All right, we're in Ephesians again this evening
So we're in Ephesians chapter 6 Let's read these
first few verses again here. So Ephesians 6,
10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and the strength
of his might. Put on the full armor of God so
that you will be able to stand firm against the
schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the powers, against the world forces
of this darkness, against the spiritual forces
of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore,
take up the full armor of God so that you will
be able to resist in the evil day. Having done
everything to stand firm stand firm therefore
having girded your loins with truth and having
put on the breastplate of righteousness and Having
shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel
of peace in addition to all taking up the shield
of faith which is with which you will be able
to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil
one and Take the helmet of salvation and the
sword of the spirit, which is the word of God
with all prayer and so on there so We're gonna
talk this evening about The breastplate of righteousness
here in verse 14 so we talked last week about
girding our loins with truth and Now he says
to put on the breastplate of righteousness a
Couple things it's good. So hopefully you know
we read those few verses every week and when
I'm And any time I'm preaching or teaching, I'm
reading those verses multiple times a week. Usually
every time I begin to study, I read that whole
passage. Okay. So I would encourage you that
throughout the week, as you think about these
things, read those first, those whatever that
is seven verses, because it becomes familiar
and you may not be able to quote it perfectly
after doing that, but it will become very familiar
so that you'll know where it is and you'll have
a good idea of what's being said and of course
you could always take the time to memorize those
seven verses which would be beneficial. So usually
by the time I'm done teaching something I have
a very good working knowledge of that portion
and I'm able to recall it to mind because I've
just read it time and again and so that's helpful.
Even if I don't memorize it intentionally, it's
at least very profitable in that regard. So let
me encourage you in that Secondly here. I want
to remind us that As we because we go on here
and talk about each piece that we're to put on
here each piece of this armor Keep in mind what
this armor is for okay, so What is it for? Why
does Paul tell us to put the armor on? What's
the reason for it? It's to stand, to stand firm
against the devil, right? That's his whole point.
That's the reason he's writing all this. He says,
do this so that you'll be able to stand firm,
so that you'll be able to resist. So each piece
of this armor is meant for our resistance of
the devil, sin, the world. Okay, so keep that
in mind. So if you're wondering what does this
mean? How does this apply? How does it apply
to our lives in our resistance against sin and
our striving against Satan? Okay So again that
helps us in the context of what we're talking
about that it's not some thing over here that
has nothing to do with my resistance Against
sin and Satan Anyway, I just think that that's
always helpful to keep in mind as we go through
these things All right, so he says to put on
the breastplate of righteousness So this breastplate
We're probably familiar with it if you if you
think of a soldier. He's got this chest protector
going from his neck down to his hips or his loins
here and Usually it's going to be front and back
and so it's protection for his vital organs Other
than his head obviously, but his organs there.
So what does what? What does that represent?
Anybody have any ideas when we're talking about
these vital organs? How does scripture represent
these things? What does it mean when we're talking
about our heart, bowels, and so on? What is the
Bible speaking of often when it speaks of those
things? Good answer though Okay How about we
heard of the bowels of mercies Okay, our emotions
our feelings our sensibilities Okay, it's not
it's not our mind All right, it's it's these
inner thoughts and feelings that we're talking
about maybe we could we could Conscience our
conscience our heart The sensitive parts, our
feelings, our affections, those are the things
here that the Bible often uses to speak of these
parts of our body. So that's what we're talking
about here. That's what we're protecting with
this breastplate of righteousness. So the next
question then is, what is righteousness? God's
goodness. There's more than one. Yes, yes and
yes. Okay. It was a Psalm where David says, Oh
God of my righteousness. So did we hear Jake?
He mentioned imputed righteousness. And so we'll
talk about that. He also said imparted righteousness.
Is that something different? Yes. Okay. So imputed,
imparted, but what is it? I want to go back here
to what is righteousness? Just a simple definition.
Different than what Jake gave if we're talking
about righteousness if I say Caleb you should
live a righteous life What do I mean? Okay, upright
Doing what's right, you know living virtuously
Morally we could say Again, righteousness here,
we could say, obeying God's commands, living
in a right way according to God's precepts, his
ordinances, right living, righteous living. So
righteousness. Now there is this righteousness
that Jake mentioned. Imparted righteousness and
imputed righteousness. What is imputed righteousness?
