Unwavering Providence

Transcript

Turn with me to the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 13. The gospel according to Luke, chapter 13. And when you found Luke 13:31, go ahead and stand with me for the reading of our gospel text this morning.

00:00:27

All right. Notice these words of Jesus. Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you. He said to them, go and tell that fox for me. Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow.

00:00:51

And on the third day, I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem. Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones, those who are sent to it. How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing.

00:01:27

See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, blessed is the one who comes. In the name of the Lord Jesus, thank you for your holy word. Help us today. By the helper himself descending upon us, overshadowing this place with your light, we pray in your name.

00:01:54

Amen. And you can be seated.

00:02:01

You know, some weeks I prep. This is just a confession. Some weeks I prepare more than other weeks. And, you know, it varies. Sometimes when I prepare, it's long sermons, and Jessica's like, you really shouldn't prepare, you know, because, you know.

00:02:20

And then other times when I don't prepare, you know, it gets. So it varies. But nevertheless, I was shocked to read this a little late in the week. My week was a little different this past week. And so I was like, well, I'll be able to get to it.

00:02:35

I mean, it's Luke, it's a gospel reading, and I'm sure it's going to be great. And then I read it, and I was like, huh? Because the Genesis reading I'm very familiar with, you know, it's a great one. You know, Psalm reading, Paul, stand firm. You know, and then Jesus, like, what is.

00:02:51

What's going on here? I don't know if you actually heard this text here, but he's calling Herod a name, and then he's accusing the Jews of being a bloody city that kills all the prophets. Like, in other words, there's not another city on earth that kills as many prophets as are killed from Jerusalem. That's the holy city. And then, of course, he talks about bringing us under his wing and then that he's going to come and you will be able to see him when he comes in the name of the Lord.

00:03:22

So I was a little shocked, to be honest. I was like, man, I don't even know where to begin with this. And so I started scrambling, and the Lord opened up a few things here that I think we should consider. And of course, Deborah hit the nail on the head with the different songs that she chose today because. And Justin did, too.

00:03:40

You know, you let a guy preach one time, and then he wants to do it again over here, but he let the cat out of the bag. Which is to say, this really is about trust. It really is about trusting in God. Even this sort of obscure text, which, by the way, that first part where he calls Herod a name, you know, that old fox, you tell that old fox I'll be here today and tomorrow. You know, you're like, oh, man, I didn't know Jesus talked like that.

00:04:04

Well, he's surprising. But that. That portion there is only found in Luke. So that's kind of one of those little nuggets that if we did not have the Gospel of Luke, we wouldn't not even know this little piece. And so I want to make sure we.

00:04:17

We do, in fact, address that. But. But, you know, with it dealing with trust, and really all of our text here dealing with that in some way. I think the best way to begin is sort of to say we all have uncertain predicaments that happen to us from time to time that test our faith, test our trust in God, test, at least from our perspective, the very promises of God. For instance, we may know that God is good, but it certainly doesn't feel that way sometimes.

00:04:53

Sometimes the clouds of life roll in and we can't see very high up. The sun is blocked, and there's darkness and storms. You know, the funny thing about always being in a plane is you get above the clouds at some point, and the sun's always up there shining, if it's on that side of the world, right? But then you descend down, you know, where we live, and you're back underneath the clouds. And I think.

00:05:23

I think, you know, I always think of. I like to think of myself as artistic, you know, a little bit. And that's why I always go to cartoons, right? So I watched a bunch of cartoons in my life. And you remember how they show depression or show uncertainty in cartoons.

00:05:38

You remember how it was a little cloud above them, right? You know, you're just walking around and it's over, just this individual person, you know, and it's raining on just them. Anybody Ever felt like that. Like, how's everybody else? Got a sunny day?

00:05:53

You know, I've got a cloud over me. You know, I've most certainly felt like that. And, you know, sometimes uncertainty can last just for a few minutes. Speaking of a plane, Derek's not here today, but Derek and I and Jameson and Baylor were on a plane years ago, and we. We all thought it was going to crash.

00:06:17

I mean, we started going down and it didn't give up. And the. The flight attendant sat down, quickly buckled in, and was holding on for dear life. And all of a sudden, we pulled up after a while, but it seemed like we were going to die. And I just leaned over and said, hey, buddy, let's just pray, okay?

