Opening Illustration: In her book, Celebrate Joy! Velma Seawell Daniels gives a striking new meaning to this familiar phrase. She tells of interviewing a man who had made a trip to Alaska to visit people who live above the Arctic Circle. "Never ask an Eskimo how old he is," the man said. "If you do, he will say, "I don’t know and I don’t care." And he doesn’t. One of them told me that, and I pressed him a bit further. When I asked him the second time, he said, "Almost - that’s all." That still wasn’t good enough for me, so I asked him "Almost what?" and he said, "Almost one day." Mrs. Daniels asked him if he could figure out what the Eskimo meant. He answered that he did but only after talking to another man who had lived in the Arctic Circle for about twenty years. "He was a newspaperman who had written a book about the Eskimos and their customs and beliefs. He said the Eskimos believe that when they go to sleep at night they die - that they are dead to the world. Then, when they wake up in the morning, they have been resurrected and are living a new life. Therefore, no Eskimo is more than one day old. So, that is what the Eskimo meant when he said he was `almost’ a day old. The day wasn’t over yet." "Life above the Arctic Circle is harsh and cruel, and mere survival becomes a major accomplishment," he explained. "But, you never see an Eskimo who seems worried or anxious. They have learned to face one day at a time." Have you learned how to put worry and anxiety aside and live one day at a time? Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
• There’s an old Greek proverb that says, "The bow that is always bent will soon break."
• People are intensely worried today.
Illustration: Thoughts on how I viewed haunted houses as a child, and how being in haunted houses made him cautious, concerned, and worried. Many people are living their lives as if they’ve in a haunted house; every step is one of caution, concern, and worry.
Psalm 95 offers a respite for dealing with worry.
Introduction: This psalm, though without a title, was written by David, as appears from Hebrews 4:7, and to him the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions ascribe it. It belongs to the times of the Messiah, as Kimchi observes; the apostle applies it to the Jews of his time, and bespeaks them in the language of it, Hebrews 3:7, and in which time Israelites, believers in Christ, are called upon to serve and worship him, in consideration of his greatness in himself, and his goodness to them. This Psalm is twice quoted in the Epistle to the Hebrews, as a warning to the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem, in the writer’s day, that they should not falter in the faith, and despise God’s promises, as their forefathers had done in the wilderness, lest they should fail of entering into his rest.
1. Who is in control? God [vs. 3 – 6]
Whenever we come into God’s presence, we must come with thanksgiving. The Lord is to be praised; we do not want matter, it was well if we did not want a heart. How great is that God, whose the whole earth is, and the fullness thereof; who directs and disposes of all! The Lord Jesus, whom we are here taught to praise, is a great God; the mighty God is one of his titles, and God over all, blessed for evermore. To him all power is given, both in heaven and earth. He is our God, and we should praise him. He is our Savior, and the Author of our blessedness. The gospel church is his flock, Christ is the great and good Shepherd of believers; he sought them when lost, and brought them to his fold.
• To avoid worry, we must have the proper focus, and focus comes through worship.
• We should "come before God with a ringing shout."
(a) warlike shouts, Joshua 6:16; 1 Samuel 17:20;
(b) the shout of triumph, Judges 15:14;
(c) the sound or clangor of a trumpet, Numbers 10:9; Joel 2:1.
Illustration: After attending church one Sunday morning, a little boy knelt at his bedside that night and prayed, "Dear God, we had a good time at church today - but I wish you had been there!"
• We should worship and not worry is because God is in control.
• God knows every facet of his creation.
Illustration: Offers some staggering scientific statistics concerning the size of the universe to illustrated God’s power in creation.
2. Who are the sheep of the Great Shepherd? You & me [v 7]
And we are the people of his pasture - whom he has recognized as his flock; to whom he sustains the relation of shepherd; who feeds and protects us as the shepherd does his flock. That is, the flock whom he governs with his own hand. He shows how they are God’s flock, that is, if they hear his voice. This relation illustrates our entire dependence on God Himself.
• We are the sheep of the Great Shepherd.
• Just as God made the universe, he meticulously crafted each human being.
Illustration: Describe the intricate details of the human body.
• We are the people of God’s pasture.
• The pasture is symbolic of provision.
• We are the sheep of his hand.
• The hand is the symbol for protection and guidance.
Illustration: Tell a childhood story about picking up a baby pig on his family farm; when the piglet squealed, several female pigs rushed to help it. The heavenly Father is sensitive to the cries of his children.
3. What saddens God? A worrier [vs. 8 – 11]
Christ’s voice must be heard to-day. This day of opportunity will not last always; improve it while it is called to-day. Hearing the voice of Christ is the same with believing. Hardness of heart is at the bottom of all distrust of the Lord. The sins of others ought to be warnings to us not to tread in their steps. The murmurings of Israel were written for our admonition. God is not subject to such passions as we are; but he is very angry at sin and sinners. That certainly is evil, which deserves such recompense; and his threatening are as sure as his promises. Let us be aware of the evils of our hearts, which lead us to wander from the Lord. There is a rest ordained for believers, the rest of everlasting refreshment, begun in this life, and perfected in the life to come. This is the rest which God calls his rest.
• God is saddened when his children worry.
• The psalmist reminds the Hebrews of a time their ancestors failed to listen to God and he refused to give them rest.
• God wants his children to believe that he’ll do what he promises.
Exodus 17:7 “So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
• If we focus on our problems, we will wonder if God is doing anything at all.
• The grumbling shows are distrust towards God and rebellion to His will.
• We are trying to twist God’s arm to have our own way and trying to tell Him, let me do it my way and then You see what happens! Just give the reigns in my hand.
• Time to sit back and let Him do what He pleases. Let Him be in the driver’s seat and you’ll experience the most wonderful ride (limousine experience) of your life.
Illustration: According to the National Bureau of Standards, a dense fog covering seven city blocks to a depth of 100 feet is composed of something less than one glass of water. That is, all the fog covering seven city blocks 100 feet deep could be, if it were gotten all together, held in a single drinking glass; it would not quite fill it. This can be compared to the things we worry about. If we could see into the future and if we could see our problems in their true light, they wouldn’t blind us to the world - to living itself - but instead could be relegated to their true size and place. And if all the things most people worry about were reduced to their true size, you could probably stick them all into a water glass, too. The worrying Christian does not trust God to do what’s right in his life. Worry is a lack of trust and faith in God.
Conclusion:
• We can focus on the problem or the Problem Solver.
1 Thessalonians 5: 18 says, “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Illustration: Ask a dad, who is tossing his child up in the air and catching him, why the child remains so relaxed although he is out of control. The father says it’s because they have a history: "We’ve played this game before, and I’ve never dropped him."
God has never dropped you before, and he won’t drop you now.
