Victory Over Worry - Dr. Matthew Thomas

by Dr. Matthew K. Thomas (Jan 27, 2002)

Worry means that your mind has been divided, that you've been torn between the real and the possible, between the immediate and the potential. It means that you're being pulled in two opposite directions.

The Anglo-Saxon root of the word implies, "to strangle"

Once you've become double-minded, you become unstable.
- in emotions
- in your thought-process
- in your decisions
- in your judgment

1. Worry is distrust in the truthfulness of God. It dulls the faculty of faith in you.
2. Worry shuts up in condemnation.
3. It destroys the capacity to see God's provision.
4. It questions the authority of the Word of God.
5. It makes one stumble.
6. It hardens the heart.
7. It is the forerunner of destruction.
8. It stops you from receiving the blessing of God.

Matt.6:25,31,34: Three times Christ commands us not to worry. Three times, to get our attention.

Worry is SIN, breaking God's command.

2 Simple Disclaimers
1. Worry does not mean you should not plan. Jesus planned beforehand what must be done beyond Jerusalem after Crucifixion. Planning definitely tells me that I need not worry.
2. "Don't worry" does not mean "don't be concerned". For instance, your children are playing in the streets; if you aren't concerned, you are a terrible parent. Realistic concerns are not worries. Concern focuses on the present; worry focuses on the future (without God).

1. Worry is inconsistent (Matt.6:25, 32). We believe He is our Creator but don't believe he is our Sustainer.
2. Worry is irrational (Matt.6:26; Lk.12:6; Matt.10:29-31).
3. Worry is ineffective (Matt.6:27).
4. Worry is illogical (Matt.6:28,29).
5. Worry is irreligious (Matt.6:30).