The Best is Yet to Come! Week 2

Opening Story

How do I struggle with this?

Question

How do we all struggle with this?

Does any body ever worry? What do we need to overcome this?

Text

What does the Bible say about this?

Matthew 6:25–34 (CSB)

25 “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?

* If God is capable of doing the bigger things - like creating you, He is able to do the smaller things - like feeding you.

26 Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?

* Coming at it in the opposite direction. If He cares to do the less important like feeding the birds, He will do the more important by feeding you.

27 Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying?

* worry does nothing - been there, done that and it’s true - it doesn’t help, only hurts.

28 And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread.

29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these.

30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith?

* Jesus teaches us that the true cause of worry or anxiety is little faith.

31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’

32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

* Obsession with the external is the wrong priority.

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

* Followers of Christ who “seek first” God’s Kingdom and trust God to provide will have all that they need.

34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

* 6:34 Jesus did not prohibit planning for the future, but he did prohibit worrying about it. He urged his disciples instead to focus on the challenges of the present.

Stein, R. H. (2017). Differences in the Gospels. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 1510). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Application

What should you do about this?

When worry comes into your mind, “seek first the kingdom of God”.

Challenge

How can we all live this out together?

If 100 people here prayed for 5 minutes a day for 40 days that would be 20,000 minutes. That would come out to almost 14 days of straight prayer.

Do you think 14 days of straight prayer could change our world, our country, our community, our families, ourselves, and even Lighthouse Community?

Sign up to commit to prayer for 5 minutes a day for 40 days beginning Monday November 22 through New Years Eve.