Matthew 6:25-34 – Don’t Worry

Illus – June 2020, I got COVID – I was one of those that got it early on – in fact, had several people reaching out because I was the only one they personally knew that had it – “What is it like?” “What are the symptoms?” I didn’t have respiratory problems, just felt like the flu to me – But, I remember one day sitting at our kitchen table playing cards with Yvonne, and I took a deep breath, and thought, “That felt a little labored” – and over the next hour, I kept breathing deeply trying to discern if I was having trouble breathing or not – Just the thought of having trouble breathing had me concerned about the status of my next breath – I was almost creating a symptom because I was thinking about the potential of having that symptom – My anxiety for that hour had gone through the roof, and it was irrational

I read an article recently the 27% of American adults, or more than one in four are struggling with some form of anxiety – look around the room: We seat over 800 in this room, so somewhere in the vicinity of 200 people in this room struggle with anxiety – 9%, or almost 1 in 10 children suffer from anxiety, and 70% of 7 in 10 high school students struggle with anxiety – What is the point? Anxiety and worry is a problem in the US – and it’s not surprising – wars and rumors of war, inflation, money and job issues, the tense political climate, marriage struggles– I mean, the new Golden Bachelor got married 3 months ago and is already filing for divorce! What is going on in the world?

This morning, in Matthew 6, Jesus shifts from the tension between God and money, and moves to the contrast between God and worry – Matthew 6:25-34

First of all, Jesus uses the word “worry” 6 times in 9 verses, so he is clearly driving at something – second, he uses the phrase “do not worry” three times: V25, V31, and V34 – Remember, he is talking to an impoverished nation, and making the case that each person is valuable to God, that he sees them and that he will supply all of their basic needs -  

V25 – In context, Jesus has just said that money and hoarding possessions is not the answer – now he is acknowledging the root of their fear: a lack of provision – The question is clear: DO YOU TRUST GOD? FEAR causes you to clamp down, and go into self-protection mode, and it is rooted in CONTROL – But Jesus is extending an invitation here: “DO NOT WORRY” – worry about what? YOUR LIFE and YOUR NEEDS – “what you will eat or drink, or what you will wear” – Basic needs – food and clothing – And Jesus says, “Life and body are more than food and clothing” – This is not something that most of us worry about – most in this room never miss a meal – in fact, according to the Department of Agriculture, Americans waste about 133 Billion pounds of food per year, or $161 B in food waste – So, while this is not a 1:1 contextually, what is Jesus actually saying? 

V26 – If God takes care of the birds, do you not recognize that you are of infinitely more VALUE to him? Psalm 139:1-5 – God knows you! He is familiar with all your ways – he is deeply attuned to you and your needs: your going out and lying down, your very thoughts – He knows! You are VALUABLE to GOD – Acts 17:26-27, Paul says he has numbered your days, and established where you would live – So, if God is in control, that he knows you intimately and has established the number of your days and where you would live, that a lot of your anxiety and worry in life is actually a control issue Again, worry is rooted in the idea that you are unseen, that things may not work out, that God has forgotten you – Jesus says, “God sees you – in fact, you are his prized possession”

V27 – Jesus is clear: Worry is a WASTE OF TIME – If GOD IS IN CONTROL, then what are you worried about? Mark Twain said this: “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them have never happened.”  

Yvonne and I watched the eclipse in Bastrop on Monday – it was a really cool phenomenon, one that someone will see likely once or twice in a lifetime – But, of course there was a ton of end times prognostication, one that was propagated on social media, that was incredibly detailed and proved that some people have way too much time on their hands – Why? Because the hour of the eclipse came and went, and we are all still here – and any doomsday prepping, or fear that the eclipse was somehow triggering cataclysmic events was not rooted in anything real, and some missed the opportunity to experience something really cool over the idea that something bad was going to happen as a result – And while worry cannot add a single hour to your life, it can rob you of being present in the moment – more on that in a minute

