Stop! Look! Seek!
Matthew 6:25-34
November 23, 2003
Big Idea: Do not worry because worry only adds stress onto your life. Look around and see the things God has provided and seek his provisions.
Introduction:
How Much does Prayer Weigh? READ STORY HERE.
Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries. She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food. John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store.
Visualizing the family needs, she said ’Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can."
John told her he could not give her credit, as she did not have a charge account this store.
Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocerman that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family.
The grocerman said in a very reluctant voice, "Do you have a grocery list?
Louise replied "Yes sir."
"OK" he said, "put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries."
Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid
the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.
The eyes of the grocerman and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down.
The grocerman, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, "I can’t believe it."
The customer smiled and the grocerman started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more. The grocerman stood there in utter disgust.
Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement. It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:
"Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands."
The grocerman gave her the groceries that he had gathered and placed on the scales and stood in stunned silence.
Louise thanked him and left the store.
The customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to John as he said, "It was worth every penny of it." It was sometime later that John Longhouse discovered scales were broken; therefore, only God knows how much a prayer weighs.
POWER OF PRAYER
When you receive this, say a prayer. That’s all you have to do. Just stop right now, and say a prayer for the one who sent this to you. There is nothing attached. This is powerful.
It¡¦s Thanksgiving and many of us worry about how we will put enough food on the table each day to be thankful, let alone, a bounty on Thanksgiving day.
Listen to Matthew 6: 25 ¡V 34 to the words of Jesus as it pertains to worry and prayer..
READ SCRIPTURE HERE
25¡§Therefore I tell you, do not (STOP WORRYING) 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? 26LOOK 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? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life„T?
28¡§And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ¡¥What shall we eat?¡¦ or ¡¥What shall we drink?¡¦ or ¡¥What shall we wear?¡¦ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But SEEK first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Three Points SERMON
1. Stop
2. Look
3. Seek
Point 1
STOP WORRYING
QUOTE: E. Stanley Jones once said, ¡§Worry is the interest you pay on tomorrow¡¦s troubles.¡¨
25¡§Therefore I tell you, do not (STOP WORRYING) 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?
Many of us live a life of continual anxiety about our lives. For some, it is our bank accounts, others its food, still others, its friendship or love.
I want to remind you that its hard to stop worrying if you can¡¦t see beyond your circumstances.
Circumstances block us into feelings of despair, anxiety, fear, helplessness, pessimism and a lack of self-worth.
I want to remind us today that God understands our circumstances and really does desire to help us through the tough times we are facing.
KEY POINT: God is the provider of life and body, and he will provide for sustenance.
STORY: ROBERT IN COLLEGE AND DOWN TO HIS LAST DIME.
Let me show you how this occurs:
READ Matthew 6:26 - 32
POINT 2
LOOK AT THE EXAMPLES
26LOOK 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? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life„T?
28¡§And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ¡¥What shall we eat?¡¦ or ¡¥What shall we drink?¡¦ or ¡¥What shall we wear?¡¦ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
GOD¡¦S EXAMPLE OF PROVISION:
Verse 26: 26LOOK at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
a. Birds are not lazy
b. They do not store
c. God provides for them.
QUESTION: ARE WE NOT MUCH MORE VALUABLE THAN THEY ARE?
QUESTION: DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE VALUED AND ARE VALUABLE TO GOD?
Let me explain why you are so valued and valuable to God.
1. God loves his creation and desires to care for it as a father and mother care for their own children.
2. God knows what exactly we need in order to sustain our lives.
QUESTION: 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
QUOTE: Arthur Somers Roche has stated, ¡§Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.¡¨
We worry about so many mundane things in life. Such as: finances, housing, clothes, cars, appearance, stocks, bonds, retirement, etc.
QUOTE: ¡§FEAR will keep us from ever achieving any measure of fulfillment if we allow fear the control our lives.¡¨
KEY POINT: Everything we have to day is only here today and tomorrow will be thrown in the fire.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT TEMPORAL THINGS, THINGS THAT WILL NOT LAST. THESE THINGS ONLY BRING HOPE AND PEACE FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME BUT IN THE END ARE FRUITLESS AND LACKING.
