Stop Worrying About...
Dismiss Grove KIDZ
2000 years ago on the hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee,
Jesus preached the greatest sermon ever preached.
NOW - over the years we have known it as, The Sermon On The...... Mount.
AND WHAT - this message basically is, is Jesus’ Kingdom Manifesto. A manifesto where He declares...
THIS – is who my people are... ‘The poor in spirit, those who mourn, those hunger and thirst after righteousness (right living), The meek, those who show mercy, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted because the life they live and the Lord they love...
THIS – is the impact and influence my followers will have because they are the salt of the earth and the light of the World.
AND THIS – is how my people will live, distinct and different from the world and the religious leaders.
UNDERSTAND – in the SM, Jesus is like...
Hey, I know that the world and the religious leaders have many ideas and opinions about...
Anger and rage and bitterness and lust and adultery and divorce and telling the truth and keeping your word, and how to behave when someone does you wrong and how to treat your enemies and not doing things to be seen by others and how we view money and material possessions.
BUT – I say to you!
In my kingdom we do things differently.
AND LISTEN – the way that we as Jesus-followers do things differently is what makes us the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
Get It?
YEAH – this really is the greatest sermon ever preached.
AND – talk about being extremely relevant and practical.
NOW – this morning as we continue unpacking Jesus’ Kingdom Manifesto, we are going to see that when it comes to the matter of worry and anxiety, we who follow Jesus are called to handle it differently than those in the world.
The text is Matthew 6:25-34, and I am calling today’s conversation,
“Stop Worrying About...”
UNDERSTAND MGCC
WORRY – is a thief, a thief who steals…
• your thoughts, your peace, your joy
• your confidence, your courage
NOW – for many years a woman couldn’t sleep at night because she was so worried that her home would be broken into. I MEAN – it was just this uneasy thought that dominated her mind day in and day out for years.
WELL - one night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he got there, he found a burglar.
AND SO - the husband said to the him, “Hey, could you come upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting 10 years to meet you.”
POINT - a thief will steal from you once, but WORRY can steal from you for decades.
OKAY – raise your hand if you have ever struggled with WORRY… Like, has WORRY ever stolen, your…
(thoughts, peace, confidence courage or your joy)?
Raise your hand if you have any WORRY now.
SO – we are not alone in this struggle, are we?
ALRIGHT – let’s do this “Stop Worrying About...”
AND - here is how I want to attack this conversation…
BY - unpacking 2 statements:
1) The problem of worry 2) the way out of worry
HOWEVER – before we dive into our study this morning…
I feel that I need to be clear about 2 things…
#1 – I realize that this conversation has limits…
LIKE – I know that one Sunday morning message is not going to solve all the issues we face in regards to worry.
I MEAN – perhaps for some in this room, worry has been ‘the issue’ that you have been facing for years….
AND - what is needed is to see a doctor or a counselor.
AND LISTEN – there is no shame in that, and doing so does not make you a second class Christian. (I’ve been)
SO – yeah I know, this conversation does have limits…
#2 NEVERTHELESS – even with that being said, I still believe
• that because we are sharing truths from God’s word (which is living and active…)
• and because it is God’s desire that we (His children) not live our lives tossed to and fro by the waves of WORRY
• that something supernatural, powerful and life-impacting still can happen. AMEN!?
NOW – beginning in Matthew 6:25 Jesus says,
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, - Matthew 6:25
NOW – like this covers it all, right?
Jesus says do not worry about your life.
NOT JUST – don’t worry about your bills, about your kids, about your health, about your marriage, your relationships
NO – He says don’t worry about your life.
YEAH – Jesus is like, okay let’s get it all out there.
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?
QUESTION – is not life more than whatever it is that you are worried about?
Jesus says… Look at the birds of the air;
UNDERSTAND B/S - God is always trying to get us to look at things other than ourselves, than our worry…
to get us to look up
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?
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
AND BTW – that is what worry does it just spins us around and around and around… and we do not really get anywhere except really dizzy… and nauseous.
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 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?
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
(this were legit needs for most gathered on that hillside)
For the pagans
(those who do not know God
run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
OKAY – so Jesus is like…
“Hey, like why are you worrying about stuff that your Heavenly Father is already working out for you.”
