In this sermon, David Capoccia examines Jesus’ teaching on worry in the Sermon on the Mount. David Capoccia explains two commands from Jesus regarding worry, two comforting metaphors from Jesus’ illustrating the believer’s relationship to God, and seven reasons from Jesus as to why Christians should not worry.
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well it’s my joy to bring forth God’s Word to you today god is great and so is his word let’s look together at the precious truth that God has for us this morning pray with me Father all the earth looks to you you are the king of everything and we need you to provide Lord opened my mind to be able to think clearly in my mouth be able to speak clearly open the hearts of those who listen those here Lord to understand believe and apply your word Oh God your word is very great glorify yourself now in Jesus name Amen if you’ve ever read through the Old Testament or at least the first five books you’ve probably come away with the following impression Wow the children of Israel are really dumb I mean how else can we explain their constant failure to trust God in spite of all of his miraculous provisions God sent ten incredibly powerful plagues against the Egyptians on Israel’s behalf then God released the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt God led the people by his own presence in a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud he parted the sea for them so that the people could pass through it on dry ground he then closed the sea on the Egyptian army completely destroying his riyals enemy these acts you would think should have made super clear to Israel that God cares about them that God is powerful and that when God says he’ll do something God will keep his promise but within three days of moving on from the red sea or the reed sea the people of Israel complained against Moses and by extension God for bringing them up to die in the wilderness without food and without water in response God graciously and miraculously provided the Israelites with manna quail and even water from a rock yet still later the Israelites fell into worried distrust and complained against God didn’t they remember anything how dense must the Israelites have been however if we know the rest of the scriptures and if we’re honest about our own lives we know we can be just like Israel despite what we read in the scriptures despite the testimonies of other believers despite the provisions of God that we’ve seen happen in our own lives we to fall into worry and doubt how am I going to get through this new trial where’s the money going to come from to pay for these unexpected bills what if I fail at this upcoming task one of those people at school start to dislike me how will I be able to cope with this new upcoming difficulty is God really going to provide you with a spouse what if I lose my job how will I ever figure out how to be a good parent and our anxiety we asked many such questions as these and as a result we become unhappy agitated depressed short-tempered sick and despairing worry feels terrible and it’s bad for our health it can literally kill you but we still easily fall into it are you worried about something this morning as something filled you with dread and uncertainty as to whether God will really take care of you do you see some upcoming difficulty either personally or nationally and wonder how will I get through that how will I cope with that well this morning Christ is going to give us a powerful weapon for us to put to death the sin of worry what’s that weapon his word because you see worry is indeed a sin it is a very deadly sin like a leech it saps our energy it saps our joy it dishonours God and once it sunk its teeth into us the habit of worry is very difficult to dislodge but worry is no match for the word of God our Lord is going to show us the way to freedom from worry today so that we can be the people he called us to be a people marked by trust in God and not worry if you haven’t done so yet please open to Matthew chapter 6 Matthew chapter 6 our text is from verse 25 to verse 34 but we’re going to start reading in verse 24 to give ourselves just a little bit more context so Matthew chapter 6 starting in verse 24 reading down to verse 34 follow along with me as I read no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other you cannot serve God and wealth for this reason I say to you do not be worried about your life as to what you will eat or what you will drink nor for your body as to what you will put on it’s not life more than food and the body more than clothing look at the birds of the air that they do not sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them are you not worth much more than they and two of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life and why are you worried about clothing observe how the lilies of the field grow they do not toil nor do they spin yet i say to you then not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these but if God so closed the grass of the field which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace will he not much more clothe you you have little faith do not worry then saying what will we eat or what will we drink or what will we wear for clothing for the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you so do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will care for itself each day has enough trouble of its own as we examine this passage today we will divide it into three parts first Christ commands regarding worry Christ commands regarded worry second comforting illustrations of God’s relationship with us comforting illustrations of God’s relationship with us and third reasons to obey Christ commands reason is to obey Christ commands before we get to those though let me remind you of this passages context some of this will be review from my last sermon with you we’re in the Gospel of Matthew written by the former tax collector and lover of money Matthew also called Levi our text appears in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount which begins in chapter chapter 5 and ends in chapter 7 Christ Sermon on the Mount is all about reasserting what true righteousness is in contrast to false righteousness true righteousness Jesus teaches is by faith in the mercy of God and false righteousness is by works seeking