2024-06-23 What Gets To You?

Well, we are wrapping up our / / Money Matters series this week. I hope this has been helpful as we are looking at what Jesus encourages his followers to remember, or think about when it comes to money and possessions. I hope you’ve noticed that probably the most important theme throughout this series has been where we focus. / / What are our priorities? Who, or what, has our attention.

Jesus is constantly reminding people to focus on following him, or essentially, looking to the Father. And really, those are the same thing as he says in John 14:6, 9, / / “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me…” but then he also says, / / “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”

The Christian life really is one of following Jesus, by the leading of the Spirit, toward the love and acceptance of the Father.

Jesus makes a way where there is no way.

The Spirit leads and guides us.

And the Father loves us, accepts us into His family, and calls us His own.

And as we’ve looked at before, this is not three gods doing three different things, but One God acting through the three persons of the Trinity. God as One in three persons. And this is the journey we are on, to better understand and know God.

And what is Jesus invitation? To follow him, and following him requires a different way of life. I think people get a bit confused sometimes and think that Jesus called us to love him, or believe in him, which is part of it, and don’t get me wrong, it is a significant part, we can’t follow if we don’t believe, but in that believing, what he actually calls humanity to is not a mental exercise of believe, but it is to actually, in our actions and way of life, follow him. And as John Mark Comer puts it: following Jesus requires being with him, becoming like him, and doing what he did. That’s what it truly means to follow Jesus. And that requires a whole lot more denying of self and giving up our own way than we would normally like. Let’s be honest. It’s not easy to choose the Jesus way. Not once, not often, and especially not all the time. So it takes practice, hard work and dedication. It takes learning what it means to be faithful and then practicing that faithfulness until it becomes habit. You learn, you do, you learn, you do.

But most of us have habits that span our lifetimes, don’t we? Whether that is in how we think, or act, how we relate to people, and yes, in the case of what we’ve been talking about here, how we handle money. We have all learned habits. Whether those are good habits, or bad habits, we all have them.

So, over the last three weeks we’ve talked about / / Generosity, that God shows his generosity throughout scripture. The Creation story, the Law of Moses and the gift of Jesus Christ all reveal the heart of a generous, giving, loving God who is inviting us into an other-focused, loving, generous life toward Him, toward ourselves, and toward those around us. If you remember, we talked about the fact that God did not create for himself, but that creation is an act of creativity and generosity because God doesn’t “need” it. God was self sufficient within himself without creation, yet he chose to create humanity and be in relationship with us.

Then we talked about / / what we hold on to. Earthly wealth isn’t bad, but if it is getting in the way of our eternal journey, then it will just rob from us. No good in building up a bunch of stuff where moths and rust will destroy and thieves steal, better to pursue eternal reward in the here and now as well as our heavenly home. That is all to say simply that / / it is more profitable to follow Jesus than it is to follow the riches of this world. Sure, they buy nice things now, but following Jesus creates a life now and a hope for a future that can simply not be compared to anything we might gain in this world.

Jesus says in Mark 8:34-38, / / “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?”

And you can take that last statement there and think both eternally and temporally. Is anything worth more than the peace found in following Christ? He’s not saying there that you can’t be rich, or have nice things, but if being rich and having nice things stop you from pursuing Him and the gospel message then they have won, and you have lost, and the things you have accumulated will not bring peace.

Then last week we really dug a little further into where our focus is, / / what we look at. It seems so utterly practical and obvious, but we have to remind ourselves that where we look is where we end up. This is perfectly emphasized in Hebrews 12:1-2, / / …let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

So, a couple really important things in there.

First, / / “the sin that so easily trips us up…” - we have to remember the definition of / / sin - to miss the mark. God calls us to a better way of life. That’s what we’re looking at in the Sermon on the Mount, right? Jesus’ invitation to live a kingdom life of following him. That means doing things differently. And when we miss that mark, that’s sin.

So, sin isn’t just “the bad thing” - although it definitely is the bad thing because the bad thing is definitely missing the mark, but it’s the “robbing you of life” thing. Think of sin in that way, it’s robbing you of life. Jesus wants to lead you to life. Remember John 10:10, / / The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. And in that he’s talking about him being the good shepherd, us being the sheep and that in order to be led to this life he’s talking about we must know his voice and follow him. The best way that the enemy of our souls, the devil, the world, the shame of our former lives can keep us down is to distract us from what leads to life and get us to walk a path that leads to death. And all that takes is getting us to veer off the path just enough to miss the mark. Paul says in Romans 6:23, / / For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

That’s what’s at stake here.

