Mat 6:25 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?

Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Mat 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

Mat 6:28  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

Mat 6:29  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Mat 6:30  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Mat 6:34  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.

 

“If You Pray, Don’t Worry, If You Worry Don’t Pray”

 

Worry is something we all battle with, whether young or old, rich or poor.
• For some, because of their personality, they worry more than others.

Worrying about Your Future • Worrying about Failure • Worrying about Rejection
• Worrying about facing Death, we just Worry, Worry, Worry
• But the fact remains, every one of us worry about something.
• Although we cannot eradicate it entirely from our experience, we can learn to handle it in the right way.
Sometimes we worry so much that we just want to throw in the towel

Have you ever thought about just letting go?
Have you ever thought about giving up on people that you thought you could trust?
You told someone your secrets and before you know it, it was all over the street?
Have you ever thought about giving up on your job?
You end up working hard and doing the right things but it seems that you are not treated fairly; nothing seems to go your way?
It seems as though as soon as you get the brakes fixed on your car then the alternator goes out?
As soon as you get caught up on the light bill then the telephone gets cut off.
Have you ever been there before? If you have not been there then just keep on living.
The rent or the mortgage is due and you really not making enough money to make ends meet or even get ahead.
You get your student loan money and there is still not enough to pay for your books.

I keep studying and studying but I can’t seem to understand this particular subject in school and I am doing my homework but I can’t seem to catch on.
Your girlfriend or boyfriend don’t want to act right, the children don’t want to do right and even the dog starts to growl at you.
If you are in business for yourself it seems as though all of your customers don’t want to call you back. You can’t get any business from anywhere. The phones just seem to stop ringing and you start to get nervous.
The bank account starts to dwindle down and you don’t know where the next paycheck is coming from.
On top of that the doctor gives you some bad news. Everyone you know around you is having such as bad time that you don’t feel like unloading your problems and your cares upon them. So you end up walking around with the weight of the world on your shoulders.

You may feel as though your husband, your wife or children don’t love you anymore.

You start to get in a bad mood and a bad mood turns into anger and anger turns into depression and the depression turns off your appetite and then you don’t have any energy to do anything.

You feel as though you don’t want to get up in the morning or if you could sleep until your problems go away. But when you wake up there are standing right there at the foot of the bed waiting on you to get up.

You just want to get away and take a vacation and go somewhere but you realize you don’t have enough money to catch a bus let alone take off for a couple of days.
You pray but you feel like GOD don’t hear you or just won’t answer your prayers. You feel like you don’t have the Midas touch, you feel like everything you look at turns to stone.
Well let’s look at the word worry. The dictionary defines worry as:

▸ noun: a strong feeling of anxiety ("His worry over the prospect of being fired")
▸ noun: something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness ("It's a major worry")
▸ verb: touch or rub constantly
▸ verb: lacerate by biting
▸ verb: disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress ("I cannot sleep--my daughter's health is worrying me")
▸ verb: be concerned with ("I worry about my grades")
▸ verb: be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy ("I worry about my job")

The English word worry comes from an old German word meaning to strangle, or choke. That is exactly what worry does; it is a kind of mental and emotional strangulation, which might cause more mental and physical afflictions than any other single cause. And worry might be the sin that Christians commit more frequently than any other.

Jesus gives us reasons why worrying is wrong.
Worry is being unfaithful to God (v. 25).
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

The use of the words “more than” clearly implies there is something more important.
• In Luke’s version of this account, Jesus said something before this - Luke 12:4-5 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”
• In one breath, the Lord tells us about what NOT to worry and what we OUGHT to worry.
• Not to worry about food and clothing, but the one who can throw you into hell.
• What we should be concerned about is not food and clothing, but our spiritual life and the salvation of our soul.

Why? Because when this is taken care of, the rest will fix itself.
• When the spiritual is taken care of, the physical and material will not be an issue.
• We’ve found the source of all fulfillments in life.
• If God is your heavenly Father, literally, everything else can be taken care of.
• When our relationship with God is right, everything else can be made right.

