1. Today we’re in Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus teaches us not to worry and tells us why we don’t have to. Interesting timing and I can’t take credit for planning the Sermon on the Mount; that was Jesus. But I do have to say that it’s perfect timing for all of us, considering all that’s going on in our world. Let’s read it.
2. Just to make sure we all heard the same thing, Jesus says do not what? Worry. And b/c Jesus says, don’t, none of us do, right? This one’s easy. Nobody in here worries about anything so let’s just pray and go home. OK, maybe not. The reality is we all worry. All the time. About all kinds of different things. We worry about the future. We worry about our finances. We worry about politics. We worry about the weather. We worry about whether or not the people in Lost are ever going to get off the island. We worry about a lot of stuff; mostly stuff we have absolutely no cont. over.
3. And Jesus’ advice? He simply says…don’t. Do not worry. You know what it’s called when you do something Jesus says not to? Sin! It’s funny how we don’t count worry as a sin. As Christians, there are a lot of DUMB things we do count as sins; things Jesus never talks about; playing cards, dancing, Harry Potter; not even mentioned in the Bible; but when it comes to something Jesus has expressly forbidden we give ourselves a pass. I’d argue that WORRY is a much greater sin than all the habit sins b/c it gets to the heart of who we are and who we believe God to be. To call yourself a Christ. and then worry is to deny the very power you claim to believe in.
4. Martin Luther, the great reformer, went through a pretty serious season of depression. The Pope was out to kill him, his friends disowned him, his cause was languishing, and he sunk pretty low and became discouraged. One day his wife came downstairs dressed in all black. She put on her funeral clothes. And he asked her, who died? She said God did. He was so angry – now his wife was an unbeliever! He asked her who convinced her of such a lie. She answered, you did. By the way you’ve been acting – worry, fear, discouragement – I assumed that God must’ve died. (Some of us can relate to Martin Luther – we also have smart aleck wives.)
5. Some of us, not with our mouths but by the way we live our lives, we deny the power/auth. of God. People who observe us would be left with no other conclusion except that we don’t believe in God. But Jesus sets out to teach us here that fear and faith are mutually exclusive; you can’t have both. It’s an either / or proposition. Either you have your faith in God and therefore don’t worry or your faith is in yourself and therefore you do worry. Like your treasure (here/there), your master (God/money), you have to choose who’s in control of your life; you or God. If it’s you, then you’ve got a lot of things to worry about. If it’s God, then you need to let Him lead.
6. To make the point, what animal does Jesus use? Birds. Now I realize that some of you probably like birds and that’s cool. I’m not much of a bird guy. You already know that I don’t have much use for cats, but possibly the one redeeming quality of cats is they chase birds. To me birds are like the rodents of the sky. I realize there are some beautiful and exotic birds, but the kind I normally see are black, noisy and they poop a lot. Nothing interesting about that.
7. My point is this; I’m not sure Jesus could’ve picked a more common and less exotic animal to teach this principle. He doesn’t talk about lions or tigers or bears, oh my. He uses one of the most common animals on the planet to teach us an important spiritual truth. He says, look around you – there are birds everywhere and they’re not stressing out. They don’t even know how to worry, but somehow they eat. They have no savings plan, they don’t rent storage sheds, no worms in an IRA, but they seem to do OK. How does that happen? Jesus says your heavenly father feeds them.
8. Interesting. He doesn’t say “their” heavenly Father feeds them. He says your Heavenly Father feeds them. He’s trying to drive the point home that they’re just birds, not humans, not of great importance, but God still cares for them and feeds them. How much more important to God are His kids? If you’ve got pets and kids, hopefully you get this one. But you know you start out with a cat or a dog (hopefully dog) and that dog goes with you everywhere, sleeps in the bed, pic. Then you have kids and what happens to the dog? Back yard, right. Why? B/c the kids are more valuable to you than the dog. (and it’s against the law to keep kids in the backyard!)
9. And then Jesus compares our worth to something of even less value than birds - the grass of the field. If God takes care of grass, he makes sure grass looks pretty, He’s going to clothe us and take care of us. Really, it’s pretty pathetic that as humans, the most complex life-form on the planet, we’re getting theologically / spiritually schooled by grass and birds. But here’s the thing that grass knows and we sometimes forget – God is in control. Creation, all around us, all the time, is doing its job – pointing to God and reminding us of His Truth. Reminding us that He’s God, we’re not. That He’s in control, we’re not.
10. Jesus says worry is unnecessary. You don’t need to worry b/c God has promised that He’ll take care of anything that belongs to Him. That doesn’t mean you won’t have to work or you won’t have responsibility or you won’t have to do your part. But if you’ve given God control of your life, the consequences of your life are in His hands! 1 Peter 5:7. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. More than birds. More than grass. More than any other thing on this planet, he cares for you.
