Unreasonable Worry

Good morning, church. Let's open up our Bible to Matthew 6. As we continue to preach through the Sermon of the Mount. Today we're in Matthew 6, verses 25 to 34. It's a beautiful passage.

Matthew 6:25–34

Of course, as always, if you are in need of a Bible and would like to use one and keep one, feel free to raise your hand and one of our members would be happy to give you a hard copy.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, you are a good, good Father to those of us who were spiritual orphans, left alone, needing to fend for ourselves.

But through the power of the cross, through the giving of your Son, you have adopted us into your family.

So that now, though we were once poor, we are now infinitely rich in you.

And I pray through the preaching, through the reading of your Word, you would convince us once again of that fact.

Of how rich we are in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, that you will take good care of us.

Help us to have faith, grow our faith today.

For your glory and for our good.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

To honor the reading of God's Word, won't you stand if you are able.

It's Matthew 6, verses 25 to 34.

Matthew 6:25–34

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.

It 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, O 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 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.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

If you've been following the news, you know that there's been a surprising topic of conversation this past year.

One that seems like a very innocuous thing, but has actually struck fear into the hearts of many Americans.

And that's egg prices.

Because of various factors like inflation or the bird flu, we have seen an all-time high in egg prices at our local supermarkets this past year,

with an all-time high this coming this past March at $6.23 for just a dozen eggs.

That is an 80% increase from the prices that we saw in March of 2024, and a whopping 285% increase compared to the prices two years ago.

It's no wonder, then, that prices have notoriously become a symbol of a lot of American insecurity, strife, anxiety about our money.

Okay, well, maybe no more omelets for breakfast for a bit.

But that's not the only expense that has gone up.

According to a report by JPMorgan Chase, right now, housing affordability is at its historic low.

Since the year 2000 to now, the median household income has roughly doubled, but the median home price has tripled,

meaning that housing costs are increasing more and more and more each and every year,

but our income levels aren't keeping up with that cost.

And that gap between our income levels and the housing costs are just increasing more and more each and every year.

I hope this doesn't spark a mass exodus away from the greater Boston area,

but you guys know this, living in Boston is very expensive.

Boston's living expenses like rent and groceries are twice the national average.

And in fact, in 2024, according to Nomeo's Cost of Living Index survey,

Boston ranked fifth most expensive to live in, not just in America, but in the entire world,

behind Geneva, Zurich, New York City, and San Francisco.

So, if you're anything like me, you're probably squirming a little bit in your seats,

feeling nervous, feeling a little depressed as you hear me rattle off this news.

We feel the constant bills and the increased cost of living squeezing in on us, don't we?

The landlord is asking for more money next year.

The car just broke down.

The daycare rate just went up.

And even the eggs are getting so expensive.

Even if you're blessed not to have to worry about your next meal,

we all worry about something, don't we?

Whether it's your marriage, your relationships, your health,

or maybe it's just the overall fear of death, which undergirds all the other fears.

To all our anxiety, Jesus speaks peace to the raging storm within us.

When he says three whole times in our passage today,

do not be anxious.

And he reasons with us.

He gives us four different reasons today about why we shouldn't worry.

Because worry is unspiritual.

It is unnecessary, unproductive, and unfaithful.

But the most important reason of all why we shouldn't worry is because

we have a Heavenly Father who promised to take care of us.

That's the main point of my sermon today.

Jesus opens our passage today with the word,

therefore, logically connecting this passage with the one that we heard from last week.

Because in that passage, Jesus addresses a love of money for those who had it

and are storing it away in earthly places where moth and rust do destroy.

But in our passage today, which is almost like a part two,

Jesus addresses the same issue, a love and trust of money,

but only in a different scenario for those who don't have money.

For there is an organic connection between greed and anxiety.

Because the root issue ultimately is the same.

It's a love and a trust, an idolatry of money,

just appears differently under different lights, under different circumstances.

They're simply two sides of the same coin.

And we easily flip back from greed to anxiety very quickly.

In their hearts, the homeless can be just as greedy as the Fortune 500 CEO.

But the opposite is just as true.

The CEO can be anxious over his money just like the homeless.

Because even the wealthy are not immune from anxiety.

You might expect their crazy high net worth or their mansion in Hollywood Hills

to give them some kind of sense of security.

But have you ever noticed that sometimes it's really the richest in this world

that are actually oddly most anxious about their money?