People in Jesus’ day worried about the necessities of life: food, drink, and clothing. We in the Western world worry about other things, such as cancer, terrorism, losing our jobs, our children’s safety, etc. Jesus’ words apply to our worries as well.
Notice that the verse begins with the word therefore. When you come to the word therefore in the Bible, you should always ask the question, “What is it there for?” Therefore takes us back to the previous verse: “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Jesus declares that a believer’s only Lord (Master) is God. When the Bible says that God is our Lord, it means that He controls our lives, not us. When you worry, you stop trusting God and start trying to take control of your life. But God’s Word promises, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

 

6:26“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

Jesus gives us two premises here:
Premise (1): God is so completely in control of the universe and yet He takes the time to feed the birds of the air.
• Every berry eaten or worm pulled from the ground is provided by God. He does that for birds.
• My first impression is: Can this be possible? Will God really bothers about such little details?
• And then I remember Matt 10:30 where Jesus says “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” He is serious with us.

Premise (2): You are of more value to God than the birds.
• God values you more and is more committed to you, for those who worship and glorify Him, than He is to animals that have no ability to consciously adore Him.
• Apostle Peter says, you can “Cast all your anxieties on Him, BECAUSE He cares for you.” (1 Pet 5:7).     

As if this is still not good enough for us, Jesus went on to convince us:

3. Anxiety Accomplishes Nothing (v.27)

The issue is trust. Anxiety is a trust issue (verse 30).
 "The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.” …Quote by George Muller in “Signs of the Times. Christianity Today”.
• Trust your heavenly Father. Come what may, He will take care of you.

 How many of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to your life? Our culture is obsessed with trying to lengthen life. We exercise, eat carefully, supplement our diets with vitamins and minerals, get regular physical checkups, and do countless other such things in the hope of adding a few years to our lives. Those habits no doubt can improve the quality and productivity of our lives, but no guarantee, but they will not force God into extending our life’s span.
Here is a simple, practical argument: anxiety does no good.
• It accomplishes nothing. It doesn’t help.
• Preach this to yourself: I am wasting my time and nothing has changed.
• “Worry is like a rocking chair; no matter how much you rock, you get nowhere.”

Worrying can cause the groundhog to be your mailman, worrying will not extend your life but only shorten it. Dr. Charles Mayo, of the famous Mayo Clinic, wrote, “Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the gland and the whole nervous system. I have never met a man or known a man to die of overwork, but I have known a lot who died of worry.”

What can worry reveal about you?
• Worry reveals that you do not have an understanding of God.

• Worry reveals that you do not fully trust God’s promises.

• Worry reveals that you are mastered by your circumstances.

You believe that God can save you from sin, take you to heaven, and keep you forever, so how can you not believe that God will take care of you the rest of your days on this earth?

4. The Grass & the Lilies that God Clothes Last for a Day, But You Are Eternal (v.30)

 

“If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

We are valuable, but there is one added dimension here – we are ETERNAL.
• The grass and the lilies last for a day. And yet God takes effort to make them so beautiful, more beautiful than Solomon in all of his glamour.
• These are not mere natural laws that God set in motion, and then just leave them running without His control. These are His doing.

And Jesus’ inference is:
If God is so intimately involved with grass and flowers which are like a vapour, then how shall He not care for His children who are eternal?
• So trust him! Trust him! "O you of little faith."

Worry is unthinkable because you have faith (vv. 31-33).
Verses 31 and 32 say, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or “What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Jesus says that when we worry we are no different than unbelievers. They don’t have a heavenly Father, so they have reason to worry. We have no excuse, though, for worrying. We know we have a Father who loves us.

 

There are two days we should not worry about. One is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains.
Yesterday has passed, forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed. Nor can we erase a single word we’ve said - yesterday is gone.
The other thing we shouldn’t worry about is tomorrow, with its burden, its hopeful promise to be better than today.  Tomorrow is beyond our control. Tomorrow’s sun will rise either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds - but it will rise. And until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.
This leaves only one day - today. Any person can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when we add the burdens of yesterday and tomorrow that we break down. It is not the experience of today that drives people mad, it is the remorse of bitterness for something that happened yesterday, and the dread of what tomorrow may bring.
Let us, therefore, live one day at a time!