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. – Matthew 6:25-34
May bless the reading of His Word
NOW – before we dive into ‘the problem and way our of worry, LETS...
Prayer
OKAY – let’s do this...
I. The Problem Of Worry
UNDERSTAND B/S – worry, is a problem that every person who has walked this planet, has had to deal with at one time or another.
AND LISTEN – to really understand what the bible teaches about worry, it is helpful to know a little bit about the Greek word that Jesus uses in Matthew 6.
It’s the word… Merimnao (mare rin nao)...
It appears 6 times in our text, and 13 other times in the New Testament, LIKE WHEN...
Jesus speaks to Martha in Luke 10...
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things...” - Luke 10:41
Paul uses this word when he says to the Jesus-followers in Corinth,
I want you to be without care… - 1 Corinthians 7:32
And when he says to the church in Philippi,
Do not be anxious about anything... – Philippians 4:6
AND – Peter uses this same word in 1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
So - Merimnao...– is usually translated as worry, care or anxiety… AND – given that I now want you to see where this word comes from…
Merimnao is a compound word (it comes from 2 Greek words stuck together)… AND WHEN - I tell you what those two words are, you will get a full understanding of what worry in the Bible is describing.
Worry = ‘Merimnao’ – merizo (to divide, to separate, to cut into pieces, to tear apart) - nous (the mind)
SO - merimnao means... to divide, to separate, to tear apart the mind…
WHICH – is really a great description of worry.
UNDERSTAND - worry is when your mind is divided, is torn apart, between legitimate thoughts and destructive thoughts, worry takes your mind in two different directions
AND YOU KNOW - I believe that what Jesus says about worry in the SM, may speak louder today than perhaps at any other time before… Let me explain…
- 40 million American’s suffer from some form of anxiety disorder.
- That is 18% of all American adults (the population of, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA combined)
- In 2015 Boston University reported that anxiety has surpassed all other disorders in our country, including depression.
RECENTLY - A world mental health survey was taken of 14 countries… and it found that Americans…
• were the most anxious people in all of the 14 countries studied
• and that we have more clinically significant levels of anxiety than people living in Nigeria and Lebanon.
AND IF – you know anything about those countries you know that they are troubled spots. AND MGCC - what that tells us…
IS THAT - Americans are the undisputed champions of anxiety and worry. I MEAN – if anxiety and worry were Olympic events we would win gold every time.
NOW – I did an informal survey on Facebook this week asking people what are some things that people are worried about today. Here are some of their responses
People are worried about…
Their: health, finances, children and relationships,
our country, inflation, the direction the world is headed, marriage after divorce, raising children in an ever-worsening and divisive culture, job security, war, woke and cancel culture, government taking more and more control over our lives, churches bowing to the wisdom of the age, and
loved ones who are not saved.
YES – worry is real, worry is out there…
AND UNDERSTAND – worry is a problem for at least 5 reasons… It’s: unhealthy, unproductive, unbecoming, unbelief and unlawful.
OKAY SO - let’s take a moment to drill down on each of those
a) Worry Is Unhealthy
UNDERSTAND – worry often produces such unhealthy things as… nervousness, fear, irritability, sleeplessness, and just the general sense of feeling overwhelmed.
It can cause disturbing and obsessive thoughts.
It can cause agitation and anger and annoyance.
It can make you feel moody, terrified, panicked, lonely, sad, and depressed.
AND WORRY - can have physical symptoms, too, LIKE…
• aches, pains, stiffness, breathing difficulties
• chest pains, concentration problems, digestive issues
• insomnia, low energy, forgetfulness
• circulation problems, hormone imbalance, hypertension
• migraines, weight gain, weight loss, body odor,
• hair loss, ringing in the ears, increased sensitivity to sound and smell,
• alter the serotonin and dopamine systems in the brain.
• and even it can literally leave a bad taste in the mouth.
AND SO - you start thinking through these things, and it’s like one of those commercials where... you know, ninety percent of it is bad side effects, right?
LIKE – it’s just…one thing after another connected to it.
