Love Reigns Over Our Future

Week 4: Love Reigns Over Our Future

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34

For Mother's Day- One Time A Little Boy Was

Tags: Mother's Day

For Mother’s Day- One time a little boy was called up front to solve a math problem. The teacher asked him, “You have a pie with 6 pieces. There are 5 in your family: your brother, your sister, your mother and father and you. Each one gets one piece of the pie. Now you only have one piece left. We don’t want to cause any disagreements so it is decided to divide that last piece of pie evenly among your family. Tell me with a fraction how it will be divided up.” The little boy said, “1/4th.” The teacher said, “No, it would be 1/5th because there are 5 in your family and it will be divided evenly.” The little boy said, “No, teacher, it will be 1/4th. This happens all of the time in my family and my mother divides up the piece of pie but she never gives any to herself.” WE should be like that mother. Who comes first?

Write Up: Too many people are consumed with worry and anxiety about what tomorrow might hold. This fear can be paralyzing. As Christians we believe that our loving heavenly Father is always looking out for us. He takes care of the birds of the air and the flowers of the field and that gives us confidence that he will take care of us too. There is no benefit from worry, in fact, anxiety only hurts us. We should trust God and allow him to guide our steps.

Think: I do not have control of the future.

Feel: My heavenly Father is looking out for me and will provide for my needs.

Do: Turn your worries into prayers and trust in God’s plan for your life.

Sermon:

Today is the final day of our sermon series Love Reigns. We have been challenging ourselves to allow the love of God to reign in every area of our lives.

1. The first week, we celebrated the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter. We celebrate because the resurrection is the proof that Jesus is the true King of the world who has authority over all things. When we obey Jesus, we experience the life he has for us.

2. The second week, we looked at how God’s love reigns over our past. Though our mistakes and sins can be a heavy burden on us, we embrace the love of God that forgives us our past and offers us a fresh start.

3. Last week we discovered that God’s love gives us promise for our present. We can make choices that create healthier patterns in our lives and renew our minds to live in obedience to God.

4. This final week of our series I want to speak about allowing the love of God to reign over our future.

Story: I remember as a kid having a little toy that was supposed to help us know what the future held. It was a Magic 8 Ball. (Consider having one on stage.) I used it for all kinds of questions I had about the future. You would shake up that mysterious little triangle floating in the blue liquid inside. I’d ask it about whether Evie will say yes to being my girlfriend. Oddly enough, it always gave me the answer “Don’t Count on It”. I’d ask about how my grades would turn out and the answer would be “Better Not Tell You Now”. I’d ask about my future career to which it would respond “Ask Again Later”. This little toy that came out in 1950, is a tell-tale sign that our culture has a keen interest in the future.

We all have wondered from time to time about what the future might hold for us. Sometimes we wonder because our current situation is painful, and we want to get on the other side of the difficulty. Sometimes we wonder because we are excited about the possibilities before us. Either way, our curiosity about the future can sometimes slip into an unhealthy obsession with what is to come that is commonly called worry.

Illustration: I want you to take the piece of paper and pencil you were given on the way in the room today and I want you to take a moment to write down one worry in your life about the future right now. Once you write it down, keep it near you until the end of the message today.

Worry is an all-consuming use of our time, energy, and attention on things that we cannot control.

1. We worry about our finances,

2. we worry about our family,

3. we worry about our job,

4. we worry about getting sick,

5. we worry about everything.

The problem is that our worrying does not improve our situation at all. The only true way to cure this sickness of worry is to trust in the love of God and let is rule in our lives.

Jesus spoke to this struggle with the future in Matthew 6.

READ Matthew 6:25-27

Matthew 6:25-27

Matthew 6:25–27 NLT

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

New International Version

Do Not Worry

25 “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? 26 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? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?

Even though this passage of scripture was written nearly two thousand years ago, it is so applicable to us today. It also shows me that human nature is to sense anxiety about our future.

POINT #1 – GOD SEES YOU

Jesus tells us not to worry about our life. Don’t worry about your daily needs. Don’t worry about your daily wants. The reason he gives is because our lives are made up of more than just our physical desires. God offers proof for his ability to provide for us. He points to the birds of the air. These tiny, winged animals are not anxious about their needs for tomorrow, but God still provides their needs for today.

If God takes care of the sparrows of the world, surely, he can take care of you. Jesus reminds us of our incredible worth. He sees us. We are loved by God and therefore he will provide for us today. Our future is in good hands when our future is under God’s control. We must allow ourselves to trade what we don’t know about the future for what we do know about the love of God for us. Worry is not worth it because it does not add any hours to your life, if anything, it takes hours away.

It reminds me of the line in the Lord’s Prayer that is prayed in churches all around the world each week. We pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”. Give us what today we need God. Not too much so that we might forget about trusting you for our future. Not too little that we are tempted to take matters into our own hands. Just enough for today. It is how we learn to trust God, even when we do not know what is around the corner. Trusting God for the future instills deep hope that He is there before we ever get there.

