What Are You Worried About?
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 17 viewsGod has promised to provide for all our needs. If we realy have faith and believe this, then what are we so worried about?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good evening and welcome back!
Tonight if you will, turn in your Bibles to Matthew 6.
In just a moment we will be looking at verses 25-34 and we will be talking about worry and anxiety.
And before the night is over I want us all to ask ourselves, what are we so worried about?
What has us so anxious?
What is bothering us so much?
So, with that in mind, let’s look at Matthew 6, starting in verse 25.
Matthew records Jesus as stating . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Putting It All Into Context
Putting It All Into Context
Now, this passage is taking from the much larger discourse that we call the Sermon on the Mount that covers Matthew 5 through Matthew 7.
And in this passage, Jesus uses several illustrations to discuss the issue of worry and anxiety.
The first of these illustrations starts out in the first verse of the passage when Jesus says . . .
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Which is somewhat of a strange concept for us in our modern world.
But the reality is, Jesus is telling us here to not worry about the things we need in our life.
We shouldn't worry about what we are going to eat, or drink or what clothes we have to wear.
And this is strange to us.
Food, water, clothes, shelter and those things are basic necessities and if we don’t worry about them then who will, right?
Well, it gets stranger because Jesus finishes that verse with a question . . . Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
And I would venture to say we would disagree if we’ve ever been hungry or cold.
But Jesus is getting to a point though.
And the people in Jesus' time probably thought he was crazy, because just like today, they were worrying themselves to death about what are we going to eat?
What are we going to wear?
How are we going to pay the electric bill or the water bill?
How are we going to take care of this or how are we going to take care of that?
How are we going to buy school clothes for the kids?
And on and on and on.
Sometimes life seems to be one big worry.
But putting it into perspective though, what does it take to "take care" of all these things?
What does it take to make the world go around?
What does it take to get all these things we worry so much about.
Money.
And if we will look at the scriptures just before our focus, Jesus addresses this very issue.
“No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Keeping this verse in the back of our mind, we also need to think about what Joshua said . . .
But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
And the point is, we can’t serve two masters and we have to choose which on we are going to serve.
Are we going to serve money or are we going to serve God?
Are we going to bow to the pressures of the world or are we going to give it all to God?
And if we need help deciding, remember what we talked about this morning . . .
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
And again, remember, Paul didn't say that money was the root of all evil but rather the LOVE of money.
It is this love for money that has created an atmosphere of covet-ness, one of idolatry that has caused many in Paul's time and in ours to "err" from the faith, to fall away and notice he says they are "pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
The Greek here is "od-oo'-nay" meaning "grief" and also means worry.
Instead of getting all wrapped up in money and the things of the world, instead Paul tells Timothy . . .
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
And we would be wise to take the same advice from Brother Paul!
We should flee from the draw of the worldly things, which is very hard at times.
But when it gets rough, then we should always turn to our Scripture.
And one good one to refer to is Hebrews 12 . . .
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
In other words, don’t get distracted by this stuff.
Keep the main thing the main thing.
Keep our focus on Jesus and only Jesus.
God Provides
God Provides
Because guess what?
God will provide.
God will care for our needs.
God will give us what we are in need of.
Going back to our passage . . .
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
The birds, one of the most insignificant of all of the animals in our minds.
Look at them, they don’t hoard up food and store it away, but rather God provides what they need.
And if God is going to provide for them, then why would we think God would not provide for us?
Are we not much more valuable to God than the birds?
Wouldn’t God provide for us?
And of course we are going to say “yes, of course.”
We say it, but do we believe it?
Do we practice it?
Do we let it guide our life and decisions?
Or are we full of worry about everything?
After all, what did Jesus say?
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
So what are we so worried about?
What does it help?
What does it accomplish?
Does it help at all?
And Jesus asks if it can add an hour to our lives.
I would say it is the opposite.
The more we worry and stress, I believe it takes away from our lives.
If not physically, I know emotionally and Spiritually.
Why Do Worry So Much?
Why Do Worry So Much?
So, what is it then?
Why do we as humans worry so much?
I know the answer, and none of us really like to hear it, myself included.
It boils down to faith.
A lack of mature faith.
I’m not saying we do not have any faith, but when we are so worried about the world and wordly things that it distracts us and also reveals the depth or shallowness of our faith.
And I say that because worry goes against what God has already told us.
God has already told us He would provide for all our needs . . .
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
So, Jesus tells us if we "ask" it will be given to us, if we "seek" we shall find it, and if we "knock" it shall be opened unto us.
How do we ask? We pray and fast.
How do we seek? We pray and fast.
How do we knock? We pray and fast.
Do we see the pattern forming here?
Jesus also tells us in Luke . . .
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
And Paul in Romans 8 . . .
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
And finally, back to our passage . . .
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
And the theme is really trust God and don’t worry about tomorrow.
Tomorrow will worry about itself.
And here’s the thing to, we often will say and hear “I need a new car, why don’t I have one?”
Or, “I need a new phone or computer, why don’t I have one?”
Well, is it something we really need, or just something we really want?
In 1 Corinthians Paul teaches us . . .
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
The reality is, if it means that getting a brand new car, a new computer, or a big fat bank account will take away from your relationship to God or cause you to fall into sin, then God will not put you in that situation.
God will not do anything that will cause you to fall.
Folks, God is not concerned about the flesh and blood things of this world, but rather the Spirit.
God is concerned about the eternal and not the temporal.
And the reason God is not concerned?
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
It is all temporary and will all pass away.
The only thing that will remain is God and our relationship with God.
Altar/Challenge
Altar/Challenge
So, this evening I ask the question, what is most important to you?
The world or God?
And think before you answer, because if you say “God” then I ask what are you so worried about?
Why are you so consumed with the troubles of the world?
Don’t answer me but be honest with yourself and with God and ask God to reveal these things to you.
Ask God to increase your faith.
Ask God to remove the worry and anxiety from you.
Let’s pray . . .