God Knows and Cares

The scripture reading today comes from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

Please follow along in your bulletin.

And he said to his disciples,

For this reason I say to you,

Do not worry about your life as to what you will eat,

nor for your body as to what you will put on.

For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap.

They have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them.

How much more valuable you are than the birds.

And which of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to his lifespan?

If then you cannot do even a very little thing,

why do you worry about other matters?

Consider the lilies, how they grow.

They neither toil nor spin.

But I tell you, not even Solomon, in all his glory,

clothed himself like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field,

which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace,

how much more will he clothe you, you men of little faith?

And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink,

and do not keep worrying.

For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek.

But your Father knows that you need these things,

but seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Do not be afraid, little flock,

for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

Sell your possessions and give to charity.

Make yourself money belts, which do not wear out.

An unfailing treasure in heaven,

where no thief comes nor moth destroys.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.

This is the reading of God's word.

You may be seated.

How you guys doing today?

Let's try it one more time, please, please.

Is everybody okay?

Yeah.

Okay.

It's very quiet.

Wow, we have...

If you're here for the first time in this room,

we haven't been here for like two weeks,

so it's kind of weird being back in here to see everybody,

and it's just interesting to be here as opposed to the gymnasium.

I still don't know what I think about the gym,

but God keeps providing those places for us,

which is amazing.

So we are...

If this is your first time here,

and you haven't been here the last two weeks,

we're stuck in a landmine field.

I talked about two weeks ago about being in Cambodia and walking through a landmine in 1989 or so,

and walking through the minefield.

And we're in Luke 12,

and we're talking about the minefield that we walk through in our lives.

And we said that two weeks ago that one of the minds that Jesus points out,

one of the things that he doesn't want us to fall on or step in or enter into our life

was the leaven of the Pharisees,

which is hypocrisy.

We talked about hypocrisy being this idea of fearing man more than we fear God,

wearing a mask.

And we talked about how we all struggle with that in our lives,

in different places.

Maybe not at church, but maybe at home.

Maybe not at home, but maybe in the office.

Maybe someplace that we all struggle with those things.

Last week, we talked about a different minefield.

We talked about the idea of covetousness and greed

and how we view our stuff.

And we asked some questions.

If you weren't here last week, you missed it.

We gave out $100 bills, U.S., to everybody.

We gave out money, so you missed $100.

It was amazing.

But we wrote on those $100 bills.

On the back of it, we wrote the passage, John 12, 21.

We wrote, self or God?

And the question was, what are we living for?

What are we building up for?

What are we investing in?

Are we investing in ourself or in God?

And then I asked this question,

which people have been getting back to me a lot this week.

I said this.

I said, if God were a venture capitalist

and he were to look at your life

and everything that he invested in your life,

money, time, health, where you were born,

when you were born, connections,

if he looked at all those things that he invested in your life

and the only outcome that he was expecting

were things in the kingdom of God,

if he were to look at your life,

were you or are you a good investment?

Has God lost money on you?

Or have you been a good investment for the kingdom of God?

And this week, we're going to continue in this minefield

in an area I think is probably the biggest mine.

It is the biggest mine for me,

so I'll just be really honest with you.

And as I was thinking of this minefield,

this story came to mind,

and I want to read it for you.

One day, an American businessman

was at a pier of a small coastal Mexican village

when a small boat with just one fisherman docked inside.

Docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna.

The American complimented the Mexican fisherman

on the quality of the fish,

and he asked how long it took for him to catch them.

The fisherman replied,

well, only a little while.

The American then asked him,

well, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?

And the fisherman said that he had enough

to support his family's immediate needs.

And the businessman said,

well, what then do you do with the rest of your time?

And the fisherman said,

well, I sleep late.

I fish a little.

I play with my children.

I take siesta with my wife, Maria.

We walk around the village in the evenings

where I drink wine.

I play guitar with my amigos.

I have a full and busy life, senor.

I was going to do that in a Mexican accent,

but it probably sounded like an Indian accent.

So I just figured, forget it, okay?

The businessman scoffed at him,

and he said,

no wonder you guys are such a mess down here.

I was going to pick on the Harvard guys again,

but I changed it,

so I sent you to Stanford.

I'm a Stanford MBA,

and I can really help you.

First, you should spend more time fishing,

and with the proceeds,

you should buy a bigger boat.

Second, with the proceeds from the bigger boat,

you should go back and buy several boats.

Eventually, you'll have a fleet of fishing boats,

like on that TV show.

Then instead of just selling your catch to a middleman,

you could sell directly to the processor.

Before you know it,

you'll eventually open up your own cannery down here.

Then you control the product,

the processing, and the distribution,

and then the money would start to roll into your bank

in ways you could never believe before.

