As your pastor and just as fellow Christian, I am in constant need of your prayers – for a great many reasons. Here is another to add to the list: I am thinking of bringing a series of messages on Christian sins. Pray for the Lord’s direction in this. Should I, or shouldn’t I? How should I proceed if it is the Lord’s will? Just as a great many influential sinners are praying their names are not found in the documents of the sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, you might pray that your name doesn’t come up this message. Should you pray, “Lord, please have the pastor preach against those sins I see in that church member, but leave mine alone”? This may be a stand alone message, or it may be a part of a series. This may be a message for you, or maybe it is for your neighbor. But what about the next message?
I will start with an illustration which I have used before, but it’s personal, and it’s appropriate. Between Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta’s two largest cities, there is great deal of north/south traffic. And there are three primary methods of travel to cover the 175 miles between the two communities. For people with lots of money and little time, there is a very short plane flight. Then, of course, there is the four-lane highway. And parallel to the highway almost the whole way, there is a train track. It was discontinued about the time we loved away from Alberta, but there used to be a “Dayliner” between Calgary and Edmonton. And thus, it to used be that as people drove the highway they could look over to the west and see a very funny-looking train – which was no train at all. It wasn’t a train because there was no typical engine, no caboose, and nothing in between. It was simply a single car that looked somewhat like a big bus riding on the rails. It carried no freight, only passengers, and it made only one stop, at Red Deer, before reaching its ultimate destination. I had the privilege of riding the “Dayliner” only once. I was going up to Edmonton to preach. I’m sure that kids riding in their parents’ cars along the highway saw the Dayliner and laughed. And probably people riding the Dayliner have looked at the cars, especially in the winter, and they laughed.
The difference between driving and riding might illustrate two ways in which people journey through their lives. It is a dangerous thing to drive 281 kilometers in an Alberta winter, when the temperature is 40 below. There is black ice here and there, and there is often the threat of yet another blizzard. I have driven that highway in those conditions on several occasions, once taking my wife and small children up to visit the West Edmonton Mall, the largest shopping mall in the world at the time. Making that trip in winter in a car is definitely “white-knuckle driving.” But to sit in the relative comfort of that Dayliner with a good book, or a game to play with the kids, and to look out the window to see a blizzard which can’t touch you – that is a different way to travel. One trip involves anxiety and worry. The only worry in the other, is whether or not your friend is going to be at the station to pick you up.
The Lord Jesus addresses a very common sin here in His Sermon on the Mount. It is one of which most of us are guilty to some degree quite often. AND some of us are guilty of it to a high degree very often. It is a sin which is really quite shameful when found in a Christian, but it is so common that we aren’t ashamed enough. It might have many names, but let’s just call it what it is – “Worry.” I’ve given this message the not very flattering title, “Satanic Imaginations.”
When the Lord said, “Take therefore no thought for tomorrow,” He was saying, “Don’t worry about tomorrow.” He was not condemning the making of plans for tomorrow or next week. It is not only NOT sinful, but it is wise to try to think ahead to some degree. In some ways, I wish fifty years ago or thirty years ago, that I had made better plans for today. The Psalmist said, Lord, “teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” We should build the house of our lives upon the rock rather than the sand, knowing, but not worrying about, the fact that there will be storms blowing upon that house from time to time. “If the Lord will, we shall go into such and such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain.” That is, “If it is the Lord’s will, we shall live and take care of certain things.” – James 4:13-14. Opposed to God-directed planning, worrying about tomorrow is not only unwise, it is sinful. Very often it is giving in to Satanic suggestions and diabolical imaginations.
There are occasions when God gives us commands or forbids things without explaining precisely why. At times the Lord leaves us to figure out those reasons. And sometimes we may never figure them out, because the “Lord’s ways are higher than our ways.” But on the other hand, sometimes the Lord carefully explains why He issues those commands. And this is one of those well-explained prohibitions. “Take no thought for your life what ye shall eat or drink.” First, because your life is more than food and clothing – verse 25. Second, because your Father in Heaven, Who loves you, knows what you really need – verse 26. And third, because the providence of God will take care of tomorrow when we get there – verse 34. This scripture teaches us not to worry. Worry is contrary to the lessons of nature, contrary to the gospel and contrary to the providence of the Lord.
