Matthew 6:25-34, Christians Stop Worrying!

turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter six we're going to be looking at verses 25 to the end of the chapter in verse 34 let's pray Heavenly Father Lord again we commit this time to you Lord we are grateful for your love Lord we are grateful for your care Lord we are grateful for your power you don't simply love us and care for us you have the ability to keep us and preserve us and so Lord we pray that our attention would turn towards you and Heavenly Father I pray in particular for that man or that woman whose finds himself or herself in a very difficult place in a dark place Lord I pray that your very presence would communicate all that you are and all that you desire to be in every single person's life that because of Jesus we can have experience of forgiveness and hope and so again Lord we commit this time to you and we pray these things in Jesus name Amen Matthew chapter 6 beginning in verse 25 Jesus continues that most famous sermon the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says therefore I say to you do not worry about your life what you will eat or what you will drink nor about your body what you will put on is not life more than food in the body more than clothing look at the birds of the air for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feeds them are you not of more value than they which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature so why do you worry about clothing consider the lilies of the field how they grow they neither toil nor spin and yet I say to you that even Solomon and all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these now if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven will he'd not much more clothe you oh you of little faith therefore do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear for after all these things the Gentiles seek for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its own things sufficient for the day is its own trouble the Lord Jesus has talked about giving in verses 1 through 4 about praying in verses 5 through 15 about fasting in verses 16 through 18 about treasures in verses 19 through 24 and now he brings us and our attention to the subject of trusting in verses 25 through 24 Jesus has already condemned those who treasure up goods to satisfy themselves and now Jesus invites us to evaluate our attitudes about the basics about the necessities not about the things that are extra but the things that are essential food and clothing and shelter and he does this by giving us much-needed instruction he says don't worry about food don't worry about clothing because your life your life is so much more in verse 25 and then he uses a winsome illustration and he invites us to consider the birds in verses 26 and 27 the lilies in verses 28 through 30 this information and illustration is then followed by an invitation in verses 31 through 34 put the Lord first seek Him verse give him first place and he'll meet all your needs john macarthur writes quote the rich are tempted to trust their riches the poor are tempted to doubt God's protection and we might even say provision the rich are tempted to become self-satisfied in the false security of their riches and the poor are tempted to worry about the false insecurity of their poverty unquote and you may fall into one of those two categories you may be rich you may be poor but most of us would put ourselves in some category that's in-between but what Jesus does is he says what you believe about your possessions and what you believe about the presence or the absence of possessions in your life becomes a very real indicator of the spiritual condition of your heart and of your life we're human we need clothing and food and shelter but we're Christians we're blood-bought individuals were born-again we're citizens of the kingdom of God and since we're all going to one day dwell in heaven with Christ forever once again Jesus invites us to consider our destiny we're creatures of two worlds and in the tension between those two worlds is the growth of what's going on inside of us and the proving of our character this is the place where we grow this is the place where we shrink this is the place where we become useful or useless this is the place where we become dull or sharp we are in the world but in first John chapter 14 it says we're not of this world if we are Christians were slaves of God and he is our master in verse 24 he has the responsibility to care for us so why worry in the sermon Jesus confronts the listener with this reoccurring question as he addresses each and every issue in this sermon he invites us once again in a fresh way to ask an answer the question will we trust the Lord will we trust his care will we trust his wisdom will we trust his power the Bible says that we should be warned about religious external Xand materialism over and over again in this sermon he's been contrasting what's been going on on the outside with what's going on on the inside with materialism with Mammon wealth can enslave the heart and the soul in the mind yet most people believe that money is the greatest answer to life's most pressing problems how many times have you thought or maybe even said out loud if I just had more money my problems would be solved remember those who desire riches fall into a temptation and a snare according to first Timothy chapter 