How Not to Worry, Part 1

If you have your Bible, would you turn to me to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12, we are going to study a portion of scripture that is familiar to a lot of us because what Jesus says here, he has said before.

He has said in Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 down through verse number 33 or 34, I believe, talking about the same thing. So what he says here, he's already said before. He's probably said it on several other occasions. So what Jesus is saying in Luke chapter 12, he has addressed before, meaning that's probably something worth listening to. All of what Jesus says is worth listening to, but if he's going to repeat it, it must really be important.

And the good thing about it is, is that it speaks directly to you and me today, where we are at. It deals with our fears. It deals with our anxiety. It deals with our stress level. It deals with where we stand in the panic scale. Because a lot of us tend to worry an awful lot. And so Jesus addresses that. In fact, he says on three occasions in verse number 24, I'm sorry, verse number 22, do not be anxious. Verse number 29, do not keep worrying. Verse 32, do not be afraid. Those are commands God gives.

Don't worry. Don't be afraid. Don't be anxious. And yet we find ourselves worrying about all kinds of things, anxious about all kinds of events, fearful of all kinds of things. And yet Jesus says, don't do that.

In fact, there's over a dozen occasions in the scriptures where Jesus specifically says, do not worry, do not be anxious. And every time he gives that command, he gives us the reason why you should not do that. Today, we will see exactly what Jesus says.

In fact, not only today, but next week and the week after, because it's so important for us to grasp. Jesus is concerned about where we stand mentally when it comes to him. And so he addresses the issues before us. We live in a world that's filled with people who panic. In fact, the numbers are astonishing. Statistics say that 50% of the population in America experience some kind of anxiety. A hundred million people worldwide have panic attacks on a regular basis. And now when we think of panic attacks, when we think of anxiety, when we think of stress, there is so much of that going on that, that Dodger, that not Dodgers, but that, uh, not the Dodgers.

They can't do anything. The doctors, doctors have come to a place where they want to help you learn to manage your stress. It is so pervasive that somehow we can't eliminate it. So let's help you learn to manage your levels of anxiety. Now the difference between doctors today and Jesus is that Jesus eliminates your stress level. Doctors can only manage your stress level. And Jesus is going to show you how it is he is going to erase your anxiety. How he's going to help you never to worry about anything again.

Wouldn't you like to be there? Sure you would. Everybody would. In fact, it's hard to imagine that in our country here in America, that people as self indulged as they are, as comfortable as they are, could have any level of stress whatsoever. But they do. They do. And so doctors have come up with names for our stress and our anxiety. There's what they call general anxiety disorder. Maybe you have that. I don't know. General anxiety disorder. That is simply an excessive, exaggerated anxiety or worry about everyday life events.

Whether it's about health, money, work, family. And just the thought of facing the day causes you to panic. Maybe that's you. I don't know. Doctors would say you have general anxiety disorder. That there's also obsessive, compulsive anxiety disorder. Maybe you have that. Those are the kinds of people who are continuously washing their hands or continually cleansing something about themselves or continually doing the dishes or obsessively compulsive about the cleanliness of their house. So they're always cleaning their house or or their bookshelf.

The books must be at the exact same location and the same distance from the edge of the shelf. So they're always going around rearranging them to make sure that they're not out of order. Maybe you have that disorder. I don't know. There's also what they call post-traumatic stress disorder. And this comes about because of maybe you were involved in military combat. Maybe you're involved in some kind of personal assault. Maybe you're involved in some kind of disaster. Whether it's a natural disaster or something that happened because you were in a car accident and you have flashbacks and you have nightmares.

They call this post-traumatic disorder. Maybe you have that. I have no idea what's going on in the secrecy of your home. There are all kinds of phobias. There's a nacrophobia. People who are afraid of spiders. I think every woman has that one. A nacrophobia. I don't mean that to be sexist. I'm just saying that's the way it is in my house and I got lots of women in my house so I just figured that's the way it is with every woman. I don't know. But a nacrophobia. Fear of spiders. There is aquaphobia.

