Matthew 6:25-34 "Where to Start..."

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

! Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us. Amen. Thank you, Danita.

! I want you to stay right there in that place where your heart's at while you're listening

to that song for a minute.

The way you're feeling as you think about God watching the sparrow and watching you, what

I want you to know this morning is that you can live with God like that and be constantly

experiencing peace and appreciating the beauty and wonder of God in every moment, serving

the people God puts in your life rather than serving yourself. You can. You can live right

there. In fact, Jesus wants you there, constantly experiencing peace, appreciating God's beauty

and wonder and serving other people. In fact, you can live like that calm place and taking everything in and

slowly moving through life and living sacrificially and you can still have a joyful, fulfilling,

successful year. Would you sign up for that? Would you sign up for that if you could have that sense of peace and that fulfilled of a life?

My guess is you might have enjoyed it during the song. But when I tell you you can live like that all the time, it probably seems a bit far-fetched to most of us.

As you consider your world, as you consider your own life. Probably a lot of reasons, a lot of things going on in your life that might make you wonder and think,

yeah, well, that was nice for that song, but I'm going to leave here in a little bit and it's not going to feel like that anymore.

Some of you probably, like me, have been enjoying the last few days of summer vacation.

You don't really like me calling them the last few days

of summer vacation. I've been in the mountains this week celebrating my parents'

50th anniversary. As I was driving home last night,

I started to think,

for the first time,

I've got a kid who's not coming home with us.

How do I stay in touch with her, love her, support her?

Well, but school starts this week.

There's new teachers to meet, supplies to purchase,

emotions to manage.

We still haven't fixed those sinks in our bathroom,

says what I'm writing down as we're driving back.

I've fallen behind on that work project during vacation, right?

Better get ready for Revelation next week.

What about that new grace group we're starting?

Probably we should have the neighbors over first.

We need to get them in our home sometime.

But no way can all that happen in just seven days a week, right?

Are we adding some?

But we have kids.

Some of our kids live at home.

Grandkids, maybe you have activities.

Swim, soccer, band.

Maybe they need a sport, an academic group,

an art, and a service project for their resume, right?

Better be well-rounded by the time they finish high school.

She's going to need a ride to all of those things.

Oh, no, one of them still doesn't drive.

Oh, honey, yes, also date night.

Yeah, I'm sorry.

That's important.

Let's make that a priority.

And let's see, October?

Is that our next open night on the calendar?

Put that on there for then.

I don't know what your last few days have been like.

That's where I was last night.

Everybody has different things and different seasons.

But I want to ask you this morning,

have the things on your calendar

or in your heart or on your list,

have they been making your heart rate rise at all lately?

Would you say you're more anxious or calm recently

if you had to pick one?

Do you ever get to a place where you wonder

if you can really handle it all?

Or where to start if you were going to try?

Where would you start?

I thought before we jump into Revelation next Sunday,

not just to delay a week for my own sake,

although partially,

before we jump into a busy fall,

school year, ministry year,

I want us to listen to the words of Jesus

as He orients our hearts, our lives.

Turn with me to Matthew 6 this morning.

I'm going to read some words of Jesus

where He's speaking in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount.

He sat down with people gathered around Him

to tell them and us how to live

with God's values and priorities.

Here, in these verses,

He tells us where to start, right?

What's first?

I want to ask you to listen really carefully

to the words that I'm about to read.

They are the most important of the whole sermon.

See, this is God's Word.

It is, in a rapidly changing world,

something eternally unchanging.

In a world of disappointing people and promises,

something you can completely count on.

In a world of confusion and chaos,

it's something that is absolutely true.

Matthew 6 and verse 25,

Jesus says,

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,

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 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.

Let's pray.

Father, thank you for your word.

Jesus, you know what we need to hear.

Father,

and you've spoken clearly.

Holy Spirit,

you know how each of us this morning

needs to have this truth applied

to our hearts and lives,

and so help us.

Give us ears to hear.

Give us hearts

to respond

joyfully,

even.

To have your priorities,

to live with your values,

to know and love you,

Jesus.

Help us with that,

we ask even now,

in your name.

Amen.

Amen.

The main thing

is to keep the main thing

the main thing.

Most of you

have heard me say that before,

often around this time of year.

But I need to hear it.

In the midst of an array

of activities,

of potential priorities,

how do we know

where to start?

