SERMON OUTLINE:
The Problem of Worry:
Worry is unreasonable (vs 25)
Worry is undermining (vs 26)
Worry is unproductive (vs 27)
Worry is unreasonable (vs 30b-31).
Worry is unchristian (vs 32).
The Solution for worry:
Stop living for things and start living for God! (vs 33)
Stop living for tomorrow and enjoy today! (vs 34)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• The story is told of a man who was watching a TV programme late at night,
• When to his surprise a mouse right across the room, before his very eyes
• He was shocked, but immediately took action,
• He found a mousetrap and then went to the fridge to get some cheese.
• But there was no cheese, it had all been eaten!
• So, he did what he thought was the next best thing.
• He got a food magazine that had colourful photos in it.
• And he cut out a picture of cheese and put it in the mousetrap.
• He then went to bed.
• Now the next morning he woke up and went to check the mousetrap,
• And…you are not going to believe this,
• But he found there, a picture of a mouse in the trap!
• TRANSITION: And the moral of the story is…
• If you want to catch the real thing, you’ve got to put out the real thing!
• If you want to help people not to worry,
• You need to say something real and practical, and Jesus does just that!
Transition: All people at some-time will experience worry:
• The things that worry you will probably not worry me,
• And the things that worry me may be very different to the things that worry you,
• But worry is a common experience that all of us experience at some time or other.
• Or to use substitute words, we will experience; ‘anxiety, burden, care, trouble, fear’.
Ill:
• The Greek New Testament word for worry means: "To be divided or distracted".
• Worry works by getting at our minds and our emotions by distracting them:
• We want to think about one particular thing;
• But instead we keep on being distracted, to think on something else
• Our thoughts are divided:
• We cannot let go, we cannot forget about the problem or situation,
• And concentrate on something else.
Ill:
• Our English word 'Worry' comes from an Anglo-Saxon word which means 'harm';
• It is another form of the word 'wolf’.
• Like a wolf mangles a sheep,
• So anxiety and worry is something that is harmful and damaging to us.
• Worry will so often sabotage a Christians faith:
• If we let it, then it will rob us of our peace and contentment in God!
Notice:
• That in these verses Jesus isn’t giving us a suggestion.
• He isn’t saying, “Well, in my humble opinion, it might be a good idea not to worry!”
• No! In the original Greek, this is a strong command!
• “Do not worry!”
Quote:
• “Prayer is an acknowledgment of faith; worry is a denial of faith.
• Prayer is putting my hand in God's, trusting to His loving guidance;
• Worry is withdrawing my hand, and denying His power to lead me.
• Prayer leads through the door of faith into the presence of God;
• Worry leads through the door of anxiety;
• Into the darkness of loneliness and discouragement.
• If prayer rules the life victory results.
• If worry rules the life then defeat will follow!”
Context:
• Verse 25 starts with a ‘therefore’ and so this section of teaching;
• Is linked to what Jesus has just been saying in verses 19-24
• The warning in these verses is the danger of a wrong attitude;
• Towards our treasurers and our money.
• The point Jesus is making is:
• It is not wrong to possess things;
• BUT it is always wrong for things to possess us!
“‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 ‘The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 ‘No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
• The point Jesus is making is:
• It is not wrong to possess things BUT it is always wrong for things to possess us!
• In verses 19-21,
• Jesus is telling us not to base our lives around the acquisition of earthly treasures.
• And then in verses 22-23, he explains why.
• He says that if you keep your eyes focused on the things of God,
• Your body will be full of light.
• But if your eyes are always focused on the things of this world,
• Then your body and soul will be full of darkness.
• Therefore, since we are not supposed to base our lives around the things of this world,
• There’s no need to worry about them!
• So Jesus says in verse 25 “Do not worry about your life.”
In these verses Jesus gives us five pieces of advice about worry:
(1). WORRY IS UNREASONABLE (vs 25)
• Worry is irrational because;
• Worry keeps you from enjoying what you have.
"....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?"
• Every person here this morning have already been given;
• Two treasures that are more valuable than anything else!
• God has given you life!
• And God has given you a body!
