How to Stop Worrying
Matthew 6:24-33
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - Oct. 15, 2008
*Have you been worrying about anything lately? Most of us have. These are worrisome times. One preacher said that, “Americans are so keyed-up nowadays that I, a minister, must report that it is almost impossible to put them asleep with a sermon.” (1)
*I could probably give him some pointers on how to do it. (That’s one of the things I worry about from time to time.) But there is a serious side to worry. It’s bad for us. Worry gives us headaches, stomach aches, high blood pressure and even more. I am sure that worry helped send my dad to an early grave at the age of 55.
*And worry is a thief. It robs us of the joy that belongs to us, if we belong to Jesus Christ. And worry steals the time we could be spending focusing on the good things in life. On top of that, worry is a sin. Not once or twice, but three times in this passage the Lord tells us not to worry. In vs. 25, 31 & 34 the Lord said, “Do not worry.” And the reason why is because we can’t be trusting the Lord and worrying at the same time. It would be like trying to stand up and sit down at the same time. You just can’t do it. It’s got to be one or the other. So we need to stop worrying and here the Lord shows us how.
1. First: Keep the right perspective.
*The Lord leads us to do this in vs. 25, where He said, “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?”
*Is life more than the food we eat and the clothes we wear. Of course it is, but we tend to worry about a lot of those lesser things -- things that really don’t matter in the long run. One of the most classic ways for us to worry is to make mountains out of molehills. There’s no telling how much unnecessary hurt we go through this way, but it sure is an easy thing to do. And most of us do it a lot.
*Years ago I bought a used Chevy Corsica. I really liked that little car, but a few months after I bought it, it started making a loud noise going down the road. The noise was coming from the back and I started worrying about it. “Oh man, my universal’s going out. I just know it! It’s going to cost me hundreds of dollars to get that thing fixed!”
*This went on for weeks. The noise was getting louder and louder, and I was worrying more and more about that universal. Finally, I took the car in to get it checked. And the noise was just my back tires. (They were out of balance.)
*That car didn’t even have a universal! I was making a mountain out of a molehill, and we do that a lot. But the Lord wants us to keep things in perspective, so He asks a question, “Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?”
*Jesus is reminding us here that life is not just about what we can put in our bodies or what we can put on our bodies. Life is not just the toys we can pile up at home or the money we can pile up at the bank. Life is a gift. It’s a precious gift from God. Life is the awesome privilege of being able to exist, think, choose, move and grow. Life is the awesome privilege of being able to relate to family and friends. Life is the awesome privilege of being able to love.
*Rick Warren put it this way:
-Friends, this is what life is all about, loving God and learning to love each other. If you miss this, you have missed the purpose of your life and I pity you. Because life is not about accomplishments. It is about relationships. You were put on this earth to know God and love Him, and to know His family and love them, because that’s whom we’re spending eternity with.
-As a pastor, I have been at the bedside of many people as they were dying. I couldn’t count how many bedsides I have been at. In all of those situations where I’ve been there at the side as people were taking their last breath, I have never once had anybody say, “Bring me my diplomas. I want them close to me.” Nobody says, “Bring me my trophies.” Nobody says, "Bring me the gold watch I got at retirement." Nobody says, "Bring me my palm pilot."
-It is in those final moments they talk about what matters most, and they say, “Bring me my family and friends.” One day, one day you’re going to figure out that what really matters in life is knowing God and having close family and friends. I hope it doesn’t take that long. I hope you don’t discover that at the last moment of your life. I hope you discover it now and begin to fellowship as God intended for us, because life is all about love. (2)
*Life then, most of all, is the awesome privilege of being able to have a personal relationship with God -- being able to know and love God. As Jesus said to our Heavenly Father in John 17:3, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
*When we realize these truths, it will help us keep things in perspective.
*Years ago I went to a Thursday worship service at Ridgecrest nursing home. There was a group of five faithful ladies from several churches who conducted the service every week. On that day they closed out the service by asking the residents to tell some of the things for which they were thankful.
*Several people spoke, and one lady was younger than most. -- I would guess she was about 40. She was in a wheelchair, and it was hard to understand her, because she moved and spoke like someone who had cerebral palsy. She bowled me over when she said, “I’m so glad that the Lord spared my life when I tried to take it, -- because now I know Him.”
*I don’t know if she was in that condition because she tried to take her life, or if she tried to take her life because she was in that condition. But she had learned that life is more than what you put in your body, and it is more than what you put on your body. She had learned to keep things in perspective. And that is what we need to do. It will help us stop worrying.
2. Keep the right perspective. And trust in God’s provision.
*One of the things that will help us trust God more is simply taking a good look at nature. That’s what the Lord was asking us to do in vs. 26. Jesus said, “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?”
