Framing the House

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

This morning I’ve titled the message:

Framing the House

Pray

STORY

Has anyone ever been pronounced dead by WebMD?

One symptom/One little pain

You’re like… it’s probably nothing

But just in case… let me check

You google it…or now days ChatGPT it. (guilty)

Now you’ve got a disease you can’t pronounce

You’re reading words you’ve never seen in your life

You scroll a little more… big mistake

Now it’s “advanced stages” “rare condition” “seek immediate help”

Now you’ve got three days left to live you’re thinking about your will.

Who gets what

Who’s taking care of the dog

We are spiraling out of control…

We are anxious beyond belief.

Only to realize a few moments later you don’t have acute cranial nerve hyperplasia…

You were just hungry….

And then we tell ourselves well I’ll never look up my symptoms ever again…only to do it again the next time something doesn’t “feel right.”

Why do we do this?

SHIFT

Because God designed the human brain to protect us….

But…

Without truth, our brain starts to project instead of protect.

It projects worst-case scenarios

It projects outcomes

It projects futures that haven’t happened.

We have a word for it: Anxiety.

Anxiety is buzzword now.

Just a google search of the word Anxiety brings up things like:

How to cope with it.

How to live with it.

How to manage it.

MAKE IT PERSONAL

We live in a culture that would rather normalize anxiety than address it.

Anxiety may be common but it was never meant to be normal.

ANXIETY IS A SIN

In Matthew 6 Jesus says:

“do not be anxious”

That’s not worded as advice, its worded as a command.

And he says it three times.

I’m going to say something that is going to sound harsh and its uncomfortable to hear…but it’s the truth.

Anxiety is a sin.

I know that’s a difficult thing to hear.

And I do not say it as someone casting judgement, i say it as someone who is guilty.

A sin is anything that we do that is in opposisition to God’s commands….

Jesus is God.

Jesus said “do not be anxious.”

Therefore….Anxiety is a sin.

The problem is we have normalized and downplayed what anxiety really is.

Culturally: Anxiety = uneasiness about what might happen.

And I know thats an over simplification.

But anxiety has become something we’re just treating now

Can I give you a wild perspective?

We are living in the most pro self-care, therapy-aware culture in history

Counseling and therapy are more accessible today than at any other time in human history

And that’s not a bad thing

But at the same time…

Statistically, we are one of the most anxious and depressed generations in history

We have more tools than ever and yet more anxiety than ever.

Why?

Because we’ve convinced ourselves that treating the symptoms of anxiety is the same as dealing with the root of anxiety.

So what’s the root?

I’ve got to take you back to the text to show you that.

Matthew 6:25 ESV

That word Anxious there…

I’s the greek word Merimnaō

Here’s what it means:

Divided, pulled in different directions, carrying too much

So anxiety is not just a feeling it’s a divided life.

What’s the divide? Trust in God vs Trust in Everything Else

What that greek word teaches us is that

Our attention is split.

Our Trust is split.

Our responsibility is split.

And the result is:

What we feel responsible to control and what God has said.

Look at the text again:

Matthew 6:25–26 ESV

Jesus is pointing to what God does

But our minds go somewhere else

How will I?

How will I pay for this?

How will I get this done?

How will I make this work?

That’s where most people live

Not in what God has said

But in what they feel responsible to figure out.

LOOK

Verse 26 starts off with the word “Look”

That word means to look intently to really pay attention

This isn’t casual

Jesus isn’t saying, “hey… look at those birds over there”

He’s saying, look… pay attention…

I don’t know about you but if Jesus is telling me to pay attention….I probably should…

Because is Jesus is doing is He’s correcting the framing we live our life through.

Here is what I love.

Jesus doesn’t Just say “Hey Stop being Anxious.”

He instead teaches us HOW to think.

“Look at the birds” observe how I take care of them.

Then He says, Are you not more valuable than a bird?

Directly calling back to the notion that You were created in the image of God therefore have more value than a bird.

Then in case that doesn’t sell you on it….

Matthew 6:28–30 ESV

28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

That word consider yeah in the greek it means “learn”

Jesus is literally saying:

Look at those flowers

They don’t last

They don’t strive

They don’t control anything

And yet…I make sure they’re taken care of

I make sure they’re beautiful

So if I do that for something temporary…

How much more will I take care of you

This is the tension we are living in.

Because we live divided.

A divided life equals bad framing.

Think about a house for a moment.

A house can have a great foundation but bad framing.

The house may be standing but something is off.

The doors don’t close properly.

Trim isn’t aligning properly.

Windows don’t open right pr they stick.

Roof lines are off a bit.

The house is still standing but it’s not functioning right.

