Giving A Promise to Us

We are getting ready for the birth of Jesus Christ.  The coming of Jesus Christ was anticipated for a very long time.  God promised King David that the messiah would be born from his family tree.  I’d like to take a little time to tell you a story how the lives of Hannah, Eli, Samuel, and Saul were twisted like a grapevine in the life of David.

Last week, we learned about giving our best to God by visiting with Hannah.  Today, we are learning about God giving a promise or covenant to his people.  Hannah gave her son, Samuel, to God before he was even born.  God answered Hannah’s prayer that Samuel would be a man of God.  People’s lives are intertwined with other people of faith and with God.  Samuel’s life is part of the story of David.  Hannah believed her son would be a man of God.  Her son grew up having faith.   Hannah spoke with faith and God answered.

Samuel learned to listen to the voice of God in the middle of the night.  God kept calling Samuel, but Samuel thought that it was the Priest Eli calling from inside the temple.  Eli told Samuel to listen for God and to answer God when he called.  Samuel finally answered God after the third time God was taking to Samuel. 

In 1 Samuel 3:10 “The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’  Then Samuel said ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” Samuel’s story as a young boy teaches us about listening for God’s voice in our lives.  God speaks to us.  We can learn to recognize God’s voice.  It took Samuel three times that night to recognize God’s voice.  How many times has God called to us and we haven’t recognized his voice?

Samuel was blessed to see history unfold before his eyes.  Samuel had the faith to believe that God would come to the aid of the Israelites when they were threatened by the Philistines.  Samuel delivered the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines before the boy David ever did.  Hannah’s son, Samuel, listened to God.  Samuel was able to tell a nation what God said to him.  Samuel was able to protect the nation from outside attacks because he believed in God’s protection and favor.

Samuel was an old man when the Israelites begged for a king to lead them.  He learned from God that kings were not as good as just following God.  Samuel knew that the nation would have many kings. 

Some of the kings would be good and other kings would be evil when they ruled over Israel.  Samuel would anoint the first two kings of Israel.  The first king of Israel was Saul.  In 1 Samuel 10:1 “Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured in on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you leader over his inheritance?” 

Saul was king for forty-two years, but King Saul disobeyed God.   The power and money of being king corrupted Saul.   In 1 Samuel 13:13-14, Samuel told King Saul, “You acted foolishly.  You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you, if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.  But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

King Saul was evil.  God decided to look inside of the next king’s heart to find the right king to rule after Saul.  God told Samuel that one of Jesse’s sons would be king in place of Saul.  Jesse had many sons. 

Samuel initially thought that one of Jesse’s older sons named Eliab would be king, but God told Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7 “Do not consider Eliab’s appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

David was chosen to be the king of Israel, not because he was the tallest, strongest, or the smartest.  David was chosen because God looked into David’s heart and God saw a heart like God’s own.  In 1 Samuel 16:12-13 it says “Then the Lord said, Rise and anoint him; he is the one.”  So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.”

We know the story of David and Goliath.  It is a great story to learn as a child.  I love the words that David said to Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:45 “David said to Goliath, the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled.”

God choose David because the boy David had a good heart.  David also had the wisdom at a young age to fight a giant in the name of the Lord Almighty.  David was a teenager when he had the faith to totally trust God to fight Goliath the philistine.   David was a mighty warrior in battle as he grew older because he fought in God’s name.   David was very loyal to King Saul, but King Saul became jealous of David when David had great victories against their enemies.

King David had a very close relationship with God.   David was the second king of the Jewish people.  David committed adultery with Bathsheba.  David was lectured by the prophet Nathan when he strayed from God and sinned.  David learned from his mistakes and returned back to God.  David made mistakes and sinned during his lifetime, but he always repented and came back to God.  We also make mistakes and sin.  We just need to ask God for forgiveness.

The story of King David is a special one because of his faith, his relationship with God, and a promise that God made to David.  God made a promise or a covenant to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-14.  It says “When you days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.  He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be his father, and he will be my son.”  Verse 16 says “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me your throne will be established forever.”

The Lord promised David that Jesus Christ would be born from David’s own family tree.  God told David that God would be the father of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ would be his son.  God promised that Jesus would come from David’s offspring.  God also promised that Jesus would reign forever. 

