June 25, 2025 • 29 mins
What if worry is more than just an inconvenient emotional state? What if it's actually a theological problem that strikes at the heart of our relationship with God?
Pastor Timothy Mann's powerful teaching from Matthew 6:24-34 reveals the radical nature of Jesus's command: "Do not worry about your life." This isn't a suggestion or helpful tip—it's a direct order repeated three times in this passage. For believers who struggle with anxiety (and that's most of us), this teaching offers both challenge and profound comfort.
Through careful exposition, Pastor Tim uncovers four compelling reasons why worry is incompatible with Christian faith: it's unfaithful because of our Master, unnecessary because of our Father, unreasonable because of our faith, and unwise because of our future. The sermon draws on Jesus's vivid illustrations of birds and flowers to demonstrate God's meticulous care for His creation and the even greater care He promises for His children.
Most striking is the revelation that worry—perhaps Christianity's most tolerated sin—actually maligns God's character by questioning His love and integrity. When we claim to trust God with our eternal souls yet worry about tomorrow's provisions, we speak out of both sides of our mouths.
This message isn't about positive thinking or denying real challenges. Instead, it offers a transformative perspective shift: remembering who owns everything (God), who controls everything (God), and who provides everything (also God). Our responsibility isn't anxious self-preservation but gratitude and faithful stewardship of whatever He entrusts to us.
If anxiety has ever strangled your joy or peace, this teaching offers the theological foundations and practical wisdom to break free and experience the contentment God intends for His people.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the Bible
teaching ministry of PastorTimothy Mann and Providence
Church, ormond Beach, florida.
Providence Church is a localassembly of followers of Jesus
Christ dedicated to helpingpeople become committed and
mature followers of Jesus Christ.
Now here's Pastor Tim teachingthe word, turning your Bibles to
(00:23):
Matthew 6.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
As I was reflecting and praying and meditating on
this, I was reminded of thatscripture in Luke where the Lord
is specifically talking aboutnot being afraid of people, not
being afraid of man, don't fearman.
And he says that he sees everysparrow that falls from the sky,
every sparrow.
And how much more valuable andimportant are you.
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And that was in the context ofthat.
And then as I began to reflecton God's care and sparrows and
all of that, he reminded me ofMatthew, chapter 6.
And sparrows are referencedthere, the birds of the air, and
we'll talk about that in just amoment.
And I was reminded.
It's almost as if the HolySpirit was saying to me see, I
(01:09):
told you you don't have to worry.
But specifically as I wasthinking about this passage that
we're going to read verse 25through 34, the heart of Jesus's
message in our present passagefrom Matthew 6 is this Don't
worry, not even aboutnecessities.
Not even about necessities.
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Now, that's pretty serious.
He gives this command.
Let's read it and we'll go backand talk about it.
This is a good topic.
If I were a seeker-sensitivepreacher, I would entitle my
sermon how to Overcome Worry.
But it's really not about justovercoming worry.
It's about focusing on why wedon't really have to worry, and
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we'll discuss that as we gothrough this text why worry,
being anxious, is wrong.
Let's read, beginning in verse25.
Therefore, I say to you well,now I did something that you
shouldn't do, and that is Ijumped in the middle of a
thought here and I startedreading a text.
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Anytime you find a wherefore,or therefore in Scripture, what
do you have to do?
See what it's there for?
Right?
So it ties to the precedingverse right, jesus has just been
talking about something else,and it was all about money.
And he's just said in verse 24,you can't serve two masters,
right, for you're going to hatethe one or love the other.
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You're going to be loyal to oneor despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
And so the idea here in verse24, so we can set the context is
this you have one master, youhave one master, and, assuming
you're a Christian, that masteris the Lord Jesus, god Almighty,
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right, and so because you haveone master, you have a master.
Because of that, therefore, thenext verse therefore, I say to
you do not worry about your life.
Now we could stop right there,and that's a what a tall order
that is.
Do not worry about your life atall, he expands it.
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What you will eat or what youwill drink, nor about your body.
What you will put on.
Is not life more than food andthe body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air,for they neither sow nor reap,
nor gather into barns, for theyneither sow nor reap, nor gather
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into barns, and yet yourheavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value thanthey?
Which of you, by worrying, canadd one cubit to his stature?
So why do you worry aboutclothing?
Consider the lilies of thefield, how they grow.
They neither toil nor spin, andyet I say to you that even
Solomon, in all his glory, wasnot arrayed like one of these.
Now, if God so clothes thegrass of the field which is
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today, which today is andtomorrow is thrown into the oven
, will he not much more clotheyou, oh you, faith.
Therefore, do not worry sayingwhat shall we eat or what shall
we drink or what shall we wearfor after all these things the
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gentiles seek for.
Your heavenly father knows thatyou need all these things, but
seek first the kingdom of god,but seek first the kingdom of
god and his righteousness, andall these things shall be added
to you.
Therefore, do not worry abouttomorrow, for tomorrow will
worry about its own things.
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Sufficient for the day is itsown trouble.
That's good, and I think Icounted it up.
But I think in this passage hesaid do not worry.
Three times.
It's kind of like the holy,holy, holy thing.
Right, we're making a pointhere, a big point about
something, and it's do not worry.
He says that three times inthis little passage and he gives
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four reasons.
I think there's four reasonshere.
At least there's four reasonswhy worry.
Being anxious, stressed out iswrong.
Here they are.
If you want to write them down,I'm going to talk about them.
It's unfaithful.
Worry is unfaithful because ofour master, all right.
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It's unnecessary because of ourfather.
It's unreasonable because ofour faith and it's unwise
because of our future.
I'll say all that again, butI'll now go through it too, as
we walk through this passage.
