It’s Not About Me.. Matthew 6:25-34

What are your goals for 2025?

QUESTION OF EXISTENCE:    WHY AM I ALIVE?

There are some  MYTHS That Lead To Materialism
1. Having MORE THINGS will make me MORE HAPPY "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. . . As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?" Ecc. 5:10,11
2. Having MORE THINGS will make me MORE IMPORTANT
3. Having MORE THINGS will make me MORE SECURE "The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall." Prov. 18:11 "Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint." Prov. 23:4 Job 31:24,28

A. We Are Prone to Worry about Finances

B. We Are Prone to Worry about Food

C. We Are Prone to Worry about Fashion

D. We Are Prone to Worry about Fitness

E. We Are Prone to Worry about the Future

What you worry about is what is really important in your life.

Fear has torment. Why should you be tormented by fear?

The Chinese warlords used to have an ancient torture they called "the Chinese water torture." And, they would take the poor, hapless victim and chain him to meet a canvas bag that would drip a huge barrel filled with water—that would drip on top of his head. Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip—one drop of water, day after day—drip, drip. After a while, the dripping of that water would be like hammer blows. One! Two! And finally, the whole sensibilities would explode, and the man would be driven insane just by the dripping of water over and over.

1. Admit The Sinfulness Of Worry
Matthew 6:25, 25 "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? 31  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' Swindoll called out the problems as the desires for fame , fortune, power and pleasure. Fame , fortune, power and pleasure are not sufficient centres for our lives to fulfil our lives.  We have a God shaped hole in our hearts that only God Himself can fill.
2. Acknowledge The Senselessness Of Worry

Worry Is Needless  "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?26 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?"

Worry Is Useless  27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Worry Is Faithless 30 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?

Worry Is Excuseless  31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.   (Matthew 6:31–32)

Fame , fortune, power and pleasure are not sufficient centres for our lives to fulfill our lives

3. Apply Steadfastness of Faith To Worry

Perkins  Our Saviour Christ having by six several arguments dissuaded His disciples from distrustful care, doth here shew unto them what care that is which ought always to possess their hearts; to wit, care after the kingdom of God, and His righteousness. And this care He imposeth upon them by express command, saying, First seek ye the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and then urgeth the entertaining of it by an effectual reason: and all these things things shall be ministered unto you.

Said the robin to the sparrow, "I should really like to know,

Why these anxious human beings Rush about and worry so."

Said the sparrow to the robin, "Friend I think that it must be,

That they have no Heavenly Father, Such as cares for you and me."

—ELIZABETH CHENEY

You see, the answer to worry is understanding the bigger picture.

The bigger picture is why you were created.

Jeremiah 20:18  "Why was I born? Was it only to have trouble and sorrow, to end my life in disgrace?"

Proverbs 16:4a "The Lord has made everything for His own purpose."

Ephesians 1:11  In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

An unknown person once said, "There are two great moments in a person's life. The first is when you were born; the second is when you discover why you were born." That leads me to make one of the most arrogant statements any pastor could ever make to anybody. If there is a God and if that God has revealed himself in the Bible, and if the Bible is God's word and true, then I can confidently, though it may sound arrogantly say, "I know the purpose for which every person was born." Now we may not carry that purpose out the same way throughout our lives, but nevertheless we were all born for the same purpose. Paul in one simple sentence gives us the one purpose for which we were created. It is the purpose of the church. In fact, in the grand scheme of things it is the purpose of everything. The reason we exist individually, why do we exist as a church, why did God create anything or anyone? Here is the purpose, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Cor 10:31) We will never understand our purpose, or accept our purpose, or practice our purpose unless we understand one thing about our lives – it is not about me.

The Lord Jesus made it very clear: Matt 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34  "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

The Westminster Catechism says "Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, And to enjoy him forever.

Seeking First the Kingdom of God Means

1. To Seek God's Glory

What do we mean by "the glory of God?" The word "glory" means "something that is worthy of complete praise and honour." It refers to the greatness, the grandeur, and the goodness of God. One thing to keep in mind, too, is that God doesn't just deserve glory. He is glory. He is the only being in all of the universe who is glorious, who radiates glorious. In one sense, He doesn't need us to give Him glory so He will have it; He already does! If we didn't praise God, exalt God or give God glory He would still be glorious, great and good. We are to give him glory. We are to recognize his glory. Why? Because He deserves it and because He is God. You don't add to His glory. When you don't give God glory you don't take away from His glory. Our major purpose is to talk and walk in such a way that we always recognize His glory, exalt His glory and proclaim His glory.

