Don't tell me you love Jesus and you're as worried as your non-Christian neighbor about how you're gonna make it. Dr. Tony Evans talks about why we still experience anxiety when God promises us peace. The reason why we stay worried as a lifestyle is that first things aren't first.
Priorities are out of order. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Many people think worry is having doubts about the future, but Dr. Evans points out that for Christians, being worried is actually a bigger problem than whatever it is we're worried about.
Let's join him as he explains. Today, I want to talk to you about freedom. Freedom from anxiety.
Freedom from anxiety, or to use the more popular term, freedom from worry. And there's plenty to worry about. Some people are worried about the financial situation. That could be their job, their bills, paying the rent, things that have to do with material and financial responsibility. And you are worried. Am I going to be able to send my kids to college?
Am I going to be able to meet my obligations? There's a financial worry. Others are worried about health issues. Health issues can produce worry. And now you not only have to worry about what's wrong, you now have to worry about the medicine you use to make it right.
Because they tell you that the medicine might make you sick in other ways while it fixes whatever you took it for to make better. So you got to worry about the sickness, then you got to worry about the stuff to fix the sickness. We worry about terrorism. You can worry about what people think.
You can be controlled by the impressions and impact of others. Worry can go on and on and on and on and on and become a vice grip around our mind. One man said, if I have to worry about one more thing, it's going to take me two weeks to get to it.
Because I have accumulated so much to worry about. Another gentleman just couldn't take it anymore. And he said, I will pay, he said to a friend, I will pay you $1,000 if you will do my worrying for me. The man said, okay, I'll take that. I'll take that. I'll take your worry for you.
Where's the $1,000? The man said, well, that's the first thing you got to worry about. So in one form or another, we're all challenged with this thing called worry. In Matthew chapter six, Jesus wants to tell you something. Can Jesus tell you something? Verse 25, the first line, for this reason I say to you, do not worry. Verse 31, do not worry. Verse 34, so do not worry. He says, stop worrying. If Jesus commands you to stop something and you keep doing it, it's a sin. Therefore, it's a sin to worry. Now we all know that that's easier said than done, isn't it? And yet Jesus says, quit it, so evidently worry is quittable.
The question is, how can I arrive at such a decision? How can I get to the place where I can tell worry, leave me alone, and it obeys? Rather than I tell worry to leave me alone and worry says back to me, who you talking to? How do I get to the place where I have authority over worry and worry doesn't have authority over me?
How do I get to that place? He says, if you are prone to worry, verse 26, look at the birds of the air, because he says, if you really pay attention to birds, you will discover something, that they do not sow nor reap nor gather in barns, and yet your happily father feeds them. Do you ever notice in the morning, when you wake up, the birds are always singing? How can birds be singing?
They don't have CDs, they don't have mutual funds, they don't have bank accounts, nor do they have freezers full of worms. Every morning, they're chirping and they're singing as though it's gonna be okay. Could it be that the bird knows something the child of God doesn't? Because he says, your Heavenly Father feeds them.
In other words, birds get up assuming something. Daddy got today covered. Somewhere out there, there is a worm with my name on it. And so, I'm just gonna do what I do. I'm gonna go, you know, twiddly dee dee dee, doo doo. I'm gonna go and I'm gonna fly around and God is going to have a worm that will poke his little head up at the wrong time for him, at the right time for me, and bird gonna eat the day. In fact, I'm gonna get a long enough worm or enough worms that me and my little ones gonna eat today.
So I'm gonna get up singing, although I'm not pre-located or pre-financed my worm. I ain't gonna get up, woe is me. How am I gonna make it today? How am I gonna eat today? I'm not gonna get up like that. I'm gonna sing when I get up because there's somebody up there that got me covered down here when it comes to me eating my worms today. So he says, the study of the birds.
He goes on, and why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow. They do not toil.
They don't spin. Yet I say that even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. Since on your way home, when you pass by the wildflowers, the lilies of the field are the wildflowers. They're not the ones that grow up in conditions that have been made perfect. They just out there subject to the environment.
Wildflowers, lilies of the field. They don't have single sewing machines. Toil nor spins nor are they planted by textile factories. Yet Solomon who was a multi-billionaire couldn't match colors like these.
Solomon couldn't clothe himself in the array of vicissitudes and in the array of spectacular ambiance that these do. How does God run nature? Here's how he runs nature. The way God runs nature is he's instilled in nature very naturally the process of nature taking care of itself.
Father God has trained Mother Nature to naturally take care of itself. In other words, the provision is built in to the process. He's talking about you not worrying, and he wants you to stop it. Jesus said you're sinning if you worry because the provision is built in to the process.
Now don't get me wrong. We are not discussing here irresponsibility. You've never seen a bird on a limb with his mouth open toward heaven waiting for having to drop worms in it. So you sitting at home by the phone not job hunting waiting for it to ring because God gonna give you a job. You missed the point.
It's not talking about irresponsibility, but the bird knows when it does what it's supposed to do—go look for worms—that God has sufficient worms provided when the process is completed. So he wants you and I to know that. He wants you and I to understand that.
