How to Have Peace In Anxious Times
Sermon Notes
Well Happy Christmas Eve everybody! My name’s Louis I’m the lead pastor here at City Awakening. Welcome to everyone onsite, and welcome to everyone watching this service online. If you’re a first time guest, we want you to know City Awakening is a place for skeptics and believers to seek truth and find joy in community. We believe that truth and joy is found in Jesus, but we also realize some of you don’t believe that. In fact part of my story is that I was the skeptic, I was the atheist who didn’t believe in Jesus. But I came to faith in Jesus through an invitation my wife gave me to attend a church service like this. So if you’re a skeptic we want you to know you’re welcome to come back to our church in 2024. If this Christmas Eve service impacts you, if it speaks to you, we welcome all of you to come back in 2024.
But here we are at the end of the year, and it’s the last week in a teaching series we’ve been doing called The Prince of Peace. It’s a Christmas series where we’ve been exploring the question “How can Jesus give us the gift of peace?” The Christmas season is about the incarnate birth of Jesus, and how he’s the Prince of Peace who came to give us the gift of eternal peace in heaven with him. Isaiah 9:6 says, “A child will be born for us, a son will be given...He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” The prophet Isaiah was pointing to the incarnate birth of Jesus 700 yrs before Jesus was even born, and he calls Jesus the Prince of Peace. He’s the Prince of Peace who came to give us the gift of peace, and everybody wants peace in life. Both skeptics and believers want peace in life, but the reality is we face things every day that threaten to rob our peace. What are those things for you?...What causes you to lose sleep at night?...What robs you of peace?...This Christmas Eve we’re talking about how to have peace, when we’re worried about things that are robbing our peace? We’re talking about how to have peace, in anxious times? Let’s turn to Matthew 6 and get into it. You can find Matthew in the last quarter of the bible, and we’ll be in Matthew 6:25-34. Title of the message is How To Have Peace In Anxious Times, and the big idea is when your heart’s anxious, seek peace in the Prince of Peace...When your heart’s anxious, seek peace in the Prince of Peace...
Here’s your context. The longest sermon Jesus ever preached that we have historical copies of, is called The Sermon On The Mount. Jesus most likely preached longer sermons than this that weren’t ever recorded in history, but The Sermon On The Mount is the longest sermon we have recorded in history. It’s recorded in Matthew ch’s 5-7, and we’re studying the part of his sermon where he teaches us a few things about our worried anxious hearts. So let’s check it out.
Matthew 6:25-34 states, “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life...” In the Original Greek the word worry can be translated as anxious. Jesus says don’t worry, don’t be anxious, about your life. When he says this he isn’t talking about people struggling with anxiety disorders. Some of the things he’ll teach us can help with anxiety disorders, but he isn’t talking about that. He’s talking about anxiety in general, and how everybody has things they’re worried and anxious about. For example some of you are worried about failing in school, failing in your career, failing in parenting, failing in meeting your parents expectations...Some of you are worried about being single, not getting married, getting divorced after you get married...Some of you are worried about your budget, paying your bills, finding a house in our inflated real estate market, or making enough money to retire...Here’s a big one...Some of you are worried about hanging with your in-laws for Christmas, or you’re worried about that one family member who always fights, who always brings grenades, pulls the pin, and blows ups the entire family during the holidays...The point is everybody has things they’re worried and anxious about.
Now there are all kinds of negative effects that worry and anxiety can have on our lives. It can cause high blood pressure, headaches, depression, insomnia, irritability, and the list goes on. There are all kinds of negative effects that worry and anxiety has on our lives, and the reason Jesus is talking about it is because he cares about us and doesn’t want it to keep eating away at our lives. So when he says don’t worry, don’t be anxious, you need to hear him saying that in a caring voice not a drill sergeant’s voice. He isn’t being like David Goggins saying “Suck it up buttercup! Stop worrying you little pansy!” Sometimes we need a good kick in the pants like that to wake us up, but sometimes we need an arm around the shoulder. What Jesus is doing here is an arm around the shoulder. He’s like a caring friend who puts their arm on your weary shoulder saying “I know you’re struggling, you’re worried, and you feel alone. But don’t worry, don’t be anxious, because you’re not alone. I’m here to help you through this, so don’t worry.” That’s the caring tone he’s saying this in, and he’s saying this because he cares about us.