The fear of water. There's agoraphobia. The fear of open spaces. There's aquaphobia. The fear of high places. There's algophobia. The fear of pain. I mean there's so much fear, so much stress, so much worry that there's a name for every fear that you have. That's how prominent it is in our world today. And wouldn't you like to be able to live free from those kinds of worries? Wouldn't you like to be free from the worry of whether or not your marriage is going to work? Wouldn't you like to be free from the stress you face when you go to work?

Wouldn't you like to be free from the worry about whether or not you're gonna have enough finances for your family in the future? Wouldn't you be free from all that stuff? You can be. Because Jesus seeks to eliminate all your anxieties. All your fears. Because you see when you come into the kingdom of God, it's ruled by a king who promises to provide and to protect all of his subjects. Every single one. And so our desire is to come to understand how exactly he is going to do that. And yet there is so much panic, so much worry, so much stress, so many anxious thoughts that we have.

One major university has said, the goal of any treatment is to make anxiety a manageable part of daily existence. Really? That's the best you can do? Is help us manage our anxiety? Jesus seeks to eliminate your anxiety. And so we need to understand how. One author, his name is William Inge, said worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due. That's pretty good. A.S. Roach said, worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.

William Ward put it this way, worry is faith in the negative. Trust in the unpleasant. Assurance of disaster and belief in defeat. Worry is wasting today's time to clutter up tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles. That's pretty good. Because that's exactly what we do. And the word worry is really an old German word which means to choke or to strangle. So whenever you are worried about something, there is a mental strangulation that's taking place in your life that's causing you to panic, to be afraid, to have some kind of fear.

And so Jesus seeks to eliminate that. And your fears, your panics, your worries fall into one of two categories. One is material, the other is immaterial. One would be natural, the other supernatural. One would be physical, one, the other would be spiritual. How do we know that? Because Jesus addresses that. He says in verse number 22, do not be anxious for your life, what you eat or what you wear. That's the physical realm, right? So we can have all kinds of anxiety about what's going to happen to us physically.

Or there is the spiritual realm, which says in verse 32, I'm sorry, verse 31, but seek for his kingdom and these things shall be added unto you. So that's a spiritual kingdom. In the spiritual realm, the immaterial realm. And so Jesus is going to address both of those for us. In short, let me just put it to you this way.

Let me simplify it for you. Worry is sin. To be anxious is sin, simply because Jesus said, don't do that. If Jesus said, don't do it, for you to do it would be sin. So to worry is sin, but it goes deeper than that because worry is that which rises out of a failure to understand the true identity of God. Worry rises out of a failure to understand the true identity of the Lord God of the universe. If you fear, if you worry, if you are stressed out, it's simply because you have a warped view of God.

You have a false view of God. Or to put it this way, if you are one who lives in all kinds of stress and fear, then truly you live an atheistic lifestyle. You live as if God doesn't exist. And if you happen to believe he does exist, then you don't believe he can do what he says he's going to do. Put it that way. And I know you don't want to live an atheistic lifestyle. I know you don't want to go around living as if God doesn't exist. And I know you don't want to live as if God doesn't care because we know that he does, right?

So we need to get our hands around this. We need to somehow come to grips with the beauty of this passage to understand God so that we can rid ourselves from those anxious thoughts, from that level of stress that's taken me to a place where I can no longer sleep at night, I have to have some kind of medication to even go to bed, to rid me of those worries that seem to succumb everything in my mind. So how is it that happens? We need to come to understand what the Lord says here in Luke's gospel. You must understand God.

If you don't understand him, who he is and what he's about. And truly, it is a fact that for most of us, we don't understand God. And he's infinite. His ways are unfathomable. I mean, he's incomprehensible. And yet, our pursuit of God helps us with worry, fear, and stress. As we come to understand God, those things are eliminated. So put it this way, very base level. If you're one who lives in all kinds of stress, anxiety, and fear, it's because you have failed to come to understand the character and nature of your God.

And so you need to pursue a study of God, what he does, who he is, and why he does the things that he does. Once you do, those fears are eliminated. So let's begin. If I am not going to worry anymore, I must, number one, recognize God's purpose for my life.

