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Whipping Worry |
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So, what was your biggest worry last week? Maybe a better way to ask that is to cut the first sentence in half? "So what?" So what really happened? So what good was worrying? Do you realize that most of what we worry about never actually happens at all? At least not as bad as we assumed it would happen. We worry about everything! We worry about dinner. We worry about breakfast. (At least some of us are tempted to!) We worry about our job and our job performance. We worry about our homes, our families, our friends. We even worry about people that we have absolutely no control over. Let’s face it – we worry a lot! Worry tends to be one of our worst habits. We get the word “worry” from an Old English word that means “to strangle or choke”. That’s what worry does; it chokes out our life. The King James translators used a different English word to explain the idea of worry in our passage this morning, they translated it “thought”. “therefore take no thought” We would say “don’t worry!” The people that were hearing Jesus speak this for the first time would have heard it even a little more differently, “don’t be anxious…don’t let your thoughts become divided”. That’s what worry does. It divides our thoughts. It divides our mind and our emotions. It tears them apart. On one hand there is the reality of the present, on the other hand, there is the worry, anxiousness about the future. That’s why Jesus challenges us: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry [take no thought]” because, in the end, the only thing that worry does is divide us. It doesn’t do any good. As an old friend used to tell me, “Since God doesn’t worry, I guess that’s my job. My job is to worry for God.” There’s only one problem: God never worries! But Jesus tells us – straight up – there’s no reason to worry; not one! “So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life” (Matthew 6:25) The He gives us five reasons why we don’t have to worry. #1. We don’t have to worry because when we worry we worry about the wrong things. Did you ever notice what we tend to worry about? Stuff! We worry about what’s in the refrigerator and closet! Jesus tells us that life is more than just what we eat, drink and wear! He’s telling us that life is more than physical – it is emotional, spiritual and most importantly – eternal! It doesn’t matter what brand of jeans you wear if your life is messed up – clothes won’t fix it. It doesn’t matter what restaurant or grocery store you buy your meals from – it things are going bad in your life it won’t make it right. If you’re going to worry about something – worry about something significant. “Worry about the eternal, not the external”. And we seldom worry about eternal things. Worry doesn’t make sense because of what we worry about! Worry doesn’t make our clothes “better” or our meals “bigger”. As a matter of fact worry tends to make things worse! Did you ever notice that when you worry the problem gets bigger? Someone says something in passing and you start thinking about it. Pretty soon you are worrying about it; before long nothing else matters but that worry. You can’t get it out of your mind and it all started with a little passing comment. Nothing else has changed other than your thoughts! We worry about the wrong stuff. And it’s all the wrong stuff because we were never created to worry. #2 We shouldn’t worry because we were not created to worry. “Look at the birds. They don’t need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are.” (Matthew 5:26) Did you ever notice that the only creation of God that worries is humans? Birds don’t worry. Animals don’t worry. Plants don’t worry. Only people worry! God takes care of birds! They don’t plant. They don’t cultivate. They don’t harvest. They don’t punch a clock every weekday. They just fly around pick up worms, eat the fruit off my fruit trees and mess on my cars! And God still takes care of them! Now think about plants. “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.” (Matthew 5:28-29) You know, those flowers in your yard. What do they do? Nothing! You do all the work. They get all the beauty. Jesus tells us worry is unnatural. He says “You are more valuable to God than birds…And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that don’t last very long, don’t you realize that he will care for you even more?” Psalm 145:16 tells us that God satisfies “the hunger and thirst of every living thing.” That means he will take care of you! None of us were born worriers. We had to learn to worry! We developed the habit of worrying. And that’s the good news! Because if we learned to worry we can also unlearn to worry! Jesus tells us that the reason we worry is because we aren’t using our faith. “You have so little faith!” (v.30) And when we don’t have faith it’s because we don’t realize who our Father really is! He is “your heavenly Father”. (vs.26) God promises to take care of our needs. Philippians 4:19 says, “God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus” Worry always comes from misunderstanding God. Worry is the opposite of trusting God. The more you know God the more natural it is to trust Him! God is our father. He created us to trust Him. When we worry we are acting opposite of how we were created. #3. We shouldn’t worry because worry doesn’t work. We’ve already talked about the uselessness of worry. Worry always backfires. It never helps. It stifles us. Here’s what Jesus said. “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not.” (vs.27) Worrying will not add a single second to your life, on the contrary, worry will shorten your life. Worry never moves you one step closer to your goal. Worry is like a rocking chair: there is a lot of movement, but no progress! Worry doesn’t work. The only thing that worry changes is you – and it usually changes you for the worse. Worry can’t change the future. The only thing worry can do is wreck the present. Worry doesn’t work. I know what you’re thinking. “Pastor Paul, you don’t understand. This is serious. What’s I’m worrying about is literally life and death.” Well here’s what Jesus said in Luke chapter 12. “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill the body; they cannot do any more to you. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill people and then throw them into hell. “What is the price of five sparrows? A couple of pennies? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. 7And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.” (Luke 12:4-6) He’s telling us that even the worst worries aren’t rational and don’t work. We worry about what people might do to us when we should be concerned about what God has planned for us! I worry about losing my hair and God tells me I’m more valuable than birds. (My bird brain is more important that a few feathers!) Worry doesn’t work. We have a Heavenly Father who is in control. That’s why Jesus tells us that we don’t have to worry. It’s not necessary! #4. We shouldn’t worry because is unchristian! “So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs” (v.30) You know, nonbelievers have a good reason to worry. They don’t have a Heavenly Father watching over them. Their life really does depend totally on themselves. But as a believer you have a Heavenly Father who has promised to provide everything you need. One who has promised to care for you when nobody else can! I remember on several occasions my children walking up to me and asking for something. “Dad, why can’t we…” And on many of those occasions I’ve told them I don’t have the money right now. Their response was always a kick… “So write a check!”. They assumed I had unlimited resources. Well, we all have a Heavenly Father who has unlimited resources to meet our needs. No matter what the need – God can provide. He can take care of it. If I asked you if you were an atheist you would probably say “no”. “I’m here at church aren’t I?” “Of course I believe in God”. We say we believe in God, but then we don’t believe God can” Worry is acting as if there is no God and we have no Heavenly Father.Worry is practical atheism. Worry doesn’t make sense because we were not created to worry. We were created to trust our Heavenly Father who cares for us more than anything. Worry doesn’t work and it certainly doesn’t show that we are a Child of God. Ok, Pastor Paul, I get it. I’m not supposed to worry – but I still worry. What am I supposed to do about it? I can’t seem to stop. Here is what Jesus tells us…look at Matthew 6:33. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) Do you notice how he starts the verse, “but”… Jesus makes a big shift in verse 33. After all the uselessness, futility of worry here’s what really works. Are you tired of worrying and getting nowhere? Here’s the chance to change. “But seek first His Kingdom and his righteousness” “if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern”… “he will give you all you need from day to day”. You want to stop worrying…then make what Jesus wants first priority! Live for Jesus and make God’s purposes, His kingdom (His rule over your life –make Him the boss in every area) first in everything you do! When you worry it’s a BIG SIGN that something else besides God is first place in your life. Something is in the way of you really trusting God and living 100% for Him. When you put Christ Jesus first everything else falls into perspective. When you don’t put Jesus first you get torn into pieces. The verse right before this morning’s passage tells us that: “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24) Put God First… Then…live one day at a time! “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:34) God only gives us strength for today. In the Old Testament God provided food for the Israelites every day. It was called “manna”. There was only enough for one day at a time. When they tried to take more it would go rotten. When they tried to worry about the next day – those worries would turn rotten. God wanted them to depend on Him one day at a time. God wants me to come to Him EVERYDAY with my needs. Not once a week. Not once a month. He wants to hear from me every day with my concerns for today! Don’t worry about tomorrow – you only have enough energy for today! Put God First Live today And trust God for the things out of your control! “And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you? You have so little faith!” (vs.30) The real cause of worry is lack of faith – we already talked about this. It only makes since. If I can’t control it and God can…if worrying doesn’t help…then why don’t I simply turn it over to God, do what He expects me to do and leave the rest to Him! So how do I do that? First – pray instead of panic! “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) Pray, don’t panic. Second – use God’s Word. Read and memorize verses from the Bible to help you when you are tempted to worry. Quote God’s promises to yourself and to Him. Most mornings I start by asking God to meet specific needs in my life and in your life. I remind myself and I remind God that He promised to meet those needs. Then I ask Him what He expects me to do… (That’s seeking first His kingdom) and simply trust that “all these things” will be added. You can whip worry. The song says “Don’t worry, be happy”. The Bible says, “Don’t worry – trust God!” |
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(c) Paul Newell 2003 FamilyFellowship Church P.O. Box 465, Beaumont, CA 92223 |
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