But sometimes we act too much like unbelievers. When we think like the world and crave like the world, we will worry like the world, because a mind that is not centered on God is a mind that has cause to worry. God expects more of us. God expects us to be different from others.
 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  (Phil. 4:6-7).

Instead of worrying about your future, Jesus says, “Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be give to you as well” (v. 33). Our first concerns should be:
• To seek God’s kingdom: Seek to let God rule in your life.
• To seek God’s righteousness: Seek to do what is right according to God.
Seek ye first the kingdom of Heaven.
The problem is that many of us Seek ye first the kingdom of the Lottery
We seek ye first the kingdom of Alcohol, sex and drug abuse.
We seek ye first our own goals and desires of becoming successful
We seek ye first our own agenda and bump GOD right out of the way.
We seek ye first the kingdom of keeping busy and not spending time talking with the Lord.
We seek ye first a lot of different kingdoms except the kingdom of heaven.

But if we seek the kingdom of heaven first all of these things will be added unto you.
What things is Jesus talking about? He is talking about the things of this life.
Jesus said don’t worry about what you are going to eat, what you will drink, don’t worry about where you are going to live. If I had to apply that to today. Don’t worry about how you are going to pay your light bill and how you are going to put food on the table for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of these things.

Seek ye first the Kingdom of heaven and his righteousness. In other words take the Lord with you everywhere you go. In your schools, in your house, on the highways and byways.

 Worry is unwise because of your future (v. 34).

Jesus says in verse 34; Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Once again, Jesus isn’t saying, “Don’t plan for the future; He’s saying, “Don’t worry about the future.” Don’t worry about how you’re going to handle the problems of tomorrow; focus on the problems of today. There is enough trouble in each day without adding the distress of worry to it.

I heard that trouble don’t last always and when trouble comes, I know who to call on. I have to call on Jesus, because if I call on man in the midst of trouble, man just might look at the caller ID and hang up on me. If I call on man in the midnight hour he might let me go to the answering machine.

Jesus specializes in the midnight hour; he specializes in turning things around. The book tells me that weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.

The bible tells me that GOD inhabits the praises of his people. So if you don’t know what to do in the middle of your situation try giving GOD some praise. You ought to try saying thank you Jesus. You ought to try saying praise his holy name. You have to think about if it had not been for the Lord on your side just where would you be. I don’t know what’s going on in your house, King David say as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. I don’t know about you but I will enter his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise.
There is something about when I go into church house. I get a better understand of God’s word, because I know,
If we need salvation, salvation it’s in the house
If we need deliverance, deliverance it’s in the house
If we need a little more faith, faith is in the house. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of GOD.
If we need peace of mind, release from depression and low self esteem. It’s in the house.
If we need peace that passeth all understanding just come on in the house.
If we need healing in our body, there is healing in the house.
If we need a doctor who’s never lost a patient, he’s in the house.

If we need a lawyer who’s never lost a case, all we have to do is come into the house.
I don’t know about any other house but if you come in this house you are going to hear the story about a babe that was born down in Bethlehem town.
Behold a child is born unto you and his name shall be called Emmanuel which means GOD is with us. His name is Jesus and he grew up in Nazareth and walked the shores of Galilee.
He was taken to a hill called Calvary where they hung him high and stretched him wide, he said if I if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.
He died; they placed him in a borrowed tomb but early Sunday morning he got up with all power of heaven of earth in his hand.
When you feel like you want to let go I want you to P.U.S.H.
P.U.S.H simply means to Pray until something happens
If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal the land.
I want you to pray until something happens.
Pray until your deliverance has come
pray until your healing has come
pray until your change has come
pray until the Lord has enlarged your territory

pray until your finances get right.

Pray until you receive your breakthrough

pray until the GIANTS are removed out of your life

pray until your Jericho Walls fall flat

pray until your mountains are removed and cast into the sea.

Pray until you receive exactly what you need from GOD

Go to the throne of Grace boldly and make your request made known, take your burdens to the Lord and LEAVE them there.
Makes no difference what the problem, I can go to God in prayer, yes I have that blessed assurance, He will take me gloom and sorrow turn them in to joy and gladness, I have found someone who is so faithful, I can call Him