What do we mean by that? Okay, we're made righteous.
Is there another way that we would say that?
What does it mean to impute? Okay, I wrote down
here, and I don't know where I got this from,
taking what belongs to one person and giving
it to another. All right, so imputed righteousness
is the righteousness of Christ being given to
us. So that now we have the righteousness of
Christ. What's another word for that? Having
the righteousness of Christ, being righteous.
Justification. That's this imputed righteousness.
Having the righteousness of Christ. Okay, where
does that Bible talk about that? How about we
just turn to one? Second Corinthians 521. Okay,
Second Corinthians 521. He made him who knew
no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might
become the righteousness of God in him. Okay?
So there we have this idea of this exchange,
right? This exchange, our sin to Christ, Christ's
righteousness to us. Imputed righteousness, being
made righteous, all right? So that's one righteousness
that scripture talks about. And again, if we
were gonna talk about that, we would say that's
our justification that has to do with being made
right with God, all right? Another righteousness
is this imputed righteousness, or I'm sorry,
imparted righteousness. This is, we would say,
a result of what has happened to us. So this
is a result of our regeneration, our being born
again, our being made new. So all of those things
that the Bible talks about, the newness of the
Christian, his new life, his new birth, a new
heart, a new creation, a new creature, okay.
We've been made new and because of that then,
what happens? We live in a righteous way, okay?
So now, something has happened to us, we've been
saved, we've been justified, and now we're living
a righteous life. That's our desire, that's our
goal. That's what we're striving after. So it's
a result of something that has happened to us
and we are being transformed then and changed
Made more like Christ and living a more righteous
life in that way. Okay, so What's Paul talking
about here what righteousness is Paul talking
about when he says to put on the breastplate
of righteousness Okay, Christ's righteousness
in what way? You mean like the imputed righteousness
of Christ? The result of Christ's work on our
behalf and our regeneration. Well that's what
I would say. So that when Paul says here put
on the breastplate of righteousness, I think
he has in mind here this idea of living in this
way in this righteous way now do you do you disagree
with that dad do you think it refers more to
the imputed righteousness of christ okay i was
just wondering yes yes so so right and we'll
talk about that here well here i'll just say
right here so what is this then if we're talking
here about right living just say it simply there
that this breastplate has to do with living rightly
and living rightly then is a protection against
the attacks of satan how does that apply how
does that correlate does anybody does anybody
know what i'm asking there How does this, living
rightly, how is that a breastplate for us? How
does that give protection to us? If you've fallen
into sin, it's hard to have a clear conscience,
isn't it? What's the result of living an unrighteous
life as a Christian? Conviction. Conviction.
You feel guilt. Notice I said you feel. You feel
guilty. You don't have a clear conscience. What
else what else happens here Communion with the
Lord is affected what else? Okay lack of joy
Okay, it's hard to have assurance right if you're
in sin and you're continuing in that pattern
Should you have any assurance? Probably not,
right? So, living rightly, living in a way that
honors the Lord, gives us more confidence that
we are walking with the Lord. We can look at
our life and say, my life and my profession seem
to go together here. I have reason to hope. I'm
not just talking. I'm not just saying I'm a Christian.
I'm actually living like one, okay? What else
does that do? What does Satan do through all
of this? He wants us to doubt, right? He wants
us to doubt our salvation. He wants us to condemn
ourselves. He wants us to live joyless, miserable,
guilty, condemned lives, right? That's his goal.
Because when we're living in that way, we're
not living in the way that God designed us to
live as Christians, and we're not being fruitful
in the kingdom, and we're not producing in our
own Christian lives the way that we should be
in growing and maturing. So living rightly is
this breastplate. It protects us against all
of these lies and attacks of Satan. There's a
balance here, of course, right? Because just
because we live a good life, that doesn't make
us a Christian. But we're living in this way.
And where is our hope on that imputed righteousness
of Christ? That Christ's righteousness is mine.
