Fret Not Thyself

Q: What does the Bible say about not fretting or worrying?

The Bible encourages believers not to fret or worry, as God is in control and works all things for their good. Psalm 37 explicitly instructs believers not to fret because of evil doers, emphasizing that God knows all and is sovereign over every situation. This assurance comes from the understanding that everything works together for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). When we trust in God rather than let worry consume us, we demonstrate our faith in His unchanging nature and providential care. Instead of being agitated or filled with complaint, believers are called to rest in the knowledge of God's sovereignty and goodness.

Q: How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

God's sovereignty is affirmed in Scripture, where it is revealed that He is in control of all things and works all for His purpose. The doctrine of God's sovereignty is rooted deeply in the entirety of Scripture. Verses like Psalm 75:6-7 affirm that promotion comes from the Lord, emphasizing that He places individuals in positions of authority as He wills. Additionally, passages such as Ephesians 1:11 teach that God works all things according to the counsel of His will, demonstrating His ultimate authority over creation and history. Believers can trust in this sovereignty, knowing that nothing happens outside of God's ordained plan, which in turn grants peace amidst life’s uncertainties.

Q: Why is trusting in God important for Christians?

Trusting in God is crucial for Christians as it assures them of His control and care over their lives, alleviating worries. Trusting in God is foundational to the Christian faith. Psalm 37:3 commands believers to trust in the Lord and do good, linking faith and action. This trust is not blind; it is built on a solid understanding of God's character as all-wise and all-knowing. In 1 Peter 3:13-14, followers of Christ are encouraged to remain steadfast in their commitment to goodness and trust, even amidst trials, for God’s eyes are upon the righteous. When Christians cultivate a trust grounded in God’s sovereignty, it alleviates fear and anxiety, allowing for a life characterized by peace and purpose.

Q: How do I delight in the Lord?

To delight in the Lord involves finding joy in His presence and character, allowing Him to shape your desires. Delighting in the Lord, as expressed in Psalm 37:4, means cultivating a deep, personal relationship with God that goes beyond mere duty. It requires turning away from worldly distractions and setting our affections on Him. As we seek intimacy through prayer, Scripture, and worship, our hearts begin to align with His will. The more we delight in God, the more He transforms our desires to reflect His good purposes. This active pursuit of joy in God results in a reduction of fretfulness and an increase in spiritual contentment, allowing believers to experience the true fulfillment that comes from being in communion with their Creator.

Q: Why should Christians commit their way to the Lord?

Christians should commit their way to the Lord to entrust their paths and burdens to Him, who cares for them. Committing one's way to the Lord, as instructed in Psalm 37:5, is an act of surrender where believers relinquish control of their plans and concerns. This commitment acknowledges that our understanding is limited, and God's wisdom surpasses all. By rolling our burdens upon Him, as described in 1 Peter 5:7, we express confidence in His guidance and care. This surrender not only alleviates stress but also enables believers to walk in the paths God has ordained for them, knowing that He is actively working for their good. It assures them that He is present in every decision they face, granting peace and direction.

Q: How can I cease from anger according to the Bible?

The Bible teaches that ceasing from anger involves trusting in the Lord's justice and not taking matters into your own hands. Psalm 37:8 advises believers to cease from anger and forsake wrath, emphasizing the futility of responding to provocation with anger. This cessation is grounded in the belief that God is the ultimate judge and will vindicate His people. When faced with injustice, believers are called to trust that God sees and will address the situation in His timing. Anger, if uncontrolled, can lead to destructive actions, whereas a heart of patience and trust allows for God's peace to rule. Thus, ceasing from anger involves both a deliberate choice and an invitation for God’s peace to guard our hearts.