to earn God’s favor in Chapter six the chapter in which we find our text Jesus teaches that true righteousness does not seek its reward on earth neither in man’s approval nor in accumulating treasures true sciousness seeks its reward in heaven this is not only God’s command as Jesus tells us it’s also just wise storing up seeking or clinging to any treasure on earth whether it’s material or otherwise it’s foolish since those treasures will all pass away but treasures in heaven will last forever and how does one obtain this treasure in heaven by righteousness by the obedience accomplished by faith now our new passage today is closely linked to the one that we examined last time it may have even noticed that verse 25 begins with a phrase for this reason this means that this phrase appears this means that the truth that was expressed in the previous verse or versus forms the basis from the instruction we are about to hear from Jesus indeed it’s very logical that the next topic that Jesus would discuss would be wearing it’s like Jesus anticipates his audience’s reaction rabbi Jesus I understand what you’re saying about seeking treasures in heaven however I still got to live in this world I have to survive each day until I get to heaven and surviving is hard I’m worried that if I simply seek God and his treasures in heaven but I won’t have enough to make it on earth what do I do Jesus with this context in mind we’re now ready to examine our new text and Jesus’s answer here’s the first part of our text Christ commands regarding weary and verses 25 to 34 we’re going to examine this in an overview fashion first we see two commands from Christ will discuss them both together the first command don’t worry about your needs first command is don’t worry about your needs the second command seek after God and his kingdom purposes seek after God and his kingdom purposes those are Christ’s two commands notice the first command not only begins the passage but is repeated throughout it verse 25 do not be worried about your life verse 31 do not worry verse 34 so do not worry about tomorrow some commentators see verse 34 as a slightly different command than the earlier to one being the earlier ones being about food and clothing and drink and this last command being about the future I would say however that verse 34 is just a restatement of those earlier commands using different words to worry about food drink or clothing is in essence to worry about the future your word that you won’t have those things in the future so they’re really the same the first command is repeated three times the second command appears only once in verse 33 though as we’ll see in a moment both commands are actually in mind at the beginning of the passage verse 33 says but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness notice again the repetition of the first command Christ really wants to emphasize to us that we should not and must not worry worry is forbidden three times by our Lord Jesus Christ how gracious of him we must not trifle with worry Christ treats worry as a serious issue and so should we also notice that just like the previous passage we examine verses 19 to 24 we have two contrasting commands before the commands were do not store up treasures on earth but do store up treasures in heaven in our passage today verses 25 to 34 the commands are do not worry but do seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness let’s examine these commands a little more fully by now going back to verse 25 the start of the passage let’s read that verse again for this reason I say to you do not be worried about your life as to what you will eat or what you will drink nor for your body as to what you will put on notice again the phrase for this reason Jesus is referring to what he just taught about treasures and most specifically what he said about serving two masters jesus said you cannot serve God and money because of that do not worry huh how does worry relate to serving two different masters the connection may not seem or may not be apparent at first but it’s actually pretty basic when you worry you are no longer fully serving God when you worry you are no longer fully serving God something else has grabbed your attention as more pressing and important than God worry actually makes you into one who serves wealth through worry wealth and possessions become more important to you than Christ this is why it’s not surprising that the other command contrasting do not worry in our passage today is seek God one of these actions necessarily cancels out the other if you worry you cannot seek God’s kingdom but if you seek God’s kingdom we cannot worry you don’t have the capacity to do both you are like a slave that cannot serve two masters these masters have opposing wills you cannot satisfy them both to worry is to serve the God of wealth not the true God and therefore the son of god forbids us from doing it God requires total devotion to himself therefore we must not worry but what does it mean to worry the Greek word here for to be worried can be translated to be anxious to care for or literally to take thought to take thought the king james version of this passage actually translates the verse with that little translation it says this therefore I say to you take no thought for your life worry does come down to thinking doesn’t it you just keep thinking and thinking about some problem turning over and over in your mind some future danger and its potential effect on your life your psyche and your happiness worry is continual fearful thought a continual wondering about whether you will really make it through some situation and get what you need Jesus says don’t do that stop doing that take no thought for your life in its needs don’t be weighed down and care for your life at all don’t worry at all now Jesus doesn’t mean that you should literally have no thought about your temporal life even if you’re not worried you still have to think and make choices about your life but in comparison to what God does want you thinking about you should essentially be taking no thought for your life what does God want you thinking about oh we’ve already seen it in the context treasure in heaven his kingdom his righteousness heavenly things that’s what your mind is supposed to be thinking about not worries God does not want our minds distracted by