I'm trusting in Christ's work. I'm trusting in
His righteousness on my behalf. And I'm living
in this way that He's told me to live. And therefore,
I'm walking boldly and confidently into the battle
with this breastplate on, okay? So I think that's
what Paul's talking about. We all surely know
what it is to walk through this life when we've
fallen into sin. And maybe we've continued in
that sin for a few days or a few weeks, maybe
even months, maybe it's been years. Do you have
confidence? Do you have assurance? Are you a
joyful Christian in that time? No. No, you're
not. So living rightly, living in a way that
honors the Lord, living in a way that matches
the profession that we make is a guard and a
help in our battle here on this earth. Okay,
I feel like we should say a little bit here just
about this whole Again conscience feelings emotions
I think that's again all that's being mentioned
here. We don't live our lives based on feelings.
All right it is It is however a reality in our
world, right and if we let it we have emotions
we have feelings And so, we're not here to say,
oh, you know, you shouldn't have feelings, there
shouldn't be emotion, there shouldn't be experience
in the Christian life. We have all of those things,
and those things are good, but we don't live
based on those things. We live based upon truth,
reality, what Scripture says, having our loins
gird about with truth. Alright, and then we're
gonna talk about faith later on. We walk by faith,
not by sight, not just what we see and experience
here on this earth, but what the scripture says
about who we are, about what Christ has accomplished,
and all of those things. So I don't want to minimize
the reality of feelings in this world. We just
can't live based on our feelings. We have to
Face our feelings upon truth and not just what's
going on around us If Christians don't have any
feelings in their walk or in their life, then
that's another reason to wonder if they're Christians.
The emotions are great. They're definitely part
of the Christian life. The only good problem
is that we've got to guard our emotions even
in the practical ways that you already said.
But there's no limit in the amount of... of joy
that we can experience, the amount of peace that
we experience, the love, we can have mounds of
emotional experiences as Christians. Right. Yeah.
And yeah, absolutely. And I was thinking more
along the lines of negative or the not good feelings.
Okay. Right. Just what dad said, the Christian
life is one of experiential, is an experiential
life. Feeling I mean surely we've all felt the
love of God We've all experienced that in a deep
way That's a good thing So much better than the
world's ever experienced any love that the world's
ever experienced so yeah absolutely Just a couple
things here That I wrote down here walking worthy
of our calling right? That's what we're told
walk worthy of the calling with which we've been
called That's walking with this breastplate on
I Think it was I Forget who it was That I read
about this this today talking about Who is able
to really engage confidently and boldly in the
battle? The one with a clear conscience and so
when when you've got that clear conscience that
breastplate on You can charge ahead full steam
But if you don't have that clear conscience if
you don't have that conviction that that assurance
and all of those things that we mentioned You
want to just back away from the fight you're
like, I'm just not real sure right now. I'm not
sure that this is for me Not sure if I'm really
armed properly and if I'm gonna win But when
we have that confidence when we have that clear
conscience when we're walking in the way that
we're called to walk We can walk boldly and confidently
fearlessly into battle Another thing here Galatians
5, right? We could talk about that in regard
to this breastplate of righteousness In 16 but
I say walk by the spirit and you will not carry
out the deeds of the flesh For the flesh sets
its desires against the spirit and spirit against
the flesh for these are in opposition to one
another so that you do not do the things that
you please. But if you are led by the Spirit,
you are not under the law. Now the deeds of the
flesh are evident. Immorality, impurity, sensuality,
idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy,
outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like
these, of which I forewarn you. And then he goes
on here, he says, but the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
Faithfulness, gentleness, self -control. So again,
there's the contrast. That's what we're talking
about. Right living. Living a life that is pleasing
to the Lord. Living a righteous life. And then
I may as well say this, of course. We're not
trusting in those righteous works. We're called
to a life of righteousness. We're called to a
life of works. Right? Faith without works is
dead. But our works, that's not what saves us.
That's not what we're relying on. So when we
look at our life and we say, yes, I'm doing these
things. Be encouraged. But we're doing those
things because Christ is in me. Because what
Christ has done for me. Because I'm relying upon
Him. And I want to please Him. I want to serve
Him. I love Him. I'm a new man. It is It's amazing
to think again this I was I read this Sunday,
and I mentioned it Sunday, but Part of this breastplate
is what Jake said there is having assurance And
so in Romans here Romans 4 16. I'm sorry Romans
4 16 For this reason it is by faith in order
that it may be in accordance with grace so that
the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants
The promise being guaranteed all right If it
was based upon our works our salvation that's
what he's talking about here a he's talking about
Abraham in that passage If it was based on works,
was there any guarantee? Was there any assurance?
