Matthew Ch6v25-34 - Faith In The Father's Care In 2024

171. So we'll read from verse 25 of chapter 6.

Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear.

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

Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the fields grow. They do not labour or spin.

Yet I tell you, that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,

will he not much more clothes you, you of little faith?

So do not worry, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear?

For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Thank you, Tim.

Thank you, Jonathan.

Let's just pray as we start.

Father, we need your help this morning to clearly understand your commands to us in this passage.

And not only that, but to put them into practice in our lives in this coming year.

Holy Spirit, be our helper now, we pray.

Amen.

Don't worry about your life, Jesus commands.

Now, if ever there was an impossible command to obey from Jesus.

What if I don't get the grades that I need in my exams?

What if I choose the wrong career?

Will there be enough money to pay the bills?

Will my kids stay healthy?

Will I ever get well again?

Will that relationship ever heal?

What do you worry about most when you consider the year ahead?

Well, I think one of the biggest challenges facing us in the coming year is this.

How can I not be consumed by the worries of life when I am surrounded by so many pressures?

And well, the big thing in this passage is that Jesus understands.

He sympathizes with us in our struggles against worry.

After all, he's experienced the pressures of everyday life as a human being.

And as we heard in the last verse there, Jesus acknowledges each day has enough trouble of its own.

He knows there are things in every day that we could and do worry about.

But in this text, he also shows us that we don't have to be consumed by worry.

In fact, he commands us not to worry.

And he gives us lots of reasons why.

Let's dive right in with two of the most basic ones that we see in this passage.

Jesus says, don't worry about your life because worrying distracts us from what really matters.

Look there in verse 25.

He says, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear.

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

Jesus is reminding us here that if we are trusting in him, we are eternal beings.

This life here on earth is temporary.

Our unending life with resurrected eternal bodies is still to come.

So, don't spend all your time worrying about how to preserve this life and this body as if it's all you have.

It's not.

You have infinitely more, Jesus says.

And don't let the worries of this temporary life distract you from seeing the glory of your best life to come in the new heavens and earth.

That's the first reason.

Here's the second reason not to worry.

Jesus says worrying is a waste of time.

Look in verse 27.

He asks, can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life?

Well, of course we can't.

Worrying doesn't change anything about your situation.

In fact, it only worsens your ability to handle it.

Modern psychologists have also discovered this, funnily enough.

And they tell us that constant worrying leads to a buildup of the stress hormone cortisol,

which leads to more stress, bad health, bad digestion, inflammation, and so on.

Jesus, as the maker of the human body, knew this before any psychologist.

And he tells us we can do something much better with our time,

which we're going to see later in this passage.

But before he tells us what to do instead of worrying,

Jesus wants us to understand where worrying comes from.

What's the heart issue that actually produces worry?

We're going to read from verse 28, and we're going to find the answer.

So verse 28.

And why do you worry about clothes?

See how the flowers of the field grow.

They do not labor or spin.

Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,

which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,

will he not much more clothes you?

You of little faith.

Did you hear that last part?

The base problem lurking underneath the symptom of worry in our lives is

we have little faith in our father's care.

We don't trust our father enough to provide for our needs.

Now, a couple of summers ago, we had a big problem in our utility room.

It stunk.

And I mean it stunk like a sewer.

Now, for a day or two, we tried to ignore it.

Now, that was the denial phase.

It's not really a problem.

But it didn't go away.

So then what we did next to us, we started spraying Febreze, air freshener all over us.

You know, like this.

But obviously that did nothing.

About 20 minutes later, the smell was back.

So we were eventually driven to investigate further and discovered

the smell was coming from this unused pipe behind our big massive fridge.

And that pipe led to the foul drain underneath the path outside.

That's where the smell was coming from.

The smell in the room was a problem.

But actually there was a much bigger problem underground

which we needed to deal with first to solve the bigger problem,

the small problem inside.