It's true what Brother Richardson
said. He said, if you knew what God Almighty knows, then you
would order every event in your own life just exactly the way
God's doing it now. He wouldn't change a thing if
you knew what he knows. He said all things work together
for good to them that love God with a call according to his
eternal, unchangeable purpose. Psalm 37, now turn back there
to Psalm 37. The title of this message is
simply, fret not, fret not. I looked up the word fret in
Webster's dictionary. And it means agitation of the
mind, marked by complaint and impatience, or disturbance of
temper, irritation, or something that eats away or gnaws at you.
Fretting is very common to all of us, isn't it? We fret and
worry and become agitated and irritated about anything and
everything. Everybody in here is guilty. I admit that I'm guilty. I admit that the current state
of things in our country constantly leaves me in a state of agitation
and irritation. The violence and the immorality
and the religious perversion that goes on gets me quite upset
and agitated. Every time I look at the Roanoke
news and world propaganda, I get plum agitated. Plum agitated. The people of this world and
their perverted and warped mentality and their total lack of morals
and scruples just gets me plum upset, I have to admit. It does you, too. Most of what
I read in the papers, most of what I see on the television,
most of what I hear coming out of the mouths of the average
person is totally contrary to biblical principles. And it's
totally contrary to all the laws of decency and right and wrong,
and I get plumb aggravated. I seem to stay that way. But it was no different back
in days gone by, in the days of David, who wrote this psalm. It was no different. He lived
in a wicked and adulterous generation that was no less wicked than
the one we live And he said this in verse one, he said, don't
fret, fret not, fret not, fret not thyself because of evil doers. And whether those evil doers
be religious ones, they're the ones that get me fretted more
than anything. These workers of iniquity, the
Lord calls them, who say they're doing good work, but they're
They're not, they're workers of iniquity. They're blaspheming
my Lord and they're corrupting and perverting the scriptures
and leading men's souls astray. Whether they be religious evildoers
or irreligious evildoers, whether they be self-righteous evildoers
or openly immoral evildoers, whether they be heretical or
homosexual evildoers, he says fret not. Don't let them get
you overly upset or excited. Stay calm. Remember who's in
charge. Remember who is in control of
all things. And remember who it is that raises
up and who it is that casts down, and who is in absolute control
over good and evil. No evil could take place, zero,
unless God allowed it. So we need to remember that and
fret not. And he says this, don't be envious, neither be thou envious
against the workers of iniquity. Down in verse 35, he says, I've
seen the wicked in great power spreading himself like a green
bay tree. Turn over to Psalm 73. The easy
way to remember Psalm 37 and Psalm 73 is just reverse the
number. But they're saying the same thing.
And this is a sad fact, but, well, that's the wrong choice
of words, and it's the fact. It's the fact that this evil
and adulterous generation will not elect any decent, honest,
God-fearing man. will not exalt or raise to a
position of leadership or government any decent, good, honest, fearing
man. Well, that's not who they want,
but only evildoers. And we read there where it says
he's spreading himself like a green bay tree. Look at Psalm 73, verses
3 through 12. David says here, I was envious
of the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. I know
bands in their They are not troubled in their death, but their strength
is firm. They are not in trouble as other men. They don't seem
to have the plagues and the problems and the trials and tribulations
that at least believers have. Neither are they plagues like
other men. Therefore, pride compasses them about as a chain. Violence
covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness,
they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, they
speak wickedly concerning oppression, they speak loftily, they set
their mouth against the heaven, their tongue walking through
the earth. These people return hither and waters of a full cup
are wrung out to them. And they say, how does God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold, these are the ungodly. They prosper in the world. They
increase in riches. They're fat and sassy and blasphemous
of God Almighty. It seems, sometimes it does seem
as if crime does pay, doesn't it? That's what David was saying
right there. It does seem, O Lord, that sometimes
crime does pay. The wicked get rich, the wicked
get the best jobs. Have you ever traded over not
getting a job that somebody else got because they knew somebody
or had a little influence or whatever? I'll remind you of
Psalm 75, verse 6. It says, Promotion cometh neither
from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south, but God is
the judge. He puts down one and sets up another. I remember just
before I came down here, I was quite upset. I wasn't quite upset,
but I was perplexed why I didn't get a particular job that I was
best suited for and I felt most qualified for and just knew I
was the best man for the job. I was the best man for the job,
but I didn't get the job. Now I know why. Had I got that
job, I wouldn't have this job. I wouldn't have this one. Well, don't worry, believer. There was an old preacher years
ago that preached a message, and he entitled it, Payday Someday. Payday Someday. Payday Someday. And look back
at Psalm 37. He says in verse 2, they'll soon
