Gospel of Matthew Matthew 6:25-34 The King s Sermon A Warning about Worry In this passage Jesus used the expression take thought in the sense of taking anxious thought or worrying. We would all agree that murder, lying, and stealing are sins, but how many of us think worrying is a sin? Worry has been called America s favorite pastime. Someone did a study of what causes people to worry: 40% are things that will never happen 30% are about things in the past that cannot be changed 12% are about criticism by others, mostly untrue 10% are about our health, which only gets worse with stress 8% are about real problems that can be solved What s wrong with worry? 1. Worry doubts God s provision (vs. 24-25) The word therefore (vs. 25) links the subject of anxiety to the previous verse about serving God. Worry occurs because we fail to commit ourselves completely to God and trust Him to meet all our needs. In Bible times a servant looked to his master for everything. He had no rights and no property of his own, but he also had no worries. His master was responsible to see that all his needs were met. Whenever we worry we doubt God s provision as our loving and faithful Master. 2. Worry devalues God s purpose (vs. 25b, 27) This is an argument from the greater to the lesser. God creates each person as a living soul (vs. 25, life Gk., psyche, soul). If God gives us life itself, won t He also give us everything needed to support life? Life is the big thing; everything else is the small stuff. Life is not about things. It is not about what we are going to eat or drink or wear. Life is not just about physical or financial issues. It is about knowing God and finding our purpose in the world. God created us for a reason, and that is not to worry and fret about life. Worry never accomplishes anything. Worry never solves anything. In verse 27, Jesus reminded us that no one can add inches to his height or (as some translations suggest) length to his life by worrying about it. Someone observed that worrying is like rocking back and forth in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn t take you anywhere. 3. Worry disregards God s providence (vs. 26-29) This is an argument from the lesser to the greater. We should look around and consider how God takes care of His creatures. If He provides food for the birds, won t He take care of us? If He provides clothing for the flowers, won t He meet our needs? Said the robin to the sparrow, I should really like to know Why these anxious human beings rush about and worry so. Said the sparrow to the robin, I think that it must be That they have no heavenly Father such as cares for you and me.
4. Worry discredits God s character (vs. 30b-32) When we worry we act like heathen people (Gentiles). We act like God is not real or He is not able to take care of us. Worry is the opposite of faith. That s why Jesus rebuked them: O ye of little faith? Worry is a sign of little or no faith. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. How can we ever hope to convince other people to trust Christ as Lord and Savior if we are not willing to trust Him to meet our daily needs? 5. Worry distracts our focus (vs. 33) Our first priority is to seek God s kingdom and His righteousness. Seek literally means be seeking. We should be dedicated to this search every day. Fuller said, Take care of God s interests and He will take care of yours. When we worry, our mind and heart are distracted, and our time and energy are wasted. 6. Worry depletes our strength (vs. 34) God designed us to live one day at a time. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof means every day has enough problems of its own. Someone said, Worrying is the interest paid on borrowed trouble. We must not pull tomorrow s clouds over today s sunshine. Our life is like a boat with a load limit. If we keep taking on more and more cargo, eventually the boat will sink. God gives us enough grace, strength, and wisdom to stay afloat each day. The story is told of an old grandfather clock that was asked how it had kept time so well for so many years without missing a beat. The clock claimed that the turning point was when he learned to do it one tick at a time. Planning for tomorrow is time well spent, but worrying about tomorrow is time wasted. Careful planning involves thinking ahead and setting goals, taking action steps, making a schedule, and setting priorities. Good planning can actually eliminate worry. However, we should make all our plans in submission to God s will (Jas. 4:13-15). 7. Worry damages our health A person may worry himself to death. Worry is actually killing people. Dr. Charles Mayo of the Mayo Clinic said that worry affects circulation, the glands, the whole nervous system, and profoundly affects the heart. The New Testament Greek word translated worry means to divide the mind. Our English word worry means to strangle. Worry can affect your mental and emotional state, and ultimately your physical health. Worry causes sleepless nights, headaches, high blood pressure, heart attacks, and ulcers. It has been said that ulcers are not only caused by what you eat, but by what s eating you. Action Plan for Worry-Free Living: Look at your worries through the lens of Scripture We must see worry as God sees it. Worry is not weakness, but rather it is wickedness, and we must turn from it and confess it as any other sin (Pr. 28:13; 1 Jn. 1:9). Most things that worry us now will seem so trivial 20 years from now. We can eliminate worry by looking at life from a Biblical viewpoint and seeing things from an eternal perspective. 2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the
