How many would like to learn how to worry more?
How many of us feel that our lives would improve if we could spend more time worrying about things?
The English word “worry” comes from the old Germen word “wurgen” and it means to strangle or to choke. The Greek word for worry is “merizo” and it means to divide, to rip or tear apart.
Sometimes when people worry they will say that they are concerned. There is a difference from being concerned and worrying.
Being concerned about something means that you have an interest in and want to give attention to something.
Worry is much more than that. Worry is an uneasiness of the mind that is accompanied with an anxious apprehension.
Worry can become even worse as it can develop into anxiety which is an overwhelming apprehension that causes people to become distressed, distraught, and tormented with the inability to cope.
Concern can become worry if we fail to turn every situation over to God.
Which is the whole point of this message.
The day and age that we live in has been called the “Age of Anxiety.”
People are smiling less, they are more apprehensive, there is less trust and more alienation, and more and more people are being diagnosed with nervous breakdowns, high blood pressure, heart diseases, and ulcers.
It is a proven medical fact that the cause of all of these diagnoses can be traced back to anxiety and worry.
People today are worried about so much. We worry because life can be difficult; we worry because sometimes bad things happen.
We worry about our daily provision.
We worry about our jobs.
We worry about our future.
We worry about our children’s future.
We worry about life and death.
We worry about our health.
We worry about our personal relationships.
We worry about our finances.
And believe me, there are enough people out there who will give you advice about all your worries.
They will tell you, “Don’t worry, be happy.”
Don’t worry; think positive.
Don’t worry; you are in charge of your future.
Don’t worry; bite the bullet.
Don’t worry; it will get better, maybe.
Don’t worry; have another drink, have another hit, have another smoke.
Don’t worry; go see your therapist.
Don’t worry; it will be over soon.
There was once one man who used to worry about everything.
One day, his friend noticed that he had stopped worrying and that all the anxiety in his life was gone. So the friend asked, “How did you overcome your worries?”
The man replied, “I hired a man to do all my worrying for me.”
“Wow!” the friend exclaimed, “It seems to be working for you. How much is that going to cost you?”
The man replied, “$1000 a week.”
“$1000 a week! How are you going to be able to afford to pay someone $1000 a week?” the friend asked.
The man answered, “That’s his worry.”
Are you a person who worries a lot?
Are you a person who worries a little?
Here is the bad news. We live in a real world that has sin in it. Because sin is in the world bad things happen. People will get sick, cars will break down, there will be wars, there will be forces of nature that cause things to happen.
I am not trying to be fatalistic. I am not saying what will happen will happen so there is nothing we can do.
Our future can be uncertain and that is the main reason people worry. We worry because we don’t know what is going to happen tonight, tomorrow or next week.
We worry because we are not in control.
We worry because we can do all we can do and still it is not enough.
I would hate to leave you at this point in the sermon without giving you the good news.
The good news is that we don’t have to worry! God has given us an antidote for worry.
PRAYER
Father, open my eyes to see Your Word.
Open my ears to hear.
Open my mind to understand.
And open my heart so I may receive Your Word today.
AMEN
Jesus addressed the topic of worry and it is recorded in the book of Matthew.
Matthew 6:25-34
This portion of Scripture is found in the Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon Jesus describes the character of a godly person.
(It will make a great series)
There are twelve points to Jesus’ message. 6 points are illustrations of the character applied to the life and 6 points are examples of the character expressed.
Jesus’ point about worry is number 5 of the second group of six.
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34
There are three simple points that I want to share with you from this Scripture today.
The first is this, we need to recognize the when we spend time worrying we accomplish nothing.
As a matter of fact it has the complete opposite effect.
If you are worried about getting sick, worry suppresses the immune system and makes it more likely that you will get sick.
They should have thought of that before they started reforming the health care system.
If you are worried about losing your job, worry actually causes you to not perform at your top level.
If you are worried about gaining weight you will probably eat more, Proverbs 12:25 says, An anxious heart weighs a man down.”
According to WEBMD.com, “Chronic worrying affects your daily life so much that it interferes with your appetite, lifestyle habits, relationships, sleep, and job performance. Many people who worry excessively are so anxiety-ridden that they seek relief in harmful lifestyle habits such as overeating, eating junk food, cigarette smoking, or using alcohol and drugs.”
The physical symptoms of excessive worrying are, difficulty swallowing, dizziness, dry mouth, fast heartbeat, fatigue, headaches, inability to concentrate, irritability, muscle aches, nausea, nervous energy, rapid breathing, shortness of breath, sweating, trembling, and twitching.
The more serious consequences of being worried are: suppression of the immune system, digestive disorders, muscle tension, short-term memory loss, premature coronary artery disease and heart attack
Worrying about things is like sitting in a rocking chair. There is a lot of energy expended but there is no forward progress.
The second point is that we need to understand that God cares about us.
I don’t care who you are or what you have done, you matter to God.
God is with us and God is for us. God did not just create the world and then sit back to watch the show. We are not toys created for His pleasure.
God is intimately concerned with each of His creations and He is actively involved in providing for our needs.
Jesus uses the birds of the air and the flowers of the fields to drive home this point.
If God provides for the birds and the flowers how much more does He care for us. Jesus asked that question himself, “How much more are you than they are?”
How much does God care for us? His Word tells us.
Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” Matthew 10:29-31
The Psalmist writes, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb… my frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” Psalm 139:13-16
But I think the best evidence that tells us how much God cares for us is found in John 3:16.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
God loves each of us.
And the third point is that we need to put first things first.
We worry because we care too much about the wrong things.
Our priorities are wrong.
We worry about what we are going to eat but we don’t care about what we are going to do with the life that the food makes possible.
We worry about what we are going to wear but we are not concerned about what we are going to do with the bodies we put the clothes on.
We worry about living to a ripe old age and we care less about what happens after our earthly bodies give up.
Putting first things first gives us the right perspective and it gives us the strength to face life without worries.
So what is more important than food to eat or clothes to wear?
What is more important than our jobs or our friends or our families?
Those things are important but there is something that is more important.
Jesus stated it very clearly in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Our first concern in life should not be about pleasing ourselves or serving ourselves or making sure we have all we need or want.
Our primary concern should be knowing and serving God. It should be learning all we can about Him, His Son, His Spirit, and His kingdom. It should be living in His righteousness.
Not by living in a righteousness that comes from our own works because our own works will never be enough.
Instead we need to be constantly seeking the righteousness that is the main characteristic of God’s kingdom.
Seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness involves a continued hunger for knowing Him and wanting to be like Him.
A true believer is never content with where they are at in their walk with God. When growing in that relationship is our top priority God will take care of everything else.
When our priority is the spiritual God will take care of the material because when God guides God provides.
That is why the Apostle Paul wrote “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
When we are seeking God first we are trusting in His power rather than our own power. We are trusting in His wisdom rather than our own wisdom.
We exercise this trust by turning everything over to God and allowing Him to be in control even when we don’t know what the future holds.
When we worry about our problems we are basically saying that God cannot take care of us, He is not strong enough, He doesn’t care.
We need to transfer our trust and seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness and let God be God.
I pray tonight that you can worry less and allow the peace of God, which transcends all understanding to guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
CLOSE
