"Anxious for Nothing" Matthew 6:25-34 Sunday Evening Worship Service

I invite you to take your copy of God's Word, open it up to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

We'll be looking together tonight at verses 25 through 34.

Matthew 6, 25 through 34.

68 and a half hours.

Give or take a few.

That's how long my family in San Antonio was without power this week.

The temperatures overnight got into the 40s inside the house.

And even as we speak, some of the city has yet to gain running water.

At my mom's house in Northeast Texas, they had rolling blackouts, which I guess is a blessing, to accompany the record 10 inches of snow that landed in Longview, Texas.

At my sister-in-law's neighbor's house, did you track that?

In Dallas, Texas, her neighbor had her pipes burst.

And so there emerged from her ceiling this terrifying yet spectacularly beautiful icicle stalactitite where her kitchen once stood.

Some estimates say that the cost for recovery from this Texas winter storm might reach fifty billion dollars with a B.

Life is certainly unpredictable.

But no one, and I mean no one, had Texas turning into Siberia on their bingo cards.

We did not see that one coming.

Just a few days ago, I read a story about a young lady who attended your emmanuel for a while.

She's now living in Arizona, and she just lost everything in a home fire.

She, her husband, their two kids were able to make it out with the clothes on their back and nothing else.

Life is unpredictable and dangerous.

Let us not forget, not that we could, the rodeo that was 2020.

This month we celebrated two weeks, the one-year anniversary of two weeks to flatten the curve.

We have vaccines now, thank God for that, but the ramifications for this pandemic will ripple on for years to come, both globally and personally.

How is your bank account doing right now?

You know, I know for a lot of folks it's not looking really good.

I've talked to folks here at a Mania Bible Church who have lost their jobs, who have lost hours at their job, their contracts weren't renewed with the government.

And that's pretty stressful stuff.

I think we could all agree.

The National Academy of Sciences did a study that estimates up to 38% of small businesses in the United States will never recover from this.

Just shuddered, gone.

That's life savings.

That's kids' college funds.

That's dreams and hopes and retirements gone like a vapor.

And maybe, hopefully, that's not you sitting here right now.

But all across this country, there are question marks college students that don't know if they'll be able to find a job when they graduate.

They don't know if they'll be able to pay their college loans off if they do find a job.

Or will Sally May come with a bill at their funeral?

Am I gonna default on my mortgage this month?

Already you can kind of understand that life is filled with anxiety.

And that's just when you start to talk about jobs and stuff.

There's a pretty significant amount of, well, let's not call it civil unrest.

Let's call it civil frustration.

I'm not sure if you heard, it kind of flew under the radar, but Joe Biden won the election last November, which is either the worst thing that's ever happened in the history of the country, or the best thing that's ever happened in the history of the country, I guess it depends on who you ask.

Protests, counter-protests, insurrections, accusations, impeachments.

The only thing, the only thing that seems in any way stable in our national discourse right now is that everyone is too angry to actually engage in discourse.

So if you are keeping score with me, that's the Weather Channel, your checkbook, your Facebook, every news channel, every fake news channel, and even your dining room tables that are just cauldrons of fear and confusion and anxiety.

It is no wonder that so many people are anxious.

And seriously, there are a lot of really good reasons to be anxious in this life.

To be worried, to be afraid.

And frankly, for most of the people in the world, being anxious is the most natural and logical response possible to what we're faced with.

This world is dangerous and unpredictable.

So why shouldn't you be anxious?

Well, that is exactly what Jesus addresses in Matthew chapter 6, verses 25 through 34.

Matthew 6:25–34

Anxiety.

He says, do not be anxious.

Let's read together now and see what Jesus has to tell us.

Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life.

What you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.

Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air.

They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns.

And yet your heavenly father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing?

Consider the lilies of the field, 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.

But 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?

Oh, you of little faith.

Therefore, do not be anxious, 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.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

And all these things will be added to you.

Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Do not be anxious, Jesus says.

You know, it's one of the most common commands in the Bible.

Over 70 times we are told not to be afraid, not to be anxious.

More than the Bible tells us, do not steal, more than the Bible tells us, do not lie, do not lust, even more than the Bible tells you to be holy.

Jesus, in his word, says, do not be afraid.

Do not be anxious.

Do not worry.

And almost every single time this command is accompanied with a promise.

And it is a command.

It's in the imperative.

Jesus is telling you to not be anxious.

But almost every single one of those 70 odd times you see that command in the Bible, it's accompanied by a promise of God.

