Love Reigns Over Our Future. Week 4.
Matthew 6:25-34
Too many people are consumed with worry and anxiety about what tomorrow might hold.
This fear can be paralyzing.
As Christians, we believe that our loving heavenly Father is always looking out for us.
Remember, If God takes care of the birds in the air, and the flowers of the field, that gives us confidence that He will take care of us too.
Hear this, There is no benefit from worry, In fact, anxiety only hurts us. Today we should make up our minds to trust God, and allow him to guide our steps.
Think about this statement: I do not have control of the future; however, I can possess strong faith in my eternal God.
I truly believe that My heavenly Father is looking out for me and will provide for my needs. - I’m never alone! P.H
It’s time to turn your worries into prayers and trust God’s plan for your life.
Today is the final day of our sermon series, Love Reigns. We have been challenging ourselves to allow the love of God to reign in every area of our lives.
The first week, we celebrated the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter. We celebrate because the resurrection is the proof that Jesus is the true King of the world who has authority over all things.
The second week, we looked at how God’s love reigns over our past. Though our mistakes and sins can be a heavy burden on us, we embrace the love of God that forgives us our past and offers us a fresh start.
Last week we discovered that God’s love gives us promise for our present. We can make choices that create healthier patterns in our lives and renew our minds to live in obedience to God.
This final week of our series I want to speak about allowing the love of God to reign over our future.
By the way, the future is a pretty hot topic.
I remember as a kid having a little toy that was supposed to help us know what the future held. It was a Magic 8 Ball.
I used it for all kinds of questions I had about the future. You would shake up that mysterious little triangle floating in the blue liquid inside.
I’d ask it about whether my middle school crush would like me. Oddly enough, it always gave me the answer “Don’t Count On It”.
I’d ask about how my grades would turn out and the answer would be “Better Not Tell You Now”.
I’d ask about my future career to which it would respond “Ask Again Later”.
This little toy, Magic 8 ball actually came out in 1950, is a tell-tale sign that our culture has a keen interest in the future.
Matthew 6:25-34NKJV “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 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?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. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
We all have wondered from time to time about what the future might hold for us. Sometimes we wonder because our current situation is painful and we want to get on the other side of the difficulty. Sometimes we wonder because we are excited about the possibilities before us.
Either way, our curiosity about the future can sometimes slip into an unhealthy obsession
with what is to come, and that my friend is commonly called worry.
News junkies. 4-8 hours a day, watching and listening to news.
Illustration: I want you to take the piece of paper, I want you to take a moment to write down one worry in your life about the future. Once you write it down, keep it near you until the end of the message today.
Worry is an all-consuming use of our time, energy and attention on things that we cannot control. We worry about our finances, we worry about our family, we worry about our job, we worry about getting sick, we worry about everything.
The problem is that our worrying does not improve our situation at all. The only true way to cure this sickness of worry is to trust in the love of God and let it rule in our lives.
Jesus spoke to this struggle about the future:
Again, Matthew 6:25-27AMP “Therefore I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops] into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who of you by worrying can add one hour to [the length of] his life?
POINT #1 – GOD SEES YOU
Jesus tells us not to worry about our life. Don’t worry about your daily needs. Don’t worry about your daily wants.
Genesis 16:13NIV She (Hagar) gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”
You see, God offers proof for His ability to provide for us. He points to the birds of the air. These tiny winged animals are not anxious about their needs for tomorrow, but God still provides their needs for today.
If God takes care of the sparrows of the world, surely He can take care of you.
Jesus reminds us of our incredible worth. He sees us. We are loved by God. Therefore He will provide for us today.
Our future is in good hands when our future is under God’s control.
“We must allow ourselves to trade what we don’t know about the future for what we do know about the love of God for us.” P.H
Worry is not worth it because it does not add any hours to your life, if anything, it takes hours away.
It reminds me of the Lord’s Prayer. Matthew 6:9, Jesus said pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”.