Think first about the NATURE of worry.
Verse 25 – “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” Everyone trusts some sort of god. That is universally true, including the professed atheist. The god in whom we trust may be named “Jehovah,” or “evolution,” or “fate,” or “Allah,” or whatever. And quite often it is the human trinity: “me, myself and I.” Everyone trusts their special god for their bodies – its creation, its height, its strength, and its sustenance. People cannot help themselves but to trust this way. It is a part of our nature. Whoever that god is, he is the source of their lives, so they trust him to some degree to maintain life. But of course, Christians know that this God is Jehovah.
The Lord Jesus here forces us to ask ourselves: “what use is it to me to worry about things such as food?” Keep in mind that this is really a segment of a larger question – life versus death. It takes food to keep us alive. Generally speaking, you and I have no control over the length of our lives, but if we keep food in our bodies, usually we will keep on breathing. As most of you know I read a lot of Christian biographies. I love to hear of God’s blessings on others.
Take for example, W. B. Riley. Riley, along with Canadian, T.T. Shields, Texan, J. Frank Norris, Ben Boggard and others, unsuccessfully fought the invasion of modern theology into American Baptist churches. Riley was born in 1863, and he died in 1947. Just think about the content of those years. He was born during the Civil War, and he lived through the Spanish American War, and the War to end all Wars, and the Second World War as well. Did he always eat well? Probably not – he lived during the days of the Great Depression. He survived the days of the deadly Spanish Flu epidemic – and through the dust bowl. From time to time, he probably j-walked, crossing streets in the middle of block, yet he survived. He probably sometimes drove too fast on icy, Minnesota roads, on tires less advanced as ours. He also fought in dozens of spiritual battles. And yet he lived well into his 80s. Why did he live so long? Because that was the will of God for his life. Period. Ultimately, even when we include suicide in the equation, life is dependent entirely upon God.
The Lord Jesus tells us to consider God’s care of His creation, referring particularly to birds and flowers. A botanist may say that the lily is more important and more beautiful than the sparrow. But the ornithologist would say just the opposite. Yet, neither one would hint that their favorite subject was more important than his wife. And neither would sacrifice one of his children in order to save a flower or a bird. But that is exactly what Jehovah has done for thousands of unworthy segments of His Creation. The Lord says that God cares for the needs of His creation – and that includes you. Every time you see a beautiful flower, a stately eagle, or a wild turkey, that should be a reminder that worry is not fit for a Christian. The Lord takes pleasure in His creation and more particularly in His children.
Something else which our Saviour seems to emphasize is: our inability to help ourselves to any great degree. Those flowers and birds don’t plant seeds or sew clothes. But not only does God care for us far more than for them, He has given to us the ability to sow and to sew. So ultimately, we have even less cause for worry than those other tiny, insignificant bits of creation. That is, we can have some influence on tomorrow, while many other creatures can’t. And we should approach that opportunity with reverence and awe: Because still, “If the Lord be willing, tomorrow, we shall do this and that.” The sweat of our brow is not just a part of the curse, it is a blessing of God. We ought to plan for tomorrow and include hard work in the plan – nevertheless, worry is out of place.
Notice that the Lord Jesus said, “YOUR Father feeds them.” He doesn’t say that their Father feeds them. Jehovah is not the father the animal or the vegetable. As funny as it sounds, God is merely the Creator of lilies and sparrows; but, as Christians, He is our Father. We are above Jesus’ examples in so many different ways.
Perhaps you have heard the ancient illustration about the little boy on board the old sailing ship in the midst of the terrible storm. Some of the passengers were terrified that the ship would sink and everyone would drown. But the child was as cool as a quart of cold ice cream. When someone asked him why he wasn’t frightened, he said that it was because his father was the captain of the ship. Isn’t our Father the captain of our ship? Or have you tried to wrest the captaincy from Him?
Another reason not to worry I will call the LESSON of RELIGION.
Verse 32 – “For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” Worry belongs to the heathen – it is sin. Isn’t it the tendency of the heathen to emphasize earthly things over spiritual things? Having no concept of the spiritual, what else do they have to consider? I.e., Heaping up riches and worrying about the protection of those treasures, is a part of that man’s religion. But one doesn’t have to be rich to participate in this kind of religion. This is why Jesus said, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Worry about the collection of wealth, and the worry about the conservation of wealth, are closely related.
