April, 2007
“God is Like Allstate: You’re In Good Hands with Him”
Matthew 6:25-34
INTRODUCTION: Most of us have some kind of insurance today . Car insurance, life insurance, hospitalization, dental, homeowners--there is quite a variety. There is even pet insurance. We take out insurance for a variety of needs to protect against loss or catastrophic illnesses or emergencies that could bring financial ruin. Sometimes people say, “I’m insurance poor!” But when you have insurance and occasionally need to make a claim, you are very glad that the premiums are paid up to date. Having insurance gives us a sense of assurance against some of the calamities that life hands us and the worry that goes along with it.
I’ve entitled today’s message, “God is Like Allstate: You’re In Good Hands With Him.” How does this relate to today’s scripture and how can we apply it to our lives?
1. Don’t Worry--You’re Covered: As we go through life we have many problems that cause us to worry, be fearful, and anxious over the future; but Jesus gives a teaching which is the exact opposite of what we usually do. He said in verse 25, “Do not worry about your life...” Don’t perplex yourself with future events because each day brings its own cares.
I’m sure that you have found yourself perplexed about something this week to one degree or another. According to a survey, some things that produce worry and anxiety in Americans are--making wrong choices with major investments, having dental work or surgery, being audited by the IRS, speaking in public, being outdoors alone at night, gaining pounds, getting older, being pulled over for speeding, having a credit card declined in public, and using a computer. You could probably add many things to the list. Think about things that cause you to worry. A lot of these things are not major life and death concerns, but they can become monumental to us. Are there unresolved issues, nagging problems, worries over health, finances, work, and relationships that plague you? What success have you had in dealing with these kinds of problems? Have you just accepted worry and anxiety as a natural part of your life? Probably too much of the time we do. The more we fret and stew, the more upsetting it becomes.
STORY: The story is told of a woman who won a bucketful of quarters in a slot machine while in Las Vegas. She told her husband that she would take the quarters up to the hotel room first and then meet him in the restaurant for dinner. She was about to get on the elevator when she saw two black men in the elevator. The woman froze. Her first thought was, “These two are going to rob me.” Her next thought was, “Don’t be ridiculous.” She stood and stared at the two men. She felt anxious, and uncomfortable, but she got on the elevator hoping they didn’t read her mind but pretty sure they did. Avoiding eye contact she turned around and faced the elevator door as it closed. A few seconds passed but the elevator didn’t move. Panic struck her. She thought, “I’m trapped and I’m about to be robbed!” Then one of the men said, “Hit the floor.” Instinct told her: “Do what they tell you.” The bucket of quarters flew upward and out of her hands as she fell on the elevator floor. A shower of coins came down on her. “Take my money and spare me,” she prayed.
More seconds passed. She heard one of the men say politely, “Ma’am if you’ll just tell us what floor you’re going to, we’ll push the button.’
She lifted her head and looked up at the two men as they reached down to help her up. “When I said hit the floor,” one of the men said, “I meant to push the button for the floor where you wanted to get off.”
The three of them gathered up the quarters and refilled her bucket. They walked her safely to her room. As they walked away she could hear them laughing. She thought, “What a spectacle I have made out of myself out of worry that I was going to be robbed.” Her fears were ungrounded.
The next morning flowers were delivered to her room--a dozen roses. Attacked to each rose was a crisp $100.00 bill. A card said, “Thanks for the best laugh we’ve had in years.”
Signed Eddie Murphy and Bodyguard.
Fears and worries affect people of all ages and in all types of situations.
STORY: As a boy growing up in the country, Johnny Carver, heard scary stories about a snake called a “Black Racer” that would chase you. He was always on the lookout for one when he was walking on the gravel roads. One day his Mother asked him to go borrow the neighbor’s iron since hers was broken. He started up the road imagining a “Black Racer” coming out of the tall weeds after him. After he borrowed the iron and started home, he sensed something was following him. He looked over his shoulder and sure enough there in the road was a snake ready to slip up and bite him. He started to run so fast that by the time he got home he could hardly breath. He looked over his opposite shoulder and there, to his amazement, was the iron cord dragging on the ground behind him. He had almost run himself to death running from an iron cord.
