Sunday Sermon
WORRY-FREE LIVING
Date: October 3, 2004
Speaker: Ptr. Paul Govindavari
Reference Text: Matthew 6:25-34

"For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -(Matthew 6:25-34)

"Don't worry" has been spoken by Jesus 3 times in this passage. we worry a lot of small things like clothes to wear. Don't concern yourselves with these things. Constant worry will only bring sickness to you. People worry because of their lack of knowledge of God. Worry is inconsistent! Give your worries to God.

We can't finish the race if we continue to look in the past. Guilt driven people are manipulated by memories. Forget the past, it will only destroy your anointing and service to the Lord. Constant looking and digging of the past will only lead to destruction. The past will only move us closer to commiting sin.

In our world, stress is a way of life. And so many people are filled with worry about so many things. Do you experience worry in your life? Are there unresolved issues, nagging problems, worries over health, finances, work, and relationships? What success have you had in dealing with these kinds of problems? Have you accepted worry and anxiety as a natural part of your life?

Jesus flatly says, do not worry. Was He serious? How can He expect us not to worry considering the many things with which we have to deal?

DONT WORRY ABOUT LITTLE THINGS

God will supply your needs., Surrender yourselves to God. God created you and He will take care of you. God will provide. We are precious in His sight. Worry is ilogical. Let us not be like the Gentiles, who worry all the time.

We should not worry because there is more to life than things. He speaks of people being anxious over food, clothing, and length of life. And He reminds them that life is more than food, and the body than clothing. Additionally, by worrying none of us can add a single cubit to his life's span. In other words, anxiety is futile because life is more than things. It is more than the material. It is more than the physical. It has an eternal dimension to it that is beyond us.

So many in our day measure their life in terms of those things that surround them. But those things are deceptive in nature. While they may appear to have lasting value and worth, they are by nature temporary. In a moment they could be gone. Furthermore, they are not nearly as important as so many other things. Husband, wife, children, family and friends all have a higher priority (or should have) than things. Virtues like honesty, integrity, kindness, mercy, patience, faithfulness and love are all far more important than stuff. Life is more than things. Don't let them control your thoughts.

We should also not be anxious because we have a heavenly Father who will provide. Pointing to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field and observing that they are both fed and clothed by the heavenly Father, Jesus makes several important points. By pointing them out it is obvious that they do not spend any time worrying about things. I have never seen a bird flying around wringing his hands over where he was going to find a worm. The lilies are not taking extra-strength pain-reliever because of a tension headache. God takes care of them. And Jesus points out that we are worth much more than they and that if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you?

If we are going to conquer worry, we must come to the realization that God loves us and that He will take care of us. So many people are simply not convinced of this fact. Many of them are Christians. But is you really believe that God is in charge, and that He loves you and will meet your needs, then you can relax in faith. If you for some reason do not believe that God will take care of you, then you will be unable to relax. You will feel that it is up to you to take care of all your needs, physical, emotional, and even spiritual.

HOW TO OVERCOME WORRY IN OUR LIVES

Learn to set your priorities straight. Who is #1 in your life. God will do miracles in your life.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

Jesus then issues the supreme challenge to every believer. He tells us that our focus should be God's kingdom and righteousness. If our focus is on us, then we will continually be worried about us. But if our focus is on the things of God, then we will be concerned with something other than us.

To seek His righteousness is to seek to live by dependence on His live in us. We have no righteousness of our own. Even as Christians, we have none. The righteousness we bear is imputed righteousness. That means that it is the righteousness of another counted as our own. When Jesus died on the Cross, He died there for you and me. When he paid the penalty for our sin, His righteousness was imputed to us. He took our sin and gave us His righteousness. It is His, not ours. Therefore, we can never boast in our own good works or righteous deeds. We didn't save ourselves by good works and we do not keep ourselves saved by good works. It is all by the grace of God through faith.

So we must live daily depending on the life of Christ. We must come to Him and seek His face. We must read His Word and pray. We must open our hearts to Him and humble ourselves to receive from Him all that we need. We must trust in His work in us to bring us to maturity. We cannot do it ourselves. He began the work in us and He must complete it. When we stand before God in the final day, none of us will say to the Lord that we are responsible for being there. We will marvel at the grace of God.

But not only must we seek His kingdom and righteousness, it should be our supreme priority. Jesus said that we should seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. It should be first on our priority list.

There is nothing more important than the Lord. Do you really believe that statement? Most of us would say yes. But, if we really believe that there is nothing more important than the Lord, why do we live as though almost everything was?

As we do, our needs will be met as we focus on Him. This is what Jesus promised - and all these things shall be added to you. In other words, as we concern ourselves with the things of God, He will concern Himself with the things we need.

This is the challenge for all believers - to practically trust Christ. It is to live out what you say you believe. It is to make Him Lord over your life in practical ways.

The choice is ours. We can choose to borrow trouble from tomorrow and live life as if God is not there, or we can trust Him and seek Him with all our hearts. Don't worry about anything but pray about everything.

Verses to live by:
Ephesians 3:30; Psalms 50:15, 53:22; 1 Peter 5:7; Philippians 4:6-7

Additional Text taken from "The Cure for Anxiety" by J. David Hoke