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The Solution to Worry HELP US LORD TO BE SO CONNECTED TO YOU THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE SERVANTS OF OTHERS. WHY CAN’T YOU SLEEP??? SAYS A WIFE TO HER HUSBAND AS HE PACES THE FLOOR AT 3 IN THE MORNING… HONEY, THE HONEST ANSWER IS THAT I BORROWED A THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM SAM NEXT DOOR… I PROMISED I’D PAY HIM BACK TOMORROW... AND I JUST DON’T HAVE IT! WITH THAT, THE MAN’S WIFE JUMPS OUT OF BED, THROWS OPEN THE BEDROOM WINDOW AND YELLS: SAM, SAM… THE GROGGY NEIGHBOR OPENS HIS WINDOW… WHAT IS IT? …YOU KNOW THAT THOUSAND DOLLARS MY HUSBAND OWES YOU? HE DOESN’T HAVE IT! SHE CLOSES THE WINDOWS…TURNS TO HER HUSBAND AND SAYS…. NOW, YOU GO TO SLEEP AND LET HIM PACE THE FLOOR! WE ALL WORRY ABOUT SOMETHING DON’T WE? THE EVENTS ON THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL… CRIME IN COMMUNITY.. BUT WHAT OFTEN KEEPS US ON OUR KNEES ARE THOSE WORRIES THAT HIT CLOSEST TO HOME…
IN FACT, LET ME ASK YOU THIS MORNING, WHAT WORRY DID YOU ARRIVE WITH THIS MORNING? INTERESTINGLY A STUDY WAS DONE NOT LONG AGO, THAT LOOKED AT WHAT PEOPLE WORRY ABOUT… THE RESULTS WERE THIS…
WHERE DO YOUR WORRIES FIT? WHICH CATEGORY? I EVEN THINK OF YOU MOTHERS, ON THIS MOTHERS DAY… AFTER ALL... ONE ATTRIBUTE OF MOTHERHOOD IS WORRY… NOW, I’VE QUOTED THIS BEFORE, AND IT’S TRUE, IT’S THE DAD’S JOB TO GIVE CHILDREN NEW HORIZONS AND JOY FILLED DISCOVERIES… IT’S THE MOTHERS JOB TO KEEP THOSE CHILDREN ALIVE! FALLS CHURCH RECTOR, AND AUTHOR JOHN YATES AND HIS WIFE SUSAN WROTE A WONDERFUL BOOK JUST SEVERAL YEARS AGO, CALLED: BUILDING A HOME FULL OF GRACE. IN THAT BOOK, SUSAN HAS A WONDERFUL CHAPTER ON THE WORRIES OF MOTHERHOOD… IN FACT…
AS WE BAPTIZE
THIS CHAPTER IS A MUST READ FOR YOU! SHE WRITES: BEFORE HAVING CHILDREN... I REMEMBER NOTICING MOTHERS OUT IN PUBLIC WITH THEIR CHILDREN… MANY OF THE CHILDREN WERE DIRTY, GREEN MUCUS RUNNING FROM THEIR NOSES, THEIR CLOTHES DIDN’T MATCH, HAIR WAS A MESS… I PROMISED MYSELF, WHEN I HAVE CHILDREN, THEY WILL BE CLEAN IN PUBLIC! AND THEN I HAD KIDS… 5 TO BE EXACT. SHE RECOUNTS THE EPISODE WHERE SHE WAS ON HER WAY TO A SOCCER MATCH FOR HER OLDEST SON, BUT WAS DELAYED BECAUSE HER YOUNG TWIN GIRLS DISAPPEARED SOMEWHERE IN THE HOUSE. WORRY, BUT THEN MUCH TO HER RELIEF, OPENS HER BEDROOM CLOSET, THERE THEY ARE, STARK NAKED WITH AN EMPTY TUBE OF GREASY DIAPER RASH OINTMENT. BODIES COMPLETELY COVERED WITH THE STICKY GOO… SUSAN DID WHAT ANY SANE MOTHER WOULD DO. SHE PUT CLOTHES ON OVER THE GOO AND GOES TO THE SOCCER MATCH.. WHERE SHE SITS IN COMPLETE HUMILIATION AS THE TWINS RUN UP AND DOWN THE SIDELINES COLLECTING DIRT, GRASS AND YES GREEN MUCUS ON