6 verse 9 money has the ability to create problems and to solve problems Jesus has already warned that money can give us a false sense of security or sufficiency poverty can cause us to doubt God's goodness and so Jesus emphatically tells us that worry as sin ulsan is dangerous but worry is a thief that steals peace and joy and contentment and health it robs us from years of our life and when we discover that worry is sin we often wants to substitute a new word for it that sounds less harmless like a concern or a burden or or a cross to bear but but just for fun I looked upward and worried in my synonym finder this is what I found Frette agonized loose sleeps two rides stay awake at night also included were sweat blood feel uneasy be afraid lose heart despair brood over borrow trouble bother shake fluster how appropriate worry winds up being a description of what we are when we don't trust God there was a man who is pacing up and down in the bedroom it was about three o'clock in the morning he he woke up his wife his wife woke up and said what are you doing and he goes I can't believe it I I borrowed a thousand dollars from Sam next door I told him I would pay him back today and I don't have the money she got up she opened the window and she said hey Sam I got bad news Don doesn't have the money sorry and then she closed the window and she goes go to sleep now it's it's fine it's its turn to pace up and down what do you worry about your job your lack of a job your children your singleness your marriage the nation the house payment your retirement what other people think what is it that you worry about in the Bible the word translated worried means to be drawn in different directions or to be pulled apart some have translated the word strangled or choked but all of these are descriptions of the effects of worry if you've ever agonized over making a payment or the loss of a job or the paralyzing fear that grips you when a child runs away or decides to live in your basement for the rest of your life you've experienced a little bit about this worry tears us apart but Jesus points out that it's faithless look at this in verse 25 therefore I say to you do not worry about your life what you will eat or what you will drink nor about your body what you will put on is not life more than food and the body more than clothing Jesus commands us not to worry it's faithless it's godless it's pointless it's useless the command in the original language is emphatic it means stop it and never do it again in the word life it's inclusive it means your thought life your emotional life your physical life your spiritual life the implication is that worry is sin and so the person who dies with the most toys or the most treasure still dies we live in an age of unprecedented materialism and consumption and self-indulgence greed and selfish ambition are viewed not as vices but as virtues and if you don't believe me just listen to any radio station or television station even Christian radio stations and television stations who who invite us in to get quick get-rich-quick schemes there are five words that still deceive people all over the world you can have it all do you know what it's not true it's not true you can't have it all and in the few examples where people came close to having it all like Nebuchadnezzar or like Julius Caesar or like Alexander the Great or like Napoleon were reminded what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and he loses his soul and so Jesus commands us not to worry not think about it he's commanding us to worry not just simply about the non-essentials but he's commanding us to worry even about not to worry about the essentials and again the command not to worry as repeated three times in verse 25 in verse 31 in verse 34 Jesus points out the reasons not to worry its faithless its godless it's pointless it's useless its faithless because it denies our trust in the risen master it's useless because it denies our future it's godless because it denies the reality of who God is it's pointless because of our faith George Mallory who is an explorer and one of the very first people to make it to the top of Mount Everest Road we do not live to eat and make money we eat and make money to enjoy life we might say we eat and make money to glorify God and enjoy him forever and when we fall into this trap of worry we wind up inflating the problem and deflating the solution according to the National Bureau of Standards a dense fog covering a city block to a depth of a hundred feet is composed of something about half of a glass of water all the fog can be contained in that single cup this can be compared to the things that we worry about if we could see into the future if we could see our problems in their true light with the mind of Christ with the eyes of God under the auspices of the attributes of God we would place our problems where they belong and if all things if all things most people worry about could be reduced to their proper size they would easily fit into Christ's communion cup what we worry about is never as great in substance as the emotional energy spent to maintain our level of distrust the mental and emotional strangulation is far worse than the presence or the absence of whatever it is that we longed for someone has said that worry is the exact opposite of contentment you know one of my favorite stories from antiquity involves the