You are worried about the wrong thing
You’re Worrying About The Wrong Thing
Matthew 6:25-33
There are some things that are common to all of mankind. Laughter is laughter no matter what language you speak. Tears flow from your eyes just as they do people in Iran or Iraq. Yes there are some things that are common to all people, worry, now there’s a word. People all over the world worry. Folks worry about losing a job. Somebody woke up today, worried about tomorrow. May you are fretting about bill even now. When we hear of wars & rumors of wars, it tends to make us worry about the shape the world is in. Yes we are troubled at home; we worry on the job, even right here in the church house we worry. But my brothers & sisters no matter what may be worrying you today, I stop by to let you know, you worried about the wrong thing.
The world today may have you thinking that you have to fit a certain image; they say in order to be somebody you got to keep up with the Jones. If you don’t have two cars in the garage you are not there yet. But my brothers & sisters it does not matter to God if you drive a scoter or ride a bike. It does not matter to God if you eat prime ribs or rib tips. The only thing that really matters is your relationship with Jesus Christ. All that you need is wrapped up in Him. For He alone is able to supply your every need so there is no need to worry. In order that we might see & understand this, Jesus gives us some very relevant help here in the text anybody interested. First He gives us Information, then He gives us Illustrations, lastly He extends an Invitation.
25: Another translation says, “Stop being anxious about material things, wondering what you are going to wear or what you are going to eat. Now this is not to say that food & clothes are not important. For we all know that we need food to live & we need clothes for comfort & warmth. But when you make material possessions your passion & your purpose you have lost sight of what’s really important. Folks spend two to three hours a day trying to decide what to wear to work. Spend all weekend shopping & getting they hair & nails done just so you can look good on Sunday morning. You do look good sisters. Then some men spend longer in the bathroom then a woman primping & prepping, worrying if you getting a pot belly.
But the question here is, how worried are you about where you will spend eternity? The Lord says here that life is more than food, & the body is more than clothes. You can spend your whole life worrying about the type of clothes you have, making sure your shoes match your purse, making sure your tie match your socks. But will that really be important when you close your eyes for the last time, will you really care if you are matching from head to toe? You worried about the wrong thing I tell you.
Worry is one of the leading causes of ailment in this world today. Static show that the most common symptom for most people that go to the doctor is worry. Your stomach designed to take a lot of abuse. You can pour almost-boiling coffee into it, & it will cool the coffee; you can cram frozen milk into it, & it will warm the milk. Its juices will break down solid food or kill bacteria with equal ability. Three-fourths of it may be removed & the remainder will make up for the defect.
You really have to do something extraordinary to mess up such an organ. You can skip a meal & your stomach will be ok. You can eat the wrong thing & your stomach will recover. But if you really want to mess up your stomach, then keep worrying about the cost of living, the house you think you ought to have. The children you believe yours should be, I guarantee you an ulcer will be your best friend.
We are people consumed by worry. Weather you know it or not, worry is contagious. Watch this. Your children see you walking the floor with your head in your hands, so they begin to worry about you worrying. Worrying is not only contagious but it can kill you. A lot of mothers have died worrying about their children. A lot of men have died worrying about how to put food on the table. I know they say he had a heart attack, but will somebody tell me what drove his blood pressure up? Worry. Somebody tell me what caused momma’s migraines? Worry. Worrying will make you sick & it will kill you.
On the spiritual side, worry will rob you of your praise, steal your joy & it can crush your spirit. When you worry you can’t think, you can’t focus. You can’t praise God because your spirit is not at peace. Watch this. The word “worry” is a combination of two Greek words “merizo” which means, “to divide” & “nous” meaning “mind.” So you see worry divides the mind. Thank you brother James, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” emotionally, mentally & spiritually. How can you give God praise when half your mind is in worship & the other half is worried?