The scripture from 2 Samuel 23 lets us hear King David’s last speech before he died.  David learned a lot about God during his lifetime.  What do you think he would say in his speech?  He had a lot of wisdom from a lifetime of knowing God.  Where would he start?  David decided to start his last speech by explaining who he was.  David explained in 2 Samuel 23:1 that his dad was Jesse.   “These are the last words of David: The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel's singer of songs.”

This first verse explains that David could really sing.   David wrote a lot of the Psalms that we sing even today.  David wrote Psalms when he was close to God and even when he wanted to get closer to God.    

He said that he was exalted by God and that he was anointed by God to rule the Jewish people.  Anointing is receiving the power of the Holy Spirit to do things that we can’t do without God’s help.  David’s life was blessed with God at the center of his life.   He also said that he was an oracle.  The definition of oracle is a person who delivers authoritative, wise, or highly regarded and influential speeches or revelations.

Verse 2 of 2 Samuel 23 explained that God was speaking through King David.  It was David standing in front of the people, but it was God speaking through King David.  It was his tongue, but the words being spoken were straight from God.  David explained the gift of preaching when we are willing vessels of the Holy Spirit.  David also explained the gift when God uses him even when he knew that it was time for him to die.

It is easy miss the meaning of what was happening when we read 2 Samuel 23:2. "The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.”    David was willing to serve God when he was very young.  Now, David was ending his life and he willing to serve God with his last breath on this earth.

I’ve been blessed to experience God speaking through me when I preach.  My voice gets stronger.  I become bolder when the Holy Spirit fills me.  It is such a joy when I am emptied and the Holy Spirit fills me and uses me.  I’m just the willing vessel.  I feel like God is going to lift me off of the ground as I speak.  It is our body and our voice, but it God’s words coming out of our mouth. 

In the next verse, the scripture tells us that God is speaking now through David.  2 Samuel 23:3-5:  “³ The God of Israel spoke,  the Rock of Israel said to me: 'When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God,  ⁴ he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.' ⁵ "Is not my house right with God?  Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part?     Will he not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire?”

God and David are describing how a ruler who is right with God feels like the first rays of light at sunrise or the bright light of sunshine after a hard rain.  If a nation follows God, God will bless that nation.  The righteous ruler will bring people to God, but the evil ruler will destroy the people he is supposed to lead and protect.

That is the point starting with verse 6:  “But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns, which are not gathered with the hand.  ⁷ Whoever touches thorns uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear;   they are burned up where they lie."

The evil ruler is like blackberry bushes which need to be cut down with an axe and thrown in the fire.  The fire burns the weeds and thorns that are not wanted in God’s garden.  These verses remind me of John 15 that describes Jesus as our gardener and we are the vine if we stay connected to Jesus Christ.  Jesus tells us in John 15:1 says “I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener.”

People tell me that the Old Testament is boring and hard to read.  The Old Testament tells wonderful stories about people just like us.  These stories give us hope.  Hannah prayed.  God answered her prayer with a son.  Hannah believed her son would have faith.  Her son had faith.  Her son, Samuel, learned to listen out for God.  Samuel led a nation back to God.  Samuel fought to protect that nation in the name of God.  Samuel was there when the nation decided that they needed a king.  Samuel anointed King Saul and later the boy David who became king after Saul.

David was able to do the impossible when he stood up to fight Goliath.   Grown men were afraid to stand up and fight the giant.  Little David was willing to fight for his nation because he knew that God was with him.  David also knew that if God makes us a promise that God will keep that promise.  God promised David that the messiah would be born from the house of David.   God would have probably honored Saul if Saul had a faithful heart.  Instead, it was David’s family who would raise the son of God.

David used his last speech to remind us that we should believe God when God promises us Jesus Christ.  David believed God’s promise.  We also should believe God’s promise.  God didn’t just give Jesus Christ to King David.  God gave Jesus Christ to us.  Now, we know that an old woman had the faith to pray for a son who became a powerful spiritual influence on a future King named David.  King David could sing God’s praise, have faith, lead a nation, and believe that God would deliver on his promises.

