"Killing Worry"

Sermon Delivered Sunday, September 4th, 2011
by Pastor Eric Ellis

Luke 12:22-34

I don't know of the accuracy of this information, but a story is told of a businessman who drew up what he called a “Worry Chart,” in which he kept a record of his worries. He discovered that 40 percent of them were about things that probably would never happen; 30 percent concerned past decisions that he could not now unmake; 12 percent dealt with other people’s criticism of him; and 10 percent were worries about his health. He concluded that only 8 percent of them were really legitimate.

Again, I don't know if such a statistical analysis of worry is accurate to the general populace, but I suspect that really much of what we worry about we really can't control in any meaningful way. Through the years, Paige and I have often wondered and imagined what certain people think about us or how a given situation is going to work out. Most often, our imaginations were misguided. Thus, we have adopted a phrase that helps us to not dwell on things that we cannot control. That phrase is “Live in truth”, and we specifically remind ourselves of it when we find ourselves deep in anxiety or worry. Once we take a deep breathe, pray about it and cast it upon the Lord per His instruction in 1 Peter 5:7, we usually find that we are thinking irrationally anyway. And we have found that, more often than not, our anxieties and worries were unfounded and the situation or attitude we feared wasn't there to begin with. Thus, we try to live in truth of what we know and not concern ourselves with what we can't control. Due to our inherent weakness and sinful lack of trust in God, we are not always successful and we then have to redouble our efforts to cast our anxieties upon Him. But as we do, we have found Him true and faithful every time.

It seems that worry or anxiety are the common fair of most of mankind. To worry is to be tormented with disturbing thoughts. It is to be consumed with anxiety or fear about something. A writer for Life Magazine, in 1981, made this statement, “Whoever isn't schizophrenic these days isn't thinking clearly.” Medical professionals associate worry with numerous health conditions including nausea, dizziness and even heart attacks.

Sadly, most often worry is the result of bad theology. It comes from not knowing nor living in light of the truth of the nature and character of God and the nature and character of ourselves. Jesus, very God Himself, is abundantly aware of this flaw that is here because of our separation from God. And thus, He continues to discuss and teach about the nature of God and man and elaborate on the need to bring our minds to correct understanding of such vital topics.

In the passage we looked at last week and the one we will dig into this morning, the Lord Jesus is dealing with two sides of the same coin. The coin is sinful preoccupation with things of this world. R. Kent Hughes makes this observation, “Greed can never get enough, worry is afraid it may not have enough. Worry is the emotional reward of material preoccupation.” (Luke: Vol 2, Crossway 1998, p. 51). In verses 13-21, the Lord confronts the sinful desire for more which is covetousness. In the verses for our study this morning, verses 22-34, Jesus confronts the sinful care of not having enough which is anxiety or worry. Regarding the issue of covetousness, Jesus issues a general rebuke to all the listeners. In regard to worry or anxiety, Jesus here offers a softer exhortation and reproof. Note that in verse 22, we are told that Jesus is speaking to His disciples. Thus, these are folks who are have determined to follow Christ with their lives. And they are seeing that following Jesus may mean leaving behind societies' standards of blessing and wealth and giving all to follow Him. Thus, in these verses, Jesus gently but firmly encourages His followers to set aside worry and anxiety and pursue devotion and dedication to Christ. Let look at how Jesus so encourages in Luke 12:22-34...

Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
So from this passage, let us learn that...

Because worry is pointless and hinders us from glorifying God, we should kill it by thinking deeply about God's provision and desires for our lives.

It can't be emphasized enough that worry or anxiety is the result of bad theology...wrong thinking about God and ourselves. So lets listen closely to Jesus as He lovingly addressed His people regarding these issues.

Message: Six Keys to Killing Worry...
1. Remember what life is about.

Please note that in both situations, be it covetousness in the previous verses or worry in these verses, that the Lord Jesus directs his listeners to think about the meaning on life. In verse 15, He says that “...one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” In verse 23, He reiterates again that “Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.” This is two ways of saying the same thing. Life is not about what you have, be it abundance or lack thereof. In the first case, we are not to pursue abundance. In this case, we are to not concern ourselves if we have little. But rather again, we are to be thinking about the meaning and basis of life.

And as we looked at last week, the meaning of life is bound up in knowing God and loving and worshiping Him. As we looked at in John 17:3, Jesus defines life this way, “...this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” One of our favorite songs that we sing here at Flatirons is “Knowing You.” and it declares the point of the Lord, “All I once held dear, built my life upon, All this world reveres and wars to own. All I once thought gain I have counted loss, spent and worthless now compared to this. Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You, there is no greater thing. You're my all, You're my rest, You're my joy, my righteousness, and I love You, Lord.”