Again vs. 25, “Don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink; or about your body and what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Consider the birds in the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? 27 Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying?” The answer to that question is no. You can’t add a single day to your life span by worrying. Instead you’ll take away days, even years from your life span by worrying. It’s another negative effect that worry and anxiety has on our lives. One of the founders of the Mayo Clinic Dr. Charles Mayo said, “I’ve never known a man who died of overwork, but I’ve known many who died of worry.” Worry will literally shorten our life span! But Jesus is teaching us something much more significant than the effects worry has on our life span. He’s teaching us that worry and anxiety is really a control issue. It’s that we’re trying to control our lives, trying to control the details and the outcome of our lives. When we can’t control the details, can’t control the outcome of our lives, we get worried and anxious. Jesus is saying we aren’t as in control of our lives as we think, and we need to rely on God instead of trying to be god. Martin Luther who was a great theologian, had a friend named Philipp who was worried and anxious over something. When they got together to talk about it, Luther said, “Let Philipp cease to rule the world.” He said, “Phillip you’re trying to control your life. You’re trying to be in charge and in control of your life, but you aren’t. So let Philipp cease to rule the world.” This is exactly what Jesus is teaching us. He’s teaching us to cease trying to rule the world, to cease trying to control the details and the outcome of our lives. He’s teaching us the way to not be worried and anxious in life, is to rely on God instead of trying to be god. It’s to rely on God, like the birds in the sky.
Again vs. 26, “Consider the birds in the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? 27 Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers in the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread...30 If God clothes the grass in the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—oh you of little faith?” In Luke’s record of this we learn the birds are Ravens, and the wildflowers are lilies. Jesus says consider the birds, consider the Ravens, and you know what kind of birds Ravens are? They’re considered nasty scavenger birds, that are often symbols of death in horror movies...Nobody’s asking for pet Ravens for Christmas...Nobody’s putting out birdfeeders for Ravens...But God loves the Ravens so much, that he’s putting out birdfeeders for them every day, which is exactly the point! Jesus is saying if God’s willing to put out birdfeeders to feed and care for the Ravens, then we should trust he’s willing to feed and care for us. We should trust he’ll always give us not what we want, but exactly what we need like the Ravens.
But he also says consider the wildflowers, consider the lilies, and how they grow. They aren’t worried and anxious about how they’re going to grow. They aren’t like “Why am I not growing? Why am I not blooming? How much longer is winter? Oh there’s a petal! I’m starting to bloom. Does this petal make my butt look big?” They aren’t doing that, they aren’t worried and anxious about how they’re going to grow. Jesus is saying if God’s willing to help them grow, if he’s willing to help clothe and care for them, then we should trust he’s willing to help clothe and care for us. Jesus gives these examples because he wants us to trust that he’s in control not us. He wants us to trust that he’s still in control, even when our lives are spiraling out of control. If he takes care of the birds and wildflowers, the Ravens and lilies, he’ll take care for you.
Again vs. 31, “So don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’” He’s addressing three basic needs which is something to eat, drink, and wear. “Yeah but I need gluten free, dairy free food.” Not a problem for God...“I need organic coffee, skinny vanilla lates, purified water, extra filtered water, charcoal filtered water.” Not a problem for God...“What about clothes? I need clothes?” The good news is you’re wearing some, and everybody’s glad you’re wearing clothes tonight. God’s providing for you by giving you talents and abilities to earn a salary in this world, so you can eat, drink, wear some clothes. He isn’t an Ebenezer Scrooge God who isn’t providing for your needs, he’s a generous God who’s providing exactly what you need, just like he’s doing for the Ravens and lilies. The more you trust him as your provider, the more peace you’ll have in your needs being met.
Vs. 33, “But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”Jesus says seek first the kingdom of God, meaning seek him and his kingdom instead of our own mini sandcastle kingdoms. He says if we do this, we won’t have to worry about anything, because he’ll provide everything we need to make it through life. But we get worried and anxious because we’re afraid of our mini sandcastle kingdoms washing away. We’re afraid of losing the things we love. But we’ll lose everything we love that isn’t eternal, which is what Jesus is saying. He’s saying if you don’t love him and his kingdom 1st, then you’ll love something else 1st that isn’t eternal. You’ll be worried and anxious about losing it, even try controlling the details and outcomes so you don’t lose it, but eventually you’ll lose it because it isn’t eternal. The only way to not be worried and anxious, is to love eternal things, it’s to love the things Jesus loves. It’s to seek him and his eternal kingdom, instead of our mini sandcastle kingdom.
