7th December 2025 - Trevor Saggers

Friends, let's pray. Father, please teach

us by your Holy Spirit not to be concerned about

the things that you don't want us to be concerned

about. And may we instead focus on what pleases

you. In Jesus' name, amen. Three -pointers in

a basketball game, especially, are very popular

with the crowd. They seem to really get the crowd

going. there's something really exciting about

a three -pointer. And it's more than just worth

an extra point. And three -pointers for Jesus

also seemed quite popular. And I don't mean in

the context of basketball. I mean in the context

of his preaching. Some weeks back, I said tongue

-in -cheek that a three -point sermon is very

biblical because Jesus used three points. And

he does here in this next section of his teaching,

just like he did in the previous part of his

teaching. Yes, in Matthew 6 and 7, you could

say there are two three -point sermons that Jesus

gives us. We looked at the first three -pointer,

and now we're in the middle of the next three

-pointer. Now, each of his points in his first

three -pointer basically started with the word

when. Firstly, when you give. This is what you

shouldn't do, and this is what you should do.

Secondly, when you pray, this is what you shouldn't

do, and this is what you should do. And thirdly,

when you fast, this is what you shouldn't do,

and this is what you should do. And now each

of his points in his second three -pointer basically

start with the words, do not. Firstly, do not

stall. Do not worry. And thirdly, do not judge.

Last week we looked at do not store. That is,

do not store up for yourselves treasures here

on earth. Instead, store up for yourselves treasures

in heaven. Next week we'll be looking at do not

judge. But today we're looking at his second

point in his second three -pointer. Do not worry.

And in each of these points, including his first

three -pointer, Jesus tells us what not to do

as well as what to do. Obviously, in today's

sermon, what not to do is, well, obvious. Jesus

says not to worry. But as we look at that and

as we conclude, we'll also be looking at what

he says to do instead of worrying. Let's make

a start by opening up our Bibles to this second

point in Jesus' second three -pointer, Do Not

Worry, in Matthew 6. If you're using one of our

church -provided Bibles, we're on page 1475,

or just use your bulletin. Please look again

at verses 25 to 26 and keep your Bibles opened

here, as we will be coming back to this passage

a couple of times. Verse 25. Therefore I tell

you, do not worry 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? 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? Now, I

find what Jesus says here quite fascinating.

You see, you would expect on this topic of not

worrying for Jesus to say something like, you

need to pray rather than worry. And especially

pray with thanksgiving and you will experience

God's peace. Compare Philippians 4. But no, he

doesn't. Or you might expect him to say something

like, Concerning the topic of worrying, you need

to pray with fasting. After all, he's only just

spoken about both praying and fasting. But no,

he doesn't. He doesn't even say, relax, God is

in control. Now, they're things that one would

tend to quickly jump to, as I would, as an antidote

to worry, but he doesn't even talk about them.

Each day, morning and night, I usually look at

news .com .au, well, more recently The Australian,

to keep abreast of what's going on and therefore

what's affecting you and me. Or more to the point,

what you and I are being told by the world as

to how the world thinks we should live our lives.

And there was an article on the remedy of being

anxious, of being stressed and depressed. And

it was basically an article on how not to worry.

And the four remedies listed in the article were

these. Look after your digestive system. Slow

down. Turn to herbs. And number four, actively

improve your mood. Now, I'm not saying don't

do these things, but all I'm saying is that once

again, Jesus doesn't even mention such things

here. And so what does Jesus say to do here?

Did you notice what he says as to what is the

remedy for not worrying? I'll give you a hint

with a little puzzle. What does this puzzle say?

Any takers? Yes, Jesus tells us, I think you've

worked it out, Craig. Jesus tells us not to notice

the birds. A, B, see the birds? M, no birds.

S, A, R, O, S, I see them. He says, do not worry,

look at your diet, your prayer life. No, look

at the birds of the air. As I said, I find...

What Jesus says here, quite fascinating, it is

not what I expect. He says, 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. And it's true, isn't it? You won't see

a bird on a tractor playing in a field. You won't

see a bird operating a sugarcane harvester. And

I've never seen a bird building a storage shed.