worrying about our temporal needs it is temporal needs that are in mind and Jesus command not to worry the text says do not worry about your life and do not worry about your body life and body here are both meant in a temporal way as seen in Jesus’s immediate clarification don’t worry about your life or body that is don’t worry about food don’t worry about drink and don’t worry about clothing good drinking clothing or pretty basic needs they apply to all people since creation God has designed humans to eat and drink for sustenance as well as for pleasure without food and water now after the fall we get sick and we die clothing has been a need for us since the fall we need clothes to cover the shame of our sinfulness to protect us from others to sustain us in the various environments in which we live our anthesis anus in the various environments which we live we need clothes to keep us warm and to protect us from the sun’s burning rays without adequate clothing we also will get sick and die beyond this speaking of clothing we also need in a way a certain level of adornment for life’s tasks I could simply go through life in a burlap sack but if I want to look respectable if I want to have a job for one of them tain normal relationships i need at least adequate clothing certainly food drink and clothing would have been sources of worry in christ time as food and drink and even close were not as available as they offer us today in America we have running water in our homes and plenty of relatively cheap food and drink available in supermarkets for most Israelites however they had to grow their own food hoping that the harvest was good enough that they had both something to eat now and something to eat in the future by Christ time food could also be obtained in the marketplace but that still required money and it wasn’t as cheap as it is for us now water was available in local Springs wells and rivers but these could dry up or become contaminated with bacteria or other things to make one sick this is why most people drank wine mixed with water back then those healthier but why means you need grapes which means you need a good grape harvest and even when you made wine you again had to hope that your wine didn’t run out before you could get some more when it came to clothing most Israelites needed to make their own clothes this was not easy work nor was it easy to obtain the materials to make clothing therefore most Israelites didn’t have that many sets of clothing they’d hoped that the clothes that they did have would last until the family could make or buy more if one set of clothing was ruined or stolen that was a serious setback as I said we don’t usually worry about food drinker clothing today because of how available these things are for us to buy but we do sometimes worry about whether we have good enough clothing is this a good fit it’s a good color to the good material and while we may not worry about these things themselves we do worry about that which helps us obtain these things money we worry about money how will I have enough money this month we tell ourselves to buy food to buy clothing to buy to pay the rent to pay the utilities to pay for insurance to pay for the phone and for the internet and to make payment on the car I also need to save for the future save for medical emergencies save for retirement and oh yeah give to the church it seems like our money runs out pretty fast so we can become a source of worry for us but even when Jesus mentions food and clothing he’s really talking about life’s needs in general those three examples are representative we often say that man needs food clothing and shelter to survive but back then they usually thought of man’s needs only in terms of food and clothing perhaps because because of their climate sleeping outside wasn’t the worst thing in the world if you do a search actually through the Bible for the terms food and clothing whenever they’re used together you’ll see that the pair is often used to describe man’s basic needs we don’t have time this morning to look at a many examples but here’s one example first Timothy six seven eight Paul says for we have brought nothing into the world so we cannot take anything out of it either if we have food and covering with these we shall be content Paul says we can be content with just having your basic needs met just food and clothing but again that’s representative of basic needs so here in Matthew Jesus is commanding us not to worry about our needs don’t worry about your needs don’t worry about whatever is necessary to sustain your life instead second command seek God seek His righteousness seek obedience seek his treasure in heaven don’t be distracted from seeking God by worrying about life’s needs now perhaps these commands make you a little uncomfortable it should be obvious that if you obey Christ commands here you will not be able to make sure you’ve secured your own needs someone else will have to make sure for you that you will be provided for we would have the ability and the desire to do that for you well God actually the reason you don’t have to worry and that you don’t need to spend your thought and effort and trying to secure your needs all your thought and effort to secure needs is because God will do it for you Jesus shows us this I mean he shows it throughout the Old Testament but Jesus also shows it to his audience in the Sermon on the Mount with two illustrations to comforting metaphors describing what our relationship to God is like so now we come to the second part of the sermon we’ve seen the commands now we look at too comforting illustrations of our relationship to God too comforting illustrations of our relationship to God the first illustration comes from verse 24 and is carried into verse 25 and it’s this our relationship to God is like a good master providing for his slaves our relationship to God is like a good master providing for his slaves notice again verse 24 which says no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other you cannot serve God and wealth the word sir in both instances in verse 24 is dulu 0 meaning to serve as a slave so Jesus was saying no one can serve as a slave to masters and you cannot serve as a slave both God and wealth not only does the slave illustration show us the impossibility of partial or double devotion it should also give us comfort