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It's unfaithful because of ourmaster.
It's unnecessary because of ourfather.
It's unreasonable because ofour faith and it's unwise
because of our master.
It's unnecessary because of ourfather.
It's unreasonable because ofour faith and it's unwise
because of our future.
And so, as I've said already,when we're thinking about this,
idea of worry is unfaithfulbecause of our master.
For this reason, therefore,he's referring back to verse 24.
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Jesus is declaring here againthat a Christian's only master
is God.
He is therefore saying to usbecause God is your master, do
not worry.
Because God is your master, donot worry.
Now, a bond slave'sresponsibility is only to his
master, and so for us, asbelievers, to worry is to be
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disobedient and unfaithful toour master, who is God.
I will go so far as to say, forChristians, worry and anxiety
are actually forbidden, if youwant to use that term.
Forbidden, it's foolish, it'ssinful.
In the original language, in theGreek language, the way this is
rendered, this command do notworry or do not be anxious
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includes the idea of stoppingwhat is already being done, in
other words, stop it.
That's the idea, stop worrying.
It's not just do not worry,it's stop worrying and do not
start it again.
So that's the idea.
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And he says do not worry aboutwhat?
About your life?
Could anything be moreall-inclusive than that
statement Don't worry about yourlife?
Now you say yeah, but you knowI'm dealing with this, I don't
know what else to say about that, other than Jesus said don't
worry about your life.
Soon and very soon, sisterBrenda is going to have to start
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dialysis as she awaits herkidney transplant.
When's that going to have tohappen?
Friday.
And yet Jesus says I'm going topick on you.
And yet Jesus says to Brendadon't worry about your life.
But yeah, she's having to startdialysis.
That's real life.
And yet Jesus says don't worryabout your life because you have
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a master.
We'll dig into this just alittle bit more as we move
through this.
So life is a comprehensive termin the it's psuche.
It's the idea of all of aperson's being physical, mental,
emotional and spiritual.
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Jesus is referring to life herein its fullest possible sense.
Absolutely nothing in anyaspect of our lives, internal or
external, according to whatJesus is saying here nothing in
any aspect of our livesjustifies our being anxious.
When we have the master, thatwe do, that's what he's teaching
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us.
That we do, that's what he'steaching us.
Worry is the sin of distrustingthe promise and the providence
of God.
And yet it is a sin I suspectthat Christians commit perhaps
more frequently than any other.
This is probably the one, ifwe're going to pick a sin, this
is it most likely one.
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If we're going to pick a sinthis is it most likely you say
well, that's not me, I don't,you know, I don't do that.
Well, you've got another one,that's fine.
But you've got one, trust me,you've got one.
The English term worry comesfrom an old German word meaning
to strangle or to choke, andthat's exactly what worry does,
doesn't it?
That's what it does.
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It's a kind of mental andemotional strangulation which
probably causes more mental andphysical afflictions than any
other single cause.
I'm not a doctor Well, I am,but not that kind.
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But if I were to have to guess,my mother-in-law got cancer
from worry.
You say, that sounds stupid.
She's stressed about anythingand everything, wouldn't you
agree?
Even she would have agreed withthat.
It's been reported that a densefog, extensive enough to cover
seven city blocks, a hundredfoot deep, is composed of less
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than one glass of water dividedinto 60,000 million droplets.
And so, in the right form, inthe right form, which is fog, a
few gallons of water can cripplea large city.
In a very similar way, thesubstance of worry is nearly
always extremely small comparedto the size it forms in our
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minds and damage that it does inour lives.
Someone who said worry is athin stream of fear that
trickles through the mind which,if encouraged, will cut a
channel so wide that all otherthoughts will be drained out.
Worry is the opposite ofcontentment and trust.
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It's the opposite of it whichshould be a believer's normal
and constant state of mind.
Not worry, but contentment andtrust should be our normal and
constant state of mind.
Worry is the opposite of that.
We should be able to say withthe Apostle Paul in Philippians
4, 11 through 12, I've learnedto be content in whatever
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circumstances.
I am, I know how to get alongwith humble means.
I am, I know how to get alongwith humble means, and I also
know how to live in prosperityIn any and every circumstance.
I've learned the secret ofbeing filled and going hungry,
both of having abundance andsuffering need.
And so a Christian'scontentment is found in God, in
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the Lord, and only in him, inhis ownership and in his control
and in his provision ofeverything we possess and will
ever need.
Why?
Well, first of all, markreferenced this in his prayers.
He was praying before he tookup the offering.
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God owns everything, includingthe entire universe.
David proclaimed in Psalm 24,1,.
The earth is the Lord's and allit contains, the world and
those who dwell in it, everyonewho dwells in it, is the Lord's,
not in the sense of beingredeemed, but in the sense of
him being ruler over them.
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He also said in 1 Chronicles,29, 11,.
Thine, o Lord, is the greatnessand the power and the glory and
the victory and the majesty,indeed everything that is in the
heavens and the earth.
So everything we have nowbelongs to the Lord and
everything we will ever havebelongs to him.
And so why then do we worryabout his taking from us what
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really belongs to him?
Why do we worry about that?
One day, when he was away fromhome, someone came up running to
John Wesley and said your houseis burned down.
Your house is burned down.
To which Wesley replied no, ithasn't, because I don't own a
house.
The one I've been living inbelongs to the Lord, and if it
is burned down, then that's hisresponsibility, not mine.
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And I don't think, from whatI've read about Wesley
historically, I don't think thatwas a glib statement of his.
He lived that way.
In all honesty.
He had been very successful asa businessman, as a pastor.
In so many ways.
He was an entrepreneur.
He made a lot of money all theway through his life.
When Wesley died he had not apenny to his name.
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He gave it all away.
