Matthew Ch6v25-34

And as they are going out, I'm going to invite Kevin to come and get himself ready, and I'm going to hand over to him then. Thank you, Kevin.

Well, good morning again. It's good to be with you all, and I bring you greetings from Middleton Baptist Church, another Cork Kerry Project church, and it's wonderful to be here with you.

When I was in the U.S., I described the Cork Kerry Project to people. I was saying, it's like when you go to another Baptist church, it's like visiting your cousin's house.

It's like, it's not your own home, but it's very familiar, and that's a precious thing, and I give thanks to God for that.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6, the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention Matthew 6 · chapter mention

We're going to be looking at verses 24 to 34 in particular this morning.

It should be verse 25 to 34. Matthew chapter 6, 25 through to verse 34.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

These are the words of Jesus Christ.

He says,

Therefore, I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, what you will drink, or 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?

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,

how much more will he not more clothe you, O you, of little faith?

Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat, what shall we drink, what shall we wear?

For the Gentiles seek after all these things.

Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,

and all of these things will be added to you.

Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Father, as we consider these words of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,

we pray that we would have ears to hear and eyes to see the light of your truth.

We ask for your help in Jesus' name. Amen.

Worry is a powerful thing.

Something we've all experienced at one point or another.

Some problem or crisis or challenge comes crashing into your life,

and it's something that you cannot just fix.

And so you start to worry.

What's going to happen next?

What will I do if this happens?

How will I cope if that happens?

Is this ever going to get better?

Worry is a powerful thing.

You become so focused on the problem at hand

that you develop a sort of tunnel vision

where all you can think about from the moment you wake up

to the moment you go to sleep is that thing, that problem.

Has that ever happened to you?

It's happened to me.

Sometimes, when we're in that worried state,

a well-meaning friend or family member will come alongside us

and they will say something along these lines.

Hey, don't worry about it.

Don't worry about it.

And as well-intentioned as those words are,

they are, of course, 100% not effective.

It's like throwing a cup of water on a raging fire.

The words just evaporate.

And they have no effect.

It's like that song.

As I was thinking of this passage, I was thinking of that song.

Years ago, it was used for the National Lottery.

Bobby McFerrin, Don't Worry, Be Happy.

Have you ever heard that song?

Here's a little song I wrote.

You might want to sing it note for note.

Don't worry, be happy.

In every life, we have some trouble,

but when you worry, you make it double.

Don't worry, be happy.

Don't worry, be happy.

Now, that is a very catchy song,

and it's very bad at treating worry.

That's a great song to listen to when you're not worried

and everything is fine,

you're on your way to the beach and it's sunny.

But when life is actually difficult

and you're dealing with the anxiety

that comes with living in a fallen world,

that's the last song you want to hear.

It's actually counterproductive

because it'll just make you angry.

It's superficial,

as if stopping worrying was just like turning off a light switch.

But when we consider the words of our Lord Jesus Christ

in this passage this morning,

we find something altogether different.

He deals with worry in a profound and comprehensive way.

Unlike our well-intentioned friends in that catchy song,

Jesus' teaching on worry goes beneath the surface,

underneath the symptoms,

and gets right to the source of why we worry

about the things that cause us trouble.

And he shows us a better way,

a way of his kingdom,

the way of faith in him.

Now before we jump into these verses,

let's quickly just remind ourselves

of where we are in our Bibles.

Matthew 5, 6, and 7

are the Sermon on the Mount.

And that is Jesus teaching his disciples

all about life in the kingdom of God.

God's kingdom is a spiritual kingdom.

It's not a military kingdom like the Roman kingdom.

Remember Jesus said,

my kingdom is not of this world.

It's not a worldly military kingdom.

God's kingdom is his realm of salvation

and his rule of his lordship.

To be a Christian,

to be a disciple of Jesus,

means to come into the kingdom

by faith in Jesus.

