Four More Reasons Not to Worry

Transcription

1 Four More Reasons Not to Worry (Matthew 6:30 34) orry is a universal affliction. If I were to ask our readers to raise their hands if they ever worry, hands would go up all over the world. 1 Harold Hazelip gave this illustration: W... a lovely young girl named Gertrude... was blind from birth.... When an operation gave her the ability to see, two things immediately impressed her: Nature was more beautiful and colorful than she had imagined, and the faces of people were sadder than she had expected. All of us have been guilty of worrying, but what can we do about it? In the introduction to the previous lesson, I suggested that Matthew 6:5 34 gives at least seven reasons we should not worry. We have looked at three of these. We should not worry because... Worry is inappropriate for followers of Christ. Worry is inconsistent with being a child of God. Worry is ineffective. Not only is it incapable of producing good, but it can actually be injurious to our health: physically, mentally, and spiritually. Let us pick up our study where we left off last time, noting four more reasons we should not worry. 1 Truth for Today, in various languages, is sent free of charge to national preachers and teachers in more than 140 countries. Harold Hazelip, Discipleship, The 0 th Century Sermons Series (Abilene, Tex.: Biblical Research Press, 1977), 63. WORRY IS INSULTING! (6:31, 3) No Heavenly Father? The previous lesson took us through the first part of verse 30. For the moment, we will leave the end of that verse and move on to the next verses, as we note that worry is insulting that is, it is insulting to God. Worry implies that we have no heavenly Father. In verses 31 and 3, Jesus said, Do not worry then, saying, What will we eat? or What will we drink? or What will we wear for clothing? For the Gentiles eagerly seek 3 all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. When you read Gentiles, try to think as if you were a Jew who was present as Jesus preached this sermon. The term Gentiles was more a religious distinction than a racial distinction. 4 Most Gentiles did not believe in the true God. 5 These non-jews, having no knowledge of a loving heavenly Father and no relationship with Him, spent their time and energy seeking food, drink, and clothing. They worried and fretted and lost sleep over such matters; they exhausted themselves in their pursuit of earthly things. A Loving Father in Heaven! Jesus said that you and I should not be like 3 Eagerly seek (e pizhte w, epizeteo) is a stronger form of seek : zhte w (zeteo, seek ) intensified by the preposition e pi (epi, toward ). 4 Adapted from R. T. France, The Gospel According to Matthew, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985), The AB has heathen here. 1

2 that. After all, He said, your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things (compare vv. 7, 8). In the past, a few church buildings had a large eye painted on one wall to represent the all-seeing eye of God (see Job 34:1). 6 I ve heard grown men tell how that giant, painted eyeball frightened them when they were children. However, to one who loves the Lord and is striving to do His will, the concept of God as all-seeing and all-knowing is not frightening but comforting. We have a loving Father who sees our needs and who will satisfy those needs. Peter wrote, Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:6, 7; emphasis mine). WORRY IS IMPROPER! (6:33) The Command Another reason we should not worry is because worry is improper. It indicates that we have a wrong emphasis in our lives. Jesus had said what we should not do: We should not frantically seek food and clothing. In verse 33 He went on to tell us what we should seek: But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. The words kingdom and righteousness have both been used several times before in the sermon. 7 Regarding the term kingdom, Jesus Jewish listeners probably thought of the messianic kingdom promised in the Old Testament, the kingdom longed for by them for centuries, the kingdom Jesus said was finally at hand (4:17). This kingdom was established on the first Pentecost after the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. From that time on, it was usually designated by the term church. 8 Through the years, preachers have correctly used Matthew 6:33 to encourage Christians to put the Lord s church first in their thinking and planning. Do not forget, however, the basic meaning of the word kingdom : the rule of God in 6 When I was a boy, we often sang a song titled Watching You, with the repeated refrain There s an Eye watching you. 7 For the term kingdom, see 5:3, 19, 0; 6:10, 13. For the term righteousness, see 5:6, 10, 0; 6:1. 8 See the discussion on the word kingdom as used in The Model Prayer, in the lesson Pray... in This Way. the hearts of men. In our text, it is linked with righteousness. In the Sermon on the Mount, righteousness refers to living right that is, living as God desires for us to live. Placing the two terms together, we have a double emphasis on letting God have His way in the hearts and lives of men. We might express the message of verse 6:33 like this: Everything that relates to the Lord 9 deserves first place in our thoughts and affections. When I preached at the West Side church of Christ in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Floyd Schubert was one of the elders of that congregation. Brother Schubert had a very successful school-supply business, but he did not let it occupy first place in his thinking. He had a sign on his desk that read God First, Pencils Second. We are not to seek garments and groceries, 10 but God and goodness. In the Greek text, the command to seek (zhte w, zeteo) is in the present tense, indicating continuing action. Our unceasing quest must be for God s kingdom and His righteousness. The Promise If we put God and the things of God first in our lives, we have a wonderful promise. Jesus said that all these things will be added to you (v. 33b). In context, all these things refers to food, drink, and clothing the necessities of life. 11 Remember that our heavenly Father knows that you need all these things (v. 3). As an omniscient God, He knows all things, including our needs. As our loving Father, He sympathizes with us. As our caring Father, He supplies our needs. Paul told the Christians in Philippi, And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Like David of old, we can say, The Lo r d is my shepherd, I shall not want (Psalm 3:1). WORRY IS IMPRACTICAL! (6:34) Do Not Worry About Tomorrow Verse 33 seems like a positive note on which 99 This includes the Lord s church. 10 Harold Fowler, Matthew I, Bible Study Textbook Series (Joplin, Mo.: College Press, 1968), This does not mean that the Lord supplies our physical needs without any effort on our part.

