11/9/13

From Ben Fronczek.... Jesus Said, “Don't Worry”







Jesus Said, “Don't Worry”


Jesus Discusses Worry



I read something about worry this week that I thought was interesting. It made a lot of sense. Someone wrote this. “Worry is a thin stream of fear that trickles through the mind. If encouraged it cuts a wide channel that drains away all other thoughts.” Isn’t that so true? If you allow that worry to linger and if you encourage that worry in your heart, then all other constructive thoughts are taken out of your mind. So, the Lord tells us not to worry. Even though the Lord says we are not to worry the fact of the matter is we do a whole lot of worrying, don’t we?

But then there is another side: I heard this story: A young boy was driving a hayrack down the road when the wagon fell over in front of a farmer’s house. The farmer came out, saw the young boy crying and said, “Son, don’t worry about this, we can fix it. Right now dinner’s ready. Why don’t you come in and eat with us and then I’ll help you put the hay back on the rack.”
The boy said, “No, I can’t. My father is going to be very angry with me.” The farmer said, “Now don’t worry, just come in and have some lunch and you’ll feel better.” The boy said, “I’m just afraid my father is going to be very angry with me.”
The farmer and the young boy went inside and had dinner. Afterwards, as they walked outside to the hayrack, the farmer said, “Now, son, don’t you feel better after that great meal?”
The boy said, “Yes but I just know that my father will be very angry with me.” The farmer said, “Nonsense. Where is your father anyway?” The boy said, “He’s under that wagon.”

I guess some things are worth worrying about. Surveys have been taken and they reveals that only 8 out of a hundred thing that we worry about are really worth our concern. But people in our society today are worried about everything. Fear has gripped people’s hearts and paralyzed them.   

People are anxious about:
 
- How they look – What they are wearing 
– How much money they have in the bank 
– Rising gas prices 
– Falling stock prices 
– falling home values 
– Foreclosures 
–Job security 
– Even, Are their children going to turn out right

They worry about:
- The government 
-Their Health 
– Who they will marry 
– If they are married, how long it will last 
– even the end of the world.

This has led to all sorts of health issues:
Sleeplessness 
– Tension headaches 
– Frustration 
– Irritability 
– High blood pressure 
– Ulcers 
– Heart disease
– Inability to relax.

How unfortunate that Christians have joined the ranks of those who worry and fret about everything. We have taken our cue from the world around us.
We have allowed Satan to defeat us and cause us to stumble. Instead of trusting in the power, provision and protection of our sovereign God we have grown use to living anxiety plagued lives. In our text, Jesus’ command is meant to keep his followers from getting hurt. Worry hurts. It affects people and their relationship. It strangles us. It chokes us.  It destroys faith. It leads to a lot of trouble.

In Matthew 6:25 Jesus said,  

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

The Lord Jesus is emphatic in trying to get this point across to His children. Throughout this section of Scripture He commands that we are not to be anxious. Over and over He says, DO NOT WORRY {OR BE ANXIOUS}
Medical doctors will tell you that worry inflicts both physical and psychological damage. What’s far worse than both of those outcomes is the fact that worry is sin. When we worry we are displaying unbelief in our Heavenly Father’s ability to care for us. Jesus is saying, “Stop Worrying!”  Literally: “Do not even start!”
In our text, what does Jesus tell us not to worry about?  Food, or what we will drink, What we will wear, how long we are going to live, our future. In out text Jesus provides three suggestions for a worry-free life. Notice that these  suggestions require attitude, life, and value adjustments. It requires repentance, seeking divine help, and an honest to goodness evaluation of our lives.

1. So first of all one needs to MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION. WHO YOU ARE GOING TO SERVE
The “therefore” in verse 25 refers back to what Jesus said in the previous text. 
In verse 24 He said
, “24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

So first of all we need to make a decision who we are going to serve. Ultimately, who we serve will determine whether we turn out to be worriers or worshippers.  A worry-free life is first of all the result of making the right decision as to who and what is going to be the most important and primary focus in my life. If you trust in your material possessions and money you are going to have a life full of worry and concern because there is no stability when you build your life on things that are here today and can be gone tomorrow.

2. WE NEED TO TRUST IN THE FATHER (6:26, 32)  Someone once wrote, wrote, “Worry is the warning light that God is really not first in my life.”
Twice in the text, Jesus points to the heavenly Father as reason for not worrying. God and His love and ability far exceed our ability and understanding and offers security.  

Prov. 3:5-6  
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

If you think about it having Father in Heaven who is God of the universe, and always being worried sick about everything is silly. Why should we worry when our heavenly Father owns all and controls all? Jesus points out the obvious, “worry is useless.” It is a futile exercise, a total waste of time, of effort, of energy. What does he say in verse 27? He said you can’t add a single hour to your life by worrying. We need to believe God’s Word and trust His promises He has given us:
 
In Phil. 4:19 Paul writes,
 “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

Do you believe that?  I think that there are many followers of Christ who need to re-discover Father God. He is not like some of our earthly fathers who were flawed, uncaring, unable, maybe even undependable. Our Father in Heaven is not like that. He know you and loves you and promises to work all things out for the benefit of those who love Him (Romans 8:28)  In this text Jesus lets us know that He knows exactly what we need. He said ‘Don’t you think that if the Father cares for the birds of the air and the plants of the field that He not going to take care you and me; His sons, and daughters who are created in His very image?’  We need to wake up to the reality that we really have a God and Father in Heaven who cares for us and our needs.

#3. And then WE NEED TO GET OUR OWN PRIOERITIES RIGHT (6:33)
In vs. 6:33 Jesus tells us that instead of worrying about food, water, clothes and the like, we should seek out God’s kingdom and righteousness. This is not a new theme that Jesus introduces here, rather we find this throughout the Sermon on the Mount. To care for God’s business and understand His ways will assure us that God will take care for you. So again, Jesus raises the bar. He said,  ‘People who do not know God run after and worry about these other things, but you are different. Pursue God’s kingdom, make it a priority, make it your ambition, make it your goal..’  

So what does it mean to seek His kingdom above all?
I think first of all we need to wake up to the reality of God’s kingdom. That there is more to life than what we can hears, see, touch, taste, and smell. There is a whole spiritual realm that is infinitely more broad and complex than our little world. And our God and Father is lord over it all and wants us to enjoy it’s blessings; if we will only open our eyes and seek Him. And He made it all available to us thru Jesus and what He did on the cross. We can become a active part of that Kingdom if we accept Jesus sacrifice for us, allow Him to remove our sin in the waters of baptism, and continue to trust Him as Lord. To seek God’s righteousness involves wanting God’s righteousness. It is a gift He offers us. As a Christian we should want it. We should want it to please God and help ourselves become what we were meant to be. We should want to see God’s righteousness demonstrated in our own life as we ministering to the poor, the weak, those sick.  I should desire that every department of my life be placed under His care, direction, and plan; my home, my marriage, my family, in my work, my relationships, my finances, future, and so on.

Conclusion:
Worry is attitude unbecoming of the child of God. Worship is better. To fret is a useless endeavor. To believe is better. If you have lived in worry, it is time to make some important changes. Make the right decision. “When you take care of God’s business you can rest assured God will take care of your personal business.”

For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566