Focus Verse: "Casting all your cares upon him; for he careth for you." - I Peter 5:7
This lesson deals more with what causes us to worry rather than worry itself. I asked the ladies to rank a list of ten things in order of causes them to worry the greatest, and what causes them to worry the least. This list included things such as money, children, relationships, work, failure, safety, etc. Money, health, and opinions of others were the top 3 in our group of ladies.
- In the Bible, 16 of 38 parables of Jesus deal with money or possessions.
- 1 out of 10 New Testament verses deal with the subject of money.
- Scripture has around 500 verses dealing with prayer, less than 500 dealing with faith, but almost 2000 on the subject of money.
You might think about these and wonder why in the world is the subject of money and posessions covered so much? The answer is simple: because a person's attitude toward money determines their relationship with God, on teh fulfillment of their purpose in this life, and on their character in this life. In Matthew 6:19-24, the verses are spent talking about where our priorities should lie. In the next set of verses, 25-34, the application of these verses to our lives is described.
The main idea of this passage of scripture is to STOP WORRYING over things that are details in our lives: food, clothing, and drink. This thought is mentioned three times in teh next few verses. Verse 25 says "take no thought" (KJV). Thought in Greek is "merimnao" meaning to worry about. Verse 31 says "take no thought", and is mentioned again in verse 34. These verses are worded so that they are read as commands- not options. Just the same as we read "Thou shalt not steal" or "Thou shalt not commit adultery." The Greek word "merimnao" means to be divided into two different directions - to be distracted. Compare it to Luke 10:41 which contains the story of sisters Mary and Martha. Verse 41 says "and Jesus said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things." The word careful used here comes from the same Greek word "merimnao".
What happens to our devotion to God when we are distracted? What happens in any area of your life when you are distracted? The answer is simple. Our complete attention is not on the current task when we are distracted. Coming into a church service distracted can be detrimental to the service. When we come in to church frazzled, upset, and preoccupied, our complete focus is not on our purpose for being there in the first place. Why do we go to church? Is it for a personal pity party during prayer requests? Is it for occupying a seat in a pew? Is it so we can go to get our check mark for the next week? We should be coming to church because our hearts and minds are open and ready to recieve the word of God and to fellowship with his people. the word "fellowship" is mentioned 16 times in the Bible. The Greek word for 14 out of 16 of those (because two are of Hebrew origin) means "koinonia" and it means partnership, participation, and communication. How can you do any of these fully if you are sitting there with your mind on everything else? Have you ever tried to carry on a conversation with someone that you know has their mind in a completely different place? Is it easy for them to hear and talk back to you and give the responses that you need?
We mentioned during our first week that we aren't supposed to expect truckloads of clothes, food, and other needs to fall down from heaven just because God said he would provide. Scripture teaches us that we are to pray for daily needs, work for our necessities, and plan for our future. In the final part of the lesson dealing with worry, we will break down the scripture in Matthew 6 and look at God's reasons for why it is wrong to worry.
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