Sermon Tone Analysis

Good Evening, well let me just tell you that I am honored and blessed to have been asked to come back and worship with your church many of you have added me as a friend on face book and I keep up with many of you, it is my joy to be asked to come back because my good friend and brother in ministry Tony Deese is your pastor.

Church if I may let me just say that Providence has been called by God to find a man to fill its pulpit that reveres the word of God, and someone who devotes Himself to sound Biblical teaching, but who also loves his people.

Let me just say that from my perspective you chose the right man for the job.

Tony is a great blessing to me in my ministry, and I am honored to be asked to come and be with you tonight.

Tony you can pay me later for the compliments bro.

I have been the pastor at UHBC for almost 9 years now.

Wow time is flying by, but God is good.

I have been blessed as Tony mentioned to have 4 beautiful children and a wife that is beautiful and kind and puts up with me.

That is proof that God is alive haha.

I want to label the message with this question:

WHAT ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT?

A curious name was found on ancient documents the name is tiddedus Amnorimnus Tidedius is a personal name Amnorimnus is the greek word for worry or anxiety negated.

Its more than a name, a tag or title.

Like Fredrick the great or James the just, or ivan the terrible.

Apparently this man tidedius was the nonworrier.

Could that be said of you?

Would the people who know you best consider you one who never worries?

Could you look in the mirror and call yourself Jack or Jill or whoever the non worrier?

The issue is not what others think of you, of course not even what you think of yourself, the issue is what the Lord Jesus Christ thinks about your anxiety.

In Jesus commands His disciples to trust God and NOT WORRY.

TRUST GOD AND DO NOT WORRY.

Matthew 6:25

That word anxious there means a divided mind, thats what worry is, to have a divided mind.

Faith pulls you in one direction, doubt pulls you in another direction.

Hope drags you one way, fear drags you another way.

You hope for the best and expect the worst at the same time.

You find yourself mentally and emotionally and spiritually divided.

With undue and excessive and sinful concern.

In fact our English word worry is derived from a german word for choking or strangling someone.

THAT’S WORRY.

It is internal strangulation at the ruthless hands of uncertain circumstances.

But Jesus says to those who would follow Him that you must TRUST GOD AND DO NOT WORRY.

In fact the prohibition here against worry forbids an activity that is already taking place, literally Jesus says here STOP WORRYING.

What are you worried about tonight?

Whatever it is I have a word from the Lord for you tonight.

STOP IT!!

JESUS SAYS STOP WORRYING

But this passage is more than Jesus just teaching us not to worry.

Here Jesus gives us 3 principles to practice to win over worry.

3 principles to practice to win over worry.

1. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR PHYSICAL NEEDS

Jesus adresses the fleeting nature, the powerful grip, and the corrupting influence of materialism.

He focuses on the things you have

In verse 24 Jesus don’t say you cant have God and money, but you cant serve them both you have to choose between them both God or money.

I’m here to tell you today that the reason the church in america is dying, the reason why so many churches lack the power of God and the revival they say they so desperately want, is that they would rather have more than enough than spend it all in the service of the Master.

Listen to me let me just talk to ya a minute, this is gonna sting get ready.... the reason so many churches dont have the members or pastors they need is because in the case of the members they allow things to get in the way of their relationship with God.

Hey um yall gone be at church sunday?

Naw man were going out on the boat this weekend, oh ok.

Next week rolls around, hey man looking forward to seeing yall this weekend, naw man uh we got travel ball.

Oh ok...

The next thing you know there is a hallowness to the gospel, people feel guilty because they have been absent so much so they just decide to sit out, and in the case of pastors they can become driven by building buildings and somehow in our world we have defined gthis as success.

LISTEN TO ME THE REASON YOU AINT HAPPY IS BECAUSE YOUR USING MONEY AND POSSESSIONS AS THE MEANS BY WHICH YOU FIND HAPPINESS, WHEN IN ALL ACTUALITY JESUS WANTS YOU TO WALK WITH HIM AND ALLOW HIM TO GIVE YOU JOY AND THEN AS A BONUS OF PUTTING HIM FIRST HE WILL BLESS YOU IN ORDER THAT YOU CAN BE ABLESSING.

