The Key to Paradise

Below is the message given in Onida and Agar Sunday, August 5, 2012.  This message will be given in Gettysburg Sunday, August 12, 2012.  The scriptures used are Genesis 2:8-15; Matthew 6:25-34; and Psalm 85.

            What’s your idea of paradise?

           

It means different things to different people, of course.  Some of us might think of a tropical island, where the weather’s always nice and there’s a beautiful tropical breeze blowing.  Some of us might think of being surrounded by the people we love—our family and our friends.  Some of us might think of having so much money that we could do whatever we want to do whenever we want to do it and not have to answer to anyone or think about what anyone else thinks about it.  Me, I’d probably think of paradise as being at Target Field to watch the Twins play in the World Series.

           

We all have our own ideas of paradise.  As we continue our sermon series, “This is Country Music”, we’re going to hear one idea of paradise.  The song is called “Knee Deep”, and it’s by the Zac Brown Band.  The words are on a bulletin insert.  We’ll hear the song, and then we’ll talk about it.

           

The lyrics to the song are below:

Gonna put the world away for a minute
Pretend I don't live in it
Sunshine gonna wash my blues away
Had sweet love but I lost it
She got too close so I fought it
Now I'm lost in the world tryin to find me a better way

Wishin' I was
Knee deep in the water somewhere
got the blue sky, breeze, and it don't seem fair
only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise, there's a fire in the sky
never been so happy, never felt so high
and I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

Wrote a note, said "Be back in a minute"
Bought a boat and I sailed off in it
Don't think anybody's gonna miss me anyway
Mind on a permanent vacation
The ocean is my only medication
I’m wishin' my condition ain't ever gonna go away

’Cause now I'm knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowin' wind thru my hair
Only worry in the world, is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise, there's a fire in the sky
never been so happy, never felt so high
and I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

This champagne shore washin' over me
It's a sweet sweet life livin' by the salty sea
One day you can be as lost as me
Change your geography and maybe you might be

Knee deep in the water somewhere
got the blue sky breeze blowin' wind thru my hair
only worry in the world, is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise, there's a fire in the sky
never been so happy, never felt so high
and I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

Come on in, the waters nice
find yourself a little slice
grab a bag, pack it light
you'll never know until you try
when you lose yourself
you find a key to paradise

           

I think this song hits home with people because, whatever our idea of paradise is, it has to do with getting away from our problems.  It has to do with not having anything to worry about.

           

That’s what this song is really about.  Think about some of the words.  My mind’s on a permanent vacation.  My only worry in the world is whether the tide’s going to reach my chair.  And the result of that is that I’ve never been so happy.   I’ve never felt so high. The song says that these things are the idea of paradise.

           

That’s why we sometimes refer to heaven as paradise.  In heaven there are no worries.  How could there be?  If there were worries, it really could not be heaven.  After all, we worry about things going wrong.  How can anything go wrong in heaven?  By definition, there cannot be worries in heaven.

           

The thing is, that’s how it’s supposed to be on earth, too.  At least, that’s how it started out.  Think about the passage we read from Genesis describing Eden when Adam was first put in it.  What did Adam have to worry about?  Nothing.  He had food.  He had water.  He did not need clothes.  He had God to protect him, but he really did not have anything to be protected from.  Adam was living in paradise on earth.

           

What that tells me is that worry does not come from God.  Worry comes from two places:  it comes from Satan, and it comes from us.  It does not come from God.

           

That’s why Jesus says we should not worry about tomorrow.  Worrying about tomorrow is counter-productive.  It does not help us.  As Jesus says, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”  Of course, the answer is no.  We cannot.

           

Now, we should make a distinction here between worrying about tomorrow and preparing for tomorrow.  Jesus does not say don’t prepare for tomorrow.  That would not be practical.  I’m not even sure it would be possible.  I mean, I don’t wait until Sunday morning and then start thinking, “I wonder what I should preach about today?”  Maybe it seems like that, sometimes, but I don’t.  You don’t do that in your job, either.  That’d pretty much be a guarantee of failure.

