Why Worry?

Let's pray.

Gracious God, as we come to this passage,

we ask again that you would challenge us,

you would convict us, you would clarify for us

misunderstandings of what it is to be your disciple.

Father, these words from Jesus, which cut right to our heart,

and we can explain away,

and just by saying that he's using hyperbole,

Lord, I pray that we might not do that.

Help us to hear the full weight of them,

and Lord, to walk away from here,

challenge to rethink the basic principles of our life,

and we ask it for your sake.

Amen.

So you're shopping in Chatswood Chase,

you're walking through the stores,

you're browsing a wide variety of items,

and finally it happens.

Something catches your eye.

You're excited by it.

You hold it.

And you know you want it.

There is one final hurdle remaining.

It's the price.

So you reach down for the postage stamp size tag,

dangling from the greatest treasure that you've ever seen,

but now sits within your hands.

And this is it.

It's the price tag moment.

Number one.

Numbers start to come into focus.

Is it too much?

50% more than you'd guessed.

100% more than you can afford.

2,000% more than you need to spend on something like this.

But still,

you stand there

making the decision

to buy

or not to buy.

And you ask yourself

the all-important question,

is it worth it?

We face those price tag moments

every day.

That is,

we are consistently doing

cost-benefit analysis,

asking ourselves the question,

is it worth it?

It's because the society

which we live in

is a materialistic,

consumer society,

and we are forced

to make those

value judgments.

We make our choices,

one price tag moment

after another.

And of course,

the price tag moment

is different for us all.

For one of us,

$100,

spending $100 on fabric

is a no-brainer.

For some of us,

it is a

significant thing

to spend $100

on fabric.

You ask kids,

$100 on lollies,

no problem at all.

It's a great way

to spend money.

For others,

it's ridiculous.

You'd rather spend

your $100

on a shirt.

And that's what makes

Jesus' passage here

for us so pertinent.

He's on his way

to Jerusalem,

as we know.

He's on his way

to Jerusalem to die.

And along the way,

he teaches his disciples,

he tells them

what they can expect

if they're going to

come and follow him.

That is,

they're going to take up

their cross

and follow him.

And in the process

of what he does

is he clears up

their misconceptions

of what it actually

means to be

his disciple.

He talks about

things like trust,

conviction,

singled-mindedness,

persecution.

And now he turns

his attention

to one of,

if not the major,

distraction

for the Christian life.

In fact,

I think every

scholar I read

on the passage

said this is

the major,

major distraction

for the Christian life.

Jesus sets it up

in a way

that he sets up

nothing else

in the New Testament

and that is greed,

the disease

of possessionitis.

the issue is raised

because a guy,

you see it there

in the passage,

pick up your Bibles,

Luke chapter 12

Luke 12:13

verse 13.

This guy calls out

in the crowd

and he says,

teacher,

tell my brother

to divide the inheritance

with me.

But Jesus picks it up,

he knows what's going on,

he knows his brother,

this guy doesn't want

an arbiter

between him

and his brother.

He wants someone

who's going to command

his brother

to cuff up the cash

and give it to me.

He gets a hint

of greed

and so he takes

an opportunity

to teach

and he says,

watch out.

Be on your guard

against all kinds

of greed.

A man's life

does not consist

in the abundance

of his possessions.

Watch out!

It's like you're

driving the car,

you've been distracted

for a moment,

you're looking over there

and your passenger

says,

watch out

because you're driving

straight over

pedestrian crossing

and someone's walking

in front of your car.

It's that kind of

watch out!

Danger!

Be on your guard

against all kinds

of greed.

You see,

what Jesus does

into this greed-ridden

consumer world,

he comes with

his own

price tag moment,

his own

price tag question

and this is it.

In Luke chapter 9

Luke 9:25

verse 25,

what good is it

for a person

to gain the whole

world and yet

forfeit their soul?

That's Jesus'

price tag question.

Greed affects us

all in one way

or another.

The difficult thing

for us is that greed

in the society

in which we live

is a huge blind spot

and I think for us

therefore it's the most

socially acceptable

sin in our culture.

We don't see it

as big as it is

but it's the one

thing that probably

more than anything

else I think

what Jesus would

be saying here

that would be

sucking the life

out of spiritual

integrity

consistently.

