Most of us enjoy the blessings of this life so immensely, we want to live as long as possible.
Illus: An 80-year-old man went to a doctor for a check-up. After the examination, the doctor told him what he was hoping to hear. He said, "You're in terrific shape. There's nothing wrong with you.” “By the way, how old was your father when he died?"
The 80-year-old responded, "Did I say he was dead?" The doctor couldn't believe it! He said, "Well, how old was your grandfather when he died?”
The 80-year-old responded again, "Did I say he was dead?" The doctor was astonished. He said, "You mean to tell me you are 80 years old and both your father and your grandfather are both alive?"
The old man said "Not only that," "My grandfather is 126 years old, and next week he is getting married for the first time." The doctor said, "After 126 years of being a bachelor why on earth did your grandfather want to get married?"
The old man looked up at the doctor and said, "Did I say he WANTED to get married?"
We all enjoy this life, and we want to live as long as we possibly can live on this earth. But at the same time, honesty compels us to acknowledge that this road of life sometimes gets a little bumpy.
For example, the Bible tells us about a man named Job. He was a rightous man, and for many years he enjoyed the blessings of God on his life. He had everything going great for him for many years, but then he came to a stretch on the road of life where everything got bumpy for a little while. When times like this come in our life, we feel like we have been through the rinse cycle.
Illus: A little boy went into a grocery store and asked the store clerk for a bottle of Janola detergent. The clerk asked what he needed the detergent for. The little boy replied, “I want to wash my dog.” The store clerk said, “Well, son, that Janola detergent is pretty strong for washing a little dog.” The little boy answered, “But that's what I want! I am tired of looking at that dirty dog each day.”The store clerk responded, “Well, okay, if you're sure. But you need to be careful when you wash your dog in it. That Janola detergent is very strong. It might kill him.”
About a week later the little boy came back into the store and the assistant recognized him, and asked, “How's your dog?” The little boy said, “He's dead.”
The store clerk replied, “Oh, I'm sorry, but I told you that Janola detergent was awfully strong and that it might kill him.”
The little boy shook his head and said, “It wasn’t Janola detergent that killed him. It was THE RINSE CYCLE THAT GOT HIM.”
At times, we all feel that we have been through the rinse cycle. WHY DO WE FEEL THIS WAY?
The problem is that we all have people in our lives that do everything they can to make life rough for us. That is one of the sad realities of life!
HOW DO WE REACT TO THESE PEOPLE? We know the Bible tells us we should pray for them. But the last thing we really want to do is pray for God to bless them.
Let’s take our halo off for a minute, and confess how we really feel about them. We really feel that they have made life rough for us, and we would like to make life rough for them. (Am I the only one that feels like this at times, or are there others in this congregation that feel the same way sometimes? Say Amen!)
Illus: Sometimes I feel like the rich man who had a cousin named Dan, who gave him a difficult time in life. He made life rough on this rich old man in many ways. The rich man died, and a lawyer was reading the will to the people mentioned in the will:
• "To you, my loving wife Rose, who stood by me in rough times as well as good, I leave the house and 2 million dollars."
• The lawyer continued, "To my daughter Jessica, who looked after me in sickness, and kept the business going, I leave the yacht, the business and 1 million dollars."
• The lawyer concluded, "And, to my cousin Dan, who hated me, argued with me, and thought that I would never mention him in my will - well you are wrong. Hi Dan!"
Some people have made life rough on us and we would like to make life rough on them for what they have done to us. But we have to suppress the evil desire to do evil for evil, and look to the Word of God to see what we should do when things get rough in our life.
Look again at Psalm 37:1-11, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”
These eleven verses have some of the best advice that we can receive in this life.
• How many good nights of sleep have we wasted because we would not heed the advice of what this passage of Scripture teaches?
• How many ulcers have we developed because we would not do what this passage of Scriptures tell us we should do?
These verses are very clear and easy to understand.
Illus: These verses are not like the man who had a speech impediment, and when he talked, no one could tell what he was talking about.
For example, he had a pet chicken, and he went to the local hardware store and said, “Mither, u thell thicken theed!” The clerk said, “I am so sorry I can not understand what you are saying. Why don’t you go home and practice what you are saying and come back later and ask me again.”