Now, how does this world tell us how to deal with worry?

Well, I think the main option is to spray Febreze all over it, right?

A relaxing spa day.

A wild night out in the town.

Or maybe some mindfulness coloring.

Now, all these things may make you forget about your worries for a few hours.

But it's not dealing with the real problem, is it?

It's going to come back.

Now, Jesus says the only way to not be consumed by the worries of this life

is to place your faith over and over again

in your heavenly Father's promise to provide.

Now, the opposite of faith is unbelief in God's promises,

which leads to dependence on yourself for all of life, right?

And that's interesting because the context of this chapter here,

Jesus has just spent it warning us not to build up treasure on earth.

And in the verse just preceding this passage, he says,

don't make money your master.

You know what?

He knows us very well, doesn't he?

Because we all want to build up more and more money.

That's an innate thing inside of us because we never want to be without anything that we need.

And money can get us all the things that we need.

Now, having money is a wonderful gift from God.

And yet, we can so easily fall into the trap of trusting our money

and trusting our own resources to provide our needs

and not trusting in God.

Which in turn leads to all sorts of worry

whenever those resources and that money starts to run low

or is threatened in some way.

So, Jesus' second command in this passage is this.

Rather than placing your faith in your own resources,

have faith in your Father's care.

He will never let you down.

And now, Jesus knows, he knows,

we are not going to buy it first time.

We would much rather to be independent,

self-sufficient, trusting our own resources

rather than in his provision.

We doubt that he really can provide.

So, Jesus gives us two examples from nature

to try and show us that God has both the desire and ability

to meet all of our needs.

So, let's have a look at those in turn.

First example there is in verse 26.

Look at the birds of the air.

They do not sow or reap or store away in barns.

And yet, your Heavenly Father feeds them.

And the second example in verse 28,

which we already read,

is about the flowers of the field

who can't make their own clothes,

and yet, God clothes them.

Now, in both of these examples,

there's a constant.

God delights to provide for those

who cannot provide for themselves.

And so, Jesus asks the very same question

after each example.

He says,

Are you not much more valuable than they?

If God cares for the little robins

and the daisies like this,

how much more will he provide your every need?

You are not a bird or a flower.

You are a precious son or daughter.

How much more does your father desire

to provide your needs

over those of a plant or a flower?

And listen,

when you think about it,

what good father would see his child

in need of food or clothing or money

and not delight to give it to them?

Think about that.

Now, we can struggle

to actually accept that, I think,

because part of us always thinks

that God is distant from us.

He's way up there somewhere in the clouds

and he begrudgingly gives us

what we need when we ask

and nothing more.

And like fearful children

trembling as they approach

the door of their father's study,

not wanting to disturb

and incur their father's wrath,

we sometimes have that perspective

on God our Father.

But I can't find anything in this passage

to suggest a father like that, can you?

Jesus wants us to know

that the Father is near

and is compassionate towards us

and delights to provide

our every need.

He promises to provide each need.

But what about when it looks like he doesn't?

Maybe you've been asking

and asking

and your needs are not being met

as you think best.

Maybe you've had times of wanting

in your life.

Ibrahim, like thousands of others,

has a family in Gaza

this morning who can't get food.

The aid is not getting there fast enough.

Their house is a pile of rubble.

They've moved south

and they've been sheltering

in a church

for two months now.

They're Christians.

Most waking moments

are spent in desperate prayer.

And yet,

as he looks down

at his starving child,

he wonders,

has God broken his promise

to provide for me?

Has God broken his promise

to provide for us

whenever our daily needs

are not met?

What about when God chooses

not to give the house

or heal the sickness

or provide the job in time?

What then?

Well, if we keep following this text,

we will see Jesus' answer

to one of the toughest questions

that we have

as Christians.

So let's keep going

and see.

In verse 31,

Jesus gives his third command.

So, follow with me

from verse 31.

verse 31.