If you look back at chapter 4 of Matthew,

verse 17,

Jesus began his public ministry

as the Messiah with these words,

repent, turn from your sin,

for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The kingdom is here.

Jesus is the king.

He brings the kingdom.

You enter into that kingdom

through faith in him.

So by turning from our sins to Jesus,

we enter in.

We submit to King Jesus.

We serve him, worship him, obey him, enjoy him.

That is what it means to be a Christian.

Here in the Sermon on the Mount,

Matthew chapter 5, 6, and 7,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

he's teaching his disciples

what it means to be citizens of that kingdom.

Here are the ethics of the kingdom.

This is what it means to live as my disciples.

And in this passage, in Matthew 6,

he spends quite a long time,

this is a considerable chunk

of the Sermon on the Mount,

and it deals with worry.

The first thing we need to understand

is that here in this passage,

Jesus is addressing a specific type of worry.

He is specifically addressing the problem

of worrying about the necessities of life,

the stuff that we need to live.

Look at verse 31.

He sums it up with these questions.

What shall we eat?

What shall we drink?

What shall we wear?

In Jesus' day,

the struggle for the necessities of life,

food, water, clothing,

it was never ending.

Normal people, like you and me,

had to work really hard

just to not die from starvation and thirst.

Food had to be planted and nurtured,

harvested, cooked all by hand,

and even then,

you were at the mercy of the weather

because if it didn't rain,

you didn't have a load of plumbing

and irrigation systems.

Your harvest would fail

and you'd be in trouble.

And even water had to be drawn from a well

and brought to your house by hand.

There were no taps.

And in terms of clothing,

people usually just had

a handful of garments to their name,

nothing more.

You were considered very well off

if you had more than one or two

changes of clothes.

So when Jesus says to his disciples here,

he's sitting down with them,

teaching them,

this is what it means to be in my kingdom.

He says, don't worry about food.

Don't worry about what you're going to drink

and what you're going to wear.

It hits them in a way

that it probably doesn't hit us immediately

as people who live in the 21st century.

Because we go down to Tesco

and it's full of food.

We open up our taps,

it's full of water,

and we have so much clothes

that we actually run out of space

of where to put them

and we put them in clothes bags.

But for these people hearing this,

they're like,

oh, that's what I spend

most of my time trying to do

is just get something to eat

so I can make it to the next day.

Now, you might be tempted to think,

okay, well then,

this doesn't really apply to us

because now we have taps

and we have Tesco.

That's not the case.

And here's why.

Because when Jesus is speaking

about food and drink and clothing,

he's using those as examples

of the necessities of life as a whole.

These are the sort of things

that we get focused on,

what our immediate needs,

our physical needs,

the things that we need

just to survive,

the nuts and bolts,

as it were,

of everyday life.

So while we don't have to worry

about the availability of food

or clothing,

don't we still worry about life?

How am I going to pay my bills this month?

Will I have enough money

to make it to the end of the month?

How am I ever going to buy a house

in this market?

What am I going to retire on?

What are my kids going to,

what kind of world

do my kids enter into?

Are we going to have another recession?

How am I supposed to pay rent

and save for a mortgage?

Am I going to be able

to get a good job

when I leave school?

These are real needs.

You need somewhere to live.

You've got to pay your rent,

you've got to heat your house,

you've got to feed your kids,

you've got to plan for the future.

And then Jesus comes to us

and he says,

don't worry.

Now if all Jesus said to us

is don't worry,

I think he'd be just like

that catchy song.

Just don't worry about it.

And it wouldn't be effective.

But Jesus doesn't stop there.

He doesn't just give us

a bare command.

He gives us reasons,

real concrete reasons

why we don't need to worry.

And I think he gives us three

that we're going to look at

in the first half here.

Two smaller ones

and the third one

he spends a lot more time on

so I'd say that's the main one.

The first smaller reason is this.

Life, verse 25,

life is about more

than just meeting your needs.