Jesus is saying, pray like this, “Give us what we need today God. Not too much so that we might forget about trusting you for our future. Not too little that we are tempted to take matters into our own hands. Just enough for today.”
Trusting God for the future instills deep hope that He is there before we ever arrive.
Testimony, I once found myself listening to talk radio, and Television too much. At first it was no big deal, but eventually I began to notice myself feeling anxious about the things that had just been discussed.
The radio/TV station would talk about political divisiveness, the struggling economy and potential wars. It became too much for me to handle.
I begin to experience true anxiety for the first time because everything seemed so out of control. I became anxious about the future.
Here’s a word from God, cut the news off, or listen briefly, and you will began to feel normal again.
Psalm 37:1-5KJV Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. (Grass clippings)
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.
I had to remind myself that God sees me. God sees every single person on earth, and He has a great plan for you. He will take care of you. -You can trust Him.
One of the most quoted scriptures of all time is from, Jeremiah 29:11. It is a promise given to the Jewish people, but I believe it is something we can hold onto today as well.
Jeremiah 29:11AMP For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Listen to me, God has a preferred future that He longs for you to live into. -We experience it when we begin to let go of trying to control everything, and we start to submit to Jesus and follow His lead.
You worrying about the future does not have any positive effects. It only causes us to become paralyzed by fear. -Worry takes the believer out of love, and into fear!
There are three simple questions you can ask yourself to help you determine God’s leading in your life.
1. Does this opportunity align with scripture? Don’t violate the direction that has already been given to you through God’s word?
2. Will this opportunity make me more like Jesus? Will this opportunity shape and mold me?
3. Will this opportunity benefit others? Will this decision result in the blessing of other people around you?
To discover God’s plan for your future, is to live into the purpose for which you were born. This is the future that we want to experience. God’s- will cannot be beat!
Mark Twain stated, “The two most important days of your life are the day when you are born and the day you find out why.”
Your future is tied to your purpose and God’s plan.
POINT #2 – SEEK GOD FIRST
Jesus gives us a way to ensure that our future falls in line with His will for our lives. It is about priority.
Again, 2. Seek God first. Matthew 6:28-34AMP And why are you worried about clothes? See how the lilies and wildflowers of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin [wool to make clothing], 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory and splendor dressed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive and green today and tomorrow is [cut and] thrown [as fuel] into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’
32 For the [pagan] Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; [but do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Again, Verse 33 states that we should seek first the Kingdom of God.
This should be our priority. Living to see the Kingdom of God come to earth should be the defining aspect of our lives.
Listen to the apostle Paul declare what the Holy Ghost would produce through a believer:
Romans 14:17KJV For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost produces, righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Many folks are focused on increasing popularity and status on social media. Some, finally getting that house on the lake, or finding true love.
These things are not bad within themselves, but they can cause us to veer off track as our life progresses. Jesus states in, Matthew 6:33 If we seek God first, everything else will have a way of falling in place.
Illustration: Think about a glass jar filled with one huge rock. That rock is Jesus. -He’s got to be big in your heart!
Now think about pouring little pea gravel into that same glass where the one huge rock is.
What happens? The small pea gravel settles all around Jesus being the rock.
POINT #3 – USE YOUR TIME WISELY
We only have so many days in our lives. Our future must be stewarded well. The author of Psalm 90, had this concept in mind when he wrote verse 12.
Psalm 90:12AMP So teach us to number our days, That we may cultivate and bring to You a heart of wisdom.
The author is writing a prayer. He is asking for awareness so that he uses the days of his life in a manner that honors God, and honors people.
A survey was done several years ago, it revealed some astonishing information about how people spend their lives. -In a lifetime the average American will spend:
6 months sitting at stoplights?8 months opening junk mail?1 year looking for misplaced objects?2 years unsuccessfully returning phone calls?4 years doing housework?5 years waiting in line?6 years eating
(Survey of 6000 people polled in 1988, US News and World Report, January 30, 1989, pg. 81)
Benediction. -Again, take that piece of paper.
I want you to write a prayer that will confront and destroy worry.