The man sadly walked away and the next several days practiced saying it. Several days later he walked in and said, with a lot more of entusiasm, “Mither, u thell thicken theed!” The man said, “I am sorry, but you need to go home and practice saying it more clearly and come back later!”
He went back home began to practice it some more. He came back several weeks later, and he walked in with a dead chicken in his hand, and said, “Mither, u want to buy a dead thicken!”
Psalm 37 is simple and easy to understand.
• There are five DON'TS, or things not to do
• There are seven DO'S, or things which people should do
This Psalm talks about problems, and then goes on to provide the solution to those problems. The difficulty for many people is that the solution is very simplistic. Their life is complicated with problems, and they say to themselves, “The solution to my problems cannot be that simple!” But it is just that simple, God’s Word tells us that the solution is simply-
I. DON’T WORRY - BE HAPPY!
Years ago, the world produced a song called, “Don’t worry, be happy!” They had the right message but the wrong method.
God’s Word also teaches “Don’t worry - be happy!” Look at verse 1, we read, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.”
The word “Fret” is the word “Charah” (pronounced as “Khaw-raw”) which means to blaze up. It means to worry!
Illus: Did you know that a little problem is like a little fire? You can start to allow that little problem to grow, and soon you will have a forest fire in your life that is almost impossible to put out.
• Worry never solved a problem
• Worry never paid a debt
• Worry never cured a disease
• Worry never led a person to Christ.
• Worry never made an enemy a friend
• Worry never turned a wrong into a right
Illus: Someone said, “Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble, sometimes the troubles of tomorrow, which may never arrive anyway!”
If we are going to worry, we should worry about all the things that worrying has done to us physcially, emotionally and spiritually.
Illus: Dr. G.C. Robinson, of John Hopkins Hospital, said, personal worry is one of the principle causes of physical ailments that send people to hospitals. He found that out of 174 patients, 140 were worrying patients. 115 had worries directly related to their physical ailments.
There has been medical research that many believe shows that cancer is worry related. To worry is to live contrary to the Scriptures.
Philippians 4:6 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” In other words, do not worry about a thing. Not a thing. Don’t worry - be happy!
II. DON’T WORRY - BE TRUSTING!
Nobody can make you worry, it is a choice we make. People can create some difficulties for you, but WE:
• Choose TO TRUST GOD
• Choose to DISTRUST GOD and worry
If worry is something we were forced to do, then God would not command us NOT TO WORRY!
WHO CAN CAUSE US TO WORRY? EVIL DOERS CAN CAUSE US TO WORRY.
Look at verse 1, the psalmist said, “Fret not thyself BECAUSE OF EVILDOERS, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.”
There are some folks who can really get to us day after day. I mean day after day they relentlessly attack us. Day after day, we are getting all kinds of trouble from them.
Illus: They remind us of the story of the duck that went into the local hardware store, and asked the store clerk, “Do you have any duck feed?” The store clerk said, “No, we do not have any duck feed”.
The duck came back the next day and he said again, “Do you have any duck feed?” And the store clerk said again, “No, I told you the other day we do not have any duck feed.”
He came back the third day and asked the same question and the store clerk was getting frustrated and said, “If you ask me if I have any duck feed one more time, I am going to nail your web feet to the floor.”
He came back the fourth day, and he said, “Do you have any nails?” The clerk said, “No, we do not have any nails!” The duck then said, “Do you have any duck feed?”
There are some folks that attack us day after day with the same old stuff! But God says we are not to let them worry us.
Notice, we are not to WORRY ABOUT EVIL DOERS. I know it sounds too simplistic to say, “Don’t Worry”, but that is exactly what God’s Word says. Look again at Psalm 37:1-3, we read, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers…”
Not only are we not to FRET over the evil doers, the Word of God makes it clear that we are not to ENVY them. When things are hard for us, it is easy for us to look to the evil crowd, and it seems like everything is going great for them. But it is not.
Illus: They are like the man who jumped off the Empire State building, and as he was descending, a window washer on the 50th floor heard him say, “Everything is going great so far!”
