I Know Whom I Have Believed

2 Timothy 1:1 states, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my dearly beloved son, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord."

I thank God whom I serve from my forefathers with a pure conscience. Without ceasing, I have remembrance of you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. I am persuaded that it is in you also.

Wherefore, I put you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of God which is in you by the putting on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. This grace is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality and light through the gospel.

Whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this cause, I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.

Let's pray. God, we do open Your word this morning and ask that You'd open our hearts, our eyes, and our ears. Lord, that we would see the great things that You have done for us, that we would hear Your voice calling to us, and that we would know You more. As we look at all the things that go on around us, the things that come into our lives that may cause concern, worry, or angst, we ask this morning, Lord, that You would help us to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. Lord, that we would fix our gaze upon You and that the things of this earth would grow strangely dim in the light of Your glory and Your grace. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

You may be seated.

In this day, as we walk in this world, there are so many things that we can worry about.

Be concerned about, be anxious over, be fretful about. Things that consume our minds, things that stand before us that seem to choke our very life. And yet, our Lord would not have it to be so.

In the Sermon on the Mount, as He took His disciples into a mountain by Galilee, He began to speak to them in Matthew chapter 6, teaching these men who would be the ones to go forth and minister to the multitudes after He had risen and ascended into heaven. He says to them, "Therefore I say unto you," in Matthew 6, verse 25, "Take no thought for your life" or "do not worry for your life," saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" nor yet for your body, "What shall you put on?" Is not life more than meat and the body more than clothing?

Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought or by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? And why take you thought for clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, take no thought, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "Wherewithal shall we be clothed?" For after all these things do the Gentiles seek, or the world. For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things, but seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto today is the evil thereof. So many things plague our minds and grab our attention. We're lured to lose sleep over these things that are around us, and yet our Lord, our Savior Jesus, would say it's not to be so with those who follow Him, with those who dwell with Him in the kingdom life. He would command us to not worry about the things that the world seeks after and is consumed by.

The word "worry," if you trace it back to its history and roots, goes back to the early Anglo-Saxon word from which we get our word "worry." It is a word that means to strangle or to choke.

It was a word that was used to describe a wolf that would grab a sheep by the neck and begin to shake it violently. Yet, as we walk with the Lord in this life, we often find ourselves worried about many things being shaken. Many times, we are concerned about being shaken violently by the wolves and the things that seem to plague us. However, our Lord would say, "Do not worry."

In response to that, we might think, "That's impossible. I cannot fulfill the command of even Paul in Philippians chapter 4 to be anxious for nothing." Sometimes, in our flesh, we begin to gawk at that, thinking it is impossible. We struggle to see how we can do that: be anxious for nothing, take no thought, and not be strangled by the cares of this world. Yet, for us, oftentimes, we are.

As we come to this portion of Scripture, this second epistle of Paul to Timothy, we recognize that this is the last letter Paul would write while he was in a prison in Rome, just days before his execution. It is thought by some that this letter didn't even make it to Timothy before Paul was beheaded. He was right at death's door.

When some of us might think to write to someone in that situation, we might say, "Listen, go run away, Timothy. Hide out. There's a great persecution coming. Just find a place to hide until things cool down, until Rome stops pushing this great persecution." Instead, this man who followed the Lord says to Timothy, "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Yet, Timothy might be thinking, "Yes, God has given me a sound mind, and in my sound judgment, I think it might be a good idea to go hide, to get away for a time until things cool down." As Timothy considered the events happening in the world, he saw that the majority of the disciples of Christ, the eleven, had been killed by this time. Peter was crucified on a cross upside down. The apostle John was on the island of Patmos, banished there by Caesar after he had been boiled in oil.

You know when you go to McDonald's and see the French fries boiling? That's what they did; they tried to French fry John, but he didn't die. As Timothy looked around, he was faced with the harsh realities of his situation.

