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 Sermon for 05/25/08
(First time visitors: Please read the notes HERE about these sermons first!)

Pentecost 2 – WORRY – 7 Steps
To a Worry Free Life, (RW04)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN

Main Theme: WORRY: It’s a sin, but all of us do it. Jesus comes to remind us that when we trust God, and leave the future in His hands, there is no need to worry. Worry negatively affects our health, lives, and relationships. Rather than focusing on tomorrow’s problems we’re to focus instead on the one with all the answers, power, and grace to handle them. It’s all about trust. There are 7 steps to a worry free life. 1) Remember: Nothing in this broken world is for certain! EXCEPT… for one thing; God’s love for you! 2) You should not carry the burden of the future on your shoulders! That’s God’s job! 3) Have plans for the future; ONLY let God plan it, and you do your best to follow Him! 4) Never presume tomorrow! 5) Seek out God’s Word for direction! 6) Step out in faith with courage! 7) Remain rooted in what is certain! And what is certain is Christ! Leave tomorrow to Christ, and focus instead on what you can actively do today to carry out God’s mission of love.

1) WORRY FREE. A man once told his friend why he was worry free. “I have a mountain of credit card debt. I have lost my job. My car is being repossessed and our house is in foreclosure, but I am not worried about it”. Amazed and curious, his friend asked how that could be. “Well, you see, I’ve hired a professional worrier. He does all my worrying for me, and that way I don’t have to think about it.” His friend said “That’s fantastic! How much does your professional worrier charge for his services?” “$50,000 a year”, he replied. “$50,000 a year? Where are you going to get that kind of money?” “I don’t know”, came the reply. “That’s his worry.”

2) STRANGLE/CHOKE/PULL APART. Well, that’s one way to handle worry I guess – ignore reality. But ignoring real problems does not make them go away. And if we find ourselves without any other positive options, we instinctively fall back into worrying. This is strange considering the English word “worry”, comes from an old German word meaning to strangle, or choke. That is exactly what worry is - a kind of mental and emotional strangulation. The Greek word for worry literally means “to be drawn in different directions.” And indeed, worry does pull us apart. Which does not seem to be a problem for any other creature but humans.

3) NATURE TRUSTS GOD! See, all of nature trusts God. God built into His Creation the means by which all things are cared for. The birds are fed because they daily follow God’s will. They do not store up great amounts of food, but continually do what God intended them to do – trust Him daily for their every need! The lilies grow daily through a natural process. Nature trusts God to provide.

4) TRUST? Back in the Garden of Eden, we humans once understood that too. We were never worried or anxious about our existence. We trusted in God to provide for our every need. But when our sinful desire to be in control of our own lives came into being – all that changed. So today, we worry; we are “pulled apart” because we try to live our lives by depending not on God, but on material wealth and human wisdom. Someone once said "If we worry, we can’t trust; if we trust, we can’t worry." Jesus wants us to know that God is faithful in providing for His children. The fact is, worry is sin. It is not faithful to His original plan. It only comes from not trusting God as our provider! And yet, it is perhaps the most common sin of all. See, God designed us for faith, not for fear or worry. Worry does not accomplish anything but make us sick – so naturally we shouldn’t do it. (Easier said than done, of course), But try to imagine how God feels when His children don’t trust Him to provide, and carry around useless burdens which do nothing but weigh us down, strangle us, and tear us apart. Because that’s what worry does!

5) WORRY! Worry affects us physically, emotionally, and spiritually in negative ways. Someone once said “You can worry yourself to death, but not to life.” Dr. Charles Mayo, of the famous Mayo Clinic, wrote, “Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the gland and the whole nervous system. I have never met a man or known a man to die of overwork, but I have known a lot who died of worry.” And worry affects our human relationships, and especially our relationship with God! It is ironic that we can believe that God can save us from sin, take us to heaven, and keep us forever, but we struggle to believe that God will take care of us the rest of our days on this earth. Is there anything we can do to reduce the amount of “worry” in our life? Is there anything we can do to increase our trust in Him? Let’s take a look at 7 things that might help us become more and more worry-free.