Or a glimpse into the goodness and the character and the nature of God that is designed to strengthen the weak and feeble and frail soul.

And that is exactly what is happening in Matthew chapter six.

This command from Christ to not be anxious is surrounded by reasons for faith that are found and rooted in the character of God.

Specifically, in Matthew chapter six, Jesus reveals four aspects of God's character that addresses our anxieties.

We'll be reminded of God's concern, God's sovereignty, God's generosity, and God's wisdom.

Do not be anxious, Jesus says.

Now, this command that Jesus gives us, do not be anxious, it doesn't emerge in a vacuum.

None of them do.

This passage comes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, his magnum opus sermon about kingdom righteousness.

What and how the citizens of the kingdom of Jesus' messianic kingdom should look like and how we should live.

And in the verses that are immediately preceding our passage tonight in chapter 6, verses 19 through 24, verses that you are so familiar with, Jesus teaches us about heavenly treasure versus earthly treasure.

Store up for yourself treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

No one can serve two masters, Jesus says.

Do not pour out your life, don't pursue, don't spend your energy, your effort, your enthusiasm, don't be preoccupied with chasing after the things of this life.

But instead pursue heavenly treasure.

You can only serve one master.

And all of God's people said, Amen.

But there is a natural objection, right?

If I'm concerning myself with heavenly treasure instead of earthly treasure, how am I going to meet my basic needs?

Jesus, no offense, I don't want to step on your toes, but I have rent due at the first of the month.

Then I have to pay my car insurance, and my genes have holes in them that they didn't have when I bought them.

I have to pay tuition, my fridge is looking empty, my daughter needs braces, my car needs brakes.

And Jesus, what am I supposed to do about the basic necessities of life?

And Jesus says, kind of surprisingly, do not be anxious about them.

That's a pretty hard command.

There is not a lot of wiggle room in that sentence.

You can take the Greek and turn it upside down and inside out and twist it around, and whatever you do, it's still going to be a command from Jesus.

Do not be anxious.

So before we look at Jesus' reasons, why we don't need to be anxious, let's take a minute and just define our term a little bit.

What does Jesus mean by anxious or anxiety?

That's a word that gets tossed around all over the place these days.

And we don't necessarily mean the same thing when we use that word.

But it's a command from Jesus, and so we need to know what Jesus means when he uses this word.

And that word that you have in your English translation of the Bible is anxious.

It's from the Greek word mem merimna-oh.

I knew I'd get there eventually.

See how I wasn't worried about it?

And that word is usually translated in your Bible as anxiety.

And it shows up several times in the New Testament, a lot of times here in Matthew 6, but also in places like Matthew 10, where Jesus says, When they deliver you over, do not be anxious about how to speak or what you're to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

Same word.

Or in places like Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things.

It shows up in 1 Corinthians chapter 7.

1 Corinthians 7 · chapter mention

The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, but the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife.

Apparently, 1 Corinthians was written on February 13th.

A couple of times, a couple of times this Greek word gets translated differently than anxious.

Like in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 25, there the ESV translates it as care, have the same care for one another.

1 Corinthians 12:25

Or in Philippians chapter 2, verse 20, it's translated as concern.

Philippians 2:20

I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.

So we can already tell that this word has something to do with an intense preoccupation, focus, concentration, devoting your thoughts and your efforts and your energies towards something.

But when it's put into the context of your general welfare, or your circumstances, or these myriad possible futures that await you, that word brings on the meaning, this connotation that we would naturally call anxiety.

A kind of preoccupation and focus on all of the possible outcomes that consume our thoughts.

Now, nonetheless, we still use the word anxiety in a lot of different and frankly imprecise ways when we speak.

So let me start by telling you what anxiety, at least in Matthew chapter 6, does not mean.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

Anxiety is not the same thing as prudence.

It is not anxiety for you to consider what the future holds and act accordingly.

The Bible doesn't call that anxiety, it calls that wisdom.

So it's not anxiety if you are surveying the future and trying to predict what's going to happen and apply biblical wisdom to it and make plans.

That's not anxiety.

Jesus is not here condemning 401ks for the sake of 401ks.

That's not what he's doing.

So it's not prudence.

Anxiety also isn't grief.

Christians have emotions.

We react to the difficult circumstances of life emotionally.

Even Jesus, in his human nature, had emotions.

In Luke chapter 12, verse 50, Jesus can say, How great is my distress, with reference to the baptism he is about to undergo, by which he means his passion and his crucifixion.