be cut down. They're fat and sassy now, but
they'll be lean and hungry then. They'll be cut down like the
grass and wither as the earth. Don't fret, he says. Relax. Don't cry, laugh. That's what he said God's doing.
Verse 13, the Lord shall laugh. If the Lord's laughing, why don't
we? He shall see his days coming, and we ought to believe the Lord.
The Lord laughs. We don't envy a fat cow, do we? Huh? A cow that's out there getting
real good and fat in the field, do we envy him? He's going to
the slaughter. Why should we envy those who
get fat off this world? It's the goodness of the Lord
not to let his people get too fat in this world, but to leave
them lean and not subsisting off this world. And also this,
he says, don't pray it because of evildoers. Be thou not envious
against the workers of iniquity. Don't fret because of ill treatment
that you receive at the hands of your family or co-workers
or employees, employers. Don't fret at the ill treatment
you receive at the hands of various people. You live as unto the
Lord because his eyes behold. his eyelids dry. He knows exactly
what his children are going through, and somehow or another, he is
behind it all. Now, here are eight words to
keep us from fretting in this text. He says, Brett and I, and
there are eight words to be found in this text to keep us from
fretting. Do you need this? I do. All right? Word number
one, look at verse three. The first thing to keep us from
fretting is trust. Trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord. Do you believe
God is all-wise? Do you believe God is all-wise? Do you believe he knows all,
sees all, controls all? Do you believe all things work
together for good, according to that purpose of it? Huh? Trust him. He's in control. Why worry? Why worry? Take the attitude of that cartoon
character. What? Be worried? My God knows all,
does all, controls all. Why should I worry? You know
what fretting and worrying is, basically? Fretting and worrying
is nothing more than unbelief and saying this. This is what
fretting and worrying is saying, basically. God doesn't know what's
best. Isn't it? God doesn't know what's
best for me. I'd do it differently. Isn't
that what's prayed anywhere it is? Huh? Is God not all-wise?
Is God not in control? Is He? You believe that? Then
trust Him. Trust Him. Trusting Him, the song says,
whatever befall. Trusting Jesus. That's all. That's
all. Don't judge anything. We get
into a worry and a fretful state when we judge with these, don't
we? When we judge with the eye. Don't
judge anything by the eyesight. The just shall live by faith.
Judge everything by faith, and judge everything according to
God's holy and eternal word. Don't judge anything before the
time, he said. Time, or his times, he said.
In his times. Everything is going according
to his times. So trust in the Lord, that's word number one.
Word number two is found in that same verse. Trust in the Lord
and do good. I read many writers and none
of them use this term, but that's okay. The Lord used it. In verse
three, do good. Turn over to 1 Peter chapter
three. 1 Peter chapter three. Do good. See right here in verse
three, you have sovereignty and responsibility, don't you? Trust
in God and do good. Trust the Lord and do good. 1 Peter chapter 3. This is exactly
what he's saying, what Peter's saying. 1 Peter chapter 3. Trust
and do. In other words, do what is right,
just, holy and good. Serve the Lord with fear and
trembling. Serve your fellow man and you have nothing to fear.
1 Peter 2, look at verses 13 through
20. We'll read several verses here. Verses 13 through 20. He
says here, Submit yourself to every ordinance of man for the
Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme or unto governors
as unto them that are sent by him, for the punishment of evildoers,
for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God
that with well-doing you may put to silence the ignorance
of foolish men. Read on, as free, not using your
liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as servants of God. Love
the Brotherhood, fear God, honor the King, serve us, our workers,
be subject to your masters, your employees, with all fear, not
only the good and gentle employees, but also to the mean ones. You remember I just read in Psalm
75, verses 6 and 7, the Lord, where did promotion come from?
God puts a man in office and puts a man in position of leadership.
Verse 19, this is If a man for conscience toward God endured
grief, suffering wrongfully, what glory is it if when you
be buffeted for your faults, you take it patiently? But if
when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this
is acceptable with God. Look at chapter 3, look at verse
8, chapter 3. Finally, be ye all of one mind,
having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful,
be courteous, that is, be full of pity for one another, be courteous
Not rendering evil for evil, railing for railing, but contrarywise,
blessing. Knowing that you are there unto
called, that you should inherit a blessing. For he that will
love life and seek good days, listen to it, let him refrain
his tongue from evil, and his lips that speak no guile, let
him eschew evil and do good. Let him seek peace and ensue
it. The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears
are open unto their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against
them that do evil. And who is he that will harm
you if you be followers of that which is good? But if you suffer
for righteousness' sake, happy are you. Be not afraid of their
terror, neither be troubled. Sanctify the Lord God in your
heart. Verse 16. Having a good conscience, they
speak evil of you as of evildoers. They may be ashamed and falsely
accuse your good life or conversation in Christ. Isn't that what Peter
