Seek the Kingdom of God and Don’t Worry

Father Jim Fosdick

St. Mary of the Snows Anglican Church

August 12, 2007

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Amen.

All of our readings today are about putting our trust in God and then not worrying, not fearing, not being anxious. Our Psalm said God looks down from heaven and he sees us and he understands us. Then it lists a number of things that can’t save us and concludes that the Lord watches over those who trust in him, and rescues them and provides for them. Our reading from Genesis says in part Do not fear Abram for I will protect you, and your reward will be great. Our New Testament reading continues this reasoning. It’s all about faith and trusting God. It begins by saying that faith is the confidence that our hope in God will actually happen and it goes on to say it is the conviction that even things we haven’t seen are real. Remember Jesus’ words blessed are they who have not seen and yet believe? This brings me to our Gospel.

Our gospel begins with, “Fear not little flock for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” We could stop right there if only we could believe these words. Someone counted them up and the words do not fear appear 365 times in the Bible. That’s once for every day of the year…so every day we are not to fear, not to be anxious. Actually our Gospel reading begins one verse too late. The formula for being free from worry is found in the preceding verse Luke 12:31… “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and he will give you everything you need.” That’s a description of God’s economy. Follow him and we will have our needs met. But the world says otherwise.

In adult ed I’ve been teaching about how to be free from financial worry. I’ve gone back through the Bible and pointed out that greed, fear and a concern about scarcity began in the Garden of Eden. These fears are still with us today. Can we pay our bills? Will we have enough to retire? Can any of us really say we never worry about money? What if there was a way to be freed from this financial worry?

Let’s dig into God’s word a little and see if we can come up with some answers.

In Matthew Jesus is talking to the pharisees and he says “The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” He is telling them and all of us that the economy they have been engaging in where money is exalted is not the economy of the Kingdom of Heaven. He is also saying they pretend to serve God… they go through the motions …but in reality they are greedy and are keeping everything for themselves. A little later in Matthew Jesus says “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law; justice and mercy and faithfulness. Now let me point something out here before I go on. The major crops of the economy in that day were wheat, and olive oil and grapes and sheep. Jesus is chastising them for tithing the smallest plants the little herbs and spices… their little plots of mint and dill and cumin and saying you hypocrites, you tithe the little things, keep the big things for yourselves and ignore the needs of the poor and the hungry. Let me also make another point before we go on. People sometimes say that Jesus never said anything about tithing, that that’s an Old Testament concept. He just did. He said what a bad tithe was. Something insignificant. Something less than sacrificial. In verse 17 of this chapter Jesus says, “You blind fools! For which is greater the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?" Over and over Jesus is trying to make it clear that we need to have our eyes on the things of value in God’s economy not the transitory wealth that the world esteems.   

As Christians we live in both economies: the world’s economy and the economy of the kingdom of God. In the world’s economy life is all about stuff. Having the best stuff. Having enough stuff. Having new stuff. Bigger, better and more stuff. Walter Brueggeman wrote, “We have invested our lives in consumerism. We have a love affair with "more" -- and we will never have enough. Consumerism is not simply a marketing strategy. It has become a demonic spiritual force among us.” Along with this desire for more and more money, power and possessions come fear, greed and a concern about scarcity. As I said earlier, this goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. God had provided everything in the Garden but had told Adam and Eve that there was one thing they couldn’t have. They couldn’t eat of the tree of knowledge. The devil tempted them with wanting that one thing more. Their giving in to the temptation was the beginning of greed and in fact the beginning of sin itself. Once sin had entered the world fear came next. They clothed themselves because they were afraid. Ever since, men and women have had to work to survive and have had to worry… to be afraid …about having enough.

This is starting to sound like a stewardship sermon, and many people turn off their ears when such talk begins. But I want to tell you brothers and sisters this is a sermon about joy and peace and being free from worry. Spiritual stewardship is a good thing that can free you from the burden of fear and financial worry. Christian stewardship is about breaking the cycle of fear and greed and about regaining the abundant life that God intended from the beginning. Christian stewardship is not in fact about pledging or what a particular church needs to operate. Christian stewardship is a spiritual endeavor that is part of living in a covenant relationship with Jesus. Christian stewardship is actually about living, really living in the Kingdom economy.

