CONSIDER THE LILIES (Matt 6:25-34) A. Worry is a common problem for most of us. 1. Jesus wouldn t have addressed it with such emphasis unless it is a widespread problem. 2. But the kind of worry Jesus spoke about was not the idle worry where you are paralyzed by your fears but the active worry where you feel that everything depends on your effort, & everyone is depending solely on you. b. He wants to carry the burdens that will lighten the load for us to do His will. 3. We can get worried, uptight & stressed out about many things: Financial, Family, Illness, Spiritual, etc. 4. But all of our uptightness never solved any problem. a. In fact, it just worsens the problem by disturbing what would otherwise be a sound state of mind that could pause & call on the Lord for help. 1 a. Jesus promised to carry our burdens, not share them (1 Pet 5:7), but He didn t promise to carry needless or senseless burdens like the ones that come with personal ambitions or worldly expectations. B. A Christian who worries is revealing a weakness in his faith: a lack of trust in his Father & in his Savior, because the Lord has promised His disciples that there is never any reason to have prolonged bouts of worry (text).
1. That doesn t mean we should live in such a carefree fashion that we tempt Him to take care of us, but it does mean that He will carry that load of concern for us if we will allow Him (1 Pet 5:7). [When we become overly anxious about the concerns of life, we must reflect on the command of Jesus, who said, Do not worry but rather consider the lilies of the field (Matt 6:25-34).] Intro: Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life (vs. 25) [ Therefore, meaning (vs. 24) since you cannot serve God & mammon, since you cannot be loyal to two masters do not worry about your life (literally: be not busy to your life).] 1. Paul echoed it saying, Be anxious for nothing (Phil 4:6), but replace worry with prayer & supplication. 2. Jesus admonished Martha, you are too worried & troubled about many things (Lk 10:41). 3. We can easily become a slave to worry but placing too much emphasis on our list of things to do. a. And that Jesus said in the parable of the Sower will make us unfruitful servants (Matt 13:22). [In our text, Jesus used four ordinary ideas to illustrate that it is pointless to get too worked up over our plans. 2 A. This is not just Holy Advice; it s a Command of the Savior. And He began with our main concerns, those that dominate the majority of our time & attention.]
I. Do not worry food, drink & clothing (25) A. Jesus is saying that our real purpose in life is more pressing than our apparent priorities (not to negate our daily duties). 1. Since God gave us life, He will sustain us so that we can attend to the true purpose of our lives. 2. And what is that purpose? Matthew 4:4; 6:33 [When we give our full attention to God s Kingdom, then we can we rest assured that He will provide the things we need, because He wants nothing more than for us to fulfill His purpose in our lives. So worry is not just sitting around with sweaty palms, concerned about what bad thing may happen next. Worry can take on the form of over emphasizing our role, while under emphasizing God s power to provide.] II. Do not worry look at the bird of the air (26) A. Jesus reminds us that birds can only concern themselves with the moment. 1. They cannot store up for tomorrow, & yet life goes on for them as God provides each day for their needs. 2. The Lord is NOT telling us NOT to store up for tomorrow (Prov 6:6-11), just that we not forsake Him to do it. 3
[God will do for us what He does for the birds, & more so, since we are of greater value than birds (Gen 1:27-28; Jn 3:16), & since we have a higher purpose than birds. He will feed you & clothe you for that very reason! He minimized the importance of things that can cause us to be diverted from doing His will; those things will make us worry, anxious, disturbed.] 1. God told the Israelites (Deut 8:18), that it was He who gave them the power [health & opportunity] to get wealth, so we should acknowledge that it is He who gives us the power the get health. 2. But I think we would agree that worry could shorten your life. III. Do not worry which of you can add one cubit to his stature (vs. 27) [NASU And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? ] A. People today think they can live forever through diet, exercise, vitamins & surgeries (cosmetic). a. Anxiety puts a terrible strain on one s physical & mental well-being. b. Worry makes people physically sick, mentally impaired, & worry even causes premature death -- especially as bad habits are developed to cope. 3. What Jesus is saying in verse 27 is that we cannot alter many of the circumstances in our lives. 4
a. So instead of worrying about it, we should rather serve God s purposes & prepare for eternity. [If we will make God s will the emphatic duty & concern of our lives, then He feed & clothe us, & carry our burdens so that we rather than worry can concern ourselves with the next act of service we can provide for His Kingdom.] 2. Those who had a part in making beautiful robes for King Solomon had to plant & harvest the flax, & then spin it into thread; it was months of laborious, tedious work. 3. But not the lilies, they just appeared, by God s design, to cloth the grass of the field with beauty. IV. Do not worry consider the lilies of the field (28-30) A. The lilies grew wild in the land where Jesus lived; they grew in the valleys, along the seashore, & on the mountainside. 1. Jesus spoke of their beauty as being greater than the kingly robes of Solomon, & yet they didn t toil nor spin to achieve their glory. a. Year after year, they came to serve that same purpose with no worry or concern about their circumstances. b. And what a lesson they teach us about the futility of worry, & our purpose to glorify God by obedience. B. Observing the lilies we must learn: 5
1. We Exist For God s Purposes: to glorify (draw attention, to magnify) Him. 2. We Serve An All Powerful Creator: who not only made us, but who also has the power to preserve us as long as He wants us on the field of His service. CLOSING A. In Philippians chapter 4, Paul relates several lessons that will help us overcome the urge to worry. 6 3. We Live By His Natural Laws: some seed will spring up into beauty & fade away just as quickly; some seed will take a long time to germinate, but it will produce a plant that will live for ages; some seed will be damaged by its environment & never produce a plant; some seed will produce a plant of purpose & pleasure, but its future like ours is uncertain. 4. We Trust Him With Our Lives: He knows the beginning & the end, & everything in between. And He will use us in the most effect manner possible to bring glory to His name & to save us in the end. IF WE WILL MAKE HIS PURPOSE OUR PRIORITY! 1. God will supply everything we need (19). 2. God will help us in every situation of life to do His will (11-13). 3. Our peace of mind is NOT the result of controlling everything ourselves, but rather in trusting God to do what is best (6-7). a. The rich man of Luke 12 didn t learn these lessons, & he was called into account before God unprepared.