Luke 12:50

That is, I think we would all agree, an incredibly troubling experience to go through, and it's appropriate and natural to be troubled by that, to be grieved over it.

That's not anxiety, that's grief.

Some people today, when they use the word anxiety, they're talking about panic attacks.

They're talking about an acute physiological response to a situation.

I can't breathe, I'm dizzy, my heart's racing.

Well, that's not what the Bible is talking about either.

When the Bible is talking about anxiety, it is talking about a trust issue.

Anxiety is an intense, consuming preoccupation with your circumstances and all of the potential negative outcomes that are looming in your future, which ultimately stem from a distrust of God.

That's what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 6.

It is being so fixated on all the possible ways that your life could go wrong if you don't take some sort of immediate action to fix it in your own power at the complete negation of what God has said and what God will do.

Now I want to be as clear as I can be here.

Certainly there may be elements of our prudence and elements of our distress and elements of our grief and even elements of our panic attacks that are directly related to anxiety, that are directly the outflow of this relational mistrust in God's providential sovereign care, but they're not strictly speaking synonyms, and I want to hit the root cause because that's what Jesus is doing.

I mean, yeah, maybe my concern, my distress, my physiological reactions can be born out of a distrust of God, but we don't want to confuse causes and effects.

What Jesus is talking about in Matthew 6, what the Bible is talking about when it says anxiety, it's talking about your trusting or not trusting God to care for you.

So I want you not to think about anxiety as a clinical issue, as a diagnosis.

I want you to think of anxiety as a relational issue.

Do I believe that God will take care of me in the best way possible?

And once you do that, the command, do not be anxious, starts to make a little more sense.

Do not be anxious.

That is the command.

And some might ask, okay, Alex, if it's a command, is anxiety a sin?

Well, listen, I'm not the best theologian on the planet.

I'm not even the most mediocre theologian on the planet.

On my best days, with enough coffee, I can sometimes glimpse mediocrity in the distance.

But even I know that if Jesus tells you not to do something, and you do it, the Bible calls that sin.

But do not worry.

Because Jesus came specifically to save sinners.

And he came not to puff up the confident, but to comfort the fearful.

This is your savior.

And so as I begin to talk about this, I want to join with the words of John Piper, who's writing on this topic, who says, I hope the anxious person doesn't hear me say, yes, it's a sin, and respond, Well, thanks.

That's no help.

It is a help.

Because I am joining you in it.

There is no human being on the planet besides Jesus who doesn't struggle with anxiety.

All of us are flawed in our faith.

If we were perfect in our faith, we would be anxiety free.

And the more we mature in faith, the more anxiety free we are.

But I don't think in this life there has ever been a person who, when faced with some new threat, some new danger, some new difficulty, doesn't have anxiety pop up in their life, and then, like the psalmist says, when I'm afraid, I put my trust in you.

Amen.

I agree with all of what John Piper just said.

We are going to be anxious.

But Jesus says we don't have to be.

The antidote to anxiety is trust.

And that's why immediately after Jesus gives us command, do not be anxious.

He gives us four reasons why we can trust God in our anxiety that will deal directly with our anxiety, with our fears, with our lack of faith.

And every one of those reasons is found not in us, not in you and not in me, but in the God who saved us.

And the character of our Heavenly Father.

First, we don't have to be anxious because God's concern gives us encouragement.

The first response to anxiety is to trust in God's compassionate concern.

Look at me at verse 26.

Jesus says, look at the birds of the air.

They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they?

Jesus is the absolute, reigning, uncontested champion of the rhetorical question.

And perhaps nowhere in the whole Bible is that more clearly shown than in Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

Four times in this passage, we're going to look at Jesus is going to use a rhetorical question to make a point.

He used one even simply introducing the command.

In verse 25, he gave us a rhetorical question: is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

As if to say, hey, you already know.

You already know about this material stuff.

Anxiety about this material stuff is inappropriate because there's more important things in life than this material stuff.

He just introduces the topic with a rhetorical question.

But here Jesus uses that rhetorical question to make a point a point about the character of God.

Specifically, a point about the unwavering compassion and concern that God has for his children.

It is as if Jesus is saying, you already know the answer to this question, but have you considered what the answer to this question reveals about God?

If your father feeds the birds, then why wouldn't he feed you?

Now, have you ever asked yourself why birds?

I mean, of all the ways Jesus could have made his point, why does he use birds for this illustration?

It's because they're insignificant.

I mean, they are.

No offense to all the ornithologists in the room, but birds are pretty insignificant.