THEIR OINTMENT COVERED BODIES! YES FOR YOUR MOTHERS ON THIS MOTHERS DAY, THERE ARE WORRIES AT THIS STAGE OF LIFE, WITH INFANTS… I KNOW THIS FIRST HAND AS MY 18 MONTH OLD SON JUST GOT OUT OF A CAST AFTER BREAKING HIS LEG THREE WEEKS AGO… BUT THERE ARE WORRIES FOR THE FAMILY THAT COME AT EVERY STAGE.. FROM BIRTH, TO YES…THE EMPTY NEST FOR OTHERS IT’S A WORRY THAT COMES FROM A CHILD’S REFUSAL TO GET OUT OF THE NEST! THE WORRIES OF A MOTHER, THE WORRIES OF A FATHER… LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT SOME OTHER VERY ANXIOUS MEN AND WOMEN… YES, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE CLOSEST TO JESUS IN TODAY’S GOSPEL. JESUS IS GIVING HIS FAREWELL TALK, PREPARING THEM FOR HIS OWN DEPARTURE AND RESURRECTION. JESUS EXPLAINS WHAT WILL COME NEXT, HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL ARRIVE AND HOW THEY WILL FLOURISH AS HIS FOLLOWERS… YET, YOU CAN FEEL THE GROWING ANXIETY AND WORRY ON THE PART OF THOSE BEING LEFT BEHIND. DISCIPLE PETER IS THE FIRST TO EXPRESS HIS ANXIETY… LORD, WHERE ARE YOU GOING? WHY CAN’T I FOLLOW YOU, I’LL LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU… THOMAS, THE NEXT WORRIER… LORD, WE DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING, HOW CAN WE KNOW THE WAY?? YOU CAN FEEL THE ANXIETY FROM HERE CAN’T YOU? THEN PHILLIP’S TURN…LORD SHOW US THE FATHER, THEN THAT WILL BE ENOUGH FOR US.. THEN JUDAS ASKS.. LORD, WHY ARE YOU SHOWING YOURSELF ONLY TO US, AND NOT TO THE WORLD? JESUS WOULD THEN, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE GOSPEL, SPEAK IN DETAIL TO HIS FOLLOWERS CONCERNING THEIR EXTREME WORRY AND ANXIETY… DON’T LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED… TRUST IN GOD… TRUST ALSO IN ME… HE GOES ON TO SAY... I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU AS ORPHANS… I WILL NOT ONLY COME TO YOU, BUT I AM LEAVING AN ENTITY BEHIND THAT WILL GUIDE YOU… AND JESUS IN TODAY’S GOSPEL CONTINUES THAT THEME BY PUTTING ON AN ANTI-AXIETY, ANTI-WORRY WORKSHOP, AND AS JESUS CONTINUES TO TALK, YOU CAN JUST FEEL A BIT OF THE ANXIETY AND WORRY BEGIN TO PEEL OFF THE DISCIPLES… AND OUT OF THAT, I SUBMIT TO YOU TODAY TWO JESUS FOCUSED SOLUTIONS TO WORRY THAT BOTH BEGIN WITH ‘D’… AND THE FIRST IS: DEVOTION… JESUS SAYS, IF ANYONE LOVES ME, HE WILL OBEY MY TEACHING. ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM TEMPLE, FORMER ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBUY, WROTE A MAGNFICENT BOOK ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, AND IN IT WRITES: BEFORE WE ARE IN OBEDIENCE TO ANYONE, WE HAVE TO KNOW THEM, MOTHERS HERE, THINK ABOUT THOSE CHILDREN IN YOUR LIFE… BEFORE THEY OBEY YOU, THEY HAVE TO BE IN COMPANIONSHIP WITH YOU!
