7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 2

“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:27–30)

Matthew 6:25–34 contains at least seven promises designed by Jesus to help us fight the fight for faith and be free from anxiety. Yesterday we saw Promises 1 and 2; today we look at 3 and 4.

Promise #3: “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matthew 6:27)

This is a promise of sorts — the simple promise of reality that you can discover from experience: Being anxious will simply not do you any good. That’s a promise. This is not the main argument, but sometimes we just have to get tough with ourselves and say, “Soul, this fretting is absolutely useless. It promises nothing. You are not only messing up your own day, but a lot of other people’s as well. Renounce it. Leave it with God. And get on with your work.”

Anxiety accomplishes nothing worthwhile. That’s a promise. Believe it. Act on it.

Promise #4: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:28–30)

Compared to the flowers of the field you are a much higher priority for God, because you will live forever, and can thus bring him eternal praise as his loved children.

Nevertheless, God has such an overflow of creative energy and care, he lavishes it on flowers that last only a matter of days. So he will certainly take that same energy and creative skill and use it to care for his children who will live forever. The question is: Will we believe this promise, and put away anxiety?

John Piper 

The Phrase Every Child Hates to Hear

BIBLE MEDITATION:

For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

Leviticus 11:45

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Are you a parent? Then you’ve probably told your children to do something and they asked you why. What did you sometimes say? “Because I said so. Period.”

But times arise, I believe, when parents want their children to do certain things, and they ought to explain their rationale. It’s important to teach principles for living instead of just popping off with mere commands and rules. But sometimes children are not able to understand, so the answer I just mentioned is one that simply communicates parental authority to a child.

ACTION POINT:

A biblical example of this is the book of Leviticus. It’s full of laws that no one at that time understood logically. And yet did God stop to explain the law? No. He simply said, “I am the Lord your God.” In His omnipotence and omniscience, He is above our demand for explanations and deserving of our full obedience.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 1

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:25–26)

We are going to spend three days on this part of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:25–34, Jesus is dealing specifically with anxiety about food and clothing. But, in fact, it relates to all anxiety.

Even in America, with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing and food and clothing can be intense. Not to mention Christians who live in situations where much greater poverty threatens life. But Jesus says in verse 30 that our anxiety comes from little faith in our Father’s promise of future grace: “O you of little faith.”

These verses (25–34) contain at least seven promises designed by Jesus to help us fight the good fight against unbelief and be free from anxiety. (Today we look at Promises 1 and 2 — then over the next two days at the rest.)

Promise #1: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25)

Since your body and your life are vastly more complex and difficult to provide than food and clothing are, and yet God has, in fact, created and provided you with both, then surely he will be able and willing to provide you with food and clothing.

Moreover, no matter what happens, God will raise your body someday and preserve your life and body for his eternal fellowship.

Promise #2: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26)

If God is willing and able to feed such insignificant creatures as birds who cannot do anything to bring their food into being — as you can by farming — then he will certainly provide what you need, because you are worth a lot more than birds. You, unlike the birds, have the amazing capacity to glorify God by trusting, obeying, and thanking God.

John Piper 

Do You Understand What's Happening?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

Mark 13:26

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When we come to a place where we don’t understand what’s happening, when everything seems to be caving in, there is Jesus. We always have the forgiveness of the cross, the victory of the empty tomb, and the hope of Christ’s imminent return.

When we go to the doctor and he tells us we have a malignancy…when we hear that we as a couple are infertile and cannot bear a child…when we have to declare bankruptcy…when we are laid off work…when we read a note that our spouse has left…when a loved one dies because of a terrorist act…we have a Savior.

ACTION POINT:

And we have a choice to believe or not to believe! At that time we can begin to murmur, criticize, grumble, or despair. Or we can yield to the Savior and hear Him say, “My child, no matter what is happening, this is how much I love you. Look to the cross. Look into the empty tomb. Look for Me. I’m coming again.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How to Fight Anxiety

[Cast] all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”

Notice: it does not say, “I never struggle with fear.” Fear strikes, and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead, the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, “[Cast] all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” It does not say, you will never feel any anxieties. It says, when you have them, cast them on God. When the mud splatters your windshield and you temporarily lose sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer.

So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that’s more or less normal. At least it is for me, ever since my teenage years. The issue is: How do we fight them?

The answer to that question is: we fight anxieties by fighting against unbelief and fighting for faith in future grace. And the way you fight this “good fight” (1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7) is by meditating on God’s assurances of future grace and by asking for the help of his Spirit.

The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief, and the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit. The battle to be freed from sin — including the sin of anxiety — is fought “by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

The work of the Spirit and the word of truth. These are the great faith-builders. Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit, the wipers of the word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief on the windshield.

Both are necessary: the Spirit and the word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so that we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our faith grows stronger and the swerving of anxiety straightens out.

John Piper 

Is God Testing You?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. For Thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in Thy truth.

Psalm 26:2-3

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

How do car manufacturers make sure their vehicles are safe for people to drive? They put them on a proving ground where they’re driven hundreds of miles over rough roads, through water and heat—screeching, turning, twisting, hitting the brakes, accelerating to top speeds. They want to see if that car will stand the test.

It’s the same with our spiritual lives. God is strange: He gives the test first and the lesson afterwards. Read throughout Scripture and you’ll find this to be true. Joseph was tested. David was tested. Moses was tested. Peter was tested.

When God gets ready to prove you, He is not going to test you in the good times because that is not a test! Anybody can serve God in the sunshine. He's not going to test you in the middle of a revival meeting. But can you sing in the shadows? The test is not how you behave when there’s victory all around. The test is how you behave when you’re facing a wilderness.

He doesn’t test you to know what’s in your heart. He already knows that. He wants you to know what’s in your heart so you can realize your own weakness. He wants you to depend not on better circumstances, but on Him. He wants you to see the weakness of your human nature so you know you need to trust more fully in Him.

ACTION POINT:

How do you behave when God brings you to the wilderness? He wants you to know what is in your heart. Can you walk by FAITH— “Forsaking All, I Take Him”? Are you fully TRUSTING Him? Are you devoted to Him?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Grace Must Be Free

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1 Corinthians 4:7)

Picture salvation as a house that you live in.

It provides you with protection. It is stocked with food and drink that will last forever. It never decays or crumbles. Its windows open onto vistas of all-satisfying glory.

God built it at great cost to himself and to his Son, and he gave it to you free and clear.

The “purchase” agreement is called a “new covenant.” The terms read: “This house shall become and remain yours if you will receive it as a gift and take delight in the Father and the Son as they inhabit the house with you. You shall not profane the house of God by sheltering other gods nor turn your heart away after other treasures, but find your contentment in the fellowship of God in this house.”

Would it not be foolish to say yes to this agreement, and then hire a lawyer to draw up an amortization schedule with monthly payments in the hopes of somehow balancing accounts and paying for the house?

You would be treating the house no longer as a gift, but a purchase. God would no longer be the free benefactor. And you would be enslaved to a new set of demands that he never dreamed of putting on you.

If grace is to be free — which is the very meaning of grace — we cannot view it as something to be repaid.

John Piper