known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message.
Here's Adrian Rogers. Would you take God's Word and find Psalm 37? I was getting on an airplane, and the sky cap was there, and I like to be good friends to the sky caps. And I said to one of them, I said, How's your day been going? He looked me straight in the eye and with a grin about a mile wide, and he said, I am too blessed to be stressed.
And I thought, man, I like that. I'm going to use that as a sermon title. So, I'm going to borrow his words, too blessed to be stressed. I was reading U.S. News and World Report and talking about the mental stress that's in our nation today, and I'm not going to read the report to you, but I want to read what Dr. Randall Marshall, Director of the Trauma Studies in New York State Psychiatric Institute said. He said, We are having powerful and disabling problems.
He said, We are seeing a relapse in panic, in depression, and in psychosis. Now, that's going on in the hearts of lots of people, and yet the Scripture tells us, as we're going to see, that we are not to fret. Now, the Bible tells us, as a matter of fact, the Bible commands us not to fret, but I'm sorry to tell you that many Americans and not a few Christians fret. Psalm 37, verse 1, Fret not thyself because of evildoers.
There it is. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good, and so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass, and he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. When the stock market goes down, our blood pressure goes up. The ignorant fret because they don't know enough. The educated fret because they know too much. The poor fret because they don't have any money. The rich fret because they're afraid they're going to lose what they have. The old fret because they're facing death. The young fret because they're facing an unsure future. And yet God says to fret not. The Lord Jesus, and we're going to come back to Psalm 37 in a moment, but the Lord Jesus warned against worry and fretting. The best thing you could say about worry is that it's useless.
He said, which of you by taking that anxious thought can add one cubit to his stature? It's the most useless thing around. It does no good. You don't gain anything by worry.
Now, some think that they do. Little A said, don't tell me that worry does no good. Most of the things I worry about never happen.
Jesus said, take no anxious thought for the morrow. The best you can say about it is, hey, it's useless. But if it were only useless, then we wouldn't be so concerned about it. But it is so harmful. Worry will do the same thing to you that sand will do to machinery.
It'll take all the blue out of your sky. It'll take all of the joy out of your heart. Have you ever thought about what worry does to you? Few forms of dissipation are as debilitating as worry. What does fretting harm you? It harms others. I mean, there are people who just go around spreading gloom.
I know people who can brighten up a room by leaving it. It's a form of contagion for these people who worry. And you don't dare ask them how they feel.
A friend, they'll tell you. But have you ever thought about how harmful worry is to God? Suppose I came home when my children were little and I saw them in a corner sitting there whimpering and sniveling, whining, trembling. I say, dears, what's wrong? They said, well, Daddy, we're afraid that we're not going to have food to eat tomorrow. We're worried that we're not going to have a bed to sleep in. We're not going to have any clothes to wear. And Daddy, we're worried.
Well, I want to ask you a question. How would that make me feel as a father, as the provider, as the protector to have my children, my very own children, crying, weeping, trembling because they evidently would think I'm not able to take care of them? Well, I'm only a human. The truth of the matter is perhaps I would not be able to take care of them.
I'd hate to think that. What an insult to God that worry is. Worry is a way of saying, God, you're not able.
You're not able to provide for me. This same Psalm, David said, once I was young, now I'm old, yet I've not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. God's Word says fret not. Well, that's one thing for God to say it. But how to do it, that's the other thing. And thank God, not only do we have the command, we have the recipe and the power. So, let me give you God's recipe. How to be too blessed to be stressed. Now, what we're talking about is not the subtraction of problems.
What we're talking about is the addition of power. And in the verses that I read to you, there are four commands. And I want to write these commands upon your heart and get them out of the Word of God into your heart. Number one, you need to trust in the Lord when resources vanish. Look in verse 3, trust in the Lord and do good. So, shalt thou dwell in the land and verily, thou shalt be fed. Now, this word trust is an interesting word.
It's a Hebrew word that literally has in its root idea the idea of being face down on the ground with no visible means of support. I have a preacher friend who was in Los Angeles with me at a convention. My preacher friend, whose name is Joe Boatwright, went out for a morning walk there on the streets of Los Angeles. And he said he heard an automobile come roaring up with a broken muffler. There were about four or five young men in that car.
