Matthew 6:25-34
INTRODUCTION: Where is it written that Christians have to be downtrodden and downcast people? We should be the happiest people on earth. We all need to be reminded of that once in a while. “Worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.” Worry takes the joy out of life! IF YOU ONLY KNEW WHAT I SUFFER WAITING FOR THAT ROOSTER TO CROW!
I. Worrying is pointless – Greek – merimnao – merizo – to divide – nous – the mind.
German – worgen – to strangle
A. We are very importanat to God.
B. God gave us life, he will give us what is necessary to support it.
C. No one works harder than a sparrow to make a living. No bird ever tried to build a better nest than its neighbor.
D. Flowers gave color to entire hillsides, then were burned in ovens for cooking.
E. The future of reality is seldom as bad as the future of our fears.
F. Worriers die young. The worry which wears out the mind wears out the body!
G. There is a poem by a 14 year old boy that fits well here:
It was spring, but it was summer I wanted, the warm days, and the great outdoors. It was summer, but it was fall I wanted, the colorful leaves, and the cool dry air. It was fall, but it was winter I wanted, the beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season. It was winter, but it was spring I wanted, the warmth, and the blossoming of nature. I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted. The freedom, and the respect. I was 20, but it was30 I wanted, to be mature, and sophisticated. I was middle-aged, but it was 20 I wanted, the youth and the free spirit. I was retired, but it was middle age I wanted, the presence of minde, without limitations. My life was over, but I never got what I wanted.
II. Have Faith – Old Jewish saying: He who has a loaf in his basket and says What will I eat tomorrow is a man of little faith.
A. Matthew 17:20 - …If you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
B. When I need prayer, I say to Mom, …
C. Ps 42:3 – Why are you downcast o my soul, why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior.”
D. In the same circumstance, one person can worry, while another is serene.
E. Today’s crisis is tommorrow’s non-issue.
III. Seek God First –
A. Focus on God to defeat worry.
B. Let God be the dominant power in your life.
C. Illustration: One day a man met a beggar: “Have a nice day” “I thank God I’ve never had a bad one.” “I wish you happiness” “I thank God I’ve never been unhappy.” “What do you mean?” “I do not concern myself with my will but with God’s will. I thank God for everything, for with Him, I am not a beggar, but a king.”
D. Worry is characteristic of heathen
E. You cannot truly seek God and feel worry simultaneously.
F. “One day at a time” Jesus beat AA to the the punch.
CONCLUSION: All the world exists without us, why should we worry? “Said the robin to the sparrow, I would really like to know, why these anxious human beings rush around and worry so. Said the sparrow to the robin, Friend I think that it must be, that they have no heavenly Father such as cares for you and me.”
