This weekend we are wrapping up our series on contentment and gratitude called Thank Full. In the last few weeks, we’ve defined Contentment is defined as accepting and finding satisfaction with one’s situation and lot in life.

I want to have a conversation about Worry. Worry is a contentment killer. Many times when I’m struggling with contentment, it's not that I’m greedy about something- and that I need to have more…. it's just that I’m worried about something. And so it steels my joy and my contentment.

And there’s been no lack of things to worry about lately with everything hitting the headlines. Each day is a new crisis and something to become worried about.

And I think that this is somehow unique and new- but I know that if you talked with people 100 years ago or 150 years ago, they would probably say the same thing. This is a message I feel like God’s Spirit has asked me to preach. In part because it's a journey God has been taking me through, and I think it's a Word he wants his church to hear this weekend because it's something we all deal with. And even as I bring up the word “Worry” some of you may think I’m talking directly to you- if so, that’s God’s Spirit working because I’m promise you I’m not addressing anyone in particular, but to all of us in principle.

And so as we begin, I just want to ask you to consider this question: What’s your relationship with worry? Is it something that occasionally strikes or is a constant companion for you? Some of you may think; of course who doesn’t worry about making it to work on time or if you’re gonna pass the test. Those are normal worries. That may be you, but there are also seasons of life for many and you’d say “i really struggle with worry”. Raise your hand if you are a world class worrier. Maybe worry isn’t something that’s occasional— worry is something that controls more of your life than you really want it to.

It controls your life when we get up in the middle the night at 3 AM we come back to bed and because of our bladder in our brains are possessed by the devil we end up thinking about things over and over and over again like a washing machine with a garment tossing in about. I thought enters our head and we play it over from every single aspect in possibility and what if this happens and what if that happens. And then we have a task that enters our brain we can’t let it go in so we stay up at night thinking about that project that’s due the next morning and we need to wake up in time to take them to the airport and so we worry.

•We worry about our health, we worry about the pandemic. •We worry about the future of our kids and our country. •We worry about our finances. How am I gonna make payment on all these bills? What’s gonna happen when the prices go up further and we are already stretched to the max? •We worry about our family members that just seem to keep taking a nose dive into addiction and self-destructive behaviors. •We worry about the tasks we have to do tomorrow…. and then the day after that and the day after that. •I worry that what’s inside of me is not strong enough to deal with what happens to me.

Worry is the spin cycle. It’s circular. It's not just we think about the task, challenge or threat once and move on, it sticks with us. It’s being concerned about something and playing that concern fear or anxiety over and over again in your head.

In many ways it holds our thoughts and our emotions hostage. We are trying to deal with other things in our life, but it's like our brain is split and it's preoccupied with this mental spin cycle. I’m trying to be present with my spouse or my kids, but I can’t shake the worry about how unstable work has been lately. It's got a hold on me and splits my attention.

In fact, in the greek language the root word that gets translated into worry means to divide and separate. That’s meaningful to me, because when I’m in a state of worry- i feel like there is a part of me that’s divided. I’m not able to be present, I’m distracted. My body may be present but my heart and my soul is in the spin cycle of worry.

There’s all sorts of research about the effects of worry and stress. that is can actually kill a person. In fact, stress has been labeled as the silent assassin. Stress and worry along with anxiety can cause damage to a person's heart and create blood clots that keep a person's blood from flowing properly. Stress/worry and anxiety can lead to heart disease and eventually lead to a person having a heart attack.

The trio of stress/worry/anxiety can be the one of the leading causes of high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers, stomach problems, panic disorders, headaches, sleep disorders and chronic depression.

There’s a group of you, when you hear that, you start thinking: That sounds terrible, I should stop worrying. And the more you think about worry, and the more we talk about worry, the more you worry. You worry about worrying too much.

That’s why it will never work to simply say “Hey you know… have you ever thought about this— you shouldn’t worry so much”. It's not enough to sing with Bobby McFerrin and say “don't’ worry be happy”. When someone says that you just want to smack them.

The problem is worry is an emotion that is competing for control over our lives. Worry controls our thoughts which control our actions. It becomes the filter through which we engage with the world. And maybe for a moment you can turn it off enough to manage that interview or make that new friend. But it's still in the background silently controlling us. And I know you and I know me- no one wants to be controlled by something other than themselves.