As Paul surveys the things that are going on around him, surely the temptation was there for Timothy to run and hide. As he considers others who had been following along with Paul, they had done that. It is told of Demas in 2nd Timothy chapter 4 that he had forsaken Paul and run away for the love of the world. Paul also mentions in 2nd Timothy chapter 4 that Crescens has fled to Galatia and Titus has gone to Dalmatia. All these men had departed from Paul. He states in this letter that none stood with him at his first defense, yet the Lord was there. But everybody else has left, Timothy. Luke is still here; he has been faithful to stick around. Timothy, if you can, come here and bring Mark with you, John Mark. But everybody else has fled. They have all run away. The persecution is great.

Yet Paul says that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the message, Timothy, or of me, his messenger. Do not be fearful. Do not fret. Do not shy away from preaching this gospel that was committed into your care. But stand firm. God has not given us a spirit of fear.

Sadly, it is seen in our day, and we don't even stand against such severe persecution as they did back then. I see in our day, in our church even, that it seems sometimes there are more people baptized with the spirit of fear than with the spirit of God. Why is that? What is the key to this kind of peace that Paul is talking about? How can he, in a prison cell days before his execution, write to Timothy and say that God has not given us a spirit of fear? I'm not ashamed. Where does such peace come from? How can such peace be laid hold of and attained?

I believe the key is found in verse 12. As Paul says in verse 11, he has been appointed a preacher, a preacher of this gospel. For this gospel, he also suffers these things. Nevertheless, he is not ashamed. He is not fearful. He is not going to shy away or back down. Why? For he knows whom he has believed. Underline that "whom" in your Bibles. He knows whom he has believed. There are many in our church...

In the churches throughout America today, who can say, "I know what I believe"? Many have a lot of information; they know doctrine really well. They understand theology and have all of that down very well. However, there are those in the church—sometimes fewer than those who know what they believe—who can give a good defense, saying, "I know why I believe." They can stand and provide a great apologetic. They sound very good as they defend the faith, confidently stating, "I know why I believe."

Yet, many of those people who know what they believe and why they believe are still stalemated by fear, strangled by anxiety, and choked by the cares of this present world. Where does this peace come from that Paul could speak of? Because of all people, Paul surely knew what he believed. He surely knew why he believed. More than that, he could say, "I know whom I have believed." That knowledge was the key to being able to declare that God has not given us a spirit of fear.

Later in this letter, Paul states, "I have fought the good fight. I have run the race. I have finished well. There is now laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord shall give to me." It is that confidence—knowing in whom he has believed—that stirred Paul to write the letter to the Romans. There, in Romans chapter 1, he boldly declares, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile, to the Greek." He is not ashamed because he knows whom he has believed—not just what, not just why, but whom.

And who is this one that he believed in? It was the one who appeared to him on the road to Damascus as he went to persecute the church, saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" What did he say that day? "Lord, who are you?" At the beginning, he didn't know. But now, some decades later, he finds himself in a Roman prison, fighting the good fight of faith for this Lord whom he now knows.

I know whom I have believed. Not just what, not just why, but whom. Consider there in the book of Acts, in the early chapters, as Peter and John went up to the temple to pray. They healed the lame man there and were brought before the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin—those Pharisees, scribes, and high priests. They inquired of them and told them that they were not to preach this gospel anymore.

The testimony of these two unlearned and untrained men was that they had been with Jesus. Their accusers, their interrogators, were the most learned men in all of Israel. They knew what they believed about God. They knew why they believed it. They knew how to perform the rituals and the sacrifices. They understood which traditions and which days to observe far better than Peter and John ever did. They were well-versed in the Levitical rites and laws that were given. Peter and John didn't have a clue about that stuff, but what they did know was Jesus. And they had power.

That night, as they left after being beaten by this council, they went back and rejoiced that they had suffered with the Lord. They prayed that the Lord would give them all boldness to speak all the more in the midst of persecution. Why? Because they knew whom they believed. They were persuaded that He was able to keep that which they had committed unto Him against that day. They knew in whom they had believed.