philosopher Diogenes he was a seeker of truth and a companion and friend to Alexander the Great who was the disputed emperor of Western civilization and Diogenes was sunning himself an exec Alexander the Great - who admired Diogenes immensely said Diogenes ask me any favor you want from me and Diogenes said could you move a little to the left you're blocking my Sun - which Alexander said if I could not be Alexander I would be Diogenes it's an example of contentment think about it for you would have Bill Gates or Steve Jobs before he died or what's the guy's name Buffett Warren Buffett one of these guys came up to you and they said ask me whatever you want you tell me what it is that you want and I will give it to you and you said I have everything that I could ever want I am absolutely content you see the first secret and overcoming worry is exercising contentment and first Timothy chapter 6 verse 6 it says but godliness with contentment is great gain godliness and contentment and faith are all things that are linked to our dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ Herbert Lakia wrote quote worry produces doubt in a three-fold direction number 1 God's love is doubted worry implies that he cares little for his blood wash to children number 2 God's wisdom is doubted worry indicates that he's not able to plan for his own and he does not know what is best for for them who belong to him and number 3 God's power is doubted worry says his grace isn't safe in order to meet your needs think about that for just a moment we doubt God's love we doubt God's wisdom reach out God's power and so Jesus will illustrate that look what it says in verse 26 how it's godless he he says look at the birds of the air for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feeds them are you not of more value than they which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature so why do you worry about clothing consider the lilies of the field how they grow they neither toil nor spin and yet I say to you that even Solomon and all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these now if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven will he not much more clothe you oh you of little faith the root of worry is the sin of unbelief and so Jesus gives three illustrations about eating about an another about clothing another about life Jesus refers to the God of heaven as your heavenly Father he basically says don't you know who your dad is God is your father worry causes us to dismiss our Heavenly Father from our lives we are not to worry about food and we're not to worry about how long our life will be or how short our stay will be on the earth we're not to concern ourselves with clothing it could have been very well that Jesus was watching a flock of birds fly past birds don't have advanced degrees in agriculture or economy there's nothing wrong with having an advanced degree in agriculture economy but birds don't publish cookbooks or have seed sales like all living creatures they rely on God I got an email yesterday from the homeowners association it said their coyotes in your area and two people have reported that the Coyotes ate someone's pet that was left outside and I wanted to send them this passage I wanted to quote yet your heavenly Father feeds them but I suspected that this would not be the most impressive way to minister to our community anyone who has ever observed animals in the wild they know how diligent and persistent they are in their search for food because they're diligent and persistent does that mean they're worried I'm gonna suggest to you know diligence and persistence isn't the same as worry they're not treated for ulcers they don't stay glued to the TV watching fruit futures they gather food until they have enough and when they need more they get more it is true that certain species store up food for the winter the point that Jesus is making is that they're not motivated by worry they're not motivated by fear they're not motivated by greed I read an interesting article about food and food shortages that the world produces enough food to adequately feed every man woman and child on the planet Earth and if the world's food surpluses were divided over the last 18 years each person would have received more than the minimum requirement of calories since 1960 the world's food supply has never gone below a hundred and three percent of the minimum requirement for all of the billions of people living on the planet but yet one out of every three people go to bed hungry every single day the second illustration in verse 27 comes from worrying about the length of life when he says which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature you might envision a person just having a growth spurt or trying to figure out well what's a cubit scholars suggest that it's the length of space between your elbow and your middle finger but I suspect that's not what Jesus is talking about he's not talking about a growth spurt I think that what he's talking about is the length of your life the idea being can you by worrying live one more day or one more month or one more year is worried the thing that makes it possible for you to live longer and longer and longer let's just do a little simple survey how many of you think you get to live longer by worrying every day Wow there's no hands how many of you think that you get to live a little bit longer