That's where it begins. I must recognize God's purpose for my life. Let's look at the text together. Luke 12, verse number 22. And he said to his disciples, his learners, his followers. Now this is the 12th, yes, but it goes beyond that. We know it includes the 12th because Peter later asks him a question. So the apostles are there as his disciples, as his followers, as his learners. They're a part of the crowd, but it goes beyond that. We've already talked to you about this as we've gone through this passage of scripture, that it goes to those people who are curious about following Christ, who are on the edge about whether or not they're going to give their life to Christ.

And he's addressing those people. They're students of Christ. They're followers of Christ. They want to learn about Christ, but they have yet to make a commitment to follow him. And so what Jesus does is very significant because it says, and he said to his disciples, for this reason, I say to you, what reason is that? Well, you know the context of Luke 12, don't you? Sure you do. He's already talked about the warning concerning the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. And Jesus addresses that.

Multitudes of people are following him. They're all around him. He's concerned that they don't be led astray into some kind of false system that will dam their souls forever. So he tells them to be aware of the leaven of the Pharisees. And we went through all that and gave you the reasons why and how you are to cure hypocrisy in your own life. And so we talked about that. And as Jesus is speaking, somebody interrupts him. He interrupts and asks the question about his inheritance and his brother dividing the inheritance between them, equally between them.

And Jesus uses that opportunity to give another warning, beware of greed, all forms of greed, all forms of covetousness, beware of that. And he gives the parable about the guy who, who was, he was already rich and he was blessed beyond measure. And he, he wanted to make bigger barns because he had so much of a, of a, of a crop that he didn't know what to do with all of his stuff. And he completely forgot all about God. And the Lord says, you fool, you fool, you're going to die on this very day. Your, your life is required of you.

And, and Jesus goes on to say these words. So is the man who lays up treasures for himself and not rich toward God. In other words, he wants you to make a choice. I want you to be rich toward God, not rich toward yourselves. I want you to focus in on, on, on, on heavenly things, not earthly things. I want you to store up treasures in heaven, not on earth. I want you to give what you have to God. That's the context. So Jesus says for this reason, what reason is that?

Because you've made a choice, or hopefully you'll make the right choice to, to store up treasures in heaven, be rich toward God. Jesus would say in Matthew six, that you can't serve two masters. Why? Because if you serve one, you, you'll hate the other. If you love one, you despise the other. You can't serve two masters. You got to make a choice. And Jesus says for this reason, for this reason, he says, do not be anxious for your life.

Because that would be the natural product of what was happening. I want you to think about this with me for a moment. This is what would take place in the lives of the people who came to hear Jesus speak. The natural thing would be this. If I follow Christ and I give my life to Christ and I store up treasures in heaven, and I don't prepare for my future, what's going to happen to me? What's going to happen to my future? If I'm serious about this commitment thing to give my life to you, what about me?

What's in it for me? That would be a natural question. How do we know that? Because Peter asked that question. Remember back in Matthew chapter 19, that whole conversation that Christ had with that rich young ruler, when he came and asked the question, teacher, what good things shall I do that I may obtain eternal life and Christ says, sell all that you have and, and give it away and come follow me.

And it says in verse 27, because it talks about how hard it is for a rich man to get into the kingdom and, and all that kind of stuff. And, and the apostles are hearing all this. And in verse 27, Peter answered and said to him, behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will there be for us? See, that's the natural question. If we leave everything and follow you, what's going to happen to us? What's going to be in it for us? The here and now.

Where are we going to be? That, that, that's the natural question. How do we know that? Well, Peter asked that question and we've already looked at Luke 9, 23, right? Where Jesus said, if any man came after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. If you want to keep your life today, you're going to lose it. If you're willing to give your life away for me, then you'll, you'll keep it for eternity. It's not giving your life away. Then Jesus would go on in Luke chapter 9 and he would talk about those people who, who had wanted to follow him.

I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus said, the foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head. So again, he, he says, look, you want to follow me? You've got to be willing to, to realize there are no luxuries in this life. He said to another, you follow me. But he said, permit me first to go and bury my father.

