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Message for April 25, 2010
Posted on 11-05-10 |
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MCC: 04.25.10
Text: Matthew 6.25-34 (685); 14.22-27 (693); Mark 4.35-41
Series: Freedom
Resources: Max Lucado, Fearless, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009).
Focus: To be set free from worry, we need to live in the present and trust God.
Freedom from Worry
Intro) A) I’ll not bore you with the details but many of you are aware that Terri and I are in the process of selling our home while buying another home. We thought that we had our financing worked out so that we would not need to sell the one home before buying the other. A couple of weeks ago, I received a phone call from Fort Mill, South Carolina, indicating that what we thought might not be correct. The bank providing the mortgage had apparently changed their corporate mind about our financing. The mortgage officer at the other end of the phone told me that she would call me back when she got a final answer. I hung up the phone, and felt a knot in my stomach. I couldn’t remain sitting. I got up from the couch and started pacing back and forth. And I realized two things at that moment. One, I knew that I was stressed and anxious and worried. And, two, I realized that in less than two weeks from that phone call, I was giving a message on “Freedom from Worry.”
B) We’re in a series of messages entitled “Freedom.” We’re talking about how we can be free from a variety of human experiences that threaten to enslave us. On Easter, we talked about being set free from the ultimate fear which is the fear of death. Since then, we’ve focused on how we could be set free from guilt and materialism.
C) This morning, we’re going to address the issue of discovering freedom from worry. I have always prided myself (and humility is a topic for another day) on not being a worrier. I do my best to not worry about issues over which I have little or no control, which is most of life. I’ve always looked back on my father who was a world-champion worrier and used him as my inspiration to, in the words of Bobby McFerrin, “don’t worry, be happy.”
D) But that phone call on April 13th rocked my world. It immediately put me into the realm of worry, anxiety, and stress. Some of us here can identify with that statement. Some of us stay in the in the realm of worry.
Trans) So how do we get set free from the realm of worry and anxiety? As any of you who are there know, it’s not easy. But let me suggest four biblical steps that will help us find freedom from worry. First,
I) Live in the Present
When we’re in the realm of worry, we tend to not live in the present. Instead, we make one of two mistakes.
A) We Get Stuck in the Past.
1) We all know individuals who make themselves miserable by staying stuck in the past. 2) Do you remember the famous words muttered by Marlon Brando in the movie On the Waterfront? “I could have been a contender.” One blogger writes that the words “have struck chords in those of us who sense that somehow we have missed the train” (http://donskiff.comi_could_have_been_a_contender.htm, accessed on April 23, 2010).
3) Those of us who live in the realm of worry often have as our slogans: “would’ve, should’ve, could’ve.” We let the regrets of the past influence our perspective on the present. My wife would tell you that one of those individuals who worries about what could have been is me—but she would be wrong. Worriers can get stuck in the past.
Trans) I think that even more of us who live in the world of worry make the second mistake:
B) We Project into the Future.
1) We take our present experience and we project it into the future.
2) Two weeks ago, when I receive that phone call about the financing of our house, this was my thought process immediately upon hanging up the phone: (1) We have to close on the house we’re selling before we close on the house that we’re buying. (2) The bank won’t extend the date of the closing on the house we’re buying. (3) We’ll sell our house and won’t have a house to buy. (4) We will have to live in our pop-up camper. (5) We will have to live in our pop-up camper the rest of our lives. And I could have gone on from there and thought about the consequences on our children and grandchildren.
3) When we live in the realm of worry, we often project into the future and our worry just gets worse.
Trans) But this is what Jesus teaches us. Jesus teaches us that if we’re going to discover freedom from worry, we need to
C) Live in the Present.
1) In the sixth chapter of the first book of the New Testament, the gospel (good news) of Matthew, Jesus says in verses 25-27: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
2) Jesus tells us not to worry, it doesn’t accomplish anything. It doesn’t add a single hour to our lives or a single inch to our heights. Then Jesus goes to on to say a few more things about worrying and he ends the teaching in verse 34: Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
3) What is Jesus saying? Live in the present. Should we learn from the past? Yes, of course, but don’t stay stuck in the past. Should we prepare for the future? Of course, but don’t make your worrying worse by projecting into the future.