by worrying less and less and less and less hey yeah this is good this is good this is the point that he's talking about we're living longer than we've ever lived before that's true of each and every person I saw a bumper sticker that said eat right exercise and you still die there's nothing wrong with sensible eating there's nothing wrong with healthy lifestyle habits yet God is in control of our life God has determined the borders of when you will be born of how long you will live and even when you will die and I'm sure that Jesus is even saying this almost tongue-in-cheek worrying doesn't make life longer you can always worry yourself into an early grave health officials tell us that worry has negative negative effects on circulation on the heart your glands the whole nervous system there was a time when we thought that most diseases were were linked to germs but many many health professionals now will include the issues of nutrition and stress rarely does my doctor even talk about disease issues with with me my doctor says you know you seem to live a very stressful lifestyle and I say you know what when stress completely disappears it means you're dead and my doctor goes I'm the doctor in the third illustration Jesus uses flowers most people listening to Jesus would have had very little clothing many people will say while clothing makes the man or the woman but Jesus says our real value doesn't really consist in what we wear flowers don't decorate themselves was Jesus suggesting that we walk around naked I don't think so I don't I don't think that that's the point I think that the point that he's making is that we simply spend too much time worrying fretting concerned over what we will wear and I plead guilty many of you know that I wear the pants in the family and each morning Miss Mary tells me which pair to put on my day will invariably begin with I wonder what I'm going to wear but she's taken that painful temptation away from me whether you wear payless shoes or Nike or converse how much time or energy or effort or resources go into what you're eating or wearing and if you insist on having only the finest that money can buy it may be that clothing becomes a form of pride again this doesn't mean you can't wear good clothes or even fine clothes does this mean that personal appearance doesn't matter of course that's not what this means your mind may have wandered off by now you might be thinking gee you know this worry such a little thing it's such a silly thing it's such a silly little thing why don't you talk about murder or lying or stealing or adultery if a cop pulls you over for speeding you might think don't you have bigger fish to fry where he is no little sin worry is an assault on the love of God on the care of God on the power of God it questions his love it doubts his goodness it calls into question his affection and integrity worries another way of saying I don't trust you I don't trust you God I'm not counting on your promises and I don't believe your word it's kind of like talking out of both sides of your mouth if you go I love you I trust you I care about you but not really worry means being controlled by circumstances are mastered by fear or dominated by doubt worry is accepting the perspective of the moment and then rejecting the eternal perspective this is why life in the Lord Jesus is so much preoccupied with prayer and Bible study and fellowship there's a reason why we invite you to go to the prayer meetings there's a reason why we invite you to go to the men's Bible study in the women's Bible study because we've discovered something that the more time that you spend in friendship and fellowship and relationship with the Word of God and the people of God there is a significant increase in your ability to trust the God of the Bible worry has the sinister capability of causing us to kick God out of our thinking and so look at verse 30 now if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven will he not much more clothe you oh you of little faith pay close attention to that phrase oh you of little faith the source of anxiety the root of worry is unbelief it's the absence of faith not the presence of faith the absence of faith that's why I'm suggesting to you that it's godless Lisa Owens was facing knee surgery and and she was a bit nervous about it so she asked her boss the veterinarian in the clinic where she worked if he had any advice for her he was very comforting and without hesitation he said to you turn your worries into prayers get plenty of rest and don't lick the incision you know sometimes we actually go with the resources that we have available to us you probably realize that for many people the expression trust God becomes almost cliche but when the Bible invites you to do that it isn't just simply a cliche it's an invitation and so Jesus will continue that worry is pointless in verses 31 through 33 he says therefore do not worry saying what shall we eat what shall we drink what shall we wear for after all these things the Gentiles seek for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you when we worry about material things were in effect living like people who have no real relationship with the Living God of the Bible and that's what he means when he says for after all these things the Gentiles seek Jesus points out that the Gentiles don't have the same kind of relationship and fellowship to the God