V28-29 -  As Jesus is preaching on this mountainside, he says, “Look around you: Look at the flowers of the field” (PIC of FLOWERS on MOUNTAINSIDE) – “Take it in: they have done NOTHING to gain their beauty” in fact, Jesus says, that Solomon, the richest man in the history of Israel, PALED in comparison to the beauty of these flowers

V30 – Yet, they are here today and gone tomorrow – their beauty today is kindling for the fire tomorrow – YOU ARE INFINITELY MORE VALUABLE – 

So, let’s pause for a sec – Why is it your natural disposition to not believe and-or receive that God loves and values you? There is an enemy who is dead set on deceiving you into believing that God is not for you – if you look back in the garden in Genesis 3, what was the serpent doing? Casting doubt that God was good – “Did God really say?” “He is holding out on you?” “God is afraid that you’ll become like him.” The enemy’s goal is to cast doubt in God’s goodness – and, to be fair, Eve was living in perfection at the time, and we are living in anything but perfection today – The enemy is constantly trying to convince you to question God’s goodness, that he is for you, that he will take care of and provide for you – The language of the enemy of FEAR, GUILT and SHAME – So, think about it: Worry is rooted in FEAR, and the enemy wants to keep you in a cycle of fear, because when you are afraid, you begin to make decisions that are rooted in self-protection because you are trying to regain a sense of control – And, he uses SHAME to keep you in a place of FEAR – “Because I’ve done X, God will surely punish and/or abandon me” – but again, Genesis 3, AFTER Adam and EVE walk in disobedience, how did God respond? He came looking for them – in the story of the prodigal son, after he had blown his inheritance and decided to go home, where was the Father? Watching and waiting for him – AND, ready to lavish his goodness on him – do you see what the enemy does – he convinces you that you should be afraid when actually God wants to give you PEACE that HE IS FOR YOU

V31-32 – Jesus says the pagans worry about and run after the same thing with NO HOPE – What separates you from a non-believer? If you did not receive hope because of your salvation, then what did you receive? Because of the nature of God, followers of Jesus should be the most hope-filled people on the planet, yet some of the most fear-based people I know are followers of Jesus – Maybe you have allowed the enemy to redefine hope and trust by your comfort and security – Jesus NEVER promised comfort and earthly security, but PEACE in the middle of chaos – John 14:27 – context: Jesus told his disciples that he would give them PEACE moments before they watched him be arrested and shortly after beaten and crucified – Maybe PEACE is not dependent on your comfort and security, but God’s promise that he will provide IN SPITE OF CIRCUMSTANCES – James 1:2-4 – PEACE comes from knowing that God is up to something GOOD in spite of how things appear

V33 – Seek FIRST the KINGDOM and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS and you get ALL THESE THINGS – Jesus says the antidote for insecurity is SEEKING THE KINGDOM – maybe the problem is that you are seeking an earthly solution for an eternal problem – The problem with obsessing about earthly comfort is that it is circumstantial and it will never be enough – however, when your eyes are fixed on the eternal, and the pursuit of your life is the righteousness of God, then and only then does God change your perspective and show you how abundant your life is regardless of your physical possessions – 

V34 – Focus on TODAY – Remember the line in The Lord’s Prayer? “Give us THIS DAY our DAILY BREAD…” – this is picture of manna, the bread that God provided for the Israelites during their 40 year stint in the desert – Eat all you want, but don’t store it up, because it is ONLY GOOD FOR TODAY – In a culture that propagates FEAR about tomorrow, Jesus says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow. I’ll take care of you TODAY”

Corrie Ten Boom, survivor of the holocaust, said this: “Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”

Let’s land here: What worry are you carrying today that you need to release to God? Phil. 4:6-7 says that God will trade your worry for peace – Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 that he will trade your burden for rest – I want to invite you to the altar this morning to release and receive – I want you to RELEASE your worry and RECEIVE peace and rest – The cross is the perfect picture of Jesus taking on all you worry and burden and dying with it so you could be free – so, come release it at the altar and then take communion to remember and receive the body and blood of Jesus for your peace, rest and freedom