Untying The Knot Of Worry Series

Untying the Knot of Worry

Series – Problems: Untying What’s Tying You Up

Chuck Sligh

April 14, 2013

NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation of this sermon is available upon request by emailing me at chucksligh@hotmail.com.

NOTE: This sermon uses several weights and a duffel bag or rucksack strong enough to hold HEAVY weights. Instructions for the props are in UPPERCASE below.

TEXT: Matthew 6:25-34 – “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

INTRODUCTION

This is the first in a series on problems titled “Untying What Tying You Up”. There are many problems we as Christians face that can tie us up in knots, but God wants His people to be overcomers. Yes, we will face problems, but there’s no problem a Christian can’t overcome in Christ’s power and there’s no knot God cannot untie through His grace.

Today we want to look at “Untying the Knot of Worry.” Our text gives us the answer to worry through two examples of creation—fowls and flowers.

• Verse 26 tells us that the FOWLS OF THE AIR don’t worry about food or where it’s going to come from, because they’re trusting the One who made them.

• Verses 28-30 say that the LILIES IN THE FIELD don’t worry how they look. They don’t think, Will I be able to clothe myself and family? Jesus said that these flowers would put Solomon’s temple and all His kingly splendor to shame in their beauty!

So God uses these fowls and flowers to bring home a truth to us: Don’t worry about whether you’ll have the provision for your daily needs.

Jesus sums it all up in verse 34 – “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” That last phrase means, “Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

The Bible says that we’re not to take thought about a certain thing—TOMORROW—for tomorrow will take care of the things of itself. In other words, God’s saying, “Hey, let me do the thinking about tomorrow!” He’s already thought thoughts about tomorrow. Your burden for tomorrow, your weight for tomorrow, your challenge you’ll face tomorrow—God’s already thought about that.

Illus. – I remember in our church in Wiesbaden, we had an overeager helper I’ll call June (not her real name). I know she meant well, but she had a habit of taking initiative on things without checking with us and doing things we really didn’t want her to do!

One day, we were talking and she said, “You know Pastor, I’ve been thinking about the lobby in the church. I think I need to redecorate it.”

I thought to myself, Oh, no—June’s been thinking again!

I said, “Uh...June, we’ve already thought about that ourselves. I appreciate your help, but we’ve already got some plans laid out.”

I didn’t want to hurt her feelings—though I did—but we’d already thought about that and we didn’t really DIDN’T want HER thinking about it!

I wonder sometimes if that’s how God feels. God’s already thought about tomorrow, so maybe we ought to leave thinking about tomorrow to Him!

Now, I want us to spend the rest of this message on the little phrase at the end of verse 34. Look what it says, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” or, “Each day has enough trouble of its own.”