Psychologists have even coined this term for it, calling it loss aversion,

which basically means that the more you have, the more you feel that you can lose.

So it leads not to greater security, but to greater anxiety.

Hollywood star actor Jim Carrey once said,

I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything that they would want to do

so that they can see that it's not the answer.

If you are anxious today about your money, about your finances,

getting rich and famous is not the simple answer to get rid of our anxiety.

Instead, Jesus holds out for us a better way.

For us not to be anxious.

And we'll see how Jesus reasons with us.

So let's get into the first reason that worry is unspiritual.

Jesus says in verse 25,

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

What does he mean by this?

Literally, the day after, I kid you not,

the day after we moved into our new home,

Christine and I, we found in our finished basement,

in the center of our hallway, about a half inch of water.

And after getting some help, getting some plumbers to come over,

we identified that it was from this clogged sewage pipe

in this tiny unfinished side room that we barely even use today.

Though that water was clear on our basement water,

we realized that was sewage water.

And for a long, long time, until the issue was resolved,

my entire life was in that little room.

Because that's all that I thought about.

I forgot about all the other problemless, livable space that I had in my room

because my life, all of my thinking belonged into that tiny side.

As Pastor Marshall Siegel shared a similar story,

and he preached,

anxiety can make it seem like one worry is our whole life.

The difficult relationship is our life.

The long jaw search is our life.

The wait for a spouse is our life.

The battle with chronic pain or illness is our life.

But it's not.

Isn't life more than whatever you're most worried about right now?

There even might be times in your life

where the budget is super tight,

and you're really anxious about that next meal.

But even then,

when it feels like your next meal is your entire life,

life is more than food and clothing.

In other words,

when we excessively worry about these things,

we miss out,

miss out on the more in life.

Universally,

humans have pondered philosophical questions like,

what is the meaning of life?

Why am I here on Earth?

And there have been lots of different answers,

lots of different stats at that question.

Take Charles Darwin,

the scientist who developed the pivotal theory of evolution,

and hear his answer,

his take on this.

That everything about us,

everything we do,

is only about surviving to procreate,

to pass down our genes to the next generation.

That's it.

Just physical survival.

When we excessively worry,

we think and we operate like Darwin.

We reduce life only down to physical survival.

But we know,

as children of God,

with people who have the Spirit of God living within us,

that there is more to life than just food and clothing.

For God's children,

our lives have deeper spiritual purposes,

like glorifying God,

enjoying our relationship with Him,

to live in the grace that He alone provides.

Worry shrinks our world down just to the physical,

making us forget about all the deeper,

spiritual,

eternal truths that give our life ultimate meaning.

So in that sense,

worry is unspiritual.

But while life is more than food,

at the same time,

Jesus doesn't mean that food and clothing aren't important.

The ultimate purpose of our lives is, yes, spiritual,

but at the same time,

Jesus is not agnostic,

who thinks that the spiritual is all that matters,

and the physical doesn't matter at all.

But He goes on to say that He is going to provide for us.

He doesn't say,

you should be content with starving,

with going cold,

but promises,

I'm going to take care of you.

So,

not only is worry unspiritual,

but worry is unnecessary.

What evidence does He show of that?

Well,

Jesus tells us to look up.

Observe the birds in the sky.

They neither sow,

nor reap,

nor gather into barns.

They literally live,

hand to beak.

But every day still,

with nothing in their bank accounts,

no rainy day fund,

our Heavenly Father feeds them,

day after day after day.

There are 50 billion birds

on this planet,

right here,

right now.

Can you imagine

the number of berries,

and acorns,

and insects

that are needed

to feed so many?

50 billion birds.

And yet,

for thousands upon thousands of years,

our Heavenly Father

has fed them

day after day after day.

Don't just look at the birds,

but look at all the earth.

See how the planet is teeming,

bursting with life.

Because there are not just

a hundred thousand,

not just a million,

but there are

8.7 million different animal species

that are on this planet

right now.

Our God is the source of life.

God is not a dull minimalist.

When He sets our creation up,

He sees,

and we see our full display

of His desire

and His ability

to sustain life.

And if the Lord

is sustaining

8.7 billion

different animal species,

and we are more important

than all of them,

based on what we know

from the creation narrative

of Genesis 1-3,

that we alone

are made in the

imago Dei,

the image of God,

then how will He not

also feed us,

protect us,

provide for us

as our Heavenly Father?