Do we know? Do we truly know the one in whom we have believed? Jesus would tell His disciples that there will be many in that day who will come to Him and say, "Did we not cast out demons in Your name? Did we not heal the sick in Your name? Did we not do many mighty works in Your name?" And He will say, "Depart from Me, for I never knew you."

So much of Christian work can be done apart from truly knowing the Lord, Christ. I ask you to take some time, maybe this afternoon or this week, to meditate upon the disciples for a period of time there in the gospel. Ask yourself this question: When were those disciples saved? When were they truly justified and saved? Theologically speaking, doctrinally speaking, they could not have been justified.

and saved before Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead. His blood had not yet been shed. They looked forward to that work with faith, but they were not saved. They were not justified until, I believe, we read in John chapter 20, after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, that He appeared to them and breathed on them, saying, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit."

What does that mean? Well, it means that everything all those disciples did up until that point was done apart from being saved. In Matthew chapter 10, when Jesus sent His disciples out to go and heal the sick, He gave them power over devils, over sicknesses, and over all these things. They went to preach the gospel, healed the sick, cast out demons, and came back to Him rejoicing about all the things that God had done with them, but they weren't saved.

There is so much that we can do apart from truly knowing Him, and that sometimes causes me to really question. I think rightfully so, for Paul would say, "Test yourself to see that you be in the faith." The works that we do are not a good witness of whether or not we truly know the Lord. How do we know that we really know Him? Well, in 1 John, we read that if you love one another, that's how you know. We are also told by Paul that His Spirit will bear witness with our spirit that we are children of God. However, the works are not a good declaration that we know Him, because even Judas did the works.

This is something to consider. There are many people who know what to do, they know why to do it, and they can perform all these different tasks. They can engage in Christian service, but do they truly know the One they say they are serving? I think of Martha and Mary in the gospel. Martha was serving the Lord; she was preparing a meal for Him. How awesome that is! She was waiting upon the Lord Jesus Christ, preparing that meal and serving Him. We even see that she was praying to Him, for she goes to Him and says, "Lord, I pray You, tell my sister to get in the kitchen and help me."

So, she was serving, she was praying, and she was doing Christian service.

Jesus said to her, "Martha, you are worried about many things. But Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her. One thing is needed, Martha." The one thing that Mary was doing was sitting at the feet of Jesus, getting to know Him.

I find it interesting that God, when He established His tabernacle, provided a structure that reflects our relationship with Him. Some of you are reading through the Bible in a year right now, so you're in the book of Exodus, right at the point in time where Moses is preparing the tabernacle in Exodus chapters 24, 25, and 26. As he explains all the different things that would be in the tabernacle, there was to be an outer court that anyone from the general population could enter. They could see the service of the Lord.

Many here today are in the outer courts, just observing what's going on with the church. In the story of Mary and Martha, their brother Lazarus is not mentioned; he is in the outer courts as well. There was another portion of the tabernacle, the holy place or the inner courts. At the door of that place, coming from the outer courts into the inner courts, was a bronze laver, a large bronze bowl filled with water, a place for the washing of the priests before they would go and serve the Lord. This serves as a picture of baptism.

As we move from the outer courts into that inner service of the Lord, we are baptized into the Lord. We go through that bronze laver, washed and ready to serve. We find ourselves there with the priests, alongside Mary, serving the Lord.

What was in the inner courts? There was a table with showbread. When you enter into the Lord, you start to feed on the bread of life, the Word of God, and you are serving the Lord. There was also an altar where you would go to offer the burnt sacrifice, which represents worship. So, you are there at the table of showbread, reading the Word, and offering worship to the Lord.

What else is there? A lampstand. You are a light to the world, shining forth the light of God to the rest of the world. The fourth thing that was there was an altar of incense, which symbolizes prayer. You are offering intercessory prayer, serving God alongside Martha.