He wants you and I to operate that. What's the problem? What's the problem?
What's the problem? He tells us at the end of verse 29, God so closed the grass of the field which is alive today to mower stone into the furnace. Will he not much more clothe you ye of little faith? He says the reason why you're worried is you got a small view of God. You're worried because your God has shrunk. Little faith. You got a small God so you have small expectations from the small God you have. And you do something the birds and the flowers don't do—go to church.
Birds don't come to service, flowers don't come to service, but evidently they have more faith in God's children who go to church. Oh ye of little faith. The level of your worry reveals the size of your faith. If you're worried all the time it's because you have faith little of the time. Oh ye of little faith. Your expectations are low because you really haven't studied what God has done in nature.
And all of nature depends on God and the means he's provided to provide. When we return to Dr. Evans in just a moment, he'll show us what happens when we speak worry into our lives. First though, today's message is part of a helpful encouraging sermon collection called Having Faith During Fear. This six-lesson set explores ways to hold on when you feel like giving up. You'll discover how to weather the storms of life and how to reverse the consequences of spiritual failures.
No matter what circumstances you're facing, Having Faith During Fear will show you how to get your life headed in a new and more hopeful direction. This audio collection is available to you on CD or MP3 as our way of saying thanks when you make a donation to the alternative. And as a special bonus, but only for a few more days now, we'll even include our Hope for the Hurting Leader Kit, perfect for leading a small group study or for your own personal growth. In this Bible study, Dr. Evans offers spiritual principles for facing life's pains and hurts.
Love and happiness are possible if we learn how to walk through the hurt with peace and joy. The Leader Kit not only includes a copy of the Hope for the Hurting book, but also a study guide, printed content for six study sessions, teaching videos, and session previews from Dr. Evans and more. Visit tonyevans.org for details on this special offer, or call us at 1-800-800-3222, where our resource team members will be happy to assist with your requests. Again, that's tonyevans.org, or by phone anytime of the day or night at 1-800-800-3222.
We'll hear more from Dr. Evans right after this. In a world shrouded by fear, prophecy seeks to make sense of it all. Dr. Tony Evans' latest book, Thy Kingdom Come, reveals the secrets to deliver us through dark times. Now is the time to gain clarity in the midst of confusion. Be prepared for what's to come by picking up your copy of Thy Kingdom Come at tonyevans.org. It comes with a bonus sermon series, Staying Right with God. Arm yourself against the impending storm. Let's return now to more of today's lesson on freedom from anxiety.
Here's Dr. Evans. Now watch this. It's getting ready to get good now. You say, okay, okay, I got it. God has got it already built in.
The systems are already working. The birds can testify. The flowers can testify, okay? What do you want me to do, Pastor? What does God want me to do? Because I'm tired of worrying. I'm tired of Excedrin.
I'm tired of Excedrin PM so I can go to sleep. I'm tired of that. I'm tired of worrying. Verse 31, do not worry then saying, what will we eat or what will we drink or what will we wear for clothing?
Don't let your mouth say, what am I gonna eat, drink, wear? Don't speak worry into your life. See, you can talk yourself into worrying. You can be okay till you start talking to you. Okay, then what am I supposed to do?
What am I supposed to do? Watch this now. He says, for the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, for your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
Now watch this. We're going somewhere. If you are a worrier, you're no better than a pagan. The word Gentile refers to unbelievers, pagans, the heathen. Don't talk about you love Jesus and you as worried as your co-worker about being laid off. Don't tell me you love Jesus and you as worried as your non-Christian neighbor about how you gonna make it. You're no better than the Gentiles. You're no better than the atheists. You're no better than the people who don't know God, don't believe in God, not looking for God.
You are absolutely no better than them because you're talking like them. How am I gonna make it? What am I gonna do? But seek first the kingdom and His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Key word, first. First. The reason why we stay worried as a lifestyle is that first things on first. Priorities are out of order. And when spiritual priorities are out of order, don't expect to see God come through. You are worried because you're not confident, but you're not confident because first things on first. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
That means His standard, His will, His way, His word. You driving your car, you driving your car, and you see somebody on the side of the road hungry, hungry. But everybody with a sign up doesn't mean you ought to do something for them.
Because there's always a question that has to be answered. What are you hungry for? If you're hungry for food, then it ought to be okay if I say, let's go to McDonald's. See, that ought to be good because that's money, but it's money for food, if you're hungry for food. But if you only use the word hungry and you don't put nothing in it, you could be hungry for drugs. Okay? And I don't want to give you money if that's what you're hungry for because you only told me you're hungry.
You gave me a fact, but you didn't tell me the truth. So until I get the rest of the story, I don't know whether to invest in that sign. See, God sees signs every Sunday from Christians coming to the church talking about, I need thee, oh, I need thee. Every hour, I need thee. And we got the sign of the church, Jesus, I need you. We waving a hand, I need you. God's saying, for what?