And this is the climax

and summary of Jesus'

whole argument

in this passage.

So we need to listen up here.

It says this,

So do not worry,

saying,

what shall we eat?

What shall we drink?

Or what shall we wear?

For the pagans

run after all these things.

And your heavenly Father

knows that you need them.

But seek first

his kingdom

and his righteousness

and all these things

will be given to you

as well.

Jesus tells us

not to spend our time

worrying about our daily needs

in 2024.

But instead,

to spend our time

seeking first

his kingdom

and his righteousness.

First,

what does it mean

to seek first

God's kingdom?

Well,

if you look back

in chapter 6,

verse 9,

Jesus is teaching

his disciples

how to pray

and we all know this.

It says this,

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

on earth

as it is in heaven.

So,

to seek first

God's kingdom

means to seek first

to say to God

each day

in the coming year,

not my will,

but your will be done.

It's about

his good,

loving rule

being worked out

in our lives.

And there are

big implications

of that prayer

every day

in our lives.

Because,

I'm going to be honest,

a lot of the time,

my first concern

is how to build up

my kingdom.

kingdom.

And I'm not focused

on how to build

God's kingdom.

Often,

my top priority

in life

is getting

better financial stability

for myself,

for my family.

Not a bad thing.

But,

Jesus says,

make God's kingdom

your first priority.

even if being

generous

towards church

and mission

is not the most

financially beneficial

option for you.

Maybe your top priority

is being

accepted

among your peers

or your friend group,

blending in

as much as possible.

Well,

Jesus says,

make God's kingdom

your first priority

this year,

even if you lose

the respect

of your peers

because you're

open about your faith.

Maybe for you

the top priority

is having good health.

Not a bad thing

by any means.

A gift from God.

But,

Jesus says,

make God's kingdom

your first priority,

even if serving

leaves you exhausted

on a Sunday afternoon

or a Friday night.

I challenge you,

be honest

with yourself

and write out

a list of your

top priorities

for 2024.

Things that

you spend your time

worrying about happening

in your life.

Genuinely,

do this when you get home.

I've done one for myself

and it was very revealing.

And once you've made out

your list,

bring it to God,

present it to Him

and say,

Father,

these are the things

I'm anxious for

to happen this year,

but how can I seek first

your kingdom

in 2022?

Maybe you could write

down the names

of two people

that you're going

to invest time

in praying for

and meeting.

Or,

one way that you'd like

to serve in church

where you see

there's a need.

Or,

one missionary

you'd like to support

this year,

even if it means

going without something

yourself.

Jesus promises us

that if we invest

our lives

in building

His kingdom,

then He will

provide

our daily needs.

But there's also

a second part

to this command,

isn't there?

It's to seek first

His righteousness.

And earlier

in the Sermon

on the Mount,

Jesus said

in chapter 5,

verse 6,

He said,

Blessed are those

who hunger

and thirst

for righteousness,

for they

will be filled.

So rather than

spending all our time

running after

our daily needs,

Jesus says,

hunger and thirst

after righteousness.

Which means,

invest your time

in becoming

more like Jesus.

Long for growth

in godliness.

Is that a top

priority for you

in 2024?

I cannot honestly

say it was on

my initial list

that I wrote out.

But Jesus says,

make it a priority.

So how is it

going to happen

for you?

Well,

some suggestions.

Set a daily

time with the Lord

where you will

meet with Him

to hear from

His Word

and spend time

in personal

worship of Him.

Or you can set

a target for

three or four

good Christian books

that you could read

this year.

And if you don't

know which ones

to read,

maybe have a chat

with the elders

and they could

give you some

recommendations.

Or maybe you

could ask a

brother or sister

in the body

to meet with

you regularly

for encouragement

and prayer.

Seek first

His kingdom

and His

righteousness.

And all

these things

will be given

to you as well.

Yes,

Jesus promises

to provide

all of our

needs

whenever we

are seeking

first His

kingdom

and His

righteousness.