of the Bible we might think of it as there's two kinds of people in the world I know you're gonna think I'm gonna say Italian people and people who wish they were that's not what I'm gonna say it's people who have a relationship with God and those that don't have a relationship with God and so doesn't it make perfect sense to you that your family and friends and people that you come in contact with who don't believe the God of the Bible who don't really read the Word of God who don't really have a relationship with God it makes perfect sense to them that they're going to preoccupy themselves with what they eat and what they drink and what they wear Jesus says don't live like the heathen don't live like the pagan people who don't know God preoccupy themselves not with what they don't know but with what they do know I know about eating I know about drinking I know about drugging I know about partying when you have nothing to live for except the present when you have nothing to live for except pleasure when when whatever purpose you find in your life consists in self-indulgence then it makes perfect sense we don't blame the unbeliever for acting out in their unbelief the problem lies with the Christian who pretends that God isn't real and that God doesn't care people who don't have God to take care of the physical things in life need to take care of themselves materialism and self ism are perfectly consistent with the self-absorbed for Christians worried esporte 'less worry is unreasonable the Christian claims a God who supplies his or her needs in ancient times people believed in little G OD s little gods supplying their needs Helios was the Sun God who provided light Demeter or Ceres provided grain Diana or Aphrodite supplied fertility for children increased cattle supplies but these were all man-made gods they were part imagination and full-time demons according to Paul energized by Satan in order to provide deception the gods demanded much and promised little and were constantly feared and people would steal moments pleasure they would grab a little bit of gusto or satisfaction they would live for the moment they would live for today with the gods that they had fabricated earth as God materialism as God scientism as God sexual expression as God reason as God the pantheon in modern society may not look exactly like it did with the Greeks and the Romans but it looks very similar drugs and alcohol pan the goddess of sex Aphrodite government and war Aries people preoccupy themselves with what they deemed to be the most important things but Jesus says worry is pointless and worry is useless that's why he says in verse 34 therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its own things sufficient for the day is its own trouble another translation says sufficient for the day is the evil thereof so if worry is faithless if it's pointless if it's useless if it doesn't make sense because God loves you because God cares about you because God has a plan for you and because God has the power to make sure that the plan is enacted where he doesn't make sense and here Jesus gives us a great insight on how to deal with worry worry is pointless for the person who believes in the God of the Bible earlier Jesus said that God knows our thoughts remember in that high prayer he said when you pray pray pray our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread does God know what you need the answers yes so Jesus isn't saying well God must must be kept aware of what I need he knows exactly what you need well I have to sort of give God a heads up about tomorrow he actually knows about tomorrow well does this mean that that I shouldn't buy milk for today and tomorrow no that's not the point that he's making it's ok it's ok to buy milk for today and tomorrow norm Geisler says he only buys absolutely bright yellow bananas he can't he can't afford the green ones because he absolutely doesn't even know that if he's going to be able to wake up in the morning the difference between making a reasonable provision for tomorrow and worrying about tomorrow is like it says in lamentations chapter 3 verse 22 and 23 where the prophet Jeremiah says though the Lord's mercies were not concerned zoomed through the Lord's mercies were not consumed because his Compassion's never fail they're new every morning great is your faithfulness many people know the passage but they don't know the context of the passage in lamentations chapter 3 verse 22 Jerusalem is in ruins and there's dead bodies everywhere and you can still smell death in the smoke and the stench as Jeremiah is making his way through the rubble and he says through the Lords of Mercy's were not consumed because his Compassion's fail not they're new every morning this not when things are going good this when things are going very very bad some people are so committed to worrying that if they can't find something to worry about today they start to think about tomorrow we can concentrate on the trial and we can concentrate on the problem the opportunities and the struggles that we face today the Bible isn't suggesting that you don't think about your problems that's not what it's saying what Jesus is saying is that we can face our struggles today and that God's grace and God's wisdom and God's strength and God's forgiveness and His mercy is good for today by the way is his love good for today and tomorrow yeah answers yes