AND SO - it’s…it’s a challenge that all of us have in one degree or another.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control says that about half the deaths that take place before age sixty-five are related to stressful lifestyles.
The Harvard Business Review says, “Anywhere from sixty to ninety percent of medical visits are stress and worry related.”
MGCC – Jesus says ‘Stop worrying about...” it is unhealthy,
b) Worry Is Unproductive
NOW - I really like how Jesus put it in Matthew 6…
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? - Matthew 6:27
IN OTHER WORDS – what good has worry ever done for you?
LIKE – has it ever gotten you anywhere good or productive?
UNDERSTAND - Jesus’ point is that worrying won’t change anything. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
I MEAN - Think for a minute about the things we worry about.
• Politics - who by worrying can change the outcome of an election?
• Finances - who by worrying can put a single dollar in your pocket?
• Relationships – who by worrying can change another person?
• Physical health – who by worrying has made themselves healthier?
NOW ACTUALLY - it’s not true to say that worrying won’t change anything. It will. It will make things worse.
AGAIN IT WILL - cause health problems. Marriage problems.
Affect your family and your relationships.
That’s why Jesus says don’t do it, it’s unproductive.
UNDERSTAND...
Worry as I said earlier is like spinning around in a circle,
a lot of movement but you haven’t gone anywhere.
And now you’re just dizzy, disoriented...
not able to do anything, so unproductive.
Dr Joseph Galway did some research and he found that
85% of the things we worry about never happen
AND OF - the 15 % that did happen 79% of the people found that they were able to handle the difficulty better than they thought OR - the difficulty taught them lessons worth learning…
SO – he concluded that 97% of what we worry about is just a fearful mind punishing you with exaggerations and misconceptions.
Corrie ten Boom who during WW II hide Jews from the Nazi’s and then later was captured and placed in a concentration camp, wrote…
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.” – Corrie Ten Boom
MGCC – worry it is a problem…
it’s unhealthy, it’s unproductive and it is..
c) Worry Is Unbecoming
Unbecoming: not flattering, not fitting, not appropriate, unseemly, unbefitting...
UCMJ Article 133 – ‘Conduct Unbecoming An Officer And Gentleman.’
An officers conduct that disgraces him personally or brings dishonor to the military profession.
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. – Matthew 6:31,32
NOW UNDERSTAND B/S – it makes sense for those who do not know God to be anxious and run after these things.
I MEAN…
WHEN – people believe that they are just trying to hnag on in some inexplicable universe… with no design, no plan, no God.
WHEN – they believe that they are really nothing more than products of random chance
WHEN – they do not really know ‘why’ they are here, or ‘where’ they are going, that has to be scary…
Like no wonder they worry and spin around in circles running after these things.
HOWEVER – for a Jesus-follower to...
• run around in the exact same way,
• to have the same kind of worries,
IS – unbecoming (not fitting, not appropriate, unseemly) because it is, saying to ‘Our Father who art the heavens,’
THE ONE WHO - feeds the birds of the air, clothes the grass of fields and who holds the entire universe together –
“I do not trust you to take care of me.”
AND – not only that… BUT our spinning and spinning around in worry… SAYS - to a watching world, that our God is either: not real, not great (he really can’t help us) or not good (he does not care)… BECAUSE – our lives are just as fearful and worried filled as theirs are.
This is conduct unbecoming a child of the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
And it undervalues our value to God.
YOU KNOW...
I have 5 children and I have never once seen them worry about whether or not they are going to have food to eat or a place to sleep. NOW – granted part of that, is because we currently live in greatest, freest and most prosperous country that has ever existed.
BUT NEVERTHELESS – they trusted me to provide those things. LIKE – when they see me throw some food in the dog’s dish, they are not like... ‘I hope we get to eat’
MGCC – today, 2/26/23. Jesus says, stop worrying about....
It’s unhealthy, unproductive, unbecoming, AND...
d) Worry Is Unbelief
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 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. Matthew 6:28-30
You of little faith = oligopistos
Same word is used in...
• Matthew 8:26... Jesus is asleep in a boat with His guys when a powerful storm hits... they freak out, “we are going to drown, save us!’
