Worry, a Painful Pastime

Auto Transcript

Note: This rough transcript was automatically generated by YouTube’s AI algorithm. We provide it here for your convenience, but know it will surely contain errors as it has not been proofread or edited by a human.

let’s pray together oh Lord God you have such a wonderful word of comfort to us this morning I pray God you’d help me to be able to Proclaim it accurately and passionately as I ought and Lord I pray that you would help your people to receive it God this is your wise kind word for us God I pray that we would give it the attention it deserved and God that you wouldd be so pleased to work in us as a result in Jesus name amen well our brother khif got us started last week in his sermon by putting a song in our heads and I’m afraid I’m going to do something similar this week because there’s a little song that someone wrote he wanted you to learn it note for note don’t worry be what happy be happy don’t worry be happy this is a phrase that has become popular famous all over the world especially since Bobby mcfarren put those words to music in his International hit from 1988 the idea in the phrase Don’t Worry Be Happy is simple enough we all want to be happy but when you worry you make yourself unhappy you make your troubles double as the song says so choose not to worry and just be happy well this is a pleasant sentiment and the song is catchy has a nice chill valve chill Vibe the philosophy behind Don’t Worry Be Happy is actually profoundly naive because of all people in this world only biblical Christians have the right not to worry the one who’s not a Biblical Christian let’s be honest has much to worry about you live in this Savage world with no one’s look out for you except yourself if you do have a god some false god inevitably you will have to work for this God never knowing if it’s enough to be in his good graces you have to worry about that too meanwhile the reality is there is one true God and you are not in right relationship with him he has been patient with you but you have not served him you have not worshiped him you’ve been worshiping and serving yourself and you don’t know when the patience of the true God will run out for you and his anger will fall on you if you don’t know the true God you have much to worry about but in contrast the true Christian he is saved he is safe and he is forever under his father’s perfect and loving care no need to worry yet Christians yes even true Christians all over the world frequently fall into worry we worry about pretty much everything we worry about our health we worry about our church Ministries we worry about our country we worry about our jobs we worry about getting a job losing a job how are we going to do the next project at our job we worry about our schoolwork we worry about our relationships we worry about that conversation that we know we need to have with somebody but we don’t know how it’s going to go we worry about so much and in this way we act just like the rest of the world we needlessly afflict ourselves and we dishonor Our God how about you this morning is there something you’re worried about are there multiple things you’re worried about are you worried about the future especially with the personal circumstances you’re in or maybe the national circumstances that we Face are you only happy and at peace when life is going well for you when you see how everything is going to work out finally you can stop worrying or can you confidently honestly say you don’t need to see how everything’s going to work out even if your circumstances don’t look great you can be content and confident in your Lord because you know that he loves you which is true for you this morning why know that worry anxiety is a common struggle even for True Believers so I think we could use some instruction and encouragement from God’s word and that’s what we’re going to do this morning let’s look at the Landmark instruction from our lord Jesus on the subject of worry which comes in Matthew 6 so please take your Bibles and open to Matthew 6: 25-34 title of the message today is worry a painful Pastime worry is a painful Pastime right but we indulge in it all too often worry a painful Pastime our new messag is in Matthew 6 this is Page 963 if you’re using the Pew Bibles this message also appears in Jesus Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5:7 last time I was with you we were looking at anger and Jesus teaching in another part of The Sermon on the Mount today we’re looking at what he has to say about worried let’s hear our master’s teaching Matthew 62-34 for this reason I say to you do not be worried about your life as to what you will eat or what you will drink nor if your body as to what you will put on is not life more than food food and the body more than clothing look at the birds of the air that they do not sew nor reap nor gather into Barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them are you not worth much more than they and who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life and why are you worried about clothing observe how the lies of the field grow they do not toil nor did they spin yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothe in himself like one of these but if God so clothes the grass of the field which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace will he not much more clothe you you of little faith do not worry then saying what will we eat what will we drink or what will we wear for clothing for the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things for your heavenly father knows that you need all these things but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you so do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will care for itself each day has enough trouble of its own a familiar precious text but so profound we see in this passage both commands from our Lord Christ and reasons to obey his his commands the main command In this passage is obvious and emphatic it’s don’t worry don’t be anxious stop worrying three times in the passage our Lord declares how his followers should not must not worry see this in verse 25 verse 31 verse 34 and this is not a mere suggestion from Jesus this is a command it’s a kind command but it is a command I say to you he even says in verse 25 he’s scoring his personal and divine Authority in this command not to worry but what exactly does it mean to worry worry is not simply and get this worry is not simply exercising concern or having some measure of fear life has many proper concerns and fears these are actually good for us to feel to protect us and to help us live wisely before God you can just imagine how foolishly and dangerously we might live if we had no fear at all or how recklessly how Sly we would live if we were never concerned about anything now it’s good that we have a certain level of concern in fear in life but worry is inordinate concern it is concern or fear that goes beyond the proper bounds over a particular issue or just about the future in general