And yet their creator, our Heavenly Father, feeds

them. They don't have the abilities that mankind,

that men and women have to sow, to harvest, to

store, to refrigerate. And yet our Father provides

for them. They just have to trust that the trees

the shrubs, the grasses, produce the nuts, the

fruits, the seeds, the blossom and the nectar,

because that's how our Father feeds them. Now,

they still have to go searching for their food.

They have to get off their recliners, their perches,

and flap their wings and do some work. But he

provides for them. Have you ever stopped and

taken the time to look at the birds? to notice

them, watch them and consider not only how beautiful

they are and all the different types that exist,

but also to consider how our Heavenly Father

provides for them, feeds them. Friends, it's

not the whole purpose as to why I like to go

bush rather than check out a city, but it's one

of them. One of them is to look at the birds

of the air. And with respect to the context here,

just marvel at how our father looks after them.

Yes, how he looks after a bird which doesn't

sow or reap or stall. On one of our trips to

the bush, I was really keen to see star finches.

which get their name star from the petite white

dots on the red of their face. They are the only

types of finches in Australia that I hadn't seen

in the wild. There are apparently some spots

in the Tablelands where you can find them, but

I haven't. And there are some spots in the Kimberley

and the Pilbara regions of Western Australia.

And so when Sue and I headed out that way, I

hoped to spot some and watch them. So when we

got to the Kimberley, we went to the area where

one can usually find star finches. But guess

what? Unfortunately, they had a massive fire

go through the region and no one knew if they

had survived or if they did where they went in

search of food. When we were in the Pilbara region,

would you believe that a whole lot of star finches

came right up to where we were camping and did

just about every morning and evening. Locals

said there seems to be an influx of them lately.

This is one of the photos we took. Besides the

fact that God was very good to me personally

and basically brought them right to our front

door, our tent. Looking back on things now, I

wonder how much our Father's hand was on this,

taking many of them to this new location where

he would feed them. Yes, look at the birds of

the air. They do not sow or reap or store away

in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not much more valuable than they? Well,

of course we are. We are made in the image of

God. A bird isn't. And so don't worry. He will

certainly feed you too. Elizabeth Chenney. Do

you know her? Elizabeth Chenney, an English aristocrat

who lived in the 15th century. That's why you

probably don't know her. Who lived in the 15th

century and who, by her two marriages, was also

the great -grandmother. of three of King Henry

VIII's wives, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour and Catherine

Howard, wrote this most apt poem about how strange

people can be from the perspective of the birds

of the air. And what she writes is so spot on.

Said the robin to the sparrow. I should really

like to know why these anxious human beings rush

about and worry so. Said the sparrow to the robin,

friend, I think that it must be that they have

no heavenly father such as cares for you and

me. Spot on, isn't it? Spot on. Well, let's now

take a look at the second example Jesus refers

to, to help us not to worry. And once again,

yes, once again, it surprises me because it's

not what I would think. Please look at verses

28 to 30 with me. And why do you worry about

clothes? See how the flowers of the fields grow?

They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that

not even Solomon in all his splendour 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 into the fire, will he not

much more clothe you, you of little faith? So

Jesus has just basically finished by saying,

do not worry, look at the birds of the air. And

now he basically says, do not worry. Look also

at the flowers of the field. So the first bit

was basically don't worry about food. Look at

the birds. And now Jesus says don't worry about

clothing. Look at the flowers. Just don't worry

about what you will eat or drink. Look at the

birds of the air. And don't worry about what

you'll wear. Look at the flowers of the field.

