Are you a Quasi-Dependant?

Mwemba Mwemba

Midland SDA Church

August 1, 2009

 

Happy Sabbath friends. Thank you John for that wonderful scripture reading……my apologies to you all…that we had to read the whole passage, but I think we needed to do so for us to fully understand what Christ is teaching us. May I ask that you keep your Bibles open on that passage, as we will refer to it quite a bit this morning?

I am thankful that we are in God’s presence this morning and it is my earnest prayer that our Lord God almighty will bless each one of us as we worship Him on this His Holyday. Let us pray together…..………..We are humbled that you made it possible for us to be here in your presence dear father. We ask that you search our hearts and cleanse us of all unrighteousness and as we worship you we invite the presence of the Holy Spirit and that you may speak to our hearts…in Jesus name we pray…AMEN.

Our study this morning takes us back about 25…perhaps 26 years ago when my father called us into the house to share his plans. I am going to retire…..he announced. He said the 30 something years he had worked, was good enough and he wanted to do something different before he grew too old…… Perhaps grow crops, raise cattle…he wasn’t sure. As a family we all understood…you know and it looked like a good idea..….. frankly after so many years of being in the government run education system in a developing country, it was clear it would be best for him to try something a little different. He looked brunt out.

During his career as a school principal, he had free housing, he got free medical and at times he could use a government vehicle for his personal errands. The only amount his employer took out of his pay check was his taxes and his contribution to a pension fund. Yes, retirement did sound like a good idea but let me bring you up to speed on what actually happened. On his last day of service the government cut him one big check – they gave him all his retirement or pension money at one go. I can vividly remember the day my father got his check. He was excited, bright, smiling…..he was making decisions on how he was going to spend the money. He decided that he was going to use the money to build a house……and according to his calculation or projection, which I thought was pretty good, the money would be enough to finance the construction of a house and perhaps he would even have some change left over to buy himself a farm. As soon as he started the building project however, he figured it out……. that the retirement check would not even enable him build half the house…. Worse still he realized that he would not have enough money for his day-to-day expenses during the construction of the house….and most likely he would have completely no money by the time the house was done. His biggest worry actually was where his family would stay since he did not have a house so to speak.

During that time I saw my father lose weight, he lost his appetite, he could not sleep. He was unfriendly, he sometimes missed church for no clear reason, he complained about not feeling well. He was emotionally drained. By my prognosis… he was a worried man….worried about his future financial stability. Like most men, he did not look like he was ready to ask for help from anyone. He was completely absorbed with worry. If you were around him…you could almost see how negative his outlook on things was. I still remember how his worry and his outlook on life affected all of us in one way or another. We were all not as productive or enthusiastic about anything. The point is…..these are all clear consequences of a person who is worried. Most of us have a hard time escaping from worry – don’t we? Earlier this week, as I read Matthew 6: 25 – 34, the passage reminded me of my fathers’ situation back then.

It also brought back memories of my own life. While my father spent his time worrying,  I was the least worried person – I suppose I was too young to worry, but I knew God was in control of our situation, but did not have the strength to support my argument….especially with may father. So in order to avoid getting entangled in his worries and the negative vibe from him, I simply staying away from him – you know tried my best to avoid him. On my own the future looked bright…I had nothing to worry about. I was so sure that by God’s grace things were going to be alright. I had a very strong positive outlook on things…. faith that no matter what, things would turn out ok.  I recall that even after I got married, the word worrying did not exist in my vocabulary. My wife quickly found out that risk taking was a normal part of my life. I was naïve to some extent, but I believed that God is always in control.

Here is the point I am trying to make, (that is why the scripture we read is speaking to me as well) as I have grown older…..over the years I have started to spend more time thinking of some things more than others…some might say I have become more concerned…..but lets keep it simple. I think have started to worry more…sometimes I am not even sure why or what I am worrying about. A few years ago it took me split second to make decisions especially risky decisions. Now it takes me forever to decide. My wife and kids tease me on the kind of things I lose sleep over…..a few months ago, for example I had no choice but to get my teeth pulled out. I really do not like needles and being poked especially in the mouth (by the way I was recently relieved to read an article that 10% (or 30MM) of the population have needle phobia and will avoid medication as a result). Once the appointment was made….I was so worried about the whole event. My mind was filled with anticipation. I was even more worried after I went over the literature the dentist wanted me to read. Frankly I wished I was illiterate.  I wondered what if the dentist made a mistake while he was working on me. It sounds unusual now, but I was sharing this with a co-worker and wasn’t he glad I mentioned it to him. He pulled me aside and said he himself was so worried about getting his teeth pulled that when he went to the dentist he left his car in a no parking zone, so he could worry about not getting a parking ticket, and take his mind off worrying about getting his teeth pulled.

Worrying can be stressful.

Ever wonder why as an adult you spend so much time worrying and not depending on God… and there is plenty to worry about for EVERYONE.  We Christians like to call our worries, prayer concerns.  There is no shortage of potential items to worry about. In the passage we just read Jesus mentions several matters of common concern.