You then probably need to leave this small coastal village

to someplace like Mexico City,

or then to L.A.,

and then eventually to New York,

and there you would run your expanding multinational company.

The fisherman asked,

but senor,

senor,

how long will all this improvement take?

The businessman replied,

well, if you're lucky,

probably 15 to 20 years,

but in the end,

it's all going to be worth it.

The fisherman asked,

but then what do I do, senor?

The businessman laughed,

well, this is the best part of all,

because when you've gotten your company

in this huge place,

then you offer a stock offering

for your amazing company,

and you're going to sell your company stock in public,

and you're going to become massively rich.

You're going to make a buttload of money.

You're going to be so rich,

you're not going to believe it.

Millions of dollars.

Millions of dollars, senor?

Wow.

Then what?

The businessman said,

well, then,

you can finally get to retire.

You can move to a small coastal village,

fishing,

where you would sleep late,

fish a little,

play with your kids,

take a siesta with your wife, Maria,

stroll to the village on the evenings

where you could sip wine

and play the guitar with your amigo,

the life you've always wanted.

Uh-huh.

Jesus talks a lot in this passage

about the things that we worry about

in the things of the world,

and he warns us to not go after

the things of the world

the way that the world does.

We're in chapter 12,

and we're looking at this scene in your bulletin,

and there are about 10,000 people

surrounding Jesus.

I mean, it is out of control.

And in the midst of these conversations,

because I'm seeing him talk about the Pharisees

and talk about life and meaning and truth,

all of a sudden, in verse 22,

he turns to his disciples,

and in a very gentle,

in Greek, it's very gentle,

very nurturing.

He's not peeping them at all.

He's not criticizing them.

He's very gently, fatherly,

coming to them,

and he's offering a warning to them,

a really personal warning,

which I think most of us need to hear.

In verse 22,

the text says this,

and he said to his disciples,

for this reason I say to you,

do not worry about your life

as to what you will eat,

nor for your body

as to what you shall put on it.

I talked last week about sometimes,

you know, you get to hear

30 minutes of the sermon,

and then you run away,

and you forget it at dim sum,

but God keeps hammering it into me

these weeks,

and usually Saturday night,

I lay out on my bed

the sermon sheets,

and I come back,

and I come back and forth,

and read it,

and think about it,

and pray about it.

Does this make sense?

What's a good illustration there?

What do I need to say here?

And so last night,

I was sitting in the bed,

looking through the notes,

praying through today,

and Rachel,

my 12-year-old,

came in,

and she said,

you know,

I had this present for you

for Father's Day,

but I forgot to give it to you.

No lie.

I said, okay, great.

I really appreciate that.

And so she brought this book to me,

and it's the Don't Sweat It Guide for Dads.

Stop stressing and worrying

from getting in the way

in what really matters in your life.

And I looked at her and said,

Rachel, do I worry a lot?

She said, come on, Dad.

You worry a ton.

Not just working on it,

but even from your kids, right?

And so you get that.

So in verse 23,

Jesus says to his disciples,

don't worry about your life,

about what you're going to eat

and what you're going to drink.

He goes on in verse 25,

and which of you,

by worrying,

again,

and this idea of worry

basically means

to torment yourself,

to be harsh.

It actually has this imagery

of you're running

and dogs are chasing you

and they're biting on you

and they're tearing pieces

away from you.

And he's saying,

don't worry.

Don't be anxious.

Don't worry about

what you're going to care for.

Don't be overly concerned

about these things.

Do not,

verse 29,

do not seek what you will eat

and what you will drink

and do not keep worrying.

Verse 33,

he says,

do not be afraid,

little flock.

This is one of my favorite verses.

For your father

has gladly chosen

to give you

the kingdom of God.

What I want to talk today

really briefly

in our time

is just talking about

worry

and fear

and anxiety

and what it does

to our lives

and what it comes

into our lives

and how it affects us.

And I realize

as we talk about it,

some of us don't even know

why we worry,

how to stop it,

what it looks like

in our life.

And I want to look

at this passage

in other scriptures

and see how God,

how Christ addressed it

in our life

because I think

it is a major thing for us.

It's something

that we need to

get a handle on.

So what I want to look at

is I want to look at worry.

What is it?

What does the Bible

say about it?

Where?

Where does worry

come from in our lives

and how?

How do we know

that we're walking

into the landmine field?

How do we know

that we're going

to start to worry?

How do we prevent

ourselves from worrying?

The first thing

just is worry.

What is it?

Now often

when I think of worry

it's often easier

just to describe it

and point to somebody

and say they're worrying

instead of giving

a definition

because sometimes

definitions can be dry

or hard to understand

but in scripture

it's talked about

over and over

and over again

and pointed to

in illustrations

over and over

and over again.

