41,660 --> 00:34:44,300 It surpasses what we know. 682 00:34:44,300 --> 00:34:47,540 It will guard your heart from the lies 683 00:34:47,540 --> 00:34:50,620 that the enemy wants to throw your ways. 684 00:34:50,620 --> 00:34:53,420 My friends, I pray that the rest of this season 685 00:34:53,420 --> 00:34:55,420 find you blessed. 686 00:34:55,420 --> 00:35:00,420 I pray that the rest of this season find God in your homes. 687 00:35:00,420 --> 00:35:03,020 I pray that the rest of this season, 688 00:35:03,020 --> 00:35:07,380 you will remember continuously to offer up thanksgiving 689 00:35:07,380 --> 00:35:09,780 and then I pray that the peace of God 690 00:35:09,780 --> 00:35:14,300 be found abundantly in every one of our lives. 691 00:35:14,300 --> 00:35:15,140 Let us pray. 692 00:35:16,100 --> 00:35:19,660 Heavenly Father, we thank you again for hearing our prayers 693 00:35:19,660 --> 00:35:23,060 and we thank you so much for speaking to us. 694 00:35:23,060 --> 00:35:26,260 Lord, I pray that when the shadows are especially dark, 695 00:35:26,260 --> 00:35:29,780 that Christ would be that light streaming through us 696 00:35:29,780 --> 00:35:32,500 streaming through into our lives. 697 00:35:32,500 --> 00:35:34,580 I pray that you would peel back the shadows 698 00:35:34,580 --> 00:35:36,620 and I pray that you would lift our burdens 699 00:35:36,620 --> 00:35:39,900 and I pray that you would walk beside us 700 00:35:39,900 --> 00:35:44,140 and yoke up with us and be our loving savior 701 00:35:44,140 --> 00:35:46,980 every step of this challenging life 702 00:35:46,980 --> 00:35:48,660 that we live right now. 703 00:35:48,660 --> 00:35:50,860 Lord, we look so forward to a time 704 00:35:50,860 --> 00:35:55,860 when all of these challenges are a part of history past. 705 00:35:55,860 --> 00:35:58,540 We look forward to a reunion with our heavenly family. 706 00:35:58,540 --> 00:36:00,940 We look forward to a time 707 00:36:00,940 --> 00:36:04,980 when there is no longer pain or tears or sorrow or loss 708 00:36:04,980 --> 00:36:07,540 and we look forward to a time where we get to live 709 00:36:07,540 --> 00:36:10,740 in the presence of your glory and your love 710 00:36:10,740 --> 00:36:13,220 and your righteousness forevermore. 711 00:36:13,220 --> 00:36:16,940 Lord, I pray that here now we might experience a snippet 712 00:36:16,940 --> 00:36:19,020 of it as you draw close to us. 713 00:36:19,020 --> 00:36:21,900 We pray all of these things not because we are worthy, 714 00:36:21,900 --> 00:36:24,140 but you have said we can pray them in Jesus' name 715 00:36:24,140 --> 00:36:28,540 so all of His saints do say in Jesus' name, amen.