I want the rest of the story here. You just need me so you can use me up. You just need me so I can bless you so you can skip me. You just need me so I can do more for you so you can do less for me. You just need me?
What for what? God says in Jeremiah, scripture you should read when you're prone to worry, chapter 17, verses 7 and 8, and I will remove your anxiety in a drought. You know what drought means? It means no rain. No rain, no agriculture. No agriculture, no food.
No food, you starve. So when it's not raining for a long period of time, you can get scared. You can panic when it hasn't rained for a long period of time, but God says I'll remove your worry in a recession, in a depression.
When you don't know where the stuff is coming from, I will calm your mind. Or as it says in Isaiah, chapters 26, verses 3 and 4, I will keep him with a steadfast mind whose mind has stayed upon me. He says, so do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Most of us are being crucified between two thieves, yesterday and tomorrow. The regrets of yesterday, the uncertainty of tomorrow, and we still got to deal with the trouble of today. He says don't borrow from tomorrow. In other words, this might happen tomorrow, this might happen tomorrow. All these things might happen tomorrow. How am I going to make it tomorrow? He says when you withdraw from the bank of tomorrow, you've increased the burden of today. Did you follow that? So that means you reached into tomorrow, brought it back to today, so now you got to deal with what you already had on your plate today and what tomorrow just added to that plate.
And you got to pay interest on both. So you've added to yourself a burden you were never meant to have. Listen to me, listen to me. It's okay to plan for tomorrow. The Bible talks about planning. You can plan for tomorrow. What you can't do is get unraveled about tomorrow. You can't worry about tomorrow.
Why? Because the only thing God is promising you is enough for today. Lamentations 3 23, his mercies are new every day.
Give us this day our daily bread. God is only guaranteeing you today. So when you start thinking about tomorrow, you've gone further than God has promised. He's only supporting you today. Well what about tomorrow?
He'll meet you there. Plan yes. Today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. Today is the tomorrow that you were worried about yesterday.
And now you're today. Today has enough trouble of its own. And you know if you can't even deal with the stuff in your face today, you're not gonna be able to handle that plus tomorrow stuff today. Don't worry, tomorrow stuff will be there when you get there.
Because when you get there, tomorrow will be today. He says, do not worry about tomorrow. All I'm trying to tell you is somebody look at your name and say stop it. You can't worry no more. You don't have a right to worry. It's a sin to worry. You've insulted your father when you worry. Because you've said to your father, the birds can trust you, the flowers can trust you, but I can't trust you.
You've insulted God. But if we had a testimony service here today, and if we could invite the children of Israel, the children of Israel would testify. We were in a wilderness and we didn't know where we were gonna get water and where we were gonna get food. But God had food in a rock and rained down corn flakes from above. If the widow of Zarephath was here this morning, she would testify.
I was down to my last meal and me and my son had only one meal left. But when I put God first with Elijah, God took that bread, he took that oil, he multiplied it and gave us enough to retire. If the disciples were here to testify this morning, they could tell you they were with 5,000 men, not counting women and children, and they didn't know how they were gonna feed them. But a little boy with some sardines and crackers gave it to Jesus first, and Jesus multiplied it, fed 5,000 women and children, and had 12 baskets full left over. If Jesus were here, he could testify. From John 6, I am the bread of life.
He that cometh to me, he says, will not thirst, and I will give him living water, and I will feed him the bread of life. Somebody ought to bless his name up in here that God can be trusted even when you don't know how he's gonna do it, when you put him first. Dr. Tony Evans, with the most powerful antidote for anxiety, our trust in God. Now I'd like to encourage you to pick up the audio collection that today's message was drawn from. The series is called Having Faith During Fear, and as I mentioned earlier, all six full-length messages in this collection are yours as our thank you gift when you make a contribution to help keep the alternative coming your way. Included with this offer, but only for the next couple of days, is our Hope for the Hurting Leader Kit, perfect for both group study and for your own personal journey in facing life's pains and hurts with the Lord's peace and comfort. Just contact us at tonyevans.org to request this special package before time runs out, or give us a call day or night at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our resource team members help you. Again, that's 1-800-800-3222 or online at tonyevans.org.
I'll tell you about what's coming up tomorrow right after this. If you're like most Christians, there are people in your life who know you but may not know Jesus. You really want to do something about that, but don't feel equipped to share your faith effectively.
In other words, maybe if you knew more, you could do more. Well, that's where the Tony Evans Training Center comes in. It's an online Bible school with classes that'll take you deep into the most important core concepts of the faith. You can start with our free introductory course on evangelism, then move on to subjects like spiritual warfare, marriage building, maturing in the faith, and many more. The content is challenging, but you can move through it at your own pace anytime you're online. There's also lots of custom content from Tony and an online forum where you can get your specific questions answered.
Go to tonyevans.org and follow the link to the Tony Evans Training Center. It's like having a seminary on your smartphone. Even though we can't control the future or even see the future, that doesn't stop us from worrying about it. But that's a habit we can't stop. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans will tell us how. Be sure to join us for that.