it’s too too much concern it’s tortured concern it’s unending concern it’s paralyzing concern this is what we’re talking about with worry and have you ever experienced this I’m sure many if not all of you have you start caring about a particular problem and then you just keep thinking and thinking about that problem and all its potential outcomes and the Dreadful effects it might have in your life and you think about different ways that you can combat it control it and as you keep on thinking about it you start to be overcome by unease and even despair this is what Jesus is talking about and he says in relation to this issue of worry stop it stop being caught up in the cares of your life stop being ruled by your concerns stop devoting inordinate thought to your needs do you notice that Jesus commands in this passage are about worrying over life’s needs the terms life and body do not worry about your life do not worry about your body in verse 25 they are meant in a temporal way as seen by Jesus immediate clarification regarding certain aspects of life in the body food drink clothing and when Jesus mentions these three it items he’s really talking about all of life’s needs kind of like how in our language we talk about needing food clothing and shelter well in ancient times shelter didn’t usually make the list because you could sleep outside and that wasn’t too bad but you did need food drink and clothing so when he refers to these issues he’s talking about the main things people be concerned about but really through those any need you might have in life anything that you regard as a need or that actually is a need Jesus saying I’m talking about that don’t be inordinately concerned stop being inordinately concerned and this is what we see first of all a command from Jesus not to worry about whatever it is that we actually need but what are we to do instead of worrying notice that there’s another command and this is nestled in verse 33 he says essentially seek God to be more specific speaking of the father in verse 33 Jesus says seek first his kingdom and his righteousness oh as Jesus preached throughout his early Ministry and as the Old Testament also declares God has the kingdom and that kingdom is coming this is going to be a righteous Kingdom it’s going to be established all over the Earth you as one who believes in and would follow God are to seek entrance into that Kingdom and you are to seek to advance that Kingdom that is to be your concern more specifically you are to put God’s righteousness into practice into your life you are to seek to please God to obey God to know God and to do his will so we have two straightforward commands really contrasting commands in our passage do not worry but seek God do not worry but seek God or we could summarize these commands from Jesus by slightly altering that famous phrase not don’t worry be happy but don’t worry be holy don’t worry be holy all right so those are the commands straightforward enough but if we’re going to obey those commands we need to hear some good reasons as to why we should do so I know about you but throughout life when people tell you words like relax calm down don’t worry it’s usually not effective why because there’s not a reason Supply with that exhortation as to why you really can relax you really can calm down you really can stop worrying it’s a big step of faith not to worry not to devote so much thought so much concern over your needs so why should we as Christians as true Christians do so well Jesus actually gives many reasons many arguments in these verses 25 to 34 but we can group the arguments into three main reasons three main reasons not to worry but instead seek God that’s going to be our outline for today three main reasons not to worry but instead seek God and each of these main reasons is going to be marked out for us in the text by the repetition of Jesus command not to worry so anytime you see that word repeated we’re talking about a new main reason not to worry so let’s look at these we’ll move verse by verse to the text take a closer look at each of these three main reasons our first one appears in verses 25 to 30 what’s the first reason that you should stop worrying and instead seek God number one worry is idolatrous worry is idolatrous notice the phrase that begins verse 25 for this reason now verse 25 is one of the places we see the command not to worry but by beginning verse 25 with that phrase Jesus is already or Jesus is indicating that he’s already presented us with a reason to obey his command not to worry for this reason don’t worry I’ve already told you about the reason what’s the reason well look back to verse 24 Jesus says no one can serve two masters for E he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other you cannot serve God and wealth do you see the connection you see Jesus has already been teaching in his Sermon on the Mount about how the truly righteous seek lasting treasure with God in heaven rather than the fading Treasures of Earth Jesus has also made clear explicitly in verse 24 that you cannot serve God and wealth possessions things at the same time so how does that connect to the command not to worry well the connection is this worry is worship of the Treasures of the world and some form or another worry is worship of the things the Treasures of the world it is idolatry and because you cannot serve God and an idol at the same time you cannot seek God and worry at the same time and does that only make sense because we have the two main commands in our passage that contrast one another do not worry but instead seek God it’s because you can’t do them both at the same time and verse 25 is also making that connection for this for us us now have you have you seen how this works in your life even with your own worries what’s happening spiritually theologically when you worry is that whatever you worry about is becoming or has become a more important treasure to you than even God and whatever God’s will is for your life just one example maybe you worry about your health there’s a sickness going around and you start to worry about getting sick and God tells you to do certain things to be obedient to him but then you think to yourself oh I don’t want to do that because I might get sick and if I get sick then some terrible devastating outcome my life is going to be ruined you see in that desire not even necessarily for a bad thing to be healthy there’s no nothing wrong with that but that desire not to be sick that desire to be healthy now becomes more important to you than actually gone and obeying his will your concern your adjusting your life just so that you won’t get sick and your resentment of people who might maybe get you get sick all that is born from your idolizing that worldly treasure whatever it is for you maybe at certain times maybe right now whatever it is you think that you need you absolutely must have or you absolutely must not have this is the thing that you love this is the thing that you become devoted to you you think you need this to be