August 4, 2002
Part I
Matthew
6:25-34
In Matthew 6:24 Jesus has just told His disciples, “No
one can serve two masters; for you will hate one and love the other, or be
devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and money (NLT).” He continues in verse 25:
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?
The point is well taken. Life is more than the
essentials – or what we consider essential to a fulfilled life, yet modern day
society contradicts this principle. It
seems that everything in life revolves around not only food and clothing, but
also desiring a better job, a more lovely home, the latest model car. I wonder what Jesus thinks of today’s world?
How society envies the life style of the rich and
famous – yet more suicides are taking place in this high-class level of living
than on skid row! Folks, it seems as if
some people can cope better with poverty than with wealth.
I don’t think I want either one. I try to be satisfied somewhere
in-between. Didn’t Paul say that he had
learned to be content with whatever provision the Lord provided (Philippians
4:11)?
Yet we worry.
Will my paycheck stretch? Oh,
God! My children are - - - -! What will the doctor say about my latest
tests? And our church - - - - -! (Fill
in the blanks!)
In this short series of verses we are going to
analyze worry, its cause and, hopefully, its cure. George Mueller put it into perspective – “The beginning of
anxiety is the end of faith and the beginning of faith is the end of anxiety!”
So buckle your seat belts for the next few weeks as
we put the sin of worry in its place.
After all – worry won’t get you anything but ulcers! God bless.
Love to you all,
Pastor Charles