“you of little faith, why are you so afraid”
• Matthew 14:31... Peter is walking on water, but when he sees the wind and the waves, he begins to sink, “Lord, save me”... immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him, “you of little faith why did you doubt?”
• Matthew 17:20... Jesus disciples are unable to cast a demon out of a little boy... “why couldn’t we drive it out,”... “Because you have so little faith...”
YES – worry is unbelief, it’s unbelief in the character of God, in the face of evidence to trust in God.
UNDERSTAND – Jesus twice in our text uses what is known as the argument of the lesser to greater.
(a fortiori – from the stronger)
Jesus says... “Hey, if God takes care of the birds of the air and flowers and grass of the fields... which are both of much lesser value than mankind (the crown of His creation) who are made in the image of God,
Then you can be sure that he will take care of you. Like do you think God cares for His pets more than His people?
AGAIN - worrying is questioning the very character of God, in the face of evidence to trust Him.
Worry is practical atheism and an affront to God - R. H. Mounce
The beginning of worry is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of worry. – George Mueller.
UNDERSTAND B/S...
• Surely a God, who is the maker of heaven and earth, deserves more than a little faith
• Surely a God, who is over all things, before all things and hold all things together and for whom nothing is impossible deserves more than a little faith.
• Surely a covenant keeping God, whose promises are yes and amen in Jesus, deserves more than a little faith.
• Surely a sacrificing God, who did not spare His own Son, deserves more than a little faith
• Surely... an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God who has loved us fully and completely in Jesus, deserves more than a little faith.
So – let’s trust Him more!
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
Isaiah 26:3-4
e) Worry Is Unlawful
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, - Matthew 6:25
Now those 3 words ‘do not worry’ are an imperative which means that it is a command.
QUESTION – if Jesus tells us not to do something, but we go ahead and do it anyway... what is that called? Sin
Have you ever thought of worrying as a sin?
This week I picked up a book on Amazon for my Kindle App called, ‘Respectful Sins’...
The author Jerry Bridges writes...
The motivation for this book stems from a growing conviction that those of us whom I call conservative evangelicals may have become so preoccupied with some of the major sins of society around us that we have lost sight of the need to deal with our own more “refined” or subtle sins... on the whole, we appear to be more concerned about the sins of society than we are the sins of the saints. In fact, we often indulge in what I call the “respectable” or even “acceptable” sins without any sense of sin.
END Q
Now some of the ‘respectful sins’ he covers in his book...
Anger, envy, jealousy, pride, gossip, slander, discontent, selfishness, lack of self-control, and anxiety...
QUESTION – do you think that JF tend to view worry as ‘respectful sin...’
FOR EXAMPLE – we have one reaction if someone told us that they struggle with pornography and another if they told us that they are a chronic worrier.
I can no more worry than I could swear and curse. - John Wesley
I MEAN – imagine if someone were to drop the ‘f-bomb’ in this room today...
like it would raise everyone’s blood pressure, a little
On the other if someone said,
“I have been worried about this all week long...”
YES – worry is unlawful, it’s a sin.
Unbecoming – brings dishonor
Unbelief – says that God is untrustworthy
SO – if it is a sin we should confess and repent, right?
NOW – concern is okay, but not worry.
For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. – Philippians 2:20
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. – 2 Corinthians 11:28
Concern is fact based and geared toward problem solving and action.
Good worry (concern), gone bad
1. Driven by fear and ‘what if’
2. Marked by constant distraction
3. Marked by diminished trust
4. Too much time spent living in/fretting over the future
5. Produces inaction and paralyzes us
Bottom Line
You do not need to be worried about being concerned, but you do need to be concerned about being worried.
OKAY SO WORRY - really is a very real problem,
IT’S... unhealthy, unproductive, unbecoming,
unbelief and unlawful
AND IT – steals and devours (like a roaring lion)…
• your thoughts, your peace
• your joy, your courage
• your confidence, your trust
• your faith and @ times your witness.
AND HEY – before you get too worried about your worrying...
There is some really good news.
YOU SEE – there is a way out of Worry
II. The Way Out Of Worry
NOW – in addition to Matthew 6, I want to use 2 other passages to map our way out of worry.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6,7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:8
AND UNDERSTAND – the path out of worry takes us to the place where we experience what Paul talks about in Philippians 4:7... where we experience the peace of God that transcends all understanding.