that God will provide for I needs describing us as slaves of God here is not to be taken as a negative thing there were indeed many slaves in Christ time and afterwards who endured unkind sinful and brutal treatment from their masters but God is not that kind of master he is a good and kind master who buys slaves away from their old owners sin and Satan God empowers his slaves to do righteousness he rewards his slaves for their service which is unheard of in a slave master and God also intimately provides for the needs of his slaves for truly only a foolish slave master would not provide for the needs of his slaves if a slave master did not provide enough food water or clothing for his slaves then his slaves would suffer they would lose strength they would become sick they would even die any of these things would result in loss for the master furthermore if a master said I will not provide for your needs you will have to provide for your own food and clothing this too would be foolish because the slaves would then be distracted not fully able to devote themselves to the Masters will or his commands because they would be taking time and energy away from that to secure their own needs again the master would suffer loss if he did not provide so even an unkind master would grudgingly provide adequate food in clothing for his slaves how much more a kind master who actually seeks the good of those who on to him God wants to provide for us in such a way that we are not distracted he wants to free us up to enjoy him to pursue the reward that is with him and in him he is a great and kind master so this first illustration should give us confidence God is like a good master providing for his slaves he will provide for us the second comforting illustration comes from a phrase that we see in both verse 26 and in verse 32 of this passage Heavenly Father Jesus uses the phrase Heavenly Father so our second comforting metaphor our second comforting metaphor is this God is like a good father providing for his children God is like a good father providing for his children in the New Testament Jesus loves to refer to God as a personally connected father using phase are using the following phrases my father your father your heavenly father your father in heaven the Old Testament writers very seldom refer to God as a father let alone their own personal father but the Son of God really wanted to emphasize in his ministry the intimately caring nature of our God so he repeatedly describes him to us as your father this too should be comforting when it comes to worry because fathers provide for the needs of their children that’s just basic parenting children especially young children cannot provide for their own needs they cannot grow food they cannot make clothes they cannot go out and find water or dig for water neither can they hold jobs and make money children rely on their parents especially their fathers to provide for them only the worst of fathers would be so derelict as to not provide for the needs of his children but God is not just a mediocre father he’s the best father he owns everything he has all power all wisdom all love he rejoices to provide for every single need that his children have Jesus says this directly later on in his sermon on the mount turn over just a little bit to math Matthew chapter 7 verses 9 to 11 Jesus talks about people seeking God through prayer seeking their father through prayer and he says this in verse 9 or what man is there among you who when his son asked for a loaf we’ll give him a stone or if he asked for a fish he will not give him a snake will he if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask him God is a father who loves to provide he wants his children to simply seek obedience to their father and not be worried not be distracted by seeking to provide their own needs so we see the second comforting illustration from our Lord Christ God is like a good father providing for his children there are other company illustrations of this kind elsewhere in the scripture God is described as a commander providing for the needs of his troops so that they do not need to be distracted by civilian affairs Christ is described as a husband providing for the needs of his bride so that she is not distracted from loving and submitting to him the Lord is described as a good shepherd providing for his sheep so they don’t need to worry about anything except following the Shepherd’s voice but the Lord has even more for us we’ve seen now Christ can and we’ve seen comforting illustrations of God’s care for us but now the Lord seeks to persuade us through wisdom to not worry and simply seek God’s kingdom and now come to the third part of today’s sermon reasons to obey Christ commands reasons to obey Christ commands our Lord gives us seven reasons different pastures and commentators labaik discount this passage down a little bit differently with a few more or less reasons grouping them together I’m grouping it into seven I think that’s the way it works best in the text these reasons are helpful for us to deal with the various doubts that come up in our minds as to whether we can really trust the Lord to provide so let’s move now verse by verse through the passage and discuss each reason as it appears starting in the second half of verse 25 Jesus says it is not life more than food and the body more than clothing here’s the first reason for us to not worry but instead seek God God does not want you to miss out on life’s grand purposes God does not want you to miss out on life’s grand purposes the question in the second half verse 25 is a question with an expected answer isn’t life more than food a more than food and clothing yes of course it is even the pagans at times understand this surely life is more than simply acquiring food drink and clothing our basic needs our life is not less than these things they are legitimate needs but life is so much more than these things you are so much more than a collection of organs needing sustenance and covering you are living soul meant to enjoy and obey God you are not meant the simply accumulate stuff were survive you and your body were meant to glorify Christ worry prevents us from seeking out these greater more important part of life we stay stuck on the first most basic level constantly seeking after things we were never meant to stay there nor