happy secure and when something threatens your access or enjoyment of this thing that’s when you feel this ungodly fear this inordinate concern that’s where worry comes from you see worry is an expression of your heart’s worship what you desire most deeply what you think is most important but as Jesus has already said before our text this kind of idol worship is both senseless and and blasphemous because nothing in this world can ultimately save you or satisfy you even being healthy or having perfect relationships with other people you think that’s going to be the thing that keeps you absolutely safe that’s going to make you ultimately satisfied no never not going to happen why are you devoted to that why are you so worried about that moreover you are now neglecting you are now devaluing that which should have your ultimate valuation and devotion God so it’s useless but it also is something that God cannot endure in his people God cannot endure idolatry among his people giving his glory to another therefore he is committed to make sure that we do not worry but there is a positive side to this concept of worry and worship as well look at what appears after Jesus command not to worry in verse 25 for this reason I say to you do not be worried about your life as to what you will eat or what you will drink nor for your body as to what you will put on and then he says this is not life more than food and the body more than clothing that’s a rhetorical question what’s the expected answer of course it is of course life is more than these things life is more than simply acquiring food drink clothing money positive relationships with other people you are so much more than a body that nearly has to have its needs provided for you are a living Soul You Were Meant to know worship and enjoy the Living God but idolatrous worry it prevents us from seeking out the true purpose of our lives and keeps us stuck on the most basic shallow level being concerned about things and all that’s passing away we were never meant to stay there the majority of our life’s thought and energy yes some thought and energy has to go to these things we do live we do have physical bodies but the majority of our life’s thought and energy ought to be directed to Life’s greatest purpose knowing god worry fundamentally distracts us and God doesn’t want us distracted he doesn’t want us distracted from the primary and best thing him now now this is only the beginning in verses 26 to 30 Jesus points out how we often overestimate the importance of creation to the neglect of serving and enjoying our creator he’s going to illustrate that in various ways for instance we often think that preparing for the future preparing for the future is essential and it’s the only way to prevent your ruin if you don’t prepare for the future you’re toast but look what Jesus says in verse 26 look at the birds of the air that they do not s nor reap nor gather into Barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them stop there for a second Jesus here focuses first on the basic need of food this is obvious everybody has this need but Jesus makes an observation about food and birds Jesus points out that birds do not prepare for the future even when it comes to their food they do not plant they do not Harvest they do not store crops which seem like essential things for humans to do but birds do work they do fly they build Nest they go out each day looking for food and in this way lo and behold Birds got enough food to live and even Thrive birds all around us all the time tweeting at 4:00 a.m. in the morning how is this possible how can birds do so well when birds Don’t wisely store up from themselves food for the future well it’s because God graciously provides them their food they can’t do it for themselves so God does it in fact God does this really with all creatures as Psalm 145 says whether that creature is able to store it for themselves or not and now with this observation is Jesus implying that we shouldn’t try to store up anything for the Future No the Bible exhorts us to wise stewardship wise planning especially in Proverbs however get this application if due to difficult circumstances you are not able to store up for the future or maybe you did store up something and it was lost how should you respond in that instance by not worrying at all why because you can be sure that God will still adequately provide for you by the way notice the end of verse 26 after speaking about the birds and they’re not getting ready for the future he says are you not worth much more than they another rhetorical question are you worth more than a bird of course you are you are made in the image of God and if you know Jesus Christ you are in his son you’ve been bought with Precious Blood you’ve been adopted as a son or daughter in God’s family you are worth way more to God than a bird His Eye Is on you all the time you are precious in His sight and if God takes care of these birds which are of little importance nobody’s even hardly noticing the birds then won’t God take much more care of you will he not exercise his perfect care towards you you whom he loves you are way more important to him than weere Birds but this isn’t the only improper way that we esteem creation over the Creator we sometimes think that we have real power and control over our lives it all comes down to us our choices our planning our decisions but look what Jesus says in verse 27 and who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life this is a third rhetorical question from Jesus and the expected answer is no one not one of you not one of you can add a single Cubit to his lifespan you can’t lengthen your life even a little through worry you say is that really rhetorical oh of course it is and Jesus audience Jewish audience they certainly would have gotten this immediately this all comes from a understanding of God’s absolute sovereignty which is proclaimed again and again in God’s word even over the length of Our Lives listen to what Psalm 139 says Psalm 139:16 speaking about human lifespan Psalm 139:16 the psalmist speaking to God your eyes have seen my unformed substance and in your book were all written the days that were ordained for me when as yet there was not one of them your entire Length of days even every day along that lifespan is already determined by God God has complete control of all things and if God has ordained every one of our days even the length of our days then will even maximum or frantic concern lead to a longer lifespan not a bit Jesus is thus pointing out as he does explicitly in a parallel passage Luke 12:25 if you can’t do this one simple thing add a tiny bit to your lifespan through your anxiety filled actions and thoughts what makes you think you can accomplish anything good through worry in other words why obsess about the creation when it’s your creator who has the real control and power you know in many ways worry is a struggle for control but guess what you’re always going to lose that struggle because you’re not in control that’s one