Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Matthew 6:25-34
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  February 16, 2020

It had been a long time since Jacob had conned his brother Esau out of his birthright…twenty plus years. They say that time heals all wounds, but Jacob wasn’t so sure. The threat of death at the hands of your brother isn’t something you forget too quickly. But…it was time to come home. Living alongside Laban was no longer tenable. Jacob had gotten a taste of his own medicine one too many times. Besides, his was the land of the promise, not the land of Laban. It was time. But things were different now. As Jacob returns home, it’s not just himself he’s responsible for…now there are wives and children, flocks and herds…Jacob had become a nation.

All these thoughts and feelings were surely racing through Jacob’s mind as he slowly made his way back to his fatherland. As they got closer, he sent scouts on ahead of the group…just to be safe. A traveling party as large as Jacob’s wasn’t going to move too quickly. If attacked, they needed every second of warning they could get. Jacob even split the party into two groups so if one were attacked, the other group could get away. Lost in his thoughts…contemplating all of the what-if’s…Jacob is suddenly thrust back into reality when one of his scouts races back to the group. He’s got news: Esau is coming out to meet him…with 400 men.

Put yourself in Jacob’s place. The last time you had seen your brother, you’d not only received the extra special blessing of the Savior coming through your line…which normally belonged to the eldest son…but you also stole the blessing which was rightfully his, the birthright. You skipped town as fast as you could because he had threatened to kill you. Your mother, the one person who had protected you before, is dead. For all you know, your father may be dead too. And now, your brother, who once threatened to kill you…and meant it… is coming out with 400 men to meet you. How would you feel? What would you do? You’d probably initially react the same way that Jacob did… “Jacob was terrified and very distressed.” In other words, Jacob was worried.

“Well, considering the circumstances, that’s only natural, isn’t it? That’s what we’d like to think…because that’s how we all react to much less stressful situations. Let’s face it. We all worry. A Harris Survey asked a cross-section of Americans to tell what worries them the most. More than seventy percent said they worried about wasting too much time, especially watching television. About the same number stated they worried about not reading enough, not attending church regularly enough, and not being active enough in community affairs. That’s pretty accurate, isn’t it? We worry about our health, our families, our jobs. Even us as Christians, who know who holds the future, worry about what the future holds. 

“For this reason I tell you, do not worry…” Jesus says. He says so three times. This is not just good advice. It’s God’s command. Jesus makes it clear that we shouldn’t worry. And yet, we all do it, don’t we? What sorts of things are you worried about? My job…will it be okay? Will I keep it and not get fired when the next round of layoffs hit? What about my finances? Will they be okay? Will I have enough for retirement? Will I be able to provide for my family? How about my health? Will I be okay? What if I don’t get better? My family…will they be okay? Will my kids grow up to live the way I raise them? Will my spouse be okay after I’m gone? 

We all worry. But in his Sermon this morning, our Savior points out that worrying is worthless! “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Someone once said that worrying is nothing more than borrowing trouble from the future. And what good does that ever do? “Which of you can add a single moment to his lifespan by worrying?” Worrying is like running on a treadmill; you exert all your energy and wear yourself out, but get nowhere. But actually, worrying does have effects, doesn’t it? Rather than adding moments to your life, it actually takes moments away. It increases your blood pressure, makes you lose sleep, adds stress; it can actually make you physically sick! All these things that Harris survey pointed out…but did you notice what was missing? The survey reports nothing about concern over personal sins…sins like worrying. Worrying is more than just a foolish act, harmful to your physical health. Jesus called our worries what they really are: worrying is wrong, damnably wrong. Worrying is disobeying God. It’s putting ourselves in God’s place. It’s making ourselves God instead of letting go and letting God. Worrying is sin, which, if left untreated, is damaging, even deadly to your spiritual health. Worrying about anything is really failing to trust God. 