said? The same thing that the psalmist
said? Very clear, isn't it? Very clear. He said, Do good,
and thou shalt, back in the text, do good, and thou shalt dwell
in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. There's no hunger
to a laboring man. The Lord won't let it happen.
There's no evil going to befall a man who endeavors, by God's
grace, to walk the right way. It's not going to happen. So
don't fret. Don't fret. You're walking according
to the light that God gives you, according to his word, asking
him for his help. Don't fret. Do good. Look at
number three in verse four. Psalm 37, verse four. Delight
thyself also in the Lord. Delight thyself also in the Lord. What is your chief joy and delight? Whatever your cheap joy and delight
is, will determine whether or not you do much fretting. Is your family your cheap joy
and delight? Then you'll constantly be fretting. Your family, you may lose them
or they may disappoint you or abuse you. And then you'll be
fretting constantly. What about your home? Is your
home your cheap joy and delight? Huh? One little match. We'll
send that up in a puff of smoke, won't we? What about your job?
You can sure lose that, can't you, in a hurry? That's your
chief joy and delight? What about health and happiness?
Health and happiness, that's your chief joy and delight? That's
what gives you most pleasure and delight? The microscopic
germ may be in your body right now and it's going to kill you.
It's going to turn you into a vegetable. It won't take much to do away
with health and happiness, will it? What about youth? What about you and future pursuit
pursuits, everything that lies ahead of you? You'll be 37 real
soon. You'll be 57, 52, whatever, 67,
77. What about 82? Virgie never dreamed
the day that she never thought it would happen. Like that, wasn't
it, Virgie? 83, sorry. It's like that, isn't it? A vapor,
a vapor. No, the youth, there's nothing
to be had in youth. There's only one place you can
find unchanging joy and delight. Change and decay in all around
I see. Can you quote the rest of it?
O thou who changest not, abide with me. Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, today, and forever. You know, if you could findâ€”this
is what I look for in a friend, personally. I look for somebody
that stays the same all the time, somebody that's dependable, somebody
that's faithful, somebody that's constant, true, and faithful.
If you can find a friend like that, stick with it, delight
in him, rejoice in him, and be a friend to him. There is a friend
like that, let's stick it closer than a brother, who never changes,
who never fails, will never fail you. He's always the same. Same.
Don't you like constancy in people, huh? And people that are on an
even keel, not people that are, you know, moody people, all the
time have you upset or, you know, they can be nice one minute and
you just love them to death, and then mean as a snake the
next and you want to punch them in the nose. Don't you? Yeah, you do. I'm not the only one who feels
that way. Christ is the same all the time.
Constant. Same yesterday, today, and forever.
A friend that sticketh closer than a brother, you can depend
on him. You can depend on him. And the more you delight in him,
the more your desires will be for him. It says, delight yourself
in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
The more you delight in Christ, The more you get to know him,
the more your desires will be for him and less for the world.
Right? And the less you'll be fretting.
Because he never changes. Because you see that he is your
unfailing portion. Whom have I in heaven but thee?
And really, there's none on earth I desire beside thee. So why
should I fret? He never changes. He said he'd
never leave me. He said he's going to come back again someday
and receive me to himself. He said, Let not your heart be
troubled, so long as you are in the Lord. Isn't that the cure for fretting?
Delight in the Lord. There's nothing else to delight
in. Everything changes, everything fails, but he never failed. Look at verse 5. There's another
word, number 4. Verse 5, he says, Commit thy
way unto the Lord. He was like this. Do you have
a margin there? What does your margin say? Commit.
If you have a King James Bible and a margin, it says, Roll thy
way upon the Lord. Roll thy way upon the Lord. Remove or cast upon the Lord
thy way. Now, the way of the believer
is not like the way of the world. We saw that in Psalm 73, how
that the world is going this broad road They seem to have
it easy, everything's smooth, it's all just gravy to the world. They don't seem to have the troubles
that believers have, but the believer goes through a world
of tribulation. That's what the Lord said, didn't
he? He said, you must, through much tribulation, enter the kingdom
of heaven to wean us from this world. If we found any happiness
here, we won't stay, wouldn't we, Terry? But he weans us from
it, and we go through much trial and tribulation. Yet it's a paradox,
because on the back of trials and tribulations we receive joy
unspeakable. Scripture talks about consolations
to every trial. Consolations more than make up
for the pain that you've suffered, don't they? Consolations more
than make up for the deprivation that you've suffered, don't they?
If they don't, I'm worried about you. Brother Walter Gruber told
us down in Mexico, he related this story. He said he was talking
with a man who had undergone a severe trial and the man was
in a great deal of bitterness and sorrow. just down in the
mouth for a long time. He thought, when's he going to
get over this? He's supposed to be a believer. And the man
kept fretting and worrying and murmuring and complaining and
sorrowing over his loss. And finally, Walter, you know,