He was on a lonely stretch of road. It was early in the morning. He was going down for a cup of coffee. Before he could say anything, those young men had jumped out of that automobile. And he found himself looking into the barrel of a gun. They had a gun right in his face. And they said, get down on the ground now and spread your arms out. He laid down on the ground. Here are those standing over him with a revolver in their hand. He did not know what moment the trigger may be squeezed. And they reached in and got his billfold and said, don't you lift your head until we're gone or we'll kill you. And he heard that old Rattletrap car roar off. Now, when he was face down on the ground with no means of support, he is illustrating what this word here literally means.
It literally means to have your feet out from beneath you, to be face down, to have no support whatsoever, no visible means of support. Now, friend, when you get in a situation like that, there's only one thing you can do, and that's to trust. That's to trust. Now, you see, most of us have never really been in that kind of a situation. And most of us have never really learned to trust in that kind of a situation because somehow we see some options. But, you know, sometimes God puts us in a place where we don't have any options.
I mean, the only thing we can do is trust. God taught Israel to trust that way. When God was bringing them out of the land of Egypt into the Promised Land, they came down into a cul-de-sac. There's the Red Sea in front of them, the mountains on either side of them, Pharaoh's army coming behind them with their swords glittering in the air and blood in their eye. And God says, Moses, speak to the children of Israel that they go forward.
Do you know what they did? They marched into the Red Sea, and God opened up a 48-lane super highway for them to go through. But now wait a minute.
I want you to imagine them there without Pharaoh's army. And God says, go forward. And they say, well, as soon as we see the bridge, as soon as you see the boat, as soon as the boats come, then we'll go forward. But you see, there comes a time sometime when we don't have any alternative.
We simply have to trust. Put in your margin Philippians 4 verses 11 and 12. Now Paul is in prison.
He's in a Philippian prison awaiting perhaps a death sentence. And here's what he says in Philippians 4 verses 11 and 12. He said, not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I have learned it.
I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. Now he says, I've learned in whatsoever state I am to be content. The word content is a Greek word this time that means self-contained, to have everything that I need within me, to be content, to be self-contained, not dependent upon any other resource except what I have on the inside.
Now I didn't say self-sufficient, I said self-contained. In the next verse he says in Philippians 4 verse 13, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. A literal translation, I can do all things through Christ who is pouring his life into me. Now Paul said, I have learned this. How did he know it? Did he get this kind of trust by reading a book?
Did he get this kind of trust by listening to a sermon in his day? How do you learn this kind of trust? You learn it when you're at the Red Sea. You learn it when you're in prison.
You learn it when you're walking down the street and a car roars up and somebody puts a gun on you and you're lying face down. There's nothing else you can do but trust. Now friend, listen to me. There comes a time sometime when we have nowhere to go except to the Lord. But when you learn that Jesus is all you have, you'll learn that Jesus is enough. Jesus is enough. Paul was saying I can do all things through Christ. He was saying just simply Jesus is all I need. Now look at this verse again in Psalm 37.
Notice what he says. Trust in the Lord and do good. Do you know what people who fret and worry do? They close down shop. They withdraw.
They hunker down. What David is saying is trust in the Lord and do good. That's the best function. Go ahead and stay busy. Go do something. You say I don't have a job. You go to somebody and say, look, I need work. Well, we're not hiring. That's all right. Listen, do you mind if I just come and work for you for nothing?
What? Yeah, can I just show up here? I'll work for you for nothing. You work for me for nothing?
Yes. I won't get in your way. I'll work for you for nothing. Friend, you do that.
Before long, you have a job. I guarantee you. Trust in the Lord. Do good. Don't close down shop. Now this is what God is saying.
Don't fret. Have you ever thought about how many times in the Bible God has promised to meet our needs? He says trust in the Lord and do good. Verily you'll dwell in the land and you'll be fed.
Over and over again, the Bible tells us that he's going to take care of us. Let me give you a verse of Scripture, Matthew 6, verse 33. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Don't put things first. Put God first. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. All these things will be added unto you. I wonder if you really believe that. I wonder if I really believe it.
Seek God first. Now why is God telling us that? You say so we can have provision? Probably not. You probably would have food if you didn't trust the Lord. Oh, blasphemy.
No. Most people in this city are not Christians. They have food. Most people have food.
Most people have clothes. Most people have a house to live in, and they don't trust the Lord. So is God telling you to do this so you can have all the stuff? You probably would have it anyway. Now don't think I'm blaspheming.
No. Why is God telling you to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? He's saying so you won't be like the heathen.
He says after these things do the Gentiles seek. That's what occupies their minds. That's what they're thinking of night and day, day and night. That's all they're thinking about. Get all you can and can't all you get.