• Since God has already given you the most important stuff,
• How reasonable is it to worry about the lesser stuff like food and clothing?
ill:
• Every time we see an advert on T.V. or a poster or in a magazine,
• It's designed to make us dissatisfied,
• From washing powders to after-shave,
• From a bar of chocolate to a pair of jeans.
• We are told by the advertisers that you must have one of these!
• And if you have one then you need an even bigger, better, newer one!
• Sadly we get distracted and worried by what we don’t have;
• And we forget or get dissatisfied with the many things, that we do have!
• Life is MORE than these things said Jesus:
• So make the most of what you have,
• And stop worrying over what you haven't got.
(2). WORRYING IS UNDERMINDING (vs 26a).
• Worry is disheartening;
• Because worry makes you forget your worth (vs 26).
• In this verse;
• Jesus gives us an illustration of why worrying is undermining. He says
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
Ill:
• Have you noticed that:
• No bird ever tried to build more nests than its neighbour.
• No fox ever fretted because he had only one hole in which to hide.
• No squirrel ever died of anxiety;
• Lest he should not lay by enough for two winters instead of one.
• No dog ever lost any sleep over the fact;
• That he had not enough bones stored away for his declining years
Yet Jesus reminds us that each one of us is valuable to God!
• The point that he is making is simple;
• If God looks after and values the small creature,
• Surely he will look after and value the greater creature.
ill:
• Parents buy a Christmas present for the next door neighbours child,
• You can be certain they will have bought a present for their own child as well!
• The point being:
• If they give to an acquaintance, surely they will give to the one they love.
• If God provides for the lesser creature i.e. the birds;
• Will he not provide for you i.e. his children?
(3). WORRYING IS UNPRODUCTIVE (vs 27).
• Worry is uncreative;
• In fact worry is completely useless.
"Who by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"
• Jesus says that worrying is unproductive.
• It doesn't work. It's useless.
Ill:
• It’s is like rocking in a rocking chair.
• You've got a lot of activity, but you don't go anywhere!
• You don’t make any progress!
• Worry doesn’t change anything;
• Worry doesn’t change yesterday. It doesn’t affect tomorrow.
• All it can do is make you miserable today.
Ill:
• Look at these statistics about worry:
• 40% of all things that we worry about never come to pass.
• 30% of all our worries involve past decisions that cannot be changed.
• 12% focus on criticism from others who spoke because they felt inferior.
• 10% are related to our health, which gets worse when we worry.
• 8% of our worries could be described as "legitimate" causes for concern.
• Isn’t that remarkable?
• Fewer than one "problem" in every ten that we worry about is a real concern.
• All the others are things that we can learn to see differently or eliminate.
Not only will worrying not add anything to your life:
• But it might end up SHORTENING your life!
• If you have a heart condition or a digestive condition,
• Worrying can make your symptoms worse!
• Worrying is stewing without doing.
• It is unreasonable, and it is unproductive.
• Worry really is completely useless:
• Worry does not accomplish anything good,
• So, says Jesus; “Why worry?”
(4). WORRYING IS Unreasonable (vs 30b-31).
• Worry is illogical;
• Because worry always erases the promises of God:
• In this verse;
• Jesus gives us an illustration of why worrying is unreasonable. He says
“– you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them”
Quote: New Testament scholar Leon Morris puts it like this:
“Since God takes such good care of the lower orders of creation,
God will certainly take care of the crown of His creation.”
Worry always erases the promises of God:
• But remember that God has promised to supply our needs and not our greed’s.
• He promises ‘daily bread’ not strawberries and ice-cream!
• So God has promised to supply our needs and not our greed’s.
• And IF he has taken care of our biggest need - the problem of sin,
• Surely he will take care of the lesser needs.
• What we need in life.
• And if we cannot trust him for this life;
• What makes you think you can trust him for the life to come!
(5). WORRY IS UNCHRISTIAN (vs 32).
• Not only is worry unreasonable, undermining, unproductive, and unnecessary.
• Worry is unchristian.
"For the pagans run after all these things
(What things? The things in verse 31; 'what we eat, drink & wear')
And YOUR heavenly Father knows that you need them".
