“But
seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33).”
I.
Introduction
a. People
fill their daily living with worry and stress
i.
Worry and stress causes:
1.Acid reflux
disease, hives, depression, diarrhea, eating binges, acne, sleep deprivation,
migraine headaches, chronic fatigue, psoriasis, high blood pressure, and etc.
2.It causes the
heart rate to increase and the arteries to constrict, which in turn increases
the blood pressure, which can lead to a heart attack
b.Scientists
discovered a difference between stresses caused inside and outside the home
i.
The found the largest amount of
stress caused in children were caused by factors within the home (IE parents
fighting or divorce of parents)
c. Life
is busy but God never intended for us to succumb to stress and worry (Matt.
11:28 & 29)
II.
Counsel (6:25)
a. The
phrase “take no thought” comes from the Greek word “merimnao”
i.
It means “fretting, anxious, worry,
burdened with cares”
1.The root word of
“merimnao,” which is “merizo” means “to divide, to cut into pieces, to divide
into parties, to be pulled in different directions, or to be split into
factions”
ii.
This is what worry does to an
individual (Matt. 13:32)
1.It cuts or divides
people into emotional pieces
2.Monday seems to be
the most stressful day of the week according to studies
iii.
This phrase also implies stopping
that what is already being done
1.In essence, stop
worrying and never start it again
iv.
This phrase appears three
times in this passage (6:25, 31, &
34)
b.Christ is
forbidding IMPROPER attention to material needs
i.
Scripture commands us to take
action to make sure our daily needs are met (1 Tim. 5:8; Pr. 6:6; 28:19)
c. We
tend to spend too much time worrying about material needs and not enough to
things with eternal significance
i.
Story of 3 men that died and
standing at the gates of heaven
III. Worry
is
a. Irreverent
i.
It fails to recognize that God is
working in the world
ii.
It refuses to learn life lessons
1.It does not
recognize that God is enough to provide for all of our needs regardless of the
situation
b.Irresponsible
i.
It wastes our energy so that we do
not have energy for creative problem solving
ii.
It burdens us so we cannot overcome
situations
iii.
It keeps us from the truth (Isa.
26:3)
c. Irrelevant
i.
Worry cannot change anything
ii.
Experts say that 40% of things we
worry about will never even happen
1.30% of things we
worry about are from the past
2.12% of things we
worry about concern our health (when nothing is currently wrong with us)
3.10% of things we
worry about are too petty to even affect our future
4.Only 8% of things
we worry about legitimately deserve our concern and though
iii.
We don’t worry about things we are
sure of, we mainly worry about things we are not sure of or we conjure up in
our heads
iv.
Reflection of what God has done in
the past can eliminate worry
d.
Christ on Worry
i.
The fact that Christ informs us not
to worry tells us that worrying is a choice
e. Effects
of worry
i.
It damages your health
ii.
Causes the object of your worry to
consume your thoughts
iii.
Disrupts your productivity
iv.
Negatively affects the way you
treat others
v.
Reduces your ability to trust in
God
vi.
It immobilizes or freezes you
IV.
The Command (6:33 & 34)
a. The
way that we overcome worry is to seek God FIRST
V.
Personal Application
a. Pray
b.Fast
c. Read
Scriptures
d.
Study Scriptures concerning the
effects of putting God first
e. Meditate
and study Scriptures concerning God providing all our needs (Matt. 6:33 &
34; Phil. 4:19)
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