The 1st Queen Elizabeth once told a businessman she needed him to go on a voyage to the New World, because he had the skills to make the voyage a success. He told her he couldn’t go because his business was struggling, and he was worried it would collapse without him. Queen Elizabeth said, “My dear friend, if you mind my business, I’ll mind your business.” The man said yes, and all the worries about his struggling business were immediately gone. It’s because he trusted he was in the hands of the Queen. He trusted he’d be taken care of by the Queen...Jesus is saying if we mind his business, he’ll mind our business...If we seek him and his kingdom, he’ll make sure we’re taken care of...This is why if you’re a skeptic, your life’s on a path that ends in tragedy. It’s because everything you love will eventually be lost. Everything you love, has an expiration date. But it doesn’t have to be that way if you seek Jesus and his eternal kingdom today. Christians need this reminder too, because we’re often seeking our own kingdom instead of Jesus’ kingdom. Most of the things we worried about this week were about our own kingdoms instead of his kingdom. We know better as Christians, but we don’t always live better, because we’re often focusing on our own kingdoms like the rest of the world. If we seek him and his kingdom again, we’ll find peace in him again. If we mind his business, he’ll mind our business.
Again vs. 33 states, “But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” If you notice Jesus says don’t worry about tomorrow, but he doesn’t say we can’t make plans for tomorrow. We can still make plans for tomorrow, but we don’t have to worry about tomorrow, because he’ll still be there for us no matter what happens tomorrow. “But what if my plans fail?” He’ll still be there tomorrow. “What if I don’t get the job?” He’ll still be there tomorrow. “What if the doctor says it’s cancer?” He’ll still be there tomorrow. He’ll still be there for every what if you’ll experience in life. He’ll still be there for every what if you aren’t even aware of yet! There’s things coming your way tomorrow you aren’t even aware of yet! But he’ll still be there to help you with those things! Jesus knows there’s troubles coming your way that you aren’t even aware of yet. Some people think if you seek Jesus you won’t have any more troubles, but Jesus doesn’t say that! He says don’t worry about tomorrow because tomorrow has enough troubles of its own. So we’ll still experience worries and troubles, but those who seek Jesus will have the help of Jesus. He’ll be there to help restore peace to their worried anxious hearts saying, “Don’t worry, don’t be anxious, because I’m here to help you. I’m here today, and I’ll still be here tomorrow.”
The reason I chose this text for tonight, is because many people are worried and anxious about tomorrow...Many people are worried and anxious about our future, about 2024...I mean we’re facing a lot of things we can’t control in 2024 like the economy, the presidential election, the possibility of global wars, global shifts in power...We can’t control the effects that our rapid technological advancements are having on us, on our children, or the long term effects AI might have on human civilization...If we learned anything during COVID, we learned our entire world can change within a few days...There are a lot of things we’re worried and anxious about that we can’t control, which is why we put invite cards on your seats to come back in January for our series on a book of the bible called Revelation. It’s a series that’s all about finding peace in a world of chaos. But we need to seek the Prince of Peace in 2023, before we transition into 2024. We need to seek the Prince of Peace today, so we can face whatever worries and anxieties are coming tomorrow. If we seek him and his kingdom 1st, then we’ll be taken care of tomorrow.
The big idea of the message is when your heart’s anxious, seek peace in the Prince of Peace...When your heart’s anxious, seek peace in the Prince of Peace...1st Peter 5:6-7 states, “Therefore humble yourselves, under the mighty hand of God, so he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.” How do you know Jesus cares about you?...Christmas and the cross...You know he cares about you because of Christmas and the cross. The Christmas message is all about the incarnate birth of Jesus, and how he’s the Prince of Peace who came to give us the gift of eternal peace in heaven with him, through faith in him dying for our sins on the cross. His incarnate birth proves he cares about us so much, that he was willing to enter human history to die for our sins on the cross. If he cared enough to die for your sins on the cross, then he’ll care enough to help you with the worries and anxieties in your heart. You can try controlling your life all you want, but eventually something will happen that’ll cause you to lose control. But if you seek Jesus as your Prince of Peace, he’ll give you the gift of peace. If you seek him and his kingdom 1st, you’ll get to enjoy an eternal friendship with the Prince of Peace, who can give you the gift of peace. We can all have the gift of peace this Christmas Eve, but we need to trust our lives in the hands of the Prince of Peace...Let’s Pray...