IS THIS A MOLEHILL OR A MOUNTAIN?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
TEXT:
Luke 21:26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are
coming on the earth, ...
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord.
LOOK AT HOW WORRY IS DEFINED?
Choke, strangle, to harass by tearing, biting, or snapping at the throat,
to touch or disturb something repeatedly, to subject to persistent nagging,
to afflict with mental distress or agitation, to make anxious, fret,
to have an ill effect on someone’s peace of mind.
DEFINE GROWTH?
To spring up and develop to maturity, to increase, expand,
to foster and bring to maturity.
DEFINE MATURITY?
Slow careful consideration, attain a desired state, stable growth rate, to develop, to be ripe.
1. I again ponder, today I ponder: what is growth? How do we evaluate growth? If growth
is simply numbers, God is really pleased with cemeteries, because people seem to be
dying to get in? Yes, growth is numbers, but we want to look at personal spiritual growth,
maturity. What hinders personal growth and maturity?
2. There is more to growth than just being busy? We must look why are we busy and what
are we busy about? We praise a bee for being busy! We swat and kill a busy mosquito?
Ponder the difference? What are the effects of worry and fear doing to God’s people?
Luke 21:26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are
coming on the earth, ...
3. Worry’s role plays havoc in destroying the quality and quantity of a Christian’s life and faith.
The number 1 killer in the world today is WORRY.
Worry is a type of doubt. Worry is mental distress, agitation. Worry is the way our enemy
steals our peace of mind, and kills the active faith.
4.THE MORE MANURE THERE IS, THE MORE FLIES THERE WILL BE! THE MORE POSSESSIONS THERE ARE, THE WORRY THERE WILL BE! Often the more we own the more we tend to worry.We are in life for a short visit., so we should not hurry, nor should we worry. We must take the time to smell the roses. Humans alone have the distinct ability to worry. We worry away our joy and happiness. What hinders personal growth and maturity?
We worry away our precious lives, fearing the future, discontent with the present, unable to
cope with the thought of death, and totally unable to ... SIT STILL.
To sit still requires faith. We had rather run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off. We want to
scream and tell others how unfair life is. I learned how unfair life was in Kindergarten. The pretty girl in front of me had 64 Crayola crayons, I had 8. She would not loan me her flesh color crayon to color people, it would dull it. I knew it had a sharpener on the box. I always drew Indians, they all had red skin. I had no choice. Well, I graduated college without ever owning a box of 64 Crayola Crayons. Several church people bought me boxes of 64 and now I have two boxes of 96, but it would have been good 40 years ago.
Well, I have made it. You will too. God has a plan, why not trust HIM?
April 15, 1998 we had a storm that totaled our van and destroyed my son’s two vehicles. A few days later,
the TV news broke storm warnings. My son called in a panic. I replied, "Son, I am 47 years old, one time in
my life a storm destroyed our property. I refuse to allow fear to grip my heart. God reigns even when it rains."
I refused to worry. I made a willful choice, I was going to trust God.
5. THE POWER OF AGREEMENT.
There was a young understudy being mentored by an older pastor. The young man followed the pastor day after day. The young man often would set in the corner and listen as the wise old man gave advice to families in crisis.
One day, a husband told his sad story to the elder pastor. The pastor listened intently. After a while the old pastor hugged the man and replied, "You are right!" The wife then came in the office and cried and wept before the old man of God. After she unloaded her burdens, the Pastor hugged her and said, "You’re right!" The couple left the church office hugging and went home so happy. The young understudy couldn’t understand. He inquired of the wise pastor, "But you told them they were both right." The mentor lowered his head and in wisdom said, "You’re right!" ... We can worry, or listen? (unknown)
Sometimes the greatest acts of love are not great discourses of deep intellectual wisdom, but to lend an ear and listen. Prayer can have great therapeutic value, because it is a way of expressing our hurt, bitterness, and disappointments and then release faith and trust that God loves you. Trust that God is in control. And nothing can happen to you that God cannot turn into good.