6) GOD’S LOVE First 1) Remember: Nothing in this broken world is for certain! EXCEPT… for one thing; God’s love for you! God will ALWAYS have an unending, unchanging, and inexhaustible love for you! But here’s the problem: Too many of us (who discover the future is not always ours to control), end up panicking as goals fail to “unroll as planned”. We become fearful and anxious. We spend our time worrying about what tomorrow brings. Why? Because we began to fall into the habit of focusing only on the uncertainty of life! We focus on the problem, not on the Holy problem solver and His love for us.

7) YOUR JOB! What we NEED and were DESIGNED to focus on, is the certainty of a loving relationship that will never let us down! I’m going to say this as clearly as I can: the burden of the future was never meant to be placed upon your shoulders! The future is God’s job! Your job is to embrace, love, and serve the Lord – to make Him smile – to bring glory to him… today!

8) GOD’S JOB! Friends, the Lord declares: 2) You are not to carry the burden of the future on your shoulders! That’s God’s job! When you “worry about tomorrow” you are horning in on God’s territory. It’s assuming responsibility that God never intended you to have! Fact is – worry is a control mechanism! The illusion suggests that “if we worry about it, we can somehow control it!” But that’s not true! Only God can control the future. It’s been said that worrying is “stewing without doing!” Worry doesn’t “control tomorrow”, it only “ruins today!”

9) CONCERN! I also want to make something else clear: when Jesus calls us not to worry, He is not calling us stop being concerned. There is a big difference between the two. When a parent sees a child walking toward a street full of traffic, Jesus is not saying “Don’t be concerned.” Christians are called to be concerned to love, protect, and serve those around us. The key is to understand that “Concern” is attached to the present - today. Worry is attached to the future. We can, and are called to take action in the present, but to also remember the future is out of our hands. Worry immobilizes but concern moves us into action today. We are called to be concerned; loving and serving and caring for those in font of us today, but worrying and therefore taking on the burdens of tomorrow is God’s job.

10) STILL IN CONTROL! Ecclesiastes tells us (8:7) “Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?” …no human being! That’s for sure! So what are we to do? Worry about all the uncertainty in the world? NO! Stay focused instead upon the things that ARE CERTAIN: God is Good, God is Great, God is still in control! Don’t worry about the uncertainty of tomorrow – it’s only uncertain to you. God knows exactly what’s coming! He’s already got plans and resources ready to help you endure and find victory over the “uncertainties of life.”

11) PLAN! Does that mean we don’t plan at all for the future? Absolutely not! Planning is a good thing – after all, God makes plans! So… 3) Have plans for the future; ONLY let God plan it, and you do your best to follow Him! It is good to prepare yourself for possessing what God has promised. But remember, things in a broken world will change constantly, and you must expect the unexpected! The Apostle Paul had to learn to make these adjustments constantly. When God sent him suddenly to a new city, he went! When God said it was time to go – he left! He could not be certain of WHERE he would be tomorrow, or WHAT SITUATION he would be in! But He was certain that God was still in control, and he adapted constantly to God’s direction. Even if the world turned “up side down”, he could be certain of his relationship with Christ – so why worry about tomorrow. God’s plans are worth following!

12) AS YOU WILL! It’s alright to ask God to consider your own dreams and desires, (to start a business or be a movie star or famous baseball player) – but only if you end each prayer sincerely with these words, “But thy will be done!” On the night Jesus was to be arrested his heart was heavy (sensing what was about to happen to Him), and he asked God, (Matthew 26:39) “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Jesus felt free to ask the Father for a different ending to the story, but a greater priority was to please God through obedience – showing faith in God’s plan!

13) CONSULTIN YOUR CREATOR! Likewise, feel free to ask God for anything, but always be ready and willing to accept a “No” – assured that God has a better plan. Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with your whole heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and He will direct your paths!” When you plan your future without asking God, that’s “sinful presumption.” When you plan prayerfully, that’s wisdom, (wisdom that leads to inner peace!) All of us here today would be better off prayerfully “ASKING” God to reveal His plan for our future, waiting for His answer, and acting upon it, rather than offering up “random possibilities” hoping one lines up with His will. Plan away – just make sure you’re consulting your Creator on every detail!