Even in Jesus' time, birds were insignificant.

I mean, seriously, who cares about birds?

Now, bulls, rams, hey, that's livestock, Jesus.

I'm in, you got my attention.

That's food.

I care about food.

Right?

Bears, lions, those are dangerous predators.

I cared about those, God.

When they show up, I care.

Fish?

Hey, all of Jesus' audience would have cared about fish.

He's preaching probably right next to the Sea of Galilee.

But most of these people were involved in fish.

That's how Peter and Andrew and James and John and the whole Zebedee family.

That's probably how every person on the hillside made their living.

Fish were important.

That was industry, but who cares about birds?

They're insignificant.

And that's the point.

And you probably already knew this.

Let me ask you.

How many bears did you see while driving into church this evening?

Probably none.

I assume the answer is none.

I assume you saw no bears.

But I bet you would have remembered if you saw a bear, right?

If there was one just traipsing down Braddock Road, you'd probably be like, oh, black bear.

Okay.

I'm gonna lock that in the back of my brain.

Right?

How many cows did you see on the way in?

You'd have remembered.

Maybe not in Texas, but you had here.

How many lions did you see?

You'd have remembered.

Now let me ask you, how many birds did you see today?

Any?

Who knows?

Who knows how many birds you saw?

Pigeons and crows and chicks and ducks and geese all scurrying around.

Nobody pays any attention to birds.

But God does.

God knows exactly how many birds you saw on the way into church tonight.

He pays attention, and that's the point.

In fact, Jesus goes to birds.

There is go-to illustration when he wants to make one point to the audience.

God cares about you.

Matthew 10, 29.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

And yet not one of them falls to the ground outside of your father's care?

Just think about that.

It takes 200 birds to make a buck.

And Jesus says, not a single one of them falls out of the sky without your heavenly father's notice.

Do you really think that God cares less about birds than you?

I mean, if he's gonna provide seed and crumbs and worms to all of the insignificant birds that are hopping and flapping and skipping around this world so that they are going to live, is he gonna fail to remember your needs?

Is he gonna forget your rent check?

Of course not.

Do you believe, even for one second, that God isn't intimately and perfectly aware of every one of your needs?

And frankly, better aware of them than you are.

And he's making a very powerful point here.

Those birds don't survive through worrying.

They don't farm, they fly.

You've never met a pigeon with a 401k.

You've never seen a duck that had a Scrooge McDuck like, you know, vault filled with breadcrumbs that he would swim in.

And more importantly, you've never not one time heard of a bird that was anxious about where its next meal was going to come from.

Well, of course, birds aren't lazy.

I mean, literally, the most famous proverb of all time is about early birds getting worms.

So birds aren't lazy, they're not loafing around, they're not goofing off, but they aren't worried.

They're not consumed with anxiety.

Because God, the everlasting God who is enthroned in all majesty and glory from before the creation of the earth, the same God who keeps planets spinning in their orbits, who makes nations rise and nations fall, that same God sees every single hummingbird, and he sees you too.

Anxiety is trying to tell you a very subtle lie.

Whether consciously or unconsciously, whether you realize it or not, anxiety tries to tell you that you are all alone in this world.

Nobody sees you, nobody cares, and no one is going to help you.

And if you don't dedicate your life to building up the biggest fortress of financial or emotional protection, you will disappear.

And Jesus says that is absolutely not true.

God sees you and God cares.

So the next time that you are feeling as if no one cares, that you are neglected, that you are alone, that no one is ever even interested in hearing what's going through your heart, you can look at all the fat, happy birds flying around and remember God cares.

God knows every single one of my thoughts, and he knows them better than I do.

And that should be an incredibly encouraging reality to know that God is intimately and personally aware of you, that he knows even better than you know all the things that concern you.

There's not a tweet that you've read that escapes God's omniscience.

There's not some potential problem that's looming on your horizon that has occurred to you but catches God unaware.

Not a one.

But more importantly, God doesn't just know your problems and know your fears and know your worries.

He cares about you.

He is with you in those moments, not as a passive observer, but as a father.

So in the face of fear or doubt or worry, you can find encouragement in the knowledge that God, your heavenly Father, has fixed his eyes on you with love.

So first Jesus says, in the face of anxiety, when you feel afraid, trust that God cares for you.

Secondly, Jesus tells us, in the face of anxiety, you can trust in God's sovereignty.

God's sovereignty gives us confidence.

Looking at verse 27.

And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?

Again, rhetorical question.

Human beings are absolutely obsessed with death.

