Got Any Grapes? Jesus’ lessons from a duck & a fish
Listen to audio for more in depth teaching and illustrations, however, audio only includes first half of the sermon
Matthew 6: 25-34: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Unpack
Matthew 6:25-34: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or
reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you
not much more valuable than they? 27 Can
any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
Definition
of WORRY
b : to subject to persistent
or nagging attention or effort
: to afflict with mental distress
or agitation : to make / be anxious
to feel
or experience concern or anxiety : fret
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field
grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet
I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of
these. 30 If that is how God clothes the
grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,
will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So
do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What
shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run
after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them
duck video - http://uservideos.smashits.com/video/MtN1YnoL46Q/The-Duck-Song.html
how we try to control.. take matters into our own
hands…
Got any grapes? What’s the point? How many times
do we worry and through our worry and anxiety we come up with a plan of action
to take care of our needs.. How many
times do we go to the lemonade stand wanting/ needing grapes? What about the guy at the stand? Hmmm.. did
you notice his responses/ facial expressions?
1 – offered what he had but.. that wasn’t
acceptable 2 – next couple of times
there was greater frustration – anger 3
– finally there was even a threat – you come back here there will be hurt
inflicted – very frustrated now… and so.. the duck comes back and creates
humor/ laughter which then leads to the man taking him to a store that actually
had grapes.. only to find that he wanted what he had to begin with.. what?
Much of our worry stems from wanting the wrongs
things or… we want and need the right things and we go to the wrong place or
person to get it! We must go to the source.. the ‘grape maker’ first! He will
then direct us where to go to get the grapes. He won’t send us to a lemonade stand.. Sometimes God meets our needs
supernaturally.. and other times, especially the practical needs of life, He
will direct us to other resources, people, etc. Where we miss it .. is not
going to Him FIRST so He can truly fulfill what Jesus is telling us here.
Think about what your tendency is – call someone
on the phone, send a text, get on line and start doing research – what do you
do?
I had a situation pretty recent where I could have
went for the lemonade stand and thankfully, I chose not to. I was feeling all
alone in a situation.. I felt like the
couple of people I was in conflict with were really mis-understanding me and I
was feeling very alone in it. I tried
going for a bike ride to let off some steam and clear my head.. and it started
to rain. So I rode back.. got in my car and went for a drive – love doing that
with God. However, my immediate desire was to get out my cell phone and dump
all that was going on to someone who could be in agreement with me and affirm
me. Not that that is a bad thing to do but… I didn’t talk to God about it
first. So… I made the decision to let my tears out and talk to my perfect
parent telling Him all about the situations and how alone I felt. Anyone else out there feel alone in your
frustrations? Yeah.. even tho we know God is always with us.. sometimes we just
need to be reminded eh?
I love music especially music that helps me
communicate with God… as if on cue – no
coincidence – I turned on the radio and a song I had never really paid
attention to before came on – K-Love – a fairly new song by Kutless (Carry me
to the cross). God spoke to me thru it -
the words were many that I had already expressed to Him and then He gave me His
loving response in the same song – love that about God – don’t you? He speaks to us in a way that will reach out
heart – maybe for you it’s in His word, in creation, in the silence, listening
to a good teaching on the radio…etc.
No need to go to the lemonade stand.. I went to
the one who had the grapes. Of course, depending on our needs – God could
direct completely different in another scenario that may come my way… I just
have to be sure to go to Him FIRST – you do too. God wants to meet our needs.. He really
doesn’t want us to worry and live in anxiety and fear.
Much of our anxiety and
worry comes from ignorance. If we are
ignorant of who God really is.. How can we trust Him? It’s just like a person who doesn’t understand
how a plane works – they can’t imagine one being able to fly through the air…
or someone who has a fear of snakes…every snake that crosses their path in the
woods – even a gardener snake – they fear for their life. People who know
aerodynamics.. are no longer in fear of
flying perhaps because they know how it works.. or .. they don’t fear a gardener
snake if they have studied snakes because they are not poisonous… And God..
hmmm. A person who has not studied or spent time building an intimate
relationship and ‘knowing’ God …may be in ignorance of what He is really like -- not ‘knowing’ and understanding with depth
that His is able… He is trustworthy, He hears, He sees, He knows what we
need....… so….. Why can we go to Him first and know that our need
will be met and we will find peace?
Because….God is perfect – He has perfect character & integrity…... Matthew 7:7-11 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Back to Matt 6 -- will He not much more clothe you/ feed you/ take care of your emotional needs/ relational upsets ? — Oh you of little faith?
Oh you of little faith… faith = Definition of FAITH
belief and trust in and loyalty to God
firm belief in something for which there is no proof
something that is believed especially with strong conviction
difference between faith & trust…
trust is complete faith – trust makes it personal.. what are you doing
with your faith?
trust = definition of TRUST
assured
reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something
dependence
on something future or contingent :
hope
What or
who are you trusting in? Maybe it is your own intellect… We think we are prophets.. we can foretell
the future.. we have every scenario played out in our head and we know that one
of them is the one that is going to happen… then.. we develop a response to
it.. hmmm.. I heard once that 80% of
what we worry and fret about never happens.
How that was researched I don’t know.. but.. I think there is accuracy
in that percentage… why are we wasting such precious time!!! We will never
reason ourselves out of fear and worry…. so.. instead of trying to figure out
& predict the future.. what do we need to do?
Back to
Matt 6.. moving on to vs 33
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own
His
Kingdom come.. His will be done – the Disciple’s prayer
His
Kingdom – His will.. His rule.. His Lordship.. His control…
His
righteousness…
Definition
of RIGHTEOUS
acting in
accord with divine
or moral
law : free from guilt .. WHY THIS?
I believe it has a lot to do with having a free/ clear conscience.. If
we have a clear conscience before God.. we don’t have much worry or anxiety in
that area .. now do we?
How do we
stop the worry/ the anxiety? – seek His kingdom, seek His righteousness.. and…
learn to live one day at a time? do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about
itself….. What is God telling us --- LET GO!!!
Nemo
video clip:
http://www.goodsearch.com/search-web?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=nemo+video+let+go
Inside
the Whale – kinda like Jonah who was swallowed up for disobedience.. I guess in
a way….. we are living in disobedience when we worry and have anxiety.. that’s
not to beat anybody up.. we are all spiritual beings having a human experience here in this life
so.. God knows and expects us to have these emotions and even sometimes
debilitating issues.. He is not surprised by them at all. However, He does not
want us to get stuck there..
He wants
us to be able to trust Him more every day and have more freedom and peace every
day while we try to navigate through life.
So… do
you speak whale? Are you hearing His
voice? Do you understand what He is telling you to do?
Today is
the day….
Stop worrying… Start
trusting…
Stop guessing … Start
listening….
Stop analyzing .. Start
seeking (HIM)…
Stop holding on… Start
letting go!
[1]Henry,
Matthew: Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible : Complete and
Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody
: Hendrickson, 1996, c1991, S. Mt 6:25
cf. confer, compare
[2]Walvoord,
John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas
Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the
Scriptures. Wheaton, IL
: Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 2:33
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Thanks!
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