00:06:32

I didn't know what else to say, because what do you do? But then the uncertainty left, right? And we've all had moments like that. But then you have uncertainty that lasts sometimes for months on end, years of our life. And of course, the scripture gives us, in our text, in Genesis 15, Abram.

00:06:54

But even before his name is changed to Abraham, remember, Abram means something like father of many. And Abraham is like father of many, many, many. Which is kind of bizarre because he's called Abram and he's. What. What's.

00:07:12

What's 100 minus 75? No, no, no. 75. He's 75. Sorry, I messed myself up there.

00:07:19

Yes, he's 75 years old because he's 100 when Isaac's born. Okay? So he's 75 years old. And guess what? God comes in and says, you know what, Mr.

00:07:30

Father of Many, I'm going to make you a great nation, going to show you the stars and say, that's how many kids you're going to have. So he kind of was a joke because here he is at 75 with no kids, and he's called Mr. Father of Many. I mean, you know, he was a household joke as far as that goes. But God comes through in his promise.

00:07:55

But notice that when God tells him this is going to happen to the point in which it happens, it's 25 years. And when you're 75 to 100, well, that's kind of a long time to wait.

00:08:10

I mean, just think right now, 25 years from this point, that's when God wants to fulfill his promise to you. That's. That's kind of out there, isn't it?

00:08:24

And sometimes once we've received that promise or we know something has been promised, we're wanting to demand it now, which, you know, you hear it in the voice of Abram. Right here, Right. Which is funny, because the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. Do not be afraid. Notice the first thing he said.

00:08:40

Don't be afraid. Now, fear, fear, interestingly, is not just the scary kind of fear, but it's more like not trusting. That's really where the fear comes in. It's. I don't know that God's actually going to come through on this.

00:08:56

And so he's afraid. Hence his question here, oh, Lord, what will you give me for I continue childless? So he's like, what are you going to do to show me that your promises are true? And remember, Abram doesn't have anyone before him that has found God to be faithful necessarily. And what I mean by that is, as far as we know, he has no scripture, none at all.

00:09:25

Unless it somehow has come in some other way and we're just unaware of it. But as far as we know about Abram and Abraham being the father of faith, and this is why faith is accounted to him as righteousness. Because he had a faith. He didn't have a church, he didn't have Israel, he didn't have a tabernacle, he didn't have sacrifices, he didn't have the law. He had nothing but a promise from God.

00:09:46

That was it. He didn't even have an example of somebody with waiting for a promise and then it coming through. As far as we know now, we have an example. We have churches, we have our Lord himself who's come. We've got everything we need to believe the promises of God.

00:10:07

And we still, at times don't. We begin to wonder, is he though for me?

00:10:18

Well, Abram believes, and it's reckoned to him as righteousness. And then even so, he still asks, even after that, oh, Lord, how am I to know that I shall possess it? And you know, it's fine to ask God questions, but we still need to trust as we ask those questions. The question shouldn't lead to doubt, but more trusting. In other words, if we have a problem with God, let's go to God with that problem.

00:10:46

God, why did you let this happen? God, why is this happening? Why is it so dark right now? Why can't I get over this depression? Why is anxiety consuming me?

00:10:56

Why does it just feel cloudy all the time? And what we're told is the next generation of us in this room deals with anxiety at the highest levels we've ever seen. Debilitating. And you know, the more I've thought, like just thinking about this Even last night, anxiety and worry steal the moment for us, you know? So for a year and a half, roughly, I was depressed, okay?

00:11:29

However you want to see. I don't know about clinical depression. I really don't know. I didn't go see. Well, I did go.

00:11:34

I did go see somebody and he thought I was. So I guess I was clinically depressed, but. But I was depressed for like a year and a half. It was just a depression in my life, like a low point, if you just think of it like that. Married to the same person still, same five kids, same church, same house, same life for the most part, but it didn't feel the same.

00:12:00

Felt pretty dark. And it wasn't something that I could just whip up and change myself. And I think some of you know what that's like. And it steals a moment if we. If we're not careful, it can.

00:12:19

Especially if we give up. It ultimately steals things from our life, steals our life, our life itself, from us. And how many people have been stolen, I mean, sifted by Satan, if you will, in those moments of darkness, depression and despair? God help us. We have to hold fast.