of the things the Bible’s going to tell you again and again you’re not in control but there is someone who’s in control and he loves you that’s why you don’t have to worry now does God’s sovereignty mean that our efforts are pointless it doesn’t really matter how we live or whether we work or whatever no but it does mean that even in our actions and thoughts and planning we must remember who’s the one who gives us strength and wisdom for that work in planning in the first place and who it is that makes that effort and planning effective or not consider what Psalm 127 says Psalm 127: 1-2 unless the Lord that is Yahweh unless Yahweh builds the house they labor in vain who build it unless Yahweh guards the city the Watchman keeps awake in vain it is vain for you to rise up early to retire late to eat the bread of painful labors for he gives to his beloved even in his sleep Brethren the profound truth is despite how sometimes feels excuse me you are not the one who is actually supporting yourself in your life you’re not the one keeping yourself afloat God is yes you are called to work hard you’re called to work wisely for God’s sake and this is the normal means by which God provides for you in your life it is through your own work and effort but if you suddenly aren’t able to work or you somehow didn’t anticipate something happening in the future in your work don’t worry why because it was never you sustaining yourself in the first place it didn’t come down to your effort and wisdom that’s just the means that God normally uses but that’s not what’s dependent that’s not what God has dependent on he’s dependent on himself so then indeed why should we devote so much thought so much concern so much pursuit to Creation when God is the one with the real power see how Jesus furly illustrates God’s importance versus creation’s importance in verses 28 to 30 talked about Birds now he’s going to talk about Plants verse 28 and why are you worried about clothing observe how the lies of the field grow they do not toil nor do they spin yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these but if God so clothes the grass of the field which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace will he not much more clothe you now Jesus here is making an observation about wild flowers it says lies here in our translation but the word really refers to any kind of wild flower you ever seen wild flowers depending on your route to chur Church you might have seen some wild flowers on the way here I was making one turn uh on my way here I saw some purple wild flowers in somebody’s yard I’m sure the person didn’t cultivate those they just appeared there as if by accident but so beautiful these beautiful purple flowers standing out against the Green Grass now Jesus wants us to make an observation about wild flowers and that is they don’t provide their own clothes they don’t provide their own adornment Jesus says specifically they don’t toil or spin what does that mean well means that flowers don’t work a difficult day job so that they can make money to buy clothes and they don’t spend time at home making clothes spinning clothes for themselves why not because they’re flowers they can’t work they can’t make money they can’t make clothes all they can do is grow and accept whatever adornment God provides for them they can’t make or buy their own clothes but notice what Jesus says he says not even Solomon looked better than these wild flowers and that statement should give us some pause because if we know anything about Solomon we know he was the greatest most glorious King in Israel’s history Jesus says the simple flowers on the side of the road they look more Splendid than King Solomon ever did by his own wealth and wisdom yet flowers are so transient Jesus not notes this as well in verse 30 it says these flowers this grass I mean grass that turns into a flower that’s basically what a wild flower is this grass is only alive today and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace that is in that day as flowers dried up and died as the grass dyed people gathered them cut them gathered them and then burned them as fuel flowers are so transient yet God still takes interest in adorning the grass these shortlived wild flowers this tells us something about God what does it tell us it tells us that God loves to Adorn his creation why because it shows forth his glory he is a god of beauty and creativity and majesty and it’s reflected in what he makes isn’t this what the psalm say in another place the heavens declare the glory of God day to day pours forth speech night to night reveals knowledge all of creation is saying look at my beauty and look at the one who made me he’s the truly beautiful one so of course God will love to Adorn even quickly fading flowers what’s the point of that then how’s that connect to worry well if God Delights to Adorn near worthless flowers come up in a moment Wither in a moment burned forgotten if God Delights to Adorn these near worthless flowers God will surely Delight to Adorn you why because you as his child are worth so much more to him than a flower he will make sure that you are adequately adorned and even listen to what Jesus says here what he implies he will make sure you are even beautifully adorned you say oh that sounds like a pretty nice promise can’t wait till God unloads all those expensive clothes and he totally beautifies my body exactly the way I want it to be well hang on a second in this steid God is not necessarily promising that you will wear the latest fashions or that you will be the next model in a magazine because God does not Adorn every creation the same way though all are beautiful in their own ways when you look at anything in this creation bugs birds flowers people they all look very different each one brings glory to God now God May provide us with simple clothes plain face and to many we may not seem very beautiful but if you look more closely you will see the glory of God especially when a spirit of righteous contentment shines through now God May provide for some expensive clothes natural beauty but we should not expect nor agonize after that rather as 1 Peter 3 says it is the inner beauty that we are to seek after because it’s the inner beauty that beautifies whatever outer adornment we might have and it’s the beauty that lasts I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed being around content righteous Spirit-filled people even if on the outside there’s nothing very remarkable about their appearance there is something beautiful about them why it’s the Lord shining through them you want to be beautiful cultivate the inner beauty because that’s what really makes the outside beautiful how does this mean we should just let our outer appearance go no of course not your family will appreciate your efforts to make yourself look nice and you don’t want to put a stumbling the block before the gospel by your appearance but Christ’s word here about wild flower it speaks to one of the fundamental worries that we have in this life