Rom. 8:28, says, ---And we know that all things work together for the good ...
If we know this we will stay calm. Worry can hinder growth and become a killer physically and a joy stealer spiritually.
6. WHY 100 DIED Unknown
Death was walking toward a city one morning and a man sitting at the gate asked, "What are you going to do?"
"I’m going to take one person’s life’s’ today," Death replied. "That’s so horrible!" the man said. "That’s the way life
is, death is sure," Death said. "That’s what I do, as birth is part of life, so death."
The man ran into the city and hurried to warn everyone that he could about Death’s plan, to take a life.
As evening fell, he met Death again. "You told me you were going to take a person’s life," the man said.
"Why did 100 die?" "I kept my word," Death responded. "I only took one person.
Worry and needless fear took the 99 others."
This lesson illustrates what Health Care workers reported: We have a crisis, up to half of all
the people in the USA hospital beds are constant worriers. Worry can contribute to high blood pressure,
migraine headaches, arthritis, cystitis, colitis, backaches, ulcers, depression, digestive disorders, and the number one killer heart attacks. Mental fatigue hinders good sleeping and days without hope or peace.
Worry is hindering our nation and the church, and the family, and worry plays great havoc in destroying
the quality and quantity of life.
7. WHERE THERE IS WORRY, THERE WILL BE LITTLE GROWTH!
Worry is, and always will be, a fatal disease of the heart, for it is the beginning signal of the end of faith.
Where worry and fear exist God leaves. Worry intrudes on God’s compassion and ability to provide.
When we allow our problems to overshadow God’s promises, we unknowingly doom ourselves to a defeat that was never part of God’s eternal plans. Release the regrets of yesterday, refuse the fears of tomorrow and receive instead, the peace of today. Mark 11:22 Jesus answering saith unto them: HAVE FAITH IN GOD.
We must not let fear and worry hide in our hearts and hinder growth.
Psa. 27:1 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?
8. We cannot allow the heartbreaks and disappointments in others or self breed worry and fear.
God is more than able to help us grow and develop.
We Must TRUST HIM. God has a plan, rest in HIM, try John 14. Read it?
A wise man once said, "There are two days in the week about which I never worry. Two carefree days,
I keep free from fear and worry. One of these days is yesterday, and the other is tomorrow."
Now this is wise, but it leaves today to worry, yet can’t we see worry has no profit?
Life at best is a temporary arrangement, we should not hurt life by living in a hurry, living in a worry,
shouldn’t we make sure we smell the flowers?
Will worry cause you to grow? Seems no other creature worries but human beings? We worry away growth,
we worry away our life, we fear the future, we are discontent with the present. We can’t seem to deal with the idea of dying, and we can’t sit still and see the beauty of trusting God.
9. Why do some grow to be 5 feet, others 7 feet tall?
Why do some mature by 18 and others are 60 and never mature?
Increase comes from God, this is known by all. But why do some increase and
others invest in worry and have a failure to thrive?
There must be a reason. Should we ponder why and why not and then focus on
how can I grow? Growth is an evidence of life?
10. I ask God for some lumber with which to build Him a great tower,
and God had the nerve to give me an acorn and said grow what you need.
I said, "BUT MASTER"... GOD SAID, "I KNOW YOU LOVE THE COMFORT OF
SHADOW AND THE SHADE, BUT THE MORE LIGHT THE GREATER THE GROWTH."
I think more sweat?
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord.
11. Growth must be a goal?
Mat. 6:28 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do
they spin.
Tall oaks grow from little acorns, ’tis true.
But sickly oaks from sickly acorns grow ’tis also a truth.
12. Costly pearls grow from imperfections within, and instead of being destroyed
from imperfections, a rare gem of beauty is birthed. Growth comes from many sources.
All the mighty oak is, --- but a nut that stood its ground?
13. Ask any growing city, we need insight that today’s growth does not
become a hindrance to tomorrow’s development. We need wisdom and thought
to develop a sustained growth program, that growth allows for more growth.
