Overcoming Anxiety and Worry Pastor Jason Austin November 10, 2024

First Baptist Church Leominster

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Amen. Well done. Please be seated. Our New Testament reading is from the book of James, chapter 5.

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The book of James, chapter 5. Very strong words.

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Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.

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Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth -eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire.

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You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields which you kept back by fraud cry out and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the

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Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on earth in pleasure and luxury.

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You have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned.

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You have murdered the just. He does not resist you. Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the

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Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.

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You also be patient. Establish your hearts for the coming of the

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Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned.

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Behold, the judge is standing at the door. My brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the

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Lord as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed, we count them blessed to endure.

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You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the

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Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brethren, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, lest you fall into judgment.

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Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful?

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Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the

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Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up.

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And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.

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The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.

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And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.

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Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

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Let's pray. Lord, we do thank you for your holy word.

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We just ask, God, that you would use it in our lives. We think of the word being preached today from our pastor,

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Jason. I just pray, God, that you would use it, Lord, that you would bless it, that you would help us to be attentive, and Lord, God, that your word would go forth with power.

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Lord, help us to grasp it. Help us to make it our own, Lord. Help us,

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Lord. We need you. We are your sheep. We need to be fed with the heavenly manna that can only be given from our gracious God, the great shepherd of the sheep.

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So Lord, help us. We thank you for Jason. Just pray, God, that you would be glorified as he brings forth your word.

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In Jesus' name, amen. Anxiety begins with a momentary single thought.

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What if? If this question is thoughtfully considered and entertained, it can quickly cascade into multiple thoughts, multiple irrational thoughts, leading to distraction, distress, and fear.

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Eventually, the weight of these things can become so unbearable that a feeling of dread, nervousness, and unease sets in.

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This is how anxiety sneaks into the lives of many. What if I lose my job?

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What if it's cancerous? What if I never marry? What if I can't have children?

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What if things don't get any better? What if things get worse? What if, what if, what if?

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Anxiety is a significant problem within our world. But not only in the world, it's also a problem within our churches.

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Christians and non -Christians alike are both susceptible to anxiety. Anxiety often arises with little to no warning, and once it sets in, it drains your ability to see and think clearly.

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It drains you of your energy, and it can cripple your productivity. Once anxiety sets in, it will rob you of your contentment.

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It will rob you of your joy, your peace. It will rob you of your well -being.

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Anxiety aggravates your emotional well -being. Anxiety can even aggravate your physical well -being.

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Anxiety can make you physically ill. Anxiety will complicate your life.

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It will put a strain on your relationships. For many people, anxiety is a chronic and crippling affliction.

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The good news is that the Lord God has given us instruction as to how we are to deal with anxiety when it intrudes into our lives.

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As always, the scriptures provide us with every answer to every problem in life, including the problem of anxiety.

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Please join with me to the book of Matthew. Our passage this morning is Matthew 6, verses 25 through 34.

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Matthew 6, 25 through 34. Let's look at the text together.

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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.

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Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air.

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They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly

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Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?

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And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.

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They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

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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,

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O you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear?

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For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

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But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

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Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

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Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. In this passage, there is a command stated, verse 25, a case for the command, verses 26 to 29, the cause of our anxiety, verse 30, the command restated, verse 31 and 32, the cure for anxiety, verse 33, and lastly, a summarizing conclusion is given, verse 34.

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This morning, we're going to address verses 25 through 29, the command and the case for the command, and next

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Sunday, Lord willing, we'll conclude with the cause, the command restated, the cure, and the conclusion.

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Let's take a look at each one of these in more detail. In this passage, a command is given by the

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Lord Jesus Christ, verse 25, therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor about your clothing, nor about your body, what you will put on, is not life more than food and the body more than clothing.

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Now notice the first word of verse 25, it's the term, therefore.

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What is the therefore, therefore? The therefore is there to direct you back to the previous passage, which begins in Matthew 6, 19 and continues to Matthew 6, 24.

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In these verses, the Lord Jesus Christ was warning his disciples about the dangers of worldliness and the peril of holding on too tightly to the temporary things of this world.

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In Matthew 6, 19 through 20, we're warned about storing up wealth and accumulating for ourselves treasures on earth rather than treasures in heaven.

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In Matthew 6, 21, we're warned about the relationship that exists between our heart and our treasure.

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It's not the treasure that follows the heart, it is the heart that follows the treasure.

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For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. In Matthew 6, 22 through 23, we are warned about what we fix our eyes upon.

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The eye is the lamp of the body, and what we look at either results in our spiritual understanding, light, or our spiritual confusion, darkness.