about our appearance am I going to be adorned enough am I going to be pretty enough handsome enough Christ’s word show us that we can and must stop obsessing about our appearance we should stop being inordinately concerned with clothes jewelry hair physique or whatever this is obsessing about creation this is worship of mere things if God is motivated to make his creation beautiful when that creation is not important and unable to provide for itself at all God is more than able more than willing to make sure that you are adequately and even beautifully adorned you don’t have to be anoly concerned about it so then Jesus shows in multiple ways in these first verses that worry really is wrong worship it is an unacceptable diversion of your godward Devotion to what ultimately doesn’t matter that things and Treasures of this world make no mistake worry by overvaluing creation by obsessing with creation it is a manifestation of heart idolatry creation does not deserve our great esteem or our constant and loyal thoughts our loving and holy Creator does now the second main reason that Jesus gives us not to worry but instead seek God Appears in verses 31-33 and that’s number two worry is unnecessary worry is unnecessary this is surely implied in the first verses we’ve looked at but beyond that worry is idolatrous worry is unnecessary and Jesus begins to present this main reason after repeating the command not to worry in verse 31 do not worry then saying what will we eat or what will we drink or what will we wear for clothing notice what he says next in verse 32 for the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things now for the term Gentile here we’re not just talking about non-ethnic Jews Gentiles here is used to refer to the people of the world who do not know God what characterizes them well as we already know they are full of worry they are full of concern and how does it manifest itself that they can never rest chasing after what they think they need and desire isn’t this what we see in our world you need more you’re not safe yet you’re not satisfied yet you need more the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things why does he point that out to establish a contrast Jesus is reminding his disciples you are not the Gentiles you are not of the world you have no need to act like the people of the world think their thoughts truly the contrast between Christians and the people of the world should be great the people of the world they constantly gathered they constantly store up their goods because they believe that their possessions their reserves will make them happy make them secure but God’s child is not afraid to give away his Goods to meet needs or to cast off whatever distracts even if it’s not a bad thing it’s distracting me why can a child of God do that because he knows his peace and provision is in God I don’t need these Treasures you know they can be fine for some people but for me it’s a distraction or I’m glad to give this up to help somebody else that’s what a child of God does the Gentiles eally seek all these things but that shouldn’t be true of Christians why not look at the second half of verse 32 for your heavenly father knows that you need all these things wow God’s omniscience his perfect knowledge of all things including you makes worry for the Christian totally unnecessary God is fully aware of anything and everything that you truly need it could be food clothing sleep encouragement whatever if you need it God knows that you need it in fact God knows your needs better than you yourself do you may think God God I really need this and he’s like actually you don’t you need something else and not only does God know but he is passionate about providing for your needs why so that you are not sidetracked from seeking him isn’t this the goodness of God he says I’m the greatest treasure I’m the essence of your life I know these things could distract you so here’s my promise I’m going to take care of all those for you so nothing should hinder you from seeking me now sometimes we suspect this isn’t true we say in our hearts God you know what I need you’ve not provided that I cannot handle this situation right now why have you not shown up to give me what I need but God speaks to us in response from this text my dear son my dear daughter I do know your needs I’ve actually given you exactly what you need right now even in the circumstance that you feel is too much no this is precisely what you need trust me seek me be obedient this simple truth that God knows our needs and is committed to providing for them should liberate us from worry just this fact if God knows my name and he says I don’t have to seek after them because he’s going to take care of them what do you got to worry about this is the Comfort even when it feels like looks like even your basic needs have not been met because that’s the big objection to this whole text right God says he’s going to provide for his people needs but uh God I know some Christians in church history or in the world today who are not having their needs met they’re starving they’re not properly clothed some of them have gotten sick some of them have been killed uh seems like you didn’t get their needs God actually we do see this in the scriptures Paul himself testifies that there were times in his life that he was poorly clothed and he was without food Jesus just said you don’t have to worry about food or clothing Paul says yeah there were times I didn’t have food or clothing what but you see when Paul reported that he was not citing God as Unfaithful he was not complaining about his situation you know what he was doing 1 Corinthians 4:11 he was praising God why because Paul knew that suffering Meek Provisions for a certain time was what he needed was God’s will for Paul at that time this was what was necessary for the most important thing which is what glorifying Christ knowing and glorifying Christ that’s actually more important for Paul and should be more important to you and me than even our physical life what do you need more than your physical life to know and enjoy Jesus Christ God will make sure that that need is never neglected for you and so all the other needs are going to be aligned underneath that greatest need so let that sink in for us for a moment it may be that our greatest need for a particular moment or particular season of Our Lives is to suffer even without what other people have even without the basic necessities of life but let us let our God have his perfect way Jesus says your heavenly father knows that you need these things it’s good for us to pray to God about it and be like God you know that I’m in this situation this seems really hard are you really providing for my needs I trust that you are but I don’t understand that’s fine for us to pray God that way pray to God that way but let’s take him at his word Our Father Knows our needs let’s let him have his perfect way let’s humble ourselves before him because he sees the big picture we don’t he has the perfect knowledge we have