Jesus said in extreme words, and we’ll be looking at that in the coming weeks as it’s part of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:13-14, / / “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

Where we look determines what path we walk down. John 8:12, / / “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Look and follow, be led, find life.

And that brings us to today. The last part of money and possessions in the Sermon on the Mount. And again, this hasn’t been an exhaustive series on finances, but I think there’s room for that, I know there’s room for that within the church. It needs to happen. And most likely we will look at some sort of financial class to provide in the evening in the coming months. Maybe this fall.

But this series has been primarily focused on what Jesus says within the Sermon on the Mount about finances. Of course that leads to so much more - it becomes the starting point for so many good conversations and understanding about how God sees and talks about these things in scripture.

The last three weeks we’ve been walking through Matthew 6:19-34, and today we’ll finish up with the last portion of that passage, vs 25-34. So, if you remember from a couple weeks ago, this section starts with the, / / “Don’t store up treasure on earth…” then talks about the eye being like a lamp, what are we focused on, then Jesus tells everyone that they cannot serve two masters, it’s impossible to serve God and money. So, I’ll start with that verse as it really ties into what we will read today.

So, reading Matthew 6:24-34, / / “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

So that’s where we finished last week, and it’s important to re-read that thought because Jesus now talks through what we must do instead. If we can’t focus on two things at once, what’s the solution? And why is it that we have a hard time with this? Why is it we focus on money and God and get confused into trying to serve two masters? Jesus is saying these things for a reason, right? And the reality is, even though many people have thought that they’ll be the first to conquer this mystery, money can so easily get in the way of our discipleship to Jesus.

So, he continues:

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life - whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to war. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the filed and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Ok, so if you noticed, we just read four paragraphs, and Jesus uses the same word in every single one of those paragraphs. Jesus uses the word “worry” five times in that little passage of scripture.

What do you think he’s trying to communicate? Don’t worry…about a thing…cuz’ every little thing… is gonna be alright!

The greek word is / / merimnao and means to be anxious or to care for. And it’s the same word in every paragraph. And we’re going to take each of these statements and look at them because this is the heart of what Jesus is trying to communicate through all of his talk on money and possessions.

Everything we’ve looked at in the last few weeks is leading to this point. Look at how he starts. / / “That is why I tell you…”

Money and possessions, the things of this world, simply do not matter in comparison to the Kingdom of Heaven. Do they matter? Yes, of course they do. That’s why we’re talking Money Matters. When money and possessions matter more than God’s kingdom, money and possessions will rule our lives, but when they matter in respect, or subject to the kingdom and it’s way of living, the King and His kingdom rule in our lives and the money WILL NOT rule us.

And here, Jesus is hitting the nail square on the head. 2000 years ago, and today more than ever.

You know me and statistics, I like them, so here we go. And this is recent. The Motley Fool, a financial advice and investment website that states they are “Personal finances enthusiasts on a mission to help you live a smarter, happier, and richer life.”

I say that because their mission is to help people feel confident when it comes to money matters.

Which, the stats are not in their favor, and that’s because, as we will see in Jesus’ talk on this, the only way for money to not stress you out is to prioritize the kingdom rather than the finances.

So, these stats are from this year:

/ / 64% of people reported a high level of intensity when experiencing financial stress.

/ / Over 50% of people reported they have financial anxiety three or more days a week.

/ / Only 13% of people said they never feel stressed or anxious about finances, while 14% said they feel it every single day.

And the worst of it is hitting our youngest. / / Gen Z, which is considered to be born from 1997 - 2012, so they are 12 - 27 years old right now - 62% said they feel stressed more than three days a week while 20% of them feel financial anxiety every day!

And this is not because of big problems.

The two most common causes for this anxiety are standard monthly expenses at 49% and unexpected expenses at 48%.

It is simply everyday life that is to much for people to handle and is stressing them out.

Now, this is scary. It’s a bury your head in the sand mentality:

/ / 37% of people said they just simply ignore their bank account balance or bills because they are so anxious about it, and for Gen Z and Millennials that number shot up to 50%.

I don’t know what the stats were like 2000 years ago, but that’s not a great outlook, is it? And whatever the outcome of that is, what these sayings of Jesus indicates is that whether we are talking about 2000 years ago, or today, we can be assured that financial anxiety is knocking at the door of people’s lives. And it is relentless. And it is tearing people, relationships and families apart.