On the other hand, part of godly religion, is the “setting of our affections on things above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” It is to encourage ourselves to visit the fatherless and widows with desire to share what God has given us. Anxious care borders on idolatry according to the context of that verse Colossians 3. I have read a quote by some old preacher that it was less a sin to curse and swear – than to worry. Worry is evidence of a serious lack of trust in Jehovah. It is a spiritual problem. It is blasphemy. It saddens, blights, destroys, and impoverishes the soul.
That is because worry is based on a misunderstanding of the character of the Lord. “Your Father knoweth that you have need of these things.” But the god of the heathen is far removed from the interests of his pitiful people. “The Lord careth for us,” and is even pleased that we bring our cares to His benevolent throne.
So Jesus encourages us to “seek first the Kingdom of God.” To tell a person not to worry isn’t much of a help, I admit that. But if we can fill the void in that person’s life with a love for the things of God – there is something real.
Nearly all of us who reach the age of 70 have at some point struggled with trying to loose weight. It is difficult, because dieting usually leaves a void, an empty place in our lives. In fact, it is more than one empty place. But weight-loss is greatly enhanced, if we can make a substitution for the weight-causing food. The reduction or elimination of worry is greatly enhanced by filling the void with things of God’s Kingdom.
Christian, seek the Kingdom of God – serve God, study God and solicit God.
And finally, worry is contrary to PROVIDENCE.
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Different scholars interpret this in different ways. But one of the common interpretations is that each and every day brings its own bundle of problems. If we start holding on to today’s problems, saving them for reuse tomorrow, we are just adding problems to problems. But even worse, if we start worrying about tomorrow’s problem’s today, we move from adding to multiplying. Maybe we should try to compartmentalize our lives, at least in this one area.
Nearly every modern ship, has doors by which the interior of that ship can be compartmentalized. If water somehow gets into one compartment, hopefully, when the doors are shut and sealed that water can’t spread and sink the ship. That is the way that we need to approach the problems which the storms in our lives create. Compartmentalize, compartmentalize between days and weeks.
What does worry do? Does it guarantee that tomorrow will or won’t have its problems or its sorrows? Despite what our imaginations tell us, we can’t even be sure that tomorrow will have ANY sorrows. But certainly our fretting about what may, or may not, come our way doesn’t help. What our worrying about tomorrow does accomplish is the destruction of our strength and joy today. And worry is a proven medical killer; it poisons the nervous system, digestion, circulation and other things. If all the facts be known, worry has probably killed more than cancer ever has. It may be a contributor to heart attacks, ulcers, and strokes, and dozens of other plagues in Western civilization. It certainly robs people of their sleep – the God-given rebuilding time that our bodies require.
Generally speaking, God gives Christians power to cope with the trials that He permits into our lives. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, But God is faithful, who shall not permit you to be tempted above that which ye are able, But will with the temptation also make a way to resist.” But God has not given us any promise to help us with the trials which we imagine for ourselves.
Here are two things about which we should never worry: things that we can’t control, and the things that we can deal with, right now. A French soldier in World War I carried this recipe in his pocket. “Of two things I am certain: I will be either at the battle front, or I will be behind the lines. If I am at the front, I will either be in danger, or I will not be in danger. If I am in danger, I will either become a casualty, or I will not become a casualty. If I become a casualty, I will either die, or I will recover. If I die there will be nothing that I can do about it; and if I recover that would be good. I therefore see no reason to worry.
There is one flaw in this little illustration: “If in this life only we have hope, we are of all men most miserable.” I don’t know whether or not that soldier’s philosophy included the life which is beyond death. For those who have sought the Kingdom of God, not even death can give us something to worry about. But for those who are yet in their sins, their problems will have just begun when they die.
I don’t want you to worry about being hit by a semi-trailer truck on your way home from church today. But I would like you to ask yourself whether or not you are fully prepared to meet the Lord if that tractor-trailer did crush your car? Do you possess a Bible-based confidence that you have eternal life? Is the Creator and Sustainer of all creation, also your Saviour, your Lord, and your King? I don’t wish to cause you to worry, but I would like you to consider whether or not you have grounds for peace. Are you a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus?