An unstable economy
Rising prices
The Middle East
Pollution
Financial insecurity
Terrorism
AIDS
Barack Obama
Global tensions
Poverty
Racism
Bailouts
60 inches of snow!  (Spokane)

Shall I go on?  actually, for most of us, the worries are more mundane and closer to home.  There is sickness.  There is mental pressure and personal stress.  There are family problems, job problems, and difficulties with other people.  And for most people, it's not just one thing.  It's many things wrapped up together.  It's a job, school, money, work, health, bills to pay, your husband, your wife, your ex-husband, your ex-wife, the in-laws, the kids, and on and on it goes.  Any one thing we could handle, or even two things, but get three or four together and your knees start to buckle!  John Haggee said that "in America, worry has become part of our national culture!  You could write on countless American gravestones the epitaph: Hurried, Worried, Buried."

You all know that I've always been a big baseball fan.  One of baseball's greatest pitchers was Satchel Paige.  For 24 years he pitched in the Negro Leagues and then joined the Cleveland Indians and later the Saint Louis Browns.  While he was famous for his exploits on the mound, he was also remembered for his Six Rules for Staying Young.  Let me share them with you for your enjoyment.

1.  Avoid fried meats which angry up the blood.

2.  If your stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool  thoughts.

3.  Keep the juices flowing by jangling around gently as you move.

4.  Go very light on the vices, such as carrying on in society.  The social ramble ain't restful.

5.  Avoid running at all times.  (my personal favorite)

6.  Don't look back.  Something may be gaining on you!

All those things will definitely help, and at the beginning of a new year most of us need all the help we can get!  But some of our problems run a little deeper than fried meat!

Now friends, this is the first week of 2009 and we're all wondering what the new year will bring.  Someone predicted that the 2000's would be "the most worry-filled decade that the world has ever experienced."  Was he right?

Today I would like to bring you some good news for the new year.  My goal is to be an encourager.  There is plenty of pessimism going around, so I really would like to dispense some biblical optimism.

What we really need to know could be summed up in one sentence....

Will God take care of us in 2009? 

So, will he or won't he?  If he will, then we don't have much to worry about.  If he won't, then we are in a heap of trouble!  So let's be perfectly honest about that question.  With our heads, we know the answer is "yes."  Of course!  God will take care of us!  But with our hearts, we wonder about it.  Does God know about my situation?  Does he really care about me?  Will he take care of me in the new year, or do I have to handle things all by myself?  This is not just an academic question.  This is the question.  Will God take care of you in 2009?

Fortunately, Jesus answered that question for us.  He did it so clearly that no one can miss it.  For Jesus' answer, look at Matthew chapter 6.  This is the middle portion of the Sermon on the Mount, and it almost sounds like it was written for the beginning of the new year.  Look at verse 25: "Do not worry."  And verse 27: "Who of you by worrying?"  And verse 28: "Why do you worry?"  And verse 31: "So do not worry."  And verse 34: "Therefore, do not worry."  Five times in ten verses Jesus mentions "worry." And the whole point is to tell us: "Don't worry.  Don't get anxious."

Did you know that the word "worry" comes from the Old English word "wrygan," which means to strangle or to seize by the throat.  Let me give you a simple definition.  Worry is excessive concern over the affairs of life.  The key word is "excessive."  Worry happens when you are so concerned about the problems of life that you can think of nothing else.  It is an all-consuming feeling of uncertainty and fear.  And it is a sin.  Worry is a sin for two reasons:  First, because it displaces God in your life.  When you worry, you are living as though God did not exist.  You are living as though you alone must solve your problems.  Second, worry is a sin because it distracts you from the things that really matter in life.  As long as you are worrying, you can't do anything else, you can't fulfill the assignment God has given you. Instead, you become strangled by worry!

So let me tell you from this passage 3 things you don't have to worry about in 2009!

1.  Verse 25 said, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink."  Now, that sounds okay if you've got food on the table, but it sounds crazy if you don't!  But let Jesus explain himself.  Verse 26 says, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father takes care of them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?"  I suspect the problem lies right there.  Deep inside we wonder if we are worth anything to God.  Psychologists tell us that behind nearly all emotional and mental problems lies a poor self-image.  If you feel bad about yourself, if you see yourself as a loser and a flop, if you regard yourself as never quite measuring up, then you are going to have a hard time trusting God, because you will not see yourself as worthy of his love.

The truth is that nothing can stop him from caring for you, nothing can stem the tide of his mercy, nothing can hold back his kindness!  And he has promised to take care of you.  You are worth more than a million birds to him!  After all, the birds are his creatures, but you are his own child!

2.  Isn't it interesting that Jesus mentioned clothing?  He knew all about 2009.  Listen to his words in verses 28-30:  "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?"

Suppose we stop right here and ask, "Why did Jesus specifically mention food and clothes as things not to worry about?"  The answer is that they represent the basic elements of life.  They stand for all the things we need to get along in the world, such as money, jobs, housing, transportation, and so on.  By mentioning food and clothes Jesus is really saying, "You are not to worry about any of these things."  Now listen, the reason we are not to worry about them is because worry inflates these things out of all proportion!  Verse 25 says, "Is not life more than food, and the body more important than clothes?"  Sure, food is important, and you need to eat some from time to time, but it's not the most important thing!  Clothing is valuable, and I hope you wear some, but it's not the most valuable thing!  The whole point is, in God's economy, food and clothing are of minor importance.  They are so small that God is saying, "You think about the big stuff and I'll take care of the essentials."

3.  One last thing not to worry about in 2009.  Notice what Jesus says in verse 27, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"  The answer is, no one can.  That's the funny thing about worry.  It can give you an ulcer or a stroke or a migraine, or a heart attack.  But the one thing worry can't give you is a longer life.  A man can worry himself to death, but he can't worry himself into a longer life!

Back to baseball for a moment.  Perhaps you've heard the story of the two old guys that loved baseball, George and John.  One day they were talking and John said, "Do you think they play baseball in heaven?'  "I don't know," said George, "But if I get there before you do, I'll try to come back and let you know."  Well, the very next week George died suddenly, and a few days later John was out walking by himself when he heard a voice call his name.  He looked around but no one was there.  The voice called his name again.  "Is that you, George?"  "Yes, it's me," said the voice.  "Well, do they play baseball in heaven?"  The voice answered, "John, I've got some good news and some bad news about that.  The good news is, they do play baseball in heaven all the time!  The bad news is, they've got you scheduled to pitch next Wednesday!"

Folks, that's the way life is.  One day you're shoveling snow; the next day you're pitching for the Angels!  It could happen to any of us, and nothing you can do can change that fact in the least.  The whole matter is in God's hands.  So to worry about it is pointless.  You cannot by worrying add a single second to your life.  What a tremendous relief!  What a burden that lifts off your shoulders.  You don't have to worry about dying....it's out of your hands.  That means you are free to relax, enjoy life, and live each day to the fullest.  Keep on praying.  Keep on trusting.  Keep on believing.  Keep on doing good.  Keep on serving the Lord.  Keep on helping others.  Keep on sharing.  Keep on loving.  And God promises to take care of you.  That's my way of paraphrasing Verse 33:

"But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and
all these things will be given to you as well."

And that brings me to the end of this little message.  Be encouraged, child of God, rejoice my brothers and my sisters, your heavenly Father has promised to take care of you in 2009, and that's good cheer for the New Year!!