OKAY – here’s the deal every Jesus follower has peace with God… AND - we received that when we waved the white flag and surrendered our lives to Jesus in FCRB.
YES – every JF has peace with God, BUT LISTEN…
NOT – every Jesus-follower has the ‘peace of God.’
NOT – every Jesus-follower has that transcendent tranquil feeling of calm, courage and confidence…
YOU KNOW THAT – sense of peace in the middle if life’s storms that enables us to say...
“Yeah, everything is going to be okay. God is still the master of the universe, and He is still on his throne.
NOW – there are 6 steps to the way out of worry...
And as I like to do at times, I made an acoustic out of those six things to help us remember what they are.
And the acrostic I came up with are the two words...
Stop It.
a) S - Seek First God’s Kingdom and His Righteousness
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. – Matthew 6:33
First not as in a list... #1 God... #2
But rather that which determines everything.
UNDERSTAND – seeking first God’s kingdom is about...
• Storing up treasures in heaven as we talked about last week.
• Hungering and thirsting to live a life that is distinct and different than the world lives, a life that hallows the name of the Lord.
• Pursuing a personal-practical-progressive holiness
• Being devoted to what the early church was devoted to:
o being in the Word,
o crying out to God in prayer,
o fellowship, the church by: attending regularly, serving passionately, giving generously and living togetherly
o the mission
b) T - Turn Immediately To God And Ask For Help
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. – Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious, pray. Don’t do this, but instead do this
NOW - the word that is translated pray is also the word for worship... SO – don’t worry, worship
And Understand...
Worry and worship cannot coexist in the same heart and mind.
SO MGCC – when the wind and waves of worry start to crash up against your heart and mind.
Turn immediately to God and ask for His help.
Why?
Because as Peter says in 1 Peter 5:7... ‘God cares about you’
Why?
Because God does not want you to be anxious about anything
Why?
Because when you do, God will guard your heart and mind.
MAN – I love that picture… - of God’s peace being a guard (think Seal Team 6) stationed as a check point in our hearts and minds.
UNDERSTAND - everything thought must pass through Him first. “Can I see you ID… What is your purpose for wanting to enter Steve Malone’s mind”
Why?
Because the God who…
• simply said let there be light and it was so
• created everything out of nothing
• who breathes out stars and spoke billions of galaxies into existence
• who feeds the birds and clothes the grass of the field
IS NOT ONLY – ‘great enough’ but He has demonstrated His ‘goodness enough’ for you to ‘rest on’ and ‘trust in’ Him.
SO B/S - when you are tempted to worry – worship
When you’re feeling over burdened – bow.
Turn immediately to God and ask for help, not as a last resort, but as a first response to worry.
(make your turning a conditioned response)
c) O - Own Those Worries No More
Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:7
Cast all that is trying to divide and tear your mind apart on Him.
NOW – maybe when you hear the word cast your mind goes to fishing. HOWEVER – that is not a very good image, right?
I MEAN – when you cast in fishing what do you do?
Well, you reel it back in, and there it is again.
BUT LISTEN - that’s not…that’s not what we want to do with our worry.
NOW - this word translated cast is used only one other time in Scripture... and it is in Luke 19:35 to describe the guys placing their coats on top of the donkey for Jesus to ride on.
So it would better translated (or perhaps more helpfully, I should say, translated) as to place upon or to transfer.
LIKE - “transfer the weight”—that’s the idea here.
It’s this picture that you’re carrying some weight.
It may be heavy or it may not be that heavy; But you’ve just carried it for a long time, really weighing you down, consuming you, draining strength from you.
NOW - the world’s approach to anxiety is:
“Well, you’ve just got to let it go”
BUT - you know better, right?
LIKE -you can’t just let it go.
I MEAN – this weight has got to go somewhere.
SO - God says, “Don’t just let it go. Give it to me. Let me carry it for you. Cast your worry on Me (own those worries not more) because I care about you.
UNDERSTAND – some of you need to stop reeling that worry back in and leave it with the one who cares for you, the one who can carry it for you.