I’m sorry if that was a God given ADD moment but it is the truth.

YOU CANNOT SERVE BOTH GOD AND MATERIAL POSSESSIONS.

People who have money still tend to worry no matter how much they have!

do you know why?

Because material wealth does not produce true security.

Only those who trust in the living god are free to live without worry.

so in verse 25 Jesus says:

DONT WORRY ABOUT YOUR LIFE, then He specifies dont worry about your basic physical needs food and clothing which is here meant to symbolize all that is essential for survival.

It is all that effects your survival in life it also addresses the other worries we may have about war and terrorism and the economy and natural disasters Jesus says dont worry about life in general and dont worry about how your needs are going to be met.

Dont worry about how you are going to survive!

Well preacher that dont sound realistic… I mean we live in the real world.

Dont tell me tell Jesus who you say is your master.

I had a man one time tell me when it came to running a church that we needed more than spiritual truth to run the church.

IM SORRY BUT IN THE FAMILY OF GOD HIS WORD IS THE AUTHORITY HE SAYS DONT LEAN ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING BUT IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AND HE WILL DIRECT YOU STEPS.

DONT TELL ME YOU HAVE BETTER IDEAS THAN THE GOD OF THE BIBLE!

JESUS SAID DO NOT WORRY!

Jesus uses a parable to show the futility the uselessness of worry.

He says

Jesus is saying look at the birds of the air and remember the soverign faithful and generous ways that God cares for His creation.

Birds dont plant seeds they dont work the field they dont bring in a harvest.

BIRDS DONT HAVE STABLE JOBS, SOCIAL SECURITY, INSURANCE POLICIES, AND 401k plans.

While you laughing at the birds, birds also do this they do not have high blood pressure, panic attacks or nervous breakdowns.

The birds simply trust the HEavenly Father to care for thier basic needs.

Said the robin to the sparrow “I should really like to know why these ancient human beings rush about and worry so.”

Said the sparrow to the robin: “friend I think that it must be that they do not have a Heavenly Father as cares for you and me.”

Jesus says if God takes care of the birds Hell take care of you…

this reference to the carefree life of birds is not to sanctify laziness, negligence or irresponsibility listen

GOD FEEDS THE BIRDS EVERYDAY BUT HE DOESN’T PUT WORMS IN THEIR NESTS THE BIRDS WORK FOR FOOD.

WHEN JESUS SAYS THE BIRDS DON’T SOW OR REAP OR GATHER HARVEST, HES NOT SAYING IN ANYWAY THAT FARMING IS UNNECCESARY.

The ancient world of the nearest was an agricuteraly society, the economy was based on the principle of sowing and reaping.

They worked hard in the field and trusted God to send the harvest.

So Jesus here is not condemning work He is condeming the one who thinks or acts as if your survival or wellbeing depends on your work.

YOUR LIFE IS NOT IN YOUR HANDS YOUR LIFE IS IN THE HANDS OF GOD!

So Jesus says consider the birds of the air they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns but your heavenly father feeds them, now look at the bottom of the verse where Jesus asks the question ARE YOU NOT OF MORE VALUE THAN THEY?

Answer: Of course you are

You are valuable to God.

Well preacher thats fine but you dont understand I have prayed and I have tried my best and I have worked hard but everything is falling apart and I dont feel like He cares for me.

If he did He wouldnt let this happen or that happen.

come here and let me tell you a story.

One day Jesus was teaching on faith and trust, and He said to His disciples hey yall you aint gotta have alot of faith but if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can say to this mountain raise up and be cast into the sea and it will listen.

THE DISCIPLES said mhmm amen!

I like that!

Come on preach it Jesus....

But you know what happened next I mean the same day, Jesus said Hey yall lets get in a boat and head to the other side.

A squall came up fierce and raging and the disciples were afraid they are paddling as hard and they can paddle and the boat is being tossed about they feelas though it is about to break apart.

Jesus is asleep on the stern.

THEY CRY OUT LORD DONT YOU CARE THAT WE ARE PERISHING!!!

JESUS HEARD THEIR CRY AND STOOD UP AND TOLD THE WIND AND THE WAVES TO SHUT THEIR MOUTH AND THEY LISTENED!