“Living Like An Atheist”
Matthew 6:25-34
Sermon Series: “Financial Atheist”
Introduction: Very often, we are worried and anxious about material things and other things. Worry means “anxious care” or “to be troubled.” Christian psychologist Gary Collins has written, “Anxiety has been called „the official emotion of our age‟ and the „most pervasive psychological phenomenon of our time‟.”
The main idea of this passage is that we are not to worry about material things, but we are to put God first and trust our Heavenly Father to take care of us.
In verse 32, Jesus implies that we are acting like atheists when we worry. Each of us has a decision to make. Are we going to worry like a pagan or trust like the child of a Heavenly Father? How can we live in faith that brings peace instead of worry that is destructive? Based on what Jesus said in these verses, here are 5 steps to take in order to win over worry.
1. Confess worry as sinful disobedience (v. 25, 31, 34). Jesus commands us not to worry three times in these verses so that means worrying is disobedience and sin. This implies:
A. We don’t have to worry.
B. We have to take responsibility for worrying. C. We need to confess it as sin.
D. We can turn away from it (Philippians 4:6-7).
2. Embrace godly priorities (v. 25, 19-24). They include: A. Spiritual Over Material
B. Heavenly Over Earthly C. Eternal Over Temporal D. God Over Stuff
When we have the right priorities, we will worry a lot less. Wrong priorities create unnecessary things for us to worry about.
3. Realize that worry is a futile waste of time (v. 27, 34). There is no reason for worry today. It accomplishes nothing positive.
Worry has never solved a problem. It only hurts us (Psalm 37:8). There is no reason for worrying about tomorrow because we do not know what will happen tomorrow. Someone has written, “Worry is a destructive process of occupying the mind with thoughts contrary to God‟s love and care.” It has also been said, “Worry is like a rocking chair, it will give you something to do, but it won‟t get you anywhere.”
4. Trust our Heavenly Father’s provision instead of living like we have no God (v. 25-31). The real issue in this passage of Scripture is faith. Worry and faith are opposites. Faith honors God and God honors faith. Worry is a denial of the love, power, and wisdom of God. Someone has written, “Worry is a form of atheism, for it betrays a lack of faith and trust in God.” D.A. Carson has written, “The root of anxiety is unbelief.” However, “the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.” We can trust God because:
A. God takes care of nature, and we are much more valuable than plants and animals (fleeting vs. immortal, a part of creation vs. made in God’s image, God’s creation vs. God’s children, Creator vs. Father, soulless vs. redeemed, some value vs. infinite value).
B. God promises to provide for us (v. 30-33).
C. God is our Heavenly Father (7:11).
D. God already knows what we need (v. 32, 6:8, 7:11).
5. Put God first in our lives (v. 33). Ultimately, God wants us to surrender our lives to Him. Actually, we must do that for these principles to work. These are conditional, not unconditional, promises. Hudson Taylor said, “If we are obeying the Lord, the responsibility rests with Him, not with us!”
Conclusion: Someone has written, “Jesus‟ disciples must live lives qualitatively different from those of people who have no trust in God‟s fatherly care and no fundamental goals beyond material things.” Are our lives different? Are we living by faith instead of worry? Let‟s trust God with our lives!
