How God Designed Life to Work – Matthew 6:33

“How God Designed Life to Work” - Matthew 6:33 Sermon Notes Matthew 6:25-34 “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 than food, and the body more 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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor 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—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.” God designed you to live by faith. The just shall live by faith. (Galatians 3:11) Hebrews 10:38 38 - "But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back." Faith is HIS righteousness AND his kingdom operates by faith. (Hebrews 11) Romans 14:23 whatsoever is not of faith is sin. (Read James 1:6-7) Faith is simply trusting God. Do you want to work with someone you cannot trust? Do you think God does? How can he give you power to rule over all the nations if he can’t trust you? Would you marry someone you couldn’t trust? We are to marry Jesus Christ when he returns. (Revelation 19:7) Worry is disobedience. Worry is the opposite of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6) To worry is to let your mind dwell on troubles or difficulties, and in most cases, what we worry about never happens. Studies show that only about 8% of our worries are really legitimate troubles, and a huge percentage of the things we worry about never happen. We spend so much of our emotional energy worrying about things we can’t change or things that never take place. Worry doesn’t solve problems. It doesn’t keep bad things from happening. (Read Philippians 4:4-7) Worry doesn’t motivate you or help you cope. Yet we still continue to worry. It’s so easy to get caught up in worry. Six things we worry about: 1) finances, 2) health, 3) family, 4) jobs, 5) what other people think, 6) what the future holds. Page 1 of 2 Over time, worry can start affecting your daily life. Chronic worrying can interfere with your relationships, job performance, appetite, sleep, and lifestyle. Medical science even tells us that chronic emotional stress and worry can trigger many health problems, such as suppression of your immune system, short-term memory loss, heart disease, digestive issues, and even heart attack. Mentally, worry can lead to anxiety and depression. And Jesus doesn’t just want us to share our cares and worries with him, he wants us to cast them on him. He wants us to lay them down and let him carry them. Next time you find yourself awake at night worrying, tell Jesus all about those thoughts and feelings. Instead of trying to bear it alone – when your worry can do absolutely nothing – talk to the person who has the power to take care of you and do something about your worries. Once you cast your cares on Jesus, then you need to leave them there. Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (I Peter 5:7) It’s so easy to spend time with Jesus, tell him about our problems, give him our worries, and then the next day pick them right back up again. And we’re back to worrying and back to doubting God and his promises. Conclusion: God designed us to walk and live by faith. Worry is a tool Satan uses to take our eyes off of Jesus. Let’s seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and God will take care of everything else. Page 2 of 2