I would love to say that if and when you get saved by Jesus all financial worry just disappears.

I would love to promise you that you’ll lever struggle with worry every again.

But this is part of that process of choosing a different way. Setting our eyes on Jesus and not looking to the left or the right, but following after Him to a better place. And by that I do not mean our money worries just disappear, but that often times Jesus leads us to a place of understanding, of wisdom, or invitation to do the hard thing, while trusting in His grace and mercy.

So, let’s dig into this and see if we can gain some wisdom, and how we can lean into Jesus for comfort and confidence when it comes to our Money Matters! The financial guidance websites, and all their stats are not going to solve this issue. But Jesus can, and does for those who make the choice to follow.

/ / “…I tell you not to worry about everyday life - whether you will have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”

/ / 1. Do you know your value?

I think the first thing Jesus is really wanting to address is where we started in this series - the generosity of God. There is just something so powerful about recognizing that the God of the universe, who does not need to create to fulfill anything within himself, does not need to create to meet some sort of need that He has, CHOOSES to create humanity and not just that, but creates them in His image, breathing HIS life into them, and then CHOOSES to give that humanity the gift of his good creation around them to steward and look after.

Now,, humanity has done a pretty horrible job at managing God’s good creation, but that is not the heart of God, that has been the corruption of man due to our fall into sin. We have to go back to the beginning to see the intent of the Father. That His image bearers would be in relationship with him, walking in perfection, while learning from Him to care for and tend to his good creation.

Do you understand your value? Do you understand how deeply God loves you and cares for you and is invested in you?

I would love to say I understand it fully, but I don’t. I don’t think I understand this “birds of the air” level of value.

Jesus is not just equating, but expressing a higher value to us than the obvious care that God gives to the birds in this world. Sure, they need to hunt for their food, but they don’t go hungry. While I was preparing this morning the birds outside started to cause a ruckus - to the point where I actually went outside to make sure things were ok. What I saw. Birds just hanging around, living their best lives.

This is Jesus’ challenge, / / “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?…”

That’s the question. Do you know the answer? Do you know that you are far more valuable to him than the birds of the air that don’t plant, or store food in barns because God looks after them?

This isn’t the only time Jesus will use this analogy. In Matthew 10:29-31 Jesus says, / / “What is the price of two sparrows - one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”

When I was in the hospital with Covid I had one particular album on repeat for almost the entire time. Cory Asbury’s “The Rooftop Experience”. In fact, it was the only thing I listened to for months. And one of the songs is called Sparrows. It opens with these words, “The sparrow’s not worried about tomorrow, or the troubles to come. The lily’s not thinking about the seasons, the drought or the flood. A tree that’s planted by the water isn’t fazed by the fire. So why should I be? Cause you take good care of me.”

That album was part of God’s good work to help get me through the most difficult time of my life.

And those words are true. The sparrow’s not worried about tomorrow, or the troubles to come, why am I when Jesus says that we are more valuable than a whole flock of sparrows?!?

We have to hear these words of Jesus and allow them to work deep in our heart by the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of God the Father. This isn’t a mind over matter thing. This isn’t just head knowledge or something we learn and then live out of. This has to be a deep penetrating work of the Holy Spirit. / / “Don’t be afraid, you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows…”

/ / 2. Do everyday cares weigh you down?

/ / “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the filed and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?”

So, first Jesus compares us to birds, now to wild flowers.

First thing I want to say is that although you could easily read into this that Jesus is saying what we wear in regards to the brand name, the price, the value of what we wear doesn’t matter - and I think that is a fair viewpoint, and one we must consider. BUT, I would say there’s a different way to look at this. And the reason that I wouldn’t read it that way is because he talks about Solomon and what he was wearing, which would have been the most expensive, custom made, royalty approved clothing, and Jesus says, / / “Even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as the wildflowers…”

When Jesus says don’t worry about food, clothes etc… he’s not saying GOD doesn’t CARE about those things… He’s saying God cares so much about you that YOU don’t have to WORRY about those things. This isn’t a matter of whether we should care or are allowed to take pleasure or care about what we’re going to eat or drink, or what we’re going to wear. Jesus doesn’t need us looking run down and ragged so we can be a good witness.