We think about it constantly.

In fact, we have an entire holiday dedicated to it every October.

And fun-size Snickers bars aside, our obsession with death isn't a joyful one.

It's a fearful one.

We are afraid of dying.

We are terrified of dying.

How anxious are we about dying, you may ask?

Well, we will shut down the economy over it and wear masks and sit six feet apart and completely transform our lives because we're afraid of dying.

We'll spend hours on a treadmill, some of you will.

We'll cut out dairy and gluten and carbs and sugars and fat and flavor from our diets.

We will install seat belts and helmets and bumpers and elbow pads and knee pads and shin guards on our bouncy houses at the kids' birthday party.

Seriously, people are afraid of dying.

We really sincerely are.

The Greek philosopher Epicurus wrote, It's possible to provide security against other ills.

But as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls.

That's true.

And yet, nonetheless, it is possible to live your life without constantly manning the ramparts, consumed with anxiety about fear of death.

It does not have to be the single and solitary preoccupation of your thoughts and mind and fears and energy and efforts.

Again, Jesus is asking a rhetorical question to make a point.

Can you point to a single person who has added a single hour to their span of life by being anxious, by worrying?

No, you cannot.

Being obsessively concerned with prolonging your life has no actual power to prolong your life.

Have you ever heard of James F.

Fix, 2X?

He's the guy who's famous for launching the modern fitness craze of jogging.

He wrote a best-selling book called Uncreatively, The Complete Book of Running.

He gave up smoking, he ate healthy, he went on television and radio shows to preach the gospel of longer life from exercise.

He died at 52 from a heart attack while jogging.

You can't be more committed than that guy.

Now, on the other hand, have you ever heard of Jean Calmet?

She is the Guinness Book of World Records oldest recorded living person.

She was a French woman who smoked a cigarette every night after dinner and drank a glass of wine.

According to our doctor, she never took any medicine or vitamins apart from an occasional aspirin for a headache.

She lived to the ripe old age of 122 years and 164 days.

Anxiety didn't make the difference.

You know why?

Because God is sovereign over your days.

He decides how long you will live, and worry isn't going to make that time one second shorter or one second longer.

This is what God tells Moses in Deuteronomy 32.

See not that I am He.

There is no God but me.

I bring death and I give life.

I wound and I heal.

No one can rescue anyone from my hand.

Or Psalm 139, verse 16, all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.

Psalms 139:16

Or Job 14, 5, since man's days are determined, and the number of his months depend on you.

Do those verses make you fearful or faithful?

I think there's a great relief that is found in the knowledge that God is perfectly in control over every second of my life.

So whether I get hit by a bus tomorrow, or I get hit by a bus 80 years from tomorrow, it's actually outside of my control.

It should be a liberating truth to behold.

Charles Spurgeon, reflecting on this great reality, writes, We are immortal until our work is done.

And amidst infectious or contagious diseases, if we're called to go there, we may sit as easily as though in balmy air.

It is not ours to preserve our life by neglecting our duty.

It is better to die in service than live in idleness.

Better to glorify God and depart than rot above ground neglecting what He would have us do.

And unto God belong the issues from death.

We may therefore go without temerity into any danger where duty calls us.

Amen.

Now, of course, this does not mean that Christians live reckless, cavalier lives.

I think we can all agree, lowest possible hanging fruit, that no Christian wants your life to be described as devil may care.

That seems like a pretty easy thing to agree, right?

If that's you, if you're that kind of knucklehead that just sprints through life headfirst without a care, not paying any attention to anything, then read the book of Proverbs and grow up.

Christians are not supposed to be reckless.

Buckle your seat belts on the drive home.

But equally foolish is the hunkered down, bunker version of life that pretends as if anxious fear about all the potential dangers that are out there will somehow extend your life.

If that is you, then read the book of Ecclesiastes and grow up.

And embrace the gift of life that God has given you for every second he shares it with you.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, if by faith he has united you to his own death and resurrection, then death no longer has a sting for you.

You need not wish for it.

You need not try to accelerate it, but you need not fear it either.

The Christian should not be reckless.

But we should absolutely be fearless.

God is sovereign over your life and your death.

So do not be anxious, dear Christian.

You can face whatever lies before you, knowing that the worst thing that can happen to you is death.

And so the worst case scenario for whatever you are facing will end up being the best day of your life.

I mean, listen, life is filled with things that cause anxiety and fear.

But there is no situation that you will ever face, no moment more dreadful, no circumstance more perilous than for you to stand before a holy, righteous, sovereign God condemned because of your sin.

