Sermon: Provision in a Time of Worry

There is a direct correlation between our faith and God’s blessing.

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The economy is kind of like March weather, isn’t it? It’s up, then it’s down, then it’s up, then it’s down. I’ve always wanted to invest in the stock market, never had the extra money to do so, and I’ve often wished that I had the money about 20 years ago when Corning stock was low so I could have a good chunk of change now.

But for those who invested in Corning 30 years ago, I’m sure they were very disappointed to see their stock tank to about a dollar a share. Thankfully, it’s up there now to about $36 a share, but even then, it went down a little from just a few days ago. The whole economy is going down, but prices are going up. The minimum wage is increasing, but not at the rate of inflation, so those who got raises are not seeing a betterment in their pockets.

The board talked recently about how to help me out with the gas situation. We all know that gas has gone up, and it keeps going up day by day. And I appreciate the board’s willingness to help out. It will save quite a bit on our travel expenses. But everyone is in a bind now. I know that some of our church’s income has been down, but of course, its expenses have not decreased.

The world isn’t panicky yet, but the time may come. We could see another recession, hopefully not another depression, but it could happen. Not right away, but at some point, there’s nothing that says it couldn’t happen again.

So many people put their hope and trust in the systems of mankind and have forgotten about God. So many people have made man’s system their god, that if and when our government breaks down, and their hope in Washington fails them, then what?

The Bible says there will come a time when men’s hearts will fail them for fear.

Please turn with me today to Matthew 6, we’ll be reading under the heading “Do Not Worry,” and we’ll be reading verses 25-34.

As you’re turning there, I have some quotes on trials:

J. C. Ferdinand Pittman

“A bell buoy rings only during storms. The beating of the waves and wind bring out the music that is within it, so too do trials reveal what is inside a person.”

Andrew Murray has a couple of quotes:

“In trial and weakness and trouble, He seeks to bring us low, until we learn that His grace is all, and to take pleasure in the very thing that brings us and keeps us low. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. His presence filling and satisfying our emptiness, becomes the secret of humility that need never fail.”

“The humble man has learned the secret of abiding gladness. The weaker he feels, the lower he sinks, and the greater his humiliations appear, the more power and the presence of Christ are his portion.”

Scripture:

Do Not Worry
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 than food, and the body more than clothes? 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? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 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—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I think the point is pretty clear there: Do Not Worry, God will provide. But it’s easier said than done, right? Have you ever tried not to worry? Have you ever consciously tried to not worry? It’s…not…easy! It’s hard. I find that I have to fight against myself to place things in God’s hands.

Maybe because worrying is how I figure out solutions and process things through in my brain. Maybe you’re like me and we just need to work things out mentally and emotionally in order to clear our minds. But at some point, for the betterment of our mental, emotional and physical lives; so that we can give God room to work, we need to step away and place things in God’s hands. We need to give it to him and let go.

It’s hard, but God tells us to do it, and he tells us for good reason. Worrying really does not accomplish anything for the better. In fact, it can cripple us emotionally and make us sick physically. It can give us high blood pressure and ulcers. Not worrying is not only good for our souls, but good for our physical and mental health. Our attitude needs to be one of faith and assurance in God’s provision. Our God is a God that promises provision for all our needs.

I’ve told this story before, but it’s worth repeating: In the late 1800s, George Mueller operated an orphanage that at one time had 1,000 orphans. One morning there was no food to eat, but he called all the children and staff together and prayed thanking God for the provision of food, even though no food was on the table. A few moments later a baker knocked on the door. He told Mr. Muller that God had led him to bake bread the night before and give it to the orphanage. Before the bread was given to the children, a milkman knocked on the door. He said that his milk truck had broken down and he wanted to give the milk to the orphanage.

George Muller gave thanks, even when it took faith to do so.

Have you ever had an instant like that? Maybe you’ve not even finished your prayer and you receive a phone call with someone on the other end who has the answer you’ve been looking for?

I think that’s an important lesson in the story. They prayed thanking God. I don’t know how worried George Mueller might have actually been. He might have been filled with faith, he might have been filled with fear. Either way, they prayed thanking God for the provision of food, even though they had no food.

Paul said in Philippians chapter 4: 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I think that was the secret to George Mueller. He didn’t seem worried. The way this story reads, he seemed at peace. He seemed to have faith. And he took this passage to heart. And in return, not only was God’s promise of provision with him, God’s promise of peace was with him.

Enduring Word commentary said, “This peace doesn’t just surpass the understanding of the worldly man; it surpasses all understanding. Even the godly man can not comprehend this peace.”

Have you ever surprised yourself at how peaceful you are in times of trouble? Yes, even I am surprised at how God’s peace overcomes me sometimes. I sometimes wonder if there’s anything wrong with me. Shouldn’t I be worried now? I was worried a few moments ago. I was stressed out. Shouldn’t I be stressed out? Is this a sign of a mental breakdown?

No, it’s the sign of God’s peace at work.

 

So, we need to pursue God through prayer, and we need to do so with thanksgiving. I want to point out that ‘with thanksgiving’ also implies ‘in belief.’

In our scripture reading, Jesus said, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” And I found out that some scriptures add, “or a single cubit to your height?” In other words, what can we really gain anything by worrying? As I mentioned earlier, the only thing we might gain is stress-related physical or mental breakdowns.

In an article in Psychology Today, David Ropeik said,

“Stress. It is probably one of the biggest risks we face. The more worried you are that you might get sick, the more likely it is that you will, or if you do get sick that you’ll end up sicker, or even dead, from an illness you might have survived if you just didn’t worry so much. The more worried you are about the health of your heart, the more damage you do to your heart. The more worried you are about losing your memory, the more your memory fades. The list of damage that worry can do, because of the biology of stress, is long and scary. Which means that not worrying more than we have to may be the best thing we can do for our health.