In these verses, Jesus reminds us again that life is bound up in knowing Him and His Father, the only true God. And knowing God comes about when we believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again to grant us forgiveness and eternal life. Life is not about clothes or food or riches. Therefore, Jesus says don't worry about these things. Rather, we should be consumed with knowing Him. It is well that Jesus repeats Himself here because we are prone to forget what is truly important. Thus, might we be diligent to remind ourselves of this vital fact as Jesus reminds us also. Don't be worried or consumed with things of the world, how much or little you have. Rather, be consumed with knowing Jesus and God because this is what life is about.

If we want to kill worry, then we will remember what life is about.

2. Look at God's faithfulness to His lesser creatures.

One can get in trouble saying this in Boulder these days, but in the verses before us here, Jesus directs his listeners to consider how God takes care of His lesser creatures as a means to kill worry. Twice, in verse 24 and in verse 27, He tells his listeners to “consider.” The word here is an imperative verb. Jesus commands us to consider birds and plants when we start to worry. It is also an active verb with ongoing emphasis. Thus, we can state with confidence that Jesus wants us to consistently be considering how He takes care of His lesser creatures when it comes to fighting against worry.

He first uses the example of ravens. This bird is an exceptionally common bird and it is found everywhere in the world. We have both crows and ravens around here and it is hard to distinguish between the two. I really enjoy reading about high mountain climbing in Asia where the really big mountains are found. I just finished a book called K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain. It was written by Ed Viesturs, perhaps America's greatest climber, and it details the various attempts to climb this 2nd highest mountain in the world at over 28,000 feet. If you have done any reading on this topic, you will soon learn that man and animals typically don't live, day-in and day-out, much above 15,000 feet. Plants and food just don't grow at that altitude and breathing is so difficult due to the lower oxygen concentration that bodies start breaking down. However, there is one animal found in abundance at these altitudes...ravens. In the Himalaya Mountains, these birds are known as Goraks and they are more or less identical to our ravens around here. But the amazing things is that these birds thrive at these elevations where very little else does.

One of the reasons that they thrive is because they will eat anything. They are one of God's garbage disposers and, therefore, serve a very useful purpose in our fallen world. Perhaps because of this garbage collection attribute, these birds were also marked out as unclean in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 14:11-14. In this passage, ravens are listed off with other carrion consuming birds such as vultures.

Thus, in directing and admonishing His listeners to not worry, Jesus directs them to look at how God takes care of ravens...a creature of His that is considered unclean. And yet God takes abundantly good care of these unclean birds. They are found everywhere and lack nothing.

In verses 27 and 28, Christ again directs the listener to consider how the flowers of the field are well provided for also. The word “lilies” here is placed not to direct the listeners to only look for lilies, but rather to look upon all the flowers that God raises up around Israel through the year. Again, the emphasis is upon God's provision and care for His lesser creatures. Jesus directs the reader to consider the astounding beauty for which these flowers are known. And, if you spend anytime in the mountains around here in the summer, you know exactly what Jesus is talking about when He states that Solomon's wealth and beauty was nothing comparatively.

My step-dad, Bob, is an artist and he, generally, pursues abstract painting. His art isn't mean to mimic reality. I once asked him why he choose to pursue more abstract painting and he told me that one of the reasons was that he could never replicate the beauty of the real thing. Some artists are more representational in their work and they do a great job. But I would rather go to the Grand Canyon than see a painting or even a picture of it. I'd rather experience the real thing than simply see a facsimile of some type. This is what Jesus is conveying here. Solomon, perhaps the wealthiest man who ever lived, couldn't replicate the beauty of the flowers of the field.

In both of these cases, the ravens and the flowers, Jesus makes the point that neither of these creatures are as valuable to Him as His image-bearers. And yet, God abundantly takes care of them and both have very short lives. In the case of the flowers, they are burned daily to clear the fields for other plants. Thus, we are to consider consistently that God takes abundantly good care of His lesser creatures and then consider how well He takes care of us.

An unknown poet wrote these words,

Said the Robin to the Sparrow,
“I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.”

Said the Sparrow to the Robin,
“Friend, I think that it must be
They have no Heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me.”

And another poet said this,

When the birds begin to worry
And the lilies toil and spin,
And God’s creatures all are anxious,
Then I also may begin.

Thus, the direction of Jesus to those who are tempted to worry is to go outside and look at how God takes care of his lesser creatures. Go for a hike, sit on the porch, look at a picture book of God's animals. And think deeply about how much He cares for them. In the above poem, the Robin and the Sparrow are talking about their heavenly Father. But in reality, although they have a Creator, they can't know Him as Father...they can't know Him, period. But we, His image-bearers, have the joy of knowing Him intimately through faith in Christ. And Christ says to us, don't worry. Look at how your Father takes care of these insentient creatures who neither know Him or how He takes care of them and then realize and live in light of the fact that He will take care of you.

Do you want to kill worry? Then look at God's faithfulness to His lesser creatures.