           

In fact, in many ways preparing for tomorrow is the exact opposite of worrying about tomorrow.  After all, why do we worry?  We worry because we don’t know what’s going to happen.  We’re afraid things won’t go the way we want them to go.  We think of all kinds of things that might happen, and we don’t know what we’ll do if they do, so we worry about them.

           

If we’re prepared, though, we don’t need to worry.  We still think of things that might happen, but we know what we’re going to do if they do.  We know how we’ll handle the various situations that might arise, so we don’t need to worry about them any more.  Even if things don’t go the way we want them to go, we don’t have to worry about them if we’re prepared.

           

Preparing does not just mean taking active steps, though.  That’s part of preparing, but it’s not all of it.  When we talk about being prepared, we’re not just talking about being prepared physically.  We’re also talking about being prepared spiritually.  That means being willing to give God control.  It means being willing to turn things over to God.

           

Ultimately, that’s why we worry:  because we don’t trust God enough to turn things over to God.  We want to keep control of everything ourselves, rather than trusting God with that control.

           

The thing is, it’s easy to say, “Turn things over to God”.  It’s a lot harder to do.  Believe me, I know.  I tell myself all the time to trust God and turn things over to God, and for a while I do.  Next thing I know, though, I’m trying to take that control back.  A lot of times I don’t even realize I’m doing it.

           

So what do we do?  How do we stop worry and give control of our lives to God?

           

I think looking at our responsive psalm today, Psalm 85, is helpful.  Look at what the psalmist does.  First he reviews the past.  He remembers all the times God has come through.  He says to God, “you showed favor to your land…you forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sins.”  The writer acknowledges that even though Israel did not deserve it, God was favorable to them.  God forgave them and helped them in spite of everything Israel had done.

           

Then, the writer says, “Restore us again, O God of our Salvation…Will you be angry with us forever?...Will you not revive us again?...Show us your steadfast love, O Lord.”  Again, the writer recognizes that Israel does not deserve anything from God.  He knows Israel has done wrong.  He asks God to forgive them one more time.  He is not relying on any inherent goodness on the part of himself or Israel; rather, he is asking for God’s great love to continue, and for God to give mercy one more time.

           

Listen to what the writer says then.  This strikes me as really important.  He says, “Let me hear what God will speak.” 

Think about the progression here.  The writer acknowledges all that God has done in the past.  The writer humbly prays for God’s mercy and forgiveness.  Then, the writer stands back to hear what God has to say.  He does not make any demands of God.  He does not tell God how or when to speak or what to say.  He simply waits and listens for how God is going to respond.

           

That’s the secret.  Is it easy?  No.  It can be really hard sometimes.  Even when we pray, a lot of times we still want that control.  We want God to respond in a certain way, and we want God to do it right now.  It’s hard to have the patience to just sit back and wait to see what it is that God’s going to do.

           

It’s hard, but it’s the key to it.  Go back to our song.  Remember the last line?  I think this is really profound, probably a lot more profound that the writer of the song realized.  He says, “When you lose yourself, you find the key to paradise.”

           

When we lose ourselves.  When we stop thinking about what we want and when we want it.  When we stop worrying about whether things will go the way we think they should go.  When we stop worrying about what we’ll do if thing don’t go the way we want them to go.  When we think about all the things God has done for us in the past.  When we humbly ask God for mercy and forgiveness.  When we simply wait and listen and watch for how God is going to respond.   And when we trust that, however God responds, it will be right.  That’s when we can stop worrying.

           

Heaven is paradise, but it’s not the only paradise.  It’s not supposed to be.  We’re supposed to be able to have heaven right here on earth.  That’s what God intended.

           

And we can do it.  Not in the sense that everything goes the way we want it to go, but in the sense that we don’t worry about what’s going to happen.  In the sense, as Jesus said, that we don’t worry about tomorrow.

           

If we’ve done all we can to be physically prepared for what may happen, and if we’ve turned control of our lives to God so that we’re spiritually prepared for what may happen, we no longer have to worry about anything.  In fact, we cannot worry about anything.  It’s not always easy to do, but if we trust God, we can do it.  We can lose ourselves.  And we’ll have found the key to paradise.