And this

does bring us

back to the

question,

the big

question,

that we raised

earlier,

doesn't it?

What about

when our

daily needs

for food,

health,

shelter,

money,

are not met?

Does that mean

the Father

has broken

His promise

to provide?

God

will

have to

need to

ask here

is,

what do we

really most

need?

Think about it.

Because of our

fallen nature,

our bodies

naturally decay

and die.

And there's

nothing we can

do to stop

it.

So what we

ultimately need

is something

more than

food,

good health,

a good house,

a comfortable

wage,

while we're

here on

earth,

right?

These are

good things

which God

may well

graciously

provide us

for a time,

but they're

not what we

ultimately need

for eternity.

What we

actually need

is Jesus,

His presence

and His

provision

forever.

Turn with me

please to

Revelation

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

and you'll

see what I

mean.

Revelation,

the last

book in the

Bible,

chapter 7,

it's on page

1,238.

And in

John's

vision here,

we're going

to get a

glimpse of

what God's

kingdom looks

like in

its fully

realized sense

at the end

of time.

If we are

trusting in

Christ,

we are a

part of

God's

kingdom right

now.

It is

here,

and yet

Jesus also

says it's

still to

come in

its fullest

sense in

the new

heavens and

earth.

And that's

what John

sees in

his vision,

which we're

going to

read now.

We're going

to read

from verse

13.

Then one

of the

elders asked

me,

these in

white robes,

who are

they?

Where do

they come

from?

I

answered,

sir,

you know.

And he

said,

these are

they who

have come

out of

the great

tribulation.

They have

washed their

robes and

made them

white in

the blood

of the

lamb.

Therefore

they are

before the

throne of

God and

serve him

day and

night in

his temple,

and he

who sits

on the

throne will

shelter

them with

his presence.

Never

again will

they hunger,

never again

will they

thirst.

The sun

will not

beat down

on them,

nor any

scorching heat,

for the

lamb at

the center

of the

throne will

be their

shepherd.

He will

lead them to

springs of

living water,

and God

will wipe

away every

tear from

their eyes.

How amazing

is that?

Jesus can

promise all

our needs

will be

met,

because

ultimately

he himself

will meet

them in

heaven.

And that's

a promise

that we can

build our

lives on.

And that's

as true for

Ibrahim and

his family in

Gaza this

morning as

it's true

for us

in

Carragaline.

And that

releases us

from the

need to

spend our

lives worrying

about our

present needs

not being

met.

Because

we are

guaranteed

unending

years of

Jesus'

total

provision

in heaven.

You know

what?

In this

coming year

we can

ask our

good and

gracious

father to

provide our

every need

day to

day.

But

remember

when he

chooses not

to provide

for a

certain need

that we've

asked for

he has

already

prepared a

place for

you in

heaven where

you will

want and

hunger no

more or

your body

will not

get sick

or tired.

that is

your future

in Christ.

So in

conclusion

our dearly

beloved

children of

the king

don't be

consumed by

worry this

year.

Jesus has

commanded us

not to worry

and he has

promised to

provide our

every need

and he

has instructed

us to

seek first

his kingdom

and his

righteousness

above every

other

priority.

So have

faith in

your father's

care for

you in

2024

and spend

it well

seeking first

his kingdom

and his

righteousness

knowing

that he

will

provide.

Let's

pray.

Jesus

we thank

you for

your words

of comfort

to us

in our

worries.

We trust

you father

with our

every need

in this

coming year.

you know

each one.

Save us

from being

consumed

by worry

and help

us to

trust in

your care

instead.

Holy Spirit

bring to

our minds

these precious

promises

time and

time again

so that we

can live

with confidence

in our

father's

care

and seek

first

his kingdom

and his

righteousness.

it's in

Jesus name

that we

ask it.

Amen.

Well we

are going to

sing our

last song

now.