Walter is a man with no guile, such a meek and a humble and
a sweet and gentle fellow. He wouldn't say anything hard
or tough to anybody. But he said, finally, he said
to the man, very plain language, he said, Where is the consolation
you're supposed to have in Christ? Isn't there supposed to be some
consolation in all your trials and troubles? And he said, the
man, it's like he shocked him. He said he came back to him the
next day. He said he had a grin on his face from ear to ear. He said, the Lord gave me that
consolation. I don't know why I fretted so long. But this consolation
to be had behind every trial and trouble that a believer goes
through, and if it's not there, then you have no need to worry. He says, roll your way upon the
Lord. We don't have to bear these burdens
alone. We don't have to bear them alone. The illustration
is this. Here's the illustration. Say
you're walking along. And you're carrying a heavy load.
I mean a heavy load. Some of you have physically,
literally done that. Carried heavy loads and you felt
like you were literally going to fall under the weight of that
load. Or some of you have carried emotional
loads that you literally thought you were going to faint, you
were going to quit under that burden. You're walking along
carrying this heavy load that you feel like you're going to
fall at And along comes a good friend. Strong, robust, fresh,
youth renewed as an eagle. He comes up to you and says,
Do you need any help? Now you're about to fall down. Do I need
any help? How much can you carry? You say
to him. How much can you carry? And he
says, All of it. Would you not gladly give it
to him, huh? Only a fool wouldn't. Would you
not gladly give it to him? Well, let me tell you this. If
the government of the universe is upon his shoulders, Craig
King, handle your light affliction. If God placed on him the sin
of the world, God put on him the iniquity of us all. Craig
King, handle your little problem. I think half the problem is we
try to handle it ourselves, and don't roll it. That's why he
said, just roll it off. It doesn't even take any effort
to roll it off. Roll thy truck. Cast your care
upon him, for he careth for you, Peter said. Also, this is so,
this verse here is trifocal, quadrifocal. infinity focal has
so many meanings here that listen to this this means this also.
In the Latin bowl gate version it says the. Commit by way means
to reveal by way. Under the law. In other words
reveal your sins confess all of your sins he knows them Why
not get it off your chest, huh? Have you ever kept a secret,
a sin secret? Back when a kid, when you did
something, you know, and nobody... One time, I was, we were all,
when we were in grade school, we used to like to lay in a pile
on one another on the playground. Boys are strange. Just lay in
a pile, you know, just wrestling all over one another. And there
was one little boy, skinny little boy, That never did that. He
was real frail and he never got in on roughhousing like the rest
of us did. He was standing there and I was back on the other side
of the playground. And I saw him standing there and I ran
and shoved him into the pile. And he no sooner came up out
of that pile than he had a pump knot on his head that big. And
of course I didn't, you know, I turned my back. Nobody knew
who did it. You know, that haunts me to this day. That haunts me
to this day. Sins kept secret. You just want
to get them off your chest, don't you? I did it. He feels much
better. The Lord knows anyway. Why don't
you tell him? Get it off your chest. Confess thy wayward ways. Commit thy way. Confess your
wayward ways. And it says, trust him as merciful
and gracious Savior, and he'll bring it to pass. Look at it.
Commit your way unto him. The Lord trusts in him. He'll
bring it to pass. Or that is, he'll bring your
predicament to pass. That your predicament shall pass.
your trouble and your anxiety shall pass. You know, sometimes
the Lord repays us later on, and we know exactly why. We feel like we've got, you know,
about three weeks later I had a wreck on my bicycle and got
a pump knot on the side of my bike. I didn't complain. I knew
why. I knew why I had that pump knot. That's true. Commit thy way. Here's another
meaning of this. Commit thy way. Roll the whole Burden, he said,
roll a whole burden of your whole life upon the Lord. Just roll
it off. Seems like a heavy burden, especially
you fathers and husbands, doesn't it? Submit to him and everything.
Submit to him everything. Your home, your family, your
job, your mind, your heart, your body, your soul. That'll cure
fretfulness. Say, here, Lord, you take it.
I don't want it. Right? Cash you get all your
care upon me, he cares for you. Well, here, I don't need it.
Right? It's like that man who was having
trouble with insomnia, couldn't sleep at night, and he read Psalm
121 and said he needed to slumber, there's no sleep. He said, well,
if the Lord's going to stay awake, why should I? I'm going to sleep. I'm not being, I'm trying to
be clever. It's true, though, isn't it?
Why fret? Refer everything to him. refer
everyone to him, even Satan. How do you resist the devil?
Refer him to the Lord. The Lord rebuked him. Right? You know what Michael did, the
archangel? What if he had tried to fight
him on his own? He would have been whooped. Whipped. The Lord rebuked him. Refer everything and everyone
to the Lord. You said you'd handle it. That
sounds simple, doesn't it? It's true. It's true. He says
he'll bring, verse 6, he'll bring your righteousness as the light,
bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment
as the noonday. If you look to Christ thy righteousness, who
is thy righteousness? It's Christ. If you look to Christ
