Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Don't Worry! Part 3 of 31

TEXT: "Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:25-34).

IDEA: We can change our tendency to worry only by changing our thinking about worry and God.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand why thinking is important to minimize worry.

Years ago I knew a boy named Carl. He carried a Boy Scout knife and Carl was no Boy Scout. We played marbles and I owed him 105 marbles. I told my mother and she said, "You shouldn't play marbles for keeps." But I had played for keeps and then my mother said, "I don't think you should worry about it."

I. Do you think it helps cure our anxieties for Jesus to say in the Sermon on the Mount, "I tell you, do not worry" (Matthew 6:25)?

What else do you need to take Jesus seriously?

He doesn't merely say those words; He explains them. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus not only gives us the exhortation, but in a sense He says, "Look, sit down. There are some issues you need to think through."

II. Think about the fact that life is much more than the basics.

In Matthew 6:25, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more important than food and the body more important than clothes?"

Teenagers feel they are nothing if they don't have the right clothes. Adults want the right wines and the right clothes to feel "accepted."

Have you looked at fashion magazines or food magazines with their text and pictures? What is their message? They shout that you must center your life on food, drink, or clothing. Unless you eat in the best restaurants or dress in the correct clothes, or drive the up-to-date car, you're nothing.

Even the cat food you feed to a pet says something about you.

III. The basic necessities of life (our servants) have mastered us.

Does Jesus care about these things? It's hard to live without the basics, but it can also distress us when they define our lives.