D) I don’t think that truer words have ever been spoken: Each day has enough trouble of its own. 1) Perhaps you’re in a place now where you’ve lost your job or your pension has been destroyed by the subprime mortgage crisis. You wonder how you’re going to live or how you’re going to retire. All I can tell you is this. Live in the present. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
2) Some of you have been in that terrible place of being in the hospital as your loved one dies and you wonder, “How will I make it?” And the only answer is, Do not worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Stay in the present. Don’t try to project into the future. Stay focused on the matter at hand and live in the present for Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Trans) That seems impossible. How does one live in the present when confronted with such enormous pain? How can one help but to worry? The only way to live in the present is to
II) Trust in God’s Presence
A) There is a story in the 14th chapter of Matthew which paints for us a portrait of the trust that we need to have. In verses 22-24, Matthew tells us that after speaking to a large crowd on the edge of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus had the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
B) Max Lucado tells us that “as famous lakes go, Galilee…is a small, moody one. The diminutive size makes it more vulnerable to the winds that howl out of the Golan Heights. They turn the lake into a blender, shifting suddenly, blowing first from one direction, then another. Winter months bring such storms every two weeks or so, churning the waters for two to three days at a time.
(The disciples) knew that they were in trouble. What should have been a sixty minute cruise became a nightlong battle” (Lucado, 69).
C) That sets the scene for us. The disciples are out in the middle of the storm. Do you think that they’re worried? Of course, they are. They’re in the middle of the storm! As far as they know, they’re all alone in the storm. But they’re not. Matthew continues in verses 25-27: 25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
D) The disciples were in the middle of the storm. We often find ourselves in the middle of the storm. When we’re there, we need to hear these words of Jesus: Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid... If we’re to be set free from the realm of worry, we need to trust that God is with us, we need to trust in God’s presence.
E) That is the consistent witness of Scripture:
1) Jesus told his disciples at the end of Matthew, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
2) The New Living Translation renders Paul’s words from Romans 8.38-39 this way: And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3) The writer of Hebrews in the New Testament quotes the Old Testament in chapter 13: God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
F) We can live in the present because we can trust God’s presence. To quote Lucado, “We cannot go where God is not. Look over your shoulder; that’s God following you. Look into the storm; that’s Christ coming toward you.” (Lucado, 71).
1) It may be in a doctor’s office, it might be in an unemployment line, it may be in a court room, wherever it is, we can trust God’s presence.
2) Notice that I did not say that we trust that God will work things out in the way that we want God to work things out. God may or may not choose to stop the storm but he promises to be with us in the storm.
Trans) We can be set free from worry when we live in the present, trust in God’s presence, and
III) Leave Room for God’s Power
A) In some ways, this is the flip side of what I just said. God may or may not choose to stop the storm but he promises to be with us in the storm. We trust in God’s presence. However, we also leave room for God’s Power. If God chooses to stop the storm, we believe that God is capable of stopping the storm. We believe that God can get us out of the financial straits in which we find ourselves. We believe that God can cure the cancer. We believe that God can heal the marriage.
B) This also goes back to our tendency to project into the future. Do you remember how I convinced myself that I would be living in a camper for the rest of my life? Yet, God can change my situation. God can get us out of the camper. Sometimes when we project into the future, we think, “It’s always going to be this way.” “I’m always going to be in debt. I’m always going to be sick. My relationship is always going to bad.” And, sometimes that’s true. In those situations, God promises to be with us. But we also need to leave room for God’s power to change our circumstances and to change people. Maybe this is true for you as you worry about a son or daughter. Leave room for God to work in the life of your son or daughter. And sometimes the person that needs to be changed the most is..
C) Some of you have heard of the book, The Complete Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook (Joshua Previn and David Borgenicht (San Francisco Chronicle Books, 2007). The book gives you what to do when you face the very worst case scenarios. There is also a worst case scenario board game. Here are some examples:
1) Next time an octopus traps you on the ocean floor, launch into a flurry of somersaults. Unless you’re wrapped in the grip of a fearfully strong arm or two, you’ll escape with only a few sucker lesions.