Yes, and it looks like everything is going great for the EVIL DOER SO FAR, but one day they are going to hit the bottom, and it is going to be PAYDAY FOR THEM!
We do not need to envy that crowd when things are going rough in our life.
Look at Psalm 37:1-3 again, we read, “Fret not thyself because of evildoer, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.”
We do not need to be envious of them because they have not hit the bottom yet. We are not to be envious of them, because this is the only heaven that some folks will ever have. But we Christians recognize this is not our heaven. We are only pilgrims passing through this life.
But notice, God has given a promise to those who trust Him, the Word of God says in verse 3, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou DWELL IN THE LAND, and verily thou shalt be fed.”
This land that we live on is the only heaven the evil doers will ever have. But notice, in verse 3, God talks about another LAND that we will dwell in for eternity.
Illus: A missionary was on the foreign field for many years. He had suffered typhoid fever, his wife had died and now he was up in age. He caught a ship and was coming back to America. He stood on the deck of the ship as the big ship approached the country that he had long departed from. However, he noticed on shore were thousands of people, and they were waving placards in the air and screaming welcome home. All of a sudden all the sufferings he had gone through all those years seemed worth it. But as they began to depart from the ship, he discovered the great welcome was for a politician who also was coming home on the ship. He felt sad and dejected because he thought the welcome was for him. Then God spoke to him and reminded him that HE WAS NOT HOME YET, HE WAS ONLY A PILGRIM PASSING THROUGH THIS LAND. WE HAVE A LAND WHERE WE WILL SPEND ETERNITY BEYOND THIS LAND!
One day we shall DWELL IN THE LAND that God has prepared for us, and we will rejoice evermore, and we shall dwell their for eternity!
Illus: Listen, would you want a car with a 5,000 mile warranty if you could have a car with a life-time warranty? Only a fool would accept a car with a 5,000 mile warranty when he could have had a lifetime warranty.
The psalmist gives us an alternative to worrying. Look at verses 4-7, we read, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.”
God’s Word says, DON’T WORRY - BE HAPPY, DON’T WORRY - BE TRUSTING, and -
III. DON’T WORRY - BE CAREFUL!
Why? Because a life of worrying can lead to sin. Look at verse 8, we read, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.”
The natural thing for us to do when someone does us wrong is to do them wrong.
Illus: Three burly fellows on huge motorcycles pulled up to a highway cafe where a truck driver, just a little guy, was perched on a stool quietly eating his lunch. As the three fellows came in, they spotted him, grabbed his food away from him and laughed in his face. The truck driver said nothing. He got up, paid for his food, and walked out. One of the three cyclists, unhappy that they hadn't succeeded in provoking the little man into a fight, commented to the waitress: "Boy, he sure wasn't much of a man, was he?" The waitress replied, "Well, I guess not." Then, looking out the window, she added, "I guess he's not much of a truck driver, either. He just ran over three motorcycles."
That is the way most of us feel when someone does us wrong. They hurt us and we then want to hurt them! We do not need to ruin our lives trying to get revenge on those who do us wrong. WHY? Because God will take care of them in due time.
Look at verses 9-12, we read, “For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.”
We do not need to WORRY because it can lead to sin. DISTRUST is sin.
It is a sin that we have legalized, but in the sight of God it is a terrible sin. Why? Because it is a sin that is directed at the love of God. It is a sin that is saying:
• I know God’s Word tells me He loves me, but I do not believe it.
• I know God can help me, but I do not know if I can trust Him!
Conclusion:
In 1 Peter 5:7, the Bible says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” God makes a point of letting us know that He cares about ALL OF OUR CARES!
We only get one shot at life. We determine how we are going to live it each day.
If you do not know this yet, you need to face up to it now, there is no life that is exempt from rough times. But God enables us to be victorious through the rough times in our life.
We are free moral agents - WE CHOOSE THE KIND OF LIFE WE WANT.
• A life of WORRYING
• A life of TRUSTING
We can live TRUSTING THE LORD or TRUSTING IN SELF. This passage of Scripture teaches us:
I. DON’T WORRY- BE HAPPY!
II. DON’T WORRY - BE TRUSTING!
III. DON’T WORRY - BE CAREFUL!