He said to him, allow the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you go and proclaim everywhere, the kingdom of God, his father wasn't even dead yet. Verse 61, Luke 9. Another also said, I will follow you, Lord, but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home.

But Jesus said to him, no one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. That was Jesus's invitation. And then he would go on to say in Luke chapter 14, these words again to a multitude of people, because now there are more crowds in Luke 14 than there was in Luke chapter 12. He says, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

And then he gives a parable about counting the cost and what it means to follow Christ. And then he says in verse 33, so therefore no one of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his possessions. So that's the message everybody's hearing. That's not the message everybody's hearing today, unfortunately, but that's the message everybody was hearing in Jesus's day because he was a preacher of the truth. I say that to you because that would cause people to, to, okay, if I'm going to take it on my cross, I'm going to follow you.

If there's no place to lay my head, if I can't look back because I'm not fit for the kingdom of God, if I don't look, my love for you is so great that my love for my family looks like hate and I'm not willing to, to die and sell all that I have. See, the question will come, what's in it for me? What do I get? That's the natural question. That question is not being asked today because we present the gospel differently. Unfortunately, I was sharing with some, some people this morning before our prayer time about a conversation.

I was away this past week and I was perusing through the news channel and came up across one of the news channels. I think it's Fox news or CNN. I can't remember which one it was. And the man who was there, I don't know who it was. It wasn't O'Reilly. It wasn't somebody that I know prominently, but it was a newsman interviewing Franklin Graham. And the question was, what does it mean to be a Christian? And Mr. Graham is giving, you know, quoting Bible verses, John 3, 16, John 14, 6. He's talking about the time when he accepted Christ as Savior at a young age and how he got down on his knees and prayed and, and received Christ as a personal Lord and Savior, yada, yada, yada.

He's going through the things that we basically know and understand as, as Christians. And the newsman said, Mr. Graham, let me tell you what Jesus said about being a Christian.

That was pretty good. And he quoted Luke 14, 33. Unless you sell all your possessions, you can't be a follower of me. And he asked Mr. Graham simply, have you sold all your possessions to follow Christ? That was the question. Because in this newsman's mind, this is what Jesus said about what it meant to be a Christian, to be a follower of his. Now, Mr. Graham would go on and say some things and say some really good things, but he never answered that question. And because he never answered that question, this was the concluding statement by the news anchorman.

When he said, Mr. Graham, you have convinced me that you are a born again Christian. Just as President Obama has convinced me also that he too is a born again Christian. And I listened to that. I thought to myself, we got a problem. If what I'm saying to tell people I'm a Christian is the exact same thing that President Obama was telling people that he's a Christian, we got a problem, big problem in America. And of course they signed off and Mr. Graham's only response to that was God bless you. And I'm going to ask, did he sneeze or what?

You know, God bless you. I would have said, wait a minute. Well, hold on. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. There's something wrong here. There's a problem here because when Jesus spoke, the natural question was, if I give it all away, if I, if I, if I, if I am totally committed to you, I am sold out for Christ because Christianity is for the spiritual bankrupt. Christianity is for the desperate. Christianity is for the blind, the naked. Christianity is for the hungry and for the thirsty. And so they'll do, listen carefully, whatever Jesus asks, no matter what he asks, because they're so desperate to be a part of his kingdom.

So if Jesus asks you to deny yourself, take the cross and follow him, you do that. See, that's why there is such a, a problem in America today is because when we preach the gospel, we don't give the hard sayings of Jesus. We'd like to give the soft sayings of Jesus because they're more acceptable. See? And so people can accept that and get on that bang wagon and, and, and, and believe in that Jesus, but you give them the hard sayings of Jesus. You give them those, you're going to weed out the nominal followers.

You're going to weed out those people that are just casual listeners. You're going to weed them out. You're going to cause them to come to a place where they make a choice because you can't add Jesus to your existing lifestyle. You can't just accept him into your life. You must give your life. The Bible says in Matthew 16, for what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

When you become a Christian, you exchange all that you are for all that he is. When you become a Christian, there's a, a transaction that takes place. You are done with you. It's over with you. All your ambitions, all your dreams, all your desires, it's done. It's over. It's done. And I'm Lord, whatever you want, I'm yours. And so this is why the people come to the question. Jesus knows that. Jesus knows that. Jesus is omniscient. He knows what people are going to think in the crowd. For this reason, for this cause, if you decide to be rich toward God, rich toward things in heaven, if you decide not to selflessly indulge in this modern day lifestyle, if you decide to give yourself to me for this reason, you have no worries, none, because that would be the question.

