We are tested by major changes, delayed promises, impossible problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism, and even senseless tragedies. Human reasoning produces doubt, doubt produces fear, and fear produces anxiety.... That is why we worry a lot! The good news is that God wants us to pass the tests of life, so He never allows the tests and the anxieties and worries we face to be greater than the grace He gives.
God is good all thetime.
Great day is ahead to all who hopes in the Lord. HE IS FAITHFUL!
Of all God’s creation, we are the only one that worries... that asks ‘why?’ We all knew that Life cannot be lived free from all sense of anxiety and concern... we worry about things that have already happened. WORRYING ABOUT THE PAST is like trying to put toothpaste back into the tube. Past deeds cannot be undone, or past words unsaid. If the past involves sin, obey the conditions of pardon and God will abundantly forgive.In Isaiah 55:6 it says; “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; In verse 7 “let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. When God forgives you, forgive yourself! FORGIVE YOURSELF. Period.
People WORRY OVER THINGS THAT WILL INEVITABLY HAPPEN.
Some worry that their children will marry. Most of them will eventually marry. If that happens, then let it happen! Marriage is honorable (Heb. 13:4) Men & women were created for marriage anyway! (Gen. 2:24). Some worry about dying — but we will all die, anyway! (Heb. 9:27). Some worry about growing old — but we grow old anyway! whether we like it not. Though we try, it is unescapable. We may postpone it, but it can not be avoided... in the days of Adam the average life span is 900+ years! After the Flood, life spans dropped quickly. Noah's son Shem lived to be 600 (Genesis 11:10-11). The next three generations died in their 400s (Genesis 11:12-19). But six generations later, Abraham died at 175. So, Adam was 930; ten generations later, Noah was 950; ten generations later, Abraham was 175 (Genesis 25:7). Our shortened lifespan today is a blessing. A good man could accomplish great things in 900 years, but Genesis 6 illustrates that long life doesn't equate to a good heart. An evil man with 900 years to device a scheme can do an incredible amount of damage—so much so that God saw fit to destroy the entire world. As God protected fallen man from living forever in Genesis 3:22, He protected us from living long enough to sin as badly as the generations in Genesis had!
Some people WORRY ABOUT THINGS THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. Mark Twain once said, “I have worried over a great many things in life, the most of which never happened.” Surveys have shown that 80% of the things we worry about never happen.
Today, let us talk about our own worst enemy! Worry.
And let us hear from the mouth of our most reliable Friend, Jesus....
HOW TO MAKE AN OPEN WAR WITH WORRY and come out of that battle victorious. He had paved the Way to Truth and a meaningful Life that we might enjoy our Christian living a relishing one, and truly abundant!
Matthew 6:25 “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 than food, and the body more than clothes?
26 Look 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?
27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (NIV)
I- FATHER
(You have God as a Father in Jesus)
“...and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
No man can come to the Father except through Jesus. And no one can come to Jesus unless His Father who sent Him draws them to Jesus.
John 6:44 (NLT) God knows who are His....
Every member of the family of God becomes a child of a heavenly Father when he is born again. They are those “which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). Until we have been born again, we are not members of the family of God. Though God is the Father of all by creation, God is not our spiritual Father until we are his children. We can be children of the heavenly Father by placing our trust in Jesus Christ and receiving Him as our Savior by faith. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).
Jesus revealed God as our Father. It is “only” through this relationship that we can access to the household of God. Through Jesus, we became one big happy family! Not of religion but a relation. It is an utmost importance because my two successive points hangs on this very significant worth and consequences.
Let us be reminded that a FATHER GIVES to His children, He is demonstrating the strongest expression of love possessed by human beings. In His teaching, Jesus used the example of a father’s willingness to give good gifts unto his children: “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”(Luke 11:13).
A Father Will Provide for His Family
A Father Will Teach and Train His Children
II- FOCUS:
(you have to Focus on Jesus)
Colossians 3:1,2 is a good teaching of Paul.
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns...”
Illustration:
A hungry Lion started tracking the scent of a deer. As he followed the deer, he came across the scent of a rabbit. He turned aside and started after the rabbit. Then he was distracted by the scent of a mouse and started following that. He finally came to the hole into which the mouse had vanished. He ended the day hungrier than when he had started the day. This story illustrates how many spend their lives distracted with this or that, and at the end of the day – they have accomplished little.
Remember: Martha and Mary. Luke 10:38-40
The birds of worry and care may fly above our head, this we cannot change. But that they build their nests in our hair? this we can prevent.
Worry can fly over us; or we can let worry build a nest in our mind. We can choose whether we allow worry to be a momentary emotion; or, whether we decide to let worry become our lifestyle. We cannot control circumstances; but we can control our reactions to them. Worrying is something we can decide not to have “nest” in our minds. That’s why Jesus is telling us about the birds in the air, to refresh us of a higher faithful and a constant Father who provides, protects, promises and prescribes guidance to His children. “Are you not far more valuable to the Father than the birds?”Definitely No! He gave His Son, Jesus to die on the Cross for our sins... And when Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to those who calls and believes on His Name.... God gave everything to us! What more can He give? He gave His Best. And if God cares and gives so wonderfully and amazingly everything for us, will He not certainly care for us? Why do we have so little faith? And Doubt? And worry?!
Generally, worrying is a natural emotional reaction that people experience. To experience worry is not necessarily negative. The critical issue is whether you let worrying take control of you, or whether you take control of worrying. Look unto The birds of the air and you’ll remember the words of Jesus.... the Author and Finisher of our faith. We have a Father... we have to Focus on Jesus.
III- FUTURE:
(you have a bright Future)
“...for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” v34
It is natural for us to want to know the future. Some people go to great lengths to know future events in ways that are outright sinful in God’s eyes (Deut. 18:14). They go to diviners, soothsayers, card readers, star gazers and other false methods of underground darkness in search of light. But why do we want to know the future? Is it because we are afraid of it? Has not God given us light through his Word and what prophecy it contains? We seem to want more. In a sense, we get greedy and covetous of future knowledge. It is a human sin condition that we want to be in control of our lives and even in control of the lives of others.
God has appointed to each day its portion of pleasure and trouble. And as your days so shall your strength be. So don’t misappropriate God’s allotted troubles for tomorrow. Don’t bring them forward into today in the form of anxiety. Believe that God will also be God of tomorrow.
We have no control over the future, And worrying about the future only distracts us from the duties of the present. Today's problems are all we are capable of handling without becoming distracted. Let tomorrow take care of itself by trusting in God and by doing God's will today! Let your undivided attention be given to seeking God's rule in life as we Make His kingdom the number one priority in your life (v.33) and Concern ourselves with His righteousness, and not our riches and priorities. Let God be our TOP priority.
Finished: 0140amSunday02december2018@doJpowerHouse!47thSunday2018
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