It’s still a house….But it’s not right.

Our life is the same way.

We can have a solid foundation. We can love Jesus.

But our framing is off.

Doors don’t close right → things in your life don’t settle your mind doesn’t shut off

Cracks start showing around doors and windows→ pressure starts showing in your thoughts small stress turns into bigger issues

Windows don’t seal → things you shouldn’t be carrying keep getting in fear, “what if,” worst-case scenarios

Nothing lines up the way it should → your thoughts, emotions, and decisions feel out of sync

Pressure builds in the wrong places → you feel stress in areas that shouldn’t feel that heavy

The house is still standing. But it’s not at rest.

THIS IS ANXIETY

You’re still functioning

you’re still going to work

you’re still showing up

But internally… nothing feels settled

Because your life is framed around the wrong center

You’re trying to hold things together that were never meant to depend on you.

Anxiety isn’t always a sign your life is falling apart. Sometimes it’s a sign your life is out of alignment.

Jesus is teaching us to Realign our life.

Jesus is literally showing you practically how to do what Paul says to do in Romans 12:2

Romans 12:2 ESV

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind

Jesus is doing that in real time

He’s replacing:

fear

control

self-reliance

with:

trust

dependence

clarity

PRIDE CONNECTION

Here is what I need you to understand:

Anxiety is not just caring

It’s misdirected care

It’s carrying things like everything depends on you.

Here is how a lot of people read interoperate what Jesus said here:

Matthew 6:25–34 ESV

25 “So I’d encourage you not to be too anxious about your life, about what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothing, so just try to keep that in perspective. 26 Look at the birds of the air: they don’t really store things up or plan everything out, and things seem to work out for them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are? 27 And honestly, worrying doesn’t really add anything to your life, so it’s probably better if you try to manage it when you can. 28 And when it comes to clothing, try not to stress about it too much. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they don’t strive or overwork themselves, yet they still look amazing. 29 Even Solomon wasn’t dressed like that. 30 So if God takes care of something as temporary as grass, won’t He take care of you too? Just try to trust that… even if it’s hard sometimes. 31 So don’t worry too much, saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ 32 That’s what everyone thinks about, so just try not to let it consume you. 33 But instead, try to put God first when you can, and trust that everything else will come together. 34 And don’t stress too much about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own challenges. Just take things one day at a time and do your best.”

You know what’s scary about this?

It sounds like good advice….

But it’s completely opposite of What Jesus actually taught us….

But it’s how a lot of us operate.

We don’t reject Jesus’ words

We just quietly rewrite them

We turn commands into suggestions

We turn truth into preference

We turn surrender into management

And at the root of it…

it’s pride

1 Peter 5:7 is the verse we love about anxiety….

1 Peter 5:7 ESV

7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Yet we never seem to read verse 6….which is the first half of the thought:

1 Peter 5:6–7 ESV

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Humble yourselves… casting your anxieties

Anxiety connects to pride

Pride = taking ownership of outcomes you don’t control

Anxiety shows up when you’re holding onto what should be handed to God.

HIT “WHAT IF” ANXIETY

What about “what if” anxiety?

What if something bad happens?

That’s not random a thought you have.

That’s: trying to control a future you don’t have.

It’s why Jesus said:

Matthew 6:34 ESV

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Jesus is drawing a line

Today has enough weight on its own

You don’t need to add tomorrow’s weight to it

Carrying tomorrow with today’s strength will lead you to anxiety, because you’re trying to solve problems with the strength God gave you for today.

Jeremiah writes in Lamentations that his His mercies are new every morning.

Now listen to me…

The point of this message is not to tell you therapy is bad.

It’s not. I love therapy. I think everyone needs it.

I’m not here to tell you that anxiety medication is bad.

I’ve taken anxiety medication

There was a season where I had to take it every night just to fall asleep

I’ve even had to take it again recently.

I’m not against it

I’m just telling you

It doesn’t fix the root

What fixes the root?

Matthew 6:33 ESV

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

Jesus isn’t speaking theoretically

He’s being very clear

He comes first

I don’t want to make a stretch here…

But think about this

Anxiety is at some of the highest levels we’ve ever seen

And at the same time…

Church attendance is at some of the lowest levels we’ve ever seen

And maybe that’s not a coincidence

Because somewhere along the way

Church stopped being something we build our lives around

And it became something we fit in when we can

Prayer became something we get to if we have time

Community became optional

And now we’re trying to live lives that were designed to be centered on God

without actually putting Him at the center

This is not a guilt moment

This is a clarity moment

You don’t fix anxiety by adding God into an already full life

You fix it by building your life around Him

What if instead of placing God around your life….You started building your life around God?

Pray

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