grace is it good for today and tomorrow yes but like the manna that fell from heaven there are certain things that have to be eaten the day that it falls and so Jesus invites us to seek solutions for today's problems Isaiah 26:3 in force as you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts you trust in the Lord for in yah for in the Lord is everlasting strength so what do you do if this is your bisetta ng sin what is what do you do if this is the one that you have to deal with again Jesus invites you deal with your problems one day at a time problems are real we're not commanded to ignore pretend that real problems exists an exercise I found helpful is to write down three questions on a piece of paper leave a lot of room to answer the questions number one what is my problem number two what does God want me to do about it and number three when where and how shall I begin you know from a very early age I was taught to define my problem in terms of the goal what is it that I'm trying to accomplish what do I need to have done if the problem lies in my marriage I don't say my problem is my marriage no I say God's goal and marriage is unity unity is based on trust and respect and affection my problem is there's something threatening that unity what can I do to get it remembered number two to deal with today's problems today you know we're familiar with the expression today is the first day of the rest of your life it's an interesting statement in her book celebrate joy Velma Sewell Daniels gives a striking insight into this phrase she tells of interviewing a man who made a trip to Alaska to visit people who live above the Arctic Circle she writes never ask an Eskimo how old he is the man said if you do he'll say I don't know and I don't care and he doesn't one of them told me that and I pressed him a little bit further when I asked him the second time he said almost that's all that still wasn't a good enough for me so I asked him almost what and he said almost one day mrs. Daniels asked him if he could figure out what the Eskimo meant he answered that he did but only after talking to another man who had lived in the Arctic Circle for more than 20 years quote he was a newspaper man who had written a book about Eskimos and their customs and their beliefs he said that Eskimos believe that when they go to sleep at night they die and that they're dead to the world then when they wake up in the morning they've been resurrected and they've been given a new life therefore no Eskimo is more than one day old so that is what the Eskimo meant when he said almost almost what almost a day the day wasn't over she writes life above the Arctic Circle is harsh and cruel and mere survival becomes a major accomplishment he explained but you never see an Eskimo who seems worried or anxious they've learned to face one day at a time have you learned how to put worry and anxiety aside for one whole day Jesus says the believer has nothing to worry about is that true of the unbeliever and the make believer you see they have a whole lot to worry about but the Bible says that God loves you and cares for you and has a plan for you and then the power to ensure that the plan comes to pass when I woke up this morning I wrote this down today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday my question was it worth it was it worth it Corrie ten Boom used to say in that Dutch way Verde Verde does not empty to model of its sorrows it empties today its strength that's so true an old man was asked what had robbed him of joy for most of his life he replied the things that never happened the cure for worry contentment in Christ the cure for worry trust his love trust his care trust his power trust his wisdom trust that he's able to make you content may God impart to you contentment may God give you enough happiness to keep you sweet in enough trials to keep you strong enough sorrow to keep you human enough hope to keep you happy enough failure to keep you humble enough success to keep you eager enough friends to give you comfort enough wealth to meet your needs enough enthusiasm to make you look forward to tomorrow and enough determination to make each day a little bit better than it was yesterday you can trust them today you can trust his love today is care today his wisdom today is power today in Jesus name let's pray Heavenly Father Lord thank you for your love and thank you for your power in moments of stark reality and absolute honesty some of us may concede that we struggle with the sin in our life a willingness not to trust you a willingness to diminish your power and diminish your love and diminish your grace diminish your mercies but like Jeremiah so long ago even though we might find ourselves in the most difficult of circumstances we can cry out to you and say today today your your grace and your mercy they're new every single day there's grace for today there's mercy for today there's love and care for today the promises are real and true for today that are real Jesus can really save us continue to love us and provide for us and care for us in Jesus name Amen let's stand

Channel: Calvary South Denver

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Keywords: Calvary Chapel, Gino Geraci, Christianity, Bible Study, Gospel Of Matthew (Religious Text)

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Length: 51min 23sec (3083 seconds)

Published: Tue May 05 2015