will we be happy if we do we would count it great folly and waste to come to the end of our lives saying well did a good job staying alive but that’s about it the majority of our life’s thought and energy ought to be directed to life’s greatest purposes worry won’t let us do that but seeking God will so this is the first reason to obey God does not want you to miss out on life’s grand purposes the second reason to obey Christ by not worrying is found in verse 26 I’ll be read that look at the birds of the air that they do not sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them you’re not worth much more than they here’s the second reason not to worry God already takes care of creatures who cannot prepare for the future God already takes care of creatures that cannot prepare for the future focusing here on the basic need of food and drink Jesus makes an observation about birds Jesus may have even pointed out some birds flying overhead when he gave this teaching birds were and are very common in Israel what’s Christ observation about birds birds do not prepare for the future they aren’t like good farming humans birds do not so that is they do not plant crops they do not reap that is harvest crops and they do not gather into barns they don’t gather food and store it for the future but birds do work they fly they build nests and they go out each day looking for food for themselves and for their young and in this way somehow birds get enough food to live and even thrive one proof just go outside look up listen here and see all the birds around these animals are flourishing even though from a human perspective they don’t do the wise thing they don’t store up for the future they don’t protect themselves from unexpected food shortages but God still sovereign Leah ranges that birds will have food in fact God does this with all creatures Psalm 145 verses 15 and 16 says of God the eyes of all look to you and you give them their food in due time you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing in due time God gives every creature his food whether that creature is able to store up food like the ant or whether that creature is not able to store food like the bird so is God saying we shouldn’t store up anything for the future no the Bible exhorts us to wise stewardship including imitating the diligence and foresight of the ant however if do too difficult circumstances you are not able to store for the future or you suddenly lose what you had stored it for the future do not worry at all you can be sure that God will still adequately provide for you how do you know God already does it for the birds and by the way Jesus says are you not worth much more than they are you not worth more than they another rhetorical question of course you’re worth more than a bird you were made in God’s image you were made with the capacity to know and worship God you were a special creation and if you’re saved then God is your loving master and father God counts you more valuable and worth taking care of than a bird and yet he takes care of the birds if God takes care of the birds who are lesson for and then he will also take care of all people who look to him they are more important to him than Birds so we see Christ’s second reason for obedience God takes care of creatures who cannot prepare for the future the third reason to obey Christ and seek God’s keep God’s kingdom instead is her instead of worrying is found in verse 27 and who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life here’s the third reason to obey Christ’s commands God not you is the one with power over life God not you is the one with power over life this verse gives us another rhetorical question from Jesus who among you by worried thought or activity can lengthen his life by even one hour the expected answer is none of you no one this is even clearer in a parallel passage Jesus gives the same teaching about worry that he does here in Luke chapter 12 verses 22 to 32 is apparently a different occasion but the same teaching Luke records some extra words from Jesus on this Third Point here’s what Luke 12 25 to 26 says I’ll read the verse again the one that’s the same and which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life span if then you cannot do even a very little thing why do you worry about other matters Jesus says if you can’t buy your constant effort thinking and worry even lengthen your life by a tiny amount even one hour what makes you think that worried thought and activity is going to accomplish anything else for you that is absurd thinking but you might be saying to yourself wait a minute can’t I lengthen my life can’t i add an hour or more by engaging in healthy activities like good eating and exercise can’t i also shorten my life by engaging in risky activities i think I actually do have power over my life sorry Jesus says you don’t you do not truly have power over your life to lengthen it or shorten it the reason we misunderstand this idea is because we confuse causes and means we confuse causes and means we confuse what really has the power to affect our lives with the usual methods that that power manifests itself yes people who make healthy choices usually live longer that is the usual way that God ordains that people reach the span of life that he marks out for them however some people who make healthy choices nonetheless live short lives and some people who make risky unhealthy choices nonetheless live very long lives it’s always strange you see it on television or in the news when someone who lives past 100 reports that he or she was a heavy smoker drinker or drug user for most of their lives you think that shouldn’t happen but it does you see what really controls the length of our lives is not our different choices but God who are Dame’s that we make the choices that we do and either causes those choices to have significant or insignificant effects God is the one with the real power over life he can make your choice result in nothing for you or he can make it result in very substantial effects on your life he’s the one with the power does this mean then that we should become fatalistic or the road caution to the wind no we were obligated to be obedient and to act in wisdom furthermore we are commanded not to presume or test the Lord remembers st. even tempted Jesus that way God said he’ll protect you