What about me? If I give it all away, what's going to happen? And Jesus knows that that's what people are going to think. So his natural response is do not be anxious for your life, your physical life as to what you shall eat, nor for your body as to what you shall put on. Wow. Because that would be something that they would worry about. Please remember in the land of Israel during the times of Christ, there are no fast food restaurants. I mean, you couldn't get on the phone, your cell phone and order in pizza and have them drop it off at your door.

If you wanted something to eat, you'd have to fix it. What a novel idea. You actually had to fix breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You couldn't go to the local fast food store and just grab a bite to eat on your way down to Jerusalem or up to Jerusalem. And if you wanted something to wear, you couldn't go down to the local mall and buy something from the store, your favorite store. You couldn't order it by the internet and get shipped to you overnight, paying over abundance worth of money just to get there overnight so you have to wear the next day.

Couldn't do that. You had to make it, had to make it. Can you imagine that? So he says, don't be anxious about what you're going to eat because they would be anxious about, where am I going to get my food? Where am I going to get my clothes? That would be a natural thing for them to worry about. We don't worry about it because we're hungry. What do we do? On the way from home from church, we don't even wait to get home from church. We stop by a restaurant, get something to eat. Don't have nothing to wear for the party this week.

What do I do? Go to the store, buy something to wear. Just do it so simply. That's not what we do. But Jesus said, don't be anxious about what you're going to eat. Don't be anxious about what you're going to wear. Don't be anxious about your physical life. It had to be tough for people in Jesus's day because they had to work so very hard just to get a bite to eat. Work so very hard just to have a pair of shoes or sandals or a shirt, a cloak to wear. Because your life is more than food and your life is more than fashion.

It's more than that. Now, if you don't have God, your life is filled with food and fashion. It's all you care about. What am I going to eat? What am I going to wear? A life without God is concerned about food. A life without God is concerned about fashion. A life with God is not concerned about food and fashion. Because he is the king, you're in his kingdom, and the God of that kingdom rules your life and promises to protect your life. He says, for life, verse 23, is more than food and the body than clothing.

Listen, as a believer, your life is more than that. Why? As a believer, your life has a purpose. And that's the point. You must come to realize God's purpose for your life. It's more than food. It's more than fashion. It's more than what you eat and what you wear. It's more than just the frivolities of life. If you're not a believer, it's all about that. If you are a believer, there's something deeper than that. Your life is more than that because you have a purpose. And that purpose is to honor and glorify the name of the living God.

First Corinthians 6, you've been bought with a price. Your body is no longer your own. Therefore, glorify God in your body. First Corinthians 10 31, whether you eat or whether you drink, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

That's why we're spending so much time about it on Wednesday nights. What does it mean to give glory to God? Because that's your purpose for existence. And if you miss that, your life's about food and fashion, fun and finances. That's it. That's why you get to know what you're here for. What's my purpose? My purpose is to glorify and magnify the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord. That's what I'm here for. And Jesus says, you know, don't be anxious about what you're going to eat.

Don't be anxious about what you're going to wear, because if you're rich toward God, your life is much more than all that. That's all temporal. That's all physical. Don't worry about those things. Not at all. Why? Because God's going to take care of all those things. The God who saves you is the God who's going to sustain you, is the same God who's going to satisfy you. If God saved you for a purpose, nothing's going to happen to you until that purpose is fulfilled in your life. God will take care of you and protect you until that purpose is complete, because you're here for a specific purpose.

