Worshipper Or Worrier

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]