There are two different kinds of worry.

The Bible says worry is a sin. We shouldn’t worry about money or material things. We shouldn’t worry about our future or our past.

We do need to worry about the thing of God, the spiritual condition of those around us. Paul worried about the church and the spiritual condition of the people that he had ministered to.

Why will people be left behind when the rapture takes place? Not because they worry about the spiritual condition of their brothers and sisters, but because they are worried about their own lives, things, their future.

Hebrews 3:12
12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;

2 Corinthians 11:23-28
23 Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.

Paul was always worried about the church.

Hebrews 2:1
1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

We have the right to worry about people falling into sin and forsaking God. Paul was deeply concerned about people’s salvation.

God commands us to worry about people’s spiritual condition. Why? That worry causes us to pray for people. When worry or concern comes to your mind, pray. That’s how Paul did it.

Philippians 4:6-10
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.

Be anxious for nothing. This means that we shouldn’t worry about things that unbelievers are worried about, like food, materials things, or cars.

Why is worry so bad? Worry weakens faith. No one can please God without faith. Apostle Paul was deeply concerned about those whose faith was weakening. He was concerned about them making wrong choices and turning away from God.

If you worry, you bring pain and scars to your physical and spiritual body. Many people die from worry. More than half of the patients in America are in the hospital because of worry.

God commands us not to worry for our own benefit. He doesn’t want us to be harmed by worry. God wants us to trust in Him.

More people die of worry than have died in war. Worry is our enemy. Satan uses worry to kill us, to destroy our health.

When we worry, Satan rejoices. Worry is his weapon of destruction.

When you worry:

1. It makes you feel and look small; worry takes away confidence and you lose boldness.
2. You become a nagger and complainer
3. You become hopeless
4. You lose sight of God’s will in your life
5. You lose confidence
6. You lose passion for the things of God; you become lazy
7. You see this world through your own eyes; you start to think like this world and try to protect yourself like people in this world would
8. You speak the wrong things and create big messes

Every great man and woman in the Bible overcame worry.

You cannot allow worry to stop you from moving forward with God.

Satan wants you to worry so that you won’t have peace. Fear and worry take away your peace. Worry and fear are connected.

Do not worry about your future, about something bad happening, about getting sick, about losing something. Don’t plant those seeds into your future.

It’s OK to eat well and take care of your relationships and be wise with your money because those are the right things to do. But if you are obsessed with food and vitamins because you are worried about your health, it will be an open door to sickness.

The only thing you need to worry about is salvation: your salvation and the salvation of those around you. If you are deeply concerned about people’s salvation, you will pray for their souls.

When you feel unsettled about someone, pray. When you pray, it’s like medicine for that feeling of worry and unsettledness. Prayer is the solution. If you pray, but then you still feel worried, it means that you didn’t truly pray and release that situation into God’s hands. You must pray and then trust God.

God bless you,
Pastor Sun East

More in this series:
Overcoming Worry