And let’s just think practically for a moment, I’m a type II diabetic, I HAVE to plan what I eat. I HAVE to think about it. I can’t leave it to the last minute and not care. That’s why I ended up in the hospital a few weeks ago, I was not taking care of what I was eating. SO we have to see that this is not what Jesus is talking about.

/ / Worry and care are two different things. You can look good and dress in fine clothing without it ruling your life.

Now, there’s two elements of worry here.

First, / / financial burden based on need. Remember what I said earlier, the number one reason for people’s financial stress these days is not big ticket items and disasters, it’s every day expenses. It’s being worried about every day life.

When you have kids and August rolls around and it’s time to change out the wardrobe for the new school year because the shoes and the shirts and the shorts just don’t fit anymore, and you just aren’t sure how you can afford the expense and it keeps you up at night.

When you’re just making it, and you have no emergency fund, and you suddenly need a suit to go to a wedding, or a funeral, or you’ve gained a few pounds, or lost a few pounds, and the closet seems to get smaller and smaller in what you’re able to wear but the thought of spending money that you don’t feel like you have is weighing on you.

Does God care about those things?

Does God care that you need some new shirts, or some new pants?

Does God care that you need new running shoes, and maybe you need specific shoes, because you have wide feet, or an issue that just any ol’ pair of shoes might not work. Does God care enough to ensure that you get the shoes you NEED, not just something on your feet that could possibly make your life more difficult?

Think of the comparisons. Solomon in all his glory. Wearing the best of the best. Envied by all the world leaders around him. Marveled at by the Queen of Sheba who traveled about 1,500 mile, just to see the kingdom God had blessed Solomon with. And Jesus says even he wasn’t clothed as beautifully as the lilies of the field. And who clothed Solomon? Who clothed the lilies? If lilies beats Solomon, does anything beat lilies?

/ / “…if God cares so wonderfully about the wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire, he will certainly care for you.”

Hear that again. If God cares so wonderfully about the wildflowers….that are more beautiful than Solomon, who was the wisest, richest, arguably the most worldwide influential and celebrated king of Israel… won’t God look after what you need to wear?

I’m not saying we rock the newest, best or most expensive, but Jesus is saying, Solomon was incredibly looked after by God, the lilies of the field are looked after by God, and they put Solomon to shame, of COURSE your heavenly Father, who loves you will look after you!

Now, here’s the caution. This can go too far for one reason, which I will call the second “worry” here. / / Status…

So, the first worry is I’m worried about where my provision will come from, will i have enough, can I afford clothing and looking after myself? Can I afford basic living becasue of the financial stress and anxiety I’m under.

The second worry I’m talking about here is where I would match worry to shame and pride as the two opposites. And this is based on what people THINK of us. Do you worry about what people will think based on what you wear? Either thinking you look like a pauper (shame), or feeling like you need to look like a prince (pride)?

Do you feel shame for what you don’t have, or do you feel pride in what you do have?

Again, there is a line here between care and worry. You can care about these things. You should care about these things, and using that word as “take care” - that’s healthy caring. We have a 10 year old that we are having to remind everyday, “Did you put deodorant on?” We are just at that stage of life right now. And some days we have to reassure her, “Listen, this isn’t a you thing, this is an everybody thing. Part of functioning in society is being clean and presentable.”

I think Paul is a great example of this. He says in Philippians 4:11-13, / / …I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Keep your head on straight and your heart humble whether you have a lot, or a little. Because what you have, whether a lot or a little isn’t actually the issue.

So, Jesus challenge here, does every day life get you down? Do you worry about making ends meet, paying the bills, what you’ll eat or wear, if you’ll have enough? And do we have an understanding of the care of God, that it is not just having yourself covered, but that Solomon in all his glory wasn’t as beautiful as the wildflowers, and that’s how God wants to care for you. Again, keep that in check. I’m not saying we should expect God to make it rain dolla bills on us. I saw a video the other day of a prominent preacher wearing shoes that actually had real gold on them and I think he was somehow trying to make a connection between Revelation 21:21, that says heaven has streets of gold and we will walk on gold and somehow that justified the money he paid for these extremely expensive shoes, and that’s somehow connected to the blessing of God.

I have a hard time with that one. What we would call the “prosperity gospel” just has too many holes in it. But I think there is equally a poverty gospel we need to be aware of and fight just as hard. Sure, we may go through seasons of financial hardship, and I’m not saying God brings those to us, but they may just help us learn some things along the way. I think the choices we make are of such a great influence to where we will be financially in this life. We can all choose to work more, do more, save more, spend less and a hundred different things. The choices we make are important. And I would suggest that our choices are impacted by our beliefs.