He makes this point

in verse 25

in the form of a question.

Is not life more than food

and the body more than clothing?

The problem with it

focusing exclusively

on these things

is that it reduces life

down to them.

It sort of shrinks life down.

Worry monopolizes

our thoughts

and our energies.

It consumes us

to the point

that we can't see

beyond or above them.

Worrying about

the necessities of life

eclipses

the meaning of life

from our view

which is to glorify God,

to know God

and to enjoy Him

forever.

Reason number two,

verse 27,

again Jesus

in the form of a question

he makes the point

worrying is futile.

It doesn't do anything.

Which of you

by being anxious,

he asks,

can add a single hour

to his life?

You can't extend your life.

You can't make yourself taller.

You can't do any of those things.

You're so limited.

And he said,

what about worrying

will never accomplish

these things?

The only thing

that worry accomplishes

is sorrow.

Worrying is futile.

Someone once described worry

as a rocking chair.

It gives you something to do.

You feel like you're doing something

but you're going nowhere.

All this energy

and you're going nowhere.

Third reason,

verses 26 to 32,

as I said,

I think this is the main reason

because of how much weight

and time Jesus puts behind it.

Your heavenly Father

will provide.

Your heavenly Father

will provide.

He comes at this point

from a few different angles.

I'm just going to read them quickly.

Verse 26,

he points to the birds.

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?

Arguing from the lesser

to the greater.

This is true of the birds,

my disciples.

How much more so

is it true of you?

Child of God.

Verse 28,

he points to the flowers.

Why are you anxious

about clothing?

Look at the lilies

of the field,

how they grow.

They don't toil or spin

yet I tell you,

even Solomon,

the rich, glorious

king of Israel

with all his wealth

and pomp

was never dressed

as well as one of these.

He says,

if God so clothes

the grass of the field,

like today it's there,

tomorrow it's thrown

into the oven,

it's gone.

How much more so

will he clothe you,

oh you of little faith?

Your heavenly Father

will provide.

And again,

verse 31,

he comes at it again

from a different angle.

He speaks to the Gentiles,

those who don't know God.

And he says,

therefore do not be anxious

asking what shall we eat,

what shall we drink,

what shall we wear.

For the Gentiles,

those who don't know God,

run after all these things.

And your heavenly Father

knows that you do need them.

He knows that you need them all.

Don't be like the Gentiles

who don't know God,

who are just focused

exclusively on these things,

as if this is the whole,

this is the be all

and end all of life.

Brothers and sisters,

listen to what Jesus

is saying to you this morning.

God, your Father,

knows everything

that you need.

And he will give it to you.

If you need it,

then you either have it

or you're going to have it

in his timing.

And if you never get it,

it's because you never needed it.

God knows everything

that you need.

I don't even know

everything that I need.

As a parent,

you look at your children,

as an analogy,

you look at your children

and see oftentimes

they need to go through

tough things

that they don't want

to go through

in order to grow

and develop.

How much more so

will our God give us

what we need,

not just the necessities,

even the challenges

and the pains of this life,

so that we grow

in our trust in him.

God will provide

everything that we need.

Jesus says,

you don't have to be anxious

about your life.

You can trust him.

Worry is a powerful thing.

Jesus deals with it

in a powerful way.

He's given us

these three reasons.

Life is about more

than just your needs.

Worrying is futile.

God is your father.

He will provide.

But Jesus doesn't stop there.

He drills down deeper

right to the very source

of worry.

Look at the end

of verse 30 again.

He says,

oh you of little faith.

That's what Jesus points to.

Not that they had no faith.

They were his disciples.

He said,

this worry that you have

about your needs,

the necessities of life,

it comes from

weak or small faith.

He's saying,

this isn't how you should live

as my disciples.

Now,

I need to pause here

for a second

and make a very important

clarifying point.

we must be careful

not to confuse

the worry that Jesus

is addressing

in this passage

with other things

in the Christian life

such as

normal sadness

and lament.