God hasn’t changed.  God does deliver on his promises yesterday, today, and forever.  God said in Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." We have one month to anticipate the birth of Jesus Christ.  David had generations of his offspring to wait.  Let us remember God’s promise to King David and to us over the next month.  God promised us Jesus Christ.  God is going to give us a wonderful gift this year on Christmas Day.  Get ready!  Jesus is coming!  Amen!

Giving Your Best to God

This sermon is the third in the giving series.  The first week was about giving your best to your family.  Last week was giving your worries over to God.  This week is giving your best to God.  The scripture is from 1 Samuel 1.  It is the story of Hannah.  Hannah wanted a son more than anything in her life.  She was barren and could not have any children.  A future son would be her “first fruit,” but there wasn’t any hope that she’d have children.    She was getting older.  Her friends and her husband’s other wife were having lots of kids.

Hannah’s husband was Elkanah (el-KAY-nuh).  Elkanah had two wives.  Life was tough for Hannah because the other wife, Peninnah (pee-NIHN-uh), had a lot of children.   Peninnah bragged that she had children and Hannah did not.  Peninnah did everything she could to hurt Hannah’s feelings.  She loved to tell Hannah that she had plenty of kids and Hannah had no children at all.

1 Samuel 1:1-2 tells us  “¹ There was a certain man from Ramathaim (ray-muh-THAY-ihm), a Zuphite  ⁽ZUHF-ait) from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu (ee-LAI-hyoo), the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ² He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah (pee-NIHN-uh). Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.”

This story talks about the ritual of going to the Jewish temple to sacrifice offerings to God.  Leviticus 7 explains the fellowship offering that was being given in this story.  It was really complicated to understand what should be sacrificed for different events in your life.  There were different rules and laws that required them to sacrifice at the temple to atone for their sins and to celebrate events like a new baby.  God changed all of that when he gave us Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for our sins. 

 

1 Samuel 1:3-8 continues “³ Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni (HAHF-nai) and Phinehas (FEHN-ee-uhs), the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD. ⁴ Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵ But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. ⁶ And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. ⁷ This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. ⁸ Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"

A future son would be the most precious thing that Hannah could ever dream or imagine.   A son would be her priceless treasure.  She decided that she would give her son back to God if God would give her a son.  Hannah gave her precious treasure to God BEFORE she received it.   Hannah didn’t even have one child at the time that she made the decision that her treasure belonged to God.

Would you give to God the very thing that you’ve dreamed about your entire life?  What do you dream about?  What if your dream was impossible to obtain?  What dream or treasure is out of your reach, but you really can’t get it out of your mind?  For Hannah, her impossible dream was having a son.

Let’s read the scripture to get a better idea what is happening to Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:10-11 “¹⁰ In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. ¹¹ And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."  

 

Hannah did a few key things in these verses.  She turned to prayer when she was crying and in pain.  She also pledged to give her first born son to God.  She pledged that he would be a priest.  That is what the “no razor” verse means.  Certain kinds of priests like John the Baptist did not ever cut their hair.  She was giving to God the impossible gift or treasure that she did not even possess.  

Hannah had the wisdom to understand that a son was God’s gift to her in the first place.  Hannah is a powerful example of someone who gave her most precious treasure to God BEFORE she received it.  It would’ve been easy for Hannah to give a son if she already had ten sons, but she was barren when she gave Samuel to God.

Hannah had faith to see the possibility of having a son.  She realized that God could do the impossible.  She also realized that the impossible is only possible with God’s answer to prayer.  Hannah prayed with faith.  Hannah also took action before the unseen became visible.  She didn’t even have a pregnancy test to prove that she was even pregnant.  Hannah just believed in God.

It gets better than just believing that Hannah was going to have a child.  Hannah believed that if she gave that child to God that her son, Samuel, would become a mighty man of God.   Hannah was living in a time very much like our own where the country had moved away from God. 

Even the priests did not have a strong relationship with God.  The country needed someone who could make a big difference in the faith of the people.  Hannah believed that the son that she did not have could be that man of faith to touch the people of an entire nation.  Now, that is faith!

1 Samuel 1:19-20 tells about God’s answer to Hannah’s pray:  “¹⁹ Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. ²⁰ So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him."”