Can I choose not to worry? It doesn’t always feel like it, does it?

But I CAN choose to pray.

I CAN choose to immerse myself in scripture.

I CAN choose to remind myself of God’s faithfulness and care for my life, just like the birds of the air and the lilies of the field.

And I can also recognize that within that encouragement there is a leaning toward the physical choices I make.

A bird is cared for by God but will die if it never leaves the shade of the tree to go find food.

A lily doesn’t grow in dark, damp, cold places, it grows in the field where it can receive the sun and rain in due season.

Where we choose to plant ourselves, and how we choose to stretch our wings and pursue what we need and not stay in the shade of the tree will determine how we experience, or receive, or encounter the provision of God.

Our garage door at the house has been broken for some time now, and Kelley and I have had this conversation a few times about different things. I have a difficult time sometimes taking that first step and getting quotes on what it would cost to get something done because sometimes I have a hard time with worrying it will be too much, so what’s the point. That can be a struggle for me. So, this past Friday I put a couple calls out to companies to come out and give me quotes on the work that needs to be done.

Why? Because as long as I’m sitting in my worry about not having enough or it being too expensive, I will never make the decision to move forward and actually get it done. I can’t if I’ve locked myself in worry and fear.

If any of you were here a few years ago, the windows right beside the entrance door was broken, had a big crack in it. And I had taped across the crack just so it wouldn’t fall out. It sat like that for far longer than it should have. And when I finally got a quote, it ended up being so much less than I thought, and the guy charged me less because I was here and helped him install it.

What’s the purpose of Jesus teaching and leading his sheep? Remember John 10:10, / / My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

The encouragement here, when it comes to finances, clothing, food, how we live, is that worry will rob you from living the life God wants you to live, and is wanting to lead you to, because worry locks you out of faith. This isn’t prosperity preaching like we’re all going to be rich. This is Jesus saying, “Stop burying yourself in worry and anxiety, which robs you from looking to the God of all provision to care for you…pay attention to what I’m saying, let me lead you and guide you to life.”

/ / 3. Do you know your part to play in the Kingdom?

Jesus then says something that should set us apart and cause us to be a witness. I’m not sure we are a great witness if we just have all the stuff and own all the things. But I do think that in this time period with those statistics we read earlier…what if they were to go down because people started to notice Christians weren’t suffering the same anxiety that non-christians were. If everybody that says they were a Christian started following Jesus’ way of looking at finances and possessions.

/ / “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

This is a spiritual principle connected to practical wisdom.

But first, do you see the marker here? The line that Jesus is drawing in the sand. / / Worry and anxiety is the way of the world.

This is really interesting. When Jesus says / / “These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers.” The word dominate means “to seek after”. Think of that. Maybe you could say it this way. These things: worrying about food, drink, clothing, regular life expenses, the cares of this world, are actively seeking to consume your thoughts… These things are seeking after your thoughts. These things want you to be consumed by them. Causing anxiety and stress, fear and worry.

But your Father already knows all your needs. And then Jesus gives the most practical AND spiritual advice possible.

First, / / Seek the Kingdom of God above all else.

Second, / / Live righteously.

So, what does it mean to seek the kingdom of God?

Do you seek the authority of God in your life? Do you seek to honor Him above all else? Do you seek to revere him, worship him, live your life for His purpose? Do you desire to learn about Him, learn what his ways are like, learn what it means to live within his kingdom? Do you purpose to live a life following the way of His kingdom, forsaking the way of this world?

The greek word that is translated here as seek is / / zeteo and speaks specifically in Hebrew culture of worshipping God.

Do you purpose to worship God with your life above the cares and worries of this world?

When trial, trouble, hardship, anxiety and worry try to come up in your life, to you turn to God, fall on your face, and worship?

Do you thank the Creator for knowing His creation far more than we do?

Do you thank your heavenly Father for knowing what you need and wanting to provide, just like he does for the sparrow and the lilies in the filed?

Do you take a spiritual approach to your physical problem?

I think that’s the hardest part sometimes, isn’t it?