And in your moment of greatest need and greatest danger and greatest peril, God Himself took on flesh.

The Father sent the Son to rescue you from everlasting punishment by dying on the cross in your place.

He has already tackled the biggest problem you have.

Do you think that the God who can rescue you from the fury of his own unbridled wrath will wimp out now?

Can he save for eternity but fall short for tomorrow?

Is his grace sufficient for salvation but not finals week, or final notices, or finding a spouse?

If the sovereign shepherd walks with you through the valley of the shadow of death, then you need not fear the flickering darkness of daily difficulties.

First Jesus says, in the face of anxiety, trust that God cares for you and find encouragement.

Trust that God is sovereign over your life and find confidence.

Thirdly, trust in God's generosity to give you contentment.

We're looking now at verses 28 through 30.

And why are you anxious about clothing?

Consider the lilies of the field, 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.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the ocean, uh into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

The fourth rhetorical question drives home another point, the point of God's overwhelming generosity.

And at first glance, this illustration about the flowers, it seems like it's making the exact same illustration about the birds.

But there is a different nuance here.

Jesus is making a little bit different point.

I mean, think back to the birds.

What was significant about the birds?

That they're insignificant.

That was the point.

You know, if God even cares about the birds, of course he'll care about you.

But that's not what Jesus is emphasizing about the flowers.

Yes, they are temporary, but he's also emphasizing their beauty.

They don't work, they don't sew, they don't weave with looms, they don't have Parisian fashion shows, and yet the richest and wisest king that has ever walked the face of the planet in all of Israel's history on his very best day wasn't as magnificent as the flowers that God created this morning.

I mean, the warm radiance of a sunflower, the regal indigo of a Texas blue bonnet, the passionate red of a rose, God has painted a masterpiece in the fields all around the earth.

And all of our greatest human artists, the Van Goghs and Monet's and Renoirs and Bob Ross's, they only hinted at the magnificence that God has poured out on his creation.

And yet this beauty is poured out on flowers that don't even last.

Jesus says they're here today, and tomorrow they're tossed into the oven as fuel for the fire, and yet God is still pouring out unspeakable, unfathomable beauty on them.

You and I, human beings, we don't generally speaking reserve our best work for things that come and go.

You and I, we save our best work for things that have lasting significance.

That's what we do.

If I were to ask you after the service, I were to say, hey, I heard you're an artist, and then you kind of said, wow, and I go, would you please paint a portrait for us?

And then I told you that tomorrow we are gonna have a foundry bonfire and s'mores party, and I want to throw it on the fire as kindling.

You might, out of deference to me, paint a portrait, but I don't think it's gonna be your best work.

Stick figures, smiley faces, and that's okay.

But if I were to stop you after the service and I go, hi, I would really like you to paint a portrait.

We want to hang it in the lobby.

We want it to greet all of the visitors when they come in.

We want it to hang here for as long as the church stands.

We've been here for 50 plus years.

If God gives us 50 more, we want your portrait to be hanging to greet everyone you see.

I bet when you went home you would work a little harder, right?

Now consider that principle in light of what Jesus just said about these flowers.

God fashions each and every petal of every single flower in this world with almost unimaginable beauty, and it only lasts a few days.

Do you really think that he is not going to show greater concern, greater generosity towards a human being that he made in his image and likeness to live forever?

And more than that, not just a human being in his image and likeness, but a son or a daughter that his son has redeemed by the blood of his cross, do you really think that he's not going to show all of his kindness to you?

Do you have such little regard for the generosity of your heavenly father that you think he's not going to meet a basic need like clothing in a way that demonstrates his glory through you, who are living not just for a day, but for eternity?

Jesus is not here promising that his disciples will always have the fanciest clothes.

He's not saying that.

You might not have Burberry bags or Gucci shoes or Versace outfits.

Or in the Texas version of this sermon, car heart jackets, Lucesi boots, and Stets and hats.

Yeah, maybe not.

But you know what he is saying?

That your Heavenly Father is overwhelmingly generous with his provision to his children.

You might not have the biggest house or the fastest car or the fattest wallet or the slimmest torso.

But you have absolutely everything you need.

God is super abundantly generous to his children.

And it's not because we work so hard at it.

It's because it's not because we have anxiously, fearfully stressed out about our needs.

Because he is a gracious.

And generous father.

Even to his children of little faith.

See that word there?

O you of little faith.

Five times in the New Testament that term of address is used.

Five times.

