Sermon Archive

Sermon Manuscript: Why Worry? Message 3- He’s Still Got The Whole World In His Hand  
Message by Dr. Rick Mandl  at Eagle Rock Baptist Church, November 14 & 15, 2020
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.

 

Hey church family, not sure how many of you have gone quite so far as to bubble-wrap your kids, but certainly we want to do everything we can to try and keep them safe. And sometimes that raises the question as to how you know when you’ve crossed the line from prudent, and cautious, to neurotically worried.

 

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been looking at what Jesus said about worry in the Sermon on the Mount. Just a quick recap of what we’ve seen so far is that... We’ve seen that . . .

 

1. The reason we worry is because WE CAN’T CONTROL THE FUTURE.

 

If there’s one thing that all of us have in common it’s out inability to control the future. We may be fine right now, but that doesn’t stop us from worrying about tomorrow. And so because we can’t “CONTROL” the future, what do we do? We WORRY about the future. And in response to that Jesus says something to us, which might sound to some irresponsible. He says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow. He says, “Tomorrow will take care of itself. You, just focus on today.”

 

In other words, you do what you can do today. Live responsibly today, and then trust your Heavenly Father to be with you tomorrow. In fact He actually comes right out and says it: “Stop worrying.” We talked last week about how it’s easy to hear that and misunderstand what He’s saying. It’s easy to think that what he’s saying is . . . “Don’t care, don’t be concerned. Just kind of kick back and watch another episode of whatever is you’ve been binge-watching during all your time at home, and trust that it’s all going to just kind of work out.” That’s not what Jesus is saying.

 

We saw that . . . .

2. Not Worrying is not the same as Not Caring.

 

When Jesus says “Don’t worry” he’s not saying . . . don’t be responsible, and Jesus was not saying that the things that you and I worry about are not important. He wasn’t saying they weren’t important. In fact, as we saw over those two weeks, he said that the things that you focus on are so important, your heavenly Father is focused on them as well. That’s why you don’t have to WORRY — because he’s caring for it.

 

And then last week, we saw that Jesus said, the key to not worrying is to... Shift your devotion to something else. Because Jesus taught that the things we WORRY about are the things we’re most devoted to, I mentioned to you last week that I don’t worry about your kids’ grades - - - not because your kids grades aren’t important, but simply because I’m not personally devoted to your kids doing well in school. You don’t worry about whether I’ve got enough in my retirement account, not because you’re an uncaring person, but because you’re not devoted to me retiring well. Jesus said “We worry about the things that we’re most devoted to.”

 

And the key to conquering worry is to . . .

3. Shift your Devotion from earthly things to God’s Kingdom

           

And I realize that some of you feel like this sounds good, but you feel like if you don’t worry about these things, then who will? You feel like even if worry isn’t productive . . . At least when you worry, you’re doing something… Even if that something, is something that accomplishes nothing. You feel like SOMEONE HAS TO WORRY ABOUT THESE THINGS To which Jesus says . . . No!

 

You do what you can do today, and then you TRUST your heavenly Father for tomorrow. . . Not because you know what’s going to happen tomorrow, But because you know, that He knows. You see what happens when we worry is . . . You spend your time at home, worrying about things at work . . . And you spend your time at work, worrying about the things at home...  And you spend your time both at home and at work worrying about the economy, about the virus, and about politics, and about “fill in the blank”… During all of that, what you’re doing is you’re taking your focus off of what God said you should have your focus on. Worry is distraction . . . Worry causes you to put your focus on something else, instead of that thing which you should be focused on.

 

I want to wrap up this series with a story from the Old Testament, It’s found in the book of 1 Kings. Let me give you a little bit of background. Before that nation of Israel had a king - - they were what was called a “Theocracy.” They were a nation ruled by God. Under Him there were priests and prophets who would direct the people, according to God’s will.

 

But the people of Israel looked around, and they saw that the nations around them had kings, and they wanted to be like them – they wanted a king too. And God warned them that that wasn’t a good idea, but ultimately He decided that the wisest thing to do, would be to discipline them by giving them what they asked for. So he gave them a king.

 

So the first three kings of Israel were . . King Saul. . . . King David . . . and King Solomon . . . King David wrote many of the Psalms. King Solomon wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. But after King Solomon the country split into the northern kingdom - - - often just called Israel - - and the southern kingdom called “Judah.” We pick up our story about 70 years after King Solomon. And the King who was ruling over the northern kingdom at this time was a king called - King Ahab.

 

King Ahab was a wicked king. He was a king who led Israel away from the law of God, and into idolatry. And at this time they were worshiping the Pagan god Baal. And God did for Ahab, what he often does for us when we sin, he sends him a messenger. He sends the prophet Elijah into Ahab’s life. And Elijah confronted Ahab and said, “Ahab, God is sick and tired of the way you’re leading the people, and so God is going to get your attention, and the way that he’s going to get your attention is that it’s not going to rain anymore. It’s not going to rain. This is going to hurt the people and it will wreck the economy of the nation and it will get your attention.” And then Elijah left. And King Ahab did what we often do when someone comes into our life and gives us a little bit of corrective advice. He blew it off. But then a month, two months, three months go by, and it isn’t raining. Meanwhile, God tells, “Elijah, you need to hide.” Because God knew that Ahab was going to try and hunt Elijah down. And God takes care of Elijah during this time of hiding, during this time of isolation, during this time of quarantine. The rest of the country is in turmoil because there is no rain, which means there were no crops, which means that the cattle was dying.

 

Things were bad – but God was taking care of Elijah. Three years go by. Three years go by, and God says to Elijah, “Okay, you need to go talk to King Ahab again.” And I’m sure that Elijah is thinking, “I don’t want to talk to King Ahab. He’s been hunting everywhere trying to find me for the past three years. It doesn’t seem like the smartest thing to just walk into his hands. But God says “Go” And so Elijah goes. And if you haven’t read about what happens, it’s in 1 Kings 18, and I’d encourage you this week to check it out for yourself. But here’s a summary.

(Video here).

 

This showdown on Mt. Carmel was literally a mountaintop experience for Elijah. And you might think that everyone would be in awe of what had happened there. But not everyone was. King Ahab goes back home. . . and has a conversation with his wife. King Ahab’s wife was a woman named Jezebel. You don’t meet a lot of little girls today named Jezebel, and there’s a reason for that and the reason is because if King Ahab, was wicked, and he was... His wife Jezebel was 10X worse. And King Ahab tells Jezebel what happened on Mt. Carmel, and this is where we jump into our text . . .

 

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. These were all of Jezebel’s prophets, because she was basically the queen of Baal worship. “So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah and here is what her message said. ‘May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them'” (1 Kings 19:2). In other words, Elijah, here’s the deal: By this time tomorrow, you’re going to be as dead as all my prophets. By this time tomorrow, your life is over.

 

Now, from our perspective, looking at this story, we’re thinking. . . “Lady, take your best shot!” Didn’t you hear what I did to those 850 false prophets on that Mountain top? Didn’t you hear about the fireworks show? If I wasn’t afraid of 850 of them, what makes you think, that I’m going to be afraid of you. C’mon lady! Bring it on! . . .

 

Is that the way that Elijah reacted to her threat? No! Verse 3 tells us that . . . “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. You look at that and you think . . . Elijah, don’t you remember what God just did for you on Mt. Carmel? What’s going on here? What’s going on is. . . When Elijah faced off against those prophets, he was able to trust God. He was able to trust God in the NOW! But suddenly we’re no longer talking about the now, suddenly we’re talking about the future. This lady leveled her threat and said, “You’re sitting pretty now, but . . . “By this time tomorrow, your life is over.” And suddenly Elijah was filled with fear. Not fear for the NOW, but for the future. And he ran for his life.

 

Let’s think about that for a moment and apply it to us. For many of us, I believe that if I looked at your life. . . If I saw the ways that God has been faithful to you in the past . . . If I saw the ways that He’s worked in your life in days gone by . . . And then I looked at the things that you’re worried about right now, I would be tempted to say to you, the same thing that you and I would be tempted to say to Elijah, which is . . . “What are you worried about? What ARE you worried about?” And you’d tell me, ‘I’m worried about tomorrow’ Because tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow . . . And I would say, “Wait, wait do you not remember two days ago, three days ago, last week, four years ago?” You would go, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, but tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.” And so here’s Elijah totally, TOTALLY BLIND to God’s past faithfulness because of this threat about tomorrow. The story continues.

 

“Elijah ran for his life. . . . And we’re told that . . . When he came to Beersheba in Judah . . . Which is significant because this little detail, tells us that Elijah had run 100 miles. He’d run to the southern kingdom He’s now run to a place where he was beyond the territory that was ruled by King Ahab and Jezebel. When he arrived there, verse 4 tells us . . . he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die.

 

Listen to his prayer. You can call it a prayer because he’s talking to God, but it’s really more of a grip or a complaint. He says . . . ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’”  In other words, I’m better off dead; Verse 5 tells us . . . “Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” “He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.’”  The message from the angel is. . . “You’re killing yourself… You’re so stressed out that you’re not even eating . . . Get up and eat – the journey is too much for you.

 

Verse 8 tells us . . . “So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God…. Now, this is really significant. Horeb was what we would refer to as Mount Sinai, the same mountain. Horeb is where Moses, saw the burning bush. This is the place where Moses went up on the mountain, and God gave him the law, the Ten Commandments. Horeb, in the minds of Jewish people, is the you go to meet with God. So Elijah spends over a month traveling to this deserted, lonely, uninhabited place so that he can be as close to God as he could before he dies. He went there because he was scared… Because none of what was happening to him made any sense And because tomorrow was so uncertain.

 

Verse 9 tells us . . . There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: And don’t miss this question . . . ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” That question is important . . .  ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” What are YOU doing here? What are you doing HERE? WHAT are you doing here? Elijah was miles and miles and miles away from where God had, had him. He was miles and miles and miles from where God had him, because tomorrow seemed threatening, and because Elijah ran away? I believe that the same question that God asked Elijah, is a question that he could ask to you and me.