Story: A Few years ago, I found myself listening to talk radio on the way to work each day. I had a 20-minute drive one-way and so it made for almost an hour of radio time a day. At first it was no big deal, but eventually I noticed myself feeling anxious about the things that had just been discussed. The radio station would talk about political divisiveness, the struggling economy, and potential wars. It became too much for me to handle. I experienced true anxiety for the first time because everything seemed so out of control. I became anxious about the future. It was not until I confessed my struggle to my wife and my small group, and I had to turn off the radio that I began to feel normal again.

I had to remind myself that God sees me. God sees every single person on earth, and He has a great plan for you. He will take care of you. You can trust him. One of the most quoted scriptures of all time is from Jeremiah 29:11. It is a promise given to the Jewish people, but I believe it is something we can hold onto today as well.

READ Jeremiah 29:11

Jeremiah 29:11

Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

New International Version

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God has a preferred future that he longs for you to live into. We experience it when we begin to let go of trying to control everything and we start to submit to him and follow his lead. Worrying about the future does not have any positive effects. It only causes us to become paralyzed by fear.

The question is how do you know when opportunities in the future are God’s plan? There are three simple questions you can ask yourself to help you determine God’s leading in your life.

1. Does this opportunity align with scripture? Would you be violating direction that has already been given to us in God’s word? If so, there is a good chance that is not a part of the plans God has for you.

2. Will this opportunity make me more like Jesus? If you take part in the activity or make this decision, will it make you more Christ-Like? If it will help shape you and mold you into the person God desires for you to be, then there is a good chance this could be a part of God’s plan for your future.

3. Will this opportunity benefit others? Will this decision result in the blessing of other people around you? God is always looking to use willing people to help serve others in need. This may be a good indication that this thing may be a part of God’s plan for your life.

To discover God’s plan for your future is to live into the purpose for which you were born. This is the future that we want to experience. As Mark Twain once said, “The two most important days of your life are the day when you are born and the day you find out why.” Your future is tied to your purpose and God’s plan.

POINT #2 – SEEK GOD FIRST

Jesus gives us a way to ensure that our future falls in line with his will for our lives. It is about priority. Some of us have our priorities focused on the wrong things because we are nervous about the future.

READ Matthew 6:28-34

Matthew 6:28-34

Matthew 6:28–34 NLT

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

New International Version

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 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? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Verse 33 says that we should seek first the Kingdom of God. This should be our priority. Living to see the Kingdom of God come to earth should be the defining aspect of our lives. Rather, many of us are more focused on increasing our popularity and status on social media, finally getting that house on the lake, or finding true love. These things are not bad within themselves, but they can cause us to veer off track as our life progresses. Jesus says if we seek God first that everything else will have a way of falling in place.

1. When we seek God first, when we come across a new relationship, they are most likely the kind of person that God would want for us.

2. When we seek God first, we live life with humility and that become what we are known for.

3. When we seek God first, the wants and desires look more like the things God would want for us.

Illustration: It is like this glass jar is our future. (Have two large glass jars on stage. Have enough small pea-gravel and larger stones to fill the jars.) Some of our lives are filled first with the worldly wants and desires… all the little things that are not priorities. (Pour in the pea gravel into one jar.) But what can happen is that our life become so cluttered that we do not have space for all the things God wants to bring into our life in the future. (Try to put a few of the larger stones in the same jar. Some stones will be left outside the jar.) However, if you were to fill your life with the priorities and most important things first, they have a way of all fitting. (This time fill the jar with the larger stones first. Then pour in the pea-gravel so the spaces between stones are all filled.) Therefore Jesus says to put the Kingdom of God first. Everything else will be added.

So, don’t worry about your future. It is in God’s hands. Besides, Jesus says, today has enough things to be concerned about anyway without worrying about things that don’t exist yet. Most of the things that we spend our time worrying about never come to pass anyway and yet so much of our energy is spent on it.

POINT #3 – USE YOUR TIME WISELY

We all only have so many days in our lives. Our future must be stewarded well. The author of Psalm 90 had this concept in mind when he wrote verse 12.

READ Psalm 90:12

Psalm 90:12

Psalm 90:12 NLT

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

New International Version

12 Teach us to number our days,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

The author is writing a prayer. He is asking for awareness so that he uses the days of his life in a manner that honors God and honors people.

Story: A survey years ago reveal some astonishing information about how people spend their lives. In a lifetime the average American will spend:

Six months sitting at stoplights Eight months opening junk mail One year looking for misplaced objects 2 years unsuccessfully returning phone calls 4 years doing housework 5 years waiting in line 6 years eating

(Survey of 6000 people polled in 1988, US News and World Report, January 30, 1989, pg. 81)

As you live your life it is important to ask yourself if the places that your time, energy, attention, and affection are going the most important places they could possibly go. I have heard is said before that the only thing that will matter one hundred years from now will be people’s relationship with God. If this is the cause, then we need to use our future to ensure that as many people come to experience and trust God as possible. As the psalmist said, living wisely means realizing that we only have so many days in our lives, and we must use them wisely.

PRAYER

Take the piece of paper from the beginning of the message and flip it over on the side without the written worry. Now, I want you to write a prayer about how you want to spend your time and how you want God to turn your worry into worship.