00:12:46

Standing firm. St. Paul, stand firm. Notice what he's actually saying. There is stand firm in the way of the cross.

00:12:54

Remember, they're fighting against the enemies of the cross. Enemies of the way. What is the way of the cross? Suffering. It is our lot.

00:13:05

Like, you remember what Jesus says, right? He says, listen, you will suffer in this life. Like, that is a fact, brothers and sisters. In fact, Paul's going to say, it ought not to surprise you when troubles come. You shouldn't be like, why is this happening to me?

00:13:21

Oh, me? Why me? You should be instead saying, hey, I'm joining with the rest of humanity. I am not God, and I will suffer in this life. When God himself took upon himself human nature in the Son, Jesus, the God man, he said, I must go to Jerusalem to suffer and die.

00:13:53

Not just die, but to suffer and die. And part of that suffering was betrayal, you know? And if you don't, if you've never felt the full weight of betrayal, that's a weighty one. You want to get put down. And you don't get depressed.

00:14:13

Think of yourself as a balloon, you know, flying high. You want to get depressed if somebody you love betrays you. That's a tough one, you know, it really is. And Jesus knows what that is like. He knows what that's like.

00:14:33

So let's hear the words of God himself, Yahweh, to do not be afraid. You notice how Many times when the angels do not be afraid.

00:14:46

Instead, trust, you know, seriously, that fear is really, if you trace it all the way back, it really does have to do with trust. It's like a massive fomo. You know what I'm talking about? Fear of missing out. You know, it's like, man, why do they get to have this or that in their life?

00:15:13

Their marriage seems perfect, which, you know, if you actually get down in there, it's not, you know, their kids seem this or that or their job or. Look at what they do. Listen, that is a lost cause. That's a dead end road. And we begin to do that with God, though not just with each other.

00:15:36

And we do it in such a way that we end up being just like the children of Israel and looking at what other religions or other peoples are doing. And we want that. We want a king like them, we want an idol like them. Why does our God have to be immaterial? And we start shaping God into our own image.

00:16:01

Image. It's very dangerous. Start shaping Jesus. I see people online all the time shaping Jesus into our 21st century image. That's a dangerous business.

00:16:14

Dear brothers and sisters, he will not be shaped by anyone, but shapes all things. And here, you know, here's the good thing about God, is he's good. Like he's absolutely good. In other words, he can't even consider evil because in him is light. And there is no darkness at all.

00:16:40

Not even the potential for it, not even the possibility of it. He is only good and directs, interestingly enough, all things to the good that he is. So I think we can check this off, that there are times in our life of uncertainty and predicaments that we find ourselves in where we end up not trusting God and allowing anxiety, fear, depression, these things that come to us, we didn't ask for that. They end up controlling us. It's okay to be depressed.

00:17:20

It is not okay to give up hope. It's okay to be anxious. But it is not okay not to trust God. You see how that works? You can't control the anxiety coming to you.

00:17:35

But we then look up, we don't look down. Trust me, if you start looking down, it never ends. That is a black hole that doesn't end. It's an inwardness that is hell itself. Okay, so here's what's.

00:17:53

So this is so fascinating about God, okay, is he makes promises like, that's what we gain from this. And I'm coming to this text in a roundabout way. Trust me, this text is a Little complicated. So you have to first set it up before we actually can figure out what's going on here. And what we find here in the Genesis 15 reading is that God is a God of promises.

00:18:16

He promised Abraham, I'm going to do that. You ever thought about what a promise is?

00:18:24

A promise is binding yourself to something in the future.

00:18:34

I mean, if you want to put it that way, and philosophers have put it that way, by the way, you're intending something that's in the future. So for instance, you say to me, I'll be here next week, say, oh great, wonderful. Well, now you've put. You didn't have to say that, by the way. No one made you say that, but you said it.

00:19:00

And now you feel obligated because you know when it comes around Sunday, maybe you've got a little cough, or maybe you didn't sleep well the night before, or maybe this and that, and trust me, this and that always comes when a promise is out there a week in advance. You promise your employer certain things, don't you? I will provide this service. And they promise you certain things. As a teacher, I promise my students certain things and they promise to do certain things as well.