Could Abraham confidently say, I'm gonna reach
the goal, I'm gonna meet my God, I'm gonna make
it to glory? No, he would have no confidence.
But because it wasn't on works, but it was on
grace and based upon it, because he had exercised
faith in God. He's been given that gift. He could
confidently go on. It was guaranteed. It was
a sure thing. It's a terrible thing to think.
Those folks, and some of them are Christians,
I would imagine, but who are basing whether or
not they're going to make it to heaven on their
successful life as a Christian. Oh, I've sinned,
I'm going to hell. All right, I've repented,
now I'm going to heaven, and I'm gonna press
on. Oh, I've sinned, now I'm back in hell. There's
no confidence there. There's no assurance. There's
no guarantee in anything because they're looking
at their works rather than Christ, the finished
work. Catholicism, do, do, do, do, do all of
these things. There's no assurance that they're
gonna make it to heaven. And they tell you that.
There's no guarantee. Well, you know, worst case,
you know, you're gonna have to go to purgatory
for a while, or maybe best case. And then maybe
you can work your way through that and, you know,
hopefully you'll get to heaven. Where's the hope?
Where's the confidence to go through this world?
The sure expectation of glory, there is none.
That's not what the Bible teaches the Bible teaches
that we can walk confidently boldly with full
assurance of our salvation Because of what Christ
has accomplished That breastplate that's that
breastplate that we're looking to put on and
to wear daily All right questions or comments
Okay He goes on then he says having put on the
breastplate of righteousness And then he says
your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel
of peace All right, so what is this? What are
the feet that are shod? What is this preparation
of the gospel of peace? So again, this is part
of the armor This is a piece of armor that was
put on the shoes or the greaves both and the
Roman soldiers were ahead of their time and they
had spikes they had shoes with some either some
nails in them or some bumps and things like that
for traction for sir for uh getting getting where
they needed to go and so that's what we're talking
about here well what were these for what did
it give what was what were these shoes good for
i mentioned one thing there What are shoes good
for? Okay, I mean they're good for running Getting
around their protection right you're able to
move much more easily on rough terrain with some
shoes on I Don't know about anybody else when
I was a kid. Maybe we used to run around barefoot
That's tough now as a grown man that is hard
I do it every now and then like when you go floating
and you're getting out of the canoe and you don't
have your shoes on Forget about it. You're not
going anywhere fast and you're probably falling
So these shoes they were protection they were
support they enabled you to cross rough terrain
all of those things They were they said that
the Romans one of the reasons they were such
conquerors and then Grease before them was they
were able to move swiftly because they could
travel quickly on rough terrain because of the
protection that they had. So it gave traction,
stability, agility, able to move freely, able
to advance, and able to hold your ground. So
this word preparation then being have the preparation
another way that could be translated would be
equipped being equipped or having to do with
readiness being ready and then he goes on here
and say the gospel what's the gospel when we
say gospel was not what is the gospel what do
we what's the word gospel mean good news okay
so the gospel is good news All right, so we're
talking about good news So the preparation of
the gospel of peace What's he mean here, what
is this gospel of peace that he's talking about
Okay, so peace with God Forgot everything you
said there mom no no more. Did you say wrath?
Okay, enemy we are not we are no longer enemies
The wrath of God has been propitiated that's
some good news God is for us. He's not against
us. We're no longer aliens and strangers But
we're heirs were children. I mean those are all
That's all good news That's all good news. How
about reconciliation? The restoration of fellowship
with God? Romans 5, 1. Therefore, having been
justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of this justification
because of what has happened here. We are at
peace with God So there's good news Has to do
with the peace of God peace with God what else
what else is good news and peace related to I
Mean peace with God what other kind of peace
could we talk about? Okay, peace with men. Does
the gospel bring peace with men? Yes. The answer
is yes. Anybody got any references for that?
I've got a couple. So, Romans 12. 17 I have written
down here. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.
Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, be
at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge,
beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God.
For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will
repay. Anything else? Does that bring anything
else to mind that maybe was taught by Jesus?
Being peacemakers, what else did he say? Turn
the other cheek, right? Don't give evil for evil.
That is a result of the gospel. That is the result
of our justification, of our being made new.
We are no longer, we should no longer be at war
with men in this sense, repaying evil for evil.
