Do Not Lose Heart

Do Not Lose Heart! Part 2

Sermon Notes

August 24, 2008

Rev. Jim O’Neal, Senior Pastor

Sun Lakes United Methodist Church, 9248 E. Riggs Road, Sun Lakes, Arizona 85248 - (480) 895-8766

Matthew 6:25-34 NRSV

²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁸And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³²For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

A. Introduction

1. Chirpy doesn’t sing anymore!

a. The newspaper headline in the local news section read: “CHIRPY DOESN’T SING ANYMORE!” Chirpy is a parakeet. His owner said of him, “He used to chirp and sing all the time. Chirpy was a happy little bird.” Then one day she was in a hurry, and decided to clean out the bird’s cage with a vacuum cleaner. All went well at first. Chirpy was chirping on his swing while she sucked out the litter from the floor of his cage. Then the phone rang and she turned. “That’s when,” sobbing she shared, “I, I heard this horrible sound… ssssop!” Chirpy got sucked into the vacuum. She turned it off opened it up and tore open the bag. The bird was covered in dust and gasping for air. With her mouth she tried to blow air into his little beak, but the bird just kept gasping on all the dust. Then the woman took the bird to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held him under the running water. She put him on a towel on top of the sink counter. Chirpy was cold and shaking uncontrollably. “I had to get him warm quickly.” She reported. Fortunately she was not in the kitchen and near the microwave. She got out her blow dryer and blasted the poor bird with hot air.

b. A few days later the reporter came for a follow up visit on the story. The bird was back in his cage on his swing. However, Chirpy was listless and his eyes were glassy. He looked almost comatose. That’s when Chirpy’s owner said, “Chirpy doesn’t sing anymore.” It’s not hard to see why. Sucked into a narrow cave. Buried in a sealed bag of dust. Held in front of the jaws of a huge beast. Nearly drowned and froze under a running stream of water. And blown dry to a crisp under a hot stormy wind! That’s enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart.

A. Introduction…. continued

2. Sermon Series on Stress

a. Now those of us here today are not parakeets, but we can relate to Chirpy’s experiences. Life has beat up on all of us at times. Some here today especially relate to our abused little bird. Some folks here feel as if the demands of life or some illness have sucked all energy from their very souls. Others feel buried under a pile of demands, duties, and expectations. They are choking to breathe. There are those who feel as if life is eating them up and spitting them out. Then some feel as if life is drowning them and they shake in fear. And finally someone present today relates to the image of being caught in a giant blow dryer. Their tormenter is relentless.

b. These are all feelings of stress related to coping with life, which is not easy at times. And so today I continue this two part series on dealing with stress.

B. Life is stressful and we must find a way to deal with it.

1. Coke Contest

a. Back around 1990 a fellow was running for the office of sheriff in Hamilton County, Tennessee. The contest had been extremely bitter. In fact an anonymous caller had even made a death threat. Then the candidate bought himself a can of Coke to cool off. He started to pop the can open and noticed something funny about the can. He called the police bomb squad. One of the young officers laughed and popped the can right open. It contained a $10 bill as a part of what many called an “ill-fated” Coke contest. The media found out about this and the man took a lot of derision. He would later sue Cocoa Cola for mental anguish.

b. Our world today is certainly scarier. To the typical stresses of job, family, and health we have now added terrorism and other forms of violence. Foreign and domestic terrorists want to randomly kill us. It is no wonder that many people are struggling to cope. Life today is stressful.

2. Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

a. About twenty years ago, Bobby McFerrin had a pop hit. It was: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” Some considered it to be trite. McFerrin said this of his song: “It says something that is just common sense, common wisdom for humanity, that worry is counter-productive. Worry takes your energy away. You need to turn it into something very positive.” Bobby McFerrin, who once considered becoming an Episcopal priest, said that the song came out of his own need. He said, “When I wrote the song, I was experiencing a period of stress and tension. There were some things going on in my life that I wasn’t happy with, and this song was written for me just as much as anyone else.”

b. Don’t worry, be happy! This song again reminds us that we must deal with our stress. If we don’t deal with our stress it robs us of much of the meaning and joy of life. Stress also weakens us spiritually, and makes us more susceptible to emotional and physical illnesses. Unchecked, stress can kill. The song reminds us of that we need to deal with our stress in a positive way. We as Christians understand. We exchange our worry for the joy that Jesus gives. And the Lord gives us some marvelous means to help us deal with difficulties. As I shared last week, we do not let stress steal our trust in the glorious future God has for each of us. We believe in the future! This morning I share two more positive coping tools.