 If you still have your Bibles open lets read verse 25 again “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Sounds like Christ of talking to people who are poverty stricken?  I think that people who have plenty worry just as much if not more than poor people.  There’s plenty to worry about for the rich and the poor. I think Jesus is specifically addressing 2 things you and I commonly worry about:

#1 – Health – “do not worry about your life, (he says) what you will eat or drink, or about your body.  – I think like most of us my father was worried about his life..the lives of us, his family.

#2 – Possessions –  “ what you will wear” – Jesus knew that as human beings we worry about not having enough of what to wear…..how about shoes and women…..According to Wikianswers.com an average man owns 3 pairs of shoes

On an average, a female from ages 13-16 may own about 15 pairs of shoes including sneakers.

And older woman 16-21, who perhaps has a job: 25-40 pairs

A mature woman 25-50, anywhere from 40-60 pair of shoes.

Here Jesus directly addresses Health and Possessions…but there are other things we worry about such as a sick child, a sick or aging parent, accidents, aging, criticism, terrorism, finding a job, losing a job, swine flu and the list goes on and on. Again it appears the older we get the more time we spend worrying. The more knowledgeable/educated we get the more we worry. Education…or being able to read and write…have a down side too…..I was sharing this thought with a friend…listen to what he said…

A few years ago he and his family went to Disney. One afternoon he took his then seven-year-old daughter to have a spin in the Space Mountain – which I think is a ride.  She was thrilled, and my friend was worried that the roller coaster would be too scary for her, but she insisted. Afterwards she even asked to go for a second ride.
They enjoyed themselves so much that they went back to the magic kingdom the next year, and the daughter, now eight, again insisted she wanted to go to Space Mountain.

Listen to this….. .as they stood in line the dad could see her soberly studying the signs that warn about the ride's speed "Dad," she said, "I don't think I want to go."
The dad then asked her why she would be nervous when she had enjoyed herself so much the last time. She replied, last year I couldn’t read, this year, I can read.

Isn’t being able to read wonderful--the nice thing about it is it enables us to worry about things all over the world!  The fact is worry has become an obsession in our modern world. 

We all know that worry and anxiety are common sources of misery today and in the passage we just read Jesus reminds us about the things we worry about the most, but here is the good news for all of us- he also tells us how to win over worry. Though we as Christians struggle with worry, we don’t have to be defeated by it.  Jesus tells us life is far more important than material things. So often our worries are about relatively unimportant and trivial matters, such as food, drink, clothing, houses and cars, or even what might happen if we have to get our teeth pulled. This morning I thought we would look at some of the lessons Jesus is teaching us so we can have victory over worry.

Jesus says that life 'is more important than these things and that if we seek fulfilment in material things we are missing the whole point of life. The lesson Christ is teaching us in Verse 26 is that - the point of life is to have a relationship with Christ. When we worry we miss the Point of Life – that is Lesson # 1.

            “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? Verse ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ”

Many of us who have had the experience of worrying look back afterwards and wonder why we worried – it has been 26 years since I saw may father worry about his future, but in the end he did just fine…completed that house and God has blessed him in ways he least expected and as for me, my teeth were pulled….a bit of pain afterwards…but I still wonder why I even worried - worrying gets us nowhere. In verse 27 Jesus reminds us that worrying does not add to life. As a matter of fact I think it subtracts to life. Yes worrying hurts us….we may end up with heart problems, ulcers, depression, some folks take up smoking or alcohol to get rid of worrying. You know worrying also impacts our spiritual well-being. We get so consumed by worry that many times we get discouraged spiritually. We make very little or no time for prayer and devotion with our Heavenly Father.  Remember Jesus is teaching us how to have victory over worry…..so it is reasonable to draw lesson #2 from verse 26 & 27 that the rest of God’s creation does not worry, and He continues to provide for them. I think it is fair to conclude that Out of all of God’s creation, humans are the only ones who worry and yet still God promises to take care of our needs – Let’s stop stressing ourselves with worry.

Verse 28 – “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

I think Christ is specifically talking about the beauty of a lily – you know the flower. Have you ever noticed that if you plant a flower in stinky manure it will most likely blossom to be the most beautiful flower? It is not worried about the smell around it. Like us each one of these flowers are special to God and what makes us special in God’s sight is not the outward appearance but the inward adornment.

God wants us to bloom like the flowers – no matter what our circumstances are. Here is the point I would like to make - if by Gods grace in spite of our troubles, circumstances or condition, we focus on building a relationship with Jesus, we will blossom and not worry. God does want us to blossom. Isn’t it true that generally it is the blooming flower that is beautiful? Did you know that scientifically a flower needs sunshine to bloom and look beautiful? We too need that direct connection or light or sunshine from Christ the son in order for us to bloom. Did you also know that there are times when we are the ones in the way of that light? We cause it not to fully shine on others and so we enable them to worry – we are enablers.

