Riverside Community Church
Connect with us on facebook. 
All these things boil down to anxiety and/or worry and Jesus had something to say to you today about that from His Sermon on the Mount. Here it is in Greek. Do you speak Greek?
ME MERIMNATE BE PSYCHE HYMON
May mer^em not^a be seek^he hi^ mon
Here is the literal translation:
Not be anxious about the life of you…
Over the years the word, mer^em not^a, has been translated into English differently but all meaning or alluding to anxiety, worry, over concern, restless, tenseness of soul.
Matthew 6:25
1611 KJV Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life,
1862 Young’s Literal `Because of this I say to you, be not anxious for your life,
1958 AMP Therefore I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) about your life,)
1973 NIV Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
Let’s just call it worry and anxiety. For clarity and ease wor-anxity.
So, do you have wor-anxity, a little, a lot or maybe you’re over-come with wor-anxity!!
Christ word to you today is DON’T. don’t worry or be anxious.
Not as in
-don’t, you idiot, but as in don’t -but trust me
Not as in
-don’t you weakling but as in don’t -put your faith in me to supply
Let’s read the entire passage when Christ was talking about wor-anxity.
Matthew 6: 25-34 NIV
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry (wor-anxity) about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying (wor-anxity) add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry (wor-anxity) about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry (wor-anxity), saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry (wor-anxity) about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Worry is more of a temporary nature. Anxiety is far more persistent and long lasting. Worry and anxiety, wor-anxity, both happen in your mind, and both can affect your body.
The world’s wisdom and even our own personal wisdom/thinking tell us that in small doses, worry and anxiety can be positive forces in our lives. But research shows, here’s the reality of it, ... most of us are too worried, and too anxious. We’ve got wor-anxity.
Luke 12
21 So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life (wor-anxity), what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23 Life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
3x Christ says don’t worry, don’t have wor-anxity especially about material things and then Christ gives 2 examples from nature of why we shouldn’t worry about material things:
-birds don’t worry because God feeds them, the birds work diligently looking for food but they always find food. God supplies.
-flowers don’t concern themselves about clothes because God amply takes care of that need.
& God has built into nature the means by which all things are cared for.
Therefore -don**rsquo;t be anxious over your existence.
-do you believe that? Do you trust God to supply all your physical needs? Then Christ adds to those who worry and are anxious in material needs
-OH, YOU OF LITTLE FAITH!!
God will supply, believe it, have faith in a supplying God.
God’s ability to supply is limitless.
God’s commitment to supply is firm.
God’s desire to supply your needs is unbounded.
Don’t doubt but believe.
Don’t worry but have faith.
Don’t be anxious but trust a God who values His children with the deepest of care.
Faith in God, trust in God is the answer, to worry & anxiety -to wor-anxity
God’s supply of your needs is not limited to just food and clothing but all of your needs.
Philippians 4:19 King James Version
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
-do you have need, God is rich and promised to meet your need
-that verse of God’s supply of all your needs is proceeded by an admonition to “don’t worry, don’t be anxious” in verse 6 of Philippians 4.
“Do not be anxious (Greek -merimnao -have anxiety -wor-anxity) about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
-do you have a need, pray about it with thankfulness.
-why be thankful? -because God is going to supply your NEED just like He has done in the past. Believe it!!
Have a need? Have worries, have anxiety -wor-anxity?
Pray, be thankful and believe fully in a supplying God.
The result of your prayer of faith and trust is this:
“7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
A lady was entertaining a very important person and His entourage and the anxiety she felt over feeding this group, of prepping the house to accommodate them and then making sure everything was taken care of, the worry, the anxiety was overwhelming. She was cross, she started to blame others, she was unsettling to others over her wor-anxity and finally the dignitary pointed it out,
Luke 10
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried/anxious and upset (Greek word merimnao -wor-anxity) about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better,
-Q what’s better then being worried and anxious? Christ answers that in the Sermon on the Mount.
-after Jesus tells us not to worry and be anxious over our ‘needs’ in Matthew 6 Christ speaks to our priority of life, where our focus needs to be (not on material needs).
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Follow after God, this is our #1 priority.
As we care for the things of God, God cares for us.
Answer this question of Christ to you today,
‘Are you not much more valuable than a bird, a sparrow or a flower?’
Yes, you are! Therefore, trust God to supply all your needs, don’t have wor-anxity, don’t worry or be anxious but pray and trust your supplying God.