C. Focus on the tasks at hand.

1. Today’s Scripture: Matthew 6:34

a. In today’s Scripture lesson, Jesus says, “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Matthew 6:34 NRSV

b. Jesus is saying don’t “buy” yourself trouble by worrying about the future. Instead focus on what you need to do in the now! Baseball manager Casey Stengel understood this Biblical truth when he said, “We play ‘em one at a time.” That’s a good philosophy when it comes to dealing with stress.

2. Shut the door!

a. Pastor F. W. Boreham encountered a man in his congregation who seemed to have an inner peace with his life that others lacked. One Thanksgiving Eve the fellow brought the pastor a basket of fresh fruit. As they sat talking the Reverend Boreham asked the man about his calm sense of assurance. The man replied, “I’ve always made it a rule that when I shut the door, I’ve shut the door.” “What do you mean?” the minister asked. And he explained: “I used to go to bed taking all of my troubles and fears with me. I slept poorly and my health was being undermined. One night I got up and went to the window. It was a beautiful night. The garden below and the fields beyond were flooded in silvery moonlight. This perfect tranquility mocked the surging tumult of my brain. Then an inner voice said, ‘Why did you lock the office door so carefully, and why did you close and put away all the books and paper work, if you wished all the ledgers and cash books, and order forms to follow you home?’ I knelt down there at the windowsill with all the delicious air of the still night caressing my face, and I prayed to God. I asked God to forgive me, and since then when I shut a door, I’ve shut the door.”

b. That is good advice to all of us. It’s too late to do anything about the past. And who knows what tomorrow will bring? Besides, tomorrow will be determined at least in part by how you perform today. So go ahead, friend, and shut the door on what has been and on what might be. Especially in stressful times you should focus on the present moment. Do what needs to be done today. Make today a purposeful and productive day. Don’t put off saying you are sorry or correcting a mistake. Make amends in the now. Focus on the good that you can do for yourself and others in the present.

D. Trust in God!

1. Camp Worship Leader: “Who lives in your house?”

a. I can’t remember the name of the speaker, but I can remember his words. I was a teenager at a Youth Camp and the worship leader said, “Worry and trust cannot live in the same house. When worry is allowed to come in one door, trust walks out the other. And worry stays and gets bigger and fatter until you consciously invite trust back in. When you invite trust back into your house, worry leaves.”

b. So who lives in the house of your soul? Ultimately you have to make a choice. Jesus encouraged Thomas and He lovingly urges us: “Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27b NIV) Do you trust God or not? The greatest defeater of stress is the heart that totally relies upon the Lord. The joy of Jesus will always supplant worry.

2. Bird’s Nest

a. A construction crew was building a new road through a forest. As they progressed they cut down trees and dug out the stumps with their huge pieces of equipment. They came to a tree that contained a bird’s nest. Inspection revealed that it contained two baby birds that could not yet fly. The superintendent had a soft heart and so he marked the tree to be spared. The tree was right in the middle of the new highway and would eventually have to be cut down. However, they could leave the tree still standing for several weeks while they continued construction of the road beyond the tree. Finally all the work was completed elsewhere and the men drove back to that lone tree in the middle of the road. The superintendent was lifted up in the bucket to inspect the nest. It was empty. The fledglings were now gone. The tree was cut down and crashed to the earth with a whoosh and a thud. A young fellow went over and retrieved the nest. He hollered, “Ya gotta see this!” The men walked over and looked into the nest. The momma bird had used twigs, yarn and scraps of paper to make her nest. Stuck to the bottom of the nest was a torn piece of paper money. Clearly visible were the words: “In God we trust.”

b. And my friends that is “money” in the bank of your soul! You can trust God. The very same God whose eye is on the sparrow is watching over you. There is no burden God will not help you carry. There is no valley through which you walk that the Lord will not walk with you. You can trust God to get you through!

E. Conclusion: Recap

1. Life is stressful.

2. We must deal with our stress.

3. Believe in the future!

4. Focus on the tasks at hand.