things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. We walk by faith, not by sight. Turn your worries into prayers We should keep praying and quit worrying. Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. This verse contains two different words for care, as understood in the paraphrase: Cast all your anxious cares upon God because He has a legitimate concern for you. The word casting means to throw something in a sudden motion such as tossing a blanket on a horse, taking off clothes, or casting out the tackling of a ship. Casting your anxiety on God is a decisive act, and yet it is still an ongoing process. A man once hired someone to do his worrying for him. His friend asked him how much it cost. He said, He agreed to do it for $1,000 a month. His friend asked, How are you going to come up with that kind of money? I don t know. That s his worry. The key to overcoming worry is turning it over to the Lord. Remember the words of that great hymn: Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Deal with your worries one at a time Ever feel like you are surrounded and overwhelmed by problems? Make your problems line up single file and don t let them build up over time. As you deal with each problem or challenge, determine if it is something you can change or not. If you can do something about it, then ask God to guide and help you and then do it. Otherwise pray about it, forget about it, and move on. We should use The Serenity Prayer as our daily pattern: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Gospel of Matthew Matthew 6:25-34 The King s Sermon A Warning about Worry In this passage Jesus used the expression take thought in the sense of taking anxious thought or worrying. We would all agree that murder, lying, and stealing are sins, but how many of us think worrying is a sin? Worry has been called America s favorite pastime. Someone did a study of what causes people to worry: 40% are things that will never happen 30% are about things in the past that cannot be changed 12% are about criticism by others, mostly untrue 10% are about our health, which only gets worse with stress 8% are about real problems that can be solved What s wrong with worry? 1. Worry (vs. 24-25) The word therefore (vs. 25) links the subject of anxiety to the previous verse about serving God. Worry occurs because we fail to commit ourselves completely to God and trust Him to meet all our needs. Whenever we worry we doubt God s provision as our loving and faithful Master. 2. Worry (vs. 25b, 27) This is an argument from the greater to the lesser. God creates each person as a living soul (vs. 25, life Gk., psyche, soul). If God gives us life itself, won t He also give us everything needed to support life? Life is not about things. It is not about what we are going to eat or drink or wear. Life is not just about physical or financial issues. It is about knowing God and finding our purpose in the world. God created us for a reason, and that is not to worry and fret about life. 3. Worry (vs. 26-29) This is an argument from the lesser to the greater. We should look around and consider how God takes care of His creatures. If He provides food for the birds, won t He take care of us? If He provides clothing for the flowers, won t He meet our needs? Said the robin to the sparrow, I should really like to know Why these anxious human beings rush about and worry so. Said the sparrow to the robin, I think that it must be That they have no heavenly Father such as cares for you and me. 4. Worry (vs. 30b-32) When we worry we act like heathen people (Gentiles). We act like God is not real or He is not able to take care of us. Worry is the opposite of faith. That s why Jesus rebuked them: O ye of little faith? Worry is a sign of little or no faith.
5. Worry (vs. 33) Our first priority is to seek God s kingdom and His righteousness. Seek literally means be seeking. We should be dedicated to this search every day. Fuller said, Take care of God s interests and He will take care of yours. 6. Worry (vs. 34) God designed us to live one day at a time. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof means every day has enough problems of its own. 7. Worry The New Testament Greek word translated worry means to divide the mind. Our English word worry means to strangle. Worry can affect your mental and emotional state, and ultimately your physical health. Action Plan for Worry-Free Living: Look at your worries We must see worry as God sees it. Worry is not weakness, but rather it is wickedness, and we must turn from it and confess it as any other sin (Pr. 28:13; 1 Jn. 1:9). We can eliminate worry by looking at life from a Biblical viewpoint and seeing things from an eternal perspective. 2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. We walk by faith, not by sight. Turn your worries We should keep praying and quit worrying. Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. The key to overcoming worry is turning it over to the Lord. Remember the words of that great hymn: Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Deal with your worries Ever feel like you are surrounded and overwhelmed by problems? Make your problems line up single file and don t let them build up over time. As you deal with each problem or challenge, determine if it is something you can change or not. If you can do something about it, then ask God to guide and help you and then do it. Otherwise pray about it, forget about it, and move on. We should use The Serenity Prayer as our daily pattern: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.