Let me explain

what I mean.

Worry due to a lack of faith

is very different

to sadness.

Psalm 142,

David said,

with my voice,

I cry out to the Lord

with my voice,

I plead for mercy

to the Lord,

I pour out my complaint

to him,

I tell my trouble

before him.

To put it simply,

David is sad,

he is low,

he is in a dark place

and if David was there

next to you

and you had this scripture

in Matthew 6,

it would be wrong

to be like,

don't worry,

you're fine.

That would be a misuse

of scripture,

wouldn't it?

He's feeling the brokenness

of this world,

it's sadness,

that's good

to lament

and feel sad.

Worry due to a lack of faith

is different

also

to normal concern.

1 Corinthians 11,

the Apostle Paul

writes this,

he says,

he speaks of

the daily pressure on me

and my anxiety

for all the churches.

I don't think

he's referring

to the same sort of anxiety

that Jesus is referencing.

Paul is simply saying this,

I am concerned

for how the churches

that have been planted

under my ministry

and the ministry of others,

I'm concerned

that they're going well.

That's not a sinful anxiety,

that's just normal concern,

the way that parents

are concerned

for their children

or the way that

if some of you perhaps

are waiting for

leaving cert results

or junior cert results,

that's a normal concern

and yes,

of course,

it can twist into worry

and a mistrust of God

or distrust of God

but in and of itself,

that's normal.

You see the point

I'm trying to get at?

We need to be able

to distinguish

between those things.

We don't want to come up

to someone

who is just having

a hard time

and slap Matthew 6,

do not worry on them

and think that's going

to heal everything.

The worry that Jesus

is addressing here

comes from a lack of faith.

That is its source.

It's not just

some isolated issue,

it's rooted,

Jesus says,

in what we value

the most.

Did you notice

that this passage

in verse 25

begins with the word

therefore.

This word therefore

tells us

that everything

he's just said

about worry

flows from

and out of

in continuity

with everything

he's just said beforehand.

They're all

put together.

when we jump

back to verse 19

where I think

his train

of thought

begins,

we see that

Jesus has been

teaching his disciples

specifically

about what

they are to

value the most.

Let's look at them

quickly in three chunks.

First verses

19 to 21.

Do not lay up

for yourselves

treasure in heaven

where moth

and rust

destroy,

where thieves

break in and steal,

but instead

lay up for yourselves

treasure in heaven

instead of on earth

where neither moth

nor rust destroys

and where thieves

do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure

is,

there your heart

will be also.

He says,

as my disciples,

you are to value,

to treasure

the things that are above,

the things of heaven

and focus your hearts

on those things.

because whatever you

treasure,

whatever you value,

that's what your heart,

your inner compass

is going to point towards

and say,

that's true north

and your life

is going to fall in line

with that direction.

He says,

don't put true north,

don't focus your heart,

don't treasure

the things of this earth

because they pass away.

Wrath

and rust,

moth and rust

destroy those things.

even Olympic medals,

money

and fame.

Earthly glory

will pass away

along with earth

itself one day.

Jesus says,

value the things

that cannot be taken

away from you.

Lay up treasure in heaven.

Next,

verses 22 to 23.

The eye

is the lamp

of the body.

So,

if your eye

is healthy,

your whole body

will be full of light.

But if your eye

is bad,

your whole body

will be full

of darkness.

If then the light

in you is darkness,

how great

is

the darkness?

Jesus

is referring

to a commonly

held belief

at that time

that light

would come

into your body

through your eye.

It was sort of

the window of the soul.

We still say that today.

But that light

was good for you.

It certainly is sunshine.

It goes in

through your eyes

and fills up

your whole body

with light

and brings health

and vitality.

And Jesus

is taking

that commonly

held belief

and he's

transposing it

or using it

to speak

of a spiritual

reality.