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In Matthew 6, 24, we're warned about who we serve, and we are warned about the object of our service.

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No one can serve two masters. It is impossible to serve two masters, for either you will hate the one and love the other, or you'll be devoted to one and despise the other.

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You cannot serve the Lord God and money. Beloved, our one and only master is the

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Lord God. Thus, our eyes must be fixed upon Him and Him alone.

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Our hearts must treasure Him and follow Him and Him alone. We must be devoted to Him and serve

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Him and Him alone. In our text this morning,

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Matthew 6, 25 through 34, the Lord Jesus Christ continued His warning against worldliness, but now

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His emphasis is no longer on the earthly treasures themselves, but on our anxiety and our incessant worrying about our earthly treasures.

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Therefore, in light of this truth, because the Lord God is your one and only master, because of this,

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I tell you, do not be anxious. Not about your life, not about what you eat, not about what you drink, nor about your body, what you put on, is life not more than food and the body more than clothing?

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The fact that the Lord God commanded us to not be anxious demonstrates an essential and significant truth.

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In the eyes of the Lord God, anxiety is sin. Anxiety is a transgression against the law of God, against the will of God, against the character of God.

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Anxiety is a sinful response to our difficult and unpleasant circumstances.

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In this short passage, the Lord Jesus Christ forbids anxiety no less than three times. Once in verse 25, once in verse 31, and once again in verse 34.

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Do not be anxious. Do not be anxious. Do not be anxious.

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Beloved, the fact that anxiety is a sin should not be a discouragement to you.

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You shouldn't let this truth discourage you, but rather, this should give you great hope because the

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Lord God has not left you without clear direction. The Lord God has not left you without a solution.

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The Lord God knows that most of us will experience some anxiety or worry in our lives.

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And in his great mercy and his great grace, he has given us a solution that will liberate us from its suffocating and choking grip.

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The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners and to forgive us all our transgressions, including the transgressions of anxiety and worry.

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So do not be discouraged by your present anxious and worrying state, but be encouraged.

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The Lord God is working in your life and he is working through your present circumstances for his glory and for your good.

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And I am sure of this, Philippians 1 .6, that he who began a good work in you will complete it at the day of Jesus Christ.

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The Lord God is working and using your present circumstances to conform you to the image of his son, the

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Lord Jesus Christ, the founder and perfecter of our faith, the author and finisher of your faith.

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So keep looking to him. Keep your eyes fixed on him and he will most assuredly lift you and sustain you even amid great difficulty and anxiety.

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Well, what is anxiety? What does it mean to be anxious? In Greek, the term means to take thought, to express concern, or to be troubled with care.

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The literal meaning is to distract, to divide, or to draw in different directions.

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And the literal meaning paints a very accurate picture of those who struggle with anxiety.

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Anxiety distracts us. Anxiety divides us and pulls us in many different directions.

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Our hope pulls us in one direction, but our fears pull us in another direction, and the end result is a distracted and divided mind.

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The end result of anxiety is a mind drawn in different directions. The anxious person is overly concerned about the future or a specific aspect of the future.

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The anxious person broods over these things and attempts to carry, handle, and manipulate these burdens alone, even though they have absolutely no control over any of them.

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The English term worry comes from an old German word meaning to strangle or to choke, which is exactly what anxiety does to us.

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It strangles our joy, it chokes our peace, and it leaves us with an uneasy mind, distracted thoughts, and brooding fears.

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A New Testament example of an anxious person is the Lord Jesus Christ response, and the

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Lord Jesus Christ response to this anxious person is found in the book of Luke, Luke chapter 10, verses 38 to 42.

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Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village, and a woman named

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Martha welcomed him into her house, and she had a sister called Mary who sat at the

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Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she went up to him and said,

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Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.

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But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.

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Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.

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Martha was suffering from anxiety. She was distracted, her attention was divided, she was being pulled in many different directions to such an extent that she failed to recognize the one necessary thing.

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Martha was unable to recognize the good portion, which her sister Mary had chosen, sitting at the feet of the

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Lord Jesus Christ and listening to his teaching. Beloved, this is the good portion, sitting at the feet of the

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Lord Jesus Christ and looking to him. This is the necessary thing.

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Do not be anxious, do not be troubled, do not be distracted. But to what extent?

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To what extent? Does this command refer to all of life or to just the big and significant things?

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To what extent are we commanded not to be anxious nor to worry? Look again at verse 25, therefore

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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, as life is not life more than food and the body more than clothing.

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This command is all -encompassing. Do not be anxious about your life, do not be anxious about what you eat or about what you drink or about your body, what you put on.