We should be able to turn the other cheek. We
should be able to be ridiculed, be spoken evil
of, mistreated, all of those things, okay? And
so, again, are we at peace when that's going
on? Not necessarily, but we should be able to
live at peace with men. Even though those things
happen, we can still love our neighbor. When
our neighbor treats us wrong, when we're treated
wrong at work, when we're treated wrong by friends
or family or whatever it is, we can still live
peaceably with them. We can walk peaceably. The
world seeks revenge. We should not. There's a
huge change that should have taken place as Christians,
as those who are walking righteously, according
to what Christ has taught us. Any other kind
of peace? Peace with God? Peace with men? Peace
within. Peace within Do we have peace within?
We should Because of what has because of who
we are We should have no anxiety We shouldn't
be walking in fear Right as Christians living
at peace with ourselves Living at peace in our
world and in our circumstances we could say being
content Being content where the Lord has put
us. It's a big part of our anxiety Because we're
not content with what's going on Preaching to
myself right there Just applied that to my own
life. I'm anxious. I'm anxious at work all the
time Things going wrong people messing up things
not where they're supposed to be anxiety why
Is God sovereign God didn't know that was did
God not know that wasn't part of his plan For
that thing to get cut wrong for that thing not
to show up you name it Somebody that acts foolish
Anxiety stress sin that's all it is right We're
not trusting the Lord. We're not at peace with
everything that's going on. Be at peace. Be at
peace. Be content. Walk in a way that we're called
to walk. Walk worthy of that calling. That's
walking in contentment and peace. With no fear.
Again, that's a big one too, isn't it? Fear of...
What? What if? What if this happens? What if
that happens? What if I lose my job? What if
I get sick? I mean, you name it. You name it.
Living in fear. The sovereignty of God, folks,
is such a wonderful truth that we do not lay
hold of. Am I going to get sick and die? Yeah
when When the Lord says I will and I can't do
anything to change it Am I right I Could go out
tomorrow today And completely change the way
I eat the way I exercise the way you name it.
I could be a beacon of Just health and I could
die the next day I Could live like that for ten
years and then just keel over dead with a heart
attack It's God's plan. He'll do That does that
mean I should? Not be healthy. No doesn't mean
that right? I'm not saying that I'm just saying
if that's my fear. It's unfounded I Should be
responsible and I should leave it in the Lord's
hands with no fear, with no anxiety. Death, life,
you name it. It's in the Lord's hands. My children,
now there's some anxiety, right? I mean, you
new parents, you got some anxiety going on. Am
I being heard in there? Right? We've all been
there. That newborn baby. I remember the day
we brought Caleb home. Forget about it. I was
just like, what do we do now? We got to keep
this baby alive. Laura came over and she's like,
oh, I just want to see him. And then I leave.
We're like, no, no, we don't know what to do.
Stay. But right. I mean, that's that's real.
That's life. Caring for a baby is a big deal
And then they grow up and they're out there getting
married they're driving around flipping cars
I Mean it just it doesn't change from the time.
They're little to the time. They're gone, and
I'm sure I mean gone out of the house Trust in
the Lord relying upon the Lord we can't change
a thing his plan is what it is. So living at
peace in all these things. Again, what does Satan
desire for us in all of this? The exact opposite.
He wants us to live with no peace. So no peace
with God. Does God really love me? Does God really
care about me? Am I really his child? Am I really,
whatever, you name it, all those things. Doubts,
fears, personal doubts, personal fears, anxieties,
stresses. And then again, with mankind, the Satan
would desire us to be at odds with everyone.
Everyone in the world and everyone in the church.
That's the goal, disunity. Walk with our feet
shod, with this peace in mind. Is this something
that we have to feel? We don't have to feel it.
It is a reality. We should feel it. We should
experience it. That we should have that emotion
of peace, of rest, satisfaction in God. It is
true. If we are in Christ, these things are all
true. All these things that we just said. Our
relationships with man, our relationships with
God. They're all true. Alright. I will just say
this. So some think that this refers to the spread
of the gospel and I don't necessarily think it
does but It may and so again, we can certainly
apply it in that way, right? Our feet shod with
the preparation of sharing the gospel knowing
the gospel knowing the truth taking it abroad
whether that's to foreign lands or in our home
or our places of work. Standing against Satan.