1 Samuel 1:24-28 tells the story of what Hannah does after God made the impossible come true.  Hannah was not able to have children for many years.  She agreed that she would give back to God her most precious gift in life.  Hannah was giving her son, Samuel, to God as soon as he was weaned as a baby.  She wasn’t even holding on to her only son until he grew up to give him up to God.  “²⁴ After Samuel was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. ²⁵ When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, ²⁶ and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.”

Eli was a priest at the temple.  Hannah took Samuel as a infant to the temple for Eli to teach and mentor.  I love reading the Bible because there are so many wonderful stories of faith coming out of despair. 

There were no logical reasons why Hannah should believe that she could have a baby.   Modern medicine would have concluded that she would not be able to bear children.  Hannah also had the “other wife” telling her that it was impossible for her to have children.  Hannah’s doctors and Peninnah (pee-NIHN-uh) were eager to tell her that having a child was impossible.   Hannah believed “All things are possible for those who love the Lord.”

Hebrews 10:15  says “The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:  ¹⁶"This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord.   I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."   The Lord wrote on Hannah’s mind that she was a woman of God.   She had God in her heart and her mind.

Now, it is time to discuss what Hannah did right.  Hannah did not have anything to give to God as an offering.  She did not have a family to offer to God so she asked God for a son.  Hannah also promised that her son would be a man of God.  Hannah also promised that Samuel would be given to God as infant.  We may believe that we don’t have anything to offer God, but that is not true.  Hannah did not have anything to give to God except for her belief that God could make a barren woman bear a faithful son.

She was living Matthew 7:7-11 which says: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

Hannah asked God for a son.  Hannah was seeking God by going to church.   Hannah was seeking God by praying to God and worshipping God.  Hannah knocked on God’s door by going to church and praying with faith that God would answer her prayer.  God opened the door for Hannah to have a baby.  God gave Hannah the good gift of a mighty man of faith.  She just had to ask God for a son who would be faithful and lead many generations of people to worship God.  Hannah asked God for the impossible gift of a son.  She looked for God all of the time and she knocked on God’s door. 

The next thing Hannah did was stay connected to God as if she was part of God’s vine.  In John 15:5-9 Jesus says “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.  "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

Hannah was able to grow in her faith because she was always connected to God by being part of his vine.  Her branch grew because she was always looking for a way to serve and give back to God.   Hannah believed she had something to give to God even when there was nothing visible in her life that she had something to give.  Hannah knew that she could give an offering to God even if she did not have anything to give.  Hannah believed that if she prayed and asked God for a child that God would answer her prayer.  Hannah was also willing to give her most precious gift to God.  Samuel was her firstborn son.  He was her first fruit.  We can’t out give God.  God blessed Hannah with other children.  God also blessed Hannah with the knowledge that Samuel would serve a nation who needed a man of God who could listen when God called him.

We must give our best to God today and every day.   Let us look to the gifts that God can provide when we are looking for ways to give back to God.  The birth of Samuel was a gift from God.  We must acknowledge that our family is a gift from God as well.  The best way to bless our family is to offer them up to God as our gift to him.

Turn your eyes up to God.  God will give us good gifts if we just ask, seek, and knock at his door.  Next, consider giving the impossible dream to God and see how he answers your dream.    Give your best to God.  Give your best to God and see what God does with your gift.  Hannah gave her first son to God and God turned Samuel into an amazing man of God who touched a nation.  What is the best that you have to give to God?  Don’t forget to use your imagination when you are giving your best to God.   Go out today and starting dreaming the impossible dream.   Connect to the love of Jesus Christ by being connected with his vine and allow God to shape your dream into something greater than we could ever see or imagine!

Giving Your Worries to God

Right now, we must let go of all of our worries and give our worries over to God. We need to give up all of the junk in our lives to God. It is not good to keep all of the junk that we’ve accumulated over the course of our lives and let it hurt us over and over again. If you have pain and hurt from your childhood, why are you still worrying about that pain? We need to have spring cleaning in our hearts and minds right now. Don’t wait. We are going to throw out our old ways of thinking and replace them with brand new ways of trusting in God for our deliverance.

