“Relying? or Are You Lying? ”
Matt 6: 25-33
Matt 6:30-33
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? 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.
Use suggested Illustration
You know what, there are a lot of people that think like that! There are even some Christian people that identify with Mark’s statement. The world in which we live offers many things to support us, but for many it is still not enough. But how many people fret and worry about things in their life on a constant basis! There are some people that are so nervous that are a walking heart attack waiting to happen@! Get so caught up with the stuff/junk/misfit of this world that they worry themselves to death!
Let me tell you something, there ain’t nothing in this world worth worrying and fretting about! But many church folks do, don’t they?
See, many people that get saved, still operate in the flesh, in many areas of their life. The most difficult of those mindsets is that of being dependant on the Lord.
Have you ever wanted something, that you didn’t need? We all have, that chocolate cake Wed night with the Hershey Kiss, mmm, I didn’t need it, I wanted it. Moment on my lips, lifetime on my hips!
No seriously….. if you have ever needed…. something so bad in your life…..you know what it is to want! To be in need of something, you become desperate in achieving what you desire!
Church, apart from Christ people go through desperate measures in life to get their needs met! Now I shared this Wed night, and Ill reiterate it again, that many saved people bring sin nature mindsets into their relationship with God. Most of the time we don’t even know that we have done it, because the sinful nature is just the way we have always processed life choices in the past. But the born again experience requires us to do as Paul says
Romans 12:2a
Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
See the experience that we have when we are saved, is the first step in regeneration. The renewing of our mind, is that our thought processes go back to the purist form. We no longer conform to the pattern of the sin nature way of processing life, rather through the Baptism of the Spirit we heed His direction, His discernment for processing life!
Why do Christians struggle Depending and Relying on Jesus?
Look what Jesus says is the first problem when it comes to why people struggle with worry…….
1.) Lack of Faith
Matt 6:30
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?
What color is the grass outside right now? What color is it in the springtime? But it is still grass right? Right. Jesus is saying the same thing. He is saying that you and I both can distinguish the differences between dormant grass and active grass. Why? Because of our experience with it, we have faith that it is still grass.
Church, many times when trials or struggles approach us a lot of people deal with those issues on their own first, before approaching God. Why? Because that is the way their experience has been in the past with dealing with problems. It is the sin nature way of dealing!
Some of you actively live this way. Been going to church for years, but operate in the flesh when it comes to worry and fear. You are unable to overcome anxiety, unable to be free from fear, unable to live without worry! Why? Because your unwillingness to depend on the Lord@! I’m preaching this morning! This is meant for someone!
I Cor 1:9
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
It isn’t that you don’t have faith that Jesus is the Son of God,
“ “ “ “ that Jesus died for your sins
“ “ “ “ that Jesus saves people from Sin
But what it is about is that You don’t have enough faith to believe that He came to do it for YOU@! I am not saying you are not saved!
What I am saying is that you don’t have enough faith in God@!
See, you have faith in Jesus, but you don’t have the faith of Jesus, to supply your every need! You have faith in Him, but you don’t trust Him! And because of that mistrust, you will never be able to operate in the Spirit, because your flesh invokes doubt and worry.
Church, if you are saved you need to understand that God will supply all of your needs, but it takes faith on your part in order to for God to give the supply!
But those sin nature mindsets, will deteriorate our faith ability, when it comes to depending and trusting in the Lord. ( sayt it again)!
Luke17:5
The apostles said unto the Lord ” Increase our faith”
Church, that ought to be the cry from everyone’s heart this morning. In order for you to increase your faith, you have to ask God to do it. But you activate your own faith, that when you begin to feel the desire to worry and instead of taking ownership of that issue or thought, instead you give the ownership over to the Lord. You say “Lord take this”. That is operating in the Spirit, instead of operating in the flesh@!
Why do Christians struggle Depending and Relying on Jesus?
The second problem when it comes to why people struggle with worry is …….
2.) We are Void of His Word
Matt 6:31-32
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.
Church, the Gentiles didn’t have the Word of God to depend on therefore they only had themselves to fulfill their needs.
Listen, God doesn’t care what you eat, as long as you take care of the temple, your body! He doesn’t care what you drink, as long as you don’t get consumed with it, and He really could care less what you wear as long as it is worn in modesty, without your butt crack hanging out, or ladies your stuff cleaving out as well @! Keep your stuff in your stuff@!
God doesn’t want you to worry about having Nike or Vera Bradley, He wants you to be more concerned about the Abundant Life He has for us. Jesus desires that we “be consumed with Life in Christ”@!
But what does our sinful nature allow us to get caught up in? Excess!
Son wants this pair of shoes, daughter wants this pair of jeans
Want this kind of car, want this kind of house, want this type
Of vacation, or that video game, or those concert txts
Jesus says “Don’t get caught up in wants, rather be satisfied in your life in Christ@!”
There is an old hymn called “Learning to Lean”. Sing Chorus.
Listen, the “finding more power” only comes from knowing the Word of God. People will continue to struggle with fear, doubt, worry an anxiety, unless they find proof that God can supply their needs@! God supplied Adam’s need for a wife, He supplied the Israelites with bread from heaven, He supplied Abraham a Lamb for the life of Issac, He supplied a divided Red Sea for Moses and Israelites to cross, He supplied Nehimiah w/ a Vision to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, He supplied a Savior named Jesus who died on the Cross for our sins@! Glory
Phil 4:19
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Listen, you have to know God’s Word in order to stand upon God’s Word, and to know His Word, you have to believe in His Words@!
Church, it is imperative that you and not be void of the Word of God in our life. We have got to read it to get it in us, to regenerate us, to transform us. The Word of God penetrates our thinking, and challenges us to transform. God’s Word will purge us from worry,
“ “ will enlighten us of doubt,
His Word will overcome all anxiety
But the only way it happens is if we will open it, study it and apply it!
Why do Christians struggle Depending and Relying on Jesus?
The last problem to why people struggle with worry is …….
3.) Living without a Covenant
Matt 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Church, there is a condition for receiving God’s blessings in our lives. There is a prescribed order in which we as Children of God must follow in order to be found faithful enough to achieve the blessings of faith. Look at what Jesus said…..
Matt 6:33
But seek first…….
Jesus didn’t say……second, or third, or your mamma or your daddy
He said seek FIRST@! Now this is what Jesus is saying here when we are faced with trouble and worry, and problems.
Matt 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God
Church, we need to seek God FIRST@! God should be the priority over ourselves. But look at what Jesus says……First seek the Kingdom! Who is the Kingdom? Seek out the church, the family of God? Why? So they can join you in encouraging you and praying for you! But to a greater degree, you can hear the testimonies of how God brought someone out in a similar situation as well!
So what Jesus says here is that, if we put Christ and His Church, His Kingdom first as a priority over ourselves, we die to the sinful nature, by resisting the temptation to worry in sin@! Look at the Covenant here…..
Matt 6:33
and all these things shall be added to you.
The New Covenant relationship in Jesus Christ says that God’s Provision is given to us in that when we seek God first and His Kingdom instead of ourselves, everything that we so desire will be added unto us, or we will be provided for@ glory! Feel like shouting
When you worry, you refuse to seek God for the provision for your life and that is sin@! Worry births a death sentence on the New Covenant relationship that you have in your salvational experience!
So I have a question for you are you depending on the Lord? There is one of two answers, because you are either Relying or Your Lying!