That's why the Psalmist said, The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not what? What? He's my good shepherd. What do I want? He makes me. He leads me. He restores me. Right? He gives me everything I need. I have no worries. And Jesus very simply says, look, I know you're going to be anxious about this, but you don't need to be. Your life is much more than what you wear. It can't be defined by what you wear or what you eat. It's what I want to do in your life. And if you're rich toward me, if you're filled with me and you're a part of my kingdom, you are here for a greater purpose than just eating, drinking, and clothing yourself.

You have a greater purpose than that. And then he says this, consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, and they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than the birds? So not only do you recognize God's purpose for your life, but now you need to realize God's provision as you go through life. He's going to provide for you. Consider the birds. And now in the land of Israel, there are so many birds. I mean, the ravens, the crows, they're all around mainly because all the birds that come from Eastern Europe all migrate through the land of Israel.

Why? Because there's desert to the east, there's water toward the west. And so all there is, is that little fertile land of the land of Israel. And so all the birds who are migrating for down south for the winter, they come through the land of Israel. The birds are everywhere. And Jesus uses the raven, he uses the bird as an illustration of how God provides for them. They don't sow, they don't reap, they don't work. You ever see a bird go to work? No, they don't go to work. You ever see a bird sleep, by the way?

No, I've never seen a bird sleep. They're always doing something, okay? And what are they doing? They're gathering, listen carefully, they're gathering what God has provided for them. That's what they're doing. Consider the ravens, consider the birds. They don't sow, they don't reap, they don't have a storeroom, they don't rent out a garage to keep all the worms in. They don't do that. They are incapable of generating their own food. Are they not? Completely incapable of generating their own food.

So what do they eat? They can only eat what God provides for them, right? And they are never without food, because God will make sure that they are taken care of. Job 38.41 says it this way, who prepares for the raven its nourishment? When it's young, cry to God and wonder about without food. Answer? God. Psalm 104, verse 25, there is the sea great and broad in which are swarms without number, animals both small and great. Verse 27, they all wait for thee to give them their food in due season. Thou dost give it to them, they gather it up, thou dost open thy hand, they are satisfied with good.

Now, for the most part, we don't know anything about what's all in the depths of the sea, but God knows. He put it there. And they all wait, whatever sea creature is in the sea, they wait for God to give them their food in due time. And once he gives it to them, they then are able to partake. Psalm 147, verse number 9, he gives to the beast its food and to the young ravens which cry. God gives it to them. God provides it for them. God takes care of his own. And then he says, how much more valuable are you than those birds?

If God makes sure that the ravens of the field are fed, how much more valuable are you than the birds on this earth? Much more valuable. God's going to provide for you. Now, I know that there are people who say, well, yeah, but God's not providing for me. And I don't understand why. And I don't want to worry. I don't want to be stressed out about my job, about my finances. I don't want to be stressed out about those things, but I'm not sure I'm going to have enough. I'm not sure I'm going to have enough to retire on down the road.

I'm not sure I'm going to have enough to send my kids to school. I don't know. I'm worried about those kind of things. I'm stressed out about that. I know, I know that God has a purpose for my existence and that is to glorify his name. And I know that God's going to provide for me, but still I worry. Well, let me read something to you.

Turn me to the book of Haggai for no other reason than to find where it is. So just go to book of Matthew and go three books back in the old Testament, you'll find the book of Haggai. Listen carefully. Verse five, Haggai one, now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Never look up here for a second.

You say, well, you know, I don't have enough money at the end of the month. I don't have, I don't have enough to make it. God says, I want you to consider your ways.

Think about your life. You have so much, but harvest little. You're working your tail off, but you're harvesting little. You eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied. So you're getting something to eat, but you're really not satisfied. You drink, but there is not enough to become drunk. You, you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough. And he earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes. Now there's a lot of people here probably could think that way. You know, I earned my wages. I put it in my wallet.

I open it up. It's got holes in it. It's all gone. I eat, but I'm not satisfied. I, I, I'm clothed, but I'm not warm. Thus says the Lord of hosts consider your ways. Again, he says, consider your ways. Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple that I may be pleased with it and be glorified, says the Lord. God, the answer is, you know what's going on, what your problem is? Your problem is this, you have forgotten about me. You're working hard, but there's not enough money. You're working hard, but you're not warm enough.