So look to the birds,

look to all the earth,

and see that worry

is unnecessary.

But when you observe

the birds,

it's an important fact

to see that it's not

that the Lord

supernaturally

sends His angels

to spoon-feed

each and every bird,

but the birds

actually have to go

out from their nests,

leave their trees,

and go scour

the land for food.

So in what sense

does our Heavenly Father

actually feed them?

It seems that Jesus

draws heavily from

Psalm 104,

which we read

for our call

to worship this morning,

where the psalmist

extols the Lord

as the sustainer

and provider

for all creation.

It's in His

sovereign providence

that He provides

everything that

these birds need

to live.

He grows the trees

to give them homes,

He plants the bush

to give them berries,

He causes the sun

to rise

to wake them up.

There are a million

things that need

to go right

for these birds

to be able to go out

and find food,

from the fine-tuning

of physical forces

like gravity,

down to the sustenance,

the sustaining

of their little,

tiny,

four-chambered hearts

to cause them

to beat.

So yes,

the birds need

to go out

and find their own food,

but it's only

because of the work

that the Lord

has done

can they do so.

In the same way,

our lives

are not a banquet

where every single

blessing is handed

down to us

on a silver clatter.

We wake up early,

we labor late,

we sweat

for that next paycheck,

yet how easy it is

for us to slip

into the illusion

that we need

to fend for ourselves,

that we're alone

in this world,

that we are

our ultimate providers,

so we fight

tooth and nail

anxiously

to secure

our own futures

because no one else

is looking out for us.

And then when

that paycheck

does come,

we think we did it,

we earned it,

but the Apostle Paul

asks in 1 Corinthians 4,

what do you have

that you did not receive?

If then you received it,

then why do you boast

as if you did not receive it?

What have you done

to earn your health,

friend?

Or your intellect?

Or all your financial

and educational privileges

that literally billions

on this planet

have no chance

of receiving?

even the very gift

of life,

have you earned

any of this?

So yes,

work hard

to put food

on your plates

and clothes

on your back,

but never think

it is done

by your strength alone.

For as John Piper said,

God is doing

10,000 things

in your life

right now,

and you might be aware

of only two

or three of them.

And if the Lord

is doing 10,000

more things

in your life

that you are not

aware of,

why do you worry?

If God is sustaining

8.7 billion

or million

different animal

species,

and he promises

to sustain you,

why do we worry?

If God

is not worried,

why do we worry?

If you are not

convinced

why we shouldn't

worry,

and also look out

to the fields,

see the lilies,

see how beautifully

they are clothed.

And while Jesus

is making a similar

point with the lilies,

compared to the bird,

he is actually making

a more emphatic

point of why

we shouldn't worry.

He does so

in three different ways.

First,

the humble flowers

of the field,

they are even

more transient

and seemingly

more insignificant

than the birds.

The average lily

blooms only

one to two weeks

out of the entire

calendar year,

so it is no wonder

that they are here

in the fields one day

and unapologetically

thrown into the oven

tomorrow.

Yet the Lord

adorns them

with incredible

beauty and care.

You know,

if you were to

direct an animated

movie,

if you were to

build the world

from scratch,

you just

wouldn't pay

that much

attention to

one small

part of the

background

and one

small tiny

scene.

But in the

abundant,

overflowing

care

and design

of our

good Heavenly

Father,

that's exactly

what He does.

Secondly,

Jesus says

that they don't

toil or spin.

And compared

to the birds,

they don't even

lift a single

finger.

and yet

they are

clothed

by God.

In the

ancient

Near East,

spinning was

often the

most time

consuming

chore in

the house,

requiring

hundreds upon

hundreds of

hours to

just generate

one single

garment.

In fact,

historical records

show that

women at the

home were

constantly

spinning thread

when they

weren't doing

other chores

or other

work.

The

lilies don't

do this.

And in

fact,

they don't

even do

anything.

They do

less work

than the

birds.

And yet,

God

beautifully

clothes them.

How much

more will

He sustain

you?

Thirdly,

He makes

the astounding

comment that

even Solomon

in all his

glory was

not fully

arrayed like

these.

Compared

to one of

the richest

men in

really all

of human

history,

a man

who had

a thousand

wives,

fourteen

hundred

chariots,

twelve

thousand

horses,

and earned

and generated

thirty

thousand pounds

of gold.