Well,

Jesus tells us

in this passage

about the life

that he's made us for,

where we keep our eye

on the ball,

this is what he wants for us,

where we don't miss

the important things,

the main thing.

And so that's my heart

for us this morning

is to slow down.

It's the beginning

of a new year,

so to speak.

Whatever season

you're in

and walking into,

slow down

and see clearly.

That seems simple.

That would be neat

and easy.

Get our priorities

in line quickly

if it weren't

for our universal problem.

Jesus knows

that we are all

prone

to anxious

distraction.

He has to tell us

this over

and over,

right?

Verse 25,

don't be anxious.

Verse 28,

why are you anxious?

Verse 31,

don't be anxious.

Verse 34,

don't be anxious.

You getting the idea?

Your Bible

may say

don't worry

or something

similar to that.

but the word

that's being used

there,

it refers to being

distracted

or divided,

right?

Pulled in two

directions.

Like Martha

in Luke 10,

she was distracted

with much

serving.

Many good

things,

so many

important

things to do

when Mary

is sitting

where?

At Jesus'

feet.

Maybe you feel

multiple relationships,

multiple screens

that you're

watching at one

time,

multiple problems,

multiple

distractions.

I'm anxious.

Some of us

are distracted

with the stressors

of the present

moment.

Always,

that's where we are.

Others of us

tend to spin

up our anxiety

worrying about

future possibilities,

how things

might go,

what might

happen,

how it could

go wrong

if we don't

get things

under control,

right?

But regardless

of how that

works in

your heart,

we're all

easily

distracted

from the

main thing.

we may

be anxious

about food

or clothing.

Just

based on

what I

know of

sermons,

someone has

already started

making a

grocery list

since I

started a

few minutes

ago.

That's

the truth.

Somebody

else is

worried about

what to wear

the first

day of

school.

That's

what you've

been thinking

about.

Verse 25

says,

don't be

anxious about

that.

The length

of your

life,

verse 27,

somebody's

probably been

wondering about

your health

already.

Or what

I'm doing

tomorrow,

verse 34,

somebody's

been planning

your schedule

for the

week.

I know,

I've done

that.

What's

next?

Listen,

we're doing

all of those

things just

right now and

God is

speaking to

you.

And yet

we're

distracted.

There's so

much we feel

like we have

to worry

about.

And Jesus

says that's

a problem.

Not that we

care about

those things,

of course,

but that we're

relying on

ourselves to

take care of

them to the

point that they

distract us from

what is most

important.

see, there's

a problem

beneath the

problem.

When we

realize we're

anxiously

distracted,

it's not that

you get bored

by this

preacher,

that's not

the problem.

We can see

the problem

in verse 30.

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?

That Jesus

is talking

here to

people who

are expressing

some faith

in him.

These are

warnings for

the people of

God, for

us, people

who do have

faith.

But like

Jesus'

disciples, we

often have

little faith.

We have

perhaps believed

in Jesus to

save us from

our sins one

day, someday,

but we are

not believing

Jesus for

today.

In other

words, the

problem beneath

the problem

is a neglected

relationship

with God.

Isn't that at

the root of

our problems

here?

Let me tease

it out for

you.

See, I'm

anxiously

distracted by

obsessing over

my health and

my weight

because I've

not been

nurturing a

relationship with

the great

physician who

made me

fearfully and

wonderfully and

promises no

hair falls from

my head without

his good care.

I've decided I

like controlling

my life better.

Or I'm anxiously

distracted by

obsessing over my

kids and their

current and future

success in life

life because I've

not been talking

about them to

the God who

promises to be a

God to me and

to my children

after me and

has been faithful

generation after

generation.

I've decided I

like controlling

my kids' lives

better.

money.

Or I'm

anxiously distracted

by obsessing over

my bank account

and my budget

because I've not

been remembering

and thanking God

who owns the

cattle on a

thousand hills for

entrusting some of

his resources to

me to steward.

Even though he

promises to meet

all my needs

according to his

glorious riches in

Christ Jesus, I've

decided I like

controlling my

financial security

better.

Just confessing.

Do you see how

that's little faith?

God, I believe you

exist but I don't

believe it's best to

trust you in this

area.

God, I believe you

created the world but

I don't believe you

know better than I do

how it works.