14. I am told some fishes’ growth is in proportion to the environment
they dwell. Little aquariums little fish?
We have a phenomenon in the church today called Perpetual Babyhood of
Believers. With limited diets and limited exercise we limit our ability to grow.
We have church members that have heard good Gospel messages, and they
stay the same. SAD! These perpetual babes need the Pastor to pamper, diaper,
talcum powder, keep adjusting the temperature of the milk, feed, burp.
Yes, the church is to be a nursery. But there is a time to set aside childishness,
and become a man, to become a father and beget life.
We often fool ourselves that growth is seeing how many baby’s we can
support? Real growth is diapers, training pants, wetting the bed, then
mature and discipline, self control and then support another to grow and
develop.
15. We need more than getting FAT as a goal.
The only exercise some perpetual babies get:
1) jumping to conclusions,
2) running down their friends,
3) side stepping responsibilities,
4) pushing luck to limits.
We need a better exercise plan than this if we develop and have a life producing
growth continually.
Paul has a simple strategy for growth hidden in his writings.
6 steps that will cause a sustained growth. See if you practice this
6 step plan?
#1 RULE REJOICE:
Phil. 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: God’s plan of growth starts with attitudes and thinking patterns.
Research says, Talking to a plant in a rejoicing voice causes the plant to grow better.
(Read these verses, no cheaters and lazys, God’s words work. Rom.12:12; Luke 10:19-20; 1 Peter 4:13;
John 15:11; God designed you to have a full joy tank? That is a discipline to keep rejoicing.
Worry does not yield growth!
#2 RULE REJOICE:
Phil. 4:4 And again I say REJOICE. Why use the literary tool of repetition? To stress the importance of the point.
John 16:24; Acts 2:28, 1John 1:4. To continue doing anything, you must find joy. With joy any job is easy.
Do you feel joy and gladness? Do you express joy? Who said, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to
the house of the Lord? Joy is our strength, Neh 8:10. If your face looks like a mule, then what?
#3 RULE MODERATION:
Phil 4:5 Let your moderation be made known unto all men. We must be moderate, not dealing in extremes
or excesses. We need boundaries and to stay within the lines. Mom always said excesses are the enemy’s
territory. We must not be carried away, easily swayed. Signs follow the believer not believers following the
signs. Aristotle taught the Golden Mean, and so did Jesus.
#4 RULE DON’T WORRY:
Phil 4:6 KJV Be careful for nothing, I love this in the LB, Don’t worry about anything.---
Worry kills, elevated blood pressure, ulcers, heart trouble. Show me any house worry built?
A 1982 research paper suggested up to 60% of people in the hospital was there directly or indirectly from worry.
Read Psa. 55:22, we can’t carry our burdens, we are designed to cast them on the Lord.
Praise brings God to us, worry brings the enemy. Try Isa 26:3?
Worry is a type of doubt???
#5 RULE PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING:
Phil 4:6 but in everything by prayer and thanksgiving. Remember mom’s pressure cooker?
That thing on the top shaking and releasing the pressure? That is what daily prayer can do for us.
Prayer is a venting process. Prayer is praise. Prayer is petition. Much worldly research proves the
value of prayer. We sing, sweet hour of prayer and pray 15 seconds. Prayer brings and supports growth.
Read John 15:16; Luke 11:9. Prayer fertilizes growth.
#6 RULE CONTROLLED THINKING PATTERNS:
Phil 4:8 suggest we need to control our minds and dwell only on certain things, and thus suggesting avoiding
certain thoughts. Trained minds think on true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtue, and praise. If a man
trains his thinking he will control his tongue, his work, and his heart. What do you think?
This also suggest where not to think? As a man thinketh so is he? See, good thoughts grow good thinking.
You are growing older at the rate of 1440 minutes a day, but what are you growing with your words and your
deeds? Is growth a goal, is growth planned or is it accidental? Does your love grow?
IS IT A MOUNTAIN OR A MOLEHILL? THIS DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH DIRT YOU CONTRIBUTE?
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
