Matthew 6:25-34
The Things You Can Control
This morning, I preached on the topic "What’s Wrong with Socialism?" In that
message, I made mention of the fact that life is hard and that when life gets
hard, we should call upon God not government to help us.
That statement probably sounds cruel to 21st-century Americans. Even those of
us inside the church have come to expect—even to demand that our government—
not ourselves, not our community, not our church, and certainly not our God—
help us. However, I believe both from our history and our Bible, it is not
government’s place to do so.
Tonight, I add another line on to that thought; that is, you and I need to take
responsibility for the things we can control.
Everyone knows that some things are beyond our control. However, some things are
not and nothing is beyond God’s control. The question should not be, "Why won’t
government do something?" The question should be, "Have I done what I could for
myself.
Tonight, let’s consider the things that you can control.
I want to divide our time into looking at three categories and applying the
Bible to them.
1. Things we can control.
2. Things that we can influence.
3. Things that we cannot control.
I. Things we can control.
A. Some things are within our control.
1. We are the masters of our fate in these areas.
2. They are few in number, but by taking control over them, we gain
great peace of mind even in times of great difficulty.
B. What are they?
1. We have complete control over our walk with God.
a. No one, no matter how powerful, can determine our walk with
God.
Mark 8:34 …Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow me.
b. We are totally responsible for:
(1) Our salvation
(2) Our knowledge of the Bible
(3) Our discernment of the Holy Spirit
(4) Our obedience to the Bible and the Holy Spirit
(5) Our devotion to God
2. In a similar vein, we have complete control over our character.
a. A Christian’s character will be shaped by his knowledge of
the Bible, his discernment to the Holy Spirit, and his
obedience to both.
b. But even an unsaved person is responsible for his own
character.
(1) He determines if he is a drug user, an alcoholic, a
hard worker, a bum, an honest individual, a thief,
and the list goes on.
(2) No human being is a by-product of his environment or
his education.
(a) He is a by-product of his choices.
(b) God’s gift of the individual conscience insures
that.
(c) The Bible demonstrates that both saved and unsaved
people alike have a conscience.
LOST PEOPLE
John 8:9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went
out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left
alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
Romans 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their
conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or
else excusing one another;)
SAVED PEOPLE
Romans 9:1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Ghost,
1 Timothy 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away
concerning faith have made shipwreck:
II. Things we can influence.
A. Some things we do not have complete control over, but we can influence
the way things will turn out.
1. I believe God gives some principals that we should follow which
will help determine how things will turn out.
2. And I think because we live holy lives, God will often go beyond
the promise of His Word and bless us.
B. What are these areas?
1. Health - American is debating a universal health care program.
As usual, we should go back to what the Bible teaches for it
has much to say about how we are to care for these bodies.
a. Eating (diet) - God has taught us we should eat some things,
and we should not eat some others.
Genesis 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the
fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
1. "HERB BEARING SEED. is a seed plant which does not develop
woody persistent tissue
a. GRAINS - wheat, corn, rye, barley, rice, oats,
millet, etc.
b. SEEDS - sunflower, sesame, flax, pumpkin seeds, etc.
c. LEGUMES (climbing bean) - soybeans, lentils, peas,
peanuts, other beans, etc.
d. SUCCULENT FOODS CONTAINING SEED - eggplant, okra,
bell peppers, squash, green beans, pumpkins,
cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, etc.
2. "and EVERY TREE, in the which is THE FRUIT OF A TREE
YIELDING SEED" - These are the woody perennial plants,
shrubs, or bushes. For example:
a. FRUITS - citrus fruits, sweet fruits, palm fruits,
etc.
b. NUTS - almonds, pecans, cashews, brazil, walnuts, etc.
3. After the fall, God gave green herb and meat to us to eat.
a. The green herbs were first given to animals to eat.
Ge 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to
every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given
every green herb for meat: and it was so.
b. It makes sense that if we were going to eat meat,
we might as well eat what feeds the meat. So God
allowed us to eat what the animals ate.
Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the
green herb have I given you all things.
c. In the category of herbs are mainly vegetables.
(1) Leaf: beet greens, brussels sprouts, cabbage,
collard, etc
(2) Flower: globe, artichoke, broccoli, cauliflower.