14) NEVER PRESUME TOMORROW! Fourthly, worry comes from presuming there will be a tomorrow. 4) Never presume tomorrow! Proverbs 27:1 says, “Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t now what tomorrow brings.” And James tells us (4:13-14) “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we go to this city or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is you life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and vanishes.” I mean, think about it – (in fact feel your pulse or your heart) do you realize that you may be just one heartbeat away from eternity? You set yourself up for disappointment when you presume tomorrow will turn out the way you expect it to turn out! And you make yourself sick worrying about a tomorrow that may never come. Concentrate instead on today! Today, this moment! How can you make God smile …today? How can you love and pour yourself out for others …today? Just… Never Presume Tomorrow! And to worry about it is silly and sinful. Simply be concerned,( that is, moved into loving action) with the gift of today! Remember, tomorrow may interrupted by eternal life in heaven. …and always…

15) SEEK GOD’S WORD! 5) Seek out God’s Word for direction! You and I know the world is full of distractions! We get sidetracked from God’s Word by business, sports, entertainment, careers, health problems… well the list is endless! And if we get distracted from focusing on the CERTAINTY of God’s love and ability to provide for us, we’re bound to forget it, and get focused on the uncertainties. Hence, life gets worrisome again, and it has negative effect on you. In the Old Testament, Joshua was given the task of leading his people into the promised land. And though the challenges of fighting the inhabitants and conquering the land were huge, God gave him this advice: (Joshua 1:7-8) “Be careful to obey all the Law. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let the Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you’ll be prosperous and successful!”

16) Meditate! How many of us who are worry warts are focused only on our struggles, a result of having veered away from the Word of God? Having “turned off to the right or left”, we’re distracted from deepening our relationship with God. What we need to do then is seek out our answer for life in the Bible. Yes, coming to church is good, but listening to God only once a week is not enough! Would you eat only one meal a week, gorge on Sunday, and then fast again for 6 more days and expect to stay healthy? Of course not. Likewise you need to feast on “spiritual food” everyday too! God said to Joshua, “Meditate on it day and night!” Are you? The more you meditate on what the Good Book says, the more your life is fulfilled, and the less you worry. Remember – if you know how to worry, you know how to meditate (of course, worry is “negative meditation!”). But, replace worry with God’s life-giving Word, and that’s “positive meditation.” The Bible is the owner’s manual for life! And God says that if you immerse yourself daily in it, you’ll not be negatively affected by the uncertainties of life!

17) STEP OUT! So, make a plan with God’s help, but then 6) Step out in faith with courage! God says in His pep-talk with Joshua three times “Be strong and courageous!” The idea of “stepping out” is a good one, because “true faith” is action! Faith is more than an idea. Anyone can say they “believe” airplanes are safe, but it takes “faith” to fly in one. Anyone can “believe” a small chair will hold them, but it’s putting your butt in the chair and sitting down that displays your “faith.” Believing is not enough! In James we are reminded, (2:19) “You believe there is a God? Good! Even the demons believe and shudder!” In other words – even the Devil’s soldiers believe God exists! So what! They don’t serve Him! Anyone can believe that God exists and NOT put that belief into faith’s action! James 1:22 says “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourself. Do what it says.” In other words, faith is an action step – that requires courage. What is courage? Courage is not the absence of fear, it is taking an action in spite of your fear. Stepping out in faith demonstrates trust in Christ’s ability to care for us!

18) FAITH: BELIEF IN ACTION! Small churches everywhere today, like ours, are constantly facing financial and resource challenges. And the majority in those churches may know and believe” in their mission and be aware of the costs to support that vision. But the question is: will belief turn into faith action? Will the time, talent, and financial resources God has placed in our pockets make it to offering plate and into the ministries of this church? Will we utilize what we have been given for today’s concerns, or hoard them because we do not trust in God to provide for our needs tomorrow? Faith is belief in action. And I am praising God for those of you here today who are growing and stepping out in faith with courage! …I thank the Lord for you who are giving generously towards today’s kingdom needs, and trusting God to provide for our tomorrows! When “what you believe” becomes action – the uncertainty and worry surrounding our ministries fades! Faith blesses us by enabling us to face the future without fear! For when we are willing to give whatever it takes to serve God now, we display the confidence that God will be with us, and provide for our every need tomorrow!

