Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?“Which of you by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life?
10 sermons cite this verse
… than they and which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to a span of life and why are you anxious about clothing Consider the lilies of the field, the flowers, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? Therefore don't be anxious, don't be worried, saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things. And your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Look at the birds and flowers. when we were up in Sedona there was this state park we found and we go into the state park and they have this little theater in their visitor center there was supposed to be an introduction to the state park so we thought this is cool, give some history and see some of those grand pictures well we got in there and the video was not an introduction to the state park the video was a monologue on hummingbirds in the state park and it was the driest, most boring video. …
… Aren't you? And which of you by being anxious can add a single step to the journey of his life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow They neither toil nor spin thread Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he not clothe you, O you of little faith? And so do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? because the nations seek after all these things and your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom, the rule and reign of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. So do not be anxious about tomorrow because tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. …
… They do not sow. They do not reap. They have no storeroom. They have no barn. Yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds? Who of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how wild the flowers grow. They do not labor. They do not spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all of his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow's thrown in the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? Watch the last verses, verse 33 and 34. Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can't go bankrupt. A bank in heaven far from bank robbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank that you can bank on. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be and end up being. Write down the last point today, your heart follows your money. I love this thought. Your heart is going to follow your money. Jesus says, wherever your treasure is, your heart will follow also. He says, why are you worried about what you're going to eat? Why are you worried about what you're going to wear? Why are you worried about tomorrow? Tomorrow has enough worries in itself. No, no, no. Don't worry about that stuff. …
… chapter 6, verses 19 through 21. And here Jesus says this, stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven where moth and rust don't eat them and where thieves don't break in and steal them. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. That's interesting. In this passage, if you look to the Greek, and I'm guessing the Aramaic behind it, which Jesus spoke Aramaic or Hebrew Aramaic. Aramaic's a variant of that. But it sounds like this in Greek, five times the word treasure shows up. So he says, don't treasure up treasures for yourself on earth. Instead, treasure up treasures in heaven where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So he's challenging us to treasure the right things, to treasure up the right things. He's talking about our heart. What do you treasure? What do you really love? What do you spend your time thinking about and focused on, right? And so in this case, treasuring the right things and not the wrong things. Now, I don't know what treasures you have and what things you have focused on in your life that maybe you realize later. I spent a lot of time, way too much time thinking about that thing. And this is sometimes true when it comes to things we collect. So when I was nine, I think it was nine years old. I think I was in fourth grade. I might have even been eight …
… on the streets of Jerusalem, who says, which one of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to his life? What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? What do you want for me to do for you? Who do you say that I am? Why are you troubled? Do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? How often Jesus asks piercing questions. I saw one source from the Navigators said, he asks 300 questions in the Gospels, and he receives 180 questions. Jesus is the quintessential question asker, and they are not bad questions. They are wise, perceptive, informed, heart-exposing questions. So brothers, let's be more like Jesus in asking good questions, in listening well, and in so doing, you are gaining priceless context for exercising wisdom in the pastoral challenges at hand. One of the reasons you feel so stuck might be that you don't know enough yet about the situation because you haven't asked good questions. …
… sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin, yet I tell you, not even Solomon, straight out of Zara in all of his splendor, was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown in the fire, will he not much more clothe you of little faith? So do not worry saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear? For the pagans, those are Clipper fans, run after all these things. Your heavenly father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. …
… And it just keeps going. And this is how many of us think at times. You are anxious about your anxiety. So, the Bible says, on the one hand, do not worry. Which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life. That's what Jesus says. Isn't that true? Probably said this before, you know, this quip, you never get to the end and there's a dire diagnosis and the doctor comes in and it's a very somber mood and the doctor says, well, all we can do now is worry. That's never the cure. That's never the remedy. No, you can't add a single hour to your life by this worry. But you have them. Peter recognizes this. It doesn't say if you're truly humble, you never feel any anxiety. It says when you're truly humble, you cast them. You have them and you deal with them. Listen, it is not a failure that you might ever feel fear or nervousness, let alone sadness or dis-ease about the future. The question is, what are you going to do with that? Because that's when it can become sinful. …
… But I believe it's all about that next step. You know, Jesus says it in Matthew chapter six, verse 27. Right. the lilies of the field. And he kind of goes on to talk about the fact that every day has enough trouble of its own. So basically we should worry about today. Just trust me with today. And it's a very non-sexy concept, right? It's kind of living in the moment and the present. I think it's becoming maybe more attractive. There's even a lot of other faith religions that have adopted the teachings of Jesus there and have made that a faith practice. And I think it's interesting to note, but it's really been true in my life. I got to wake up today and say, how do I love my kids in my family today? How do I be the best me today? How do I help somebody in my life today? How do I live open-handed today or be generous today? And then it's really shocking and surprising to see where God leads you. And I think a lot of my contentedness in life comes from the fact that I'm not seeking a specific destination because ultimately we have a greater destination than that in kind of our life with God. I'm just not vying for one specific goal. I was just going to I hear Judas say stuff like that. Oh, I just, just stay in today, be president in the moment, take it day by day. And for me, that fits his God-given personality. So it's not that I …
… birds and the flowers, isn't he going to take care of you? But not only is it needless and senseless, in verse 27, it is useless. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to a stature? That means his lifespan. You can worry yourself to death, but you can't worry yourself alive. IT IS FAITHLESS. LOOK, IF YOU WILL, IN VERSE 30, WHEREFORE IF GOD SO CLOTHED THE GRASS OF THE FIELD WHICH TODAY IS AND TOMORROW IS CAST INTO THE OVEN, SHALL I NOT MUCH MORE CLOTHE YOU, O YE OF LITTLE FAITH? IT IS FAITHLESS, AND THEREFORE IT IS EXCUSELESS. VERSE 31 AND 32, THEREFORE TAKE NO THOUGHTS, SAYING, WHAT SHALL WE EAT, OR WHAT SHALL WE DRINK, OR WHEREWITHAL SHALL WE BE CLOTHED? FOR AFTER ALL THESE THINGS DO THE GENTILES SEEK. YOU KNOW WHAT THE GENTILES WERE? THEY WERE THE PAGANS. Worry is pagan, for your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. You say, but wait a minute, pastor. Don't tell me not to worry. That doesn't do any good. Tell me how not to worry. All right, I will. Verse 33, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Worry is needless. Worry is senseless. Worry is FAITHLESS. WORRY IS EXCUSELESS. OH, FRIEND, WE ARE TO SEEK GOD, THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. SOME YEARS AGO, AT BELLEVUE BAPTIST CHURCH, WE HAD AS A GUEST PETE MARAVICH. …
… the air. For they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I SAYING TO YOU THAT EVEN SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY WAS NOT ARRAYED LIKE ONE OF THESE. WHEREFORE, IF GOD SO CLOTHED THE GRASS OF THE FIELD, WHICH TODAY IS, AND TOMORROW IS CAST INTO THE OVEN, SHALL HE NOT MUCH MORE CLOTHE YOU? O YE OF LITTLE FAITH, THEREFORE TAKE NO THOUGHT, SAYING, WHAT SHALL WE EAT? OR WHAT SHALL WE DRINK? OR WHEREWITHAL SHALL WE BE CLOTHED? FOR AFTER ALL THESE THINGS DO THE GENTILES SEEK. FOR YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWETH THAT YE HAVE NEED OF ALL THESE THINGS. BUT SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU. TAKE THEREFORE NO THOUGHT FOR THE MORROW, FOR THE MORROW SHALL TAKE THOUGHT FOR THE THINGS OF ITSELF. SUFFICIENT UNTO THE DAY IS THE EVIL THEREOF. NOW, WORRY IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. THE IGNORANT WORRY BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW ENOUGH. THE SMART WORRY BECAUSE THEY KNOW TOO MUCH. THE, THE RICH WORRY BECAUSE, UH, THEY'RE AFRAID OF LOSING WHAT THEY HAVE. AND THE POOR WORRY BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. THE OLD WORRY BECAUSE, HA, HA, HA, …