In fact,

I don't think we

think of worry

the way that

Jesus thinks of worry

because the Bible

talks of worry

in the same way

that it talks

about stealing.

The Bible

talks about worry

in the same way

that it talks

about lying.

The Bible

talks about worry

in the same way

it talks about

fornication.

In fact,

the Bible

talks about worry

more than it talks

about any other

thing at all.

The passages

say things like

do not worry,

do not fear,

do not be anxious,

and we walk

through our life

and we hear

those things

and we just wonder

what exactly

does that mean?

The dictionaries

I read over and over

says that worry

is our response

to the unknown.

Whether it's real

or imagined,

whether it's tangible

or potential,

often we worry

about things

that are ever

coming true.

One statistic

I read

said that only

8% of the things

that we worry about

actually happen

in our lives.

8%.

50% of the things

never happen

because we're worried

in the future.

30% of the things

we worry about

are things that we did

in the future

and we're worried

about what's going

to happen with us

because we did

those things

and we can't

change them

at all.

The Mayo Clinic

said that 85%,

the Mayo Clinic

is a very famous

hospital in the States,

it says that 85%

of all of their

caseloads,

85% of the patients

they see on a daily

basis struggle

with worry

and anxiety.

I was in a hospital,

worked in a trauma

unit for two years

and for some reason

in the middle

of this massive

emergency,

the doctor turned

to me and I will

never forget this

because he wasn't

a Christ follower

and he said,

Tobin,

if people could

get rid of worry

and guilt

and shame

in their lives,

75% of the people

would never walk

into the ER.

They would never

be here.

I did a quick

Google search

on fears

and worries.

You know that

there are 850 fears

and worries

recognized by the

Journal of American

Medicine?

850.

I've put a couple

of them up here

for you to look at.

The first one

we have here

is Germanophobia.

You want to take

a guess at what

that is?

Mike, you want

to stand up?

Germanophobia,

it is the fear

of all things

German.

Anything German,

if you're afraid

of it,

you're a Germanophobiac.

Photophobia

is the fear

of developing

a phobia.

So if you're

afraid of being

afraid or becoming

afraid or becoming

worried,

you have photophobia.

Euphobia,

it is the fear

of hearing good

news because

you believe

that good news

is always

followed by bad

news and you

don't want to hear

the bad news

and so you

are a euphobiite,

if that's even

a word.

And my favorite

one of all

is homilophobia.

Anyone want to

take a guess

what that means?

The fear

of sermons.

Nate,

you are right

on, dude.

It's the fear

of sermons.

If you are

afraid of coming

in and listening,

if you are

afraid of doing

sermons,

you are homilophobia.

Okay,

so that's just

for fun.

But the AMA

says that the

worry and stress

is the largest

health issue

today in the West.

The Greek word

for worry

is actually

a picture

of a person's

mind and the

mind is torn

between the real

and the possible,

between the potential

and the immediate.

That's what the

picture says.

It's a mind

and the mind

is getting

torn apart

between what's

really happening

and what could

happen.

Worry is always

about things

we cannot

control.

Worry and stress

are our attempt

to control

the uncontrollable.

When we worry

and stress

in our life,

a lot of things

happen in us.

Physiologically,

our blood pressure

rises.

We develop this

fight or flight

syndrome.

Our muscles

get tense.

Our breathing

gets rapid.

We're ready to fight

or we're ready

to run away.

And what we realize

in medicine

is that this

is not good.

That your body

should only stay

like this

for a very

short period

of time

because if you

live in stress

for a long

period of time,

you're going

to destroy

your body.

Look at Hong Kong.

We're told

that in Hong Kong,

one-third of the

people have

high blood pressure

and need to

take meds.

We're told

that the rates

of hypertension

are going off

the chart.

One-third of the

people have ulcers

and they're taking

meds.

Strokes

and heart

attacks

are out

of control

and what

we see

in our

culture

is that

fear is

killing us.

Worry

is killing

us.

It's hitting

these huge

burdens

on the

healthcare

system.

There's

psychological

fears of

mental illness.

There's

spiritual fears

of what

happens.

Often when

people are

worried,

they're anxious,

they describe

it as being

lost

or in

darkness

or hollow

or thin.

And all of

these things

point to the

fact that

worry and

fear and

anxiety is

destroying our

lives.

And the

Bible says

over and

over and

over again,

don't fear.

Don't be

anxious.

But if

we're honest,

all of us

fear in

some ways.

I wrote

out three

ways that

I fear.

I fear

of not

getting what

I want

or thinking

what I

need.

I need a

job.

I need a

new job.

We need a

new boss.