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The Greek word translated life is a comprehensive term encompassing a person's entire being.

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In this context, the term is used in its fullest sense. Life represents the sum total of a person's being, the physical, the mental, the emotional, the spiritual.

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Beloved, we must avoid anxiety and worry in every sphere of our lives, in every dimension of our lives.

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To desire the necessities of life is completely normal. Desiring food, drink, and clothing is normal.

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But we are not to be anxious about these things. We are not to worry about these things.

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Why? Look again at verse 25. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

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The answer to this rhetorical question is yes, life is more than food. Life is more than clothing.

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But what is the meaning behind this question? What is the Lord Jesus Christ really getting at?

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Well, this question is an argument from greater to lesser.

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In other words, life is far greater and more critical than the things needed to sustain life.

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And since the Lord God provides the greater, then he will most assuredly give the lesser.

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D. Martin Lloyd -Jones remarked, take this life of yours about which you are tending to worry and become anxious.

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How have you got it? Where has it come from? And the answer, of course, is that it is a gift of God.

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Man does not create life. Man does not give being to himself. Not one of us ever decided to come into this world.

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And the very fact that we are alive at this moment is entirely because God willed it and God decided it.

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If God has given you the gift of life, the greater gift, do you think he will now suddenly deny himself and his own methods and not see to it that life is sustained and enabled to continue?

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Another good argument from greater to lesser is Paul in the book of Romans, Romans chapter 8.

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What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

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Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn?

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Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised? Who is at the right hand of God?

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Who indeed is interceding for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

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Shall tribulation or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

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Beloved, the basis of our blessing and our privilege and our security, it comes from our father

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God. He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

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The logic that flows from this is very simple. If the Lord God has already given to us the greatest gift, his

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Son and Savior and Redeemer, is there any lesser gift that he will not generously give to you?

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If the Lord God has already paid the highest possible price for us, the precious blood of his

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Son, will he hesitate to then pay a lower price? If the

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Lord God has gone to such great lengths and glorious lengths to procure our salvation, will he ever let us go?

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If God the Father has already given to us the ultimate gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, how can we possibly think that he will fail to give us every other gift and every other blessing?

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Matthew Henry remarked, what shall we say then to these things? What use shall we make of all that has been said?

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He speaks as one amazed and swallowed up with the contemplation and admiration of it, wondering at the height and depth, the length and breadth of the love of Christ with passive knowledge.

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The more we know of other things, the less we wonder at them. But the further we are led into an acquaintance with the gospel mysteries, the more we are affected with the admiration of them.

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The ground of the challenge is God being for us. In this he sums up all our privileges.

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This includes all that God is for us, not only reconciled to us and so not against us, but in covenant with us and so engaged for us.

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All of his attributes for us, his promises for us, all that he is and has and does is for his people.

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He performs all things for them. He is for them even when he seems to act against them.

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We can be sure of the Lord God's promises because the greatest gift, Jesus Christ, ensures all the rest.

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The Lord God spared not his son. The Lord God did not withhold his son.

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The Lord God gave him up for us all. In Matthew 625, the greater gift is life.

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If the Lord God has given us the gift of life, he will then most assuredly provide and care for our life.

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The Lord God will most assuredly provide and care for all of our lesser needs, all of the necessities of life.

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This is a crucial point for us to understand. And to help drive this point home, to secure it and to cement it in our thinking, we're given three examples that help illustrate this profound truth.

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The first example is the birds of the air. Look at verse 26.

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Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly

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Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

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The birds of the air do not sow. The birds of the air do not scatter seed, nor do they reap.

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The birds of the air do not harvest seed, neither do they gather and collect their food and store it away in barns or silos for later consumption.

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Charles Spurgeon remarked, our king would have his subjects give their hearts to his love and service and not worry themselves with groveling anxieties.

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It is well for us that we have these daily wants because they lead us to our heavenly

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Father. But if we grow anxious, they are turned from their design and made into barriers to shut us out from the

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Lord. Oh, that we would be as good as the birds in trustfulness, since in dignity of nature we are so much better than they.

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So how are the birds of the air fed? The Lord God feeds them.

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The birds of the air are reliant upon the provision of the Lord God. Thus, there is no worry in their lives.

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There is no attempt to pile up goods for an unforeseen and unforeseeable future, yet their lives continue.

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The birds of the air live daily on what they can pick up from the forest floor or the meadows or wherever, using the instinct that the

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Lord God has put in them. The birds of the air live in the moment and the

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Lord God provides for them. Since the very beginning of time, the Lord God has faithfully provided for and cared for birds.