But there was another place in the tabernacle, much smaller than the first two, called the Holy of Holies. In that place was the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. Upon the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord...

The mercy seat was the very presence of God. Once a year, the high priest could go before the Lord and see Him in fellowship. We often place the pinnacle of success in the church and ministry within the inner courts, the holy place, but we forget the most holy place. The Lord desires that we would come in and sup with Him. He stands at the door and knocks, and if anyone would open unto Him, He would come in and dine with them.

So many times, we focus on doing, doing, doing. We worry about much service for the Lord, and we keep doing, doing, doing. In the eyes of the Lord, it's a bunch of doo-doo. Paul said in Philippians chapter 3 that he counts all these things as dung, as trash, that he may do the one thing. He lays all that stuff aside to grab hold of Him, to know Him in the power of His resurrection and in the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.

Now, I know there are many of you this morning who would say, "That's right, I want to know the Lord in the power of His resurrection." That sounds great. But the verse goes on to mention the fellowship of His sufferings. Some might hesitate at the thought of knowing the Lord in the fellowship of His sufferings and being made conformable unto His death. The first part sounds appealing, but the second part feels tough, and conformable unto His death? That seems daunting.

However, as we get to know Him—not just in the power of His resurrection but also in the fellowship of His sufferings and being made conformable unto His death—we begin to understand that the God who spared nothing to save us will stop at nothing to sustain us. This God, who gave His body and His blood to save us, will He stop in sustaining us? No.

That is why it is so important that we, like Paul and many who have gone before us, get to know the Lord in the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death. This understanding allows us to say with Paul, in the midst of trial, in the midst of storm, in the midst of tribulation, and in the midst of all the things in this world that strangle and choke us.

That we can say, "I know in whom I have believed." I know this One who spared nothing to save me, and I'm persuaded that He'll stop at nothing to sustain me. He will keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. I'm persuaded of this very thing. I'm confident of this very thing.

The word "persuaded" there in verse 12 is the very same word in the Greek that is found in Philippians chapter 1, verse 6, where Paul says, "And being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until that day." Here, Paul tells Timothy, "I know in whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him against that day."

We look forward to that day when we will see Him with unveiled face. We see dimly as yet through a mirror, but then face to face. For now, we know in part, but then we shall be known even as we are known. Now abide these three: faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love—a love that gave Himself for us, spared nothing to save us, and will stop at nothing to sustain us as He sanctifies us, making us clean.

God's desire for every single one of us is that we would come into that place where we know in whom we have believed. Yes, it's good to know what you believe. It's wonderful to know why you believe it, but better than those things is to know who you believe.

Someone came up to me after the service, a guy by the name of John. He's been here for quite some time. He said, "Have you ever noticed how new believers are? They don't know what they believe. They don't know why they believe it, but they sure do know who they believe, and they are excited and on fire."

We get so consumed with knowing what and why. We build big schools to try and figure it out. You know what? There are a lot of people who are professional ministers today who have gone through those schools and who don't know who they are serving.

Charles Spurgeon, in his book "Lectures to My Students," encourages you to read the first chapter. He questions every minister and says, "You better take the time to figure out if you truly are saved, if you truly do believe the thing that you're preaching." It's possible for us just to jump onto a good cause. Test yourself to see that you be in the faith. Get to know the One that you say you believe in, for it is in that that you will find that you have the Spirit of Christ dwelling richly within you.

The spirit of fear is not what we have been given, but rather a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. You can stand with Paul, unashamed of the Gospel of Christ, ready to preach in season and out of season. I wonder how many of those who have gone through seminaries—this is not a knock on seminaries, as they have their place and are good—how many of them, despite having letters after their names like MDiv, PhD, or Doctorate of Divinity, would stick around if severe persecution arose, as it did in the days of Paul? How many of us would remain steadfast?