God, I believe you

sent your son to

rescue me forever

and I'll sing about

it but I don't

believe you will care

for me when I'm

alone or hungry or

hurting.

Little faith.

Jesus is telling us

over and over here

don't live like that.

Don't have small

thoughts of me.

Don't neglect your

relationship with God.

Now, yes, be a

faithful planner like

the ant.

Yes, work hard as

God tells you to but

don't leave God

behind to make a

run at life on your

own for even one

busy season.

Don't do it.

Don't make a run at a

season when I'm just

going to live by the

things I see for now

rather than by faith.

For so many reasons

Jesus says don't be

anxious.

Don't be distracted.

Don't miss what's

most important.

That's so easy to do.

I want us to hear

Jesus' solution to

these problems and

then talk about how

his solution transforms

our lives to be the

peaceful, marveling

servants that I talked

about a minute ago.

You know how Jesus

often teaches.

He's making a point

and he looks around

for examples that

are right there in

front of the people

he's teaching.

And what he's wanting

to teach right here,

he wants to show

these anxiously

distracted followers a

focus on God, who he

is, his character, in

particular God's

commitment to provide.

Provide.

So he makes two

arguments from lesser

things to greater

things.

Verse 26, birds.

Look at the birds of

the air.

Open your eyes, he

says.

They neither sow nor

reap nor gather into

barns, yet your heavenly

Father feeds them.

Are you not of more

value than they?

Look, if God feeds the

bird, his eye is on

the sparrow, right?

Then can't you trust

him to feed you?

How much more is he

going to feed you,

right?

And by the way, birds

don't have Costco to

buy food.

They don't have freezers

to stockpile food.

They don't have a garden

to grow food, except the

one in your backyard they

think is theirs.

They don't rely on

themselves, do they?

That's not how it

works.

They rely on their

creator to provide, and

how well does he do?

Marvelously well.

Imagine how much more

he will do for you.

Then Jesus says, another

example, verse 28,

flowers, the lilies of

the field.

Verse 28, why are you

anxious about clothing?

Consider the lilies of the

field, how they grow.

They neither toil nor

spin.

They're not working hard.

Yet I tell you, even

Solomon in all his glory

was not arrayed like one

of these.

Look at how beautiful

these flowers are.

Picture a beautiful flower

in your mind.

God really put some

unique design into

gorgeous plants all

around us.

And did you know, not a

single flower woke up

this morning and thought,

I better put on a nicer

dress, or get to a

tanning bed before

anyone sees me.

Or if I don't improve

my skin care routine,

or start hitting the

gym harder, I won't

look beautiful in ten

years.

Not one flower bought

that.

And yet they're so

beautiful that we stop

to take pictures of

them.

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,

you're an eternal soul.

Will not your creator

make you beautiful?

Forever beautiful?

Beautiful?

Deep beauty from the

inside out in every

way?

Won't he do that for

you?

That's what Romans 8.32

reminds us of.

That if God did not

withhold his own son,

but loved us so much

that he gave us that

greatest of all gifts,

how will he not also

along with him

graciously give us

all things?

He saved you from your

sins.

He's not leaving you

consistently without

lunch.

He's given you his

most precious gift.

He's not withholding

the good life that

you're chasing somewhere

else, right?

He's brought you into

relationship with him

forever.

He's not leaving you

alone right now, is

he?

No way.

See, if there's a

problem beneath the

problem, there's a

solution beneath the

solution.

It's the relationship,

right?

We must focus on our

relationship with God.

Now, we've been

talking about that a

lot this year.

You've heard me use the

phrase, a faith

priority.

Owning your own

faith, not just

coasting spiritually

while investing all

your time and energy

elsewhere.

where, but even

though we hear that,

there are a lot of

things competing for

our time and

attention, aren't

there?

Notice how Jesus

points out this

underlying solution

here.

Verse 26, your

heavenly father

feeds the birds.

father, not their

father, but yours.

You have a special

relationship with him.

Verse 32, your

heavenly father knows

that you need them all,

everything you need.

So you focus on your

relationship with God.

You want to know where

to start?

first, seek first the

kingdom of God and his

righteousness.

That relationship.

Seek that first.

And he is such a

generous provider, such

a gracious father, that

as long as you have him,

you'll have all those

other things that you

obsess over and get

anxiously distracted by.

You'll have all of them

except perhaps the ones

that he knows you don't

need.