He says,

if you fix

your eyes,

the spiritual

eyes of your heart,

if you want

to put it that way,

the spiritual

sense that you

have on what

is true,

on the light,

then your whole

body,

your whole life

will be filled

with light.

It will bring

goodness

and truth

and health.

But if not,

if your spiritual

sight is bad

and you're

focused on

the wrong

things,

not heavenly

things,

but earthly

things,

then oh,

how great

that darkness

will be.

You see how

it's following

on from the

treasure?

What are you

looking at?

What are you

valuing?

What are you

valuing?

And finally,

verse 24,

again,

he's using

these contrasts.

He says,

no one

can serve

two masters.

For you

either hate

the one

and love

the other

or he

will be

devoted

to the

one

and despise

the other.

You

cannot

serve

God

and money.

That word

money there

can also

just be

translated

stuff,

things,

material

goods.

What's

Jesus

getting

at here

in verses

19 to

24?

If you

want to

put it

in the

form of

a question,

he's

asking this,

what do

you

treasure

above

all?

What do

you look

at with

the eyes

of your

heart?

And who

are you

serving?

He says,

you can't

serve God

and stuff.

And then

so when

he says

therefore,

he's going

right along

and he's

saying,

therefore,

do not

worry about

the things

that you

need.

Because

those who

don't know

God,

focus on

these things

because that's

where their

treasure is,

that's what

they serve,

that's what

they truly

value.

He said,

it's not

meant to

be like

that for

you.

You

belong to

God the

Father.

You're

in the

kingdom.

Seek the

things that

are above.

And God

will give

you all

the things

that you

need.

Jesus

is not

denying

our

physical

needs.

Your

heavenly

Father knows

that you

need them

all.

life is

about so

much more

than just

food and

drink and

clothing and

bills and

holidays and

cars and

exams and

stuff.

Beware of

getting bogged

down in the

nuts and

bolts of

life and

losing sight of

the meaning

of life.

life is

about knowing

God and

living with

him.

That is the

joy of the

Christian life,

is it not?

And that is a

joy that will

come to its

climax when we

are with

him forever.

This is just

a foretaste

of that

joy.

Life is

about longing

for his

kingdom,

seeking his

righteousness

and his

kingdom to

come, not

only in our

own lives,

but across

the world.

that God's

rule and

reign and

glory would

be known

all around

the world

that he has

created.

If we allow

ourselves to

be focused

on those

things,

then we

will not

need to

worry.

If you're

worried this

morning, it's

good to ask

yourself, what

am I worried

about?

That's a good

first step.

A bit of

self-diagnosis.

Can I add to

your list of

questions?

When you're

really worried

and upset

about something,

ask yourself,

what am I

treasuring?

What am I

valuing the

most in

life right

now?

What am I

focusing on?

Where are

the eyes of

my heart

looking right

now?

And who

am I

serving?

Jesus says,

oh, you of

little faith,

I don't

think he

was saying

that as

some sort

of harsh

rebuke like,

you idiots.

He's trying to

say, don't

you see, oh,

you of little

faith, how

valuable you

are.

Friends, if you

were in Christ

this morning, if

we could have a

glimmer of a

sight of the

love of God

for us in

Christ Jesus,

we would never

doubt again that

he would ever

provide for us.

You think God

is short on

cash?

Do you think he

forgets things,

that he lets

things slide?

He will always

provide for his

people.

Always.

Take these

words of the

Lord Jesus

Christ and

hammer them

deep into

your heart.

Preach them

to yourself.

Say, God is

my Father, he

will provide.

God is my

Father, he

will provide.

God is my

Father, he

will provide.

He knows

everything that

I need and

he will provide

it for me in

Christ Jesus.

To put it

another way,

Christian, you

are free to

not worry about

your life.

You have

concerns, you

still have to

plan for the

future, there

are still

problems to be

dealt with.