We won't if we don't know in whom we have believed. If you understand what you believe and why, does it really stand up to those sorts of trials in the last days? If it's just a good cause, will you go to your death for it? Scarcely for a righteous man would some even dare to die. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. I know in whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.

We need to know whom we believe so that we might be persuaded and have confidence. Confidence, simply put, means "with faith" in Greek. Wholehearted faith in the One we have believed, and that He is able to keep what we commit to Him.

There are some of you today who say, "Yes, I agree with this. I know this to be true. I know whom I have believed, and I'm confident that He is able to keep these things." Yet, you continue to struggle and strain under some sort of load, some burden that you are holding on to. You refuse to let it go. You may say, "I know in whom I have believed, and I know He is able to keep this," but you are having a hard time committing it into His care. To commit something means to commit your way unto the Lord.

With great meaning, the term means to give over to another, to give it completely over for the purpose of safekeeping. In Hebrew, the word "ga'al," found in Psalm 37, means to roll something over, to commit something over. When the children of Israel came out of Egypt and entered the Promised Land, they had a feast at a place called Gilgal. Gilgal comes from the very same root word, "ga'al," meaning to commit or to roll. It was said of them that they rolled the reproach of Egypt away from them that day. They committed their cares over to the Lord, rolling them over to Him so that He would take over.

I heard a story once about a truck driver driving down the highway during a great storm. The rain was coming down, and off in the distance, he saw a man standing on the side of the road with a big duffel bag in his arms. The man looked like he was straining under the weight of it. He stuck out his thumb, and the truck driver figured he would stop and help him out. So he stopped, the man thanked him, and jumped into the truck.

As they drove down the highway, the man still held onto that big load in his arms. It looked very heavy, and he was sweating and seemed tired. The truck driver said to him, "Why don't you just set your duffel bag on the floor? There's plenty of room in here." The man replied, "Oh, no, no, no, it's okay." They continued for a few more miles, but the man seemed to be buckling under the weight of the duffel bag again. The truck driver insisted, "Seriously, you should just put it on the floor. It's no big deal."

The man responded, "No, no, no. You've taken the trouble to drive me. I can't ask you to carry this as well."

So many of us, in our walk with the Lord, carry burdens and hold onto things that weigh us down. The Lord is carrying us, and He is saying, "Why don't you just set this down?" Yet we often respond, "Oh, no, I couldn't ask You to carry this too. You're carrying me. You've been so gracious to carry me. I can't ask You to take this as well." How foolish that is.

The Lord would say to you and call to me as well in Matthew chapter 11, verse 28: "Come unto me, all of you that labor and are heavy laden." He calls to us, those who are carrying such burdens, and says, "Come unto me, those of you who are striving under these things, those of you who are carrying..."

You're laboring so much. In Matthew 11, it says, "Come unto me, all of you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Some of you this morning are in that place where you can say with Paul, "I know in whom I have believed. I'm persuaded that he's able to keep that thing." But now you need to come to the Lord and lay it down at His feet. Commit it to His care. Roll it over to Him. You might say, "I just don't know if I can do that." Then you need to take some more time to get to know in whom you have believed.

If this morning you had a duffel bag filled with a million dollars, would you leave it on the corner of Seven Oaks and El Norte during the service? If you did, do you think you might be tempted to be a little concerned about it as you sat in the service? You probably would have a hard time listening to me. As you're sitting through the service, you know that duffel bag is sitting out there on the corner, and oh my goodness, concern, fret, angst, anxiety—all these different things would be going through your mind as you leave that duffel bag out there.

So you might think, as you're getting out of your car, "I'll just leave it in my car because my car has one of those really nice alarm systems, and people really listen to those things. They really take notice when alarms are going off." And so you leave it in your car, but still, you're probably tempted to be a little concerned about that duffel bag with a million dollars in it. It's hard to listen, hard to focus, strangled by concern and care.