It's so familiar, we we flip back into King James Version mode to hear it.

All five times Jesus is speaking those words to his disciples, to those who follow him, to his people.

And whether it's in the midst of a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee or the lack of bread before a hungry crowd, or just the simple everyday need of daily clothing, Jesus gently chides them.

Trust in God just a little more.

Just trust a little more.

Anxiety emerges out of a faith that needs to grow bigger.

When we believe that God isn't concerned about us, anxiety emerges.

We feel alone.

When we don't believe that God is actually in control over our days, anxiety emerges.

When we don't believe that God will generously provide us with all the things that we need, like clothes, anxiety emerges.

Out of a faith that needs to grow bigger.

Trust Him just a little more.

And lastly, Jesus says, Anxiety emerges, it sprouts when we don't trust in God's wisdom.

God's wisdom gives us purpose.

Let's look at the concluding verses of chapter 6, beginning in verse 31.

Therefore, do not be anxious, 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.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow.

For tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

In this last point, Jesus doesn't use a rhetorical question.

He uses a contrast.

He puts two things next to each other so you can see how different they're supposed to be.

He contrasts the frantic anxiety of the Gentiles against the trusting life of his disciples.

I mean, it makes a lot of sense for those people who don't know God to be anxious.

It makes a lot of sense for them to hurry and scurry and bustle about, desperately trying to secure enough food or enough clothes or enough money so that they can feel comfortable in life because they don't know any other option.

All they know is that it's negative two degrees outside and they're freezing.

Life is hard and it is dangerous and it is unpredictable.

Diseases and drought and danger seemingly pop up out of nowhere, and there exists no recourse for the unbeliever apart from trying to assuage their fear and anxieties by their constant effort, by their constant anxiety and preoccupation with the things of this world.

Even in the Gentiles of Jesus' day, there was no guarantee that their idolatrous deities would fix their problems because Zeus wasn't omniscient.

Athena wasn't omnibenevolent.

Poseidon did not have a father's longing heart for his children's well-being.

They didn't really care that much.

But Jesus doesn't want his disciples to be like the Gentiles.

He doesn't want you to be like that.

Because we have a different father.

We have a father that knows the end from the beginning.

A father who sees every one of our needs and knows even better than we do how best to meet that need in this moment.

And so that means in the midst of your greatest fears and concerns and anxieties and worries, you can trust in God's wisdom.

You can trust that his purpose for your life is better than pursuing the things of this world.

His calling to us is better than the anxious life of fear that belongs to an unbelieving world.

And so instead of being consumed with fear or worry because you're not going to get your basic needs met, we can trust that God has that under control.

God will take care of all of your needs for every second that he's going to keep you on this world.

And so for every one of those seconds that he keeps you here, you can instead pursue with unbridled fury all of his kingdom and his righteousness and trust that he'll take care of the rest.

You don't have to preoccupy yourself with food or clothing or finals week or what's going to happen tomorrow or the next day.

You don't have to stress out about diagnoses or actuarial tables.

You don't have to be consumed with those things.

Because you trust a God that's bigger than them.

And that's the heart of verse 33.

And I know for a lot of us, Matthew chapter 6, verse 33 was one of our first memory verses in Sunday school.

Matthew 6:33

I know my Awana daughters have got it on lock, just like a lot of you do.

But let me urge you not to let its familiarity rob you of its depth and of its power.

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

And all these things will be added to you.

Charles Quarles, who's a theologian, comments on this passage one must carefully examine the terms.

Indeed, no word is superfluous or ambiguous in this statement.

The verb seek means to devote serious effort to realizing your objective.

First, indicates that these spiritual and heavenly things must be the believer's highest priorities.

His kingdom reminds us that it is both the privilege and the duty of his subjects, of being his subjects that we love.

And his righteousness confirms that we pursue submission to God's rule.

This means that we have the freedom to chart a very different course through this world than our neighbors.

Because we trust that God will superintend our lives, exercising personal, sovereign, generous care for us.

A care that might not always take the path that we desired or the path that we hoped, but we know we'll always work together for our good and his glory.

Instead of being anxiously preoccupied with the things of this life, we can wholeheartedly pursue the things of eternal life.

That is the freedom that comes with laying down anxiety.

I want you to understand something.

If you live your life, not being consumed with your material needs or your financial stability or the next promotion or the next diagnosis, and not even the dates that are on your tombstone, you are going to look crazy to the world.

I mean, you will be a crazy person.

Your boss is going to wonder how can you simultaneously be such a hard worker and unconsumed by career goals?