Will I ever

get one?

Will I ever

get married?

Will I ever

have a spouse?

Will I ever

have kids?

What will my

kids turn out

to be like?

I need a

better home.

I need a

new car.

I want to

serve God.

Will I ever

be able to

serve God?

Will I be

significant?

I don't know

if I'll

ever be

successful.

I don't know

if I'll

ever be

successful.

But I

need this.

And if I

don't get

it, my

life is

terrible.

Sometimes, if

we're honest,

we fear not

getting things

or we fear

getting what

we don't

want is

probably the

better way

to say it.

I'm afraid

I'm going

to get

fired.

I'm afraid

I'm going

to be made

redundant.

I'm afraid

I might get

another ticket

and I can't

afford to get

another ticket.

I'm afraid

I'll have

another bill

come in

unexpectedly

and I can't

afford to

get another

bill.

I'm afraid

I'm afraid

that I'll

get cancer

or a heart

attack.

And I

don't want

that whatsoever.

So we fear

about what

we don't

get.

We fear

about getting

something that

we don't

want.

And sometimes,

and this is the

one that freaks

me out the

most, if we're

honest, sometimes

we fear about

getting something

and then we

lose it.

Have you ever

had that?

I mean,

sometimes we

fear things

like, okay,

I got a job

but what if

I get fired?

I mean, I got

kids but what if

my kids don't

turn out good?

I finally got

kids but what if

I can't take

care of them?

What if I can't

provide for them?

What if I can't

go to the right

schools?

I've got all

these things but

what if it

doesn't work

out right?

I got married,

I finally got

married but what

if they don't

like me?

What if they

divorce me?

I finally got

this flat but I

wonder how long

I'm going to get

to keep it?

Am I going to

keep it for one

year or two

years or how

long am I going

to get it?

The fear of

getting something

you want and

then losing it and

all these fears,

the scripture says,

they point to our

desires, our

cores, our love,

the very center of

our heart.

What you fear,

what you worry

about, the

scripture says that

is your idol,

your God.

the thing that

controls you,

that's what is at

the center of who

you are and you

need to be careful

of that because our

culture in the world

screams out all the

time we walk into

it, you need to have

this, you need to do

this, you shouldn't do

this, you should have

this, if you don't have

this, you're not the

right person, you need

to get these things in

your life and sometimes

I walk out of the

door and I understand

and I turn the TV on

and I realize I'm not

fearing about the

right things.

Sometimes I watch a TV

show and I realize I

should have been

fearing that I was

going to get this,

I didn't even know

I could get that.

And our culture is

set up in a way that

anxieties and fears

and stress are pressed

on us by school, by

work, by our homes, by

our families, and

sometimes even by our

churches.

And this passage says

over and over and

over again not to

fear, not to worry,

not to be anxious.

So we know what fear

is, we know what

worry is, it's the

ability not to control

our future, it's

actually the ability not

to be God.

The next question we

want to ask is where

does it come from?

Where does fear come

from in our life?

And the Bible says

really clearly that fear

comes from us wanting

to control our lives.

Fear, worry comes from

us not being God in our

lives, not being in

control.

In the beginning we

see really clearly in

the garden that you and

I were made in the

image of God.

But that fractured when

we wanted to be God.

We wanted to be like

Him.

And that stamp of

eternity that was on

our heart, it's still

there.

And we're walking

through life and we

have these fears and we

have these wonders and

we wonder why can't we

be in control?

Why aren't we in

control?

What's happening in our

world?

Why won't God allow me to

do the things that I want

to do?

Why can't I do those

things?

And one of the things you

see in Scripture is that

you and I were given

responsibility.

We're given responsibility

to go out into the world

and subdue the world.

We're given responsibility

to work and keep the

garden.

We're given responsibility

to name the animals.

We're given responsibility

to order our world.

But when sin came in and

it fractured all those

things, we lost control.

But for most of us, we

still want that control.

And so what we try to do

in our lives is we try to

accumulate stuff.

We try to accumulate

titles.

We try to accumulate

power.

We try to accumulate

things that we feel like

are going to give us

control.

And we get anxious and we

worry when we don't get

those things.

And the Bible says to you

and me today, and I'm

speaking to myself, that

control is an illusion.

Being in control is an

illusion.

The passage says that you,

by your worrying, can't even

add a couple inches onto your

height.

You, by worrying, verse 25,

can't even add a couple hours

to your life.

And so all the things we

worry about, all the things

we try to control, Scripture

says that all of these

things are for naught.

It will never work.

In fact, worry and fear is

basically us saying we don't

trust God.

And we don't trust Him to be

God in our lives.

This Wednesday, I got this

call.

I wasn't expecting this call.