19) CERTAIN? CHRIST! Lastly, it is important to restate this truth: 7) Remain rooted in what is certain! And what is certain is Christ! Not the world! You want “inner peace” in a broken world full of uncertainty – stop focusing on the uncertainty, stop worrying about the problems we face, and focus instead on your loving God! Have you ever been waiting in an airport at the gate and noticed the difference between the passengers who have a confirmed ticket and those on standby? Those with tickets in their hands are relaxed, confident, expectant of a good flight. Those on standby hang near the ticket counter, pacing, smoking, tensely watching the clocks… all because of uncertainty! God offers you freedom from the burden of uncertainty and worry, and through the cross - Christ has confirmed your ticket! His love for you is certain!

20) ALWAYS! Friends, the one and only CONSTANT in life is Christ’s love for you! Shall you plan your own life; carry the burden of the future upon your own shoulders? Shall you let the stressful inconsistencies and unpredictability of life wear you out and tear you down through constant worry? Or shall you stay focused on the Lord whose promises, presence, protection, and provision can always be counted on! God is God, and can always be counted on! Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33-34 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

21) CHRIST! Christ comes today to remind you that God designed you to have a worry free life. He sends His Spirit to live in your heart this morning that you will understand and… 1) Remember: Nothing in this broken world is for certain! EXCEPT… for one thing; God’s love for you! 2) You are not to carry the burden of the future on your shoulders! That’s God’s job! 3) Have plans for the future; ONLY let God plan it, and you do your best to follow Him! 4) Never presume tomorrow! 5) Seek out God’s Word for direction! 6) Step out in faith with courage! 7) Remain rooted in what is certain! And what is certain is Christ! Leave tomorrow to your Lord who has promised to provide for your every need. Seek God’s design for a worry-free life, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you focus instead on what you can actively do to carry out God’s mission of love… today! Praise God!AMEN

Sermon/Confessional Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that too often we have taken the burden of the future upon our own shoulders rather than leaving it to you! We let worry and anxiety ruin our ability to focus on you and serve according to your will. We have focused on the uncertainty of living in a broken world instead of focusing on the certainty of your love and ability to care for us. Too often we make our own plans for the future rather than seeking from you the better plan you already have designed for us. Help us to “let go and let God” – help us to trust in your ability to take care of tomorrow and the challenges before us!

Lord, forgive us when we presume to know what tomorrow will bring, assuming there will always be other days! Help us to live today to the fullest, serving without regrets, and faithfully according to your will. Forgive us when we get distracted and do not turn to your life-giving Word each and every day. Empower us with the discipline to daily meditate upon the Holy Scriptures! And fill us with your Holy Spirit that we might go from merely believing into stepping out in action with true faith.

And now Lord, although you know us better than we know ourselves, listen as we share in a moment of silence, those other parts of our lives that need to be forgiven, washed clean, healed, and recommitted to you! (made anew.)

(Silence)

Lord, as you prepared Joshua and the people of Israel with the spiritual tools to face the uncertain challenges of a broken world, so too now, fill us with a stronger faith that assures us that there is nothing that you cannot handle. Help us to face the future without fear! Help us to turn all the uncertainty of this world over into your hands, and teach us to focus instead on your love and peace, which is graciously given and eternally certain! AMEN

Assurance of Forgiveness:

Friends, listen to the good news: The Lord, who designed you for a worry-free life based on faith, …that Lord has mercifully heard your confession and eagerly forgives you all your sins. Go now, with confidence in your heart, and worry no more! God is still in control and His plan for tomorrow will bring victory over the uncertainty of the world! AMEN

Opening prayer: Pentecost 2 - WORRY – 7 Steps To a Worry Free Life - (RW04)

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