thy righteousness, you'll be enlightened. Right? You see that Christ is your righteousness,
it will enlighten you about most everything. If you trust in Christ,
he says, he'll bring your judgment as the noonday. Or in other words,
you'll grow in knowledge of Christ, you'll discern all things. That's
what he said in 1 Corinthians 2. You have the mind of Christ.
You'll be able to have good judgment. Does that make sense? You have
good judgment concerning all things. Also, that means the
same thing we read in 1 Peter chapter 3. God will vindicate
his righteous ones. He'll vindicate them, he'll lead
them in right paths in spite of all of the perversity and
so forth. rest in him and his completed
work. He said, Come unto me, all ye
that are laboring and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Enter into Christ your Sabbath. Enter into Christ your Sabbath.
Listen to this, this is interesting. You know, the law, when God instituted
the law, The man was to work six days and then rest on the
seventh. The law says work six days and then rest, if you can,
if the work's finished. There's really never any rest
if you're trying to be accepted by the works of the law, or you'll
never rest. You'll never have any rest, will you? The law says
work six days and rest. Grace says this, rest first,
then go to work. You ever notice that? The first
day of the week is the day we rest on. You begin by resting
in Christ. And once resting in Christ, then
you go to work for him. Not in order to rest, but because
of Christ, because of your salvation, out of gratitude. There's nothing
sweeter to a laboring man than rest. Have you ever worked your
fingers to the bone? Have you ever worked until you
couldn't work anymore, until you're at the point of exhaustion?
Was there anything sweeter, anything more enjoyable than rest, just
to lay on the bed? Well, there's nothing sweeter
to an old sinner than a sovereign Savior that you can rest on,
that you don't have to worry. It's done. As your song says,
it's done. There's nothing left to do. It's
all been done. There's some sweet rest to be had right there, isn't
there? You don't have, it is nothing sweeter than to rest
upon the sovereign savior who finished, who completed, who
effectually accomplished redemption on behalf of his people. Just
rest. Just rest. All those animals that were in
the ark, what did they have to do? Rest. I said all the animals went in
the ark, the ark was already prepared, you see. And all they
had to do was come into the ark and just Lay around and eat.
That sounds good, doesn't it? That's what he said. He said
the good shepherd leads them beside the still water, in the
green pasture beside the still water. Just rest. Lay down. Make
them lie down and eat. Nothing hard about that, is it? Also, this means this. To rest means, you see, you have
another marginal reference there. It says be silent, too. Rest
in the Lord, be silent, or that is, don't question God's providence. The people, the children of Israel
came to that Red Sea, you know, and they were beset with armies
behind them, and the mountains on this side and the mountains
on that side, and it seemed like an impenetrable wall of water
in front of them. What did Moses say to them? Just
stand still. Don't do anything. Don't start
swimming. Don't start fretting, just stand still and just watch. Just watch. Be still, be quiet, wait, watch
the hand of God at work. I wish we could do that, don't
you? That pure fretfulness, just watch, just wait, just watch.
That's getting ahead of myself. Verse 8, look at verse 8. This
is word number 6. Verse 8, he says, cease from
anger. cease from anger. God said to
Cain, you remember when Cain brought the best that he could
do, and God said, no, Cain, no, I won't accept that. Cain was
wroth. Cain got angry. What did God
say to Cain? Cain, wouldn't it have been much
easier just to bring a lamb? You wouldn't have to do anything,
would you, Cain? Huh? What are you angry about? What
are you angry about? In other words, he caused himself
a whole lot more work than he needed to, didn't he? If he'd
have just brought what God had already provided, he wouldn't
have had to work at all, right? But Cain toiled good in pride. That's the only reason anybody
works and thinks God's going to accept his pride, think God's
going to accept it. But God said to Cain, why are
you rough? Why are you angry, Cain? Why is your countenance
falling? If thou doest well, shalt thou
not be accepted? And it says there, be accepted
means have the excellency. If you could do well, Brother
Terry, if you could do righteous, if you could be holy, if you
could do something that God Almighty would accept, wouldn't he accept
you on the basis of that? Yeah, he would, he would. But
you can't, can you, buddy? Huh? Oh, so why try? Why should we be angry about
anything or anyone that crosses us or crosses our path when we're
only getting what we deserve anyway? We get angry and upset about
anything or everything that crosses our path. We're not getting what
we deserve. We're not getting one millionth
of what we deserve. He says the Lord has not dealt
with us according to our iniquities. Heck, doesn't he? He hasn't given
us what we deserve. And we sometimes we reap exactly
what we've sown. I got a pump, not because I deserve
one. I gave one and I got one. Why
should I complain? Huh? We got a whole lot of pump
knots coming to us, don't we, Brother Stan? According to what
we've sown all of our lives, huh? But thank God he doesn't
deal with us according to our iniquity. But he's rewarded us
double. God said to Jonah the same thing,
didn't he? Remember when Jonah got angry? God grew a gourd.
Remember that? Jonah went down to preach and
got mad because the people were dead. And that sounds like a
sovereign grace preacher, doesn't it? Wipe them out, Lord. Kill