And a guy had died, and they

asked me to do the funeral.

I didn't know them.

I walked into the family.

They were a very nice

looking family, and you could

tell there was a small funeral

in North Point.

And I walked in on Wednesday,

11 o'clock, and you saw the

20 people, and you saw

sadness.

You saw worry.

You saw fear.

You saw anxiety.

And I looked at these people,

and I realized that this is

what this passage is talking

about.

The death of funeral is our

great object lesson.

That when we walk into a

funeral, we realize really

quickly that our lives are not

in our control.

And no matter what we do,

no matter how we act, no

matter what we accumulate, no

matter who we know, we can't

stop that moment.

And the scripture says you

cannot, and you cannot do that

by worrying or fear or anxiety.

It just won't go away.

So the next question I have to

ask ourself is how?

How do we get rid of the fear?

How do we get rid of the worry?

How do I know when I'm walking

down that path, and I'm going to

end into that worry?

What does it look like in my life

when I start to worry, and how do

I move and deviate myself from

those worries?

And Jesus loves us so much in his

word.

He doesn't just say, do this.

But he gives us his word pictures

of his goodness and his grace in

our life.

As Jesus says in verse 24, if you

look at your bulletin, this is what

he says for us.

Consider the ravens, for they neither

sow nor reap.

They have no storeroom or barn, and

yet God feeds them.

How much more valuable are you than

the birds?

Which of you, by worrying, could add

a single cubit to his lifespan?

If then you cannot do even a very

little thing, why do you worry

about other matters?

Consider the lilies.

Jesus' lesson for us, Jesus' message

for us today on how we know and what

we need to do begins with that word

consider.

That word consider in Greek is a very,

very interesting word.

It's packed really deeply with

theological meaning.

It means to understand fully.

It means to consider.

It means to ponder.

It means to think about.

It means to understand and internalize

in our life.

And what Jesus is saying here is that

the battle for worry, the battle for

fear, the battle for anxiety happens

in our minds.

When we stop thinking about what God's

doing in our life, when we stop

considering who he is and what Christ

has done with us, when we stop wrestling

about God's goodness, when we stop doing

all these things, fear and worry come

into our world and change us,

we know we're heading down the wrong path

when we start thinking improper or wrongly

about God and who he is.

This passage talks about that in two ways.

The first way is with the raven.

Now when Jesus' hearers heard this,

they would have been disgusted because

the raven was the most, it was the lowest

animal in the food chain.

It was a scavenger.

It ate off of dead animals.

It didn't take care of itself.

And what they read and what they hear here

is that God is in control

of even the raven's lives.

That God is in control.

Don't allow your mind to change.

Don't begin to doubt whether he is there.

He is in control of even the raven's minds.

He goes on in verse 28 and he continues

to talk about the birds and the flowers

and he's saying, guys, as you're walking

through life, as you're entering

into the minefield, when you start

to have thoughts that aren't of God,

when you start to question God's character,

when you start to question who he is

and his goodness, remember that he's there

and that he's done everything for you.

Remember the gospel.

Remember what Christ did on the cross.

Remember that he's taken you there.

Let me give you an illustration.

If you were to walk in this Sunday

and you looked at my kids

and my kids had a really sad,

frowning face on them.

They were really worried, like uber worried.

You're like, okay, something's going on

in another household.

I need to ask them what's going on.

And you pulled them aside

and you said to my kids,

hey guys, what's going on?

What's happening in your life?

And my kids said to you,

you know, we don't know

if our dad's going to feed us dinner tonight.

We don't know if our dad's going to feed us tonight.

What would you think?

Well, the first thing you would do

is you'd look at them and you'd go,

you know guys,

you can afford to miss a couple meals.

None of my kids are here, okay.

But the second thing you would say to them

is come on guys,

I know your dad.

I know that he's good.

I know that he's fed you up until this point.

You haven't missed any meals.

It looks like you're really well fed.

Why are you worrying about these things?

Come on guys.

I know your dad.

I know that he provides for you things

even beyond your wildest imagination.

Your mom's always complaining about the chocolate

and all these other things that he's giving you.

You would look at my kids and go,

guys, what you fear

and what you worry

isn't true

because your dad is so much better than that

and he's giving you all these things.

And when we start to worry,

we look at what is happening in front of us

and we forget God's faithfulness in our life.

And the hard thing I think about this

is that our culture in the world around us

stresses and obsesses

on food, clothing, housing,

what you wear, what you eat,

who you are, where you live.

And Jesus looks at this passage

and he says,

don't worry about these things

because God has brought in you to this place

and surely he's not going to leave you by yourself alone.

The passage continues on

and he talks about just basically the lilies of the field.

And when he talks about the lilies of the field,

what he's saying to a Hebrew listener is

that God is good.