How can that be true?

Your neighbors are going to marvel at how you can live generously with your resources without becoming fearful about the economy or the next election that's going to rob us of everything.

They won't understand how you can simultaneously have those perspectives.

Your family is not going to understand how you can fill every day with fervent service to God and to others, even as you're receiving a prognosis from your doctor that sounds like a death sentence.

They won't understand how you can keep those things together in your brain.

And you should know that anxiety is going to use that peer pressure in your heart.

It will.

Sanctification just doesn't work that way.

Praise God, He can marvelously deliver in miraculous ways from a host of things, but anxiety just doesn't work like that.

Nonetheless, we can and we should, by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, pursue sanctification in this regard.

We can and we should try to obey Jesus' command to not be anxious.

If you believe as I do, that the same Jesus who can deliver the angry person that's being chastised by Matthew 5.21, and the lustful person that's being condemned by Matthew 5.28, if it's the same Jesus who rescues the liars of Matthew 5.33 and the vengeful of Matthew 5.43, is this same Jesus not sufficient to sanctify the fearful?

Is he impotent when it comes to anxiety?

Of course not.

It is the same hope, the same promise, the same power that sanctifies us through life that is at work in the fearful just as much as it is from every other sin that we have been delivered from.

And so it is true in you.

So if you want to lay down anxiety and put aside fear, you have to begin by acknowledging that the root of anxiety, the root from which it springs, is a mistrust of God's character and God's promises and God's purpose and God's providence.

Understand that's where it's coming from.

It is very natural for the disciples in the boat to fear the wind and the waves.

That's not an unreasonable response to wind and waves.

But they feared it because they forgot who was riding in the boat with them.

When you feel fear and you feel anxiety, remember who is with you.

And then ask God to do his good work in your heart to replace anxiety and fear with trust and confidence in God.

And this is a work he will do for his children.

He will do this work in your life.

That's not to say that you will attain perfection in this life.

Of course we won't.

But by God's grace and God's power, we can grow in our faith and grow in our trust and grow in our confidence and grow in our understanding of who God is and what he's promised to do for us.

And the Spirit will accomplish this work through his word.

Faith, if that is the antidote to anxiety, comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.

So do you want a practical, take-home response to anxiety and fear today?

It sounds like a cliche.

Read your Bible.

Listen to God over and over and over reveal who He is to you and trust that He is how He reveals Himself.

If you are fearful and anxious and afraid, the answer will never be bigger barns or better jobs or more masks or better candidates or another spouse.

It'll never be those things.

The answer will be running to Christ and hearing from his word how and who he is.

And as we grow deeper in our understanding of his benevolent, beneficial, and sufficient care for us, of his omnipotent, omniscient wisdom, then as the hymn says, the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

It is a work that God will do in the lives of his children.

Jesus says, do not be anxious.

But don't hear harshness in his command.

Rather, hear compassion.

This command is not a burden to be borne, but a burden to be lifted.

This is the invitation to embrace the freedom that comes with laying down fear and laying down anxiety and laying down worry at the foot of the cross and knowing that he's big enough for it.

And you will find that you can stretch your legs much farther in the Christian life when you're not carrying that on your back.

As the apostle Paul said to the church in Philippi, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, with prayer and supplication and thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

And then he says, the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So do not let your days be filled with anxiety about tomorrow.

Tomorrow will take care of itself, Jesus says.

Focus instead on today and use it to pursue God's kingdom and righteousness.

Let's pray.

As a God who is sovereign and sufficient.

All too often our lives feel overwhelmed.

We don't know what the future holds.

It's easy to become fearful and afraid.

It's easy to become consumed with worry.

So, God, we ask by the power of your Spirit that you would work in our hearts.

Cause us to believe.

Cause us to trust.

Cause us to grow deeper in our love for you.

I pray, God, if there's anyone here who does not know you as Father, that you will open their eyes to hear the truth and believe it.

And so find the unmatchless gift that is freedom in Christ.

I pray all these things in the name of Jesus who is the Christ.

Amen.

And now for a parting word from Pastor Jesse Johnson.

Thanks for joining us today.

If you're in the Washington, D.C.

area, I would love to meet you personally at Emmanuel Bible Church.

Our service times and other church information is on our website at ibc.church.

If you want information about the Master Seminary and their Washington, D.C.

location, go to tms.edu.

I hope this resource has been an encouragement to you and it helps you seek the Lord daily, serve others around you, and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with boldness.

May the Lord bless you.