“We have Dr. Robert Adler to thank for bringing modern science and medicine around to what people have known intuitively for a long time; “If you don’t relax you’re going to worry yourself to death.””

The article goes on to say that worry causes:

• Persistently elevated blood pressure and heart rate raises your risk of cardiovascular disease, which is already the leading cause of death in the developed world.
• A depressed immune system makes it harder for your body to fight off all sorts of diseases, including cancer, or battle them once you do get sick.
• Stress reduces the protective fluids in the lining of the digestive system exacerbating the risk and severity of ulcers and other digestive disorders.
• Stress changes blood chemistry, and if persistent, those changes raise your risk of diabetes.
• Those chemistry changes are also why chronic stress is associated with greater likelihood of clinical depression.
• Chronic stress impairs the formation of new fast-growing cells, like bone, and hair. Worry a lot, for a long time, and you can go bald.
• Chronic stress reduces your ability to form some new memories, and recall others. At high levels, stress literally dumbs you down.
• You don’t need to worry about making babies when the lion is attacking, so stress depresses fertility.

Like I said earlier, our attitude needs to be one of faith and assurance. It’s more productive. It’s healthier for us, mentally and physically. And faith builds not only our personal wellbeing, but it is an actual, active process that produces the answer to our prayer. God works through faith, not a lack of faith.

If we move ahead a few more chapters, Matthew 13, we read that Jesus did not do very many miracles in his hometown because of their lack of faith.

A few chapters later, in Matthew Chapter 21, Jesus simply states, 22 “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

In Mark, Jesus says, 24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

There is a direct correlation between our faith and God’s blessing.

I want to point out one more correlation. We looked at praying with thanksgiving, we looked at praying with faith, now let’s look at something that we might not automatically think about when we talk about God’s provision: holiness.

These three things: thanksgiving, faith, and holiness all go hand-in-hand. They are a way of life that pleases God. And by blessing God, it only makes sense that He will more quickly and abundantly bless us.

Let’s go back to our scripture. After Jesus talks about worrying, he says that the pagans seek after all these things, meaning clothing and food. But then Jesus said, “33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

NIV Application Commentary puts this into perspective. It says,

“The use of the imperative “seek” does not mean to look for something not present, for Jesus has already announced the arrival of the kingdom. In this context it means that his disciples are to make the kingdom of heaven the center of their continual, daily priorities. They have already entered the kingdom of heaven and are to live with that reality, drawing on God’s ordering of their daily lives. In doing so they will “seek … his righteousness.”

It goes on to say:

When his disciples pursue God’s kingdom and his righteousness in their daily priorities and activities, they will have all of their needs met by their ever-caring, ever-watching heavenly Father.”

I could go on and on with this, but I’ll just say two things. First, you’ll notice that this is about having all our needs met. While I believe God wants to bless us with nice things, in spite of what some preachers might say, having the biggest and best doesn’t reflect your level of faith or your level of Christianity. Nor does having the least. What Jesus is talking about here is having your needs met.

The second thing I want to point out about this, you’ll notice, is something similar. Jesus does not end this passage with, “and all these things will be added onto you, and then you will live happily ever after.”

We tend to get the wrong idea that Jesus’ promises are ‘happily ever after,’ don’t we? But that’s not how he ends this statement. He says, “34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’

Okay, so here, ironically, Jesus gives us the promise of trouble. But Jesus also said in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

So with the guarantee of trouble, Jesus also gives us hope with the promise of provision. It is The Father’s joy to provide for us. But I think the key on our part lies in those three things: thanksgiving, faith, and holiness.

This is summed up rather succinctly in a well-known proverb, one of my favorites:

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Trusting in God requires action on our part. It is not passive, it is not easy and it is not natural. Leaning on our own understanding is. Submitting to him is not natural–especially in all our ways. Maybe some of our ways, but all of our ways?

I remember a couple of years ago now, I hosted some area pastors here for a Bible study, and during the study, they referenced the song, “I surrender all” and how hard it is to really, truly sing that song. All? God, you want me to surrender all?

There’s a reason why God wants us to surrender all. It’s better for us to trust in God. It’s better for us in the long run to surrender everything. We’ll receive a greater blessing. We’ll have a life of less worry, not because we have a life of less trial, but because we’ll learn to trust in Him.

God wants to assure us that there is no need for worry. He’s got it under control.

When I said, “I surrender all,” how much “all” have we surrendered? Usually, it’s in reference to salvation, but even long after we’ve been saved, we still need to lay things down at the altar, don’t we? Today, we need to surrender our worry.

And we need to do so in thankfulness, in faith, and with holiness. We need to, as much as we can, be thankful for the things we have and the promise of his provision. We need to submit to him our worries with as much faith as we have, even if it’s only as big as a mustard seed. That’s a start. That’s better than nothing. At least a seed can grow.

And we need to continue our walk in holiness.

Then, we will see a greater provision. Perhaps, we will not only see a greater provision, but we will start to see with new eyes the provision we have had all along with greater gratefulness.

Prayer:

Lord, we come before you with thankfulness for the things that you have already provided for us. May we never take for granted the roof over our heads, the food on our table, and the clothes on our backs. May we never take for granted, especially this time of year, our warmth.

Lord, I believe that you will provide for each and every one of us. That the needs of this church would be lifted up to you and that we will see a great provision for each and every person here. An answer to their prayers, maybe prayers that they have been praying for a long time. Lord, we believe that you are our provider. And we look forward to seeing you work on behalf of this church and its people. May we even be surprised at the peace that we have as we move forward this week–in confident assurance of your provision and your answer to prayer.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

 

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on First Baptist Church of Watkins Glen

Featured Image by ecoplay1 from Pixabay

 

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