9/3/23
Matt 6:25-34 - 25 “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 than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Jesus says not to worry, but we do worry. We worry about everything.
Vs 27 says - "Can anyone of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Does worrying add time to your life?
It is proven that worrying is like poison, it affects your whole being (physical, heart, emotions, and robs us of blessings promised through Jesus)
Long-term/short-term effects of worrying:
Difficulty concentrate
Causes headaches
Insomnia
Digestive system/stomach issues
Yet with all of these effects, people still worry, they still ascribe to it.
What does Jesus teach about worry - vs 31 says "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'what shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' for the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." God knows we need basic items, and He provides. vs 33 - "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Worrying does no good
1. Creates doubts about God's promises - when God says this will occur it will happen (worrying affects our faith and trust in God)
2. We worry about the wrong things - things that we have no control over
a. kids worry about going back to school, they have little control over when school starts
b. bills, student loans how we are we going to pay for this
c. interaction with people (have you ever walked away from someone thinking "shouldn’t have said that or that came out the wrong way" we worry about the impact it made, how it may have severed the relationship)
3. It drifts us away from peace in Christ - no one should rob us from our peace in Christ. It is a part of happiness and trust, our relationship with God.
a. Something I wrestle with, worry. I worry a lot about my family, but I must believe and have trust.
4. Takes our focus off God - Hebrews 12:1 talks about looking somewhere else instead of keeping our eyes on the prize (heavenly reward). Worrying gives us the belief that we can change things that we think about instead of depending on God. We need to pray and trust that He will deliver us. Let God hear our plea and then let it go. Instead of us drifting away let that problem drift away.
5. It prevents us from growing in Christ. Our growth matters, we cannot become stagnate. We have been discussing that in our past services; that we need to continually grow in Christ.
Changes doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, right direction, and structure.
Notice we have been talking about contentment; Peace and happiness is another way of saying contentment.
That’s why this is not called Don’t Worry Be Happy like the song, because its more than being happy. It is contentment and having peace.
There is a church saying - Let Go and Let God. It's easy to say harder to do. It's especially hard to do by yourself.
Colossians 3:15 - 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
How do we find peace when our hearts are in conflict; when the world challenges us or rubs our noses in things we do not want to be involved in; When the world challenges our sanity; when Satan keeps toying with us, throwing different challenges at us?
How do we find the peace that Christ talks about.
We find it only in Jesus, a peace that passes all understanding.
I asked the Wednesday night group - How do you know that you have found happiness and peace with Christ?
· When you can stop worrying and let it go
· When you feel it reflected in your health
· When you feel blessed
· When you have contentment and joy in all areas of my life
· By reading, studying and praying
· When I feel the love and joy way down in my soul
· When you don’t worry as much about everything
To be content means to be satisfied in any situation Philippians 4:11 - examples of Biblical Characters who were content in their situation.
Job - lost everything, his possessions, children, wife, and health.
Yes, He did complain, Yes, he asked God "why me?", but he never lost his relationship with God or his faith in God.
Moses - the law giver, the one who led the Israelites from slavery to freedom, but God would not allow him to go into promise land. Even then he had nothing negative to say about God. Yes, he had questions, but he never put down God. He remained content.
Paul - used to be call Saul and persecute Christians. If you were a Christian in those times, you would have been terrorized by Saul. Then he was converted. After persecuting Christians and then being persecuted himself he still maintained his faith. When he was shipwrecked; going through Aisia Minor, having people threaten his life, he maintained his content. The Bible has more examples then just those three. All the trials and tribulations that they faced in the Bible they maintained steadfastness preservation, and contentment.
Where is our state of contentment? Is it strong? Let's pray that our faith and level of contentment is strong, continually growing in Christ.
Proverbs 30:8-9 - Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, 9 So that I will not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” And that I will not become impoverished and steal, And profane the name of my God.
The relationship between the writer and God is important, it is vital. He is living in contentment. Contentment is a life of grace learned over time - forgiveness. God doesn’t have to forgive us, but he does. God doesn’t have to love us, but he does. Contentment is being satisfied in the situation I'm in.
Being content means to accept God's grace.
Phil 2:13 - for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (NIV) and That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure. (Message) It's that energy that lifts me, it propels me. That’s the spirt within us, it's not dormant but it moves us.
Phil 4:11- 13 - 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
So, what is the secret that Paul is talking about. It shouldn’t be a secret; the whole world should know…. its strength in Christ. Accepting that God shall provide the things that we need. Being a child of God means that God will take care of us.
Contentment does not seek happiness in shallow things in life. We consider others, be more selfless and less self-centered. Paul asked three times to God to relieve him of a thorn in his flesh. Yet God did not. Contentment does not mean just give up in the situation. We ask God for permission to remove it. His answer was "my grace shall be sufficient for you." Not your grace, not your sense of contentment but "my grace, my peace, my love" extends to all of us who wants to do Gods will.
The 7 rules of life found from Google:
· Let it Go. Never ruin a good day by thinking about a bad yesterday.
· Ignore Them. Don't listed to other people. ...
· Give it Time. Time heals everything.
· Don't Compare. The only person you should try to beat is the person you were yesterday.
· Stay Calm. ...
· It's on You. ...
· Smile Life is short.
So, what is the essence of contentment - Jesus is the source of my strength. That Jesus can provide us the comfort and strength that we need to endure life and do God's will.
Leaving you with the Lyrics to Sunday Best
feeling good, like I should Went and took a walk around the neighborhood Feeling blessed, never stressed Got that sunshine on my Sunday best (yeah)
Do you have on your Sundays best today?
Are you fully entrenched in contentment that God gives to us, not half-hardily but fully?
If you need help with that, we are here to help you find contentment through Christ.
Comments