TRANSITION: In Jesus’ time worry and anxiety was everywhere as it is today. The people on the mountainside were dealing with the problems of life just like we do.
Jesus said, “do not worry about your life...” He gave some examples about what you will eat and drink and what you wear. Our life includes these basic necessities as well as the myriad of other things we worry about. The word for life that Jesus used is inclusive. It means your whole life--mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual.
Think about things that have consumed you with worry and anxiety at times almost to the point of panic. Jesus says, “Don’t worry.” Most of us say, “That’s easier said than done.” People will tell us, “Oh, don’t worry about it. Just forget it.” We don’t do that because we DON’T KNOW HOW. Jesus then gave them some examples and illustrations to clarify what he was trying to say.
2. Consider the Birds--Care Included: He said “look at the birds of the air. They don’t sow or reap or store grain in a barn, but yet God takes care of them. Look at the lilies of the field--they don’t toil or spin and yet they are clothed more beautifully than Solomon.” The point he was getting across here is that if God looks out for the birds and the flowers like He does, wouldn’t He look out for us because we are of more value than the grass of the field and the birds of the air.
Matthew Henry said, “He that feeds His birds will not starve His babes.”
When we worry and allow fear and anxiety to get the upper hand in our thoughts, it is one of the greatest indicators of what we believe about God. Worry is another way of saying, “I don’t trust you God and I’m not counting on your promises either. In fact, I don’t really believe your Word.” For any other concern to dominate our mind is to stoop to pagan fretting.
It has been said that Christians are practical atheists. Professing to believe in God, we turn to everything else before God.
If we are going to overcome worry and anxiety, we have to come to the realization that God really does love us and wants to care for us in the times of our life.
Psalm 31:14, 15 says, “I trust in you, O Lord; I say “You are my God.” My times are in Your Hands.”
Psalm 34:10 “The young lions do lack and suffer hunger but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.”
Psalm 37:25 “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”
Psalm 89:11 “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
II Peter 1:3 says, “God has promised to provide for those that are his all things needful for life as well as godliness.” Everything we need.
Fear and worry springs from a disbelief of these promises. God provides food for the lesser creation without their worrying. All the more he will do it for us.
3. First Things First--What’s Included in our Policy?: Jesus told the people, “You’ve got to live different from the pagans.” And He’s saying the same thing to us today. He’s saying, “It’s not so much about getting rid of worry, but living like God is real. We have a different set of priorities than the world does that gives us a new confidence in God.
He says to them, “get your priorities in order.” “Seek FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33.
He tells us that our focus should be on what God wants. To live out what you say you believe in your daily life is important when we are seeking His kingdom. I become anxious when I focus on me and my needs and my lacks. When we focus on the Lord and what He wants, then the anxiety and worry goes down because we know that we are in Good Hands with Him. He is watching out for us. He is keeping us under His care and protection. He is adding the things we need. It is included in our policy.
CONCLUSION:
Story: Dr. Rod Cooper, a Professor at Denver Seminary grew up on a pig farm. In one field there were 200 or 300 little pigs running around. Every day at 4:00 a.m. he went out to feed them, and when he walked in they would all scatter except for one little pig that would come up and chew on his shoe. He picked him up and began to pet him, but soon he wanted down.
Rod said, “I’ll let you down when I’m ready.” At that time the little pig let out a squeal and in about two seconds about 30 mama pigs weighing about 600 lbs. each came running. He said, “I put him down and headed for the fence barely making it over before they caught me. They were snorting and daring me to bother one of their kids. The little pig was scared and out of control, but he had resources one squeal away.
If one of God’s creatures is as sensitive to a squeal, how much more sensitive is God to us? Just one squeal away we have resources.
What are signs that indicate you are worrying too much? What does God’s care for the birds and the lilies and the pigs teach you? Who has been your master lately?
Remember, God is Like Allstate: We’re in Good Hands with Him.