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But here is the all -important question. Are you not of more value than they?

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Are you of less value than they? Did God so love the birds that He created them in His own image?

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Did God so love the birds that they were given dominion over all the earth? Did God so love the birds that He gave them

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His only begotten Son? Did God so love the birds that they were adopted into His family, making the birds the heir of heaven and heirs with Christ?

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Did God so love the birds that He went to prepare a place for them? Is the Lord God returning for the birds?

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These are silly questions. The answer to these questions is a resounding no.

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And yet, the Lord God still provides for the birds. Beloved, what about you?

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Did the Lord God create you in His own image? Did the Lord God give you dominion over all the earth and over all the animals on the earth?

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Did God so love you that He gave His only begotten Son? Has the Lord God adopted you into His family?

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Are you an heir of God? Are you a joint heir with Christ? Has the

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Lord God prepared a place in heaven for you? Is the Lord God returning for you?

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The answer to every one of these questions is a resounding yes. And yet, we still anxiously worry about the

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Lord God's daily provision and care for us. But are we of not more value than they?

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Who is it that actually feeds the birds? Look again at verse 26. Look at the birds of the air.

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They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

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The birds of the air are fed by their heavenly Father. Is that correct?

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Does their heavenly Father feed them? No, look at verse 26. Your heavenly

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Father feeds them. The Lord God is our Father. The Lord God made us in His image.

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And if our Father takes such rich and splendid care of the birds, how much greater is

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His care for us? Beloved, you are vastly more important and more valuable than birds.

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The first argument against the folly of anxiety is the birds. The Lord Jesus Christ sends the anxious to consider and look and learn from the birds of the air.

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If you're struggling with anxiety, go to the birds of the air for instruction.

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The Lord God faithfully provides for the birds, which are the lesser, and thus the

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Lord God will faithfully provide for you, who are the greater. What is the second example given?

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Matthew 6, 27. And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?

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Now there are two different ways in which this verse is translated. It can be referring to time, or it can be referring to length.

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The difficulty lies in the meaning of the word translated life, which means stature or age.

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For example, in Luke 19, 3, we read that Zacchaeus was a man of little stature, meaning

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Zacchaeus was short. In Hebrews 11, 1, we read that Sarah, the wife of Abraham, was past the age to bear children, meaning that Sarah was old.

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In the Greek New Testament, the same word is used in both verses. So depending on your translation of the

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Bible, this verse may read slightly differently. The ESV reads, in which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?

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And the New King James reads, which of you, by worrying, can add one cubit to his stature?

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Now, in either case, the interpretation of this passage remains the same. Anxiety and worry are completely useless, fruitless, and pointless.

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Being anxious cannot add a single hour to your life. Being anxious cannot add a single cubit, 18 inches, to your height.

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The scriptures often portray our lives as a walk or as a journey.

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You walk through your life step by step by step by step.

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The Lord Jesus Christ essentially says, you won't get 18 inches further by being anxious.

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In fact, you can't even get one step ahead by being anxious. Because anxiety accomplishes nothing of value.

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I promise you, worry will not get you 18 inches further down the path of your life.

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Worry will not add a single hour to the span of your life. Life, your life, is a gift from God.

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The Lord God started it, the Lord God sustains it, and one day the Lord God will end it.

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Until then, our lives are in his competent hands. And if your life is in his hands, the greater, then you can leave everything else in his hands for safekeeping as well, the lesser.

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In the meanwhile, throughout our journey, we must share King David's attitude and prayer.

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Psalm 39 verses 4 to 11. Oh Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days.

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Let me know how fleeting I am. Behold, you have made my days a few hand breaths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you.

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Surely, all mankind stands as a mere breath. Surely, a man goes about as a shadow.

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Surely, for nothing they are in turmoil. Man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather.

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And now, oh Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions.

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Do not make me the scorn of the fool. I am mute. I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.

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Remove your stroke for me. I am spent by the hostility of your hand. When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him.

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Surely, all mankind is a mere breath. Beloved, anxiety and worry cannot accomplish anything positive, productive, or beneficial in your life.

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All of your days are fixed and established by the Lord God, your Heavenly Father.

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Every moment and circumstance, right down to the smallest detail, has been ordained by our infinite, eternal, immutable, sovereign, faithful, good, gracious, and merciful

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God. Anxiety and worry are a complete and utter waste of your time and your energy.

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Anxiety is futility. It is folly. The last example that demonstrates an argument from lesser to greater is flowers, the lilies of the field.

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Matthew 6, 28 through 30. And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.