00:19:27

That's what the syllabus contract is all about. Promises. Obligatory. Once we make them, we're obliged to do it. But they also are an intention on our part, trying to look into the future.

00:19:44

They're not a prediction. It's not, I see myself next week here in this room. It's not a prediction, okay? It's a promise. I promise to be here.

00:19:55

I'm going to do that no matter what, or whatever the case is. And of course sometimes things happen and promises get broken and this and that. But God, hear me out, is a God notice that obligates himself to us.

00:20:13

That's shocking. Now, nobody told humans to do this, but we do it all the time. There's never been a culture that didn't obligate itself through promises of some sort. But God himself also comes into our world, just like he's doing visiting with Abraham and says, Abraham, you know what? I'm going to make you a promise, man.

00:20:39

And let me tell you, this is not just I'm going to be here next week, which is fairly easy for most of us. This is, can you count the stars, bud? You give up after 4 billion. And he says, that's how many kids you're going to have. He's talking to a 75 year old man initially, that then waits 25.

00:21:04

That is a long time.

00:21:11

Promises they're binding, they're social, they're intentional. And some of them up to the level of vowels, you know, because that's like another level of promise, isn't it? A bit more concrete, even costly. And some have said, well, vowels are really only for God, but we do end up as humans calling certain things vows. And you ever notice how sometimes promises that we make end.

00:21:43

End up changing us?

00:21:48

When Jessica and I in Hartzell, Alabama, at First United Methodist Church at the time, now just First Methodist Church, when we stood up there 23 and 18, we made promises to each other. Okay, and did we understand the full weight of those promise? I mean, people had told us a little bit about it. We'd seen examples of it, you know, but we didn't really know. But let me tell you something.

00:22:19

When we left that place, we weren't simply single people anymore. We were married. And even though you might have looked at that and been like, oof, boy, that guy, you know, or whatever, let me tell you, 21 years later, that still means something.

00:22:47

And it has shaped us in incredible ways. That has produced a family of five children, friends, and so on and so forth. When a judge takes the vow to protect the Constitution after that is taken, they actually have real authority now to put you in jail or me in jail. Like you can say they're just a human. Yeah, a human that took a vow that now increases authority.

00:23:22

It's interesting, isn't it? Same thing with your job. Like legally, even the government and others will enforce some of your promises.

00:23:35

It's fascinating, isn't it? And so will God, which why we, you know, the Bible warned like, hey, be careful what you promise.

00:23:47

Now there's three people in this room that on February 28, 1999, around 8:30 at night, all promised God certain things that I've seen bear fruit.

00:24:01

That's the kind of thing promises do. And you know what's really funny about us? You say, well, I'm just not going to do that kind of promise thing because I don't want to really be obligated to much. I'm just kind of passing through life. Unfortunately, when you love things or even people, you will make promises to it.

00:24:21

Just like a dog. It's like that dog comes into my life even against my will, specifically the second one.

00:24:34

And now I'm obligated to take care of these darn things.

00:24:42

Yes, promises change us, and we either live into them or we don't. And when we don't, we're considered a liar. When we don't we're considered unfaithful, untrustworthy.

00:25:04

And when you come to Christ in baptism, in conversion, when you give your heart to him, you are obligating, binding yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ to be in the way of the cross. And that changes us and it means something. And in fact, it actually gives meaning to our life. So that when I was depressed for over a year and a half, I still never lost hope. I never believed all of us.

00:25:43

Oh, well, all of this is making me feel so bad that God just doesn't exist.

00:25:50

That's absurd. That's not the conclusion we come to. In fact, one of my favorite books in the Old Testament, the most negative book in the Bible is what? Ecclesiastes. But you know what his conclusion is?

00:26:01

Oh, yeah. All life is just meaningless under the sun. Go kill yourself. No, no, no. In fact, he says, you know what?

00:26:08

You know what? All of life is meaningless under the sun. Every bit of it just chasing after the wind. We're just running around each day, putting on our clothes and doing our things, thinking we're important people. And then you just die like a dog.

00:26:19

That's a summary. And you die just like any other animal, and you're never thought of again. Sound fun? You ready? He says, here's the conclusion, though be careful what you do, because God sees everything.

00:26:37

That's his conclusion. I'm always like, holy Harold. No wonder this is a wisdom book. Wisdom books are meant to put in the hopper for a while, okay?