3. Consider your own lack of control over your life.

Another means by which we can overcome worry is to consider our own lack of control over our lives. I have a friend who was raised in Christian home but has rejected the faith and, in his own words, has become a militant atheist. One of his chief complaints that his free will was kidnapped by his parents and church and that he had to aggressively rescue it from such kidnapping. His contention has caused me to think deeply on the issue of free will and does a man really have it. That is for another message and place perhaps, but there certain aspects of our life over which, I am confident, we have no free will. For instance, did you have any control over where or to whom you were born? What about when you will die? Oh, some may desire to have such control, but, as you may have read in the paper this past week, two motorcyclists died in accidents on I-70 within one mile of each other and within three minutes of each other. I don't want to be heartless, but I don't think that this was in their plans when they got onto the bikes that day.

What about life decisions and choices that we make perhaps on a daily basis? Are these within the purview of our control? Doubtless this is a complex issue, but consider the following passages:

· Proverbs 16:9 ~ A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
· Proverbs 20:24 ~ A man’s steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way?
· James 4:13-15 ~ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

However these things work themselves out, it is abundantly clear that God is in control of our plans and how these plans work themselves out.

In our passage, Jesus touches upon this issue with the words of verses 25 and 26. Depending on your translation, Jesus says either that we can't, by worrying, add 18 inches (a cubit) to our height or add a single hour to our life. The original language allows for either translation, but adding 18 inches to one's height isn't generally a common desire. However, extending life is. Thus, that seems to be the proper way to render this passage. Jesus says that you can't even add an hour to your life. In other words, the days of your life are set, therefore, why waste extensive energy and health worrying about what will happen during those days? You can't control such things, so don't worry. This emphasis on God ordaining the days of our life is also found in the Bible, specifically in Psalm 139, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” So in light of the fact that our days and even hours of our life are set...we can't add to them, even if we wanted to...why worry? Rather, what should we do? The Psalmist again give us some direction here...
· Psalm 39:4-6 ~ Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them.
· Psalm 90:12 ~ So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Among the many lessons we can garner from these words of the Psalmist and the words of Jesus, one of them is that we really aren't in control of our lives and, thus, we shouldn't worry about our lives, what we shall eat and wear.
4. Look at the empty vanity of the world.

In verse 30, Jesus makes a short, clear statement about the uselessness of such pursuits. He states that the nations or the world pursue these things and that He has promised to give them. Perhaps there is a subtle emphasis to consider the Parable of the Rich Fool that Jesus has just finished telling in verses 16-21? There is the man of the world who is pursuing that which God gave to him instead of pursing being rich towards God. I could give all kinds of examples of the futility of the pursuit of material gain, but perhaps just a few will do:

· John D. Rockefeller, a Christian millionaire, said, “I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness. I would barter them all for the days I sat on an office stool in Cleveland and counted myself rich on three dollars a week.” Broken in health, he employed an armed guard.
· W. H. Vanderbilt said, “The care of 200 million dollars is too great a load for any brain or back to bear. It is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it.”
· John Jacob Astor left five million, but had been martyr to dyspepsia and melancholy. He said, “I am the most miserable man on earth.”
· Henry Ford, the automobile king, said, “Work is the only pleasure. It is only work that keeps me alive and makes life worth living. I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job.”
· Andrew Carnegie, the multi-millionaire, said, “Millionaires seldom smile.”

Now I know that all of you would like the opportunity to test the theory that riches can't buy happiness, but the God also addresses this topic in Proverbs 22:2, “The rich and the poor have this in common, The Lord is the maker of them all.” So it is up to the Lord as to whether or not He allows you to test that theory. Why not just take Him at His word and trust Him that pursuing riches is vain. And if He decides to give you more than most, find your joy in giving it away so as to glorify the Lord and gain treasure in heaven.

5. Consider God's desire and love for you.

So in the previous verses, Christ has been laying out the pointlessness of worry and anxiety. Now in verses 31-32, He directs our thoughts to what we should be focusing upon in our lives. We are to consider His desires and plan for our life and His deep love for us. Our chief goal is not to be worrying about material things such as food and shelter, which He has promised to give us, which He does give to even the wicked of the world, and that He knows that we need. Rather, our obsession to be about building into our lives His kingdom. We are to be pursuing Christ-likeness in our own lives and to be directing others to the same. As we work through these words, we may be tempted to take sort of a fatalist view on things. If God controls everything, why do I do anything? Well, in the garden of Eden, God commanded Adam to work and be a good steward of what God had given to him. And in the garden, Adam and Eve had been given everything they needed. They simply needed to go and get it. And God was and is blessed as we work, with thankfulness, for what He gives to us. In fact, to not work and simply expect things to be given to us is marked out clearly as sin in the Word. Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” So clearly, we are to pursue work with joy and dedication, knowing that it is through these means that God will give to us food and shelter.