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They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

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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,

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O you of little faith? Again, this is an argument from the lesser to the greater.

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Consider the lilies of the field. The term consider refers to intentional learning by inquiry, by observation.

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It means to contemplate and to learn thoroughly by thoughtful and careful study.

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It means striving to genuinely understand the subject on a deeper level, accepting the teaching as sure, and then applying it to your life.

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The tense of the Greek term consider is an aorist imperative, meaning it is a command to be followed.

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Beloved, you must consider the lilies of the field. You must consider the lilies of the field right now.

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You must think it through. You must ponder. You must reflect. You must meditate upon the lilies of the field.

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And you must not delay in doing it. If you were to study and observe the lilies of the field, what would you learn from them?

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Well, for starters, the lily of the field do not work for their clothing. The lilies of the field do not toil.

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The lilies of the field do not weave a single thread for their clothing. They do not spin.

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And yet, the lilies of the field are adorned in grandeur and magnificent beauty, not even

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King Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these little flowers. The lilies of the field are clothed with spectacular beauty, but their beauty will only last for a very short time.

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The beauty of the lilies will quickly pass and fade away. Today they are alive. Tomorrow they are thrown into the oven.

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But even though these lilies bloom for a very short time, the Lord God continues to care for them abundantly.

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And if the Lord God so abundantly cares for the lilies of the field, then will he not much more care for you?

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Beloved, you belong to the Lord God. You are his child. You are an heir to the king.

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You are the heir of a vast inheritance. You are of infinitely more value than the lilies of the field.

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For you have been chosen. You have been predestined to adoption as sons and daughters.

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You have been redeemed. You have been forgiven. You have been reconciled by the precious blood of the

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Lord Jesus Christ, the omnipotent and faithful God who has so beautifully clothed the lilies of the field will also clothe you.

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Our heavenly father faithfully provides for the flowers, the lesser, and thus he will faithfully provide for you, the greater.

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Why does the Lord Jesus Christ use these particular examples, food and clothing, to get his point across?

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Well, food and clothing represent the necessities of life. And as such, these basic elements stand for all the things we need to live, survive, and thrive in this world.

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Implicit in the phrase, food and clothing are everything that is required for an abundant and fruitful life.

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By using the examples, the Lord Jesus Christ is saying not to be anxious or to worry about any of these worldly, earthly, and temporal things.

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Beloved, the Lord God, our heavenly father does not want his children to be preoccupied with the mundane and passing things of this world.

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Instead, he wants us to set our affections not on the things that are on earth, but on the things above.

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Colossians 3, if then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

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Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

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To seek the things above and to set our minds on the things above, we must make a clean break from the everyday earthly encumbrances which hold us back, including our anxiety and our worry.

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2 Corinthians 4, for this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

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As we look not to the things which are seen, but to the things that are unseen, for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

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There are many who would argue that dealing with anxiety and worry is much more complicated than a few simplistic arguments.

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But remember, these aren't my words. These are the words of the

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Lord Jesus Christ. These are the words of the Lord God, our Father, the

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Almighty Creator of heavens and earth and you. So how are you to address the problem of anxiety and worry?

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How should you handle your anxiety when it unexpectedly arises in your life? If you're struggling with anxiety and worry, beloved, consider your life.

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Consider the life that the Lord God has given to you. And then consider the birds of the air.

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Consider your inability to add a single hour to your life. Consider your inability to add one cubit to your height.

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And then consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin.

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And yet even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If the

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Lord 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,

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O you of little faith? Are you not of more value than they?

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Beloved, entrust your life, entrust your circumstances, entrust your future, your everything into the hands of your heavenly

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Father. Next week we'll address the primary cause of anxiety, which is little faith.

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And the only cure to put down anxiety and to live a life of faith in the Lord God. Until then, do not be anxious about your life.

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Do not be anxious about what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on, because life is more than food.

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The body is more than clothing. And always remember that you are of much greater value than they.

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Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we confess to you our anxieties and our worries.

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Lord, it can be very easy to get distracted by these things in the world in which we live. And yet,

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Lord, we know that that's foolish. You are a sovereign

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God who is over all things. You are all powerful. You are all good. You are all wise.

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You are infinite in all of these things. And Lord, when things happen in our lives, it's so easy for us just to crumble.

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But Lord, help us to stand firm on the foundation of Christ. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Christ.

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And amid great difficulty, amid a future that is a little shaky, help us,

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Lord, to trust in you and in you alone. For, Lord, your hand is guiding, and you are leading, and you know the end from the beginning.

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So, Lord, help us to rest in you. Help us to be sure of who you are.