Romans 12:1 So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer…  WORSHIP is my Response to God's love "Because of God's great mercy…"

WORSHIP is giving back to God. Offer yourselves to God…"

Mark 12:30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, all  your mind, and all your strength… This is the first and greatest commandment."  

Love Him           Passionately "with all your heart and all your soul"      Thoughtfully "with all your mind"

Practically "with all your strength" 

Seeking Forst the Kingdom of God Means

2. To Share God's Grace

When you seek God's glory you will then do the greatest thing you will ever do for anyone else – you will share God's grace. you are either a part of the church of God or you are not. Paul's point is we should never be a stumbling block to an unbeliever coming to Jesus or a stumbling block to a believer in getting closer to Jesus. They may be offended when we share the gospel, but they should never be offended by the way we live the gospel. So with that in mind, what is the end goal? Paul shares it in his letter to the Corinthians, "Even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved" (I Corinthians 10:33). Our number one desire for everyone on this planet is in those last five words, "That they may be saved." Nothing brings more glory to God than when we share God's grace and people respond to God's grace.

Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Jn 17:18 As you sent me into the world [mission], I have sent them into the world.

Jn 20:21b "…As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you."

Acts 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

1 Cor. 9:22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.

John 4:35 "...open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest

Matthew 9:37-38 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Seeking First the Kingdom of God Means

3. To Show God's Goodness

How did Jesus live? Here is what he said at the end of his life, "…it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 'Father, glorify your name!'" (John 12:27-28). Jesus came to glorify God His father. If you think about it, everywhere Jesus went He not only was seeking God's glory, but He was sharing God's grace and He was showing God's goodness. What Paul said about his life we should say about ours. We should live our lives in a way that clearly shows God's goodness to everyone we encounter.

Live One Day At A Time – Matthew 6:34 –

"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:34) And, "as [your] days [are], so shall [your] strength be." (Deuteronomy 33:25)

Alexander Maclaren was a Scottish preacher of yesteryear and one of the great expositors of the Word of God. And, he said that his favourite verse, his life verse, was this verse in Deuteronomy chapter 33: "As thy days [are], so shall [be] thy strength."

(Deuteronomy 33:25) And, he said it had a special meaning to him when he was an eighteen-­year-­old boy. He said that he received his first job, and he lived in a little village outside the big city of Adelaide: His dad had been transferred here to Australia and so he grew up in South Australia.  He had to go to the big city to work and stay there for a week, and he had to walk to work, which was about ten km away. And so, he went, and his father walked with him. And, they walked through a deep, dark ravine, a very foreboding valley, and then up and out the other side, and then on to the big city.

His father said to him, "Alex, when your work is over this week, on Saturday night, I want you to come home." And, young Alex said—this sixteen-­year-­old boy said—"Dad, I'll be tired Saturday night. I'll come home, Dad, Sunday morning." And, his dad said,

 No, Alex, this is the first time you've been away from home, and my old heart is going to miss you. I'll be longing to see you. Please, Alex, come home Saturday night, as soon as you finish." What Alex didn't tell his dad was this: that there had been some terrible things happen in that deep ravine, and he was afraid. He didn't want to go down into that thing at night by himself, down into that inky black darkness by himself. And, he was fearful. He was afraid, in a way, to tell his dad that. But, he just swallowed hard and said, "All right, Dad, I'll come home Saturday night." And, all of the week he was tossing, anticipating that problem, worrying about it and worrying about it. And, the Saturday night came, and he made his way. And, he stood there on the brink of that dark ravine and looked at it, and it looked so black and so forbidding and foreboding that his chin started to quiver and the tears started to run. He didn't have the strength to enter into it. And then, he heard a noise, and he saw a figure, a shadowy figure, coming down. But, he noticed something about the features, the way the footfalls fell, that looked familiar. It was his dear father who had come to meet him. And, his dad said to him, "Alex, I just"—he didn't say a word about the boy being afraid, but he said—"Alex, I missed you so badly I just thought I'd come to meet you and walk home with you." Alex said, "Oh, with that grand old man by my side," he said, "the two of us went shoulder to shoulder down into that valley, and," he said, "I wouldn't have fear of anything that walked, with my father by my side."