Everything, everything belongsto the Lord.
Second, we should be able totrust and be content, because
God controls everything, evenstorms.
Scripture says that veryclearly.
David gives us the rightperspective.
He says 1 Corinthians, 29, 12,.
You rule over all, and in yourhand is power of my, and it lies
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in your hand to make great andto strengthen everyone.
Daniel declared Daniel 2, 20through 21,.
He said let the name of God beblessed forever and ever, for
wisdom and power belong to him,and it is he who changes the
times and the seasons.
He removes kings andestablishes kings.
Wisdom and power belong to him,and it is he who changes the
times and the seasons.
He removes kings andestablishes kings.
He gives wisdom to wise men andknowledge to men of
understanding.
Now, those weren't just idlewords for Daniel, because the
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events between Daniel 2 andDaniel 6 were separated by many
years, and when the jealouscommissioners and underlings
tricked King Darius intoordering Daniel thrown into the
den of lions, it was the king,not Daniel, who was worried.
You can read about that.
It says the king didn't sleepall night long.
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Daniel apparently slept verysoundly next to the lions whose
mouths had been closed by anangel.
I don't know if I could havedone that.
Third believers are to becontent and trust the Lord,
because the Lord provideseverything.
He not only owns everything andcontrols everything, he also
provides everything.
He's the supreme owner and thesupreme controller.
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He's also the supreme provider.
The supreme controller.
He's also the supreme provider,as is indicated in one of his
ancient names Jehovah Jireh,yahweh Jireh, which means the
Lord who provides.
That's the name Abrahamascribed to God when he was
provided a lamb to be sacrificedin the place of Isaac.
And so if Abraham, with hislimited knowledge of God, could
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be so trusting and so content,how much more should we who
actually know Christ and whohave his whole written word?
We have every reason to.
As the apostle assures us, godwill supply all your needs
according to his riches in gloryin Christ Jesus.
Now, the needs that Jesusmentions here, back in Matthew 6
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, the needs that he mentionshere, are the most basic right
what we eat, what we drink, whatwe put on.
Those are the things that everyperson in every age has ever
needed.
But I think, because mostWestern Christians, like us,
have those things pretty much inabundance, we're usually not
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too often worried about thosethings.
But throughout Bible times,however, you need to understand
food and water could seldom betaken for granted.
When there was little snow inthe mountains in Lebanon, there
was little water in the rivers,and if inadequate rainfall came,
there was little water in therivers.
And if inadequate rainfall came, it was a real problem.
Shortage of water naturallybrought shortage of what Food,
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which seriously affected thewhole economy and even make
clothes harder to buy.
And yet Jesus told them don'tworry about those things.
Those things are important andthe Lord knows and cares about
our need for them.
As Jesus goes on to explain, hehe very rhetorically here asked
the question is life not morethan food?
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Is the body not more thanclothing?
All three of those necessitiespertain to the body, and Jesus
says that the fullness of lifeis more than merely taking care
of the body.
And yet taking care of the bodyhas always been a common
obsession for people.
Even when we're not starving orthirsting or naked, we still
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spend an inordinate amount ofattention to our bodies.
Not to say that we shouldn't.
We have to be careful.
The Apostle Paul did sayphysical exercise profits a
little.
You get what you put into it.
I guess right.
He said our bodies are templesof the Holy Spirit.
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So those things are important.
But at the same time we pamperour body, we decorate it, we
exercise it some of us.
We protect it from disease andpain, we build it up, we slender
it down, we adorn it withjewelry, we keep it warm or we
keep it cool, or we train it towork and play, we try to help to
get it to go to sleep A hundredother things to serve and
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satisfy our bodies.
And Jesus says that's not yourlife.
Even as Christians, we getcaught up in the world's idea
that we live because of ourbodies.
And since we live, since wethink we live because of our
bodies, we live for our bodies.
We know better, of course, butthat's often the way we act.
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Our bodies in themselves arenot the source of anything.
They do not give us life, butare given life by God, who is
the source of all life Spiritual, emotional, intellectual and
physical.
Therefore, whether the Lordgives us more or gives us less
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of anything, it all belongs tohim as owner, controller and
provider.
And so what's ourresponsibility in all of that?
Our responsibility is to thankhim for what he gives us and to
use it wisely and unselfishlyfor as long as he entrusts it to
us, selfishly, for as long ashe entrusts it to us.
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And if he takes it away, we say, like Job, the Lord gives and
the Lord takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Worry is unfaithful because ofour master.
Secondly, worry is unnecessarybecause of our father.
Verse 26 through 30, that'swhat he talks about.
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So the basic thrust of theseverses is that a believer has
absolutely no reason to worrybecause God is his or her
heavenly father.
Jesus is basically saying haveyou forgotten who your father is
?
Have you forgotten who yourfather is?
And to illustrate his point, heshows how unnecessary and
foolish it is to worry aboutfood, to worry about life
expectancy and to worry aboutclothing.
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He mentions these things Nowthere's a lot of birds in
northern Galilee and I suspectit's likely that Jesus probably
pointed to some of the passingbirds as he is talking and he
says look at the birds of theair.
That's an object lesson.
He called attention to the factthat these birds do not have
intricate and involved processesfor acquiring food.
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They don't sow, they don't reap, they're not farmers, they
don't store it up in barns.
And, like every other creature,birds have their life from God.
But God does not say to them ineffect, I've done my part, now
you're on your own.
No, the Lord has provided themwith an abundance of food
resources and the instinct tofind those resources for
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themselves and their baby birds.
Your heavenly father feeds them.
That's what he says.
And if God so carefully takescare of such relatively
insignificant creatures as birds, how much more will he take
care of those who are created inhis own image and have become
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his children through faith?