We merely exist in the world economy but we do not live. Jesus said he came that we might have life. It was life we were missing then and it is life we are missing now. Jesus lived as one of us. He understood life completely. The peace that passes understanding is all about a life lived for the essential things. Percy Ainsworth, a 19th century Anglican priest said, “The world is in a mighty hurry, not because its life is so full—though that is the way it always accounts for its haste– but because it is so empty…The more we hurry, the less we live…The length of life is found by measuring its depth. It goes inward toward the core of the soul.”

Referring to Isaiah 28:16, “He that believeth shall not make haste.” Ainsworth noted,… “The prophet claims this much for faith, that it can teach us an inward attitude of mind and heart towards all this busy world that will save us from the curse, the spiritual blight of these feverish times.”

Christian stewardship is about making this inward change, a change of the mind and the heart. Stewardship is a way of life.

Jesus said I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.

Christian stewardship is about learning and then living into Jesus’ Way. It is about living the Life that Jesus invites but does not force us to live.

How do we achieve this inward change of mind and heart that allows us to live in God’s economy? The essential first step to living in God’s economy is to believe and follow Jesus Christ. At your baptism, you or your parents and godparents on your behalf renounced satan and the evil powers of this world and you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. If you were baptized as an infant you confirmed this decision which had been made for you at your confirmation. In fact every time you witness a baptism you are asked to restate your belief in God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If you haven’t made this important decision to believe in Jesus or don’t know or can’t remember if you have, then I pray you will do so. It’s the most important decision you will ever make.

If you do believe in Jesus then you have entered into a covenant relationship with Him. He promises you eternal life. He promises to be your God. You promise to follow him. You promise to make him the Lord of your life. A covenant is a contract and this exchange of promises is what both parties say they are going to do. Now you need to trust that God will keep His promises.

A.W. Tozer wrote in The Knowledge of the Holy, “To believe actively that our Heavenly Father constantly spreads around us providential circumstances that work for our present good and our ever-lasting well-being brings to the soul a veritable benediction. Most of us go through life praying a little, planning a little, jockeying for position, hoping but never being quite certain of anything, and always secretly afraid that we will miss the way. This is a tragic waste of truth and never gives rest to the heart.”

Isn’t this true today? Don’t we often pray and then make our own plans expecting that our prayers won’t be answered?

Doesn’t this suggest that deep down we don’t trust God to provide for us? Which economy are we in…the world’s economy or the Kingdom’s? Christian stewardship involves a change of mind and heart that lets us spend more of our time living in the Kingdom economy.

Rest to the heart is what we’re after. Peace of mind. The peace that passes understanding. So if we want peace with respect to money, what do we do? Jesus says give it away.

In our Gospel we read, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If your life is about accumulating and holding on to treasure Jesus says your heart will inevitably be focused on treasure and I would add that you cannot help but spend your days worrying about treasure…that is money. I don’t mean to say that the Christian life is a life without difficulty… a life without challenges. I do mean to say that living into the covenant you have made with Christ will bring joy and peace more of the time.

Once we start down this path of following Christ and living in the Kingdom of God, we don’t have to do it on our own. Jesus promises us the Holy Spirit as a comforter and guide. Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

So let’s go back to the Bible this time to Psalm 50.

Verse 5—”Gather before me my loyal followers, those who have made a covenant with me and sealed it with sacrifice.

Verse 23 —”Whoever offers me the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me; those who keep in my way will I show the salvation of God.” God calls on us to give sacrificially to seal our covenant with Him.

So we’re going to believe in Jesus and turn over control of our lives to him as Lord. Now we learn that what God wants from us in return for all that he has provided for us is sacrificial giving. Why does God call on us to give sacrificially for the work of the Kingdom? Have you ever thought about it? I mean here is an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God who spoke the universe into existence. Is it conceivable that God is short of cash and we can help? Pretty silly when you put it that way isn’t it? If God needed money he could speak it into existence. After all he made the gold and the diamonds and the platinum and the silver.