• Jesus is saying that:
• People who don't care for the things of God have a right to worry.
• All they have is the here and now – so they had better make the most of it!
• Worry is atheism in action. It's acting as if there's no God.
• It's saying, "I don’t believe that there’s anyone out there who can take care of me,
So I’ve got to take matters into my own hands!”
• People who don't care for the things of God have a right to worry.
• All they have is the here and now – so they had better make the most of it!
• But Christians ought to be different:
• We have a living God, a Heavenly Father watching over us;
• The way we deal with worry is evidence that God is real and active in our lives!
Quote: Elizabeth Cheyney:
"I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about, and worry so?"
Said the sparrow to the robin,
"Friend, I think that it must be
They have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me."
• As Christians we ought to be different to unbelievers:
• Because we have a living God, a Heavenly Father watching over us;
Question: What is the cure for worry?
Answer: Two things mentioned in verse 33-34;
"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well".
First: Stop living for things and start living for God! (vs 33)
• "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
• And all these things (that worry you) will be given to you as well".
• We need as Christians a good dose of right priorities.
• If we are to get relief from the ulcer of anxiety,
• We’ve got to start rearranging our lives and putting first things first!
• His kingdom needs to be first – not ours!
• His desires need to be paramount – not ours!
• If the needs of heaven are number one;
• All our earthly needs will automatically fall into proper perspective!
Ill:
• A professor stood before his philosophy class with a very large empty jar;
• He then began to fill it with golf balls.
• He asked his students; "Is the jar full?" "
• They replied; Yes."
• He then poured a box of small pebbles into the jar, and they rolled into the cracks.
• He again asked; "Is the jar full?"
• Once again they replied "Yes."
• He poured a box of sand into the jar.
• And repeated the question: "Is the jar full?"
• Once again the students responded "Yes."
• He then poured two cans of beer into the jar.
• And gave the students an explanation of his illustration.
• He said; “The jar represents your life.
• The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, friends, health;
• Things that if all else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
• The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, car.
• The sand is everything else - the small stuff.
• If you put the sand in first, there's no room for the pebbles or golf balls.
• The same goes for life.
• If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,
• You'll never have room for the important things.
• Pay attention to the important things;
• There will always be time to clean the house, and do the garden.
• Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter.
• Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
• A student raised his hand and asked:
• "What does the beer represent?"
• "I'm glad you asked” said the professor;
• “It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
• There's always room for a couple of beers."
• TRANSITION: His kingdom needs to be first – not ours!
• His desires need to be paramount – not ours!
• If the needs of heaven are number one;
• All our earthly needs will automatically fall into proper perspective!
Second: Stop living for tomorrow and enjoy today (vs 34)
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own".
Ill:
• Think of a medicine bottle;
• The label on the bottle says; ‘Simplicity!’
• The instructions read: ‘Stop living more than one day at a time!’
• Because each day has enough to be concerned about;
• Don’t over load your emotional and mental circuits with tomorrows problems.
Ill:
• Lord 'J. Arthur Rank' the industrialist and founder of the Rank Organization.
• (He was also the person established the Odeon chain of cinemas),
• Lord 'J. Arthur Rank' was a staunch Methodist;
• And he decided to do all his worrying on one day each week.
• He chose Wednesdays.
• When anything happened that gave him anxiety and annoyed his ulcer,
• He would write it down and put it in his worry box;
• And forget about it until next Wednesday.
• The interesting thing was that on the following Wednesday,
• When he opened his worry box,
• He found that most of the things that had disturbed him;
• The past six days were already settled.
• It would have been useless to have worried about them.
• TRANSITION: Maybe he learnt the secret of these verses:
Stop living for tomorrow and enjoy today.
• Stop living for things and start living for God!
Closing Prayer:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Lord help us to hand over to you in prayer the things that worry us.
Lord provide us with and help us to experience your peace of heart and peace of mind.
Lord, help us to trust you to take care of the worries in our lives, and help us to hold on to that fact that our God can and will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Amen”
Audio link:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=F9jmtzZv4eNiaWb4gulULwG95FFkZJAg&forceSave
YouTube Video:
https://youtu.be/lpJcVgRR_FE