3 to end the subject of worry, but Jesus had one more thing to say on the topic: So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow 1 will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble 13 of its own (v. 34). Jesus had given more than sufficient reasons why we should not worry, but He knew people. He knew that someone would say, All right, I won t worry about today but what about tomorrow? Who knows what terrible things will happen tomorrow? A. T. Robertson said that tomorrow is the last resort of the anxious soul when all other fears are [put to rest]. 14 While I was working with the West Side congregation in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Joe Malone preached a series of gospel messages. Brother Malone, who had been a professional cartoonist before his conversion, illustrated each sermon with chalk drawings as he spoke. During a weekday service, he announced that he would preach that morning on Crucified Between Two Thieves. As he talked about Jesus being crucified between two thieves, he sketched a scene depicting the three crosses on Calvary. Then he said, Even as Christ was crucified between two thieves, so are we. He labeled the cross on one side Yesterday and the cross on the other side Tomorrow. For many, he said, Yesterday and Tomorrow are thieves of time, thought, and energy. Much of what we worry about centers on foolish acts we committed in the past or serious problems we anticipate in the future. Paul provided a positive example regarding worrying about the past:... forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal... (Philippians 3:13, 14). In Matthew 6:34 Jesus discouraged worrying about the future. Again, let me emphasize that Jesus words do not preclude planning for the future: Such matters as providing for your old age or planning how your family will be cared for if something happens to you. However, when you have done 1 Earlier in Matthew 6, wealth ( mammon ; KJV) was personified treated as though it were a person (v. 4). In verse 34 the future ( tomorrow ) is personified. 13 The word translated trouble (kako/ß, kakos) means evil (KJV) or bad. In the context of 6:34, it refers to that which seems bad to us. 14 Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, vol. 1 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1930), 59. everything you can to prepare for the future, learn to leave it in God s hands and not worry about it. Years ago, I heard a story that has stayed with me. An old man came across a young man who looked very troubled. What s wrong? the older man asked, and the younger man told him. The older man asked, Have you done what you can about this? Yes, said the younger man, and he listed all he had done. Are you sure you ve done everything you can? the older man asked. Yes, said the younger man, I m sure. Then, said the older man, you can do no more. Now you must leave the matter in God s hands. From time to time, as I find myself worrying over this situation or that, I stop and ask myself, Have I done all I can to remedy this problem? I do a mental checklist. After I have satisfied myself that I have done all I can, I tell myself, Now I must leave it in God s hands. The sixth reason we should not worry is that worry is impractical. It is impractical because that which worries us may never happen. As a natural-born worrier, I can testify that is the case. The Jews had a saying: Do not worry over tomorrow s evils, for you know not what today will bring forth. Perhaps tomorrow you will not be alive, and you will have worried for a world which will not be yours. 15 Even if what you fear does happen, worry will not help you meet the problem. Ian Maclaren wrote that anxiety does not empty tomorrow of sorrow, but it empties today of its strength. It does not make you escape the evil it makes you unfit to cope with it when it comes. 16 Do Take Care of Today If we are not to worry about tomorrow, what are we to do? We are to take care of today, with God s help. Listen again to Jesus words: So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Doyle Masters preached a sermon on this text titled One Day at a Time. His sermon had three points: 15 Quoted in William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1, rev. ed., The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975), Walter B. Knight, Knight s Treasury of Illustrations (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 1963),