2) As you ascend to the surface, you might encounter a shark. Don’t panic; punch! Pound way at the eyes and gills which are the most sensitive parts of its body.
3) After you reach the surface, you may find yourself in a jungle, locked in the grip of a silverback gorilla. Your only hope of escape is to stroke its arm while loudly smacking your lips. Hopefully, the gorilla will interpret your actions as grooming him.
D) I know. Some of you are projecting into the future and thinking, “But I can’t do somersaults.” You’re going to leave here worried about those octopuses. And we’re not even going to talk about the whole gorilla thing. But here’s the point. God can get you out of your worst case scenarios. Sometimes God chooses not to. He chooses to change us rather than our circumstances. But leave room for God’s power. Instead of being paralyzed by worry, leave room for God’s power.
Trans) We can be set free from worry when we live in the present, trust in God’s presence, leave room for God’s power, and
IV) Receive God’s Peace
A) One of the passages of Scripture that I find myself often praying in hospital rooms and funeral homes, in the midst of life’s storms, comes from Philippians 4. In verses 6 and 7, Paul writes his friends: 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
1) Paul says, Instead of living in the realm of worry and anxiety, pray. I’d left that out, by the way. But, if we’re going to trust in God’s presence and leave room for God’s power, then we need to pray, consistently, thoughtfully, faithfully, hopefully.
2) And when we pray, Paul gives us this promise: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
B) Think about Paul for a minute. Philippians is called by scholars one of Paul’s Prison Epistles. Paul is in prison has he writes the Philippians. And who is guarding Paul’s prison cell? It’s not the Roman guard outside his door. It’s God’s peace. That’s the guard. And the peace of God…will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
C) I think that the promise that we need to claim is this: If we’ll live in the present, and trust God’s presence, and leave room for God’s power, then we don’t have to live in the realm of worry, we can live in the realm of God’s peace. God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
D) One of my favorite stories in the New Testament is another storm story. It’s found in the fourth chapter of Mark. One of the reasons that I like this story is the way that Mark has put it together. This time, Jesus is in the boat with his disciples. And Mark tells us in verses 37-41 of chapter four: 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" 39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" 41They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
1) Once again, Jesus is with the disciples in a storm. This time, Jesus reveals his power to change the disciples’ circumstances and calm the storm.
2) The modern translation hides the way that Mark put the story together. Mark uses a specific Greek word. It's the word "mega." Twenty years ago, we didn't know what "mega" meant but we do now. It means "huge," "large," "great," MEGA. The phrase that the New International Version translates as “A furious squall” is literally, “a mega wind.” The words “it was completely calm” is, more literally, “a mega calm.” And, the disciples were terrified is “they were afraid with a mega fear.” A mega storm. A mega calm. A mega fear.
Conc) A) We all face mega storms in our lives. And when we do, Jesus can create in us a mega calm, a peace that passes understanding. And sometimes, God will do something for us or in us that may even create a mega fear, which can be translated “a great awe,” and we’ll just be amazed at what God has done in our lives.
B) Whatever happens, we don’t have to live in the realm of worry, even in the midst of storms. We can live in the realm of peace.
C) I love these words of John, the archbishop of Constantinople from 398-404. He was such a great preacher that, to this day, we know him better by his nickname, Chrysostom (which means “golden mouthed”). Twice, he was banished by the authorities. That would worry me. Not John. He once asked: “What can I fear? Will it be death? But you know that Christ is my life, and that I shall gain by death. Will it be exile? But the earth and all its fullness are the Lord's. Will it be loss of wealth? But we brought nothing into this world and can carry nothing out. Thus all the terrors of the world are contemptible in my eyes, and I smile at all its good things. Poverty I do not fear, riches I do not sigh for, and from death I do not shrink'" (quoted by Lucado, 88).
D) Here was a man who lived in the present, trusted God’s presence, left room for God’s power, and received God’s peace. I want to do the same. I want to live in the realm of peace and not the realm of worry. How about you?
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