If we're talking about stability and moving forward
in battle, we war against Satan in that way and
spreading the gospel that the kingdom of God
would expand and grow. I don't forget. That's
all true. Whether or not Paul thought of it here,
I don't know. I don't think he did, but maybe
he did. But that's another aspect of our salvation
is the spread of the gospel. That's what we're
called to do is proclaim the good news and so
if it's not here, it's on all kinds of other
places and so that's part of our part of our
walk as Christians is to spread the gospel Well,
that's all I've got we're not going to jump into
faith here with just Five minutes left. Any comments
or questions? And then I just, I thought of something
with that last comment you were talking about
that it could mean sharing the gospel, knowing
the gospel, things like that. And I was just
reminded of how like Jesus fought temptations
with scripture. So. It seems like everything
always goes back to the beginning of just. We're
gonna stand by knowing the truth So the more
you know God, the more you can apply these things.
Absolutely. The more truth you know, the more
you're able to apply, and the more victorious
we should live, the more mature lives we should
live, and everything else. My inclination was
to say no, because Matthew 10 and 14 says, I
did not come to bring peace but a sword. So would
you just, would the explanation for that be like
the gospel is something that causes some division?
Well again, we should still be able to live peaceably,
on our part. Right. Right. But yeah, the gospel,
the truth is definitely going to bring division.
I mean, Jesus says, I don't, you know, I'm just
going to divide father, father and mother and
all of that. thinking that the gospel of peace
I was wondering like is that a unique description
of the gospel like in scriptures but then I thought
of the verse in Isaiah that says how beautiful
on the mountains are the feet of him who brings
good news who announces peace and then when Jesus
was born and the angels came to the shepherds
suddenly there appeared to the angel a multitude
of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying
glory to God in the highest and on earth peace
among men So I just thought that is just encouraging
and consistent with the scriptures, the gospel
of peace. And then I have a question. I think
I know some of the answers, but. So, you know,
what would you, what's the best advice for somebody?
who struggles whether just in general with anxiousness
and It's like we you know, you know in your head
these things are true But day in and day out
you encounter the things and your first responses
anxiousness nervousness So whether it be just
like in general or about a specific thing or
person you worry about Was good helpful advice
well Again It is Rehearsing these truths in our
minds. Okay, that's key. We have to dwell upon
truth so You know what in the Psalms I always
think of this when I'm going through depression
or discouragement Why are thou cast down on my
soul? Hope in God That's what David tells us
to do they're hoping God and He's talking to
himself. He's telling himself to do these things
and so that's that's a huge part of it We have
to we have to tell ourselves these things and
we have to believe them. We really do So it's
it's easy to say all things work together for
good to those who love God, right? We we probably
all know that verse If we don't we should It's
one thing to say that it's another to really
believe that Right that all things are really
good You know when our kids are sick or they're
dying or all these terrible things are happening
around us Can we really say all things work together
for good? Do I really believe that? We should
right we have to that's faith that's walking
by faith and not by sight I don't understand
it and so it's the same You're speaking the truth.
What does the Bible say in this situation? It
says to make my requests known to God. To pour
my heart out to God. Tell God about it and then
trust Him. I've got to let it go. So maybe that
means I'm not going to think about it anymore.
I told God, I poured my heart out to the Lord
and that's it. I'm not going to think about it
the rest of the day. Because to think about it
is to be anxious over it. And so you can sit
there and say, well, I've just been praying about
it all day. Well, if you've truly been praying
about it and just, you know, not in an anxious
way and truly trusting the Lord, then that's
great. But so often folks just dwell upon these
things and they think that that's praying about
it. Dwelling on it, being anxious about it, thinking
about it, praying about it all day. That's anxiety.
That's sin. And so you've got to give it to the
Lord. And part of that giving it to the Lord
and trusting in is just to pray about it and
that's it. I'm done. I've done what I can do
and that is pray and trust God. And so I'm leaving
it there. I'm walking on. So that's, you know,
again, speaking the truth to ourselves. Of course,
asking for faith, asking for faith to walk by
faith and those things. But to leave it in the
Lord's hands and to be content with it Yeah,
I mean again, it's like I said we know these
things we know the Bible says these things But
do we really act upon them? Are we really putting
this truth into practice? Are we really walking
by faith? It's easy to say that this is true,
but to live in that way is difficult. It requires
faith. It requires trust.