Matthew 6: 24 – 34 / You Of Little Faith
Intro: I heard about a 95 year old woman in a nursing home who received a visit from her pastor. The pastor asked her, “How are you feeling?” She said, “I’m worried sick!” The pastor said, “What are you worried about? You look like you’re in good health. They’re taking good care of you, aren’t they?” “Yes,” she answered, “they are taking very good care of me.” “Well, then, what are you worried about?” The elderly lady leaned back in her rocking chair and said, “Every close friend I ever had has already died and gone on to heaven. I’m afraid they’re all wondering where I went!” --- We will all find something to worry about. (Do Not Be Anxious – by Time Zingale – SermonCentral.com)
I. Some facts about stress: American Psychological Association.
• 43% of adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.
• 2/3 of all office visits to family physicians are due to stress-related symptoms.
• 64% of Americans say they are taking steps to reduce stress
• 6 leading causes of death—heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide.
5 things that set us on the road to having a glorious nervous breakdown.
A. Worrying about trying to find the answer before the problem arises.
B. Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.
C. Imposing on ourselves demands that are beyond our ability.
D. Trying to change the past or live in it.
E. Accept every lie as truth and always believe the worst.
II. VS. 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 important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
A. Jesus cautions us to live each day consciously in God’s presence. Do not be anxious or overly concerned about the security of our existence.
B. The joy of giving thanks to God is directly related to a life that is free form anxiety and frustration.
C. Jesus is not against planning an honest retirement or providing for the future. What he is discouraging is a hysterical concentration on future events or closing our eyes and wishing that the present predicament would just go away.
III. The inescapable fact is that all we have is now. The past belongs to history and the future belongs to god. If we seek God’s will in all matters, the Father who looks after the birds of the air will take care of our needs.
A. Take our eyes of ourselves. It is a matter of living each day in God’s presence and reminding ourselves of God’s eternal truths: “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is contained therein.”
B. When we pay attention to the present, suddenly each moment is no longer sandwiched between the past and the future. In the light of one eternal moment we can being to look at ourselves and life in a joyful, new way. Life is no longer something to be endure but rather to be enjoyed.
C. VS. 34 – “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Conclu: Once there was a handsome clock that became preoccupied with worry about its future. It began thinking about the number of times it would have to tick: twice each second, 120 times per minute, 7,200 times an hour, 172,800 times a day, 63,072,000 times a year. When it realized that in the nest 10 years it would have to tick, 630,720,000 times, it has a nervous breakdown. The clock went to a watchmaker for therapy. While under the watchmaker’s care, the clock began to realize that all it needed to do was to tick one tick at a time. Soon it began to tick again, and it continued ticking, one tick at a time for 100 years. And everyone loved that old grandfather clock. (Be Not Anxious by Tim Zingale, SermonCentral.com)
