(adapted from Southeast Christian Church’s series Living a Life of Integrity)
SERIES: “WORDS OF WISDOM FOR KINGDOM LIVING”
TEXT: MATTHEW 6:25-34
TITLE: “REFUSE TO WORRY”
INTRODUCTION: A. One man said to his friend, “I have a mountain of credit card debt. I’ve lost my
job. My car is being repossessed and our house is in foreclosure. But I’m not worried
about it.”
His friend exclaimed, “How is it that you’re not worried?”
“Well,” he replied, “I’ve hired a professional worrier. He does all my worrying for
me and that way, I don’t have to worry about it.”
“That’s fantastic! How much does this professional worrier charge for his
services?”
“$50,000.00 a year.”
“50,000.00 a year? Where are you going to get that kind of money?”
“I don’t know. That’s his worry.”
B. Today is Mother’s Day.
1. Mom’s tend to be worried and anxious
2. One frazzled Mom devised this sign for her bathroom door:
Attention Everyone: The Bathroom Door is Closed!
Please do not stand there and talk, whine or ask questions.
Wait until I get out.
Yes, it is locked. I want it that way.
No, it is not broken; I am not trapped.
I know I have left it unlocked, and even open at times, since you were born, because
I was afraid some horrible tragedy might occur while I was in there.
But it’s been ten years, and I want some privacy.
Do not ask me how long I will be.
I will come out when I am done.
Do not bring the phone to the bathroom door.
Do not go running back to the phone yelling, “She’s in the bathroom!”
Do not begin to fight as soon as I go in.
Do not stick your little fingers under the door and wiggle them.
This was funny only when you were two.
Do not slide pennies, Legos, or notes under the door,
Even when you were two, this got a little tiresome.
If you have followed me down the hall, talking,
And are still talking as you face this closed door,
Please turn around, walk away and wait for me in another room.
I will be glad to listen to you when I am done.
Oh…and yes, I still love you. Mom
C. Jesus doesn’t want you worrying your life away.
1. What will interest rates do?
2. The melody to “Don’t Worry-Be Happy” falls on deaf ears when the doctor looks at
you and says, “It is malignant.”
3. Or your boss says, “Due to the economy we’re going to have downsize.”
D. The unusual thing is that often it is the little things that worry us more than the big
things.
1. It takes more than just saying, “I’m going to eliminate worry because Jesus tells me
to.”
2. Some things are hard to get rid of.
--Worry and anxiety certainly fall into that category.
I. THE REQUIREMENT: DON’T WORRY
--Mt. 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 important than food, and the body more important than
clothes?”
A. Notice it says, “Don’t worry.”
1. Jesus’ words here are a command: “Do not worry.”
--It’s not a request, or a helpful hint.
2. It’s an imperative statement
--Imperative means: “vital; necessary; essential; crucial”
B. Jesus gave us some things not to worry about.
--Stuart Briscoe, Now For Something Totally Different, lists five things that Jesus says we should not
worry (all begin with the letter “f”)
1. First, Jesus says: “Don’t worry about finances.”
a. Mt. 6:19 – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where
thieves break in and steal.”
--In other words, Jesus says, “Don’t be anxious about your earthly possessions.”
b. The third most common fear among Americans is financial failure
1). What if I can’t pay off my credit cards?
2). What if the car breaks down?
3). What if my investments collapse?
4). What if I lose my job?
c. Jesus says, “Don’t waste your time with obsessive worry about financial things.”
2. Second thing Jesus says not to worry about: food
a. In Mt. 6:25, Jesus says, “Do not worry about what you will eat or drink…”
1). In the first century AD, not having enough to eat was an issue for the common people
2). It’s sad that in our nation of plenty that we have people who suffer from a lack of food
--In some cases, it’s their own fault. They’ve wasted their money on things like drugs and
alcohol. But in other cases, it’s just that people are in a bad situation and just need help.
a. Those of us who actually have plenty to eat worry about our food:
1). “I can’t eat that. It’s got too many calories.”
2). “Potatoes are good for you.” “Oh no, I’ve heard that potatoes are bad for you.”
3). “Red meat causes heart disease you know.”
4). “Fast food? That stuff will speed you to a fast grave!”
b. Whether we have too little or whether we have plenty, we still worry about our food.
3. Third thing: fitness
--Also in Mt. 6:25, Jesus says, “Don’t worry about your body…”
a. Americans are obsessed with body image
1). The top selling videos in America are exercise videos
2). We pay outrageous prices to buy exercise equipment we use for a month and then takes up space
in our bedrooms, garages, or basements
--After awhile, we sell them in a yard sale
3). We get caught up in fad diets and exercise programs and they last until we crave the foods we’re
told are bad for us.
b. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that Jesus is telling us not to eat right or to exercise.
1). In fact, some of us need to pay more attention to our diets and times for exercise.
2). What Jesus is telling us is this very important point: Don’t let the flesh be more important than
the spirit.