limited very biased knowledge to bring in what Pastor Bobby was preaching about not too long ago it may be in God’s wisdom that it may be necessary that you or I or both of us all of us one day suffer mom for the Lord God says you’re going to suffer and you’re going to die for me but that will not be a testimony that God has failed in provision for us that will be a testimony of God’s provision for us in that special hour he says this is how you will glorify me isn’t that what Jesus said to Peter the end of the book of John when he restores Peter and Jesus says to him when you’re young you were allowed to dress yourself do whatever you want but when you’re old somebody else is going to gge you and you’re going to go where you don’t want to go and the commentary from John is this Jesus said to testify how Peter would glorify God in his death it may be necessary for us to glorify God in that way and if we love Christ if we are committed to glorifying him the most we will say I ENT to that this really is what my life is all about how could I complain if this is what will glorify God the best then I submit to that and as Paul says we can also say if that’s what God has deemed appropriate for us this is the way that God brings us safely to his kingdom you say what’s safe about martydom that’s just the way Paul describes it when he’s about to be martyred he says I know that God’s going to bring me safely into his Heavenly Kingdom that’s how does it it’s sometimes through death through martydom if that is God’s provision for us and it may be we do need to be sober about that he will of course provide us the strength for that day so that we can endure it but let’s get this conviction settled in our hearts no matter the situation God’s omniscience and Care means we have no need to worry because he knows our needs you really can say all right this is what I’m facing but God’s got it he already knows I told him about it in prayer and he’s omniscient so even though it seems like I’m really suffering right now he knows and he cares so I don’t have to worry in fact look at the promise explicitly stated by Jesus in verse 33 this is amazing but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you in this verse we see the second main command that we looked at earlier don’t don’t worry instead seek God but notice now that the command is actually part of a conditional sentence Jesus says if you are willing to seek God to seek God’s righteousness and his kingdom as first priority he will add to you all these things what are all these things well what he’s just been talking about the needs of Life Food clothing shelter drink whatever so we could State the amazing promise of verse 33 in this way when you seek the greater things over the Lesser things God gives you both wait a second let’s make sure we get this straight either you can seek God and get perfect provision for this life thrown in or you can seek the things of the world lose those things and lose your place in God’s Eternal Kingdom and your Eternal Soul that seems like a no-brainer right why would I choose this I’m going to choose this right if God has already promised to meet all of your needs if you will only truly seek him well then worry is completely unnecessary isn’t it they say I’m doing what God said I’m seeking him so he has to he has to fill the other part and he will because he’s God I don’t have to worry you don’t have to worry you don’t have to worry no matter what it looks like come on God’s going to test you God’s going to put you in situations where it’s like I don’t see how God’s provision is going to happen but he will not prove unfaithful to his promise he says you seek me I’m going to give you the other things and let it be my way God says let it be my timing but I’m gonna give it to you I’m gonna give it to you if you need it you got it I’m not going to fail you like Solomon who asked wisdom from God instead of lesser things so we when we choose the best we get the Lesser things as well indeed then it is senseless for us to act like the people of the world to be frantic to be consumed with concern and ignore our fathers thoroughly knowledgeable promised generous provision by our worry God’s omniscience God’s Loving Care makes worry completely unnecessary there’s one more main reason from Jesus that we should not worry but instead seek God and it’s just in verse 34 we’ see number one worry is idolatrous number two worry is unnecessary but number three worry is overburdening it’s overburdening let’s see how Jesus explains this in verse 34 first part he said says so do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will care for itself there a bit of humorous personification going on here even though God is ultimately the one who will take care of tomorrow Jesus speaks about tomorrow as if tomorrow we’re a being tomorrow we’re a person that he says cares for himself really when we worry if we’re following Jesus kind of metaphor here we insist on taking on tomorrow’s troubles today and it’s like we’re going up to tomorrow and say you know tapping him on the shoulder and say you know what just just give me the troubles now just give me the troubles now but tomorrow says to us no no no no no it’s okay I’ve got these for now I’ll bring the troubles later when you’re ready but I got these for now why does tomorrow need to hold back like that with us because of what the rest of the verse says each day has enough trouble of its own this sentence is a sobering admission of our limited capacity as humans God designed us even before the fall to live dependently on him thus God made us only able to handle challenges basically one day at a time if we try to go beyond our creative capacity if we try to take tomorrow’s troubles now tomorrow’s problems now guess what we will find ourselves quickly overwhelmed because we are not meant to handle that much trouble at once even if you just look earlier In this passage what we read earlier in the service Jesus taught his disciples to pray for Daily Bread not next month’s bread not next year’s bread just give us the provision I need right now that’s what we pray and that’s important because we won’t receive the fure Future’s full provision until we get there again that’s uncomfortable for us naturally in the flesh we want to we want to have it all settled now I want to see your provision now I want to see how it all works out now God then I can stop worrying God says that’s not the way I made you I’m not giving you the future’s provision yet so don’t take on the future’s troubles yet leave that with me leave that with tomorrow now does this mean that we shouldn’t prepare at all for the Future No we already talked about that God has called us to exercise wisdom and forite we should make reasonable preparations today for tomorrow but we must acknowledge that our preparations are going to be limited we simply can’t prepare for everything why because we don’t know everything because we don’t know the future because our resources are but you know what that’s fine that’s by Design