Every single

year,

the rough

equivalent

now is

one point

four billion

dollars a

year.

And yet,

Jesus declares

these common

lilies are

more beautifully

clothed.

This is

absolutely a

remarkable

flex by

God.

my case

in point,

in prepping

for the

sermon,

I found

out that

there was

a t-shirt

that sold

for

four hundred

thousand

dollars.

I immediately

got upset.

And so I

looked it up

and I got

even more

upset

because it

looks like

a regular

black t-shirt

with some

diamonds,

of course,

thrown on it.

But if you

wore that

four hundred

thousand dollar

t-shirt and

walked by me

in the street,

I wouldn't even

bat an eye

at you.

There is no

way that even

this four hundred

thousand dollar

t-shirt could

compare to the

beauty of the

common lily.

because if you

zoom,

you zoom into

that shirt,

you're going to

see still,

lifeless threads

of cotton.

If you zoom

into the

lily,

you'll see the

amazing design

of our

Heavenly

Father.

We see

its dynamic

cells

bustling

with activity,

chloroplasts

capturing sunlight,

converting it

to energy,

mitochondria,

the powerhouse

of the cell,

empowering the

processes of

life,

nutrients

being shuttled

around by

complex networks

of membranes.

Look inside

the nucleus

and you'll

find in its

DNA 36,000

protein encoding

genes.

in a code

so complex

and beautiful

that we're

only just

beginning to

start to

understand it.

Do you know

that the lily

is famous

among scientists

for having

one of the

largest genomes

out of any

plant?

In fact,

it's actually

30 times

longer than

the human

genome.

If you were

to stretch out

the DNA

of a single

cell from

end to end

while a

single human

cell would

contain six

feet of

DNA,

which is

incredible.

We're talking

about a

microscopic cell.

If you stretch

out the

instructions of

life,

reach out to

six feet.

But a

cell from a

lily contains

almost 200

feet of

DNA,

almost half

of a football

field.

No room

or laboratory

could ever

replicate this

kind of living

pathos.

truth.

With all

our degrees,

all our

money,

all our

human intellect,

this is

beyond the

best that

humans could

ever generate.

So,

why worry?

If the

Lord feeds

billions of

birds and

He intricately

clothes the

lilies,

if He says

that He will

provide for

you just as

He provided

for them,

worry is

unnecessary.

In between

these examples,

we find our

third reason of

why we

shouldn't worry

because He

asks in

verse 24,

which of

you by being

anxious can

add a

single hour

to His

span of

life?

Jesus is

saying that

worry is

unproductive.

It doesn't

accomplish a

single thing.

Because even

before creation

began, the

Lord knew the

precise day

and time

that He

would enter

this world.

And He

knows the

precise day

and time

that He

would leave

it for a

better one.

No amount

of worry can

lengthen our

lives, even

just for an

hour, He

says.

Therefore,

knowing worrying

is one of the

most unproductive

things that we

can do.

We should

then channel

that anxious

energy instead

through prayer,

as the

Apostle Paul

exhorts us in

Philippians 4,

when he says,

do not be

anxious, which

is the exact

same phrase in

the Greek as

we find in

our passage

today.

Do not be

anxious about

anything, but

in everything, by

prayer and

supplication, with

thanksgiving, let

your requests be

made known to

God.

I'm reminded of

something from

Pastor Mark

Detter, who

commented that the

older he gets, the

more convinced he

is that his

daily time of

prayer is the

most important

time of his

day.

Because that's

the time he's

most certain is

least wasted.

Other things he

might do in

pastoral ministry

might come to

not, but that

time in prayer is

the most productive,

least wasted time

in his day.

And when we

pray, the peace

of God, as

Paul writes, the

peace of God

will guard our

hearts and our

minds.

The peace of

God, which

surpasses all

understanding, he

says, will guard

our hearts and

our minds.

In Christ Jesus,

our Lord.

So let's learn to

humble ourselves

before him,

casting our

burdens, throwing

our burdens onto

him.

Why?

Because he cares

for us.

Then skipping

ahead to the

end of the

passage, Jesus

urges his

disciples not

to worry about

tomorrow.

He says,

tomorrow will

be anxious for

itself, making

tomorrow grammatically

the subject, the

doer of the

action.

And this shift

is significant.

We're no longer

the doer of the

action, but Jesus

is inviting us to

step out of the

driver's seat,

let go of our

need for control,

and let tomorrow

drive itself.

