Done with That: Worship over Worry

You ever had anyone ask you if you could be any

animal in the world, what would you choose? I

think it's supposed to be kind of like an icebreaker,

a way to get conversations going. And I'll be

honest, I've never really known how to answer

that question, so please don't ask me later.

I don't have a good answer for you. But I know

what I wouldn't want to be, and that is a carnival

goldfish. Do you remember these? I don't know

if they still give them out. I remember when

my kids were little, they did. There'd be a school

fundraiser. There'd be a carnival of some sort.

You'd play a game, and the prize was you'd get

your own goldfish. And you know, it's funny.

I remember sitting in line with one of my kids

once, and they're getting ready to play that

game, and they're just looking at the goldfish,

and you could tell the wheels were turning. They're

imagining what it's going to be like to have

this brand -new pet. They can almost see the

bowl and the pebbles and the little castle you

put inside and one of those little divers that

goes up and down. And then they get to the front

and they play the game like the ring toss or

they knock over the milk bottles with the ball

or whatever. And they win their prize. And for

a little while, they are more proud of that than

anything else, aren't they? They give it a name.

They ask if you can get back in line and win

a brother or sister for them. They ask if you

can stop at the pet shop on the way home and

make sure to get the pebble and the bowls and

all the other stuff. And then they see their

friend. They run off, and you never see that

goldfish again. Maybe it gets left on a hot park

bench somewhere. Maybe it gets left in the backseat

of your car. Maybe they go down the slide, and

the bag opens, and the poor thing just tumbles

out along with the kid. Whatever the case, I

don't know what animal it is I'd choose if I

could be one, but I know what animal I wouldn't

want to be, and that's a carnival goldfish. So

is that what we are? Are we just God's carnival

goldfish? Did God send his son Jesus here to

live, die, and rise for us so he could forget

about us in five minutes and move on to something

else? Did he define us in time in the waters

of baptism, make us his children, stamp his name

on us so he could do the equivalent of leaving

us on a park bench and move on to bigger and

better things? Is God like a five -year -old

all hopped up on sugar and unable to keep a thought

in his head? Is that who our God is? And is that

what we are to him? Because as Jesus went through

the world and he saw the way we worry and we

worry and we worry, it sure seems like that's

what we think sometimes. And in Matthew 6, Jesus

sets the record straight. Here's what he says.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your

life, what you will eat or drink. or about your

body, what you'll wear. Is not life more than

food, and the body more than clothes? Look at

the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap

or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly

Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable

than they? Can any of you, by worrying, add a

single hour to your life? And why do you worry

about clothes? See how the flowers of the field

grow? They do not labor or spend. Yet I tell

you that not even Solomon in all his splendor

was dressed like one of these. If that is how

God clothes the grass of the field, which is

here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,

will he not much more clothe you, you of little

faith? So do not worry, saying, what shall we

eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear?

For the pagans run after all these things, and

your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek for His kingdom and His righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you as

well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day

has enough trouble of its own. You see, you are

not God's carnival goldfish. In fact, there is

nothing in all of creation that God treats like

that kid treats that carnival goldfish and the

first example he gives is the birds and I think

if you were to rate the animals in the animal

kingdom birds would maybe fall kind of far down

the list and yet there's not a one whether you're

talking about your pet parakeet or the sparrow

you see flying overhead not a one that God doesn't

provide for And they don't worry about the economy.

They don't worry about the arc of their career.

They don't think about sowing or planting or

gathering or harvesting or storing in barns.

And yet God provides for them nonetheless. In

fact, it says in Matthew 10 that not a single

one falls to the ground without God knowing about

it. And then after that, he takes us to the flowers

of the field, it says. And that's not talking

about your... prized rose bushes this is talking

about flowers that come up on their own no care

required the ones you see when you're driving

up north in a field as you drive by the ones

you see when you're hiking the ones that come

alive with color with yellows and blues and pinks

and reds and purples and it says that not even

Solomon was dressed like that You see, they don't

worry about staying in style or keeping up with

the latest trends. They don't worry about putting

together clothing for them to put on their backs.

God provides for them, and the beauty is timeless.

It does not go out of style. And that is how

God treats birds. That is how God deals with

wildflowers. So what about you? Because Jesus

didn't come to this world and take on the nature

of a bird. He took on human nature. And Jesus

didn't walk the roads of this life in the place

of birds. He walked the roads of this life in

your place. And when he went to the cross, he

didn't bear upon himself the failings of birds.

He bore upon himself our offenses, our sins,

our failings. And he does not have eternal plans

for flowers. But he has prepared a place for

you for eternity with him. I mean, if God goes

to that extent for birds and wildflowers, then

what about you? Do you see Jesus' point? What

are you so worried about, he says? We have a

God who loved us enough to live, die, and rise

for us. who loved us enough to find us in the

waters of baptism and make us his own, who put

his name on us there, who has fed us his body

and blood and the bread and wine of the Lord's

Supper, you are worth many sparrows, he says.

And yet the worry remains, doesn't it? I mean,

it is a constant part of our lives. We worry

about test results we're waiting for. We worry

about test results for things we haven't even

gotten tested yet, and we're just wondering if

we should go to the doctor and get it checked

out. We wonder about our health conditions now.

We wonder about health conditions we don't even

have yet, but we're afraid we might. We worry

about the health of our family and our friends

and the conditions that they don't have as well.