Have you ever taken a good look at how God clothes

the grass of the field? That is, clothes or dresses

the grass, the plants of the field with flowers,

blossom and colour. And if such flowers of the

field are here today and gone tomorrow, and they

usually are, flowers don't last very long, especially

up here in the tropics. We all live much longer

than a flower. Will he not much more clothe you

and me? And so just as I've said before that

a three -point sermon is biblical, so too is

going bush and camping. Because when you go bush,

you get to look at the birds of the air and you

get to look at the flowers of the field. And

when you then consider how our Father feeds the

birds and clothes the grasses and plants with

flowers, it should remind us of how much greater

worth we are than a bird or a flower. and therefore

how much more he will care for us. And therefore,

to worry about these things in your life shows

a lack of faith in our Father. As Jesus says,

you of little faith. Well, part of this holiday

going to bush through the Kimberley and the Pilbara

regions of Western Australia also involved coming

back. And so rather than come back on the same

road, I don't like doing that. So rather than

come back on the same road, we came back right

across the centre of Australia through the Little

Sandy Desert and the Gibson Desert on some very

remote tracks. Now, normally the Little Sandy

Desert and Gibson Desert pretty much look like

how they sound. Desert. Lots of sand. Dry clay

pans, salt deposits with the odd bit of scrub,

some dead looking grass every now and again and

clumps of spinifex. But this time, or I should

say in this particular year, the centre of Australia

had a big dump of rain. So much so that we would

have probably got stuck in a clay pan somewhere

in the middle of nowhere had we gone a few weeks

earlier. But do you know what happens in many

deserts after a dump of rain? Do you know what

happens to the dead -looking grasses and other

dead -looking plants, let alone what grows seemingly

from nothing? Well, I could show you the 1 ,341

photos that Sue took of such, but I won't. but

I'll show you a few. Have a look at these. It's

amazing how, to use Jesus' very words, God clothes

the grass of the field. Have a look at these

verses that God dresses even the desert with.

This is a Sturt's Desert Pea plant that literally

was on either side of the track we were on. The

next photo is a close -up to marvel at what God

had created for us to enjoy. What a magnificent

flower of the field. Flower of the desert. Sturt's

Desert Pea. The next photo is a purple and white

round thing. I don't know the names of these

things. And once again, they were everywhere

in the middle of the desert. The next is a close

-up of this flower of the field. Amazing stuff.

The next is a purple triangular flower. That

will do for a name. close up of it. And the next

one is a photo of my wife. She's the most beautiful

flower of them all. With long hair. And then

we came across these little dainty white flowers

everywhere and the next photo is a close up of

it. A lot of the desert consists of just rocks

and rocks and more rocks, but amongst the rocks

were these little purple flowers everywhere.

And here's a picture of a whole blanket of purple

flowers, a field of flowers in the desert. We

then came across a whole stretch of what looked

like, from a distance, paper mache. Until we

got up close. I nicknamed these clumps of white

flowers Manor from Heaven. Because that's what

it looked like. And finally, many of the sand

dunes we drove over because of the dump of rain

had transformed into a carpet of flowers and

little colourful shrubs and grasses. Have you

ever considered, have you ever looked at the

flowers of the field? These dry grasses, dry

scrubby things, many of them even look like a

stick. They can't labour and spin and dress themselves

with clothing, but with flowers, God does. And

so if that is how God clothes the grass of the

field, which is here today and tomorrow, is thrown

into the fire, which triples up in the heat of

the desert, will he much more clothe you and

me? You and me of little faith. And friends,

after each of these examples that Jesus uses

to help us to realise that we aren't to worry,

he concludes with two statements that I want

us to now look at and summarise in our sermon

outlines before we look at something else that

Jesus tells us to do rather than worry. And the

first of these two statements of Jesus sums things

up after he talks about looking at the birds

of the air. He says in verse 27, Can any one

of you by worrying add a single hour to your

life? Well, obviously none of us can. It's common

sense, isn't it? Is worrying going to help? Absolutely

not. If anything, worrying will probably subtract

an hour or two, a year or two from your life.

Rather than add to it, summing up Jesus' first

example here, I'll put it like this. Worry. denies

common sense. It really does. It won't help your

life at all. And if our father feeds the birds

of the air, he will certainly feed you and me.

Are we much more valuable than they? Of course

we are. And the second of these concluding statements

sums up both of these examples. The need to look

at the birds of the air and the need to see the

flowers of the field. Have a look at what Jesus

says in verses 31 and 32. So do not worry, verse

32, saying what shall we eat or what shall we

drink or what shall we wear? For the pagans run

after all these things and your Heavenly Father

knows that you need them. Now, a pagan refers

to someone who's not a believer. Not yet a believer.