4 1. Today is all you have.. Today is all you need. 3. Today is all you can handle. 17 In Matthew 6:34 Jesus was, in effect, saying, Take care of the challenges of today and then you will be ready to take care of the challenges of tomorrow, whatever they might be. Live one day at a time. 18 In Dale Carnegie s book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, he described submarines with water-tight compartments. One compartment can fill up with water without sinking the entire vessel. He then made this application: We need to live in day-tight compartments. 19 Living life one day at a time is good advice regardless of the situation. A basic tenet of Alcoholics Anonymous is to take life one day at a time. Recovering alcoholics are told, Don t think, I have to stay sober the rest of my life, for the next twenty or thirty years or more. Rather, they are encouraged to think, I have to stay sober today, for twenty-four hours. A certain cancer patient knows he is terminally ill, but he tells concerned visitors, I have one day to live just like you do. 0 Abraham Lincoln said, The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time. 1 Worry is impractical. It does not prepare us for tomorrow or help us meet the challenges of today. With the Lord s help, we are to live one day at a time. The writer of Hebrews said, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus helped us yesterday, He is helping us today, and we can be sure that He will help us tomorrow. Why, then, should we worry? WORRY IS INFIDELITY! (6:30) Earlier, we skipped the end of verse 30, which is in the heart of Jesus discussion on worry. I want 17 Quoted in Maxie D. Dunnam, The Communicator s Commentary: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, ed. Lloyd J. Ogilvie (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, 198), The song titled One Day at a Time might be used as an illustration. 19 Dale Carnegie, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1948),. 0 Chris Stinnett, lesson presented at the Eastside church of Christ, Midwest City, Oklahoma, August 10, abraham_lincoln.html. to use it to wrap up our study. The seventh reason we should not worry is that worry is infidelity. Howard Fowler wrote that worry is a practical expression of infidelity because it indicates that the worrier distrusts God. 3 Robert H. Mounce said, Worry is practical atheism and an affront to God. 4 Worry is practical infidelity and practical atheism because, when we worry, we are living as though there were no God. A Lack of Faith What did Jesus call those who worry about food, clothing, and all the other mundane things that can occupy our lives? You of little faith! (v. 30b). These words are the most common and most scathing rebuke Jesus gave His disciples (Matthew 14:31; see 8:6; 16:8; 17:0). On later occasions, some disciples were rebuked for a lack of trust in Jesus power. In this context, worriers were rebuked because of a lack of confidence in God s care and provision. Jesus did not say that His listeners had no faith, but that they had little faith. Worriers have little faith in God, who has said, I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you (Hebrews 13:5b). They have little faith in Jesus, who promised, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 8:0b). They have little faith in the Holy Spirit, who helps our weakness (Romans 8:6). They have little faith in the precious and magnificent promises ( Peter 1:4) in God s Word promises like the following: Yet those who wait for the Lo r d Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary (Isaiah 40:31). Come to Me, all who are weary and heavyladen, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:8 30).... I am the bread of life; he who comes In my part of the world, the word infidelity is mainly used in connection with someone being sexually unfaithful to his or her mate. The word basically means no faith. 3 Fowler, Robert H. Mounce, Matthew, New International Biblical Commentary (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991), 61. 4

5 to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst (John 6:35; compare John 4:14). One of God s great promises is found in our text: But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things [the necessities of life] will be added to you (v. 33). We can label worry deep-felt concern. We can decorate it and make it as attractive as possible. However, worry is still worry and we worry because we are lacking in faith. Faith and worry cannot exist in the same heart. George Müller said, The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith. The beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. 5 Building Faith We can increase our faith in two primary ways. First, we must saturate our minds and hearts with God s Word. In Romans 10:17 Paul said, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Second, we must open our eyes and hearts to the providential care of God in the world. Look at the birds of the air, Jesus said. Observe how the lilies of the field grow (Matthew 6:6, 8). Look at God s care of all the earth (Matthew 5:45). Then look at how God has cared for you (see Romans 8:8). Someone has noted that it is sad when people have enough faith to become Christians but not enough faith to keep from worrying. May God help us all! CONCLUSION Why should we not worry? In this lesson and the previous one, we pulled from our text the following reasons. We should not worry because worry is... inappropriate and inexcusable, inconsistent, ineffective and injurious, insulting, improper, impractical, infidelity. Once again, Jesus homiletic masterpiece has exposed my frailties. I am a born worrier. 5 Knight, 445. I like to plan my day, my week, my year, my life. There is nothing wrong with planning; but having made my plans, I find myself worrying about them: Will this happen or that? What if things do not work out as I planned? I struggle with leaving matters in the hands of God. Like the distressed father of long ago, I cry, I do believe; help my unbelief (Mark 9:4). Pray for me, and I will pray for you. Preaching and Teaching Notes As you conclude this sermon and invite listeners to come to Christ, you could focus on the word kingdom in verse 33. If someone in the audience is not yet a Christian but seeks first the kingdom, he will earnestly desire to become a citizen of that kingdom (a member of the church). Tell him how he can do so. Those who are already citizens of God s kingdom (Christians) should be encouraged to continue seeking God s way for their lives. Various portions of the text can serve as sermon-starters. You could preach a sermon on priorities titled Seek First His Kingdom. Manford Gutzke used the word first in Matthew 5:4; 6:33; 7:5 to provide three points for a presentation on What You Should Do First 6 : First be reconciled to your brother. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. First take the log out of your own eye. David Roper 6 Manford George Gutzke, Plain Talk on Matthew (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1966), 48. You re only here for a short visit. Don t hurry. Don t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way. Walter C. Hagen Copyright, 008 by Truth for Today ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 5