Look at how God provides for these lilies.

Look at how he takes care of them.

You're worried that God's not in control, the ravens.

You're worried that God is not good, the lilies.

But that's not true

because God is good

and he's provided everything for you

and he's faithful and he's true

and he's there.

Just look at the past

and you can determine the future.

Okay, so I'm in minibus eight on Tuesday

going to the community center

and I'm praying about this sermon.

I'm figuring out,

okay, how the heck can I illustrate this

and what can I do here

and what should I say?

And I'm listening in the minibus

and there's this program on in the minibus

and they're speaking in Cantonese.

I have no idea what the program is about

but in the middle of the program,

a guy blurts out in English,

the best and only predictor of future outcome

is past performance.

The best and only predictor of future outcome

is past performance.

And I wanted to jump up and say,

amen!

Because that's the message of the Bible.

If you're worried about God taking care of you tomorrow,

what has he done in the past?

If you're worried about your next step

and where you're going to move

and where you're going to live,

he's already moved you to heaven.

That's a pretty good house.

Why are you going to worry?

Don't worry about the things today

but look towards what Christ and God

has done for us in the past.

The passage says basically

that the path to worry and fear

starts by thinking poorly about God.

That we forget God's goodness.

We forget God's faithfulness.

We forget that he's there for us.

We forget that he's brought us all this way.

And we worry about things

that if we grab onto them,

they actually enslave us.

They bring us into chains and darkness.

When we worry or are anxious,

basically what we're saying

is that we don't believe

that God is totally in control.

And we don't believe God is good.

Worried about next year and your contract?

Some of you shook your heads.

The passage says that God is in control.

That God is good.

Worried about how you're going to retire

at a certain time,

which I don't even know

if retirement is biblical.

But the passage says

that God is in control

and that God is good.

Worried about your kids

and you've tried to do all these things

and they're still not turning out

the way that you want them to do

but you're walking with God

and you're sharing with them the gospel

and they're making these bad choices.

The passage says

that God is in control

and God is good.

Jesus is telling you and me,

don't be anxious.

Don't worry about things

that aren't important

because God will take care

of all these things

he has from the very beginning of time

and he will until this point.

The second thing I realize in my life

as I'm walking down this journey

is found in verse 31.

And it's basically,

I realize for myself

when I start walking

into the field of worry

and anxiety and fear

that I'm living

for the wrong kingdom.

Verse 31 goes on,

but seek first his kingdom

and these things

will be added to you.

We begin to worry,

we begin to fear

when our priorities are wrong

and we're serving the wrong kingdom.

Jesus always taught of two worlds.

This world that we live in right now

and the world to come.

He always says

that the world to come

is more real

and more tangible

than the world

that we live in right now.

And the question

that he always asked us was,

are we going to live

for this world right now

or are we going to live

for the world to come?

Are we going to live

for the temporary

or are we going to live

for the eternal?

How are we going to live our lives?

Where are we going to focus?

And the passage says here

that when we start to focus

on the wrong kingdom,

we start to worry

we start to fear

and we start to get anxious.

Let me ask you

a really quick question.

How long

is what you're working on

right now in your business

going to last?

You're doing a new project,

which is great.

You're setting up a new company,

which is great.

You're setting up a new school,

which is great.

But how long

is it going to last?

Is it going to last forever?

Now, the passage isn't saying

everybody quit their jobs

and go be in missionaries

or in ministry.

That's not what the passage

is saying at all.

But the passage is saying this,

whatever you do,

do it for the kingdom of God.

Focus on Christ.

Focus your life on God.

Put God at the center

of your life.

Put God in the center

of your world,

making sure that you

think about Him.

Everything that we do

is centered on Christ

and what He does

in our life.

When He says,

seek His kingdom first,

what He's saying

is understand God.

Understand the gospel.

Put Jesus in your life.

Let Him be Lord,

not just on Sunday,

but on Monday

and Tuesday

and Wednesday

and Thursday.

Let Him be Lord

in the boardroom.

Let Him be Lord

in your family.

Let Him be the center

of everything that you do.

Trust Him because He's good.

Trust Him because He's brought you there.

Trust Him because He's in control.

Seek first His kingdom

and if you seek first His kingdom,

everything else will be okay.

And the reason we get anxious,

the reason we get worried,

the reason that we become fearful

is because we're seeking

the wrong kingdom.

Let me ask you another question.

I'm trying really hard

on a business standpoint

to relate to everybody.

what if you knew

that the country

that you had all your wealth

and all your assets

and everything that you were,

what if you knew

that that country

was going to fall apart

and was no longer

going to exist

and the new world power

in the world

was going to be Australia?