There's one thing, the

main thing, it's your

relationship with God,

your faith priority.

Jesus says you don't

have to rush around

wondering where to

start.

You don't even have to

find a new book that

tells you how to do it

better, which activity

is most important, what

needs to land on your

calendar first to make

you successful this

year.

He says seek first

God's kingdom, his

righteousness.

These are words for

life in relationship with

the one who made you,

remember, for himself.

That's why he made you.

That's why you exist.

See, Jesus is heading to

the cross to secure not

merely the forgiveness of

our sins, but ultimately

our adoption into the

family of God.

We have a father who

cares for us as his

children even more than

he does for birds and

grass and flowers and he

cares for them really well.

And he is calling us to

enjoy him, to obey him,

to get to know him more,

to live with him in every

moment and to trust him

with the many things that

might otherwise distract us

from the best thing.

Jesus says you can slow

down, you can breathe,

because you have a good

and gracious father.

A pastor friend of mine

tells the story of a young

boy who was adopted into a

family after spending his

early years as an orphan,

where he was mistreated,

malnourished, often went

extended periods of time

without getting any food.

Not long after being

adopted into his new

family, the parents began

to notice that food was

missing from the pantry

and the fridge more and

more.

And one day the father

went into his son's room

and he found him

underneath his bed with a

stockpile of food.

The boy explained, of

course, that he was

afraid that the food would

run out, that he wouldn't

be given anymore.

So in his anxiety over

those possibilities, he had

attempted to provide for

himself by stashing food

under his bed.

You can understand that.

The father understood, but it

broke his heart, right?

And it gave him the chance

to reassure his son,

you're my son.

All the food in this house

belongs to me and it is

yours because you're my son.

I will always make sure that

you get fed.

You don't have to provide for

yourself.

You don't have to be anxious.

I hope you can hear your

father saying that to you

this morning because there's

more of us than we'd like to

admit approaching this next

season like the boy under the

bed.

Have you been neglecting your

relationship with your father

and trying in any number of

ways to provide for yourself?

Is it leading to anxiety, to

frantic attempts at self-reliance,

desperate efforts to provide

what you need and maybe what

you're feeling is very little

peace and very little rest?

Slow down, Jesus says.

One thing, just one thing,

seek ye first.

Focus on your relationship with

God.

I know it may seem like you

won't get cared for, but

trust me, he says, all these

things will be added to you as

well.

You just focus on the one

thing first.

Actually live like you have a

good father.

Make it your ambition to lead a

quiet life at peace with God,

learning more about how good and

gracious your father is,

rejoicing more in his kindness

to you, simple gifts.

Now you may hear me describe a

life like that and you think,

oh, that's some super spiritual

kind of life.

I want to suggest it's super

practical.

It doesn't need to feel weird.

See, the result of God's solution

to the problem we all struggle

with is that because he has

solved your biggest problems,

he has met your deepest needs,

you can live that kind of

focused life and find that it's

still a fulfilled life at the

same time that all these things

are added unto you.

And his kingdom, when we talk

about seeking first his kingdom,

that's huge.

That touches every area of life.

That's not merely some churchy

thing that's confined to this

building or this day of the week

or this hour of the day.

I want to give you some suggestions

of what it can look like to seek

first his kingdom and righteousness.

Your relationship with him focused

on his rule everywhere and his way

in everything.

That's what that means.

His rule everywhere,

his way in everything.

These, to be clear, are just

suggestions, okay?

Not biblical directives.

You can think of your own.

Perhaps just to be merciful to

yourself, just pick one or two

areas that you want to focus on for

now.

How could your life change as you

focus on the main thing?

Perhaps start family worship or

devotionals, discussions again this

week.

I cannot count how many times I've

stopped and started.

There's no limit.

But spend time together focusing on

God.

Not just so you can feel more

spiritual, but so your kids get to

know their heavenly father more and

actually know that he's more

important to you than algebra.

They'll be delighted to know that.

Maybe even more delighted to know

that you know that.

Seek first God's kingdom at work.

I say that specifically because it's

a place where we're really tempted

to build our own kingdoms rather

than God's kingdom.

Perhaps by prioritizing Sabbath rest

for yourself or your company.

Perhaps by pursuing prophets in God

honoring ways that care for the

needy.