Let us pray. Dear Precious Lord, give us the faith to let go of our worries. We will open our heart so that you can take all of our worry, fear, and pain. We will trust in you, Lord to heal us and to deliver us. We have been taught to read God’s Word and believe. We reject the world’s logic that tells us there is no hope. You are our rock and our refuge. We believe. Help us, Oh Lord to look to your salvation and your love to guide our path. Amen.

Worrying is too easy. Worry paralyzes us. Worry starts to depress us and prevent us from turning to God. Worry forces us to spend all of our time and energy considering every way that life can go wrong. Faithful prayer directs us on the path where God protects and strengthens our life. Faithful prayer is positive action. Faithful prayer replaces our fear.

Proverbs 12:25-26 (The Message) teaches us that “²⁵ Worry weighs us down; a cheerful word picks us up. ²⁶ A good person survives misfortune, but a wicked life invites disaster. Worry is a dead weight. Worry can kills us. Proverbs 12:26 encourages us to trust that we will survive misfortunes in our life if we just trust in God. Faithful prayer invites the Holy Spirit into our lives to help us along life’s journey. Worry makes us forget that there is a God to help us.

James 1:4-6 (The Message) tells us “^2-4Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. ^5-8If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.” Our weaknesses can be a powerful testimony to others as they see how we pull our strength from God in our time of need.

God loves to answer our prayers. Prayer turns our problems over to God to solve. We are living a faith filled life when we pray in our time of need. We are asking the Holy Spirit into our life to help turn our weaknesses into strengths. It is a powerful testimony when people see that you were weak and yet God made you strong. What a joy to behold!

James 1 reminds me of our puppy named Pepper. She barks and barks as the waves hit the rocks by our boat dock. She can spend all day long barking feverously at those waves. She is worrying herself into a frenzy about the wave that is about to hit. Pepper paces back and forth until she is exhausted and completely thirsty. She barks until she can’t bark any longer. Pepper is worrying all day long and not praying at all. Did any of her frenzy or worry make a difference in the way that the waves hit the shore? No. Why does she worry above the waves? Why does she pace and bark so loud?

Remember that Jesus Christ walked on the water and calmed the sea during a storm. We can turn our worries about the waves over to God if we just prayed and had faith. The Apostle Peter was also able to walk on water as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus Christ. Peter started to sink as soon as he got distracted from the wind and the waves. Peter was able to walk on water when Peter stepped out on faith and put his trust in Jesus Christ.

Peter started to sink in the sea when he started to worry about the wind and the waves. What is your worry? Do you have worries that cause you to sink into the sea like Peter? Do you keep your eyes on Jesus Christ instead so that the impossible becomes possible in your life?

This story is told in Matthew 14:27-31 (NIV): “27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29 "Come," Jesus said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

Let’s contrast faithful prayer to worry with fear. Worry repeats the fear that Satan is whispering in our ear. Satan is telling us that the person that we love is going to Hell. Satan is telling us that we will die of our disease. Satan is telling us that we will lose our job. Satan is telling us that the whole world hates us and is against us. We are all alone. No one loves or cares about us. We don’t have food to eat. We don’t have any hope. Don’t take the words Satan gives us and turn them into your own words. Use God’s words instead.

Now, we will pray away those fears. “Good day to you Jesus. I give all praise, honor, and glory for my lost family members finding their way back to you. We thank you for healing me of my disease, illness, and pain. Every day, the pain is less and my strength returns so I can serve you better and share the love of Jesus Christ to everyone I meet. Thank you for bringing wonderful people into my life who are touching me in amazing ways. Thank you for the love and care that so many people give to my family and me. Thank you for providing enough food and opening the doors to a new job. I place all of my hope, faith, and belief in the rock who is Jesus Christ. Thank you for giving me the faith to overcome my fears. Thank you for being the Lord and Savior of my life today and every day. Amen.

We have a choice to make. Do we want to live our life with faith or fear and worry? Worry does us no good. Worry only destroys our health. Why do we worry if the scriptures tell us not to worry? God is with us. God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us.

Please listen to what Matthew 6:25-34 tells us to do. "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? 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? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.”

“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, O 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 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.”

