Jesus on Worry

Jesus on Worry

too much worry, or just wrong priorities?

Matthew 6:25-34

1. Therefore... because you can’t serve God and Mammon and you have chosen God...
2. do not worry... pretty much as it sounds. God does not want us to worry. Worry and anxiety come from a clouded view of God and his love and providence for us.
3. Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 34:4, Luke 12:22-26, Matthew 14:22-27 and MANY more
4. What is worry, what is Jesus talking about here?
1. concern/planning/preparing for tomorrow?
2. Worry is based in fear and creates paralysis- concern is based on a belief that we can/should affect the future and it motivates us to action.
5. Look at the birds of the air... God provides for lowly birds, He cares about you a whole lot more. Our worry may be rooted in a feeling of worthlessness before God. NO, God values us greatly!  (Note: birds don’t worry, but they do work!)
6. See how the lilies of the field grow... God is an ABUNDANT provider, supplying beyond the simple needs. We were made for more than mere survival! We are children of the King, and he will provide our needs accordingly. (note: lilies grow where they are planted.)
7. 7 Reasons not to worry:
1. v25: the same God who created life in you can be trusted with the details of your life
2. v26: Worrying about the future hampers your efforts for today
3. v27: worrying is more harmful than helpful
4. v28-30 God does not ignore those who depend on him
5. v31-12: worry shows a lack of faith in, and understanding of God
6. V33: there are real challenges God wants us to pursue, and worrying keeps us from them
7. V34 living one day at a time keeps us from being consumed with worry
8. So... “Rah-Rah-Ree! Don’t you Worry! Rah-Rah-Ranxious! Don’t be anxious!”  but unfortunately anxiety and worry are NOT so simple.  How do you beat Anxiety?

First, we need to expose some of Satan’s lies about worry. Worry is NOT just something you have to live with. It is NOT “just the way you are”. It is NOT how God made you. It is contrary to the instruction of Jesus. It is SIN.

It is NOT merely a physical or psychological problem, there is a SPIRITUAL component to it as well.

1. Treating the physical: doctors either tell you to quit coffee, and stimulants, and drugs, or they tell you to take a pill. Good advice also includes getting enough sleep, exercise, whole foods.
2. Treating the psychological with action: do something fun, talk it out with someone, listen to some soothing music, take some action against your worry, etc.
1. But none of these conventional bits of wisdom is what Jesus focuses on as God’s way to defeat worry. What did Jesus say is the cure for worry?  v33
   

   
   

   “Seek”

   
   
2. How do you do that? Seeking first (before other concerns) his Kingdom... we should make it our primary “worry” that God is king of our life in all areas and in all ways. We should seek that we are drawing closer and closer to Christ’s pattern of righteousness. (remember The Beattitudes: the undivided, “pure heart”; the “hunger and thirst for righteousness”)

Jesus is telling us that if we focus our attention on HIM and on being obedient to the Kingship of God in our lives, our worries will fade out and we can live a life of trust, free from anxiety, the way were created to live! WOW! What a temporal blessing!

Instead of fighting the symptoms of worry, we must strike at it’s root: lack of faith. We get more faith by getting to know God more. We know him more by spending more time with him and DOING what he tells us to do.

We learn a lot about God when we follow Him into a few tight spots. We come out with less worry and more faith.

11. Jesus didn’t just tell them to stop worrying; He told them to replace worry with a concern for the kingdom of God
12. our physical well-being is not a worthy object to devote our lives unto. If you think it is worthy, then your god is mammon, your life is cursed with worry
13. How do I know if I am “seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness”? It is a question of my FIRST priority:
1. How do I spend my time?
2. How do I spend my money?
3. What are my goals/dreams?
4. What is the thing you don’t want God to ask you to give up?

The Promise: “All these things will be given to you as well”

14. God has promised to provide for His own, supplying every need (Philippians 4:19), but His idea of what we need is often different from ours, and His timing will only occasionally meet our expectations.
15. We may see our need as riches or advancement, but perhaps God knows that what truly we need is a time of poverty, loss or solitude.
1. God loved Job and Elijah, but He allowed Satan to absolutely pound Job, and He let that evil woman, Jezebel, break the spirit of His own prophet Elijah (Job 1–2; 1 Kings 18–19). In both cases, God followed these trials with restoration and sustenance.(Michael Houdmann)

I have experienced times of want and have been pretty broke. At the time, I wondered how this verse could be true. God supplies “All these things”? He clothes the lilies, but I am buying second-hand shoes? Looking back, I would not trade that time for anything. God taught me so much about being content, His provision, christian community, being industrious and humility.

He knows what I need, and His goals for my life are not always the ones I would chose.

But when my desires are not aligned with God’s desires, worry is the “Check Engine Light”.