Whether we’re talking about the words of the Old Testament or Jesus’ words in the New Testament God has consistently called on His people to give up what they have and follow Him. If it isn’t because he needs what we have then I think it’s clear that it’s because there are benefits to us to letting go of our money…our possessions. In the world’s economy greatness is often measured by accumulated wealth. The world says Donald Trump, and Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett are great because they have incredible wealth measured in dollars. So long as we measure our success according to financial wealth we will constantly have to worry about money.

Giving to the work of the Kingdom, giving sacrificially, is a form of renunciation. We renounce the economy of the world and say to God and to ourselves that the Kingdom of God is more important to us. How are we to know if what we are giving is enough to be sacrificial? The short answer is our giving is sacrificial if we have to give something up-- which is to say-- make our own sacrifice-- in order to make the gift for the work of God’s Kingdom.

C.S.Lewis wrote, “…giving is an essential part of Christian morality…I do not believe one can settle how much one ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc. is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.”

Our gospel today begins by talking about trusting in God and not being afraid. It says that the best way to do this is to invest in the Kingdom of God where your investment is always secure. It then talks about being dressed for service… about being ready when the Master comes. How can we be ready for Christ’s coming? The scriptures say believe in Jesus and follow him as Lord. Jesus talks about the connection between obedience and abiding in his love and he is the perfect example. He was obedient to God and God loved him. Jesus calls on us to give what we have to the work of the Kingdom and follow Him. The Old and New Testaments talk about tithing and sacrificial giving. Let me just summarize by saying Jesus told his disciples and the rich young man, “Give up all you have and follow me.” The tithes of our first fruits are a compromise. 10 % as opposed to 100%. The important thing… is to recognize that everything we have comes from God.

In our society we are used to paying for things and for paying for services. We pay to have a lawyer draw up a will and we pay to have a realtor sell our house. We pay to have service done on our car and we pay the funeral home for the services they provide. So I think it’s not surprising that we often think of church this way. We pay by putting money in the plate or by making a pledge to our church and we may think that we are paying for the services we receive. If we have this misunderstanding, I think we may say to ourselves if I go to church twice this month I’ll pay for two services. Or if I’m only here in the summer I’ll pay during the summer, but my real church where I give my pledge is back home. If it were possible to rent a building and hire a priest just for those days when you want to attend, this might make sense. But that’s really not possible is it? What I’d like you all to think about is approaching giving as a spiritual act. Think about how God has blessed you and then think about a level of giving that would be sacrificial. Then think about this particular church St. Mary of the Snows. Think about whether this is a place where you can have real impact by giving for the work of the Kingdom. I’m not suggesting you should stop giving to your home parish, but I am suggesting that you may have more to do with keeping this church alive than you might elsewhere. I am excited about our mission here in the north woods. We’re reaching out to bring people to know Jesus here. We’re making disciples and we’re focusing on mission. We’re going to build an orphanage in the Andaman Islands by enlisting the support of churches in Eagle River. We’re increasing our involvement in the Food Pantry. We’re going to be helping with a health mission to Vietnam. God’s work is being done here and so I want to encourage you to consider St. Mary’s as a place to give not based on the services you receive but based on the many ways God has blessed you. Giving for the Kingdom is not about paying for something. As I have hopefully fully explained we are called to give out of recognition that all we have comes from God. We are called to give because our sacrificial giving is good for us. It shows we care more about God’s Kingdom than what the world values. We give out of thanks for the blessings we have received.

How can we best give for the work of God’s Kingdom? We are blessed in so many ways. Jesus says to us, be like the widow in the story of the widow’s mite…the widow who gave two coins but they were all that she had…give enough that it is a sacrifice for you. This will demonstrate that the Kingdom of God is more important to you than what the world measures greatness by. Think about your blessings. Give a gift for the Lord’s work that reflects the value you place on those blessings. Show God that you are really giving sacrificially. Show Him that what is really important to you is Jesus.

Amen.