why that we will humbly worshipfully reverently rely on God we must rely on God to foresee and provide what we cannot isn’t this what Solomon is trying to teach the people in Ecclesiastes it says you want control you want to make find the wisdom that’s going to make it so that you never encounter any problems never encounter any disasters in your your life guess what it doesn’t exist there is no such wisdom but it’s okay because God’s in control and he wants you he designed this so that you would rever him and depend on him if we go against that design we’re not going to win you don’t have the capacity for more than taking it one day at a time and God is only too pleased to take care of tomorrow especially when we will trust him with it rather than worry about tomorrow God wants us to focus on serving and enjoying him today and really you know this is one of the most tragic aspects of that painful pastime of worry that when you’re worried about tomorrow you miss out on what God’s doing right now you can’t appreciate it you can’t enjoy it you can’t participate in it because you’re so distracted you’re so destabilized you’re so caught up in thinking about tomorrow’s problems but he says but look what I’ve given you today why are you missing out give me tomorrow I’ll take care of it until you’re ready for it so then we’ve come to the end of our passage let’s review the arguments that Jesus gives us Jesus commands us his followers not to worry but instead to seek God and he’s given us three main reasons to do so number one worry is idolatrous it’s esteeming creation over the Creator number two worry is unnecessary it forgets God’s care it forgets his promises it forgets his intimate knowledge of us and number three worry is overburdening it stretches us beyond our created capacity now these are precious truths and Promises from our Lord Jesus Christ but now I have to ask you on behalf of Christ do you believe do you believe this word from your lord or does Jesus need to say to you what he says to the crowds here verse 30 you of little faith you have little faith and by the way that is not a commendation some might take that to be like oh you know you at least have a little faith I’ll give you that no When Jesus says you have little faith he’s basically saying where is your faith doesn’t seem like you have faith at all worry is an expression of lack of faith Jesus says if I given you all this truth I’ve given you all these promises and you still worry well then there’s only one explanation you don’t believe where is your faith worry is so futile God’s care for us is so great will we really stubbornly refuse to Humble ourselves believe in the Lord and take a risk by choosing not to worry and leaving it with God that will glorify God that will allow us to be happy but it will require you to let go of control let go of your way your design your understanding of how your life should go are you willing to do that it’s the only way to be happy it’s the only way to be holy if you resist you’re not going to win so what are you going to do will you believe this wonderful word from your lord Jesus Christ would we not rather be free from the agony and distraction that is worry I mean really when you are caught up in worry does it feel good in a weird way it does to the flesh especially initially but if we’re honest it is torture we want to be free from worry God says here’s the way to be free will you take him up on that other things are going to be of limited benefit breathing exercises songs you might listen to they’re not bad but they’re not going to get to the heart of the issue are you going to trust God are you going to trust God again because just when you think you’ve dealt with worry not a problem for me anymore then a new test comes into your life and God says what about with this you going trust God again he’s the same God his promises haven’t changed circumstances might look a little bit different but you can still trust him now allow me to get real practical with you for a second you say that sounds really good Dave but specifically how do I do this let me give you seven suggestions seven practical applications as to how you can put the truths of this scripture and to practice in your life and these are going to come at you kind of quickly but let me give you seven practical applications ways to combat worry number one confess and repent of worry confess and repent of worry worry is Disobedience to Christ’s command and it’s a mark of prideful distrust you’re saying I hear you God but I just don’t believe you that’s sin but don’t hide it confess it to God and turn away from it and you know what he will bring you back into his banquet of refreshment so do that number one confess and repent of worry number two search for and cast out the idols of your heart worry needs an idol to function therefore think through what it is you feel you can’t live without unmask that Idol repent of it and trust God to satisfy and secure you in place of whatever that passing treasure is maybe it’s the approval of men maybe it’s your health whatever it is say God I’m leaving that with you you know my needs I want you whenever your will is for my life that’s number two search for and cast out the idols in your heart excuse me a second number three pray pray to your father Philippians 4:6-7 describes prayer as the antidote to worry have needs God says tell him about it in prayer but have faith in your prayers how many of us have had a really desperate need we pray to God about it but we feel no more at peace at the end of our prayer than we did before and you know why that is it’s because we don’t really believe God when we’re praying we say God I want you to take care of this no I’m not sure if he’s going to be like Hannah who prayed out of the great distress of her heart but then when she stopped praying she went away and she ate and she was happy why because she believed God heard her and believed God would provide I’m not saying that when you prayed the burdens was just going to totally go away but you should if you believe the Lord in your prayer you should experience a measure of Peace that’s what God designed prayer to do partly prayer does other things but take advantage of the antidot to prayer hold God to his promises When you pray you say I prayed it God’s going to keep his promises his way his timing but I’m going to hold him to his word and God says that’s exactly what I want you to do wait confidently for my provision so confess and repent of worry search for and cast out Idols of the heart pray to your father number four replace worried thoughts and other avenues of Temptation replace worried thoughts and other avenues of Temptation to protect yourself from worry you must put off thoughts that leave lead to worry and put on thoughts leading to righteousness you may find that there’s something that really concerning to you and every time you think about it you just end up worrying well you know what pray to God about it and then choose to think about something else devote yourself to