 

I believe that a lot of us who are stressed out about the uncertainty of tomorrow, have done some running ourselves. Maybe we haven’t done in physically, but we’ve run mentally; Some of us have run emotionally And it’s all because of the stress and the anxiety and the fear of tomorrow. And God says to us . . . What are you doing here? Why did you run? Why have you allowed the uncertainty of tomorrow, And the uncertainty of a future that you can’t control. . . And that you have never been able to control, bring you to this place?

 

And I love what Elijah does here. He answers God, and decides to give him some information that’s he’s worried God might be lacking. "He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’”

 

He basically says, “God, what do you mean what am I doing here?” Do you expect me to stay in Jerusalem? Do you expect me to stay right where Ahab and Jezebel are trying to kill me? Lord, I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention, but I’ve got good reason to be here. Then the Lord said something interesting. Elijah has been hiding in this cave and the Lord says, “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’

 

Now, we don’t know what went through Elijah’s head, upon hearing that. Maybe he’s thinking . . . “And that’s going to do what? That’s going to change what? That’s going to make a difference how? Elijah may have been thinking, I don’t need to step out from this cave. I can see you just fine from here. . . . God doesn’t wait for Elijah to step out from the cave. . . We read in verse 11…. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.” Verse 12 tells us. . . “After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. Earth, wind, and fire. The Lord was not in any of them. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, And simply repeats the same question that He asked him before ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” 

           

I think that what God is asking Elijah in that question is . . . I could understand you running and hiding here, if you didn’t have me, but you do. I’m here with you. I’m the same God who burned up that sacrifice on the mountain when you had that showdown with those false prophets. I’m the same God who controls the earthquakes, and the wind, and the fire. And I’m here with you, so . . . Why are you so afraid? What are you doing here? And Elijah, who perhaps wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, answers God the exact same way that he had before. He says in verse 14 . . . “‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God … I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’”  The problem with the answer that Elijah gave to God is, that a foolish answer is just as foolish the second time. And again, the argument that he’s making here would make sense IF… If, if, if there were no God, but there is a God, and so God simply says . . . ‘Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.’”

 

And in the next few verses, God lays out his plan. It’s a plan to rebuild. . . After a time of isolation, and rebellion, there’s going to be a rebuilding. And then there’s a little detail in verse 18, that I don’t want you to miss. . . “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

 

God says, “Elijah, you think you’re the only one left, and so you ran. . . You think you know all there is to know, so you ran. . .  But you didn’t know all there was to know. You didn’t know that you weren’t the only one left. You didn’t know that there are 7,000 others back where I’m sending you who are also still faithful to me.

 

Here’s the take-home from this story for you and me. IF you’ve allowed your worry to drive you into behaviors, habits, and an emotional frenzy, IF you’ve allowed your worry to drive a wedge through relationships… To cause you to do stupid financial things, to consider things you have never done before. . . And to find yourself in places where you’d never go. . . Then I think the question that God asks of Elijah is the same question that He asks of you and me. . . What are you doing here?

           

If there were no God it would make sense for you to be where you were. He’s saying “You believe in me” “You’ve seen my faithfulness I the past . . . And even more than that, you believe that I sent you a rescuer- My Son – Who brings healing to the sick – and who stilled the storm – and who walked on water – and who came out of the grave alive .. . So what are you doing here? How do you explain all your worry and fear? For most of us, we have enough history with God, that there is no explaining it. You might need to hear God saying to you what He said to Elijah. . . “Go back - - to where I had you, and face tomorrow with confidence – knowing that I will be with you.

 

When it comes to worrying about tomorrow and not believing that God is in your tomorrow, God says to you plain and simple. . .  “Don’t Go There!” Don’t allow your worry, and tomorrow’s uncertainty to take you there. Don’t take the 40 Day Journey. Don’t go into the wilderness. Don’t hide in the cave. Don’t make God have to grab your attention through an earthquake or a fire. Don’t make him have to send you back home. Just don’t go there in the first place. Stay the course and trust in God. He’s proven himself faithful in the past. He’s faithful in the present. He will be faithful in the future.

           

Let me give you a HOMEWORK assignment . . . Write down the ways that God has worked in your life. . . From the big to the little. . . This is a really good Pre-Thanksgiving exercise... Write those things down . . . Put them in an envelope . . . And save it for a day when you’re worried and ready to run, and when that day comes pull it out and remind yourself of what God has done. And then “Don’t Go There” Don’t jump to worry. Let’s pray!

 

Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.

 

 

Scripture References: 1 Kings 19:1-13, 1 Kings 19:9

More Messages from Dr. Rick Mandl

From Series: "Why Worry"

Worry—it’s universal. It’s as much a part of life as breathing. Yet Jesus said, Don’t. Don’t worry! Easier said than done… In this 3-part series, we will explore what Jesus had to say about worry. You’ll discover where worry comes from, why it’s so difficult to overcome, and what you can do to conquer it.

Sermon Notes