He says are you not worth muchmore than they?
Now, as a little side note, letme say this Jesus does not
suggest that these birds donothing to feed themselves.
All right, anyone who's everobserved them, even for a little
while, you become impressedwith their diligence and their
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persistence in foraging for food.
Birds spend the greater part oftheir time and their energy
finding food for themselves.
Birds spend the greater part oftheir time and their energy
finding food for themselves, fortheir mates, for their young.
They don't worry about wheretheir next meal is going to come
from, though.
They gather food until theyhave enough, and then they go
about with whatever businessthey may have until the next
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mealtime.
What kind of business doesbirds have, I don't know, flying
around I guess.
By the way, birds only eatexcessively when humans put them
in a cage.
Right, I'm not making astatement on whether or not you
should have a bird.
I'm just saying they neverworry about their food.
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They never stockpile their food.
Now, certain species storeseeds or nuts for winter, but
they do so out of an instinctivesense, not out of fear or worry
, much less they do notstockpile simply for the sake of
gloating over their hoard.
In their own limited way, theyillustrate what we should know
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that the heavenly father feedsthem.
We should know that.
And yet no bird is created inthe image of God or recreated in
the image of Christ.
No bird was ever promisedairship with Jesus Christ
throughout all eternity.
No bird has a place preparedfor him in heaven.
And if God gives and sustainslife for birds, will he not take
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care of us, who are hischildren and who have been given
all of these glorious promises?
Yes, he will Worry aboutlongevity.
Second illustration here has todo with life expectancy.
Our culture is obsessed withtrying to lengthen life.
We exercise, we eat carefully,we supplement our diets with
minerals and vitamins, we getregular physical checkups.
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Or maybe you're like me and donone of that and you do other
countless things in hope ofadding a few extra years to your
life.
And yet what the Bible says isthat God has bounded the life of
every person.
Now, exercise, good eating andother common sense practices, I
think, are very beneficial whendone in a reasonable way and
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looked at from the rightperspective.
They no doubt, no doubt, canimprove the quality and
productivity of our lives, butthey will not force God into
extending our lifespan.
You can worry yourself to death,but not to life.
Dr Charles Mayo of the famousMayo Clinic wrote worry affects
the circulation, the heart, theglands and the whole nervous
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system.
I've never met a man or known aman to die of overwork, but
I've known a lot who died ofworry.
So this gift of life is a giftfrom God to be used for his
purposes, for spiritual concerns, not selfish and earthly ones.
Our concern should be to obey,honor, please and glorify him,
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leaving everything else to hiswisdom and care.
Worry about clothing.
That's verse 28.
Using flowers as anillustration, now, obviously,
some of the people to whom Jesusspoke perhaps had little
clothing, no more than maybe oneset of covering for their
bodies.
And he pointed again to theirsurroundings, this time to
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flowers, to assure them of God'sconcern and God's provision.
He talks about the flowers ofthe field, the lilies of the
field, and he points them out.
Now, those beautifuldecorations of nature.
Now, those beautifuldecorations of nature.
They make no effort to grow ontheir own.
They had no part in designingthemselves or coloring
themselves.
They do not toil, they do notspin.
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Jesus said, stating the obvious,he says yet I say to you that
Solomon, in all his glory, didnot clothe himself like one of
these.
Even the naked eye can see theamazing detail and shading and
the coloring of a flower.
Under the microscope it showsitself to be even more marvelous
and intricate than anybodycould ever imagine.
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And Jesus said yet even Solomon, one of the most resplendent
kings the world has ever known,all of his glory, did not clothe
himself like one of theselittle flowers which anyone
could pick by the dozen.
Probably Our worries today areseldom for necessary clothing.
Just go look at our closets.
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If Jesus told those, though,who had but one simple garment
not to worry about theirclothing, what would he say to
us, I wonder?
And despite their beauty,however, flowers do not last
long.
He says that.
But if God bothers to array thegrass of the field with
beautiful but short-livedflowers, how much more is he
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concerned to clothe and care forhis very own children, who are
destined to eternal life?
To be anxious even about thingsthat we need to survive?
Jesus says it's sinful, oh youof it's of little faith.
A person who worries aboutthese kinds of things, which I
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have from time to time, may havesaving faith, but doesn't have
the faith to rely on God tofinish what he's begun.
We freely put our eternaldestiny into his hands, but at
times we refuse to believe thathe'll provide what we need.
Worry is really not a trivialsin.
We pass it off as well.
It's just everybody does it.
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It's not a trivial sin becauseit strikes a blow at both God's
love and at God's integrity.
Worry declares our HeavenlyFather to be untrustworthy in
His Word and His promises.
So for us to avow belief in theinerrancy of Scripture and, in
the next moment to express worryis to speak out both sides of
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our mouth.
Moment to express worry is tospeak out both sides of our
mouth.
Worry shows that we aremastered by our circumstances
and by our own finiteperspectives and our own
understanding, rather than byGod's word.
Worry is not only debilitatingand destructive, but it actually
maligns and impugns God, andwhen we're not in the word, like
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we should be, so that God is inour mind and in our heart, then
Satan moves in to that vacuumand he plants worry, and then
worry pushes then the Lord evenfurther from our minds.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
You've been listening to.
Foundations of Truth, the Bibleteaching ministry of Pastor
Timothy Mann, and ProvidenceChurch, ormond Beach, florida.
Providence is located at 1151West Granada Boulevard, ormond
Beach, florida.
If you'd like to contact orlearn more about Providence
Church, go online totheprovidencechurchorg.
(28:24):
If this program has ministeredto you, please feel welcome to
call the church at 386-310-4997or write us at 1151 West Granada
Boulevard, ormond Beach,florida, 32174.