Let tomorrow worry

about its own

anxieties.

For just as

Corrie ten Boom

has powerfully

stated, worry

does not

empty today,

worry does not

empty tomorrow

of its sorrow.

It empties

today of its

strength.

How unproductive

is worry.

Of course, Jesus

is not denigrating

all future

planning.

It's often good

and wise of us

to exercise the

sermon that God

has given us to

plan for the

future.

But once you set

a plan, why

worry?

The Lord has

promised us new

mercies for each

and every new

day.

tomorrow's

mercies will

rise to meet

tomorrow's

troubles.

Next week's

mercies will

approach and

conquer next

week's troubles.

worry not even

in the midst of

hardship because

all that it does

is zap you of

the strength that

you need today.

And we need all

the strength that

we can get,

don't we not,

because life is

hard and each

day is filled

with its own

trouble.

The rest of

this passage,

it strikes a

remarkably optimistic

tone, but this

verse is

important.

This verse 34

grounds us back to

real life, reminding

us that for

Christians, we are

not immune from

all trouble.

In fact, there

are those who do

struggle financially

and they lack

food and clothing

even to the point

of death.

But that doesn't

mean that Jesus

is being unfaithful

to his promises,

but that we can

throw this passage

all together.

Because the point

of what Jesus is

saying is not for

us to think that

will never suffer

or never even

die.

That would

stretch his promises

way too far.

But the point of

this passage is

for us to live

with the absolute

assurance that our

good Heavenly

Father will take

care of us.

That he, as we

just said, will

work all things

for our good.

God will not

live with a

childlike confidence

that we will not

go a day without

food unless the

Lord wills it.

That we will not

go cold unless the

Lord wills it.

That we will not

die a second sooner

than God wills it.

No amount of

worrying can change

any of that because

worry is unproductive.

We come to the

final reason of

why we shouldn't

worry because worry

is ultimately

unfaithful.

At the end of

verse 30, Jesus

gently rebukes his

disciples for worrying

for their little

faith.

When he addresses

them, oh you, oh

you of little

faith.

About five times

in the Gospels do

you find Jesus

gently rebuking his

disciples using the

same exact phrase.

You see, Jesus has

never, ever rebuked

his disciples for

their lack of

ability or

intellect or

resourcefulness or

preparedness.

But he has rebuked

them for their

little faith.

For their lack of

trust that God can

and will provide and

protect his

children.

even after they've

witnessed supernatural

miracle after miracle,

they've seen with

their own two eyes

Jesus turning water

into wine, feeding

5,000 plus with five

loaves and two fish,

and then doing it

again by feeding 4,000

plus with seven loaves

and a few fish.

Yet they doubted.

They questioned if

God can protect

and provide for

them.

Are we not in the

same boat, brothers

and sisters?

We do well to

believe that Jesus

Christ has provided

for us the spiritual

bread of his flesh,

the drink of his

blood, the clothing

of his righteousness.

But often when it

comes to actual

physical food and

clothing, we

struggle to believe.

That's exactly what

Martin Lloyd-Jones

observes when he

says, I once heard

a man use a phrase

which affected me

very deeply at the

time and still

does.

He said that the

trouble with many of

us Christians is

that we believe on

the Lord Jesus

Christ, but that we

do not believe him.

He meant that we

believe on him for

the salvation of

our souls, but we

do not believe

believe him when he

says such a thing

like this to us,

that God is going

to look after our

food and drink and

even our clothing.

How easy it is for

us to lack faith that

God will provide for

us.

If we lack faith,

we'll be like the

Gentiles.

As verse 32 goes,

for while the

Gentiles seek after

all these things,

your heavenly father

knows that you need

them.

God is unfaithful.

Again, worry is

unfaithful because

it's the behavior of

godless Gentiles.

Worrying is to be

expected from the

spiritual orphans in

this world.

Worrying is uncharacteristic

of the child of God.

Every time that I've

met up with my

parents these past

three years, they

without fail give my

wife Christine and

me two dozen baked

eggs.

I made the silly

mistake of saying out

loud that I like them

three years ago, which

somehow translated in

their minds that I will

always like them and I

will always never get

sick of them.

But because of their

love for us, every

time I see them rain or

shine, whether the

egg prices are through

the roof or not,

they're always greeting

us with two dozen

baked eggs.

And those eggs are

just a small part of

the strength I get from

the support of my

loving parents.