*The Lord did the same thing in vs. 28-30, where He asked, “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 in all 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, O you of little faith?”
*Looking at God’s creation will encourage and inspire us, as we see the beauty and order of how everything works: Day and night -- spring time and harvest.
*By the way, this is one way to know you are saved. That’s why a wise man once said, “A lost person looks at nature and can’t see God. A saved person looks at nature and can’t help but see Him everywhere!” (3)
*The French Revolution in the late 1700’s was an attempt to set up an atheistic society. One of the atheists was ridiculing a believer with these words: “The new leaders are going to pull down everything that reminds you of God!”
-But the believer boldly replied, “Then tell them to pull the stars down from Heaven!” (4)
*When we look at nature, we can see the Lord’s great plan and His power -- What it took to put it all together, and keep it all together. I love what the Bible says about Jesus in Col 1:16-17. This is from the New Living Translation:
16. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see-kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him.
17. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.
*Without Jesus we would all just dissolve into a fog of subatomic particles. Not a pretty sight! But Jesus is able to hold us together!
*When we look at nature, we can see the Lord’s plan, His power and His provision. In vs. 26 the Lord reminded us of His care for the birds. Then in vs. 28 we see His care for the lilies. And the Lord really takes care of those wild flowers! In vs. 29, even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as well as the flowers.
*Looking at God’s care for His creation helps us realize that He is going to take care of us too. That’s why in vs. 30 Jesus asked, “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, O you of little faith?” Of course He will take care of us. And knowing that will help us stop worrying.
3. Keep trusting in God’s provision. And realize your lack of power.
*The Lord used a question in vs. 27 to remind us of our lack of power. “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”
*Have you ever worried about your height? Have you ever worried about your weight or losing your hair or anything else concerning your appearance? Oh yeah. Our appearance is certainly one of the many things we tend to worry about. Here the Lord mentions our height, but that’s just one example.
*When I was 21, I was 5’ 7”, and it still says 5’ 7” on my driver’s license. But it’s been a long time since I stood up against the wall and put a mark to measure my height. I am sure that gravity has taken a toll, and I’m probably no more than 5’ 6” right now. I’ve always been the runt of the litter! But the good news is that I’ve never worried about it a lot. And the reason that’s good is because all the worrying in the world wouldn’t change that one bit. (By the way -- one reason I’ve never worried that much about being small is because I’ve always had a lot of big friends. And believers we’ve got the biggest friend!)
*But my height is out of my hands -- out of my control. There are a multitude of things we can worry about. But the Lord says that we should not worry, because worrying about these things won’t make a difference. It just won’t help.
*Of course this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pray. And it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. It doesn’t mean we should give up, because God answers prayer, and all things are possible with God, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! But the fact is that a lot of things in life are out of our control. And the Lord is simply telling us that all the worrying in the world won’t help. So stop worrying. Sometimes we just need to admit our helplessness. Turn the problem over to God. And let go of the worry.
4. That’s the blessing of realizing your lack of power. But we also need to refocus our priorities.
*The Lord urged us to refocus our priorities in vs. 31-33, when He said:
31. “Therefore do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’
32. For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
*If you want to stop worrying, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” It’s a matter of priorities. There can’t be two number ones in our lives. Jesus told us that in vs. 24, when He said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
*James Emery White said:
-"Whatever you love most, serve most, seek out most, give to the most, worship the most, and care about the most is your god.
-Your “god” can be your career, your bank account, the way you look, a particular position or degree, influence, power, or physical pleasure.
-It can even be something that is considered intrinsically good.
-Yet you allow it to dominate your life more than God – such as your marriage or your family.
-Your “god” is whatever you allow to control you, to be the ultimate guide to decision making, the place of your supreme loyalty, and the source of your self-worth." (5)
*You can’t serve God and gold at the same time. First and foremost we need to seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. This is one of the main reasons we are having revival meetings next week. We are seeking and praying for a fresh focus on the things that matter most:
-Salvation, Heaven, life, obedience, forgiveness.
-The cross of Jesus Christ.
-The Good News God wants us to share with our world.
-“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
*When we turn our hearts to the main things in life, it will help take our minds off of ourselves and our worries. God wants to help us stop worrying. So every time you begin to worry, try to remember that Jesus Christ is bigger than all of our worries, and He says:
30. “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, O you of little faith?
31. Therefore do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’
32. For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
(1) Adapted from “The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale - p.110
(2) Adapted from 40 Days of Purpose by Rick Warren - Week 3
(3) Original source unknown
(4) Original source unknown
(5) (SOURCE: James Emery White, You Can Experience an Authentic Life, www.sermoncentral.com) (Found in SermonCentral sermon “The Supremacy of Christ” by Ewen Huffman - Col 1:15-20)