Just like the poem said. It is expected that

they will chase after these and many other things

in life, worry about them, but not a Christian.

A Christian knows God as our Father. And one

knows exactly what his children need each day.

And so will dress us and feed us. In summing

up, I'll put this second statement of Jesus as

this. Worry therefore defines unbelievers. Believers

therefore aren't to worry. We are much more important

than a dried up piece of scrub in the desert.

And if our father feeds it with rain when needed

and clothes it with flowers when needed, he will

certainly feed and clothe his children. So to

worry about something like that is to simply

act like an... Yes, Jesus concludes these two

examples with these statements. In summing up,

he says that worry actually defies common sense,

and much more than that, worry defines an unbeliever,

as a believer is meant to have faith in a heavenly

Father providing for us. We've looked at do not

worry, and that is the first thing that Jesus

talks about. We have also spent a while looking

at it as its most detailed part of the message

here. But now to seek. Please look at verse 33

with me. The second last of Jesus' teachings

here. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness

and all these things will be given to you as

well. So basically, Verses 25 to 32 detail, do

not worry. And here in verse 33, Jesus now tells

us, but seek first his kingdom and righteousness

and all these things, what you need to eat, what

you need to drink, what you need to wear will

be given you as well. I've summed it up like

this. In trying to put it as simply as possible,

we are to seek the things that concern our Heavenly

Father. And he's concerned about his kingdom,

his rightful rule over you and me, over all people.

And so just as we should desire, therefore, to

show his rightful rule in how we live our life,

a righteous life, so too we should desire to

see other people live under his rightful rule,

and live righteous lives as well. And more than

that, as we see the world around us not living

like that, we should desire for his kingdom to

ultimately come, and therefore for Jesus to return.

Yes, that is what seeking his kingdom and righteousness

is all about, and that is all that should really

concern us. There is a little word here in this

verse that's very important. Jesus doesn't just

say, but seek his kingdom and righteousness.

No, he says, seek first his kingdom and righteousness.

And I don't think he means to compartmentalise

our life so that after we focus on him first,

we then do what second and then third and fourth

on our list. No, it means that what he's concerned

about takes priority over all concerns and therefore

shapes all other concerns. And when it does,

guess what? You won't worry. You will not worry.

I put it to you, but I also put it to me. After

all, in three weeks' time, that's not long. Soon

I will be retiring. And we don't know what we

will be doing. That if we are focused as we should

on seeking the things of our Heavenly Father,

just as we say in the Lord's Prayer, our Father

in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom

come, your will be done, what is there to really

worry about? Well, that is the really big picture

of what to seek. What I love also about God is

that he seems to continue to give his children

practical helps as well. And one of them is implied

in the last verse in verse 34. Please look at

it with me, please. In summing it all up, Jesus

says, Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow,

like in three weeks' time. For tomorrow will

worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble

of its own. Once again, so, so true, isn't it?

I'll put it like this. Seek to live one day at

a time. So many of our worries concern tomorrow.

They really do. And we are told here not to worry

about tomorrow. What's implied here, I think,

are actually two things. The first is that every

day usually has enough trouble of its own, and

so you won't be able to handle things if you

look at all the tomorrows that lie ahead. It

will stress you out, cause you to be anxious,

get depressed, worry. It's true, isn't it? And

the second thing obviously implied here is to

take one day at a time. That's what we, Sue and

I, very soon to be Brendan and Laura, have to

regularly remind ourselves to do. And especially

when Sue and I have a huge week that lies ahead.

We, you, need to take one day at a time. Just

as Jesus has taught us, give us today our daily

bread. So we are to go about our lives in a daily

manner, as each day usually has enough trouble

of its own. And do you know what the amazing

thing is? When we do seek to live one day at

a time, I found so, so often that the trouble

I was expecting tomorrow or later that week doesn't

even arise. and is dealt with before I even get

to it. Do you also find that? Dare I say, I think

you will when you seek to live one day at a time

seeking the things of our Heavenly Father. He

is that good. Amen.