If you feel led by God tofinancially support Foundations
(28:45):
of Truth on this station, visitthe giving link at
theprovidencechurchorg.
Until next time, continue tobuild your life on the
Foundations of Truth throughJesus Christ and God's written
word.
Join us next week at this sametime on this same station.
Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the Bible
teaching ministry of PastorTimothy Mann and Providence
Church, ormond Beach, florida.
Providence Church is a localassembly of followers of Jesus
Christ dedicated to helpingpeople become committed and
mature followers of Jesus Christ.
Now here's Pastor Tim teachingthe word, turning your Bibles to
(00:23):
Matthew 6.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
As I was reflecting and praying and meditating on
this, I was reminded of thatscripture in Luke where the Lord
is specifically talking aboutnot being afraid of people, not
being afraid of man, don't fearman.
And he says that he sees everysparrow that falls from the sky,
every sparrow.
And how much more valuable andimportant are you.
(00:47):
And that was in the context ofthat.
And then as I began to reflecton God's care and sparrows and
all of that, he reminded me ofMatthew, chapter 6.
And sparrows are referencedthere, the birds of the air, and
we'll talk about that in just amoment.
And I was reminded.
It's almost as if the HolySpirit was saying to me see, I
(01:09):
told you you don't have to worry.
But specifically as I wasthinking about this passage that
we're going to read verse 25through 34, the heart of Jesus's
message in our present passagefrom Matthew 6 is this Don't
worry, not even aboutnecessities.
Not even about necessities.
(01:31):
Now, that's pretty serious.
He gives this command.
Let's read it and we'll go backand talk about it.
This is a good topic.
If I were a seeker-sensitivepreacher, I would entitle my
sermon how to Overcome Worry.
But it's really not about justovercoming worry.
It's about focusing on why wedon't really have to worry, and
(01:53):
we'll discuss that as we gothrough this text why worry,
being anxious, is wrong.
Let's read, beginning in verse25.
Therefore, I say to you well,now I did something that you
shouldn't do, and that is Ijumped in the middle of a
thought here and I startedreading a text.
(02:14):
Anytime you find a wherefore,or therefore in Scripture, what
do you have to do?
See what it's there for?
Right?
So it ties to the precedingverse right, jesus has just been
talking about something else,and it was all about money.
And he's just said in verse 24,you can't serve two masters,
right, for you're going to hatethe one or love the other.
(02:35):
You're going to be loyal to oneor despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
And so the idea here in verse24, so we can set the context is
this you have one master, youhave one master, and, assuming
you're a Christian, that masteris the Lord Jesus, god Almighty,
(02:57):
right, and so because you haveone master, you have a master.
Because of that, therefore, thenext verse therefore, I say to
you do not worry about your life.
Now we could stop right there,and that's a what a tall order
that is.
Do not worry about your life atall, he expands it.
(03:23):
What you will eat or what youwill drink, nor about your body.
What you will put on.
Is not life more than food andthe body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air,for they neither sow nor reap,
nor gather into barns, for theyneither sow nor reap, nor gather
(03:49):
into barns, and yet yourheavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value thanthey?
Which of you, by worrying, canadd one cubit to his stature?
So why do you worry aboutclothing?
Consider the lilies of thefield, how they grow.
They neither toil nor spin, andyet I say to you that even
Solomon, in all his glory, wasnot arrayed like one of these.
Now, if God so clothes thegrass of the field which is
(04:14):
today, which today is andtomorrow is thrown into the oven
, will he not much more clotheyou, oh you, faith.
Therefore, do not worry sayingwhat shall we eat or what shall
we drink or what shall we wearfor after all these things the
(04:34):
gentiles seek for.
Your heavenly father knows thatyou need all these things, but
seek first the kingdom of god,but seek first the kingdom of
god and his righteousness, andall these things shall be added
to you.
Therefore, do not worry abouttomorrow, for tomorrow will
worry about its own things.
(04:55):
Sufficient for the day is itsown trouble.
That's good, and I think Icounted it up.
But I think in this passage hesaid do not worry.
Three times.
It's kind of like the holy,holy, holy thing.
Right, we're making a pointhere, a big point about
something, and it's do not worry.
He says that three times inthis little passage and he gives
(05:17):
four reasons.
I think there's four reasonshere.
At least there's four reasonswhy worry.
Being anxious, stressed out iswrong.
Here they are.
If you want to write them down,I'm going to talk about them.
It's unfaithful.
Worry is unfaithful because ofour master, all right.
(05:38):
It's unnecessary because of ourfather.
It's unreasonable because ofour faith and it's unwise
because of our future.
I'll say all that again, butI'll now go through it too, as
we walk through this passage.
(05:59):
It's unfaithful because of ourmaster.
It's unnecessary because of ourfather.
It's unreasonable because ofour faith and it's unwise
because of our master.
It's unnecessary because of ourfather.
It's unreasonable because ofour faith and it's unwise
because of our future.
And so, as I've said already,when we're thinking about this,
idea of worry is unfaithfulbecause of our master.
For this reason, therefore,he's referring back to verse 24.
(06:19):
Jesus is declaring here againthat a Christian's only master
is God.
He is therefore saying to usbecause God is your master, do
not worry.
Because God is your master, donot worry.
Now, a bond slave'sresponsibility is only to his
master, and so for us, asbelievers, to worry is to be
(06:43):
disobedient and unfaithful toour master, who is God.
I will go so far as to say, forChristians, worry and anxiety
are actually forbidden, if youwant to use that term.
Forbidden, it's foolish, it'ssinful.
In the original language, in theGreek language, the way this is
rendered, this command do notworry or do not be anxious
(07:07):
includes the idea of stoppingwhat is already being done, in
other words, stop it.