Now, I know,

I know that's very scary

and it's hard to think about,

but what if you knew

that was going to happen?

What if you knew

that country

that you had everything

invested in was going

to fall apart

and everything was going

to fall away

and that the new world power

was going to be Australia?

What would you do?

You'd take everything

that you had,

hopefully if you're smart,

and you'd put it in Australia.

You'd invest in Australia

stocks and bonds

and all these things.

And this passage

is saying just that to us.

Jesus is coming into our life

and He's asking us

the question,

which currency

are you investing in?

Are you investing

in the currency of heaven

or are you investing

in the currency of man?

Where is your money going to?

He's not saying, again,

don't have fun.

I think the scripture

is all about having fun

and enjoying and relaxing

and walking with God.

And I think that if I were you,

I would say,

you stay in your job

and make a ton of money

and enjoy it

and give it to God

and allow God

to use it for His kingdom

and just be the best

business person

or best teacher

or whatever God has you do,

you do it to the glory of God.

Don't leave

what you're doing now

because you're saying,

well, this passage says

I've got to invest

in God's kingdom.

You do invest in God's kingdom

wherever you're at.

But what if you knew

that everything

that you were investing in

was going to fall apart

and that kingdom

would no longer be there?

How would you handle your stuff?

The story goes

that Queen Elizabeth I

went to a man

and she said to him,

I need you to go

on a journey for me.

True story.

I need you to go

on a journey for me.

I need you to explore

uncharted territories,

a new world,

and I believe that

you're the person

for this job.

I need you to do this for me.

The man looked at her

and he said,

you can't mean me.

I'm a small businessman.

My business is doing terrible.

And if I do

what you want me to do,

if I go on this journey

to explore these new lands,

if I do all these things,

my business will fail

and I'll be a wreck.

And history tells us

that Queen Elizabeth,

I wish I could have met her,

she probably was

a really tough girl,

she looked at him

and she said this,

if you mind my business,

I'll mind your business.

If you mind my business,

I'll mind your business.

And we're told

that the man looked at her

and he said,

okay.

Because he realized

that if the Queen of England

was looking after his stuff,

then his stuff

was going to be okay.

Jesus in this passage says,

seek first his kingdom.

what he's saying to you

and to me especially,

is that if we mind his business,

he's going to take care

of our business.

If we mind his stuff,

he's going to take care

of our stuff.

Because he's good.

And we can trust him.

And the minute we start to worry,

the minute we start to doubt,

the minute we start to fear,

the scripture says

that what we've done

is we've taken our mind

off of his business.

And we've put it

onto our business.

Three thoughts

I want to share with you

and we're done.

The first thought is this.

This is what's been

going through my head.

Often we feel like

we need to get security

in our lives

or certain areas of our life

before we can be free

to serve and trust God

as he wishes

and as he wants us to.

But this passage says

that control

and having enough

and choosing ourselves

is a myth

and it will never happen.

It will never happen.

Because God is in control.

Not you.

And so my thought for us is

would we trust him

to be in his business

and to trust him

for ours?

I run into guys

all the time

and they're doing ministry

and they're doing things

and they go,

you know,

I wish I could just save up

about five million dollars

and if I saved up

about five million dollars

then I could really,

I could run an NGO.

I could do what I feel

like God really wants me to do.

But I can't really do that

until I get this done.

I mean,

I can't really go

and do these things

until I finish this one career

because if I finish this one career

then I'll have security

and I can rest

because my retirement's assured

and then I can go be

a missionary

or a pastor

or do whatever I want to do.

And this passage says

that's a lie

because God is in control

and we can trust him

to take care of us

and to be good

and because he's good

we can be generous

with the stuff

that he's given us.

The second thing

that's been hitting me

is that Jesus teaches

two worlds.

There's a temporal world,

a temporary world,

here and now

and an eternal world.

And the question

we have to ask ourselves

is where are we

investing our currency?

Where are we investing

our energies?

Where are we investing

our life?

Where are we investing

the best part of who we are?

Are we investing it

in this world

or in the heavenly world?

Again, I'm not saying

quit your job

but what I'm saying is

do your job

to the glory of God.

Trust God to be

at the center of your job.

Trust God to be

at the center of your family.

Do these things

for his glory.

Trust him.

Trust him.

Do his stuff

and trust him

with your stuff.

Where are we investing it?

The question maybe

I would ask in that sense

would be this.

If you had a client

and you knew

that his job

or his business

had an eternal lifespan

or his life

had an eternal lifespan

and you went to him

to look about

how he was investing

his money

and he was only

investing his money

for the next 80 years

what would you tell him?

I mean he has

an eternal outlook.

He has an eternal lifespan

on his company

or whoever he is.

