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THE WOES OF A WORRYWART LUKE 12:22-34 ARE YOU PRONE TO WORRY? The Lord’s Disciples had given up all they had in order to follow Christ. They were living by FAITH, and FAITH is always tested. Worry is perhaps the most useless of all human emotions—Once you go there, it fixes nothing, yet affects everything—and rarely, if ever, for the better! 2
SO WHAT’S THE REAL PROBLEM ? Worry is very often simply a lack of faith that God is actually in control—and then we attempt to do HIS JOB for Him, and in our own strength. So what’s our problem with trust and faith? The Lord knows what it is like to live in this world. The Lord knows we have need of certain things. In fact, He knows specifically what we need—before we do. The Lord allows all of our needs to exist, so the existence of needs is not the problem. The problem is often the anxious heart in a crisis of faith. 3
NEEDS VERSUS WANTS Remember: We are talking real needs, not wants!!! You may be saying right now , "But we have to eat, need some clothes—a roof over our heads..." Yep, and God knows that. God has every need in your life covered, but every want is the place that gives us grief, because while we need what we need—we also want what we want. And often, we cannot distinguish between the two. LET’S TAKE A COLD, HARD LOOK AT THE REAL SITUATION ( Luke 12:25-26) 4
A COLD, HARD LOOK AT THE REAL SITUATIONAL FAITH v. 25-31 1. Check out the wonderful world of botany—ever seen a groaning flower? v. 27-28 2. Does worry somehow put food on the table ? v. 29 3. God already knows of every need in your life, and that of every other life on the planet. v. 30 4. Putting God first is the only sure way to having what you need. v. 31 5
THE REAL VALUE OF THINGS From the world's point of view, the value of life itself is often the accumulation of things—stuff—material junk! How lame is that? Our priorities as God’s children must be higher than that of earthly stuff—things that will need to be maintained and ultimately perish. We must seek first the kingdom of God. God’s Kingdom principle is this: God gives not what we want when we want it , but what we need when we need it! If we do that, the Lord will see to it that we have what things we need. Paul knew this. Phil 4:18-19 6
GOD’S REWARDS PROGRAM God’s heavenly program: Luke 12:32: what an amazing verse this is. On one hand are our material problems, and on the other hand are His heavenly plans. First, we are part of a pretty FEEBLE FLOCK. But we also have a FABULOUS FATHER. Because of our Father there is a FANTASTIC FUTURE. The truth is, we are highly favored by a very Good Shepherd who loves to give good things to His sheep. Ps. 23:1; Matt. 26:31; John 10:12-16 7
A SIMPLE COMMAND How you treat your stuff and to what end you collect it—can tell you all you need to know about how much you trust God. We are to be generous givers , not haughty hoarders. Giving away, not storing up is a strong evidence of great faith. We must live for the right world, and it is not the one we live on this earth. Luke 12:33 Moreover, we should live in the right way : "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Luke 12:34 WHERE IS YOUR TREASURE? If it is in heaven, you do not need to worry about it. If it is here on earth, get prepared to freak out about it! Don’t live with the woes of a worrywart! 8
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