That's the idea, stop worrying.
It's not just do not worry,it's stop worrying and do not
start it again.
So that's the idea.
(07:27):
And he says do not worry aboutwhat?
About your life?
Could anything be moreall-inclusive than that
statement Don't worry about yourlife?
Now you say yeah, but you knowI'm dealing with this, I don't
know what else to say about that, other than Jesus said don't
worry about your life.
Soon and very soon, sisterBrenda is going to have to start
(07:50):
dialysis as she awaits herkidney transplant.
When's that going to have tohappen?
Friday.
And yet Jesus says I'm going topick on you.
And yet Jesus says to Brendadon't worry about your life.
But yeah, she's having to startdialysis.
That's real life.
And yet Jesus says don't worryabout your life because you have
(08:15):
a master.
We'll dig into this just alittle bit more as we move
through this.
So life is a comprehensive termin the it's psuche.
It's the idea of all of aperson's being physical, mental,
emotional and spiritual.
(08:35):
Jesus is referring to life herein its fullest possible sense.
Absolutely nothing in anyaspect of our lives, internal or
external, according to whatJesus is saying here nothing in
any aspect of our livesjustifies our being anxious.
When we have the master, thatwe do, that's what he's teaching
(09:00):
us.
That we do, that's what he'steaching us.
Worry is the sin of distrustingthe promise and the providence
of God.
And yet it is a sin I suspectthat Christians commit perhaps
more frequently than any other.
This is probably the one, ifwe're going to pick a sin, this
is it most likely one.
(09:25):
If we're going to pick a sinthis is it most likely you say
well, that's not me, I don't,you know, I don't do that.
Well, you've got another one,that's fine.
But you've got one, trust me,you've got one.
The English term worry comesfrom an old German word meaning
to strangle or to choke, andthat's exactly what worry does,
doesn't it?
That's what it does.
(09:45):
It's a kind of mental andemotional strangulation which
probably causes more mental andphysical afflictions than any
other single cause.
I'm not a doctor Well, I am,but not that kind.
(10:08):
But if I were to have to guess,my mother-in-law got cancer
from worry.
You say, that sounds stupid.
She's stressed about anythingand everything, wouldn't you
agree?
Even she would have agreed withthat.
It's been reported that a densefog, extensive enough to cover
seven city blocks, a hundredfoot deep, is composed of less
(10:30):
than one glass of water dividedinto 60,000 million droplets.
And so, in the right form, inthe right form, which is fog, a
few gallons of water can cripplea large city.
In a very similar way, thesubstance of worry is nearly
always extremely small comparedto the size it forms in our
(10:54):
minds and damage that it does inour lives.
Someone who said worry is athin stream of fear that
trickles through the mind which,if encouraged, will cut a
channel so wide that all otherthoughts will be drained out.
Worry is the opposite ofcontentment and trust.
(11:16):
It's the opposite of it whichshould be a believer's normal
and constant state of mind.
Not worry, but contentment andtrust should be our normal and
constant state of mind.
Worry is the opposite of that.
We should be able to say withthe Apostle Paul in Philippians
4, 11 through 12, I've learnedto be content in whatever
(11:39):
circumstances.
I am, I know how to get alongwith humble means.
I am, I know how to get alongwith humble means, and I also
know how to live in prosperityIn any and every circumstance.
I've learned the secret ofbeing filled and going hungry,
both of having abundance andsuffering need.
And so a Christian'scontentment is found in God, in
(12:00):
the Lord, and only in him, inhis ownership and in his control
and in his provision ofeverything we possess and will
ever need.
Why?
Well, first of all, markreferenced this in his prayers.
He was praying before he tookup the offering.
(12:20):
God owns everything, includingthe entire universe.
David proclaimed in Psalm 24,1,.
The earth is the Lord's and allit contains, the world and
those who dwell in it, everyonewho dwells in it, is the Lord's,
not in the sense of beingredeemed, but in the sense of
him being ruler over them.
(12:41):
He also said in 1 Chronicles,29, 11,.
Thine, o Lord, is the greatnessand the power and the glory and
the victory and the majesty,indeed everything that is in the
heavens and the earth.
So everything we have nowbelongs to the Lord and
everything we will ever havebelongs to him.
And so why then do we worryabout his taking from us what
(13:01):
really belongs to him?
Why do we worry about that?
One day, when he was away fromhome, someone came up running to
John Wesley and said your houseis burned down.
Your house is burned down.
To which Wesley replied no, ithasn't, because I don't own a
house.
The one I've been living inbelongs to the Lord, and if it
is burned down, then that's hisresponsibility, not mine.
(13:22):
And I don't think, from whatI've read about Wesley
historically, I don't think thatwas a glib statement of his.
He lived that way.
In all honesty.
He had been very successful asa businessman, as a pastor.
In so many ways.
He was an entrepreneur.
He made a lot of money all theway through his life.
When Wesley died he had not apenny to his name.
(13:44):
He gave it all away.
Everything, everything belongsto the Lord.
Second, we should be able totrust and be content, because
God controls everything, evenstorms.
Scripture says that veryclearly.
David gives us the rightperspective.
He says 1 Corinthians, 29, 12,.
You rule over all, and in yourhand is power of my, and it lies
(14:08):
in your hand to make great andto strengthen everyone.
Daniel declared Daniel 2, 20through 21,.
He said let the name of God beblessed forever and ever, for
wisdom and power belong to him,and it is he who changes the
times and the seasons.
He removes kings andestablishes kings.
Wisdom and power belong to him,and it is he who changes the
times and the seasons.
He removes kings andestablishes kings.
He gives wisdom to wise men andknowledge to men of
understanding.