So our goal is not to get rid of worry, but it's simply to be able to say to worry; “you’re not the boss of me.” Worry, you aren’t the boss of me. You’re in my life, you are working to protect me from threats upon my life, But you’re not gonna be the controlling force in my life.

But what we do know is that worry is something that most of us struggle with- me included. I think Jesus was doing life with people who were living with worry as well. When Jesus showed up on the scene, he was surrounded by people whose felt needs were so pronounced that they couldn’t get past them. •They were poor. •They were being taxed by an unjust government, and they had no means to protest that and they had no representatives to defend them. •They were being led by hypocritical religious leaders that had sold out to Rome. •They had their wealth stolen from them and there was no justice for them. •Their children were being confused with the infusion of Roman and Greek values. •They felt abandoned by God, no Messiah, no promises kept.

And Jesus has the audacity to say to this very needy group and to us.

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,

Now just for some passage context: Jesus is describing what it means to be in the kingdom of God and he was encouraging them to approach life from an eternal perspective. Don’t just live for these 80 years on this earth but for the 80 million years of eternity. And to do this he focused on their money. He know if he could get them to think eternally about their money, everything else would follow. For this reason; since we are to think eternally and not just temporarily…

He says don’t worry about your needs. Don’t be anxious or fearful about the unknown. Don't’ let these things consume your thoughts and emotions. You think you’re gaining control of the situation, but the situation is really gaining control of you. Don’t let that worry steer your life and rob your joy.

Now, Jesus isn’t calling for irresponsibility. It's not a “Don’t worry be happy” bobby McFerrin song. You don’t see Jesus living his life that way. He was a carpenter, he was a hard worker. He cared deeply about the pain and suffering around him and he took action and even had a holy discontent to make right the wrongs around him.

When 9/11 happened, Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan grew from 2000 to 5000 in one week, because so many people were flocking to that church that Sunday. Tim Keller was preaching from John 11 where Jesus came to the tomb o this friend Lazarus. The text says that when he reached the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus was Deeply moved. Keller explained “the translators are afraid. The greek word here means “to roar or snort with anger alike an animal, line a lion or like a bull. SO the best translation would be “bellowing with anger he came to the tomb’ that must as least mean his nostrils were flared with fury, it may even mean he was yelling.

Jesus was angry at death. He didn’t shrug it off. He was neither indifferent nor irresponsible with life and difficulty. On the contrary- he’s active and he’s concerned.

But what he does is he immediately sets up two categories of need we are not to be anxious about.

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.

it's funny because often times my wife says “Hey i wish you’d think a little more about what you eat and put a little more thought into what you wear.”

So first he says don’t be anxious about your critical needs. These are things that pertain to your survival. Because you gotta eat and you gotta drink.

Now maybe you worry about those things, but most of us may not worry about that, because at least we’ll be able to get food from someone else. But for us, we are worried about our survival level economically and physically. •Will i be able to make ends meet? •Can we even put food on the table. Can we put good food on the table. •Will I be able to find a job that can actually pay enough to live here?

But he also sets up non-critical needs— your body what you will wear (so things that have to do with our appearance or our reputation.

•Some of us are worried about our advancement in our company. Will there be any opportunities for me here? Am I gonna hit a glass ceiling? •We may be concerned about our reputation - what are they gonna think about me if I’m still in this same position 5 or 10 years later? •How am I gonna compare with my brother in law who’s business just keeps growing? •Will I get recognition for my hard work and faithfulness in this company? •Will I get married… I’m not getting any younger you know? •Will we ever get pregnant…. what if we never get pregnant?? What if the treatment doesn’t actually work? •Will I get into my first choice of college? Because if I don’t get into this kind of school, I never get this kind of job. •Will I get the deal, can we afford the house, will I ever find a dress for the event?

And then Jesus asks us the first question - and it's so penetrating;

Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

What is life all about? And whatever it's about, shouldn’t that be the focus of your concern? Is life about simply surviving and looking good in the process? Or is there something more? Would having those two things really satisfy you? At the end of your life would you want someone to say “you know they survived— and they kept up appearances”

If someone were to follow you around for a week and listen in on all your conversations and have access to your checkbook and Credit Card statement, would she conclude that life for you is simply surviving and trying to look good? Is that where your time and your focus are?