Before you come to church, while you're at home, you might think, "Well, I'll leave it here and put it underneath my bed because I have one of those great ADT security systems. I've seen the commercials where the ones and zeros are all over the house, and it'll be safe. The ones and zeros will protect it." But as you're sitting through the service, again, you're a little concerned, wondering, "Gosh, is it still going to be there when I get back? Who knows about it? Maybe that person sitting next to me knows." Would you just leave that duffel bag of a million dollars?

Laying around somewhere? No, you would find an institution—something that you have found, have been persuaded of, and are confident that they'll be able to keep it if you commit it into their care, into their trust. You want to ensure that it'll be safe with them. So, you commit it into their care, perhaps to gain a little bit of peace of mind.

But that's talking about earthly treasures, and we know that even if it were in the best bank, you'd still be concerned about that. How much more valuable is your soul in this little duffel bag that we have? Of how much more value? If you're going to commit it into the care of the Lord, wouldn't you think you'd want to get to know Him, check things out, and spend some time with Him? It is so important that we get to know our Lord and spend time with Him. It's the only way that we can have peace in the storm.

It's the only way that we can fulfill the command of Jesus to take no thought for your life. It's the only way that we can fulfill the command of Paul in Philippians chapter 4: be anxious for nothing. It's the only way that we can be still in the midst of trial and persecution, as Paul was when he wrote to Timothy days before his death. He said, "I'm not ashamed. I'm not fearful." Why? Because I know in whom I have believed, and He is able to keep. I am confident that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day.

Timothy, hold fast the form of sound words which you have heard from me. Hold fast to this; never let this truth go. Get to know Him. So many things plague us, cause concern, and strangle us. You may find yourself today striving for air, feeling almost as if you've been baptized with the spirit of fear. Today, the Lord desires to baptize you with His Spirit, with power, love, and a sound mind.

As we get to know Him a little bit better through the breaking of bread, we recognize that there are hard times in this world—things that concern us, things that worry us, and things that bog us down. Everybody in this room is worried about something this morning. If we took the time, we could compile a great list of worries, cares, and concerns. I'm sure every single one of you could come up with an individual worry, care, or concern. We would all have 300 different ones, and then you could probably come up with 300 of your own on top of it.

Yet the Lord would say to take no thought. Despite this, we find ourselves losing sleep over our worries, crying over them, or whatever it may be. These things strangle us, and the Lord says, "Come to me, you who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest." I find it interesting that in Hebrews, we see that we need to strive to enter into His rest. Sometimes it takes work to enter into the rest that the Lord desires to give us.

I think of Noah in the book of Genesis. Many of you have just read the book of Genesis as you're going through your Bible reading. The Lord came to Noah and said to him, "I want you to build this ark." So he set out and built the ark. It took him 120 years of being mocked by everybody else and enduring hard labor so that he could enter into rest. After 120 years, he could spend one year in the ark and be saved. His vision and his name mean rest, but he toiled to enter into that rest. Sometimes it takes labor for us just to get to the Lord and say, "Alright, here, take it. I've labored under this for so long."

But the Lord would not have it to be so. He desires that we come and lay it down at His feet today. Yet we cry over it and concern ourselves with all these things that the Lord would never have us worry about. He will truly take care of those things. Tears will come and tears will go, and there are those who will never know the answers to questions that plague their minds. They will ask and seek but may never find. Yet against that day, He will keep those things laid at His nail-pierced feet.

So worry not and fret no more. Ask, seek, and knock upon His door, for He will answer in His time. It is all for us to be refined. You see, the Lord desires to refine us, change us, and transform us today. The same power and the same resolve that He had to save us is the same power and resolve that He now sustains us with and sanctifies us with. He will not let us go, but He desires...

That we would get to know Him. That we would be able to lay the things into His care and say, "I know in whom I have believed." I know in whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. Timothy, church, brother, sister, hold fast the form of sound words which you have heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. The good thing which was committed unto your care keep by the Holy Ghost which dwells in us.