He has an eternal lifespan

but when you look

at his finances

he's only investing them

in the next 70 to 80 years.

What would you say

to that guy

or girl?

The Bible would say

they're a fool.

They're a fool.

They're a fool.

They're a fool.

They're a fool.

They're a fool.

They're a fool.

And finally

the last thought

that's been hitting me

in the head is

what do you worry about today?

If you could write down

on a 3x5 card

what do you worry about?

What do you worry about?

What do you fear?

What are you anxious about?

Do you realize

as you do those things

that God is in control

and that he's good

and he's brought you this far

and he can trust you?

What is it that you fear?

What is it that you worry about?

What is it that you're anxious about?

Scripture says

that there are only

two game plans

for living our life.

Either we are totally competent

to run our life

and we put ourselves

at the center of our life

or we put God

at the center of our life.

Those are the only two

game plans in Scripture.

Two worlds,

two kingdoms,

two people running.

Either you're so competent

in who you are

and you know how

to live your life

and you can know

everything you've done

and you can do it perfectly

and you don't even

doubt yourself

and you put yourself

at the center of your world

or you trust in God.

You put him

at the center of the world.

Where are you today?

When I ask these questions

to myself,

I have some really hard

answers sometimes

because sometimes

I say this

but often I live

like I don't believe it.

And I think the power

of the gospel,

the power of this passage

is what Jesus is saying

to us is,

guys,

you need to come

alongside each other.

You need to come alongside

in being in community.

You need to realize

that when someone's down

and they're frustrated

and they're worried

and they're anxious

and you see it on their face,

you need to come

into the world

and you need to gospel them.

You need to speak

God's word to them.

You need to say,

hey, God brought you this far.

He's not going to leave you hanging.

Hey, God did all these things

up until this point.

He gave his son

for your life.

There's no way

that he's not going

to provide for you.

His word says

he will provide for you.

You have to trust him.

He will provide for you

and he's good.

The power of the gospel

changes all of these things

and it basically says

we can trust God

because he's given

everything for us.

He's withheld nothing.

He's good

and he wants

an amazing life for us

and the question is

will we trust him for that

or will we live our life

for our own?

My prayer for each of us

in here today

is that we would surrender

our lives to Christ,

that we'd ask him

to be Lord of our life,

that we'd ask him

to be the center

of our world,

that we would trust him

to be in control,

that we would trust him

to be good

and that we'd rest

in his faithfulness

and we wouldn't worry

about so many things.

We wouldn't be so fearful

about so many things.

We wouldn't be so anxious

about so many things

because we have a God

who loves us so much

and wants the best for us

and he's done everything

to bring us to this point

and we can trust him.

Consider,

think about,

understand,

understand fully,

grab onto,

cling to,

don't let it escape you.

Consider the ravens

for they neither sow nor reap

for they have no storeroom

nor barn

and yet God feeds them.

how much more valuable

are you than these birds?

Consider,

think about,

ponder,

bring into your heart,

don't allow it to escape,

talk to other people,

encourage them,

tell them this is the truth,

this is who God is,

this is what God wants for you.

Consider the lilies,

how they grow,

they neither toil

nor they spin,

but I tell you,

even Solomon

in all his glory

clothed himself

like none of these things.

God is good

and you can trust him.

Consider him.

Father,

I thank you for this day,

I thank you for your word.

We thank you

that it is 2,000 years old

and it still changes our lives.

It moves us,

it convicts us,

it points us to your son.

Lord,

I know that there are many of us

in here right now

who refuse to doubt in ourselves.

We refuse to surrender

our lives to you.

We think that we can run

our life on our own.

We think that we know

the best way of doing things.

But if we're totally honest,

if we looked at our lives,

if we looked at our relationships,

if we looked at our communities,

we'd realize that things

aren't that good.

Father,

I pray for those people

who've never come

into a relationship with you

that they would consider

your faithfulness,

they would consider

your goodness,

they would consider

this passage

and who you are

and they would know

that they can trust you.

And I pray that they would

just say something simple like,

dear Jesus,

I just,

forgive me.

Forgive me for doubting

your goodness.

Forgive me for doubting

that you're in control.

I surrender my life to you

and I repent of these things

that have held me away from you.

And Father,

I know that there are

some of us in here

like me

who we trust you

for eternity.

But we have a hard time

trusting you for Monday.

Yeah,

you've given us

eternal life

and we have a place

in heaven

and we benefit

of all your mercy

and your grace

and the gospel changes us.

But when we step

into the boardroom

or we step into the office

or when we step

into our family,

we jump back

into the center

of our lives.

And Father,

I just pray for me

and for us.

We repent.

We confess our sin.

We confess just

trying to live life

on our own.

And we come to you