Why worry? Webster defines worry as to afflict with mental distress. To afflict with mental distress. A teenage son, who was away at college, sent his dad a telegram. The telegram said, "Dear dad, I've been in a serious car crash. I've broken both legs and both arms, and I'm in a hospital in a full body cast. Four people in the other car are seriously injured. Their attorney will be contacting you soon with a major lawsuit since I was in your car". And then he paused, and said, "Actually, dad, I've only failed out of college, and I'll be home tomorrow. Love, your son".
That's called mental anguish. I assure you, if that was my son, his mental anguish when he got home would be multiplied. Worry cannot change the past. Say that with me. Worry cannot change the past. But it can ruin the present. Worry will get you only one place ahead of schedule. And that one place is the cemetery. To worry about what we can't help is useless. To worry about what we can help is foolish. Take action and solve the problem and quit worrying about it. Listen to this. Worry means there's something over which you cannot have your own way, and in reality, is personal irritation with God. If God controls everything, and you are God's child, you have this problem. Maybe it's a seminar on how to trust in the Lord. Saint Paul made the most profound statement about worry the world has ever heard.
Let's read it together in Philippians 4:6. Ready? "Be careful for nothing: but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God". Let's pray. Father, in the authority of Jesus' name, let the spirit of joy, the spirit of peace, the spirit of confidence fill this congregation and those who are watching across America. These are troublesome times in our nation. But the God of heaven is in charge of everything. Therefore, let us rejoice and be glad. And all of God's children said, praise the Lord. You may be seated. Listen at Paul's declaration, "In nothing be anxious". Say that with me. "In nothing be anxious".
This is one of my favorite verses. It has been, to me, as comforting as the pillow upon which I rest my head after a weary day's work. I have found it a strong staff upon which to lean when my feet were in a slippery place. I have found it to be a fortress in the day of battle. "In nothing be anxious". Now, how reassuring, how full of comfort. It's as tender as your mother's embrace. It's stronger than the raging storm that you are now in. "In nothing be anxious".
Don't worry. Our God is on his throne. Don't worry. He's greater than the giants that you are facing. Don't worry. He's greater than the sickness and the disease that's attacking you or a member of your family. He's greater than the problems that you are personally facing or that your corporation is personally facing. He's greater than the divisions that are separating your family. He's greater than the financial stress you're presently going through. Our God is a provider. Our God is the Waymaker. Our God is greater than demonic powers. Our God is the healer of broken hearts. Our God is the shepherd who knows the way. Our God is greater than the greatest. He's stronger than the strongest. He's higher than the highest. He's wiser than the wisest. He is the God of heaven.
Too many Christians are on their pity pot over things that have happened to them in the past. Don't worry about your past failures. God's grace is greater than your worst sin. God's grace is greater than your worst sin. God doesn't consult your past to determine your future. Don't worry about your marriage. If you and your partner will obey the Word of God, your marriage can go through the fires of hell and be saved. If you're living outside the Word of God, a thousand counselors, sex and money will not save it. People, who carry a Bible that's falling apart, have a life that's not. I'm going to say that again. People, who have a Bible that's falling apart, have a life that's not. How much do you read that sacred book?
Here's the Bible's penicillin shot for worry. "Casting all of your cares upon him: for he careth about you. Cast your burdens upon the Lord, and he will sustain you". Saint Paul said, "Rejoice in the Lord... And again, I say, rejoice". Rejoice by choice. "Be anxious for nothing". King David said, "This is the day the Lord hath made: let us rejoice and be glad in it". "The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life: of whom shall I be afraid"? "Though a host should encamp against me, my heart will not fear: though war should be declared against me, in this will I be confident... That in the time of trouble, he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret place of the tabernacle, he shall hide me: he shall set my feet on the solid rock. My head shall be lifted up above my enemies," and the victory shall be mine, in Jesus' name!
Why worry? You serve a God that cannot fail. Why worry? When you walk through the fire like the three Hebrew children, the fire will not burn you. When you walk through the water, the water won't drown you. Why worry? God Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, is your father. He is all-powerful. He is all-knowing. He is all-sufficient. He has given you his card saying, "Call upon me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things that you know not". Why worry? He will give his angels charge over you to protect you in all of your ways. Why worry? You're covered by the all-powerful, life-changing, precious blood of Jesus Christ. Demons tremble with fear when you roll over in bed!