4. Fourth, Jesus says, “Don’t worry about fashion.”
--Mt. 6:25 – “Don’t worry about what you will wear…”
a. In the 1st century AD, most people didn’t have a huge choice of what to wear
--Many would have had just one garment. When that one wore out, they couldn’t go to the closet for
more.
b. We have an abundance of clothes and we still worry about what we going to wear
1). “Does this outfit make me look fat?”
--Every man in this place knows the answer to that question, don’t you fellows?
2). “Is this in style?”
3). “Does this match?”
c. Jesus said not to worry about fashion
5. Last thing Jesus says not to worry about: the future
--Mt. 6:27 – “Who of you can add a single hour to his life?”
a. Many of us are worried about what will happen to us in the future
b. We’re afraid of aging
--Some of us are further down that trail than others
1). We panic when we see more wrinkles and gray hair
2). Our society tells us that looks are important so we have tummy tucks, hair coloring, Rogaine, and
anti-aging medicines.
c. Stressing out about getting older ages us faster than the number of years we’ve actually lived
d. Some of us are worried about what’s going to happen in politics, society, our family, or our
businesses
1). Our fears are wearing us down
2). One thing you can be assured of: God is in control.
e. Jesus says, “Don’t worry about the future…”
D. The Bible emphasizes Jesus’ command.
1. Phil. 4:6-7 – “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.”
2. 1 Pet. 5:7 – “Cast all your anxiety (worry) on him because he cares for you.”
3. Eccl. 11:10 – “So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth
and vigor are meaningless.”
II. THE REASONS NOT TO WORRY
--Mt. 6:26-27 – “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? Who of you by worrying can add
a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They
do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
If 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? So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or
`What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your
heavenly Father knows that you need them.”
A. There is a difference between worry and concern:
1. Legitimate concerns motivate us to action.
--Concern focuses on probable events and then takes action. It’s foreseeing a feasible problem and
then doing things to avoid the problem
a. It’s okay to be concerned about your cholesterol and then take some needed steps to reduce it
--such as watching your diet, exercising, or taking medication if your cholesterol is high
b. It’s okay to be concerned about your child who’s misbehaving at school and then take prudent
action by disciplining him.
c. It’s okay to do things like buy insurance or have a college fund for your children or to make
investments.
2. Whereas concern moves us to take action, worry paralyzes us.
a. Worry is focusing on improbable events and then doing nothing
b. Somebody: “Worrying is enjoying a crisis before it happens.”
c. Wm. Barclay says in his commentary that Jesus us not forbidding prudent insight into the future in
this passage.
--He says that what Jesus forbids is a “reckless, thoughtless, care worn, worried fear, which takes
the joy out of life.”
d. Chuck Swindoll writes, “Anything that drains your tank of joy – something you cannot change,
something your are nor responsible for, something you are unable to control, something (or
someone) that frightens and torments you, agitates you, keeps you awake when you should be
asleep, that’s worry.”
6. In fact, our word worry comes from an old German word that means “to choke or strangle”
a. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus tells about the seed of the gospel that fell into the thorns and was
choked out as it grew.
b. Jesus explains what happens this way in Mt. 13:22 – “The one who received
the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and
the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”
B. Let me give you five Reasons we shouldn’t worry.
1. Worry accomplishes nothing.
a. When Thomas Carlyle lived in London, his neighbor kept chickens. The rooster disturbed Carlyle’s
sleep with its loud crowing. When Carlyle complained, the owner protested, “You really have no
complaint. He only crows three or four times a night.” Carlyle replied, “That may be…but if you
only knew how I suffer waiting for him to crow.”
b. That’s often the problem with worry: we anticipate the negative so much that it destroys our peace
and minimizes our effectiveness in the present.
1). Someone: “If you’re tempted to worry, remember: A raisin was once a happy grape.”
2). Worry tends to shrivel us up and make us ineffective.
c. A survey of students in 21 U.S. colleges indicated that worriers get the lowest grades
d. Corrie Ten Boom: “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of it’s strength.”
--And worry can certainly minimize our effectiveness in the here and now.
e. Jesus tells us that worrying is a waste of time
1). We can’t change a thing by worrying.
2). In our passage this morning, Jesus asks, “Who of you by worrying can add a single moment to
your life?”
3). He is literally saying, “Worry is futile.”
--Instead of increasing life, it zaps it.
2. Worry reveals a lack of faith.
a. Worry can become sinful, because when we worry we are refusing to put our faith in God
--Rom. 14:23b – “…everything that does not come from faith is sin.”
b. Essentially, what we do when we worry is call God a liar
1). God promises to take care of all our needs
--But worry insists to us that is not true
2). When we worry, we’re saying to God: “God, you’re promises aren’t true.”
3). Fulton Sheen: “Worry is a form of atheism, for it demonstrates a lack of faith and trust in God.”
c. Jesus warns us three different times in Matthew chapter 6 “do not worry” because worry hurts our
relationship with God
--Worry is faithless, therefore it’s sin and sin separates us from God.