It was American

millionaire Malcolm

Forbes who coined

the famous phrase

he who dies

with the most toys

wins

and this is the

philosophy that

most of us live

by

and so here again

comes the voice

of Jesus

and this time

to the person

who thinks that

their security

and meaning

comes from

building bigger

and bigger barns

who thinks that

life is about

getting as much

as you possibly

can

and this is

Jesus price tag

moment

you fool

this very night

your life will be

demanded from you

you fool

can you imagine

getting to the

end of your life

and instead of

hearing well done

good and faithful

servant

you hear the words

from King Jesus

you fool

you fool

you've read the

price tag

moment all wrong

he who dies

with the most toys

still dies

like everyone else

and will still stand

before the judgment

throne of God

like everyone else

and he will put

a huge zero value

against all the

things that you've

spent your life

chasing

you fool

this passage

here is a passage

to challenge us

to take again

a look at the

price tag

and to

work out

what is really

worth

treasuring

and that's

the bottom line

here

the bottom line

here is not

valuing the things

of eternity

enough

that's the danger

and valuing the

things of this

world too

highly

on the surface

though you could

say this guy

has made some

wide choices

he's made some

good investments

even

he has a bumper

crop and rather

than wasting it

he makes more

and more storage

space

seems like a

reasonable thing

to do

that's because

that's what we

do

so it seems

reasonable

whereas what

Jesus is saying

is that that

bumper crop is a

gift from God

and you've stored

it for yourself

the rationale

his philosophy

of life

his desires

and his attitude

that lie behind

his decision

to build bigger

and bigger barns

are there

consistently

if you read

through the

passage

you notice

things like

my crops

my barns

my grain

my goods

myself

me

me

me

I

I

I

self interest

in making it

self security

in having it

and now he

has plenty to

retire on

and spend the

rest of his

life in

self indulgent

ease

and he says

here I will

take life easy

and eat

and drink

and be merry

but Jesus says

he's read the

price tag

all wrong

and he joins

the dead

and the

departed

and he has

made no

provision for

eternity

and Jesus

says

you fool

you fool

his

contentment

is in what

he thinks

he can

control

his

investments

but God

says to him

in verse 12

verse 20

you fool

this night

this very

night

your life

will be

demanded

of you

in other

words

and hear

this

if a

person

finds

his income

rising

and rising

and instead

of funneling

that increase

into kingdom

ministry

and for the

poor

instead of

doing that

they buy

more of

and bigger

and bigger

things to

increase their

ease and to

build their

security

like this

rich man

then God

will call

that person

a fool

and take

away

their life

did you

hear that

did you

hear the

warning from

Jesus

lips

it's what

I love

about

John

Wesley

John

Wesley

when he

first started

his ministry

life

got paid

28 pounds

a year

he learnt

to live

on 26

pounds

gave 2

pounds

away

as his

ministry

grew

and his

income

increased

from position

to position

he learnt

he eventually

got paid

40 pounds

a year

he learnt

to live

on 26

pounds

a year

and gave

the rest

away

eventually

he got

paid

80

pounds

a year

he learnt

to live

on 26

pounds

a year

and gave

the rest

away

greed

is a

distraction

for everyone

not just

the rich

people are

convinced

that more

money will

solve their

problems

meet every

longing in

their life

will give

them the

security

it motivates

us to

earn

more than

we need

to own

more than

we can

use

and yet

still

somehow

to ache

for more

and more

and more

is because

of greed

that we

consistently

muck up

the price

tag moment

day after

day

not just

the little

decisions

but the

biggest

one of

all

we swap

the creator

of the

universe

and find

our

satisfaction

in the

created

things

and that

is why

Jesus

warning

against

greed

in the

Bible

New

Testament

in the

Gospels

is so

strong

again

and again

and again

what

profit

is it

he asks

watch out

he calls

you fool

he rebukes

and he

says things

like no

one

can serve

both God

and money

no one

not just

most of us

won't be able

to do it

but no

one will be

able to

do it

and so

if we're

not going

to pursue

material

things