Why worry? You are anointing with the Holy Ghost power. You have the favor of God. You have the power of attorney to use his name. It goes like this: "Whatsoever you ask the father in my name, he will do it". Say that with me. "He will do it". "Ask, and you shall receive". Nothing is impossible to those that believe. Our God is anxious to answer your prayer to relieve you of your burden, to defeat your enemies, to scatter your enemies like straw. All you need to do is ask him in the authority of Jesus' name, and it will happen! Hallelujah to the Lamb of God!
So why do we need to be told not to worry, to be warned against worry? We need to be warned against worry because worry is fundamentally sin. Worry is faith in fear. Let me say that again. Worry is faith in fear. It's not necessarily a compliment to be called a person of great faith. Why? Because we serve a God that can never fail. It doesn't take great faith to believe in something that never fails. If you had a car that only started one time in three, you couldn't have faith that, that car was going to get you home. But if it never failed, you have confidence. You serve a God that never fails you. And he has never failed. I mean I have stood at the edge of the cliff and looked over and said, "If you don't come through before daylight, we're done"! And he had the answer! He always had the answer!
Why do we need to be warned? Because he never fails. Fear is the rejection of faith. Fear is the rejection of faith. I want you to say that with me. Fear is the rejection of faith. I'm not talking about concern. I'm talking about fear. The Bible says, "God has not given us the spirit of fear". If God didn't give it to you, who gave it to you? The dark side. Fear breeds doubt. Fear and doubt bring defeat. Worry belongs to every class of people. The rich worry. The poor worry. The intelligent worry. The ignorant worry. The young worry. The old worry. People in debt worry. A wealthy man was showing his friend through his mansion. And he said, "All of this magnificent furniture of mine goes back to Louie XIV". And his friend said, "That's nothing. My furniture goes back to Sears on the 15th".
We worry about things we have and things we don't have. We worry about things we have said and things we have failed to say. We worry about things we have done and things we have failed to do. We worry about our bodies, bulges, baldness, bifocals, bunions. I could go on. I'll stop there. Some worry because they're not married. Others worry because they are married. Ever notice how worry comes at a bad time? Worry comes at a time of crisis. Just when you need a clear mind, a creative capacity to think intelligently, worry comes like a dark cloud hiding the sun. It's like a cancer draining you of creative ability to think. We need to be warned against worry because it's a killer. It makes cowards out of aggressive men and women.
Worry makes cowards out of aggressive men and women. It fills your face with wrinkles and apprehension. It paralyzes the mind so that you cannot produce a solution to the crisis you're facing. It robs the body of rest at night. It sends you to work shattered and second rate. You're on the naked edge. You cannot produce. America's finest physicians are now saying worry is the mother of cancer, it's the mother of heart disease and high blood pressure. It's the mother of ulcers. It's not what you're eating: it's what's eating you that's the problem. Worry is trust in the unpleasant. It's assurance that disaster is coming. It's belief that defeat and despair are your portion in life. Worry is a polluted stream that flows through your mind, drowning optimism. It drowns faith. It drowns hope.
Worry is interest paid on trouble that you've never had and never will have. One old man said, "Most of the trouble I've had in my life never happened". Worry has sent millions of Bible-believing Christians to the cemetery long before their time. Simply because they were anxious about everything, Christians who claim to follow the Prince of Peace, yet they live in emotional turmoil. Think about that. Worry has no place in the life of a believer. Stop it! We need to be warned against worry because it is so useless. Jesus said, "Which one of you by worry can add a cubit to his stature"?
Message: worry is useless. "Be anxious about nothing". Worry has never lifted a single burden. Worry has never solved a single problem. Worry has never dried a single tear. Worry has never provided one answer for anyone, not ever. Don't worry. We ought never to worry about things we can change. Don't worry about the past. Don't worry about tomorrow. Listen. The past is history. The future is a mystery. There is only today. That's why it's call "The present". And it's a present from God. It's a gift from God. Live this day to the maximum joy capacity you have, because you don't know what tomorrow may bring. Life is God's gift to you. What you do with that life is your gift to God. Make it count. Make everyday count. Find a way to enjoy every day. Don't worry about things you can't change. Don't worry about the political corruption in Washington.
The next time voting comes, let's do something about it. Go and vote the Bible and vote this Godless corruption out of federal government. How do we get rid of worry? Not by getting into an ideal situation. There's no such thing as an ideal situation. There is no ideal marriage. There is no ideal family. There is no ideal church or business. Why? Because when you get there, there are people, and people are full of faults. They're full of failures. They're full of frustrations. They're full of fear. We are fatally flawed flesh. The Bible says, "All of our righteousness is as filthy rags". That's one of the most humbling verses in the Bible. Just when I get to feeling really good about myself, "All of our righteousness is as filthy rags". There is no ideal time other than today.