Now, those weren't just idlewords for Daniel, because the
(14:32):
events between Daniel 2 andDaniel 6 were separated by many
years, and when the jealouscommissioners and underlings
tricked King Darius intoordering Daniel thrown into the
den of lions, it was the king,not Daniel, who was worried.
You can read about that.
It says the king didn't sleepall night long.
(14:55):
Daniel apparently slept verysoundly next to the lions whose
mouths had been closed by anangel.
I don't know if I could havedone that.
Third believers are to becontent and trust the Lord,
because the Lord provideseverything.
He not only owns everything andcontrols everything, he also
provides everything.
He's the supreme owner and thesupreme controller.
(15:18):
He's also the supreme provider.
The supreme controller.
He's also the supreme provider,as is indicated in one of his
ancient names Jehovah Jireh,yahweh Jireh, which means the
Lord who provides.
That's the name Abrahamascribed to God when he was
provided a lamb to be sacrificedin the place of Isaac.
And so if Abraham, with hislimited knowledge of God, could
(15:41):
be so trusting and so content,how much more should we who
actually know Christ and whohave his whole written word?
We have every reason to.
As the apostle assures us, godwill supply all your needs
according to his riches in gloryin Christ Jesus.
Now, the needs that Jesusmentions here, back in Matthew 6
(16:04):
, the needs that he mentionshere, are the most basic right
what we eat, what we drink, whatwe put on.
Those are the things that everyperson in every age has ever
needed.
But I think, because mostWestern Christians, like us,
have those things pretty much inabundance, we're usually not
(16:26):
too often worried about thosethings.
But throughout Bible times,however, you need to understand
food and water could seldom betaken for granted.
When there was little snow inthe mountains in Lebanon, there
was little water in the rivers,and if inadequate rainfall came,
there was little water in therivers.
And if inadequate rainfall came, it was a real problem.
Shortage of water naturallybrought shortage of what Food,
(16:49):
which seriously affected thewhole economy and even make
clothes harder to buy.
And yet Jesus told them don'tworry about those things.
Those things are important andthe Lord knows and cares about
our need for them.
As Jesus goes on to explain, hehe very rhetorically here asked
the question is life not morethan food?
(17:11):
Is the body not more thanclothing?
All three of those necessitiespertain to the body, and Jesus
says that the fullness of lifeis more than merely taking care
of the body.
And yet taking care of the bodyhas always been a common
obsession for people.
Even when we're not starving orthirsting or naked, we still
(17:36):
spend an inordinate amount ofattention to our bodies.
Not to say that we shouldn't.
We have to be careful.
The Apostle Paul did sayphysical exercise profits a
little.
You get what you put into it.
I guess right.
He said our bodies are templesof the Holy Spirit.
(17:57):
So those things are important.
But at the same time we pamperour body, we decorate it, we
exercise it some of us.
We protect it from disease andpain, we build it up, we slender
it down, we adorn it withjewelry, we keep it warm or we
keep it cool, or we train it towork and play, we try to help to
get it to go to sleep A hundredother things to serve and
(18:18):
satisfy our bodies.
And Jesus says that's not yourlife.
Even as Christians, we getcaught up in the world's idea
that we live because of ourbodies.
And since we live, since wethink we live because of our
bodies, we live for our bodies.
We know better, of course, butthat's often the way we act.
(18:39):
Our bodies in themselves arenot the source of anything.
They do not give us life, butare given life by God, who is
the source of all life Spiritual, emotional, intellectual and
physical.
Therefore, whether the Lordgives us more or gives us less
(19:00):
of anything, it all belongs tohim as owner, controller and
provider.
And so what's ourresponsibility in all of that?
Our responsibility is to thankhim for what he gives us and to
use it wisely and unselfishlyfor as long as he entrusts it to
us, selfishly, for as long ashe entrusts it to us.
(19:22):
And if he takes it away, we say, like Job, the Lord gives and
the Lord takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Worry is unfaithful because ofour master.
Secondly, worry is unnecessarybecause of our father.
Verse 26 through 30, that'swhat he talks about.
(19:50):
So the basic thrust of theseverses is that a believer has
absolutely no reason to worrybecause God is his or her
heavenly father.
Jesus is basically saying haveyou forgotten who your father is
?
Have you forgotten who yourfather is?
And to illustrate his point, heshows how unnecessary and
foolish it is to worry aboutfood, to worry about life
expectancy and to worry aboutclothing.
(20:11):
He mentions these things Nowthere's a lot of birds in
northern Galilee and I suspectit's likely that Jesus probably
pointed to some of the passingbirds as he is talking and he
says look at the birds of theair.
That's an object lesson.
He called attention to the factthat these birds do not have
intricate and involved processesfor acquiring food.
(20:34):
They don't sow, they don't reap, they're not farmers, they
don't store it up in barns.
And, like every other creature,birds have their life from God.
But God does not say to them ineffect, I've done my part, now
you're on your own.
No, the Lord has provided themwith an abundance of food
resources and the instinct tofind those resources for
(20:58):
themselves and their baby birds.
Your heavenly father feeds them.
That's what he says.
And if God so carefully takescare of such relatively
insignificant creatures as birds, how much more will he take
care of those who are created inhis own image and have become
(21:18):
his children through faith?
He says are you not worth muchmore than they?
Now, as a little side note, letme say this Jesus does not
suggest that these birds donothing to feed themselves.
All right, anyone who's everobserved them, even for a little
while, you become impressedwith their diligence and their
(21:39):
persistence in foraging for food.
Birds spend the greater part oftheir time and their energy
finding food for themselves.
Birds spend the greater part oftheir time and their energy
finding food for themselves, fortheir mates, for their young.
They don't worry about wheretheir next meal is going to come
from, though.