then how

do we

deal

with our

physical

needs

and the

answer

in this

passage

as it

is with

the rest

of the

Bible

is trust

God

do not

worry

that's

that's

the main

gist

of this

next

section

verse 22

therefore I

tell you

do not

worry

about your

life

what you

will eat

about your

body

what you

will wear

again in

verse 29

and 31

do not

set your

heart

on what

you will

eat

or drink

do not

worry

about such

things

for the

pagan world

runs

after all

such

things

and your

father

knows

you need

them

you see

what Jesus

says here

is that he

calls us

as his

disciples

a radical

re-changing

value

to actually

look at the

price tags

and he

says to

stop

things

seeking

and go

for kingdom

seeking

stop

things

seeking

and go

for kingdom

seeking

and to

do it

without

anxiety

for not

having

things

he

calls

us

to be

different

from the

rest

of the

world

he

says

do not

set

your

heart

on what

you will

eat

or what

you'll

drink

because

the

pagan

world

runs

after

all

such

things

to be

different

from the

rest

of the

world

the

followers

of Jesus

replace

thing

seeking

for

kingdom

seeking

they

leave

the

financial

success

of their

ventures

with

God

as they

focus

on the

spiritual

payoff

the

righteousness

payoff

the

mercy

payoff

the

Christ

exalting

payoff

not the

money

payoff

the

basis

of this

fearlessness

in the

face

of

anxiety

is a

single

minded

focus

on the

kingdom

of God

in all

that we

do

is that

God's

promise

is to

us

that he

will be

there

for us

verse

30

our

father

knows

that we

need

them

all

he

knows

it

and

he'll

provide

for it

do

not

worry

it is

the

constant

attitude

of the

disciple

of

Jesus

what

Jesus

does

is he

turns

our

value

on

its

head

he

puts

the

creation

order

back

in

its

right

order

instead

of

serving

the

created

order

instead

of

serving

material

needs

Jesus

says

that

the

focus

should

be

on

relationship

the

deepest

dimensions

of

our

life

should

be

relationship

with

God

and

relationship

with

others

in other

words

as it

says

in

verse

23

life

is

more

than

food

and

the

body

more

than

clothes

it's

what

we

saw

a couple

of

weeks

ago

with

the

parable

of

the

good

Samaritan

real

life

has

to

do

with

relationships

and

what

Jesus

is

saying

is

that

if

we

pursue

material

gain

then

we

will

never

ever

be

able

to

be

the

good

Samaritan

we

will

never

ever

be

in a

position

to

think

that

I

can

give

up

my

time

my

money

my

energy

to

be

a

good

Samaritan

because

this

material

gain

is

primary

living

is

more

than

having

it

is

being

in

relationship

with

God

and

relating

well

to

others

and

so

Jesus

mentioned

a few

reasons

why

we

shouldn't

worry

in

this

section

verse

25

he

says

who

of

you

by

worrying

can

add

a

single

hour

to

his

life

since

you

cannot

do

this

very

little

thing

it's

amazing

Jesus

says

even

adding

an

hour

to

my

life

is

a

very

little

thing

why

do

his

advice

here

is

both

logical

and

practical

worry

all

you

like

you're

not

going

to

be

able

to

change

a

thing

when

I

was

a

teenager

I

was

worried

about

getting

bald

Ashley

and

Martin

weren't

doing

much

air

time

back

in

those

days

and

what

Jesus

is

saying

here

what's

the

point

worry

about

it

in

fact

worrying

about

it

probably

make

life

fall

out

anyway

in

fact

I

think

there

should

be

a

general

health

warning

attached

to

worry

and

stress

and

anxiety

may

actually

reduce

the

length

of

your

life

rather

than

increase

it

what

he's

saying

is

wasted

energy

but

I

think

he's

saying

more

than

that

it's

more

than

just

wasted

energy

it's

actually

an

approach

to

life

it's

actually

an

approach

to

life

the

reason

why

we

shouldn't

worry

about

the

things

of

our

God

is

good

merciful

trustworthy

and

has

made

promises

he's

made

promises

to

provide

I

don't

think

it's

a

mistake

here

that

Jesus

refers

to

God

in

verse

30

and

verse

32

in

this

passage

as

their

father

and

in

verse

32

he

refers

to

the

disciples

as

the

little

flock

I

don't

think

that's

a

mistake

the

picture

here

is

of

a

God

who

is

a

tender

carer

and

provider

for

easily

frightened

fragile

sheep

and

so

the

promise

is

to

give

everything

of