We worry about the economy. We worry about the

company we work for. We worry about the people

moving in next door, and we worry about politics

on the other side of the world who speak a language

whose name we don't even know. But maybe most

of all, we worry about the things we don't know

to worry about. Phone calls in the middle of

the night that we've never got. Situations that

so far have not happened. Things that lay in

the unknown. They keep us up at night. They dominate

our thoughts. Our heart races. It's as if we

think, God is like some five -year -old so hopped

up on sugar he can't keep a thought in his head.

As if we think Jesus lived, died, and rose for

us so he could leave us on a park bench or forget

about us in the back of a car. And that's insulting.

It's insulting to a God who knows all. It's insulting

to a God who is present everywhere. It's insulting

to a God who is all -powerful, but most of all,

it's insulting to his love, which is the characteristic

that binds all the others together for you. I

would imagine there's probably a little bit of

exasperation in his voice when he said, you of

little faith. And it accomplishes nothing. Because

Jesus was right. He asks, who of you by worrying

can add a single hour to his life? And that word

for hour just means any unit of measurement.

Who of you by worrying can add even a month,

even a week, even a day, even an hour, even a

minute to your life beyond what God has already

ordained? It is quite simply just beyond our

control. And yet we find ourselves worrying about

it nonetheless. It is absolutely silly. But you

know, it does show where our heart is, doesn't

it? It does show what we care about. You see,

I don't know what those things are for you, but

I know what those things are for me. And if I

were to go through those things in my mind and

think about the kinds of things that keep me

up at night, the kinds of things that I find

myself worrying about, oftentimes they are things

that maybe I love a little too much, things I'm

holding on to a little too tight. Things upon

which I'm putting a level of importance that

it does not deserve. And it's silly. And God

has saved us from a life of chasing silliness.

The pagans, Jesus says, well, they got nothing

else to chase. To them, at best, God is a temperamental

five -year -old who forgets about things. At

worst, he's a God that they should fear. and

run from. And so, yeah, they will worry about

food, they will worry about shelter, they will

worry about clothes, they will worry about trips,

and retirement, and finances, and politics, and

everything else, because in their mind, there

is nothing watching over them, nothing protecting

them, nothing guiding them. For them, that's

all there is. So, of course, that's what they

would chase, but that's not you. God has opened

your eyes to this whole new world of promises.

Things you cannot see, taste, touch, or feel,

and yet things that are the only thing that will

not be taken from you. Things you have right

now, like forgiveness and acceptance from a holy

God, like His providence, His protection, Him

guiding you and working all things for your good,

as well as things that you will have, that place

with God in heaven that is yours and one day

you will experience, the resurrection from the

dead. That place God has prepared for you from

eternity. God has put that all before you. And

he has just promised it is yours. It is not something

you have to control with worry. It is not something

you have to win. It's something Jesus won for

you. You see, as a Christian, God has saved you

from a life of chasing silly things, of worrying,

and he saved you to do something of consequence.

Here's what he says. So do not worry, saying,

what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what

shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these

things, and your heavenly Father knows that you

need them. But seek first his kingdom and his

righteousness. And all these things will be given

to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about

tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own. It's

not that food and shelter and clothing don't

matter. Jesus says, God knows you need them,

and he gives them to you in a way that is best.

But it's not everything. And it's not what we

chase. What we chase is righteousness. And on

the one hand, that righteousness we're talking

about, the thing that is truly good, is something

we cannot chase, something God gives to us, something

he decided from eternity would be yours, that

in time he sent his son to achieve as he lived,

died, and rose for you, and that he has made

yours through the waters of baptism and the power

of his word. That holiness is ours. We stand

before him forgiven. We stand before him perfect

and righteous. We cannot chase it. It's something

God gives us. But we still live a life seeking

righteousness. Not to become something, but to

be what we already are. And it's through those

lives of service that God advances his kingdom.

That God finds others. And it means there's nothing

that you do that doesn't have purpose. Everything

from putting food on the table and a shelter

over your kid's head, clothes on their back.

It is your Heavenly Father providing for your

children through you and they get to see God's

love and His care through your actions. When

you go out into the world and you live your life

as God has called you to live, they get a chance

to see what God's love looks like and the way

you reflect it and how you treat others. And

God uses all these efforts. So that you can be

his ambassadors, you can be his messengers. And

through his word, to open up others to this whole

new world that is beyond just food and clothing

and shelter. These are things of consequence.

Things that matter. And God frees you up to pursue

them because you do not need to worry about the

future. And our focus then, it comes to today.

And you know that last part where it says each

day has enough trouble of its own? It says literally

sufficient for the day is its evil. And I like

that. Because he's not saying that everything

is always going to work out the way you want.

He's not saying that as a Christian all your

dreams always come true. Sometimes you have good

days, sometimes bad. Sometimes the things that

God blesses you with are straight out of your

dreams, other times straight out of your nightmares.

Sometimes the very thing you worry about is exactly

what's going to happen. And sometimes you find

out God protected you far more than you knew.

But you are not God's carnival goldfish. You

have a God who knows you and he knows what is

best for you and he gives you what is best according

to his eternal plans. And so we have nothing

to fear and we have nothing to worry about because

we know we've got a God who's with us. We know

we've got a God who is giving us what is best

and instead we can chase what matters. Amen.

Thanks for listening to Emmanuel's Sermon Podcast.

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Have a great day.