3. Worry affects your relationships.
a. Nobody likes to be around someone who is always worried
b. It bothers our relationship with our families and our friends
c. After awhile, you get annoyed at people who are always worrying
4. Worry damages your health.
a. Doctors report that 43% of all adults suffer health effects due to worry and stress.
--75% of all visits to primary care physicians are stress-related complaints or disorders
b. Worry has been linked to all the leading causes of death including heart disease, cancer, and lung
ailments.
c. Somebody once said that ulcers are caused not by what you eat, but by what is eating you!
5. Worry hinders your witness.
-- “The pagans run after all these things…”
a. Christians should look distinctively different from the world because we aren’t chasing after the
same things non-Christians chase.
--If they don’t see a difference between their life and your life, they will not see a need to have what
you have.
b. The phrase “run after” indicates an intense pursuit.
--Citizens of the heavenly kingdom need to have their priorities in order and when that happens, the
anxiety and impatience in the lives of worldly people tend to be a lot less in the lives of Christ-
followers.
III. THE REMEDY FOR OVERCOMING WORRY
--Mt. 6:33-34 – “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you
as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own.”
A. Jesus comes to the crux of the matter, the antithesis of worry is placing our trust in the Lord.
1. The driving force of your life is a passion for Christ and his kingdom.
2. Hymn writer Helen H. Lemmel certainly tells it straight when she says: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His
glory and grace.”
--When He becomes the focus, the things of earth will grow strangely dim.
B. Jesus gives us a four-step remedy for overcoming worry.
1. Focus on the eternal not the temporary.
a. Jesus says that reason we worry about things like fashion, food, fitness, and the future is because
we are worldly-minded.
1). We’re more concerned with the things of this world than with the things of God
2). But when you begin to change your perspective, the things of this world don’t seem so
pressing and important
3). 2 Cor. 4:18 (NLT) – “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look
forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to
come will last forever.”
2. Live one day at a time.
a. Notice Jesus doesn’t say, “…each day will be wonderful and carefree.”
--He says there will be trouble for today.
b. Bad things will happen
--There will be troublesome things that happen
1). You may get cancer
2). You may lose your job
3). Your children or grandchildren may be rebellious
c. But worrying about tomorrow only takes away the energy you need to live today
1). Don’t spend all your resources fretting about tomorrow when you’ve got enough stuff to handle
right now
2). And since you don’t know the future, the things you’re probably worrying about will probably
never happen anyhow.
--Montaigne, the philosopher, said, “My life has been filled with terrible misfortune, most of
which has never happened.”
3). I heard of a lady who was terrified she would get cancer. She talked about it all the time.
When she wasn’t feeling well, she’d say, “Oh, I think it’s cancer!” She died in her late 70’s of
a heart attack.
--She spent her entire life worrying about the wrong disease.
4). Since you can’t know the future, quite worrying about it and just resolve to live “one day at a
time.”
3. Trust the truth that your Heavenly Father is in control.
a. God knows what you need and He will provide so just trust Him
--Phil. 4:19 – “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ
Jesus.”
b. And if you truly believe in that promise then quit worrying and act as if you have a God in your
life that provides your need.
--It certainly makes living life a lot easier and provides a great testimony to those who don’t know
the love of God in their life.
c. I like the illustration Jesus uses about the birds in v. 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?”
1). Have you ever seen a bird worry?
--I can’t say that I ever have I’ve never seen two robins sitting out on the limb saying, “You
know, I’m worried about where we’re going to find something to eat today.”
2). I read somewhere that a bird eats two or three times its weight everyday.
--So much for the phrase: “She eats like a bird.”
a). Could you imagine having to find that much food a day?
b). That might be something to worry about
3). Birds have to find a lot of food, but somehow God provides for them
--And somehow He’ll provide for you
4). Ps. 55:22 – “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the
righteous fall.”
d. Just remember: God will provide for you and sustain you through whatever you have to go
through
1). He will be there for you
--God will provide all your needs. You can trust in Him.
2). There’s a one-sentence prayer that’s been around for as long as I can remember: “Lord, help
me to remember that nothing is going to happen to me today that you and I can’t handle
together.”
e. Said the robin to the sparrow, I’d really like to know why those anxious human beings rush about
and worry so. Said the sparrow to the robin, I think that it must be, that they have no Heavenly
Father, such as cares for you and me.
CONCLUSION: A. In India, if you’re walking along the rural roads, you’ll come across a post with a
sturdy shelf about shoulder height. These posts are called Soma Tonga. Soma Tonga
means “resting place.”
When people are travelling with a heavy load, they place their heavy load on the shelf
for relief. Once they’re rested, they continue their journey
--Do you know what Christians in India call Jesus? My Soma Tonga.
B. Mt. 11:28-30 – “"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."”
C. What’s wearing you down today? What’s got you worried?
--Isn’t it time that you let Jesus handle that burden?