Don’t stop short by focusing on food and clothing. There is more to life than what you eat, and there is more to your body than what you wear.

And then Jesus, probably pausing to point out what’s around him. He offers a little perspective on our needs. He gives us two illustrations to put our critical and non-critical needs in proper perspective.

26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

They aren’t worrying a bit, and yet their critical needs are being met. Our heavenly father feeds them. It's not just their natural instincts kicking in- it's God establishing the food cycle and weather patterns, he’s setup the migration patterns and natural events that cares for their critical needs.

Are you not much more valuable than they?

He’s your heavenly father. He is merely their creator. But you are made in his image. He is particularly fond of you. So you don’t need to worry.

Jesus asks a question that is so profound, that it really needs to make us all pause a moment when we are tempted to let the spin cycle of worry continue. Even if you’re unsure about following Jesus- you should listen to this question he asks because when you start to ask it- it will help you say “worry, you’re not the boss of me” - the question he asked that was so powerful

27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Has worry ever contributed to anyone’s survival? What is this worry adding to my life? Is it helping me live longer? Nope? Science tells us how negative it is. Is it helping me cope better, probably not. Is it helping my relationships? Not if i your worry is causing you to micromanage your kids decisions. When we start getting pushed around by anxiety, fear and worry, ask this question: can I add one hour to my life by worrying?

Is it keeping you from getting sick?…. maybe…. for a while at least. But eventually, something you couldn’t see coming or couldn’t control from coming is going to make you sick. Even in the lockdown my family still caught bugs.

It's interesting that in the original language, it also means how many of you by worrying can add a single cubit to your height. In other words, it's obvious that no amount of trying harder is gonna help you grow taller. In the same way, worry is not gonna make your life longer. Its not gonna make you happier, its not going to enrich your relationships, its not gonna make life better for you or you better at life- but there’s one thing it will do- it will kill your contentment. Worry only makes your life worse. It doesn’t bring any certainty in uncertain times. It only continues the spin cycle.

Again, he’s not advocating irresponsible living. He’s not asking us to be foolish. Wisdom is always the right policy because it's God’s policy. He’s just telling us to do what we know to do and trust God to fill-in the gaps.

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—

The emphasis here is not on survival, it's appearance. With no effort at all, these lilies look great. Have you ever seen flowers with colors that didn’t work together? Of course not, they are stunningly made and stunningly presented.

ILLUSTRATION

God is an expert in fashion design. He’s an expert in making things look good. He doesn’t need any help or suggestions. The lily did nothing - when it was what it was made to be it was at it's best.

Some of us are so concerned with looking good in front of other people that we fail to be who God made us to to be. We don’t serve a vanilla God. He didn’t hold back when he made you anymore than he held back when he created the lilly or the butterfly. To fear that God is going to make your life boring is to demonstrate limited knowledge of God. You need a good dose of the discovery channel. you need to visit the national botanical gardens- then cruise to your favorite clothing store- and tell me who is into color and variety.

My point is; if God gave this much attention to detail on a plan that is going to die in a few days, what business do we have being worried about something; the dress for prom, the right tie, the killer car, the haircut. This is just image stuff.

Then Jesus really boils it down:

Oh you of little faith

Here’s the problem. We don’t trust him. We don’t’ think he’s interested in us. We think he has overlooked us. In times of worry and uncertainty, we think he has lost power.

This is the message that God has been giving me. That my worry about things with the church’s facility was really an issue of my disbelief in him. I didn’t trust him. So I had to worry about it. You may not want to hear your pastor struggling with faith— but in my worry i wanted to get it all figured out because I feel like so much of the future is uncertain and I wanted to control it. But what God spoke to me is “scott, do you really trust that I’m going to provide for the church, and for you and your family?” The fundamental question I have to wrestle with is: Do I trust God?

Then he repeats his command just in case we missed it…

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

If we serve God who can be trusted and has proven it over and over again, we have no business worrying about all of that, it doesn’t even make sense.

32 For the pagans run after all these things,

This is what it looks like for a pagan. Now a pagan is not someone who doesn’t believe in the supernatural. A pagan was someone who believed in the gods.... plural. And their relationship with the gods was at the whim of nature and circumstance at worse or it was contingent on their performance at best. If they did something that made their gods angry, they wouldn’t have enough cabbages for the year. Their sheep wouldn’t multiply. So they were always worrying that what they did was enough. They were always toiling, always spinning , always sowing, always storing up because while their god was pleased with them now, who knows how long that’s gonna last?

