Our protection, plan & purpose

Do you ever bird watch?

 

I don’t mean like a avid bird watcher with high powered optics, note books & field guides but do you ever get caught up in the splendour of colour, the grace of flight or the majesty of song…?

I do from time to time, the soaring bird of prey or the morning song bird always causes me to pause and appreciate.

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"

 

Jesus delivered this sermon outdoors

(as with a lot of his teaching, Jesus knew creation was the best auditorium for teaching)

People could see the birds in front of their eyes, just as they could see the lilies of the field.

Jesus called His followers to consider the birds that they saw in the sky above them.

Without harvesting or reaping and without building barns to store grain, those birds had found food & blessing in life.

Many of us live in a constant state of worry. Do you know the word worry or anxiety has its roots in choking or being strangled? That's what it feels like. We run the spiritual race, Paul says, and for many of us that feeling of worry or anxiety is like trying to run a marathon while being choked. You're trying to persevere and do the right thing and help people and live a good Christian life and you're thinking, "I'm so stressed about everything."

Think about the people that Jesus is talking to and the violenceand volatility of their world.

They're occupied by a foreign power, the Romans.

• The average life span is in the 30s or 40s

• Very dangerous to have a baby.

• Very dangerous to get any kind of cold or infection.

• Food is not everywhere or plentiful.

• There was no government support.

• There are no benefits.

• There are no police.

• You never know what kinds of things people are plotting.

• It's a dangerous world.

 

And Jesus tells them not to worry do you think, compared to them, when you think of standards of living and living conditions, who has more to worry about? They do!

If we had to deal with the things that the people in the ancient world had to deal with, we would just fall apart. 

 

If you're a worrier, it's coming from a place of pride (self, control & not submission).

You need to let go of that and trust God. Trust the Lord.

• You don't have to worry about tomorrow

• you don't have to worry about all your problems and

• you don't have to worry about your kids

• your parents

• your spouse

• you don't have to worry about the government

• you don't have to worry about the environment

• you don't have to worry about money

• You don't have to worry about all the things that are actually really important.

You can stop worrying right now because God's in control.

Yes, be responsible, do the right thing, vote for your party, be a citizen, be a good person, but stop worrying. Stop worrying because there is a spiritual reality in which God is in control. You can smile. You can enjoy the weather today. It is going to be a nice one. You can enjoy your friends and you can stop worrying. You don't have to be the worrier. Everybody is alive for a reason.

Everybody!

Everybody is alive for a reason. But many people will miss that reason, because they are focused on their worries.

 

If faith comes by hearing & hearing the word of God then fear also comes by hearing & hearing the lies of the enemy!