Anchored-5-The Anchor Of Trust

This morning Pastor Brad continues his series on being Anchored. As he does we will learn why it is important to be Anchored In Trust.

Pastors Notes:

TEXT
Matthew 6:25-34 NKJV
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one [a]cubit to his [b]stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [c]arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
INTRODUCTION
Good morning, everybody!
I’m so glad that you’re here today. Truly this is the day that the Lord has made, and we will rejoice in it! I’m very glad that you are here.
I’ve been enjoying our series this month, and I trust that you have as well.
Today, I want to talk to you about an anchor that I am learning to utilize more and more. I wish I could tell you I was a professional at this.
In fact, if I am being honest, I really have to work on this extra. I’m the type of person that I want to know all the details......the in’s and out’s.....the nuts and bolts, BEFORE it happens.
While sometimes that is possible, sometimes it’s not.
That’s why today, I’d like to talk to you about the anchor of trust.
ILLUSTRATION
For several years a woman had been having trouble getting to sleep at night because she feared burglars. One night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he got there, he did find a burglar. "Good evening," said the man of the house. "I am pleased to see you. Come upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting 10 years to meet you.”
Many of us act as this woman did. We spend so much time being anxious that we seem almost eager for bad things to happen. But when we worry, our faith is diminished. Solomon must have been speaking of the uselessness of worry when he wrote, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep" (Psalm 127:1-2).
People tend to worry! When something occurs in our lives that we cannot control, we worry.
When something appears on the horizon of our lives that looks bad, even though it may or may not happen, we worry.
We worry about big things, and we worry about little things. The point is, we worry!

TRANSITION
Worry and fear are siblings, and they are the opposite of faith and trust.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, while worry is the expectation of things fears.
NOTE: Worrying about things that might not happen is borrowing trouble on credit.
- It destroys your health.- It robs your sleep.- It wanes your productivity.- It holds you hostage.
There’s a much better way to live.
When we learn to trust God even when we don’t “understand”, we can rest in knowing His character never fails.

BACKGROUND
In our text, Jesus Himself is teaching His disciples what it really means to trust Him with our well being. He is using real life illustrations to show us just how much God cares about us.

APPLICATION
1. THE COMMAND (VS. 25)
- Do not worry!
-Notice that it’s not a suggestion. It is a command.
- Whatever doesn’t come from faith is sin. Romans 14:23
- We are constantly told to “Fear not”.
2. THE COMPARISON (VS. 26-30)
- Consider the birds* They neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns. * They just live as they were created.
- Consider your stature
* Worrying can't add to or take away
- Consider the lillies
* They neither toil nor spin * They are clothed.
- Consider the Creator
* His Character
* His Provision
* His Consistency
3. THE CHALLENGE (VS. 31-34)
- Don’t do it!
- Gentiles (unsaved people at the time) worry about these things.
- Put God first
* In your week
* In your plans
* In your finances
- When we put God first, He adds to us “all these things”.

CONCLUSION
Don’t worry. Be happy. Trust God!