them. Don't save them, kill them. Isn't
that right? Isn't that just like, and the
Lord, but the Lord saved those people, and Jonah, and the Lord
grew, and Jonah went over under a tree and started sulking, you
know. It made him look bad, you see. And the Lord mercifully
grew a gourd to protect old Jonah from the hot, the heat of the
sun. And he got a little relief, a
little respite, and went to sleep, you know, and forgot his anger
a little bit. And then the sun withered that
gourd. Oh, he got up mad, you know.
And what did the Lord say to old Jonah? Jonah, do you do well
to be angry with the gourd? He said, Jonah, you didn't grow
the gourd, you didn't deserve the gourd. Gourd head, that's
where that saying came from, Joe. That's exactly where it
came from. Gourd head, what's wrong with you? I ought to beat
you over the head with a gourd. All I did, I gave it to you,
now I'm taking it away from you, Jonah. Cease from that anger. Isn't that what he's saying?
Stop that, you baby. Shut up, dry up. Jonah, I gave
it to you, I can take it away, it's mine, just bless me. Bless
me. It wasn't yours to begin with,
you didn't earn it, nor did you deserve it. So that's one way
to quit fretting. Everything that crosses our path,
everything that goes contrary to us, everything we have, by
the grace of God anyway. My car breaks down, why should
I fret? God gave it to me, huh? People down in Mexico don't have
cars. They don't even have Some of them don't even have shoes. Why should I fret when something
goes wrong with my favorite pair of shoes out of my twenty pair
at the foot of the shop? That will keep you from fretting,
won't it? It ought to. Cease from anger.
Stop that. Remember that by the grace of
God you are what you are and have what you have. And then
the results of anger, unchecked. If you let your anger go unchecked,
this is what will happen. You'll vent your wrath. Look
at verse 8. Cease from anger and forsake
wrath. Anger vented or unleashed expresses itself in wrath. Bring
down your wrath upon something or somebody or whatever. Now,
you think about this and see if this isn't so. We always end
up regretting it. When we pop off or vent our frustration
or do something out of anger, something spiteful, something
vengeful, or take matters into our own hands, we always later
on end up regretting what we've done out of a fit of anger, don't
we? Huh? Every time. It always makes us end up feeling
worse rather than better, doesn't it? I'll give him a piece of
my mind. Or you do. How about this? Let me ask you
this. Have you ever gotten mad at somebody? Husband, wife, a friend or somebody. And do something despite them.
And only end up making matters much worse than they were before. Have you? Everybody in here has
done that. And you rue the day that you
let your wrath or let your anger turn into wrath. And he says
here, don't do it. Threaten not thyself and any
wise to do evil. Don't get so full of a root of
bitterness that springs up that will trouble you and cause you
to do any evil. Don't do it. Evil only begets
evil. No good will ever come of it.
Paul said, put off. Paul said this, put off anger,
wrath, malice. Like I said, it's like talking
to a child. Just stop it. James said this. Here's a good
way to put off anger and wrath. James said, Be swift to hear.
Husbands and wives, don't we need to learn that real? Why
is it we listen to other people's husband or wife and so patient
with them and not with our own? Huh? This would cure that. Be
swift to hear. Be more ready to hear than to
answer. Give sacrifice food. Be swift
to hear, James said, slow to speak, put a watch on your lips. For some reason, in our own households,
we're a little less watchful over our speech. Be swift to
hear, ready to hear the other person out. Slow to speak. You
know, that little woman might be Manoah's wife. She might can
teach you a thing or two or three or four. Slow to wrath. Know what he says? Slow to wrath. If I said this once, I've said
it a dozen times. If there's anything that the
mercy and grace and regenerating power of God does to a man or
woman, it makes them merciful and gracious and changes them. It makes them temperate, doesn't
it? God tempers our temper. with mercy and grace, in light
of his mercy and grace done. It ought to temper our temper
toward others. And in Leslie, and he said this
in verse 7, but I saved it for last. Verse 9, he says, evil
doers shall be cut off, but those that wait upon the Lord, they
shall inherit the earth. A little while, and wicked shall
not be. Thou shalt diligently consider
his place, and it shall not be. Just wait. Just wait. I can't wait. You better. Just
wait. You know the old saying, turn
over to Psalm 25, and I'll quit by quoting some of these verses.
Psalm 25. The old saying is, I don't know
where this came from unless it has a biblical basis behind The
old saying is, good things come to those that wait. You old folks,
Barbara, you remember? You've heard that saying, haven't
you? Good things come to those that wait. I think that ought to be, God
comes to those that wait. That's what scripture says here.
Look at Psalm 25, verse 2 and 3. Oh my God, I trust in thee. Let me not be ashamed. Let me not be ashamed, let not
mine enemies triumph over me, let none that wait on thee be
ashamed." I have so many times I have shamed
myself by not waiting on the Lord. Haven't you? So many times I have shamed myself
by not waiting on the Lord, but rather taking things into my
own hands. Kind of like macho men, you know,
who would rather do something rather than just dive into something
before reading the instructions. Anybody guilty of that? Huh? If all else fails, you don't
read the instructions? No, that's not the way this thing's