something else think on what is good Philippians 4:8 says again a passage associated with peace and if certain Hobbies people activities in your life are unnecessary but they’re causing you to worry what should you do get rid of them yes you can do that and you should do that we are to get rid of whatever is unnecessary that entangles us right from following the Lord Jesus Christ so do that you say but other people going to think I’m weird who cares what other people think you have your own relationship with the Lord and it starts with him first number five clarify your responsibilities versus God’s responsibilities clarify your responsibilities versus God’s responsibilities as we’ve seen God makes us great and precious promises but we have to be faithful stewards we can’t be like oh you know God’s got this I’m going to be IR responsible no you have to do your part too but when we think about our responsibility we often feel overwhelmed and we can get confused especially if the tasks become great so here’s the thing you can do just take a piece of paper and put a line down the middle of it and on one side write down your biblical responsibilities before God and then on the other side of it write down God’s biblical responsibilities when it comes to your task and it comes to the needs of your life fill that out and then look at your side and make a plan for that day or that week or that month as to how you’re going to fulfill your responsibilities but for anything on the other side pray about it to God and leave it with him you can say that’s not my responsibility that’s above my pay grade God I’m trusting you with it and just writing those things out a lot of times you’ll see oh I really don’t have to be overwhelmed because my responsibilities are limited I don’t really have to take on ER often times our obligations our burdens our tasks they seem way more than they actually are so just writing it out can be helpful Number Six Guest support for the body of Christ you know this worry can be both blinding and paralyzing but when we share our struggles with our fellow Christians it’s almost like a magic spell is broken even in just sharing it with somebody we’re like oh man it sounds a lot less now that I say it to you or maybe we just hear the instruction and encouragement of a brother or a sister and we say you know what you’re right others can really help us see clearly and encourage us so take advantage of the resource of God’s Church you weren’t meant to deal even with worry alone you’re meant to get help from your brethren so do that if you really want to overcome and help support others too you think you’re the only one who struggles with anxiety oh get to know the rest of your brethren you realize this is a common to man occurrence then finally act in faith number seven act in faith sometimes no matter what you’ve Daren to prepare a situation will simply look impossible for God to keep his promises this was true many times in the Bible but Proverbs 30:5 the word of the Lord proves true and God proved himself faithful in the past he’s not going to prove himself Unfaithful starting with you therefore resolve to act in obedience based on God’s promises despite what you see and wait for the Lord to vindicate your faith I’ll say this too just real practically sometimes things are they just seem so overwhelming and worrisome until you actually start doing whatever the task is that is before you once you go into it once you start that obedience you suddenly realize this isn’t so hard you got to take God on faith you can’t rely on your feelings if it looks impossible don’t worry about it if God set it before you he’s going to be with you and he’s going to help you do it just go in act obey take that step of Faith so to review that’s confess and repent of worry search for and cast out Idols of the heart pray to your father replace worry thoughts and actions with or repl worried thoughts and avenues of Temptation clarify your responsibilities versus God’s responsibilities get support from the body of Christ and act in faith now I have to say one final thing the comfort of this passage as I said in the beginning is only for those who know Jesus Christ Christ if you’re trusting in something else to make you right with God other than Jesus and his life death and Resurrection on your behalf I’m telling you right now you have a ton to be worried about God is not your father you are not rescued from your sin you have nobody to watch out for you in your life and actually God is set against you as an enemy he is a holy God and you are in Rebellion against him he would rather that you come to him but you haven’t so condemnation hangs over you even now but it doesn’t have to be that way if you will do as Jesus said and repent and believe if you will turn from your sins turn from yourself turn from all your efforts to make yourself acceptable to God on your own if you will turn from all that give that up and say I want Jesus I want his will for my life I want him to be the Lord I want his sacrifice and life on my behalf and guess what you will receive eternal life you will be forgiven you will be rescued from the wrath of God and you will have God as a father to provide whatever your needs are in this life I talked about before it’s a no-brainer would you seek God and get the provisions of Life thrown in would you seek yourself and the treasures of this world and lose everything for eternity now if you are truly God’s child let me say again because God loves us let us not worry like the rest of the world they have reasons to worry we don’t so let’s not live like they do let us show the world that if you will only seek God truly you don’t have to worry let’s close in prayer our Lord we love you we are amazed at your promises to us that you really do give the antidote the cure for anxiety but God we have to take hold of this every day Lord God you know that I have told you many a day Lord the troubles are too many Lord there are so many things to be anxious about and then God I pray to you then I remind yourself of your truth and I say I’m going in Lord you got to provide and Lord you have every day so God I will trust you with that we will trust you with that for the future there are so many troubles God there are so many things that we could worry about but we’ll take you at your word you know us you love us so we don’t have to worry help us God to give up our own way our own control our own view for how things must go and say no God knows I’ll let him do with it the way he thinks is best and I’ll accept whatever his provision is I pray Lord you do that I pray any who don’t know you God who don’t know the loving father who provides and who protects in the way that only you do I pray that they would repent and believe today to give up their sin own themselves as Sinners who have rebelled against you and have wanted to live their own lives your own way and say no that’s not what God requires that’s not what God deserves I’m giving it all over to him pray that you do that God For Your Glory