Brinton 12-08-01
Luke 12:22-40 – Do not worry
Story: Church at the turn of the century
At the turn of the 20th Century, the roof of the hall of a little Swiss church was falling down.
So the members of the church got together regularly after the service in the hall to pray for funds to repair the roof .
One of the people who used to come along to the prayer meeting was an old man, who was known to be very tight fisted. He used to sit near the back of the hall so he could sneak out just before the collection plate came round.
One Sunday, he was held up on his way to the prayer meeting in the hall by the vicar and could only find a seat at the front.
During the prayer meeting, a piece of the roof fell and hit him on the head. Feeling spoke to by the Lord, he stood up and said "Lord, I’ll give £1000"
A voice at the back of the churchwas heard to say " Hit him again, Lord"!
I often wonder if that’s what God has to do to get my attention? The worry about money can be very powerful
I’d like to focus this morning on Jesus’ words in Luke 12:22 and 28:
Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on
…if God so clothes the grass which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith
Story: When I worry Maddy has a nice little saying: “Why pray when you can worry!!”
This morning’s reading carries on from the Parable of the Rich Fool, where Jesus has been looking at our ambition – what makes us tick?
The Rich Fool was castigated for his greed – an unacceptable attitude to God. You could say that he was worried about the future and so he hoarded against a rainy day.
It is strange but those with most money often find it very hard to be generous.
Story: Paul Getty, the famous oil baron, was so worried about his money, so much so that he installed pay phones in his house at Sutton Place just outside Guildford, Surrey, so that his guests would not waste his money on phone calls.
In Luke 12, Jesus then moves on from the greed of the Rich Fool to talk about worry because both are linked.
The love of money brings with it worry. It is not the only thing that causes us worry - ill health for example is an other reason we worry.
But whatever the reason we worry - there is a root problem. That problem I believe rests in a lack of trust of God. I think we should apply three challenges when we are tempted to worry.
1. The first challenge is on what is our faith based?
2. The second challenge is what are our ambitions?
3. The third challenge is why should we be robbed of our joy?
1. The first challenge on what is our faith based?
Story: George Müller (1805-1898) was the founder of the famous Orphans Children’s homes in Bristol in the early 19th Century and a man of simple faith. God had called him to his work and God would provide. Let me read you a story about Müller.
Müller experienced God’s provision many times. Here is one story told about him. Let me read it to you:
“THE ORPHAN CHILDREN all had their dinners and were ready for bed. They always felt loved and cared for in the Bristol orphanage; little did they know that the orphanage had no money and there was no food for breakfast the next day.
Though he did not know how, George Müller was confidant the Lord would provide for the orphans--after all, wasn’t he a "Father to the fatherless" (Psalm 68:5)?
Müller went to bed, committing the care of the orphans to God. The next morning he went for a walk, praying for God to supply the orphanage’s needs.
In his walk, he met a friend who asked him to accept some money for the orphanage . . . Müller thanked him, but did not tell the friend about the pressing need. Instead, he praised God for the answer to prayer and went to the orphanage for breakfast. “
Müller knew his Father and knew that he could trust Him.
What was that faith that Müller had?
Hebrews 11.1 defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for”
For Müller it was not blind faith. It was a faith based on evidence. He had already seen God’s provision for the Orphanage a number of times. So he was able to trust Him in this time of need.
R.H Mounce said, “Worry is practical atheism and an affront to God”
When we worry, we show that we don’t have faith in God as our provider – in other words we don’t trust God.
This is an affront to Him, because Jesus has told us that God our Father knows our needs and will provide for them.
Indeed Jesus said in Luke 12:31 “..but seek first the Kingdom and all these things will be added to you.
He went on to say in v. 32 .
Do not fear little flock, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom!”
If he’ll give you the kingdom - surely he wants to provide for your needs here and now.
Story: When I was called to the ministry, I was worried if I could make ends meet. And it seemed to me quite a step in faith to give up my security at Reckitts. Yet I have found that God is faithful. Somehow we have always had enough money.
2. The second challenge what are our ambitions?
“Where is your treasure, because that is where you will find your heart.” Lk 12:34
Your treasure is your ambition. What are you ambitious about?