done. Read the instructions first,
and that way everything else won't fail. Right? Take God's Word, read the instructions,
read His precepts, His commandments. And then you may, maybe you might
not have to fail. Right? Isn't that good advice?
Let none that wait on thee be ashamed. But those that don't
wait and run ahead, they're going to be ashamed. You can count
on it. You can count on it. Have you ever done that, Stan?
I can do that. Well, I can take that apart.
Sure you can. Can you put it back together? Verse 5. and teach me. Thou art the God
of my salvation. On thee do I wait all the day."
On thee do I wait all the day. You know, for truth be known,
I'm the pastor of this church, and there's a lot of decisions
to be made, and maybe you're a boss or have some decisions
to be made on your job or whatever, and after you get off of the
job or in a situation where it doesn't require that you make
the decision. Don't you kind of like to sit
back and let somebody else make the decision? Huh? My wife all the time at home,
we might go out to eat or something. She says, where do you want to
go? I don't care. You decide. No, no, no. Anywhere in the world
you want to go to eat, just you decide. I don't want to make
a decision. Huh? But the fact it's the truth be
known that I don't make any decisions in my life. Do you? Every decision
I've ever made, I've messed it up. Wouldn't this be a good thing
to do? Just wait on the Lord. Let him
make the decision. That's a bad word. Let him. He
will make the decision if you wait on him. And that's what
I said. You're my salvation. I'm just going to wait on you.
I'm not moving until you move first. Right? Lord, I'm not, if you carry me
out of here, if you go not with us, don't carry me. All right? I want that, but I'm just not
sure if it's what I need. I'm not going to do it, Lord,
until you show me for sure. But that's what I'm supposed
to do. He says, any that wait on him will never be ashamed.
He says, I am your salvation. You wait on me and I'll show
you the way. I'll lead you right back. Trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord. And finally,
look at verse 21. If you wait on the Lord to show
you the way and inquire into his precepts, inquire into his
word, read the instructions first. Verse 21 says, Integrity and
uprightness will preserve you. You'll make the right decisions.
Right? Integrity and uprightness preserve
me, I wait on thee. And he will preserve you from
much evil, so fret not, fret not, trust in the Lord, do good,
whichever thy hand finds to do, do with all your might as unto
the Lord, no evil will befall you. Who is he that will harm
you could be followers of that which is good. Do good, delight
thyself in the Lord, don't get much delight and joy and happiness
in anything else, you'll be disappointed. The only thing constant in this
world is disappointment. Christ is constant in wisdom
and all, in goodness. Delight in the Lord. Commit thy
way unto the Lord. Roll your care upon him. Confess
your sins to him. Rest in the Lord. Rest in him. Wait on him. Cease from anger.
Just stop that. Forsake wrath. Don't let your
anger be bended and do what you later regret. Forsake that. Eschew it. Run from it. Wait. Just wait. Wait. Wait, I say. I went through and started counting
all the time and said, Wait a minute. Wait. Wait, I say, on the Lord. And he'll exalt you in due time.
Don't worry. Don't worry about this world.
Don't envy a failing world. Don't envy a
fatted calf. Don't do it. Wait on the Lord.
Fret not. Trust in Him. All right. Hope
that was a help to you. Stand with me. Heavenly Father, we ask that
you give us strength and let your integrity and uprightness
preserve us, keep us from evil. Give us wisdom, Lord. Don't let
us be dumb oxes. Don't let us forget. Don't let
us be like the man who beheld himself in the glass and walked
away and forgot what manner of man he was. Don't let that happen. But take these words, these eight
words, all of these words, or one word, just take one word,
and instill it within us, indelibly printed upon our hearts and our
minds, that we might not fret anymore, that we might trust
in thee. Thou art a God who delights thyself in showing mercy and
grace and giving great things unto his people. And no thing
is too hard for thee. And Lord, we ask that you would.
Show us that you have undertaken everything on our behalf and
that we live far below our privileges as sons of God, and we don't
have to live beggar as beggarly beggars, and we don't have to
live as as groveling and and so full of fears and all that,
but we can. Just trust in the and feel confident
and feel some assurance and not fret about things. So Lord, we
ask that you would instill that within us and impress these thoughts,
these words upon us. You can take one word and bring
about a great change within our lives. We ask that you do that
for your glory. This will bring glory to you.
Here in his Father glorified that we bear much fruit unto
his glory. And we ask that you enable us to glorify you not
only with our words in our profession of faith, but with our lives,
our conversation. Men may see that we truly do
believe a sovereign God, and we act that way. We don't pray
it, but we trust in the living God who will perform all things
for us. Grant it, Lord, according to your riches in glory in Christ.
Grant it. We don't deserve it, but we ask you for it. In Christ's
name we pray. Amen.

Fret Not Thyself

What does the Bible say about not fretting or worrying?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

Why is trusting in God important for Christians?

How do I delight in the Lord?

Why should Christians commit their way to the Lord?

How can I cease from anger according to the Bible?

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