Allow me to be specific if you will – I believe that my wife (like most of you here this morning) is a God fearing person. She depends on God for her needs and takes her concerns to him on a regular basis. She therefore has less time to worry knowing God is taking care of her concerns. So because of the sunshine from Jesus, she is able to blossom even if she finds herself in the middle of trials and tribulations. Unfortunately I on the other hand am sometimes the shadow making it difficult for her to get direct sunshine from Jesus in order for her to blossom. Sometimes I do not even stop to think how my attitude affects her. I become a deterrent. For my married brothers, you might want to consider how to be an encouragement for your wife so she can blossom by getting out of the way for the son Jesus to shine your wife’s heart.

You know, it is easy to see on the face of someone a glow of reflective beauty when he or she, like a flower, has been filled with the light that comes from Christ. Question to ask ourselves is... is my attitude and encouragement or a deterrent to those around me? So Lesson #3 from our passage is – Irrespective of our circumstances; let us focus our eyes on the son, Jesus Christ.

³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

There is no doubt that worry is a destructive. Here Jesus is teaching us to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, meaning to turn to God first and foremost for help – before we try to fix it ourselves or ask someone else to do it for us. I completely understand that these days it seems 24 hours/day is just not enough. It is real and no joke that we have kids to raise, husbands and wives to love, goals and deadlines to meet, vacations to take and the list goes on and on. It is also the reality that all these things compete for priority and any of these can bump God out of first place, if we do not actively choose to give Him first place…..everyday of our lives.  In fact we nowadays it seems we no longer depend on God. It seems we are Quasi-dependant on God. We seem to call on God only when the going gets tough for us….but….you know God is patient…he waits for us to get go back to him….  I have shared this illustration with most of you….and is a fairly good reminder of our attitude towards God. Our son Matthew will often call me at work wanting to know what time I’ll be home because he needs my help….his toy will not work or something like that. For him everything is urgent. When he needs help, he generally needs it like –right now”. As soon as I walk into the house, he will tell me what he needs and asks me to fix it…can you please fix it for me Dad? He genuinely looks concerned about it. As I try to fix his toy, he completely never lets go, he will also be trying to fix it. I often times have to remind him to completely let go and that if he does not let go I will not fix it. He needs to trust that I will fix it for him. Friends it is easy for me to see Matthews’s attitude, but I forget that is exactly my attitude when I seek God’s help.  Sometimes my attitude is worse.  I am a Quasi-Dependant on God……….I do not completely depend on God. For some reason we humans especially grown ups never want to be completely depend on God….we are Quasi-dependants. First we know what we want and we try to work it out on our own…when we get stuck… we talk to our heavenly father. Even when we do, we still try to help him a little. We are Quasi-dependants and never want to completely depend on him. We want things done our way, when we do not get our way, we worry about it – and yet Jesus admonishes us to turn to him first and foremost for help. He is asking us to have 100% dependence. My message this morning is to remind ourselves not to continue being Quasi-dependants, but to be complete dependants on God. Otherwise we will continue being consumed by worry.

Don’t get me wrong -  realize we genuinely take time to plan and there is absolutely nothing wrong with planning for the future, in fact it is time well spent. What Jesus is teaching is not planning for tomorrow, but worrying about it – which is time wasted.

Lesson #4 – Careful planning is thinking ahead about goals, steps and schedules and trusting in God’s guidance. When well done planning can help get rid of worry. When we worry, we get consumed by fear and find it difficult to trust God. We let our plans get in the way of our relationship with God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3: 5-6 Don’t let worry about tomorrow, affect your relationship with God today.

Lesson # 5. This whole passage has taught me that how much we worry is a reflection of how dependant we are on God. The more we depend on God the less we expose ourselves to worry. The less we depend on God the more we are likely to worry.  Some have argued that they have prayed and it seems God has not heard their prayer…..but God is listening and has heard them and God’s answer is on its way…Here is what one song writer says:

When you've prayed every prayer that you know how to pray.
Just remember the Lord will hear and the answer is on its way.

Our God is able.
He is mighty.
He is faithful.

And He never sleeps, He never slumbers.
He never tires of hearing our prayer.
When we are weak He becomes stronger.
So rest in His love and cast all of your cares on Him.

Do you feel that the Lord has forgotten your need?
Just remember that God is always working in ways you cannot see.

Our God is able.
He is mighty.
He is faithful.

 

Let me leave you with this food for thought:

The wealthy Baron Fitzgerald had only one son and heir, who died after leaving home. This was a tragedy from which the father never recovered. As his wealth increased Fitzgerald continued to invest in paintings, and when he died his will was found to call for all his paintings to be sold. Because of their quality and artistic value, messages were sent out to museums and collectors, advertising the sale.

When the day of the auction came, a large crowd assembled, and the lawyer read from Fitzgerald's will. It instructed that the first painting to be sold was that 'of my beloved son'. The portrait was by an unknown artist and it was of poor quality. The only bidder was an old servant who had known and loved the boy. For a small sum of money he bought it for its sentimental value and the memories it held for Fitzgerald’s son. The attorney again read from the will, 'Whoever buys my son gets all. The auction is over.' Jesus said, 'Seek first my Father’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well'. That is how to stop worrying and start living.

May God bless you all.

 

Amen.

Closing Prayer: May the Lord Bless you and keep you beloved. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and may he be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace…..Amen