Perhaps by carving out time in your

calendar to meet with God on your

busiest days.

Just block it off before you get

there.

Another idea.

Do something sacrificial with your

time or your money.

Like perhaps instead of committing to

the gym every night, commit one or

two nights a week to partnering with a

neighbor in a faith and finances

class.

Like using your discretionary money to

bless someone else.

Start looking at your life through the

lens of abundance because, listen,

you have a father who has given you the

kingdom and he's given you eternity to

enjoy it.

Can you believe that?

Everything you need and all the time you

could imagine to enjoy it.

So you are freed up to sacrifice and find

yourself not empty but full again and

again.

Consider your grace group intentionally as you

reconnect this fall.

If you're not in one, maybe that makes the

calendar before some other things you're about

to fill in.

But when you are in one, prioritize engaging in

those relationships beyond just meetings.

Ask others in the group, how are they doing

with Jesus?

How God's growing or teaching them lately?

How you can pray for their spiritual good?

If it feels weird to you and awkward, just

blame it on me.

Pastor Will told me to ask, how can I pray for

your spiritual good?

Fine.

But do it and pray.

And watch God deepen those relationships.

How could you seek first God's kingdom with

your words?

The tongue has so much power to build up, to

tear down, but a heart seeking first God's

kingdom is looking for fellow travelers on that

road to encourage with a note, with a word,

evaluating how my social media comments are

pointing to Jesus or may need to be left unsaid.

Maybe starting to pray every Sunday afternoon

about someone I saw this morning or someone I

missed this morning.

Someone who would benefit from hearing from me.

One last thought.

This one probably more of a biblical directive

than the others.

Commit to praying daily, to talking with God.

If that's what he made you for, it's a great place to

start this exploration of what it means in your life to

seek first his kingdom.

Because if you use the Lord's prayer we prayed together

earlier, you're going to pray, thy kingdom come.

And you could say, God, I'm not even sure what that means,

but would you show me what that means in my life today?

You could ask him that every morning.

You could pray for people who don't yet know the king and for

boldness to share the good news with them.

Just slow down and talk with your father.

I'm not trying to tell you exactly how to live your life.

I certainly am not trying to have you leave here with a longer

list of to-dos heaped on you.

That's not my goal.

I don't know what seek ye first God's kingdom needs to look like

in each of our lives specifically.

I do know that Jesus is telling us where to start.

And unless we are so pridefully self-confident that we think we know

better than he does how to run our lives, then we start with him.

I'm listening in relationship.

We ought to receive his direction to us today from his word as a gift

because we don't have to guess the organizing principle of life

or the top priority we should have this fall or any other time.

He doesn't leave us there wondering.

Do you ever feel like you're trying to hold about a dozen different things at once?

Do you ever not feel that way?

Do you ever feel like you just keep dropping more and more of them?

God is saying to you this morning, just you hold one.

Can you hold one?

And he has big and strong, capable arms to hold all the rest.

He's saying, hand them off.

Bring them with you.

Give them to me.

If we're willing to start there, to slow down, to avoid all the potential distractions

and be with him and follow his path, Jesus is saying,

there, right there is true abundant life.

There really is a peace that your heavenly father knows what you need

and delights to provide.

There's a wonder, a love living with wonder

that God has placed you in a glorious creation

to enjoy more of his glory

and he doesn't want you to miss the small things this week.

There's a purpose.

There's a driving purpose that you can live for

and you can love others

and you can find as you do

that someone is looking out for your needs

while you're focused elsewhere.

Jesus says, don't worry, you of little faith.

Watch your faith grow big in your big God

who cares for you, his child.

He says, this is going to be great.

Trust me.

Keep your eye on the ball.

Seek first his kingdom and righteousness.

Let's ask for his help.

Jesus, you know how much we struggle with this.

You tell us over and over because you love us

and you want what's best for us

and forgive us for not listening,

for not listening in a way that intends to have our lives

be any different

because we're pretty sure we already know

what our priorities should be.

Father, forgive me for that.

You do know best.

You are trustworthy.

You care for a lot of sparrows

really well.

How much do you love us?

How much more have you invited us

into your family

to be the objects of your great provision,

your divine affection,

your tender mercy?

We need it.

And help us not to go somewhere else

looking for it this week.

Might we live with you

and for you because we trust you.

We ask in your name, Jesus.

Amen.

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