In the 1800’s there was a tightrope walker by the name of Blondin who walked across Niagra falls many times. He did back flips, rode a bike, even crossed on stilts. There was no doubt in his mind that he would make it across. And there was no doubt from the on-lookers that he would make it too. He would ask them, “Do you think I can make it across?” They would always cheer, “YES!” “Do you think I could carry someone across on my back?” And again, they’d cheer, “YES!” But when he asked for a volunteer, no one said a word. Did they really trust Blondin? Do we really trust God? Or are we just paying lip service when we say to God, “I trust that you will take care of my sins and save me from hell,” but then doubt that he will take care of our smaller, less important needs, asking, “Who’s going to take care of my finances, my health, my family, my church? We are guilty.

Worrying is worthless! The proof is in the pudding so to speak. Just look at the Father’s love! “Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” “Why do you worry about clothing? Consider how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin, but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will he not clothe you even more, you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the unbelievers chase after all these things. Certainly your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”

Jesus gives us a clear picture of how worthless it is to worry: the birds of the air. I think we’d all agree that birds are pretty far down the food chain. When God takes care of things, certainly we’re before the birds or any other animal for that matter. They have more to worry about than we do! And yet, so far, no bird has ever tried to build more nest than his neighbor. No fox ever fretted because he had only one hole in the earth to live and hide. No squirrel ever died from anxiety because he couldn’t store up enough nuts for two winters instead of one. And no dog has ever lost sleep over the fact that he did not have enough bones buried in the ground for his declining years. The animals know that God is going to take care of them! How much more for us for whom God sent his one and only Son?

A man once ran into an old friend who was known for his worrying. He worried so much that he had been sick with high blood pressure and ulcers. “Hey, how’s your health?” the man asked his friend. “It’s great!” he replied, “The ulcers are gone!  My blood pressure is 120 over 80! And I don’t have a care in the world!” “Wow! That’s fantastic!” the man said, an asked with curiosity, “How did you manage all that? You used to worry so much!” “I know!” his friend replied. “But now I’ve hired a professional worrier. I tell him what’s bothering me and he worries about it for me!” “That’s incredible!” the man said, “I’d like one of those! How much does he cost you?” “Well, he’s not cheap,” the friend replied. “He charges $100,000 a year.” “Whoa!” the man said with bulging eyes, “How in the world can you afford to pay so much?!” “I have no idea,” his friend said. “I let him worry about that.”

Wouldn’t it be great if we could hire a professional worrier and dump off all our problems on him? No we can’t pay someone to worry for us. But we do have someone on whom we can dump our cares and worries: God, our heavenly Father, who promises that we can, “Cast all [our] anxiety on him, because he cares for [us].” God cares so much for us that he sent Jesus to take care of the all our problems, but especially to take care of our greatest problem: sin. Jesus never worried. Jesus trusted so perfectly that he slept through a raging storm in the stern of the boat. This doesn’t mean that Jesus didn’t get mighty concerned sometimes. And he knew stress like we’ve never known, to the point where the night before he died for us, he sweat drops of blood over what he would undergo for us. But he never worried. He totally trusted, and he did it in our place. Not only did he live perfectly in our place, he died innocently in our place so that we’re not just forgiven by God, but we are holy in his sight. We are totally right with God. Look at the Father’s love for us! Just look at all the Father has done for us! When we do, we can’t help but come to the logical and inevitable conclusion: We have nothing to worry about!

And because we’re right with God; because we have nothing to worry about, we can focus all of our energy on what’s really important. Jesus tells us: “So do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the unbelievers chase after all these things. Certainly your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” 

Like Mary, who found the one thing needful when she sat at Jesus’ feet. Or like Paul who could do anything no matter his station in life because he had Jesus’ strength; Jesus promises that when we put his Word and his Will first, God will provide everything we need as well. We don’t need to spend our every waking breath running after the things of this world. God knows what we need! He gives us the ability to work and provide for our families. We’ve seen more evidence than we need to know that he’s going to care for us. No, our Savior says in his Sermon: Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness! You want to win the victory over worry? Just think of the three F’s: Faith, Father, First. Completely put your faith in your heavenly Father first, before anything else and you’ll have nothing to worry about! Worrying is worthless! It’s ineffective and unnecessary! Worrying is worthless because we have the Father’s Love! Amen.