Let's pray. Outside these doors this morning, Lord, are many wolves that would desire to take us sheep by the necks and strangle us. Many cares and concerns that we have left a little bit behind in our minds are outside waiting for us as we go. So, Father, You desire that we wouldn't buckle under these things any longer. Help us to lay them at Your nail-pierced feet this day as we remember what You did for us. You did not spare anything to save us, and You'll stop at nothing to sustain us.

Father, we thank You that You are a good God and that we can cry out to You, Abba, Father. You know the things that we have need of while the world is out seeking and striving over all these things, and they're worried about much. We have You, our Father in Heaven, and You know what we need. Help us to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, trusting that all these things will be added. What a witness that will be! So much better is the witness, Father, of us knowing You than knowing what and knowing why. It turns the hearts of the wisest of men.

God, do a work in us, we pray this day. In Jesus' name, Amen. As we worship, the pastors and elders will be up here.

This morning, I want to pray for you. If there are things that have been binding you and choking you this week, maybe for this last month, or perhaps for years, you've held on to these burdens. You've been in that truck carrying that weight, and the truck driver keeps saying, "I don't know quite what you're thinking, but I'm kind of carrying the burden already." Maybe today is the day that you would be loosed from it. Perhaps today is the day that the Lord would have you lay it down at His feet.

I am often encouraged by the fact that when Peter walked on the water, the waves and the wind that were above his head were under Jesus' feet. He has everything under control. Therefore, seeing that we are also encompassed about by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and every sin that so easily besets or ensnares us. Let us run with patience or endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. He endured the cross. He spared nothing to save us, and He'll stop at nothing to sustain us.

Let's worship Him and remember this morning. Father, we thank You. We thank You, Lord, that You have rescued us. Lord, that while we were yet sinners, You died for us. We have this hope, and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out abundantly in our hearts. Lord, we thank You for that.

If you would, open your Bibles to Psalm 37, a favorite passage of mine. Many of you know this passage, and some of you have memorized portions of it. As David writes, he was a man who many times was tempted to fear and fret. We read in Psalm 37, verse 1: "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb."

Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noon day.

Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for Him. Fret not thyself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. If you would underline the words in verse 1, "fret not," and the first word of verse 2, "for," underline the first word of verse 3, "trust," the first word of verse 4, "delight," that in verse 5, "commit," the first in verse 6, and in the first in verse 7, "rest." As you read them together, we see "fret not," "for," "trust," "delight," "commit," and "rest." The Lord desires that we would enter into that rest.

Sadly, many of the children of Israel did not enter into that rest because they hardened their hearts. May we not harden our hearts today. If you would hear His voice, harden not your heart as in the day of the rebellion. They would not enter into His rest, not because they couldn't, but because they wouldn't.

Fret not, for trust, delight, commit, and rest. Would you stand with me as we sing this last song of praise? If you would pass your cups to the center aisles, the ushers will come and pick them up. I'm quite sure that many of you this morning have taken heart to some of the things that have been said. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. We all are common in this area; we are all weak when it comes to worry. We all have this problem, but the Lord has the answer. As we sing this song of praise, let us remember that.

When we're finished, you're dismissed. However, I encourage you to take some time, maybe with the person standing next to you this morning, and ask them for prayer. There are many prayer warriors in this room. If you desire, the pastors and elders will be up here in the front to pray for you as well.

If there are things clouding your vision today—things that are concerning you, cares of this world that tie you down and bind you—leave them here with the Lord. You might say, "Well, I'm going to wake up tomorrow, and it's still going to be there." You're right, but you can leave it with the Lord. In the morning when you wake up, bring it to His feet once again every single day. Knock, seek, and ask upon His door, for He will answer in His time. He's refining you and refining me. Praise the Lord! Well, let's praise the Lord.