QUESTION: Do you really what to know how to have a true and right thanksgiving? Do you really want to know the extent of God¡¦s love for his creation?
If so, I¡¦m talking about FAITH. Faith in our heavenly Father, the creator who promises to give us all our needs.
POINT 3
SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS¡K
33But SEEK first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
SEEK THE ONE WHO CAN PROVIDE FOR YOUR EVERY NEED.
Seeking is an action verb. To seek means to look for, to pursue, try to get or achieve something.
QUESTION: Why not try and seek a personal relationship with God who already has everything we¡¦ve ever needed, rather than seek the things we need and struggle for our daily living, in order to achieve something that is temporal?
I¡¦m always interested in the psychology of the Lottery. The basis of the lottery is to get a lot of something for almost nothing.
Someone always wins the lottery. Statistics tell us it is possible, but is it ever you? I was in the gas station about a week ago and a lady, who obviously wasn¡¦t of means, spent $20.00 on several chance lottery tickets.
It hit me as I saw her pay the attendant the money, she doesn¡¦t know how much God has already provided for her. And the only way to know is to ask God for it.
SALVATION INVITATION
God does require something of us, however, when we ask. First, he asks us to place our faith in him. Not just for the thing we need, but our whole heart and mind;To give up the things we are doing, sinful things, and follow him. God wants us to live righteous lives, or lives that are in right standing and desire to know more of Jesus. Second, God asks us to give up desiring the things we want because the will perish. Third, we have been given a promise, that if we ask anything according to his will, he will give it.
34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
When we have placed our faith in our Heavenly Father, we can rest assured that he will provide all our necessary resources we need for our living. I want to conclude with a story of two compassionate brothers. I believe this story helps us to know how God provides for many of us¡Kmany times through each other.
Concluding Story
Two Brothers
Two brothers worked together on the family farm. One was married and had a large family. The other was single. At the day’s end, the brothers shared everything equally, produce and profit.
Then one day the single brother said to himself, ’’It’s not right that we should share equally the produce and the profit. I’m alone and my needs are simple." So each night he took a sack of grain from his bin and crept across the field between their houses, dumping it into his brother’s bin.
Meanwhile, the married brother said to himself, "It’s not right that we should share the produce and the profit equally. After all, I’m married and I have my wife and children to look after me in years to come. My brother has no one, and no one to take care of his future." So each night he took a sack of grain and dumped it into his single brother’s bin.
Both men were puzzled for years because their supply of grain never dwindled. Then one dark night the two brothers bumped into each other. Slowly it dawned on them what was happening. They dropped their sacks and embraced one another.
Author Unknown from More Sower’s Seeds by Brian Cavanaugh
CONCLUDING THOUGHT: Many times we like to take matters into our own hands. Sometimes we find that when we do, we end up with nothing, but when we place our faith in our Heavenly Father, God will supply all our needs. And just like the two brothers, our grain will never run out.
BENEDICTION
WE WOULD ALSO LOVE TO HAVE YOU JOIN US FOR OUR REGULAR SERVICES ON SUNDAY AT 8:30 CONTEMPORARY ¡§COME AS YOU ARE¡¨ SERVICE, AND 10:45 TRADITIONAL WORSHIP, AS WELL AS OUR 6:00 STUDY AND OTHER MID WEEK ACTIVITIES.
THANK YOU FOR COMING.
Dismiss.
Internet email from Chriskit01@aol.com. (Original source unknown)
New International Version Bible, Broadman & Holmann, 1984.
Ibid., 1553.
Illustrations Unlimited. The Channel. Hewitt, Tyndale. 1988. p. 489.
Quote by Robert Castile, author of sermon.
New International Version Bible, Broadman & Holmann, 1984.
New International Version Bible, Broadman & Holmann, 1984.
Chicken Soup for the Soul, Tow Brothers. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, HCI, p. 37. 1993.
