According to the Kansas City Star, on Sunday, June 12, 2016, a Florida security guard was a gunman wielding an assault rifle that opened fire in a nightclub, killing at least fifty people and wounding more than fifty-three in the worst-case scenario in U.S. history. In the East, Christians are beheaded because they refuse to deny their faith in Jesus Christ. Christians in our society are not as free to practice their faith as they once were. The moral norms of our society have fallen dramatically. These, among others, are reasons why people worry. Is there any way we can find a way not to worry? Does the Bible tell us how not to worry?
In today’s text, Jesus Christ forbids us to be afraid. For example, those who worry take the joy out of life.
The text for today is in Matthew 6:33–34a: But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow.
W.E. Vine, a Greek scholar, says the word “righteousness” in Matthew 6:33 means “the sum total of the requirements of God. “ The fundamental principle of the Kingdom is declared in Luke 17:20–21: Jesus being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, He answered them, The Kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, Look, here it is! or There! For behold, the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you. The Kingdom of God also refers to salvation. Salvation is not an insignificant academic change of mind or a simple regret. John the Baptist speaks of repentance as a radical turning from sin that inevitably manifests in the fruit of righteousness.
The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. His riches refer to God, who would increase proportionately to His infinite resources, not just a tiny amount out of His riches. W. W. Wiersbe tells us we could paraphrase it this way: you met my need, and God is going to meet your need. You met one need, but my God will meet all your needs. You gave out of your poverty, but God will supply your needs out of His riches in glory! If you have the right relationship with the Lord and trust and have confidence in Him, no power in the world can prevent you from having victory over worry.
Psalm 46:1 says God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. In the past, God has proven himself responsible in times of trouble. I like what F. F. Bruce says that even at the end of the world, God’s powerful presence will remain like an unshakable rock.
The psalmist says in Psalm 23:4 even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me, your rod, and your staff, they comfort me. When times are difficult, we are under His care. Shepherds use rods that are thick wooden poles to protect the sheep. The staff was a longer, often curved walking stick for reaching and support. The message is God is always available to comfort His people.
Worry can be defeated when you learn to live one day at a time. You must take the demands of each day without concern about the unknown future. Why? Worry disables you, affects your judgment, and reduces your ability to make appropriate decisions. Worry comes from the heart. Matthew 6:33 is a commandment of Jesus. It is the way toward peace and the way to have joy
in your life.
Do not worry about tomorrow. In 1933, American President Franklin Roosevelt stated that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Jesus Christ was committed to God the Father and lived free from fear. Jesus Christ can work in your life to change it. He can give you hope when it seems there is no hope.
Isaiah 26:3 says You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Perfect peace comes from the Lord God.
Isaiah 48:22 says There is no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked. A mind that trusts the Lord brings peace that evil can not know. Such confidence prevents double-mindedness and serving other masters.
The source of such peace is God. It is also an individual peace for those who trust Him.
In El Salvador, I preached a message similar to today’s. After the worship service, a man in the congregation told me another man wanted to talk to me. We sat on the front bench as we spoke. He told me that he was still worried, even though he had asked God to help him not to worry. He asked me if I could help him to how not to worry. I froze because I did not know what to say.
Now I know I should have read the message in 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. W. E. Vine says “without ceasing” in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 means “prayer which is constantly recurring.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 gives us a summary of the basics of Christian living. They give us the foundational principles for a sound spiritual life. The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:1a Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice is fitting at all times. Pray regularly. Colossians 4:2 says to Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. To continue earnestly is to be courageously persistent. Christians should have a lifestyle of constant prayer.
There are different ways of praying. For instance, you can pray out loud. I have caught myself praying out loud when driving down the road or at home doing something else. At work, I have often prayed in my mind.
1 Peter 5:7 says Casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. Casting is to throw something on something. An example is when the people brought a colt to Jesus, and as said in Luke 19:35, they threw their cloaks on the colt and set Jesus on it. Jesus fulfills a prophecy about the Messiah riding on a donkey.
Worrying about tomorrow doesn’t help tomorrow or today. Worrying about the future and allowing tomorrow to steal from us from today is a sin. Anxiety is not natural, and it is not spiritual. All of nature depends on God, and God never fails.
The ESV says worry is a form of pride because it involves taking concerns upon oneself instead of entrusting them to God. Born-again believers can trust God because, as their Father, he cares for them.
Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time for everything. In Ecclesiastes 3:1–2a the Bible says, For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die.
Someday all of us will die physically. Jesus led the way by paying the ultimate price of dying on the Cross. In the ancient world, He suffered the worst kind of execution. Jesus makes it clear there is no guarantee life will be easy. Wars and rumors of war will happen. Conflicts will continue. Many other negative things will happen. Still, we do not have to worry about whatever circumstances surround us. If Jesus is the Lord of our lives, we know that He has something better for us on the other side of the grave.
When a young woman had to wash clothes, she left her oldest son with a neighbor. She had to put her three-month-old baby boy in the crib inside the apartment. She often returned upstairs to see if her three-month-old baby boy was OK. It was on one of those trips back to the apartment that she saw something that made her go into shock! She almost fainted, but a bird chirping in her head kept her conscious. She saw her three month old baby was not breathing. His face had turned a dark color, and a trickle of blood oozed out of his mouth. She picked up her baby boy and ran down the stairs to see a nurse who lived on the first floor. The nurse grabbed the baby boy and put her fingers into his mouth. The nurse gasped and told the young mother that the baby was alive. Call the doctor’s wife!
The doctor arrived at the apartment building and gave the baby boy a physical examination. When he finished, the doctor told the young mother to get the baby boy to the hospital as soon as possible.
Unknown to the young mother. The doctor told the nurse that the baby boy was in critical condition. He whispered to the nurse to ride with the young mother to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, because the doctor feared the young baby boy would be dead before they got to the hospital.
The doctor asked the nurse to hold the baby because he did not want the baby in the young mother’s arms if the baby died before they got to the hospital,
After the emergency room doctor examined the baby, he told the young mother there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t even make a diagnosis!
The three-month-old baby was admitted to the hospital. The doctor believed the baby boy would soon be with the angels in heaven. All the parents could do was to pray. The parents prayed if the Lord allowed their baby to live, they would dedicate him to special service for the Lord.
I know the story is true. That three-month-old baby boy was me. Twenty-four years later, I was ordained to the Gospel ministry. It wasn’t until + after I was ordained to the Gospel ministry that my parents told me about that prayer in November of 1944.
Contributor by C Paul Wooderson