That's all they're thinking about. He says, listen, you trust me. Let me take care of that so you can serve me. What that does is just frees you up to serve God.
You don't have to worry about these things. You put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ because Jesus said no man can serve two masters. You can't serve the things of this world and serve the Lord at the same time. Now notice Paul said, I have learned in whatever state I am there with to be content. See, God puts you in school. And by the way, God will keep you there until you pass the test.
If you flunk out the first time, he'll re-enroll you, and he won't grade on the curve. So you have to learn to trust the Lord. Trust in the Lord when resources vanish. God says you'll dwell in the land and you will be fed.
Now here's the second thing. Delight in the Lord when dreams dissolve. Look in verse 4. Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart. Do you know why we fret sometimes when our dreams dissolve, when our joy is being threatened? You've got to find a source of joy that cannot be threatened, and that's the Lord. You see, you delight yourself in the Lord and then the desire of your heart will be met. Now if you delight yourself in finances, the desire of your heart can be threatened.
If you delight yourself in family, it's not wrong to love family, but you may have to kiss them goodbye. How many circumstances change only when your desire is totally wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ or at least primarily? Then you're going to find the innermost needs of your heart are met. So many people misread this verse in verse 4. They get the idea, you know, if I love God, I can have whatever I want. No. If you love God, you've got what you want.
That's what it's saying. Delight yourself in the Lord and you'll have the desire of your heart, which is the Lord. Your innermost need is the Lord himself. Do you know him? Is he the chief desire of your heart? Even when your dreams dissolve.
I met Korten Boom one time and listened to her. She said this, look around and you'll be distressed. Look within, you'll be depressed. Look to the Lord, you'll be at rest. Delight yourself in the Lord.
Can you say that your heart pants for him as the deer pants after the water brook? Children and wealth and home and job, all these things can be threatened. That's the reason in 1929 when the stock market crashed, people were jumping out of buildings.
You know why? They were jumping out of buildings because that's where their delight was and their dreams had dissolved. Listen to Hebrews chapter 10 verse 34. The writer of Hebrews said, and I believe it was Paul, for ye had compassion of me and my bonds and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods. Now, what if you got home tonight and somebody emptied your house? And what if they emptied your house because you're a believer, a Christian?
What if some army came in there and took away everything that you had? That's what happened to these early Christians. The Bible says, and they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better and enduring substance. You want to know everything that you have that really counts. You add up everything you have that money can't buy and death can't take away. These early Christians saw their houses looted. They saw their material things taken away and yet they were praising God. I have to ask myself this question. Could I do that?
Could you do that? Let me give you a great verse. 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 10. Paul speaks of those believers as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.
You see, that's the tension that you have in your life. It's sorrowful. There are sorrows that come.
When a loved one has cancer, a baby dies, a home is broken, a child runs away, there's sorrow, yet always rejoicing. As poor and yet making many rich. And then I love this, as having nothing and possessing all things.
That's so great. The devil comes to you and he says, look, if you will serve me, I'll pay you well. You say, devil, you don't need to pay me.
You can't pay me. I have everything. So what can you give me? Well, he says, listen, if you don't serve me, I'll take away everything you've got. I'll take away anything.
I don't have anything. You see, as possessing nothing and having all things. What can the devil do with a man like that? That's the man, that's the woman whose delight is in the Lord.
You can tell so much about a person by what makes them mad, sad, or glad, can't you? Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desire of your heart. All right, now here's the third thing. Number one, trust in the Lord. Number two, delight in the Lord. Number three, commit your way to the Lord when your lifestyle is threatened. And many of us don't want our lifestyle to be changed.
But now notice Psalm 37 verse five, commit thy way into the Lord. Do you know what the word way means? It means lifestyle.
It has the idea of a well-traveled path. That's the way we're used to living. That's your lifestyle, your way of life, your reputation, your career. He says here, commit your way, your lifestyle into the Lord. Trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass. Now this word trust has a different meaning than the first word trust.
It literally means to roll your way on the Lord. Just put it in his hands. Commit it to him. Give it to him.
Roll it on him. Now if you do that, listen carefully, your standard of living may be changed but not your standard of life. It's very important you understand that.
There's a difference between a standard of living and a standard of life. And he says you just roll that on the Lord. Now your way means your reputation as well as your lifestyle. You don't need to protect yourself. Somebody says something bad about you.