They gather food until theyhave enough, and then they go
about with whatever businessthey may have until the next
(22:02):
mealtime.
What kind of business doesbirds have, I don't know, flying
around I guess.
By the way, birds only eatexcessively when humans put them
in a cage.
Right, I'm not making astatement on whether or not you
should have a bird.
I'm just saying they neverworry about their food.
(22:22):
They never stockpile their food.
Now, certain species storeseeds or nuts for winter, but
they do so out of an instinctivesense, not out of fear or worry
, much less they do notstockpile simply for the sake of
gloating over their hoard.
In their own limited way, theyillustrate what we should know
(22:43):
that the heavenly father feedsthem.
We should know that.
And yet no bird is created inthe image of God or recreated in
the image of Christ.
No bird was ever promisedairship with Jesus Christ
throughout all eternity.
No bird has a place preparedfor him in heaven.
And if God gives and sustainslife for birds, will he not take
(23:05):
care of us, who are hischildren and who have been given
all of these glorious promises?
Yes, he will Worry aboutlongevity.
Second illustration here has todo with life expectancy.
Our culture is obsessed withtrying to lengthen life.
We exercise, we eat carefully,we supplement our diets with
minerals and vitamins, we getregular physical checkups.
(23:28):
Or maybe you're like me and donone of that and you do other
countless things in hope ofadding a few extra years to your
life.
And yet what the Bible says isthat God has bounded the life of
every person.
Now, exercise, good eating andother common sense practices, I
think, are very beneficial whendone in a reasonable way and
(23:50):
looked at from the rightperspective.
They no doubt, no doubt, canimprove the quality and
productivity of our lives, butthey will not force God into
extending our lifespan.
You can worry yourself to death,but not to life.
Dr Charles Mayo of the famousMayo Clinic wrote worry affects
the circulation, the heart, theglands and the whole nervous
(24:12):
system.
I've never met a man or known aman to die of overwork, but
I've known a lot who died ofworry.
So this gift of life is a giftfrom God to be used for his
purposes, for spiritual concerns, not selfish and earthly ones.
Our concern should be to obey,honor, please and glorify him,
(24:33):
leaving everything else to hiswisdom and care.
Worry about clothing.
That's verse 28.
Using flowers as anillustration, now, obviously,
some of the people to whom Jesusspoke perhaps had little
clothing, no more than maybe oneset of covering for their
bodies.
And he pointed again to theirsurroundings, this time to
(24:54):
flowers, to assure them of God'sconcern and God's provision.
He talks about the flowers ofthe field, the lilies of the
field, and he points them out.
Now, those beautifuldecorations of nature.
Now, those beautifuldecorations of nature.
They make no effort to grow ontheir own.
They had no part in designingthemselves or coloring
themselves.
They do not toil, they do notspin.
(25:17):
Jesus said, stating the obvious,he says yet I say to you that
Solomon, in all his glory, didnot clothe himself like one of
these.
Even the naked eye can see theamazing detail and shading and
the coloring of a flower.
Under the microscope it showsitself to be even more marvelous
and intricate than anybodycould ever imagine.
(25:39):
And Jesus said yet even Solomon, one of the most resplendent
kings the world has ever known,all of his glory, did not clothe
himself like one of theselittle flowers which anyone
could pick by the dozen.
Probably Our worries today areseldom for necessary clothing.
Just go look at our closets.
(26:00):
If Jesus told those, though,who had but one simple garment
not to worry about theirclothing, what would he say to
us, I wonder?
And despite their beauty,however, flowers do not last
long.
He says that.
But if God bothers to array thegrass of the field with
beautiful but short-livedflowers, how much more is he
(26:22):
concerned to clothe and care forhis very own children, who are
destined to eternal life?
To be anxious even about thingsthat we need to survive?
Jesus says it's sinful, oh youof it's of little faith.
A person who worries aboutthese kinds of things, which I
(26:43):
have from time to time, may havesaving faith, but doesn't have
the faith to rely on God tofinish what he's begun.
We freely put our eternaldestiny into his hands, but at
times we refuse to believe thathe'll provide what we need.
Worry is really not a trivialsin.
We pass it off as well.
It's just everybody does it.
(27:03):
It's not a trivial sin becauseit strikes a blow at both God's
love and at God's integrity.
Worry declares our HeavenlyFather to be untrustworthy in
His Word and His promises.
So for us to avow belief in theinerrancy of Scripture and, in
the next moment to express worryis to speak out both sides of
(27:26):
our mouth.
Moment to express worry is tospeak out both sides of our
mouth.
Worry shows that we aremastered by our circumstances
and by our own finiteperspectives and our own
understanding, rather than byGod's word.
Worry is not only debilitatingand destructive, but it actually
maligns and impugns God, andwhen we're not in the word, like
(27:48):
we should be, so that God is inour mind and in our heart, then
Satan moves in to that vacuumand he plants worry, and then
worry pushes then the Lord evenfurther from our minds.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
You've been listening to.
Foundations of Truth, the Bibleteaching ministry of Pastor
Timothy Mann, and ProvidenceChurch, ormond Beach, florida.
Providence is located at 1151West Granada Boulevard, ormond
Beach, florida.
If you'd like to contact orlearn more about Providence
Church, go online totheprovidencechurchorg.
(28:24):
If this program has ministeredto you, please feel welcome to
call the church at 386-310-4997or write us at 1151 West Granada
Boulevard, ormond Beach,florida, 32174.
If you feel led by God tofinancially support Foundations
(28:45):
of Truth on this station, visitthe giving link at
theprovidencechurchorg.
Until next time, continue tobuild your life on the
Foundations of Truth throughJesus Christ and God's written
word.
Join us next week at this sametime on this same station.
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