00:26:54

Jesus promised Israel a lot of stuff. He said he would be with them and he was, interestingly, here. However, they were not with him. There's three people here that desire things. There's three.

00:27:09

There's a Greek word here for desire, and it's given of three people. In our text, our gospel text here, Herod desires to kill Jesus. That seems clear. And, you know, we might as well believe that this is probably true because Herod has already killed Jesus cousin and predecessor, John the Baptist.

00:27:35

And then you have Jesus's desire here that's exposed. Which is what? To gather us together. Think about that. That's like right now.

00:27:48

I think God is pleased when we gather under his wing.

00:27:56

His wing is the church. In this instance, he's seen as the divine bird or dove of heaven. You remember? In fact, the Bible begins with the bird of heaven, the Holy Spirit hovering, flying over the face of the waters. And then you have another dove that flies over the face of the waters.

00:28:21

When God begins to recreate after he baptizes the world in the Flood. The raven is sent out. And it's interesting, I reread it. Well, either last night or this morning, the raven goes to and fro and never finds rest. That's the opposite sort of bird.

00:28:43

As the dove who goes out and remember gets the olive branch, which even to this day is still a symbol of peace, new life and reconciliation.

00:28:58

But the dove imagery doesn't stop there. At Jesus very baptism, the Holy Spirit descends like a dove upon him, which means now he has wings. Now, you might not be able to see his human body, you wouldn't have been able to see that. But he is the bearer of the divine dove. As the dove descents, the Holy Spirit descends upon him.

00:29:28

And that's why Jesus can say as if he's Yahweh himself, which he is. I tried to gather you under my wing, but you were unwilling notice. Herod wants to kill Jesus. That's his desire. Jesus desire is to gather us.

00:29:44

But our desire, we're Israel. Our desire, no. Is to not come under his wing, to not come under his protection, to not come under his governance, or the fancy word for all of this is his providence. We don't want to come under that. We want to do our own thing.

00:30:14

And this is sin when we do.

00:30:20

And that's why we can say that it really is. You know, people say this kind of. And we don't really stop to think about, or I don't stop to think about it. Always put it on you because, you know, it's an ordained moment. Right now, I don't think you're here by accident, like in this room.

00:30:38

I mean, not just in this time. It's providential and it really is like. In other words, you know, that term providence is pro, like before or beyond, for through, even. And then the vintage verde or whatever part is. I don't know Latin, sorry, is vision or eyesight.

00:31:00

So it's like he sees it all. Which again, think about the wings, right? If we had wings, you know, if we had wings. I mean, I was just on a plane, so I was up 33,000ft, you know, it's like I could see you look down and you can see actually almost all of Decatur. It's like all right there.

00:31:18

All at one time. Yes. That's the Lord God's view of your life. Of my life. He sees it all.

00:31:26

He doesn't see into the future. There is no future to him. He's not in time with us in that regard. And it doesn't take away free will. People always, you know, and we're not.

00:31:37

That's a rabbit hole over here. I'm not looking. It doesn't lead to determinism, okay? There's ways to argue that it doesn't, and it really doesn't. There's still free will at play.

00:31:48

And it matters what you do. Read the whole Bible, and it seems like it matters what you do. If you will follow me, if you will obey my ways, if, if, if. If you love me, then what? Keep my command?

00:32:00

If. Notice conditional. Now, there are some promises of God that are unconditional and others that are conditional. So we have to be. We need to know those things.

00:32:10

One of the unconditional problems or promises of God is that he is good and that he is for you. In fact, let me read. It was my favorite. Favorite and still is in a lot of ways. Passage as I was growing up.

00:32:26

In fact, I taped it to the front of my Bible when I was 17. Says this. You know it? I can quote it, but I'm gonna read two different versions here. For I know the plans that I have for you.

00:32:39

I know this is God. Remember his high view of the whole thing. Like, he sees the whole thing. Think about that. I know the plans that I have for you.

00:32:51

Not the whole world, not humanity, you. And they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Think about that. It doesn't mean if you're 75. It doesn't mean if you're 100.

00:33:15

It doesn't mean if you've got one week left or 120. He has a future and a hope for you. And in those days, you'll go and pray to me, and I'll listen and you will look for me wholeheartedly. You will find me when you have searched for me with all your heart.