Story: I must admit my ambition for many years were to get to the top of my profession as a Patent Attorney. I wanted to get there for God. But was I really being honest? Was I really seeking God’s kingdom?
God wants men and women who have a one track mind – set on obeying God. And God our Father
has given the Church one mission and that isn’t to worry!!
Jesus said in Mt 28:19 and 20 that we should preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God to all the nations.
The Early Christains ate, slept and drank it and because of their faithfulness, we are here together today.
Story: In spring of 1867, a young American shoe salesman came to Bristol and one day was invited to a prayer meeting in a private home.
During the meeting, the minister, Henry Varley stood up and spoke. He said one memorable thing in that prayer meeting: “The world has yet to see what God can do with one man wholly committed to him.”
That young American walked out of that prayer meeting an hour later – with these words etched on his mind. They gave him no peace and he resolved to be such a man.
No one remembers Henry Varley – but that young American was D.L.Moody - who went on to become the “Billy Graham” of the 19th Century.
Thousands came to Christ through his ministry his day.
The world has not seen what God can do with a man totally committed to him.
Am I prepared to be such a man for Christ?
3. The third challenge is why be robbed of our joy?
Have you ever met anyone who is happy and worried? No because worry knocks you back.
Story: Maddy and I were booked to go (on our 10th Wedding Anniversary) in May of 1992 to Prince George in British Columbia, Canada.
We had a problem and that was that we needed to let a property - so that we could pay the mortgage and so use what I had earned with my salary on the holiday.
As the day of the flight grew closer, I panicked as no one wanted to rent the house. People came to look at it – but all of them turned it down.
It was a miserable couple of weeks for me leading up to the flight - as I worried. I was praying overtime and the day before I flew out I said to Maddy “Can we really afford to go to Canada?”.
The night before we flew out, a couple who had originally looked at the house - and turned it down rang up and asked if the house was still available. Thye have turned out to be the best tenants we have EVER had.
We had a signed contract that evening and flew out of Basle at 6am the next morning knowing that we could meet our costs.
What had my worrying done – nothing but robbed me of joy for a couple of weeks!
Jesus said in Luke 12:34 “For where your heart is, there is your heart also”
In Hebrew thought, the heart was the seat of
intellect and the bowels the seat of feeling
I think there are three types of heart that you can have
I. A Degenerate Heart
II. A Divided Heart or
III. A Delivered Heart.
The degenerate heart has no interest in the things of God.
The divided heart would like to trust God fully but is weighed down by fear – it worries
The delivered heart is one that is fully motivated to find God’s agenda.
Worrying shows what type of heart you have.
If your treasure is worldly ambition, then expect your heart to be there too.
Conclusions
What is the antidote to worrying?
There is no one simple answer.
I can think of three antidotes we can apply
1. The first antidote is to read about how God has provided for others
One good source is in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testament.
The book of Ruth in the Old Testament is a beautiful story of how God provided for two widows who had lost their husbands.
The book of Acts in the New Testament is so dynamic of how God’s word spread in a miraculous way – for example
Peter’s deliverance from prison in Acts 12 or Paul’s miraculous escape from the sea and a snake at Malta in Acts 27.
These are all stories to encourage our faith.
I find Christian biographies really encouraging. For example Kermit Bradford’s “Miracle on Death Row” or Richard Wurmbrand’s “In God Underground”. Why because I read of real people who have experienced God’s provision.
2. The second antidote is to ask God to remove your unbelief.
In Mk. 9 a man brought his son for healing to Jesus and Jesus said to him: “If you can believe, all things are possible for him who believes.”
And the man answered:
“Lord, I believe, help my unbelief” (Mk. 9:24).
What a great prayer that makes.
We can decide we are going to believe - and where we falter, we ask God to deal with our unbelief
3. The third antidote is to look at your ambitions afresh
Are you really ambitious for what God wants you to do?
Perhaps it is worth measuring up against Luke 12:31 - that we had read to us this morning:
“But seek the Kingdom of God – and all these things will be added to you.”
I’d like to leave you with the thought
“The world has yet to see what God can do with one man wholly committed to him.”
Are you prepared to be that man or woman?