But you don't have to protect yourself. Listen to this. Psalm 37 verse 5, commit thy way into the Lord. Trust also in him and he shall direct thy paths.
And then he says in verse 6, and he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noonday. Roll it on the Lord. Suppose you had in your pocket $100,000 in cold cash. You'd say, yeah, that'd be neat, wouldn't it?
But let's just suppose you had $100,000 and you'd be saying to yourself, hey, man, I don't have to walk around with that much cash and really you shouldn't. You know, I might lose it. Somebody might know I have it. I might get mugged.
I need to get, I need to do something with this. Well, what do you do? You go to the bank. You fill out a deposit slip. You take that money and you count it out and you give it to the lady or the man there and you just shove it over that way.
They take it and count it, put it wherever they put it and give you a receipt. What did you do? You committed it, right? It's still mine, but I've put it in their trust. That's what you need to learn how to do. Just take it and put it in his trust.
Just committed to him. Now, if you do that, you don't get a couple of revolvers and sit on the front steps of the bank to protect your money. Now, if you didn't think they could take care of it, you wouldn't give it to them. You'd put it somewhere else. You see, there comes a time when you roll your burden on the Lord, your way, your lifestyle, and you trust him with it. You give it to him.
When it's threatened, just say, here, Lord, I roll that on you. I told you a long time ago about a man who was failing in his life. He just, he was a salesman.
He couldn't sell anything. He wore a shabby old suit and he drove a rattle trap old, dusty old car and his wife was faded and his kids were flunking out of school and he lived on the wrong side of the tracks. This guy was the born loser. Then one day he changed. Well, he began to stand up straight, put a smile on his face, dressed up nice, was driving a fine automobile.
His kids were making super grades. His wife went to beauty shop and got herself overhauled and he just radically changed. Somebody said, what did you do? He said, well, you remember how you used to fret all the time? You used to worry all the time. It just sapped so much strength out of me.
I couldn't do what I was supposed to do. He said, I've just quit worrying. Well, man, how'd you do that? He said, you know what I found?
I found in our city there's a firm that has professional worriers and what you do, you go down there sometimes once a day, at least once a week and you tell them all your problems and you just give it to them and they stay there and worry for you and then you go out and do all you're supposed to do and they just stay there and worry so you're not, you just hand it over to them. That guy said, well, does it work? He said, does it work? Look at me.
Look at the change in my life. He said, that's amazing. How much does that cost? He said, $2,000 a week.
He said, good night. How you going to pay for that? Oh, he said, that's his worry. Hey, folks, there is somebody that you can roll your burden on that doesn't cost $2,000 a week. The Bible says, commit your way unto the Lord and trust also in him, he will bring it to pass. Roll your burden on the Lord when your lifestyle is threatened, when your way doesn't seem to be right and then come to the fourth thing that he says here.
Watch it now. Rest in the Lord when God seems slow to act. Look, if you will, in verse 7 now.
Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass, cease from anger and forsake wrath. Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil, for evildoers shall be cut off. But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth for yet a little while and the wicked shall not be.
Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Rest in the Lord.
Now, friend, you can't rest until you're trusting, until you're delighted, until you are committed. Once you trust in the Lord, once you delight yourself in the Lord, I mean, he is the chief desire of your heart, you delight in the Lord, and then once you just roll everything on the Lord, then he can say, and only then, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. And this word, rest, it also actually means, and some of you have translations that will say this because I looked it up in several translations. It literally has the idea of being silent before the Lord. It means don't murmur. Rest in the Lord. Don't complain. Don't murmur.
Commit it to him. Now, one man said, I'm upset. He said, why? He said, because I'm in a hurry and God's not. Well, you can't hurry the Lord up.
You have to wait patiently for God. For anger endureth but a moment, and his favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
I like that. Joy comes in the morning. He's saying that his presence is like the sunrise. Joy comes in the morning. You know, there's one thing about the sunrise, you can't hurry it up. I'll tell you something else about it.
You can't stop it. One of these days in God's timing, he's going to pull back the shades of night and pin them with a star, open the door of the morning, and flood your world with his joy and his peace. And we need to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. The kingdom of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
I heard about a little boy who sat up one night, all night long, wondering where the sun went. Finally, it dawned on him. It'll dawn on you. And unto you that fear my name shall the son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings. And, friend, when we trust in the Lord, when we delight in the Lord, when we commit to the Lord, when we rest in the Lord, we'll be too blessed to be stressed. .