A man once made up a “Worry Chart,” he kept a record of his worries. He discovered that 40 percent of them were about things that probably would never happen; 30 percent concerned past decisions that he could not change; 12 percent dealt with other people’s criticism of him; & 10 percent were worries about his health. He concluded that only 8 percent of them were really legitimate concerns.
Image being able to come before God with nothing on your mind but worship, imagine being able to leave here with praise in your heart. Picture yourself going forward in adoration & not anxiety. Oh the sleep you could get tonight, if only worry was a thing of the past. God wants to make this a reality for you, you & you, if you just trust him.
Worry has no age restrictions. Yea the world says you must have all the name brand clothes in order to be somebody. You know you don’t have a job, you know momma can’t afford them. So what do you do? You worry about it. Then you go out to the mall & steal it in order to impress folks that are not going to like you no matter what you have on. You worry about being popular at school so you do what ever the popular crowd is dong in order to fit in. The danger here is displeasing God, dishonoring your parents & degrading yourself.
Young ladies, you see your friends with all the latest gear that you don’t have. So you worry about it and you begin to plot & plan on how you can get it. So along comes Joe pimp, he says to you, Baby you don’t have to worry about a thing. I got your back. I want to serve notice on you today; the only thing he wants to do is get you on your back. Brothers you see people your age driving nice cars don’t worry about it. I know they say the one with the most toys win, I know the world says get all you can while you can.
But the bible says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world & it’s certain that we can carry nothing out.” It goes on to say, “If you have food & clothes, be content.” The Lord didn’t say if you had Fubu, Nikes or Sean John, but godliness with contentment is great gain.” I read in another place where Paul says, “I have learned to be content in what ever state I am in. how about you today, are you content?
Or are you worried about the fact that your house doesn’t look like your neighbors? You may not live in the finest house on the block, you may not shop at the mall everyday, I want to encourage you here today, don’t worry about it. If you must worry about anything, worry about your soul salvation.
Some of us spend too much time & energy focusing on the things of this life. Every birthday you get depressed. The bible says in Job 14:1, “Man that is born of woman is of but a few days.” You don’t know how long you have to be here. You don’t know when the Lord will return, so I would encourage you not to get caught up in worrying about this life. Jesus said in Luke the 21st chapter, “Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting & drunkenness & cares of this life & so that day come upon you unawares.
Weather you know it or not, we all have an appointment at some cemetery that we can’t cancel. So instead of worrying about how long you have to live, make sure you got your business fixed with God, for the bible says, that the day is coming when we all will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give account of the deeds done in this body.
You see when you got your business fixed with God, He will bless you beyond what you can think or ask. Come here Hezekiah!!! Hezekiah, king of Israel was sick. The Lord told the prophet Isaiah to tell Hezekiah to get his house in order for he was about to die. Hezekiah didn’t worry about who was going to sit on his throne. He didn’t get disturbed about who would spend his money. No, no. The bible says Hezekiah turned his face to the wall & prayed, “Lord check my record.” If the Lord spoke in here right now to you & told you that by sun down you would be dead, would you be worried about your clothes or your house? Or will you say like the Psalmist, “ Search me O’ God & know my heart. Try me & know my thoughts.”
Because Hezekiah sought the kingdom of God & His righteousness first, the bible says the Lord added fifteen years to his life. There is a blessing in trusting the Lord. But if you are more concerned about the things of this life then you are about the kingdom of God. You worried about the wrong thing. Our youth are dieing on every street corner across this nation but instead you are more concerned about if blue goes with pink.
We have young ladies being pimped, pumped & pregnant, but here we are more concerned about the length of her dressed. Children taking guns to school but the main focus of the day is whether their teacher is black or white. You worrying about the wrong thing I tell you. Instead of worrying about a young man’s breads, worry about his brain. Instead of worrying about his pants sagging worry about his heart sagging. You are worried about the wrong thing.