(3) Root: carrots, beets, potatoes, turnips, etc.
4. Of course, in the area of meats, God divided the animals
into meats that were clean and those that were unclean.
a. This was probably an indication that some meat were
healthy for us to eat and some were not.
b. Even so, God placed two strong requirements on what
we are NOT to eat.
(1) We are not to eat the fat of meat.
Lev 7:23 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of
fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat.
24 And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is
torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of
it.
(2) We are never to eat blood.
Leviticus 3:17 It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout
all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
Leviticus 7:26 Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl
or of beast, in any of your dwellings.
5. Please take note that I am not telling you that you must
go back under the law for your diet. I am saying that
what God said in the Old Testament may not have been just
ritual. It may have been healthy and you and I might be
wise to consider it.
b. Over eating - The Bible teaches us not to do so.
Proverbs 23:21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and
drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
Proverbs 23:2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
c. Exercise - The concept of having to work our bodies in
exercise was not an original concept. Good old-fashioned work
was exercise. However, God is not opposed to us working
out, even though compared to spiritual labor, it’s rewards
are small.
1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little….
d. Many who have not obeyed God’s Word in the area of health
have needed government aid to sustain them. Before we
invite government to take care of us, we should do what we
can to take of ourselves.
2. Family - While we cannot control every relationship, we can
greatly influence how all of our people relationships will turn
out.
a. Parents - The Bible teaches us to obey them as children and
to respect them as adults.
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Ex 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the
land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
(1) Parents are important to us no matter how good or how
bad they were as parents.
(2) You probably did not have "Leave It to Beaver" parents
but as Christians:
(a) You need to forgive them for any wrongs they did.
(b) Whether you are ever able to trust them or not, you
need to demonstrate the love of Christ toward them.
(3) If God commands us to love our enemies, you know He
wants us to demonstrate love to our family.
b. Children - The Bible commands us to train them.
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he
will not depart from it.
(1) Children are the biggest, most important, most time
consuming investment that you will ever make.
(2) What you get will depend on what you give.
(3) What you ought to give is:
(a) love
(b) time
(c) discipline
c. Mates
(1) The Bible commands men to give love to their wives.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and
gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or
wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his
wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it,
even as the Lord the church:
(a) Husbands are to love their wives just as Jesus loves
the church.
(b) Jesus loves the church in a self-sacrificing way.
(c) No man has the right to expect his wife to obey him
like the Bible teaches who does not first love his
wife as the Bible teaches.
(d) Gentlemen, if you wife ever wants to leave you, it
could be because you failed to love her.
(2) The Bible commands wives to submit to their husbands.
Eph 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the
church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their
own husbands in every thing.
(a) Ladies, if you will marry a man who will love you
like Jesus loves you, submitting to him will be
no problem.
(b) Carpenters have a saying, "Measure twice. Cut once."
(c) You should spend a lot of time measuring your man.
(d) Remember, marrying a bad apple won’t change him.
d. Again, many have needed the government to help them who did
not build their family according to the Word of God. We
should take care of the things that we can take care of.
3. Wealth - The recent fall in the stock market proves that we do
not have complete control over our wealth, but we can still
influence the outcome a great deal.
a. Children should study while they are young.
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
b. Adults should work.
1 Thessalonians 4:11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own
business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;
c. Families should live within their means.
Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth
another hath fulfilled the law.
III. Things we cannot influence. While we don’t like to admit it, there are
many things that are totally out of our hands, but nothing is out of God’s
hands. By prayer and faith, we can trust our God to take care of them.
A. \\#Matt 6:27, 28, 30\\ Circumstances are out of our hands, but God still
controls them.
1. our safety
2. our job security
3. the aging process
4. natural disasters which may occur
5. things that we might term "accidents"
B. Death is largely out of our hands. We all have an unalterable
destiny with death.
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment:
C. But Jesus told us how to face these events.
1. Serve God now.
Matt 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness….
2. Don’t worry about.
Matt 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow….
Now, by taking care of what we can take care of, we will secure God’s favor so
that no matter what comes up, we will have peace of mind and power before God.
In this morning’s message, I said we need to get off the socialistic road; but
if you are going to get off one road, you need another to travel. May I suggest
the King’s Highway? Go with God and God will go with you.
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