I have a physical need that is doing everything it can to consume my thoughts. And I look at it and don’t even say, “How will you fix this, God?” But, “You and your Kingdom and your ways are of higher value to me than the problem and the solving of it…”

I’ve seen this happens a lot with debt, or other problems we feel we have created ourselves. It’s easy to fall prey to this thought: “I got myself into this mess, I need to get myself out.”

How often do we choose to pray and worship instead of sitting there just staring at the bills that need to be paid trying to figure it out with what little we might have?

I’ve got hospital bills starting to pile up, bills I was not expecting. There’s that 48% of financial stress people say consumes them.

I don’t remember who said it or what exactly they said, but I remember someone once saying something to the effect of, “Worry is the same as worship, it’s just choosing to worship the wrong thing.” Worship is directing our attention and affection toward God, regardless of the situation at hand, no so God will fix it while we’re not looking at it, but because He matters MORE, worry is choosing to direct our attention and concern toward the problem and being consumed by it.

So, first part of Jesus’ solution to the worry problem - seek the Kingdom of God first.

Then He says, / / “And live righteously…”

Possibly the most practical solution there could be. But it’s another hard one. Gosh. Live righteously. So, worship God and do what’s right?

That sounds an awful lot like the prescription from the Law of Moses we read last week, doesn’t it?

Deuteronomy 30:19-20, / / …choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life…

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!

Worship and obedience.

Honor and sacrifice.

Choosing to embrace His way by giving up our own and following His instructions by forsaking the way of the world.

And what does Jesus say in the midst of this? He doesn’t say it directly, but let’s just see it for what it is. This will be a witness to those in the world that are consumed by anxiety, worry and the stress of finances.

When you learn to honor God and live rightly you will become a witness to those who NEED Him.

Because right now, their thoughts are consumed, overrun, overtaken by the worries of this world. And let’s just be honest, so is most of the church. We need people who are willing to live a different way, the Jesus way.

/ / 4. Do you know your future is secure?

/ / “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Again, this is so practical. Don’t give yourself more than you need, or can handle. Our next series is on prayer, we’ll be starting that next week, but in teaching his disciples to pray he tells them to ask God, / / “Give us this day our daily bread.”

/ / The key to not worrying about tomorrow, is to experience the God of today!

Paul says in Philippians 4:6, / / Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

/ / The key to not being consumed by worry of tomorrow is to direct our attention toward God today!

Just like care and worry are not the same, worry and planning are not the same.

Worrying about the future, how things will work out and choosing not to think about them is different than a healthy planning for the future. If you remember last week we read Luke 14 where Jesus says if you are going to build a tower you obviously have to plan what you will need so that you don’t end up not having enough, and in the same way we should think about what following Him will cost us.

Planning for the journey ahead is very different than being consumed by worry about the future we can’t see.

/ / Godly wisdom will lead us to effective planning, and living righteously, doing what is right, will accomplish the goal set before us.

So, I want us to pray this morning, and maybe one or two or all four of these questions we have asked have you thinking. I know they have me thinking. How do I rely on God, and where am I allowing worry and anxiety to get the best of me?

/ / Do you know your value?

God loves you, cares about you, knows what you need and knows where you’re at.

/ / Do everyday cares weigh you down?

Do you feel stressed about tomorrow, are the things of this world working at you to consume your thoughts and actions?

/ / Do you know your part to play in the kingdom?

Do you see that what God has called for you is different than what the world goes through and that your life is meant to be a witness of God’s goodness and peace?

/ / Do you know your future is secure?

Both for today and tomorrow, but also for eternity? And we didn’t really go there, but I think one of the most powerful antidotes to earthly worry is our secure place in all of eternity because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and salvation through faith in Him because of God’s amazing grace. Knowing where I end up, which has nothing to do with this world or it’s troubles, gives me peace. Paul wrote in Romans 8:18, Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. What great hope we have in Jesus.

Let’s pray this morning, and if any of these questions hit home, even if just a little bit. And it’s ok to get honest with yourself and admit to Jesus that you believe, but sometimes you need a bit of help with the unbelief. Allow yourself to fall on the mercy of a loving, kind, caring and righteous king who knows what you need and wants to lead you to life.

Can I just say to you this morning. You don’t have to do this on your own. I know you’ve done everything you can to be strong, to solve the problem by yourself, and sometimes we can feel like we’re barely making it, like our head is just barely above water. I want you to hear me this morning, because I believe that this is the heart of God for you, “It’s ok to not be ok.” “It’s ok to admit you’re in over your head.” “You don’t need to carry this on your own.”