THE WORRY CURE

INTRO TILL THE DAY I DIE

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Matthew 6:33 CSB

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

THE CHURCH IS THE ACTION. THE KINGDOM IS THE RESULT

THE CHURCH IS THE CAUSE THE KINGDOM IS THE EFFECT

What we do as a church builds and establishes the Kingdom of God. Builds the Kingdom of God and that is what we are supposed to seek.

TIED TO THIS IS A PROMISE. Seek that. Seek the Kingdom being built. And what you need will be added. When you are pursuing and seeking what God wants, God covers the tab. When we decide to seek His Kingdom being moved forward God makes a way for all of it to happen and provides all we need in life so that we can continue to see it built.

BUILDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD, IN A BROAD SENSE, IS THE CALL OF EVERY BELIEVER.

When we live a life the glorifies GOD we build the kingdom.

Flee from sin.

Choose to worship.

Make God’s word a priority

Make Church a priority

When I serve, give

When I choose God’s way over my own

WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST. AND WHEN ONE PART ISN’T FUNCTIONING AS IT SHOULD THE WHOLE BODY SUFFERS. Have you ever broken a toe? It’s like your whole life is over till it’s healed. Ever bit your tongue or cheek? Ever had a cough?

BROKEN TOE AT CAMP

But i just read you some of the passage. Jesus had a lot more to say about this. And before this promise Jesus outlines the enemy of the kingdom being built. The opposition, the hurdle the thing that will get in the way of you being used by God and us as the Church being the cause that is the catalyst for the effect: The Kingdom being built. And it’s this:

WORRY

We are always worried are we not? Worried about the weather. The election. The world. Our health. How we are going to provide. Our kids. Our families. Money. Our follower count on instagram. Whether our picture got enough likes. Whether our life matters. How Alabama fans feel today?

And here’s the thing. Not all of those things are bad things to worry about. Some of the things that worry you the most are things that matter. Things that need your attention. Things that need to go well.

Bills pay—Kids raise—Relational issues Health challenges—Job stress—Inflation—Gallon milk?

91% of high school and college students report consistent and significant levels of anxiety associated with stress

But a lot of times our worry is just that. Worry. Nothing gets solved. Nothing can be solved or fixed. But the worry stays.

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” ― Corrie Ten Boom

Worry is a pandemic. It robs you of life and gives absolutely nothing in return. IF THE ENEMY CANNOT KEEP YOU FROM FOLLOWING JESUS HE WILL THEN TRY TO DISTRACT YOU. And worry is one of the enemy’s best tools.

Matthew 6:25–34 CSB

25 “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? 27 Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. 30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith? 31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

WORRY IS NOT A SIN. IT’S A SIGNAL ALERTING YOU TO PRAY

Because God has the answers. God has the solutions. And when we pray we can know that our worries are being brought to the only one that has all the solutions.

When worry comes. pray. If you can build that habit it will change your life. When the light turns green you go. It’s what you do. When there’s a *ding* you check your phone. it’s what you do. When worry and anxiety comes I pray. It’s what I do!

PRAYER CAN LITERALLY CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

“It has been found that 12 minutes of daily focused prayer over an 8-week period can change the brain to such an extent that it can be measured on a brain scan.” Dr. Caroline Leaf

Meditating on negative—Train your brain to be anxious. Natural 2 think on what could go wrong!

CINNABON AT THE MALL — Drive by starbucks gotta have it.

—Prayer breaks the cycle!

WHAT IF YOU RETRAINED YOUR BRAIN TO PRAY WHEN YOU WORRY?

1 Peter 5:7 NLT

7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Do not be afraid—Battle is the Lord’s—Face it—He’ll be w/ you!

Jesus didn’t just tell them to stop worrying; He told them to replace worry with a concern for the kingdom of God. A habit or a passion can only be given up for a greater habit or passion.1

FOCUS ON WHAT GOD SAYS NOT WHAT MY HEAD SAYS

Isaiah 55:8–9 CSB

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration. 9 “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

DID YOU KNOW THAT GOD ACTUALLY THINKS ABOUT YOU? HAS PLANS FOR YOU? HAS THOUGHTS ABOUT YOU?

AND DID YOU KNOW THAT HE KNOWS EVERYTHING THAT WEIGHS ON YOU?

God is a good father. Who has plans for you. But so often we are so disconnected in our relationship that there’s no way we would ever know what He thinks.

And here’s how it usually goes. Someone starts feeling anxious or worried. And so they pull away from their relationship with God. Then are upset that they don’t feel God like they used to. You’re the one that moved not him.

And what usually happens is we start to believe our head over God’s heart. Our worry over God’s word. We start to trust our feelings over our faith.

Then when we are not feeling as close to God we start cutting out God things from our lives. Church is usually first. Then our prayer time get’s smaller. Because we are not feeling God like we did, we cut those things out, which lead to us feeling even more distant.

AND WE FORGET THE WHOLE BEGINNING OF THIS MESSAGE. Seek first the kingdom. Don’t worry. And everything will be will be added to you.

WHEN I DECIDE FOLLOWING GOD IS MY PRIORITY. EVERYTHING FALLS INTO PLACE. And in a world with a million ideas and solutions at your fingertips we need God’s answers. Because your worry is real. Your anxiety is real. But God has the answers and the healing you need.

I WANNA BE A NO MATTER WHAT BELIEVER. A NO MATTER THE COST BELIEVER. A COME WHAT MAY FOLLOWER. The Devil can throw whatever he’s Got but im still standing strong on God’s word.

HERE IS WHAT GOD’S WORD HAS TO SAY ABOUT YOUR SITUATIONS

When you worry about what people might do to you, recall Rom. 8:31 (“If God be for us, who can be against us?”).

When you worry about being too weak, recall 2 Cor. 12:9 (“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness”).

When you worry about future decisions, recall Ps. 32:8 (“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you”).

When you worry about whether God will fulfill his promises to you, recall Heb. 6:18 (where it says that “it is impossible for God to lie”).

When you worry about your loved ones, recall Mt. 7:11 (“how much more will the Father give what is good to those who ask”).

When you worry about physical sickness, recall Ps. 103:3 (“He heals all your diseases”).

When you worry about getting old, recall Isa. 46:4 (“Even to your old age, I shall be the same, and even to your graying years I shall bear you”).

When you worry about failing and falling, recall Phil. 1:6 (“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus”).1

KEEP LIVING FOR JESUS. DON’T COMPROMISE YOUR FAITH NO MATTER THE WORRY.