throw yourself down he just says nope scripture says don’t put God to the test but we need to understand that the one who ultimately the power to cause anything to happen in our lives is not us it’s God this concept is also true when it comes to our work we often think if I just work hard and work skillfully I should get my desired result but we forget that the one that enables us to work hard and skillfully is God we also forget that God can make much hard work and skilful effort come to nothing and God can make minimal work and bumbling effort produce a great result listen to what Psalm once wrote 172 I think it’s 127 but listen to what one of the psalm says unless the Lord builds the house they labor in vain who build it unless the Lord guards the city the watchman keeps awake in vain it is vain for you to rise up early to retire late and to eat the bread of painful Labor’s for he God gives to his beloved even in asleep wow that’s pretty striking right God can make your efforts mean nothing and even when you give no effort like when you’re sleeping God can provide for you and by the way guess who wrote that song Solomon talk about someone who might be tempted to think because of his wealth and majesty and kingship that he really had the power to do things but Solomon new know all that I have has come from God and unless God blesses my work I can accomplish nothing what great wisdom the one who has the power over life is ultimately God not you now we usually get this at least in this church we usually get this when it comes to salvation we say I can’t save him only God can I’m simply trying to be faithful as a messenger and as a means but we need to apply this understanding to the rest of our lives because really you can’t support yourself God must do it the means through which God’s provide for the mean in which God provides for you is usually through your own work but if you suddenly aren’t able to work where if your work turns out badly don’t worry because it wasn’t your work that was really sustaining you it was God this is a really sobering and liberating truth because it means we can stop saying that I do enough that I save enough that I say enough it means we can also stop berating ourselves for our mistakes in the past oh why did I invest in that why did I say that to this person why did I forget to take care of this task now I’m doomed no we can stop going crazy trying to work steady or network in order to provide for ourselves yes God has called us to be wise and called us to be obedient including through doing faithful work but he is ultimately the one with the power not us no mistake is too big for God to overcome and no success too great for god that totally nullify we must simply do our day’s work and then trust God trust God to provide this is the third reason given to us from Christ for us to obey God not you is the one with power over your life the fourth reason for us to obey Christ commands appears in verses 28 to 30 now read those now again and why are you worried about clothing observe how the lilies of the field grow they do not toil nor do they spin yet i say to you they’re not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these but if god so clothes the grass of the field which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the it is really not much more clothe you here’s the fourth reason for us to obey Christ commands God already provides perfect adornment for creation that cannot join itself God already provides perfect adornment for a creation that canna adorn itself this reason centers in on our need of clothing as an example here again Christ may appoint it to something that was nearby hey see those flowers over there consider he says those lilies actually the word translated lilies is a little vague it can better be translated as wild flowers because it included more than lilies ever seen a field of wildflowers blossoming it’s very beautiful john macarthur notes that in israel during the time of Jesus wild flowers would have included such flowers as irises narcissus I gladioli and cap lilies I looked a picture of these flowers wish I could show them to you because they’re gorgeous rich hues of red pink blue purple orange yellow and white on blossoms of delicate petals and no one but God takes care of wild flowers they’re wild after all now the aspect of these wild flatter wild flowers that Jesus directs us to consider is that they don’t provide their own clothes Jesus says they don’t toil or spin toil refers to hard labor flowers do not work a difficult day job just so that they can buy clothes neither do they spin that is spin thread they don’t spend time making clothes for themselves all flowers do is grow and accept whatever adornment God gives them but Jesus says that not even Solomon looked better than these wildflowers Salman was the most glorious King in Israel’s history he was rich enough to anoint himself in whatever he wanted and wise enough to know what looked attractive and what didn’t but the simple flowers the meadow Jesus says look more splendid than Solomon ever did and yet Jesus also notes these flowers are so transient these flowers these grass Jesus says two ways to refer to the same thing wildflowers they’re only alive today and tomorrow a thrown into the furnace ever bought flowers or tried to grow flowers know the flowers don’t last long they they blossom and then their blossom goes away and they wither flowers eventually die dry up people gather them and use them as fuel get God still takes interest in adorning short-lived flowers this tells us something about God God loves to adorn his creation God loves to adorn his creation why to show forth his glory creation declares the glory of God so the Scriptures tell us right God can’t help but adorn the grass of the field because God must glorify himself he must show the beauty of his mind God loves to adorn even shwood lived flowers what Jesus point well God so delights to adorn near worthless flowers God will surely delight to adorn you because you are worth so much more to him than flowers you again or a special creation and if your gods child God loves you God is coven entered with you to care for you he will make sure that you’re adequately adorned and you will even make you beautiful what’s that you say is God promising me expensive clothing and a slim figure no no he’s not