Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Don't Worry! Part 2 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: "Don't worry!" is impossible to obey.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that Jesus doesn't mock us.
Would you agree that as Christians we are supposed to listen carefully to what Jesus says and follow His instruction?
I. How do you respond to Jesus' command in Matthew 6:25-34, "Therefore I tell you, 'don't worry'"?
Five times in this part of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus repeats the word for "worry": Matthew 6:25, 27, 28, 31, and 34.
Would you agree that since Jesus says repeatedly, "Don't worry," that it is a sin to worry? Would that keep you from worrying?
II. What is Worry?
We are distracted, torn between how things are and how they might be.
What do we worry about?
Specifics like disease, divorce, and death. We worry about losing our jobs, our loved ones, our sanity, etc.
Most of what we worry about are things we cannot control.
Some people would worry if they didn't worry.
III. Yet, suppose Jesus isn't playing mind games with us when He tells us not to worry.
Would you listen to what He has to say or would you worry about it?