Illustration: You see this whole discourse began in the fifth chapter of Matthew with the beatitudes. The bible says that Jesus went up to the mountain away from the people & His disciples came to Him. When they had set down, He began to teach them about things that have worried people down through the centuries, about the law, anger, divorce, getting even with folks. How much to give, how to treat their enemies. I am sure that what Jesus said confused his disciples just as what He is saying today is confusing some of you. But God is not the author of confusion, so in order to make His point clearer; Jesus here used nature to illustrate exactly what he means.
26-27:Now a beaver relies on his sharp teeth for food and shelter, a lion depends on his claws, a bear eats all he can in the summer in order that he may sleep through the winter. Yea ants rely on their strength. Here in the text Jesus says, “consider the birds of the air.” Birds in their wild state provide a good example because they work from sun up to sun yet despite their best efforts, birds are far more dependent upon God’s provisions than we are.
It gathers nothing; it plants nothing, it builds nothing but a nest with the material that God supplies. The bible says not one sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing about it. Now if he cares for a bird, don’t you know He cares for you even more? So what are you worried about? You are more valuable to God than the highest-flying eagle, then the sweetest singing canary. God loves you more than any creature He has every created. Yea He loves you so much that he gave his only begotten son to die on an old rugged cross for you & I.
Worrying ain’t never paid a bill. Worrying sure won’t make your problem go away. If you short, worrying will not make you taller. Worrying will not make you pretty. Worry will not add one second, one minute, one day to your life. So why worry. Worrying will cause you sleepless nights; yea it will cause you to have high blood pressure, headaches.
28-32: Not one of them own Polo, Tommy Hilfiger or Boss. A flower doesn’t own a cotton gin or a sewing machine, yet God has dressed them like royalty. Those that depend on God don’t have to worry about anything. Thank you brother David, “Trust in the Lord & do good so shall thou dwell in the land & verily thou shall be fed.”
You see if God clothes the grass that is here today & gone tomorrow, if He feeds the small insect don’t you know He will take care of you. If you claim to be a child of God, then it’s time to stop worrying about the things of this world. Paul wrote to the Colossian church, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things where Christ now sits. Set your affection on the things above not on things on the earth.”
What every your worries may be today, you worrying about the wrong thing. God says if you just trust me. He says, look I take care of grass that can’t praise me; I feed birds that can’t praise me. Don’t you know I will take care of you whom I have breath the breath of life into?
In spite of what they say, 90% of the chronic patients who see the doctor have one common symptom. Their trouble did not start with cough or chest pain or a headache. In 90% of the cases, the first symptom was fear. Satan wants you to worry with the things of this world. So he comes to worry you like a dog does a snake. He comes to disturb you like a storm disturb the sea. Yea he comes to worry you so that you will change your mind about serving the Lord. We are the subject of Satan’s constant nagging. He is forever trying to get our attention and get our mind off of God. But the God I serve is bigger than any thing Satan can bring my way.
If we would only pay mean what we say when we pray. “Our father…” this day. Not yesterday’s bread cause yesterday is gone, not tomorrows bread, for tomorrow in not mine to claim. But this day, not next week, next month, but this day. Today’s bread is the only bread you can eat. So why be worried about tomorrow, why be anxious about next week? There is enough to deal with today. One day at a time sweet Jesus that’s all I’m asking of you. If you do your best each day for God’s glory you will be automatically prepared for tomorrow. But if you are more concerned about things of this world than the things of God, you worrying about the wrong thing!
33-34: So brother preacher how do I stop worrying? How do I stop stressing about things I can’t do anything about? How do I get free from the cell of my mind? ? I’m glad you asked. God has a remedy for what every is worrying you today. Listen & take heed to what the word of God says.
Pray: Luke 18:1 says, “Men ought to always pray & not faint.” Prayer is one of God’s cures for worry. If we would only do what the songwriter said, “Take it to the Lord in prayer. It was prayer not worry closed the lion’s mouth. It was prayer not worry that parted the red sea. It was prayer not fear that brought our parents through the dark days of slavery. Not only pray, but also rejoice.