But Jesus would say “not so with you… because you’re not a pagan…. you have a heavenly father- and he loves you”.

So don’t spend time seeking after those things; because that’s what people who don’t’ trust God do. They run after those things- they are frantic about them. they worry about them. For them this is all that life is about— and who can blame them.

But for a christian, when everyone else around us worries, when they run after those things frantically- we have a different provider. We have a heavenly Father who loves us.

Its been interesting to watch my three children contending for resources in my home. The thing is I’m a third child as well. I have two older siblings and one younger brother. So I can remember those days of fighting over how many peanut butter wafer bars were left in the pantry or who is gonna get the last bowl of cereal. My siblings and I would have all out fights over who gets how much of what. I remember my brother and i would even fight in church over who would get the biggest piece of the unleavened bread in communion. (Tell story)

Now as I watch my kids, I see it in them too. I see them hide food from the others, take it up to their room, I know because I find their dishes later when they haven’t cleaned them up either. And every couple months when we have done a deep cleaning of their rooms, we’ll move their beds away from the walls and find piles of wrappers.

What they don’t know is that they are really making a statement about what they believe about me. That I won’t provide for them. That I won’t care for them.

What I feel like telling my kids is - You don’t have to act like we never have food. We have plenty of food, and I recognize that you may not have the capability of replenishing food, I do. I’m not gonna let you go hungry - at least for long. I may press you into wise dietary decisions, but you’re not gonna starve. So You don’t have to worry. You don’t have to hoard. You don't’ have to manipulate or deceive. You don’t’ have to spin or toil about it. Because i’m your father and I love you.

Your heavenly father knows that you need these things, and he has the power to provide for you. How would you live if you heard God say, "I know you need that; trust me”?

Now Jesus answers the questions he posed in vs 25: what is life about? What are we to concern ourselves with?

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

What is the thing we are to spin and toil and labor for? God’s Kingdom and his righteousness. That’s what we are to be preoccupied and “worried” about. It's interesting that it's actually the same greek root word for running after/seek in verse 32- it's just there it has a sense of panic. Here it means to concern yourself with and to focus on that.

So rather than getting spun up about impressing people at school by what I wear, we should be focused on building God’s kingdom in our school. helping more people become kingdom minded people.

Rather than isolating and running away from people who may make us sick, we should find wise and reasonable ways to engage people for God’s Kingdom and trust in God’s protection and provision. Rather than worrying about our rights being taken away, a kingdom minded person lays down their rights and preferences to build God’s Kingdom. Instead of saying “well one day we’ll have a church building, then we can advance God’s kingdom here” We say “God how can we be faithful to build your kingdom in whatever the circumstances.”

Being Kingdom minded rather than worry-minded shows tremendous faith and trust in God. And faith was the one thing Jesus was ever impressed by.

Jesus says when you make God’s Kingdom your center of focus, all these things will be given to you as well. Jesus says, "You look after my deal and I’ll look after yours." Don’t go through life stressed over stuff that I have taken responsibility for anyway.

Besides, where do you think it all came from in the first place? The talent, opportunities, breaks, education, chance encounters. Did you think that was you? That all came from me anyhow. So Don’t worry about your ability to sustain my blessings. Seek my kingdom. I’ll look after yours.

And the whole time God is asking, "Is there anybody down there concerned about my kingdom and my righteousness?" 1. Is anybody worried about disconnected people? 2. Is anybody worried about the next generation of teenagers? 3. Is anybody worried about the children who have never heard? 4. Is anybody worried about the people in other nations who still haven’t heard? 5. Is anybody going to talk to your boss? Neighbor? Friend?

Here’s the promise: concern yourself with what concerns me and "all these things shall be added to you. You take care of my deal, and I’ll take care of yours.”

So what do you do? Memorize vs. 27. Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Get up tomorrow morning and make the trade-just for the day. Say, "Today, when I begin worrying about me, I’m going to offload that on you and look for ways to further your kingdom. I’m not going to allow uncertainty to take a toll on my character. Worry, you’re not the boss of me.

PRAYER