I didn’t realize the real danger of worry until I studied Matthew 13:18,22-23 (NIV): ¹⁸"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ²²The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. ²³But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

The worries of this life can choke out God’s Word and destroy our relationship with God. The real danger is not cancer or some other disease. Worry is the real danger. Worry can discourage us by taking our eyes off of God. We spend our entire life worrying about how we will die and forget about living our life. Our life is a gift from God. Our death is a gift from God as well because it is the first day of the rest of our eternal life.

Now it is time for me to confess about my worries. I have faith that God will heal Susan. I have no doubt, but I worry about the effects of the Interferon treatments that make her nauseous and throw up. I worry that she is not getting enough rest. I worry that she is living her life and not getting enough sleep.

Susan is stepping out on faith and living her life. Susan is continuing to encourage and strengthen others. She is not letting her disease control her relationship with God and her ability to share the love of Jesus Christ with others. In fact, Susan traveled to a baby shower on Saturday to lift up a friend in need in northern Virginia. I should be rejoicing and praying to God to thank him for giving me such a wonderful wife with faith in her time of need. Do I need to worry about Susan? No. I need to put all of my faith and hope in God to deliver us.

Let me explain how Satan twists our mind to worry about stuff. We learned that Sue is cancer free after her PetScan results were given to us on Monday. That news removes the worry about more cancer being found in her body. So I can’t worry any more about cancer. So what can I worry about? I can worry about her treatments. Will my worry improve her results from the treatments? No. If I worry that she is going to get sick, does that help her? No. If I worry that she is living life too much and not resting, will that help her? No. My worry is destroying my health and my relationship with God. Worry is doing and thinking about things that are not productive.

Now, I am going to pray instead of worrying about Susan. Let’s see the difference. “Dear God, thank you for the wonderful news that the doctors did not find any more cancer. That is the answer to so many prayers that were raised up in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you for Susan’s good first week of treatments. She was able to go to church on Wednesday. She felt strong enough to travel to northern Virginia for a baby shower to celebrate a new life in this world. What a joy! I thank you for keeping Susan safe and strong in her faith. Amen!”

The faithful prayer places God in our life and gives our fears and worries up to him. We are celebrating the good news that God provided. We are speaking with the faith of God. We’ve left the words of fear behind us.

Philippians 4:5-7 (The Message) says “^4-5Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! ^6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

Now it is time to focus on what we must do to minimize worry and maximize prayer. These are a few of the things we can do:

1. Put Jesus Christ as the center of our life.

2. Remember to pray and thank God in advance.

3. See with the eyes of God what is happening in your life.

4. Moses said in Exodus 14:13, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.”

5. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6)

6. “Serve the Lord with all your heart.” (1 Samuel 12:20b)

7. “Go about your business without fretting or worrying. Relax. When it's all over, you will be on your feet to receive your reward." (Daniel 12:13)

8. Take action knowing that God will favor your work. (Nehemiah 2:1-8)

9. Remember that “the Lord is our light and my salvation-- whom shall we fear? The Lord is the stronghold of our life-- of whom shall we be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) Surely God is our salvation; we will trust and not be afraid. The Lord is our strength and our song; he has become our salvation." (Isaiah 12:2) "Don't be afraid; just believe” that Jesus Christ is the light of this world. (Luke 8:50a) “Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding;” (Proverbs 3:5) “Surely God is our salvation; we will trust and not be afraid. (Isaiah 12:2)

Next week when the temptation to worry comes to your mind, please remember to pray instead. Thank God for the blessings that will come into your life when God answers your prayer. Rebuke any fear and doubt in your mind and replace the fear with faith. Faith is believing in the unseen before it is visible. Don’t think about all the ways that your life can go wrong. Thank God for all of the ways that you life is going great.

Think about how you can do the impossible through Jesus Christ who strengthens us. Put your trust in God all day long. It is easier to have faith if you are serving God. If doubt creeps into your mind, go and serve God in a powerful way. Jesus Christ gave each one of us the power of the Holy Spirit. Ask God to help you understand his power in your life.

Don’t worry, be in prayer. Don’t start worrying right now. If the thought of worrying comes to mind, replace the thought of worrying with a faithful prayer of thanksgiving to God for delivering you from your fears. We can pray. God will listen. God will answer our prayers. Keep the faith. Avoid worrying and start a new prayer life that starts with God’s word. Your prayer life can conquer your temptation to worry! Start praying today!