#2 "Rules For The Redeemed"
"THE WORRY RULE!"
TEXT: Matt.
6:25-34 Philip. 4:6-7
INTRO: There is
one characteristic of human beings that we are pretty sure does not exist among
animals ... WORRY! I have yet to
meet a dog or cat that was worried! My dog Domino never acted worried over
food or heat, water or shelter ... she never worried about politics or the
neighborhood or whether she was going to be taken care of! I don’t think she ever once wondered if
the dog food companies were going to go on strike! Yet, we humans worry about
everything!
The reason animals don't worry is
because they don't have a sense of time, of future vs. the present. When we worry, it is usually about the
future, what will we do next, or "how am I going to handle this situation when
it comes" or "will we have food tomorrow?" "What next?"…
etc.
Worry however does us little good, it
is like a rocking chair, it will give you something to do, but it won't get you
anywhere!
PROP.SENT: The Bible teaches us that as God's
people we are not to worry like the world worries. If we concern ourselves with the
I. LESSER & GREATER Matt.
6:25-30
A. Lots of
Fear! Matt. 6:25-27 (James
1:8)
1. The word translated "worry" in
Greek is "Merimnao" which is really two different Greek words: "Merizo" which
means "TO
DIVIDE" and "Nous" meaning "MIND." In other words it means a "divided mind" ...
certainly descriptive of a worrywart!
a. Worriers are always going back and
forth over an issue they are worried about, one minute they decide one thing,
and something else the next!
b. In James
1:8 we read “A double minded man is unstable in all his
ways...”
c. Worry makes a basket case out of us
... and leaves us very unproductive! There is rarely any good that comes from
worrying!
2. Worry is the result of fear ...
lots of fear!
a. Fear about
loss.
b. Fear about
security.
c. Fear about
safety.
d. Fear about
tomorrow.
3. Jesus begins speaking about how
unnecessary it is for HIS children to be so worried about such basic necessities
of life!
a. The question here is
value!
b. If a God who takes care of birds
and other animal life does so faithfully, won't He be willing to take care of
humans who are so much more valuable than animals? We have been made in His own
likeness!
4. The principle is an obvious one; a
God who takes great concern on lesser life forms will not ignore taking care of
the more valuable ones in creation ... US!
a. If God created our bodies with
skin, won't He also provide clothing which is less
valuable?
b. If God feeds the birds of the air
that neither sow nor reap or plan for the future by storing in barns, won't He
also take care to meet our physical needs since we belong to
Him?
c. It is explicitly stated here that
it is our Heavenly Father who provides for all life forms, how much more He will
provide our necessities as creatures of eternal life!
5. The point here is this ... fear
creates worry, faith creates worship!
WE MUST LEARN TO AVOID WORRY!
ILLUS: Mickey
Rivers, at the time an outfielder for the
B. Little
Faith Matt.
6:28-30
1. Not only can we not add a
single hour of life to us by worrying, we actually probably lose much more by
worrying.
2. Jesus adds more examples of how
much He takes care of the lesser and therefore will surely take care of the
greater.
a. Look at the flowers of the fields
... not even a man has been so gloriously dressed, yet the flowers did not work
to make themselves so beautiful ... they simply are what they
are.
b. IF we are what we are suppose to be
... HIS CHILDREN then the other things we so worry about will take care of
themselves.
3. Jesus' statement of "little
faith" may not be a sarcastic statement ... but meant to tell them
that even "LITTLE FAITH" is rewarded by the necessities of
life.
a. It is the relationship we have in
Christ that guarantees the basic needs ... even the faith that is small in
Christ can keep us from worry if we put it in Christ!
b. Worry only robs us of the spiritual
strength God desires us to have!
ILLUS: "Death"
was walking toward a city and a man stopped Death and asked, "What are you going
to do?" Death said, "I'm going to
kill 10,000 people." The man said,
"That's horrible!" Death said,
"That's the way it is, that's what I do."
As the day passed the man warned everyone he could of death's plan ... at
the end of the day however 70,000 people had died! When the man caught up with Death he
asked him, "You said you were going to kill 10,000 people today, yet 70,000
people died!" Death then explained,
"I did kill only 10,000 people today, worry and fear killed the other
60,000!" – Source
Unknown
4. Even a little faith can relieve us
of great suffering in our souls ... and help us escape the terrible trap that
worry creates in our hearts!
a. There is a great difference between
"concern" and worry!
b. Concern has productive qualities
... it helps us to plan and work, worry however only paralyzes us from doing
anything except worry!
5. God promises to take care of the
absolute necessities for those who have eve~ little
faith!
II. LIFE’S GOALS Matt, 6:31-34 Philip. 4:6-7
A. Living
Faith
Matt. 6:31-33 Philip. 4:6-7
1. If we belong to Christ then we
really have no reason to worry over such basic needs as food, clothing, and
shelter.
a. The Christian's life is NOT to be
known by an obsessive worry over basic necessities for that reflects the heart
of a secular lifestyle!
b. Christians are not to be
characterized by worry over basic needs.
c. "Pagans" do this, not God's
people.