MGCC – the way out of worry into the peace ‘of’ God, is to...
Stop It, is to
• Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness
• Turn immediately to God and ask for help
• Own those worries no more
d) P - Ponder Things That Are True and Good
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy —think about such things. – Philippians 4:8
BOTTOM LINE – if you want the peace of God don’t meditate on the mess, on the problem, on the WORRY.
INSTEAD - meditate (ponder) things that are good and true.
LIKE – I have said many times before, if you know how to worry you know how to meditate on Scripture.
It’s focused thinking.
It’s filling up our thoughts with whatever is: true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy
AND MGCC - the very best thing to meditate on, is Scripture
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom should I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom should I be afraid? - Psalm 27:1
I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. – Psalm 121:1,2
SO YOU
Mediate on Scripture
or other positive thoughts
or on the good things that God has brought into your life over the years.
You know like count your blessings and name them one by one.
• Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness
• Turn immediately to God and ask for help
• Own those worries no more
• Ponder Things That Are True and Good
e) I - Initiate Positive Actions
UNDERSTAND WHEN - our enemy the roaring lion unleashes the waves and wind of worry against your life and mine…
He has a very clear objective. He wants...
• To paralyze us,
• To keep us spinning around in circles…
• To trap us in and consumed by our worry
• Our worry to both define and disables us...
BUT – God says through Paul’s says…
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:9
UNDERSTAND – when it comes to worry, movement and simply doing what you know is both powerful and freeing.
AND LISTEN – we see this all over the pages of Scripture.
• MOSES - I know your worried about going back to Egypt, but pick up your staff and get going and I will be with
• JOSHUA - I know you’re worried about crossing the Jordan and taking the promise, but get moving I am fixing to part that water
• GIDEON - I know you’re worried about the enemies who are oppressing your people, but get out that winepress there is something I need you to do
• ELIJAH - I know you are worried about King Ahab and His wicked Queen Jezebel, but it’s time to get out of get out that cave of depression, because I am not done with you yet
• ESTHER – I know you are worried about the very real danger to your life in approaching the king, but I have put you here for such a time as this. So open the door and start walking down the hallway.
UNDERSTAND – to the walk the path out of worry and have the peace of God that transcends all understanding… Just start doing what you know.
• Love somebody, Help somebody, Serve somebody
• Forgive somebody, Encourage somebody
• Pray for somebody, Be there for somebody
• Share your faith with somebody
• Give that gift, Read the word
• Go to church, Turn on that praise music
Stop stewing and start doing what you know is good and right.
• Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness
• Turn immediately to God and ask for help
• Own those worries no more
• Ponder Things That Are True and Good
• Initiate Positive Actions
f) T - Take It Always One Day At A Time
So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
– Matthew 6:34
Someone has said – you’re only cooking up trouble when you stew about tomorrow.
And that’s true, right?
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.” – Corrie Ten Boom
NOTICE – Jesus acknowledges that each day does have trouble... So why try to carry tomorrow’s today.
There are 2 days of the week we must learn to never worry about. Just two... one is yesterday and the other is tomorrow.
Yesterday is past and gone forever, tomorrow has not yet arrived... and is as far beyond our control as yesterday.
That leave only today for us to live and struggle through.
Anyone can fight the battles of today.
Any woman can carry the burdens of one day.
Any man can resist the temptations of one day.
Paul Powell
Better not trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.
For you only make your trouble double trouble when you do.
OKAY SO WORRY - really is a very real problem,
IT’S... unhealthy, unproductive, unbecoming,
unbelief and unlawful
AND IT – steals and devours (like a roaring lion)…
• your thoughts, your peace
• your joy, your courage
• your confidence, your trust
• your faith and @ times your witness.
SO 'STOP IT'
• Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness
• Turn immediately to God and ask for help
• Own those worries no more
• Ponder Things That Are True and Good
• Initiate Positive Actions
• Take It Always One Day At A Time
One day at a time sweet Jesus
That's all I'm asking from you.
Just give me the strength
To do every day what I have to do.
Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus
And tomorrow may never be mine.
Lord help me today, show me the way
One day at a time