The young say, "When I get older, it'll be ideal. I won't worry then when I get older". Look at this white hair and listen to the next words coming out of my mouth. Wrong! By the time a man finds greener pastures, he's too old to climb the fence. There are three ages of a man's life: youth, middle-aged, and "My, you're looking well". Those who are working will say, "When I retire, that will be ideal". Retirement is when you sit on the porch and watch the sun set if you can stay up that long. One thing about retirement is you can never take a day off. When some people I know retire, it's going to be hard to tell the difference between retirement and work. They work so casually.
That's the point here. You get rid of worry when you realize it's the end result of practice. Nobody was ever born worried. You ever look in the face of a baby? It's one of the most relaxing things you can do. There's no fear there. There's no anxiety there. They have total faith and confidence that their mother or daddy's going to take care of them. If you're a master musician, it's because you practice, practice, practice. If you are a master golfer, it's because you practice, practice, practice. If you are a worrywart, it's because you... Yeah. Anything that is learned can be unlearned.
The Bible says, "Be anxious about nothing". Paul says, "Be anxious about nothing". Get rid of worry by renewing your mind. Paul put it this way: "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report... Think on these things," period. You are what you choose to think about. You control your thoughts and you control the quality of your life. You and you alone are responsible for what you allow yourself to think about. You're not responsible for the birds that fly over your head. But you're responsible for the ones you allow to build a nest in your brain. For the attitude that rules your life will control your destiny. Your attitude is your choice.
My mother made us remember this poem when we were young. "Two men looked out prison bars. One saw mud. The other saw stars". Message: life is what you look at and life is what you execute. The supreme penicillin shot for worry is faith in God. Faith in God, faith like a child has. Paul writes, "In everything by prayer and supplication", listen to this, "With thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God". Don't go to God and start upchucking all of your problems right first thing out. You go to the Lord, and you thank him for his goodness. Thank him for the health that you have. Thank him for the blessings he has sent. Praise his glorious name. Exalt him. Magnify him. Then when you are in his presence, lay out your list. And I assure you. Heaven comes down and things are straightened out supernaturally at a rate of speed that will take your breath. God is an awesome God. Ask him. He will deliver!
I read of an aviator who was making a flight around the world. After he had been gone for some two hours from his last landing field, he heard a noise in the cockpit, which he recognized as the gnawing of a rat. Not knowing which part of the plane that rat was in, and those sharp teeth were cutting, he was filled with fear. It was two hours back to the place where he took off and two hours to the airport where he was going. The pilot remembered that the rat is a rodent. It's not made for the heights. It's made to live in the ground. It's made to live in darkness. He nosed the plane upward, higher, higher. And then the gnawing stopped. And when he landed the plane, a dead rat fell out of the control panel.
What's the point? Worry is a rat. It cannot live in the secret place of the Most High. It cannot breathe in the atmosphere of faith. It cannot survive the power of your prayer. It cannot penetrate the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. If worry is the gnawing on your mind, your marriage, your finances, your business, your children's future, your past, climb on the wings of faith into the presence of the living God. With a spirit of thanksgiving, lift your hands and give the Lord praise and glory! Faith will explode! Your heart and mind will be ruled by peace of the living God! "Be anxious about nothing".
How many of you here and those of you watching by television across America can say, pastor, there's a particular matter about which I have been worrying about, marriage, health, business, finances, children, the future. And today I want to leave this church with the peace of God and total confidence about my future. I want to tell you, the greatest life you can live is when you commit it to the Lord, and you know he's leading you every day that you live. But if you're in this audience and you're watching by television, and there's an area in your life about which you worry about that's affecting the quality of your life, and you want that to be over and resolved, lift your hands right where you are. Lift your hands toward the throne of grace.
Our most gracious Heavenly Father, we come into your presence and praise you for your excellent greatness. Thank you for saving us. Thank you for all that you have done for us. Thank you for the health that we enjoy. Thank you for the God that you have been to us throughout the generations. Thank you for the multiple things you've helped us to accomplish. We praise you, Lord, for your excellent greatness. We praise you for your mercy. We praise you for your grace. And now, Heavenly Father, in the authority of Jesus' name, we have an audience in heaven. And I am asking you, father, that worry will absolutely leave the mind and heart of every person in this audience who raised their hand. And let it leave the mind and heart of every person who's watching by television. Let God arise and let the peace of God flood their hearts and mind. Let them bask in the sunshine of confidence that nothing shall be impossible unto them, and they shall rise and do exploits, and accomplish the impossible because God will make it possible, in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.