They don't get to

visit a ton, but when

they're home with us,

even when I feel like

life is crazy and I

feel like there's just

so many things to do

and so many things to

worry about and I feel

anxious and distracted,

I feel a sense that

everything is going to

be okay.

Like I'm not alone in

this big scary world,

but I have people that

are on my side to

support me, cheer me

on, root for me.

I know how privileged

we are to have the

support of loving

parents and I know

that some of you

don't have that

opportunity and that

blessing.

But this church family,

brothers and sisters,

we all share in a

greater love, in a

greater protection and

greater support from

our heavenly Father,

Father, a Father who

does far more than

just bake off two

dozen eggs, but a

Father who provides

lovingly every single

thing that we need.

So knowing that you

have this kind of

heavenly Father, don't

be anxious, but

instead seek first the

kingdom of God and his

righteousness.

We come to the

pivotal verse 33 in

our passage.

Do you notice how

much of what Jesus

is saying today is

about our vision?

Continuing that theme

from last week.

Look at the birds,

look at the lilies,

and unlike the

Gentiles who only look

after their food and

clothing, you look,

seek for the kingdom

of God and his

righteousness.

In fact, the central

verb in this passage,

do not be anxious, in

the Greek, it literally

means not to be

double-minded, but it

means to be single-minded,

undistracted, focused on

just one thing.

It's the same word that

Jesus uses when he

addresses Martha in

Luke 10, when she's

troubled about many,

many things.

Remember there,

Jesus and presumably

his 12 disciples

drop by Martha's

house.

Some of us get

stressed when one

person drops in

randomly, but let

alone 13, not just

any 13, but the very

Son of God, and his

super-important

capital-A

apostles.

No wonder Martha

feels the need,

then, to cook the

bread.

Cut up fruit.

Offer clean water

to wash.

Sweep the floor.

Tidy the main room.

Arrange the seating.

Add oil to the

lamps.

Oh, there's so much

to do.

But out of the

corner of her eyes,

she sees her

sister Mary.

And she's just

sitting there,

chilling with

Jesus.

As her chamber

fills and builds,

she then pumps

off and vents to

Jesus.

Lord, do you not

care?

Do you not care

that my sister has

left me to serve

alone?

Tell her then to

help me.

Jesus gently

corrects her.

Martha, Martha,

you are anxious.

You are anxious.

In trouble about

many things.

But one thing

is necessary.

Jesus today

sees how anxious,

distracted,

busy-bodied we are.

The company

is starting to make

layoffs.

My kids need money

for college.

The rent is

getting higher.

My parent is sick.

School loans

are due.

The roof is leaking.

And the eggs

are so expensive.

Lord, do you

not care about me?

Hear Jesus

speak to you.

Child,

child,

you are anxious.

In trouble

about many things.

but one thing

is necessary.

That one thing

should be to seek

the kingdom of God

and his righteousness.

At the risk of this

merely becoming

a slogan,

let's talk about

what this phrase

actually means.

We already read

an example of this

a couple passages ago

in the Lord's Prayer.

Where the prayer

starts not off

with,

give me

my daily bread.

But how does it start?

It starts with,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will

be done.

So we are to

prioritize first

not

food and clothing,

not our physical

survival,

but

to seek

first

living under

the kingship

of God.

of course

whether you

like it or not,

we all live

under the sovereign

reign

of the king.

But seeking

first the kingdom

of God

means to live

in a way

that you recognize,

rely,

rejoice,

and revere

God as your king.

Then we live out

then

the fifth

beatitude

to hunger

and thirst

for righteousness.

And we make it

our deepest

wish

to be holy,

to be righteous,

to grow

in

obeying

all of his

commandments.

So seek

first the kingdom

of God

and his righteousness.

And then

all these other

things will be

added to you.

Just like

the king

Solomon,

he prayed

for wisdom

and all these

other things

came along

with it.

If we seek

first the kingdom

of God,

all these other

things will be

added to you.

But what's

the greatest

evidence of this?

We already see

evidence of this

in creation,

in the lilies,

in the birds,

but the greatest

evidence we have

of the care

of our heavenly

father is in

the giving

and sacrifice

of his only

son.

In another

lesser to

greater argument,

the apostle Paul

writes in Romans

8.32,

He who did not

spare his own

son,

but graciously

gave him

all.

How will he

not also

graciously with

him give

us all

things?