00:33:37

Because, you know, when we love, we want it all. We want it all. You know, we want it all. Like, when you love, you want every bit of it. Like, I don't.

00:33:52

Just like, yeah, Jessica, let's just make a contract to where it's like, you know, the hours between 10 and 12. That's just mine for the rest of our. That's ridiculous. Nobody does that. Well, they better not.

00:34:03

It's not love. Get away from somebody like that. I want to keep this for myself. No, no, no. Love gives all you say.

00:34:10

How do you know that, Pastor?

00:34:14

Because love himself came and he gave it all. He gave it all. He says, hey, that's. Nothing else will do. Nothing else will do.

00:34:27

He wants us entirely sanctified, Entirely Consecrated for him. Because he loves us. He wants to be married to us. That's the imagery we get with Jesus. He's the groom.

00:34:43

Are you living in the divine, eternal providence of God? We all are, whether we know it or not, Whether we're bucking against it or not. He's moving us toward what is good because he's only good and we really want him. We're pursuing all these other little things. Just like, I love pickleball.

00:35:07

I could play pickleball for 24 hours straight, I think. Except my body can't. Except my body can't. I start getting super sore, have to go take a bath afterward because I can't even move, you know, we need to look up. Look up from this thing that we thought was the crescendo.

00:35:32

Keep moving up beyond our desires even. Because all desire comes from him. We're never going to capture it all here. Which is why Paul says, we're citizens of heaven. Yeah, we're citizens of.

00:35:47

Our citizenship is in heaven, where he's going to transform our body. So stand firm, brothers and sisters. I just stand firm. And so here's where we end. Because I gotta end.

00:36:01

I think you remember that scene in Lord of the Rings.

00:36:09

You really should know this scene. They're making their stand, remember, at the big black gate, you know? And it is just bad. Like, it's just a little band of them. Of course, Frodo and them are off somewhere else, and they're like, you know what?

00:36:20

We've got to do this. And we're going to do it together. We're probably all going to die, but we're going to do it together. And so they. They band together, bind themselves in promises, like, let's do this.

00:36:30

You remember in that great speech by Aragorn, it will not be this day. You remember? I'm not gonna do it right now, but. And then they get surrounded, you remember? And you're just thinking and you're just so moved.

00:36:43

Your heart is just pulling. And guess what saves the day. The eagles are coming. You remember? The eagles come and they save them from that moment.

00:36:55

Start throwing every. What Tolkien's trying to capture there is exactly. I think what this text, interestingly enough, is saying is, herod, who are you? Tell that old fox, that old sly guy, he is not in charge of me. He doesn't know who I am.

00:37:13

He thinks he is the King of the Jews, because, you know, that's what he claimed. I am the King of the Jews. And not just the Jews, the whole world. And I will go where I want to go today and tomorrow and kick out the demonic and heal of diseases. And you know what?

00:37:32

I'll even be back here today, tomorrow and the next day. I'm moving on to what I am going to do and what I am going to do. Nothing will stand in my way. Because not only is Jesus a man who. His mind can't.

00:37:47

His brain, sorry, can't see into the future, but he is God who knows all things. And that's why he can predict which no one else can do. Not just a promise, but a prediction. So a prediction and a promise that he is going to suffer and die and guess what? Be raised on the, what, third day.

00:38:07

Now this is not his first time in Jerusalem either, in Luke's Gospel, because you remember, he's in the temple. Is that Matthew or is that Luke? Man, that might be a correction thing you have to do, but either way it's Matthew or Luke and Jesus is in the temple. Remember as a boy. And when did they find him?

00:38:26

The third day. And we're going to find him. And he says, when you find me, when you see me again, when you really see me like you see me now, but you don't really see all that there is. Because once that happens, and once I rise from the dead and get a glorified body, I will be blessed. You will say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

00:38:48

Here we are in Lent, moving toward that day. Can you see it? Can you hear the promises spoken over you that changed the way we live today?

00:39:02

Yeah. No matter if you're in anxiety or not, we look up. Depression or not, we look up in the valley or on the mountain, we still look up. He's higher than the mountains. So today, trust him and let it be counted toward you as righteousness.

00:39:23

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen.

Total Duration 00:39:28