LET’S BREAK THAT DOWN… PERSONAL COMPANIONSHIP AND DEVOTION…MEANING LIVING IN SUCH A WAY THAT JESUS BECOMES THE CENTER OF ALL WE DO…. WE WAKE UP IN THE MORNING, SAY OUR PRAYERS BEFORE DARTING OUT OF BED, DEVOTING TO JESUS EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT DAY… SEEING YOUR NEW DAY AS ONE DEVOTED TO SERVING GOD, WHETHER AS A HOMEMAKER OR ACCOUNTANT… DEVOTING EVERY BIT OF YOUR DAY TO THE CHRIST. OUT OF THAT YOU THEN BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE A PROFOUND LOVE FOR THIS JESUS WHO IS A FULFILLER OF PROMISES! OUT OF THAT DEVOTION COMES A FALLING IN LOVE WITH HIM! FREDERICK BUECHNER WRITES THAT LOVE IS THE MOST POWERFUL THING BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN CAPTURE OUR HEARTS… IT’S THE ONLY THING THAT CAN CAUSE US TO DO THINGS WE WOULD NEVER OTHERWISE DO! I THINK OF MY BROTHER DAVID WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH A WOMEN FROM NORWAY… MONTHS LATER, DAVID SOLD HIS BOSTON PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS AND MOVED TO NORWAY! WHAT ELSE BUT LOVE COULD BRING HIM TO DO THAT? LOVE THAT BEGAN WITH PERSONAL COMPANIONSHIP AND DEVOTION…! BUT LOVE IS ALSO THE MOST POWER-LESS THING, IN THAT IT REQUIRES CONSENT, IT REQUIRES 2… NOTHING HAPPENS WITHOUT THAT OTHER HEART MELTING AS WELL. AND THIS IS WHERE JESUS SAYS I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, RETURN THAT LOVE BEGINNING WITH DEVOTION AND PERSONAL COMPANIONSHIP AND YOUR LIFE WILL BE CHANGED. AS THAT DEVOTIONAL LOVE FLOURISHES, THERE IS THEN A SENSE OF DESIRE WE GET TO OBEY! TAKE THE TRASH OUT HONEY, YOU BET! YOU RESPOND NOT JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO, BUT YOU RESPOND BECAUSE YOU ADORE THE PERSON ASKING IT. JESUS SAYS IF YOU LOVE ME, REALLY LOVE ME YOU WILL OBEY MY TEACHING, THIS LOVE IS AN ACT OF THE WILL! WILLING YOURSELF TO DEVOTE TODAY TO HIM… WILLING YOURSELF TO WAKE UP AND PULL THE BIBLE AND PRAYERBOOK TO YOUR SIDE. WHICH THEN RESULTS IN OBEDIENCE CAPABLE OF REMOVING YOUR ANXIETY AND WORRY BECAUSE YOU WILL SEE THE LARGER PLAN JESUS HAS FOR YOU! MY FRIENDS, OBEDIENCE AT THE END OF THE DAY IS THE ONLY TRUE AND TANGIBLE PROOF THAT YOU LOVE SOMEBODY! WE CAN’T OBEY, WE WILL NOT OBEY UNLESS WE ARE DEVOTED IN LOVE, THE MORE WE OBEY GOD, AND AS THAT HAPPENS PEACE ENTERS OUR HEARTS AND BEGINS TO ERASE THE WORRY AND ANXIETY THAT CAN DOMINATE OUR LIVES. THE 2ND ‘D’ IS THE OTHER RESPONSE THAT JESUS GIVES TO THE ANXIETY PUT FORTH BY JUDAS. JESUS SAYS IN EFFECT…DEPEND ON THE HOLY SPIRIT… JESUS IS THE ONLY DEITY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD THAT SAYS MY MESSAGE WILL NOT DIE IN MY DEATH, BUT WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE AND THRIVE THROUGH AN ENTITY WE CALL THE HOLY SPIRIT. THIS SECOND ‘D’…DEPENDENCE ON THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE HELPER, SOMEONE WHO IS CALLED IN TO BE YOUR LEGAL COUNSEL.. IMAGINE GOING TO COURT WITH OUT YOUR ADVOCATE LAWYER LOOKING OUT FOR YOU? YET WE OFTEN DO THAT GOING THROUGH LIFE, THINKING WE CAN MAKE IT ON OUR OWN… YET, JESUS IS SAYING FROM THE BENCH, I HAVE GIVEN YOU THE MOST AMAZING ADVOCATE, USE HIM! THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHICH WAS GIVEN TO YOU AT BAPTISM, AND WHICH YOU SET LOOSE THROUGH CONFIRMATION.. AND WILL BE GIVEN TODAY TO OUR PRECIOUS BABIES.. THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS SEVERAL KEY ROLES, ROLES MEANT TO STRENGTHEN YOU AND WIPE OUT THE UNECCESSARY WORRY FROM YOUR LIFE. HOW? THE HOLY SPIRIT EXISTS TO KEEP YOU AND ME ACCOUNTABLE. WHEN WE ARE DOING SOMETHING WE SHOULDN’T, IT IS THAT VOICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT IS SAYING… WATCH OUT, YOU ARE ON TRICKY TERRITORY HERE.. THE HOLY SPIRIT COMMUNICATES THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS THROUGH THE LIVES WE ARE LEADING. THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKS CONSISTENTLY WITH SCRIPTURE AND WILL NEVER CONTRADICT IT… THE HOLY SPIRIT IS OUR TRUTH TELLER, AND COMES TO US IN OUR WORRIED LIVES AND SAYS…DO YOU HAVE A TEACHABLE HEART? ARE YOU WILLING TO ENTER THE TRUTH I HAVE FOR YOUR LIFE, TRUTH THAT MIGHT BE DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO HEAR? YOUR BEHAVIOR AND CONDUCT, YOUR FAITH IN JESUS…DEPENDENCE ON THE HOLY SPIRIT… THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ALSO HERE TO REMIND US OF ALL JESUS HAS DONE IN OUR LIVES, AMAZING THINGS WE OFTEN FORGET! DEPENDENCE ON THE HOLY SPIRIT MY FRIENDS… FOR THE DISCIPLES, THIS MEANT EVEN THOUGH JESUS WAS LEAVING, THEY HAD TO BE MORE DEVOTED IN LOVE, AND COMPLETELY DEPENDENT ON THE HOLY SPIRIT… AND AS THEY DID THAT, PEACE CAME WHAT DOES THIS ANTI-WORRY WORKSHOP PUT ON BY JESUS MEAN FOR YOUR LIFE AND MINE? WELL, BECAUSE IT’S MOTHERS DAY, AND WE HAVE SOME BRAND NEW MOTHERS AMONG US… LET’S BEGIN THERE…. MOTHERS AND YES FATHERS, YOU MUST BE ROOTED IN DEVOTION AND DEPENDENCE… YOU CAN’T BE THE PERSON YOU NEED TO BE APART FROM JESUS! SUSAN YATES IN HER BOOK ON THE FAMILY SAID BEFORE I HAD CHILDREN, I ALWAYS USED PART OF THE MORNING FOR DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. BUT WHEN THE CHILDREN CAME, I COULD GO FOR DAYS WITHOUT THAT TIME ALONE WITH GOD, THE EXHAUSTION ALONE! SHE SAYS, I REMEMBER ONE WEEK, I ACTUALLY COUNTED MY TASKS… IN ONE WEEK, I DID 22 LOADS OF WASH, AND CHANGED 144 DIAPERS! AND THEN I WOULD GET DISCOURAGED, THEN I WOULD TRULY BEGIN WORRYING ABOUT JUST EVERYTHING! RETURNING TO GOD, IN DEVOTION IS NOW ONCE AGAIN THE TOP PRIORITY OF MY LIFE… BUT FOR YOU MOMS, YOU MUST HAVE OTHER CHRISTIAN MOMS AROUND YOU, BEING IN A MOTHERS GROUP, SHARING YOUR DEVOTION TO GOD IN A WAY THAT ENCOURAGES YOU AND BRINGS STRENGTH AND PEACE TO YOUR LIFE! I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE 4 OF YOU MOTHERS BEGIN ANOTHER MOTHER’S GROUP! I CHARGE THE 4 OF YOU WITH THAT RESPONSIBILITY! AS CHRISTIAN MOTHERS, IF YOU DON’T HAVE OTHER CHRISTIAN MOTHERS AROUND YOU, YOU’RE IN TROUBLE… SAME WITH YOU DADS. I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN VITAL FOR ELIZABETH AND HER MOTHERS GROUP AT THE RECTORY. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE HAVING ANOTHER CHRISTIAN HEAR YOUR WORRIES AND DOUBTS, BY RELEASING THEM, THOSE WORRIES FADE INTO THE NIGHT. BUT IT ALSO MEANS GETTING HELP FROM OLDER WOMEN! TITUS 2 CALLS OLDER WOMEN TO TRAIN THE YOUNGER WOMEN TO LOVE THEIR HUSBANDS AND CHILDREN! MY FRIENDS, THE ‘2’ ‘D’S…. DEVOTION AND DEPENDENCE… RADICAL DEPENDENCE ON THE HOLY SPIRIT… RESULTS IN INCREDIBLY GOOD NEWS… JESUS SAYS… MY FATHER WILL LOVE YOU AND WE WILL COME TO YOU AND MAKE OUR HOME WITH YOU. NOW, THIS IS ASTOUNDING NEWS! CAN YOU IMAGINE, JESUS, MAKING HIS HOME IN YOU! JESUS SAYS, WE! MY FATHER AND I… WILL COME INTO YOUR HEART AND TURN IT INTO THE HOME OF GOD! WHAT A STAGGERING ANNOUNCEMENT. DEVOTION AND DEPENDENCE... FURTHER GOOD NEWS... WHEN JESUS THEN SAYS I HAVE PEACE WAITING FOR YOU… PEACE THAT WILL NOT ONLY MELT YOUR WORRY, BUT PEACE THAT ONCE YOU’VE EXPERIENCED IT, YOU WILL NEVER GO BACK. YOU SEE, PEACE ISN’T JUST AN ABSENCE OF CONFLICT, PEACE IS THE MOST INCREDIBLE UNDERSTANDING THAT JESUS IS PRESENT WITH YOU! PEACE IS WHEN YOU GO THROUGH HELL IN YOUR LIFE THROUGH AN EVENT OR RELATIONSHIP… YET, EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT DIFFICULT TIME, YOUR HEART IS RESTING EASY… INWARD PEACE, INDEPENDENT OF SURROUNDINGS OR CIRCUMSTANCE… PEACE AS A RESULT OF THE ‘D’S OF DEVOTION AND COMPLETE DEPENDENCE. JESUS LOVES US SO MUCH HE DOESN’T FORCE THE 2 ‘D’S ON OUR LIVES… HE LOVE US SO MUCH… HE WAITS FOR US TO SAY COME LORD, LET ME DEVOTE MY LIFE TO YOU, I WANT TO DEPEND ON YOUR HOLY SPIRIT… ASKING YOU, PRODDING YOU… WHAT’S YOUR RESPONSE? YOU KNOW, ITS BEEN SAID THAT THE PERSON WHO DESIRES THE LEAST AMOUNT OF INTIMACY IN A RELATIONSHIP, ACTUALLY CONTROLS THAT RELATIONSHIP… THINK ABOUT THAT MOTHERS IN YOUR MARRIAGES,
IT’S TRUE IN ROMANTIC LOVE, TRUE IN OUR FRIENDSHIPS, AND TRUE IN OUR LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS! AS YOU NOT ONLY SAY YES TO THE 2 ‘D’S… BUT THEN BEGIN TO PRACTICE THEM.. WATCH THE WORRY FLEE AND THE PEACE TAKE OVER… SO, TO LIVE INTO JESUS CENTERED WORRY FREE LIVING, I END THIS MORNING WITH AN EXERCISE… IN HIS BOOK CALLED: STILL MARRIED, STILL SOBER… DAVID MACKENZIE WRITES: TAKE A PAPER BAG, WRITE JESUS ON IT… AND THEN TAPE THAT BAG UP AS HIGH AS YOU CAN REACH ON A WALL OR BACK OF A DOOR. THEN THINK ABOUT YOUR ENTIRE LIFE AS ONE BIG DEVOTION TO GOD, DEVOTING EVERY PART OF YOUR LIFE TO JESUS-- THROUGH A COMPLETE DEPENDENCE ON THE HOLY SPIRIT… NOW, IF THERE ARE WORRIES THAT EMERGE FROM YOUR PRAYERS… OR YOU’RE DRIVING ALONG AND STILL CAN’T SHAKE THAT WORRY ABOUT YOUR CHILDREN…
WRITE EACH OF THEM DOWN ON A PIECE OF PAPER… THEN REACH UP AND PUT THOSE CONCERNS IN THAT BAG ON THE WALL… NOW, THE RULE IS THIS... IF YOU START AGAIN TO WORRY ABOUT A MATTER THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DEVOTED TO GOD, THEN YOU HAVE TO CLIMB UP ON A CHAIR AND FISH IT OUT OF THE BAG… MY FRIENDS, WHAT NEEDS TO GO INTO THAT BAG TODAY? WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DEVOTE IN COMPLETE DEPENDENCE?
WORRIES YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THE NEXT RECTOR OR YOUTH DIRECTOR FOR ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH? JESUS WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU! LIVING LIFE FULLY DEVOTED TO JESUS… FULLY DEPENDENT ON THE HOLY SPIRIT… AND WATCH THE PEACE INDWELL IN YOUR HEART. PEACE RULES THE DAY… WHEN CHRIST RULES THE HEART. LET US PRAY. |
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