God does not anoint every creature the same way though all are beautiful and bring him glory for example we might not think that grasshoppers are very beautiful but look more closely and you will see God’s beauty we might not think that sparrows are very beautiful but look more closely and you will see the beauty of God so it is with us God may provide us with simple clothes and a plain face and so most we may not seem very beautiful but look a little more closely and you will see the glory of God and His creation especially for us as a spirit of righteous contentment shines through that’s what makes this beautiful God may provide some with expensive clothes but we should not expect that nor agonize after that we’ll have time to look at it but first Peter 3 says it is the inner beauty that we are to seek after that will shine through whatever outer adornment God gives us and will make us truly beautiful now does this mean we should just let our outer appearance go not even bother to comb our hair in the morning no of course not your spouse will appreciate your effort to make yourself look nice and we would never want our appearance to get in the way of the gospel but Christ word here about wild flowers shows that we can and must stop obsessing about our outer adornment clothes jewelry hairstyles hair restoration whatever it is if God is motivated to make his creation beautiful when it is not important and unable to provide for itself at all then he is able to make us adequately and even beautifully adorned without our worrying about it so we see the fourth reason Christ tells us not to worry God already provides perfect adornment for creation that cannot have gone itself the fifth reason we are given to obey Christ commands comes in verse 32 verse 32 says for the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things here’s our fifth reason to not worry and instead see Christ’s Kingdom God wants us to stand out from our worried world God wants us to stand out from our worried world the term Gentiles here refers to godless people pagan people unbelievers in the true God they are full of worry but we are not to be like them and we can observe this worry in our own society can’t we the spirit of the age is survival of the fittest dog-eat-dog it’s a rat race as they say you’ve got to always be working always worrying because if you’re not someone else is going to leave you in the dust and take what you need there’s no caretaker for the unbelieving as far as they’re concerned they have to do everything themselves and therefore they can never rest even the gods and religions of unbelievers do not allow for any rest because they are works religions you must always be working always sacrificing to please the gods and you never know whether you’ve really done enough so you have to keep on working keep on worrying keep on offering in the hope that maybe the gods will like you and help you survive and give you perhaps a nice afterlife moreover our world is obsessed with idols and people scurry about not just after basic needs but things that they call their needs lusts of various kinds i need this product I need this experience I need this position to be happy secure or satisfied so they run run run run run run run and keep on worrying now actually the unbelieving do not really provide for themselves they think they do but they don’t as we’ve already seen God is the one who provides even for them God and mercy grants them provision for their needs yet they are not thankful and they never rest they never turned to him for their provision and they never feel secure and even when they do feel secure for a moment it is the false security often shattered by sudden calamity but Jesus reminds us you’re not like them you’re not like them you’ve got God covenant in with you he has the power and willingness to provide for you you do not need to act like the godless warriors they store and hoard items thinking that those things will make them secure but you are not afraid to give away or get rid of those things that might distract you because you know you have God their lists of needs keep on increasing and they are desperate fulfill to fulfill every one of them but you do not create false needs worthless idols are therefore content in God let us beware if we find ourselves acting like the people around us who do not know God when it comes to worry they have reason to worry in a way we don’t we should beware if we find ourselves like them so this is the fifth reason Christ gives us to obey God wants us to stand out from our worried world two more reasons here’s the sixth and it appears in the second half of verse 32 for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things the sixth reason to obey Christ commands is this God knows your needs better than you do God knows your needs better than you do God is not unaware of anything you need whether its food clothing sleep or something else God cares about your needs and is passionate about providing for your needs so that you’re not distracted from him by worry but sometimes we suspect this isn’t true you get a rough night sleep say and then you tell God oh no God I won’t be able to handle today because you didn’t give me enough sleep God says actually I knew your needs I’ve given you exactly what you need for today you didn’t need more sleep or else I would have given it to you trust me well maybe you say God don’t you know that I can’t handle my spouse is sinful behavior right now don’t you know that God God says actually I know all your needs I provided you exactly what you need in this moment I always take care of your needs trust me and be obedient even in this difficult situation this too is a sobering but liberating truth if God knows all our needs that we never have to fear that we are somehow under provided for or under equipped for life this is true even when our most basic needs appear to be lacking because you may have been thinking even as we’ve gone through this sermon yeah that’s nice Dave but what about the Christians being killed right now by Isis what about the Christians dying of hunger where exposure doesn’t look like God gave them what they needed even Paul lacked basic provision at times he says this plainly in first Corinthians 4 11 he says to this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty and are poorly clothed and are