I want you to go and I want you to bring wood and rebuild the temple. Look at verse nine. You look for much, but behold, it comes to little. When you bring it home, I blow it away. You go to work, you get a paycheck, and you have not enough money. What happens? God says, I blow it all away.

God just said, blew it all away. Where'd my money go? God blew it away. Really? Why? Listen, because of my house, which that lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. You know why I blow it away? You are more concerned about where you live than where I live. You're more concerned about your house and my house. You're more concerned about whether you have blinds or shutters in your house, what color the curtains are of your house, what kind of flooring you're going to have in your house than you are about my house.

And as long as you're more concerned about your house and my house, I'm just going to blow it all away. You're going to work. You're going to work. You're going to work. And guess what? You're still going to be cold. Oh, you'll work and work and work. And guess what? You'll sit down to eat and you'll still be hungry. You'll work and work and work and never be satisfied because I've blown it all away. Why? Because you are more concerned about you than you are me. That's why. He says, therefore, because of you, he says, the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce.

And I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle and all the labor of your hands. Why? Go back to verse four, number four. Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate? God simply says, I'm going to tell you why you don't have enough money at the end of the month. I'm going to tell you why you're still hungry. I'm going to lie. I'm going to tell you why you have holes in your wallet and your checking account and your purse, because all you can think about is you, your house, your belongings.

Where are you going to live? How are you going to live? What are you going to drive? Where are you going to drive? You're not concerned about my house. You're not concerned about me. And until you lay down yourself and your own purposes and take up me and my purposes, I'm going to keep blowing everything you make away. So God says, consider your ways.

I think every one of us needs to consider our ways, don't we? I think every one of us should take a good, hard look at our own lives.

And say, wait a minute, what's wrong here? I'm working hard, long hours, trying to make ends meet, and there is no satisfaction in my home. It's in turmoil. God says, I'm going to tell you why.

All you can think about is yourself. And you forgot about me. I'm not blowing it all away. The flip side of that is, God always provides for his own. Psalm 34, verse number 10. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they who seek the Lord should not be in want of any good thing. See that? They who seek the Lord should not be in want of any good thing. Psalm 33. He who walks righteously, listen carefully. He who walks righteously, speaks with sincerity, who rejects unjust gain, shuts his eyes from looking upon evil, he will dwell on the heights.

His refuge will be the impregnable rock. His bread will be given to him. His water will be sure. Consider your ways. Consider your ways. Are you seeking righteousness? Are you speaking with sincerity, honesty, integrity? Do you reject unjust gain? Are you the kind of person who shuts his eyes from looking upon evil? You will not behold anything that's evil on your computer, on your television, wherever it may be. God says, I will give you your water.

I will give you your food. But if you don't consider your ways and realize where you're at, if you're lacking something, it's your fault, not mine. So God says, it's your fault.

Because of you, I've caused the rain not to fall. Because of you, I've caused the crop not to produce. Because of you, he says. Because of you. Because you are more concerned about you than you are me. That's the bottom line. That's the bottom line. And that's why Jesus says, don't worry.

If you're going to be rich toward God, if you're going to store up treasures in heaven, you have nothing to worry about. But if you're not interested in storing up treasures in heaven, you got a lot to worry about, a whole bunch to worry about. Because you got to consider your ways. God says, look, if you are rich toward me, I'll feed you.

I'll clothe you. I'll get you not be in want of any good thing. I will give you your bread. I will give you your water. I will take care of every need that you have because there is a purpose for your existence and that purpose is for you to magnify my name and glorify me. But if you're into you, you can't glorify me. If you're into you, you're concerned about food and fashion, fun, finances. But if you're into me, if you're into me and not you, look at the ravens.

They've all been fed. They've all been taken care of. And you are much more valuable to me than they are. I'll take care of you. I will remember my provision. Remember your purpose for existence and you'll be well on your way to eliminating fear, stress, and anxiety in your life. Let me pray with you.

Lord God, thank you for today. The great joy of your word. Truly you are a great God and worthy to be praised. May we be children of your kingdom who live in the light of your great glory. And may we follow your principles. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our soon coming King. Amen.