But in that work, our goal isn't to be gaining material goods for their own sake. The goal is to be pursuing God's kingdom in the place where He has placed you, be it school or work or your athletic endeavors. Some of you may be called to the mission field or the pastorate. But most of you are called to proclaim the kingdom in the everyday places of this world. Thus, are you so doing? What is your chief goal? What are you about? Why do you do what you do? At the top of your list of priorities needs to be the kingdom of God in your own life and the promotion of that kingdom in the lives of others. Are you completely dedicated to the Lordship of Christ and the pursuit of holiness in your life? The natural outflow of that will be effective and vibrant impacts in your places of influence.

Christ goes on and says to not fear, little flock. This is perhaps an allusion to 1 Kings 20:26-30...

So it was, in the spring of the year, that Ben-Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. And the children of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and they went against them. Now the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, while the Syrians filled the countryside. Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,” therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ” And they encamped opposite each other for seven days. So it was that on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand foot soldiers of the Syrians in one day. But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; then a wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the men who were left.

Dear friends, this is not a call to arms for American Christians to take over the government and establish a theocracy. Jesus is simply stating that He deeply loves us and has given us all that we need to live for His glory. As we looked at last week, consider the cross and how that one, paramount event absolutely demonstrates God deep love and grace and affection for us. The 23rd Psalm starts off with the words, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” If Jesus is your shepherd and you are part of His little flock, you have all that is necessary for life now and the life to come. Therefore, you shall not want and you needn't worry about what the world does or how powerful it may seem. God's kingdom is of another time and place and it is in your heart. Pursue it first and foremost and let Him add to you that which He determines for you to have.

6. Direct your heart toward His Kingdom.

In verses 33 and 34, Jesus again emphasizes the attitude that we are to have towards what He does give to us. As was discussed last week, we are to be constantly talking to God about what He has given to us and how that may be best used for His kingdom and glory. He isn't demanding that we sell everything and take vows of poverty. The ownership of private property is implied in the 8th Commandment which is about not stealing. Recall from Acts 5 that Ananias' and Sapphira's sin wasn't keeping back some of the proceeds of the sale of their property, but rather that they gave the impression that the proceeds given was the total price. God has given us clear instruction as to how we are to give. In 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 we are instructed by Paul, “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” That is very clear. We are to give not because we have to, but because we get to. We are to give cheerfully. And this is where verse 34 fits in to this instruction. Are you valuing that which is truly valuable? Where is your treasure? When you identify what your treasure is, you will find that your time, talent and money is going in that direction. So, what should I do in this regard? Identify what God views as treasure and then start directing your time, talent and money in that direction. And what is God's treasure? It is His kingdom...His purposes and His plans. Read the Word, pray about what He wants and then go to it. God values the ministry of this church and if you invest time, talent and money here, you will find that your heart is here also. If you have a missionary associated with a people group that you think God wants you to direct resources towards, you will find that your heart is going that direction, too.

Do you want to kill worry? Then direct your heart toward His kingdom and spend your time, talent and money there. God's kingdom is, ultimately, all that is valuable. Nothing of this world really is and if our hearts are set on the things of this world, worry and anxiety will find us. But, if our heart is set on His kingdom and the pursuit of it, then we'll find ourselves at peace and without worry.
If you want to kill worry, than pursue His kingdom.

Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” (Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Word 1998, p. 625). Here is a woman who learned this truth in ways that we will probably never understand. A survivor of Nazi Concentration camps, she held her own sister as she died during that most brutal of wars. You could do worse things than read her biography The Hiding Place. What was it that got this woman through this most difficult and trying time that anyone could ever go through? She sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And the peace that surpasses comprehension was hers. She had lots of tomorrows full of sorrow. And, to some degree, we all will. But worry doesn't help any of it. Rather, in those sorrows and joys, of which we will experience much of both in this life, we need, with Corrie Ten Boom, kill worry.

How do we do so? Read and meditate on the passage we have just studied and apply Jesus' words to our given worry-inducing situation. And take these lessons from this text:

Six Keys to Killing Worry...
1. Remember what life is about.
2. Look at God's faithfulness to His lesser creatures.
3. Consider your own lack of control over your life.
4. Look at the empty vanity of the world.
5. Consider God's desire and love for you.
6. Direct your heart toward His Kingdom.

Because worry is pointless and hinders us from glorifying God, we should kill it by thinking deeply about God's provision and desires for our lives.

Discussion Questions:
· What are your primary sources of worry? How might Jesus' words here help you to deal with these issues?
· When faced with a desperate financial situation, how should you direct your mind to be able to put worry aside?
· How can a person of little faith increase his/her faith?
· Is seeking to be successful in a career antithetical to seeking God's kingdom and righteousness? Why or why not?
· How does one live out verse 33 in tangible ways?