roughly treated and are homeless Paul experienced lack even of food and clothing did God not provide for his knees no it’s not that Paul was not complaining he was giving glory to God he said this was what we needed he knew that the suffering he experienced and the meek provisions was necessary for him and for the expansion of the gospel that was more important that even getting a full provision of his basic needs so it is with us we must never say God anything but that don’t make me ask other Christians for help don’t cause me to dip into my savings account don’t let me lose my job otherwise I’ll accuse you of not providing for my needs let God have his perfect way humble yourself he knows your needs better than you do it maybe even necessary needful that you or I one day suffer persecution and martyrdom for Christ but that will be what we need that will be God’s perfect provision it will be better for us than if we continue to survive and lest we fear getting through that experience god but God will provide for us when that day comes so that we are able to endure it so we have our sixth reason not to worry God knows your needs better than you do our seventh and final reason to obey is probably the most powerful we see it in verse 33 but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you this is amazing our final reason given here by Christ to obey is this when you seek the greater over the lesser things God gives you both when you seek the greater over the lesser things God gives you both God tells us it’s not an either/or choice obtain God’s reward in heaven or survive it’s actually both or none both or neither obtain God’s reward and survive as you see cause reward chiefly or seek to survive and lose both your life and your heavenly reward what a promise when we see God and his reward we will not only get that God will give us the kingdom God will give us heavenly treasure but God will throw in perfect provision in this life as well to worry and miss out on seeking God then is the most foolish choice that anyone could ever make he who chooses worry we’ll have misery all his life he will ultimately die and then he will suffer in Hell eternally like Solomon who chose wisdom over long life wealth or the death of his enemies so we when we choose the best will be given the lesser things as well this is our seventh reason from Christ for obedience when you seek the greater over the lesser things God gives you both so with such powerful promises with such amazing provisions from God let us wage war on worry and put that sin to death let it not be true of us that which was true of Israel and true of the crowd that Jesus was speaking to you of little faith we need not be slow in believing God he’s given ample reason for us to trust him let’s review what we’ve heard this morning first Christ commands regarding worry don’t worry about your needs instead seek after God and his kingdom purposes too comforting illustrations of God’s relationship with us God is like a good master happy to provide for the needs of his slaves God is a good father happy to provide for the needs of his children and then Jesus’s reasons to obey the seven reasons God does not want you to miss out on life’s grand purposes God already takes care of creatures that cannot prepare for the future God not you is the one with power over life God already provides perfect adornment for creation that can’t adorn itself God wants us to stand out from our worried world God knows your needs better than you do and when you seek the greater over the lesser things God gives you both understand God has not called us to be passive testing his promises by refusing to obey his commands to work or to exercise wisdom but neither has God called us to fret or to trust in our work if you are in Christ this morning you have the power and obligation to put worried to death you have the power by God’s Holy Spirit to believe God and say no to the flesh that whispers let’s keep thinking about this problem because we’re not sure we’ll be okay you’re the power to say no to that and to believe by faith you have the power to jettison from your life those things which cause you to stumble unimportant activities or objects that just cause you to worry now you won’t have the grace to handle tomorrow’s troubles today but God will take care of tomorrow until tomorrow arrives when tomorrow comes God will give you the grace if you’re not in Christ this morning you should be looking to God pray for your provision but you’re not there for you don’t have the power to stop worrying actually in a way you have much reason to worry the God who is currently mercifully sustaining your life is not at all obligated to continue doing so you’re not his slave you’re not his child your rebellious enemy you have no guarantee of good in this life from God he’s doing you good but there’s no guarantee you look and it will continue and you have a ternal torment ordained for you in the next life unless you repent turn from your sin then repent not looking to God or repent of your not looking to God for your provision and looking to yourself instead repents of making the things of Earth your treasure and begin seeking your treasure in heaven trust Christ to make you righteous and acceptable before God do not trust in your works only Christ can make you righteous and save you trust the father to take care of you as you seek to be obedient to him for the rest of your life but this is what we all must do because but God’s people they do not habitually worry I was closing prayer father would a great great great great truth Oh God we sometimes assume that we are just going to have to worry like everybody else or that yeah we’re not supposed to worry but we just are going to keep on falling that was not your intention your people do not worry father and you gave us this excitation so that we would not worry that is so gracious of you god the rice you command us not to worry because you care because you’re good and because you will bring yourself the glory and honor that you deserve by providing for your people oh god help us by your spirit please to put the sin of way to death to believe you to not be like Israel to learn from their example as we ought to God and to just love you as we look to you each day even through the trials for whatever provision you have ordained in Jesus name Amen