11. Jesus tells us that not only is worry unnecessary, but it’s also unproductive. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Actually, we know that internalized stress is one of the leading causes of illness and leads to early death. Prolonged anxiety can actually take decades, not just years, off your life. Of course, if you suffer from anxiety, it doesn’t help you to know that b/c now you’re more worried.
12. Another translation of that verse; we see it in other versions is who of you by worrying can add a single cubit to his height. I will tell you right now that if worrying could make you taller, I’d worry all the time. There are times when 5’10” just doesn’t get it done. I grew up playing basketball. Short and white is a bad combination for basketball. I tried to grow, I just didn’t. There are some things you just can’t control.
13. You get Jesus’ point – worrying won’t change anything. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Think for a minute about the things we worry about. Politics; who of you by worrying can change the outcome of an election? Finances; who of you by worrying can put a single dollar in your pocket? Relationships; who of you by worrying can change another person?
14. Actually, it’s not true to say that worrying won’t change anything. It will. It will make things worse. Cause health problems. Marriage problems. Affect your family. That’s why Jesus says don’t do it. Do not worry about your life – but learn to trust God. Control what you can, give to God what you can’t. Take responsibility for the things God’s given you responsibility for (your attitude, your choices, your spiritual commitment) – do what you can with what you’ve got, control what you can – but give to God what you can’t. And understand that’s most of life.
15. Again, it comes down to a choice; I have to choose who’s in control of my life. If it’s me, then I’ve got a lot to be worried about. But if it’s God, then I’ve got nothing to be worried about. Really the choice here isn’t about whether or not to worry, it’s about whose first in my life. It’s about priorities. It’s about Lordship. Same thing Jesus was teaching us last week.
16. He tells us not to run around worried about everything – he says the pagans – the people who don’t know God do that. But…and this is a very important “but”. I’ve been thinking about writing a book called “Best Buts of the Bible”. It just may be controversial enough to sell copies. So often that coordinating conjunction is so important. It contrasts two opposing thoughts. Here Jesus says DO NOT WORRY, (Matthew 6:33) BUT (instead of worrying) Seek first His Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
17. It’s an issue of FIRST. The choice we each have to make is what are we going to put first? If we put ourselves first, our needs and desires first, we end up running around like everybody else, never having enough, worried about how we’re going to pay the bills, how we’re going to eat, how we’re going to make the mortgage and we never have enough time, talent or treasure left over to ever really give anything to God. But if we seek first His k and His r, if God’s first in our lives, He says He’ll take care of the rest.
18. I know that we’re living in tough economic times. And when it comes to money, that’s really where the rubber meets the road. It’s particularly hard to put God first in your finances. Especially when you have needs. To look at your needs, your bills and then look at what you’ve got – there’s usually already a deficit. So to say, OK since I don’t have enough already, I’m going to give to God FIRST, doesn’t really seem to make sense. But it makes a whole lot more sense than we think.
19. 1 Kings 17:12-16. Some of you may remember the time Elijah asked an old widow for food. Tough economic times. And in fact, the widow was actually preparing her last meal for her and her son and then she planned to die. 12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die." 13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
20. So often God has already made provision for us, he’s just waiting to see if we’ll put Him first. (ILL. gave extra to building fund, got back double in a special unexpected card.)
21. Why does God want us to put Him first no matter what our financial condition? B/c it’s a declaration of faith. Putting God first in my finances, giving to God first, tells God I trust you. My hope, my trust, my faith is in you. Not me. I’m seeking first your kingdom and I trust you to take care of my needs. When I put God first I don’t need to worry b/c He’s got my back. That’s really what the whole S.O.T.M. is about. Learning to trust God – to put Him first and to trust Him with our lives.
22. If you’re NOT seeking Him first…if you’ve put self first, then you should be worried. Forget Jesus’ command to NOT worry, you need to worry. Not only here and now – finances, relationships, the future - but ultimately, you need to be really worried about eternity.
23. What’s first in your life? Is it God? How can you tell? If someone asked you to present your case in court – what evidence would you give them that God’s kingdom is first and foremost in your life? In Matthew 16:24, 25 Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
24. Following Jesus isn’t easy. But it is simple. Either He’s first – He’s master, teacher, Lord – or He’s not. Either He’s in control or I am. I just have to be honest about which is true for my life and be willing to accept the consequences of that choice. But today, Jesus invites each one of us to lay down all the junk of this world, all the stuff we’re worried about, all the stuff we think is so important…to lay all that down at the cross and to simply follow Him.
25. Communion setup: For those of us who believe He is who He said He was and we’re willing to give Him control, Lordship, we want to remember Him by taking the Lord’s Supper. (Explain Emblems). We remember the price he paid to earn our allegiance.