2. No loving Father in his right mind
would treat his own children to poverty, nakedness, or starvation if he has the
means to help! Neither will our
heavenly Father IF we belong to Him!
3. The key is belonging to
Him!
a. If you are a "pagan" (outside of Christ) then you may have
reasons to worry ... you are on your own!
b. God's children however have been
promised a future, and it is the future that is the basis of almost all
worry!
4. Jesus now focuses on the real issue
that can help us avoid worry ... WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY OF OUR
LIFE?
a. If we are seeking first GOD'S
KINGDOM and His righteousness WE ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING
OF THIS WORLD!
b. This is such an important key to
eliminating worry!
c. "All these
things" will be added unto those who are seeking God’s kingdom as a
priority in their life!
5. There might be more reasons to
worry if we aren't seeking His kingdom first, then God cannot add all those
other things!
a. The greatest "social" security"
is not the government, it is GOD!
b. Those that put God first in their
life will not be left last in His concerns!
c. Those who seek God's kingdom and
His righteousness as a priority in their life will discover that they are the
most free from worry!
d. The less you put God's kingdom
first in your life the more you will experience the uncertainty of heart about
tomorrow.
6. This great truth is meant to be a
freeing principle for God's people ... Jesus shared this secret with His
followers so that they could free themselves from the tyranny of
worry!
ILLUS: Remember
the prodigal son ... starving and without anything he finally wakes up in the
pigpen. What was the difference
between him and a pig in that pigpen?
No pig could go back to his father, but the prodigal could! He wakes us to the fact that in his
father home even a slave had a better life than he did in this pigpen. Humbling himself he comes back to His
father's home, willing to be a simple slave, just wanted back in. Instead he finds that putting his
father's home back in focus in his life brought him a banquet ... the fatted
calf was killed and a big celebration ensued! God delights in providing the basics and
more for his returning son even though he had lost everything through neglect
before ... his son would not have to worry as long as he was home!
B. Liberating our Future Matt.
1. “Therefore” introduces a conclusion based on the
foregoing teaching about putting first the kingdom ... “therefore” (if we put first His kingdom and His
righteousness) we do not have to worry....
ILLUS: Robert
Burdette wrote the following, "There are 2 days in the week about which I never
worry, 2 carefree days kept sacredly free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is yesterday ... and
the other day I do not worry about is tomorrow." – Source Unknown
2. It is senseless and demonstrates a
lack of faith when we fret about tomorrow!
There is enough stuff for today to deal with than to waste our energy on
the fears of tomorrow!
a. This is not a plea against planning
for tomorrow or being concerned over tomorrow... it is a plea to trust God about
tomorrow.
b. We are to direct our energy into
solving the issues of today without undue fretting about
tomorrow!
3. If we are out of work, don't worry
about tomorrow, spend today's energy looking for work!
4. Remember to keep a careful priority
on God's kingdom and righteousness in order to have the confidence about
tomorrow.
5. PHILIP.
4:6-7 adds to this the need to ASK in prayer … but with
THANKSGIVING!
a. And if done this way we are
promised that the "peace of God which transcends all understanding, will
guard our hearts and mind in Christ Jesus."
b. “Hearts and
mind” means our emotions and our will!
c. With those two elements in their
proper place worry cannot consume us!
6. God’s people are NOT TO WORRY, this
is a rule for the
redeemed!
7. The only one who is ENRICHED by
worry is Satan!
ILLUS: The most
famous insurance company on earth is the "LLOYD’S OF LONDON." It has gotten very rich off the nature
of humans to worry. In fact, their
wealth was created by betting against the chances that the crazy things we worry
over will never really happen ... and they most often don't! People are willing to pay huge sums of
money to insure themselves against wild possibilities, they almost never happen
and so Lloyd's of London get rich off of the worry most people are willing to
pay to get rid of it! WHAT IS THE
COST TO GOD'S PEOPLE WHEN WE WORRY TOO MUCH? HOW HAVE WE ENRICHED SATAN AND HOW HAVE
WE IMPOVERISHED OURSELVES AND OUR TESTIMONY FOR CHRIST WHEN WE
WORRY? – Source Unknown
8. Remember the prescription to curing
worrying is very simple ... “SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS”
AND YOU WON'T HAVE A THING TO WORRY ABOUT EVER!
a. If you choose however to be like
the prodigal son and ignore this advice ... then start
worrying!
b. Why invite misery into your life
... trust in God and seek first His kingdom and enjoy the present as well as the
future.
CONCLUSION:
Anxiety is a very crippling
emotion! There is a vast difference
between healthy concern and irrational worry. If God's kingdom is first in our life we
still will need to plan, but we won't have to worry! Only those however who put first the