the

kingdom

to

his

fragile

sheep

his

disciples

in a

world

where we

are

fragile

sheep

amongst

ravenous

wolves

the

promise

here

of

God

is

that

he

will

provide

for

us

God

will

graciously

mercifully

lovingly

give us

everything

that we

need

to

fulfill

his

purposes

for

us

now

in case

you didn't

get that

last bit

let me

just

emphasize

it

his

purposes

for

us

he

will

give us

everything

we

need

to

fulfill

his

purposes

for

us

the

basis

of

fearlessness

is

not

our

human

resources

but

God

being

there

for

us

don't

fear

even

though

we

are

sheep

amongst

ravenous

wolves

and

even

though

we

are

little

and

they

are

great

but

remember

the

basis

of

your

fearlessness

is

you

have

a

father

who

owns

and

who

runs

the

world

and

really

really

really

loves

giving

everything

of

the

kingdom

to

his

sheep

like

but

did

you

notice

what

the

threat

is

in

verse

32

you

notice

there's

a

threat

here

that

in

verse

32

leads

Jesus

to

say

fear

not

little

flock

and

what's

the

threat

in

the

context

of

the

scriptures

here

what

is

the

threat

there's

two

you

can

go

backwards

you

can

go

forwards

if

you

go

backwards

a

few

verses

the

thing

that

they

are

in

danger

of

fearing

is

the

call

to

no

longer

be

like

the

nations

who

seek

things

and

who

build

bigger

barns

that's

the

threat

that's

the

fear

for us

not

to be

like

them

if

if

if

we

actually

focus

on

the

kingdom

and

stop

pursuing

things

and

ease

and

security

the

big

question

that

comes

in

our

mind

is

will

I

actually

be

happy

will

I

actually

survive

and to

this

Jesus

says

fear

not

little

flock

don't

be

afraid

to

stop

seeking

things

fear

not

or

if

you

go

forward

in

the

context

into

verse

33

the

thing

that

they

are

in

danger

of

fearing

is

giving

things

away

verse

33

fear

not

little

flock

sell

your

possessions

and

give

to

the

poor

so

if

you

go

backwards

a few

verses

the

fear

is

not

seeking

the

things

the

way

the

nations

do

and

if

you

go

forward

a few

verses

it's

not

fearing

giving

away

the

things

that

you

own

unlike

what

the

nations

do

seeking

the

kingdom

in

verse

31

includes

both

of

those

things

stopping

something

we stop

doing

and

something

we start

doing

we stop

focusing

on our

quest

on

things

and we

start

selling

what we

don't

need

and

turning

our

stockpile

of

resources

into

ministries

of

kingdom

bringing

love

that's

the

call

just

let

that

filter

down

for

a

moment

Jesus

knows

that

this

passage

as it

does

for me

and

frankly

as I

look on

your

faces

as it

does

for

you

strikes

fear

in our

very

hearts

he

knows

it

strikes

fear

in our

hearts

fear

not

fear

in our

hearts

fear

in us

that

God's

will

for us

for you

for me

might be

a lifestyle

for the

very one

that I'm

currently

striving to

pursue

right

now

right

now

and that

strikes fear

in your

heart

Jesus

knows

it's a

fearful

message

and so

he says

fear

not

little

flock

it is

your

father's

good

pleasure

to give

you

the

kingdom

to give

you

the

kingdom

the

pathway

to the

kingdom

is the

path

of

falling

in

love

with

Jesus

King

Jesus

treasuring

King

Jesus

trusting

our

heavenly

father

falling

out of

love

with

the

things

of

this

world

and

taking

on

a

wartime

lifestyle

that

maximizes

all

income

for the

cause

of

this

kingdom

and

he

says

fear

not

little

flock

he

knows

it's

a

tough

call

and

since

this

is

the

pathway

that

leads

to

the

kingdom

and

since

Jesus

says

our

father

will

give

us

the

kingdom

then

we

can

be

assured

of

his

goodness

his

provision

his

mercy

as

we

walk

that

path

therefore

do not

be

anxious

and

do

not

set

your

heart

on

what

you

will

eat

or

drink

or

wear

Jesus

is calling

us not

to waste

our life

to seek

first his

kingdom

to have

different

priorities

from the

non-Christian

world

to have

our security

tied up

in him

relationship

with him

not our

superannuation

not our

education

not our

inheritance

not our

job

not our

reputation

nothing

but the

gracious

provide

God

as we

seek

his

kingdom

and his

righteousness

we are

to pursue

relationship

with God

we are

to pursue

his

will

for our

lives

we are

to pursue

the evidence

of his

rule

in our