If our

heavenly father

has given

his very own

son,

he's done

the hardest

thing possible,

sacrificing

his son,

how will he

not also

with him

graciously

give you

all that

you need?

If he's

already proven

his generous

love for

you,

how will he

not also

give you

the lesser

things like

food and

clothing?

For the

good news

of the

gospel is

that though

Jesus Christ

was rich,

yet for

your sake

he became

poor,

so that

you,

you,

by his

poverty,

might become

rich.

This is one

of the

greatest

one-verse

pictures of

the gospel

finding

scripture.

That though

Jesus was

king in

heaven,

he humbled

himself by

becoming

flesh,

not by

being born

as royalty,

but as a

carpenter's

son in a

manger.

And then

though he

did not

deserve this

at all,

because he

never sinned,

but he

was mocked,

spit upon

wit,

and nailed

to the

cross.

For the

forgiveness

of our

sins,

for those

of us

who were

spiritually

bankrupt,

he were

dead in

our sins,

that we

were unfaithful

in our

doubt,

in our

worry,

he took

our

place.

Because

unlike the

birds,

he went

hungry.

Unlike

the lilies,

he went

naked,

so that

poor and

wretched

sinners like

you and

me might

be clothed

and fed

in this

life and

more fully

to the

life to

come.

Do you

see,

brothers and

sisters,

how incredibly

rich you

are?

Satan,

he tries to

make you feel

poor.

He does.

By squeezing

you tight with

the bills in

life,

by making you

compare your

life with

other people

in this

world,

by depressing

you with

news,

by how

expensive the

eggs are.

But if you

think that you

are poor,

Satan has

convinced you

of a lie.

Because,

brothers and

sisters,

you are

unimaginably

rich.

You have

been blessed

with every

spiritual blessing

by the power

and the

glorious riches

of his

grace.

You are

adopted into

his family,

set to

receive an

unfathomable

inheritance

and have

you.

Though you

have nothing

else in

life,

if you

have Christ,

you are

unimaginably

rich.

The

inverse of

this is

true.

If you

don't have

Christ,

you own

the world,

you,

my friend,

you are

of the

poorest.

If you're

here today

and don't

know the

riches that

are found

alone in

Jesus Christ,

consider this

a free

invitation to

become rich.

Oh, so

rich, richer

than you

could ever

imagine.

Once you

receive Jesus

Christ as

your Lord and

Savior and

treasure, you

will have

enduring riches

that go beyond

any life

circumstance,

any financial

season.

Because the

rest of the

world, they

get high when

things go

well.

But they

plummet to

the depths

when things

are tough.

Augustine

rightly said,

fear is a

response of

the human

heart when

it's one

thing is

threatening.

But if

Christ is

your one

thing,

if you

make it

your one

thing to

seek after

the kingdom

of God

and his

righteousness,

then we

can find

this rare

jewel of

Christian

contend,

as Jeremiah

Burroughs

writes,

though I

have not

outward

comforts and

worldly

conveniences to

supply my

necessities,

yet I

have a

sufficient

portion

between

Christ and

my soul

abundantly

to supply

me,

satisfy me

in every

condition.

If I

have but

Christ with

me, I

have

enough,

he is

bread to

the hungry,

water to

the thirsty,

a garment

to the

naked,

health to

the sick,

and life

to the

dead.

Let me

have Christ

and I

can want

nothing.

He is

all in

all,

and in

him I

have all.

Christ is

your one

thing.

If you

seek the

kingdom of

God and

his

righteousness,

then whatever

season you

go through

right now

or in the

future,

this good

portion will

never be

taken away

from you.

From this

time forth

and forever

more.

Brothers and

sisters,

let us not

be anxious

because we

have a good

heavenly

father who

will take

care of

us.

Let's

pray.

Lord,

we believe

help our

unbelief.

Lord,

we believe

help our

unbelief.

We want

to do all

things in

faith.

No matter

what season

that comes,

no matter

what obstacles

are in our

way,

we know

that we

are stupid

rich in

you,

Christ.

We are

unimaginably

rich,

set to

receive a

glorious

inheritance.

thank you,

Lord,

that you

have reversed

our entire

lives,

our fortunes,

by giving

us the

greatest

blessing

of heaven.

There is

nothing more

for you to

give.

We look

to you,

we depend

on you,

and we

seek you

first.

In Jesus'

name we

pray.

Amen.