Rejoice: Now that you have prayed, Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, & again I say rejoice.” Rejoice when things are going good & rejoice when things are going bad. Again I say rejoice. This verb rejoice means right now. What every you may be worried about right now, just start rejoicing in the Lord.
David understood this. Everything was not always well with David. His son betrayed him. His other son raped his daughter. Then the first son killed that son. Saul hounded him like a dog. But through it all can’t you hear David saying, “ I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” start thanking God in advance for what He is about to do. “Lord I don’t see it yet, but I thank you.”
Trust: I read just the other day, “he that comes to God must first believe that He is & that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” If you seek the kingdom of God first & His righteousness, He shall supply your every need according to his riches in glory. If God cares for the birds of the air, the lilies you can rest assured He cares for you & He knows what you need.
Count your blessing: David put it this way in the 139th Psalm, “If I could count them, they would be more in number than the sands.” When was the last time you counted your blessings? Look around you. I don’t think any of us slept outside last night. The four corners of your room were not the four corners of your grave. Look at your children. They may not be the best children in the world, but you can look at them without going to the funeral home. Thank God for your husband, your wife. Thank God for your parents. Thank God that you have a job to go to and a bed to sleep in. thank God for your church family. You ought to thank him today. Thank him that you not in the hospital or the nursing home.
Finally if you won’t to overcome worry go to work. The text says, “Seek.” A verb meaning action. Seek a right now word, that means right now. Seek, an imperative word meaning that’s a command. “If you are worried to day…seek God. If you are confused, seek God. If you are lost & can’t see your way out. Seek ye the Lord while He can be found. I got to leave you now;
But there is a warning here in the text also. If you don’t have peace with the Creator & a relationship with the redeemer, then you have something to worry about. If you have not asked God to forgive you of your sins, then yes you have something to worry about. If you don’t have your name written in the blood of the lamb, then you have something to worry about. If you know you did wrong last night, went home & laid down like you don’t have a care in the world, then yes you have something to worry about. If the things of this life are more important to you then God Almighty, then you have some thing to worry about. If you want to stop worrying, then come to Jesus. If you want to rest from your labor, come to Jesus. All you have to do is put it all in His hand. Commit what ever it is in His hand. Trust in God, rest in Jesus. What ever your problem commit it to the Master.
Thank you brother Jude “now unto HIM…now unto Him that is ABLE…now unto Him that is able to KEEP…now unto Him that is able to keep YOU… now unto Him that is able to keep you from FALLING… now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling & present you FAULTLESS before His Glory. God is a keeper. So I’m not going to worry. For he is bread when you are hunger. He will be water when you are thirsty. If you need a friend, He will be right there. You don’t have to worry when you trust in God.
Down through the centuries a lot of folk have had reason to worry. But instead they trusted the Lord. Abraham. Moses. Daniel. The Hebrew boys. David. Ruth. Mother & father. Yes even Jesus Christ had reason to worry. Yea one night my Lord was praying in the garden & some soldiers came to take him away, but he didn’t worry. They took him from judgment hall to judgment hall, but he didn’t worry. They whipped Him all night long, but he didn’t worry. They spit in His face & put a crown of thorns on His head, but my God didn’t worry. They lead Him up Golgotha’s hill carrying your sins & mine but still my Lord didn’t worry. They nailed His hand & His feet, they stretched Him wide & hung Him high, but like a lamb before the shears, He never said a mumbling word.
When the sky turned black & the sun refused to shine, My Lord was not worried. Eli Eli, Lama sabachthani, “Father into thy hands I commend my spirit,” He still was not worried. When they took Him down from the cross & laid Him in a borrowed tomb the only one that was worried was Satan himself. For the bible says Jesus went down into the grave & led captivity captive. Early one Sunday morning, before the birds began to sing. Before the lilies could get dress. Jesus got up with all power. I say he got up, with all power.