This is not

don't worry, be

happy, catchy

song approach to

life.

But it is to

say in the

worry and the

stresses of life

that we don't

have to worry

about these

things.

The alternative

to worry,

according to

Jesus, isn't

caring about

nothing, it's

caring about

the right

things in

the right

order.

It's a life

where we keep

the first

things first.

That's why he

says at the

end there,

verse 33,

seek first the

kingdom of

God and his

righteousness and

then all these

things will be

added to you.

He's not saying

don't go

shopping.

Like, God

will provide

for me, I

don't have to

go shopping.

Of course you

do.

You've got to

plan for your

future, you've

got to plan

financially, you've

got to be smart

and use the

brain that God

gave you.

You don't have

to worry about

these things, seek

first the

kingdom.

If you want

to worry less,

don't just say,

I want to

worry less.

Pray and ask

God to help

you to

recalibrate your

heart, to

maybe correct

the compass

back to the

things that are

most important.

Him and his

kingdom and

seeking his

righteousness.

You can

trust God

with everything

else.

Yes, you're

going to work

a job, you're

going to pay

your bills, deal

with stress and

setbacks and

uncertainties, but

you're not going

to let that take

over your life and

let that be the

be all and end

all.

Instead, resolve

to seek first the

kingdom, to

submit to Jesus

as your king, and

to lay up

treasure in

heaven.

Jesus ends

this teaching

with this

concluding point

in verse 34.

He says,

therefore, in

light of

everything that

I've just

told you, don't

be anxious about

tomorrow, for

tomorrow will be

anxious for

itself, sufficient

for the day is

its own trouble.

I love the way

that Jesus limits

us as his

disciples in this

verse.

He says, don't

worry about

tomorrow.

Don't worry about

next week, or how

are you going to

provide for this, or

how are you going

to get that, and

if that's ever going

to happen, how am I

going to provide for

my children?

He says, just focus

on today, that's

plenty.

Don't let the

worries of the

future stop you

from following me

and trusting me

today.

Worry is a

powerful thing.

Jesus is greater

and more powerful

than our worries, and

he will provide

everything that we

need.

If you're here this

morning and you're

not a Christian, I

wonder if you've

ever thought about

the Christian life in

these terms.

I hope that by

looking at God's

word, the Bible,

with us this

morning, you've

seen that life is

about so much more

than just stuff.

It's about living

with God and for

God, and how

freeing that is.

I pray for us all

this morning as we

look ahead to the

future, as you look

ahead to the future,

is that you will

treasure what is

good and true, that

you will lay up

treasure in heaven, and

that you will trust

Jesus the King.

You keep your eyes

fixed on him, serve

him, one day at a

time until you see

him.

As we've sung already

this morning, riches I

heed not, nor man's

empty praise.

Thou my inheritance,

now and always.

Thou and thou only

the first in my

heart.

Thou high King of

heaven, my treasure

thou art.

Let's pray.

Father in heaven, we

pray that you would

help us to take the

teaching of Jesus

Christ, our Lord, to

heart.

Lord, I pray where

our compass is off

and where we are out

of alignment and our

priorities have slipped

and been jumbled, we

pray, Lord, that by your

spirit you would help us

correct them.

Pray for those, Lord, who

are this morning worried

about serious problems

and anxious for the

future, that you would

calm their hearts.

We thank you that Jesus'

words here are not

trite and superficial,

but deep because they

point us towards you, the

fount of all wisdom and

glory and love and

provision.

Father, you have made us

and we trust that as you

are our Father in heaven,

you will provide for us all

of our needs in your Son,

Jesus Christ.

Help us, we pray, day to

day.

And we pray that your

kingdom and your

righteousness would come in

our lives and in

Carrig Line and in

Carrig Tool and around

this world, we pray for

the glory of Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you, Kevin.

We are going to sing in

response.

It's another catchy tune,

but it's not full of bad

advice.

It is going to...