Be Assured

Intro

we are back into our series BE. I realize we took an extended break so I want to recap where we left off.

Recap

a couple weeks ago, the previous passage unpacked how we should look at money. Jesus essentially tells His followers that you can’t serve God and money.

Matthew 6:24 NLT

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

one of the questions I asked in that message is whether you are going to trust God with your life, or are you going to trust money?

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Now in most translations of scripture, v. 25 has a new heading, Do Not Be Anxious or something along those lines. When you see a heading like that, your mind immediately assumes that a new topic is starting and it is not connected to the last

the NLT, the translation I preach from, does not have a separate heading, and the reason for that is the portion we are looking at this morning is not separate from the previous. To show what I mean, let me ask you a question...

What is something that makes you the most anxious?

more times then not, the answer is money.

Matthew 6:25–30 NLT

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

You Are Valued

Before we dive into the money part of the message, I want re-enforce a very important aspect of Jesus’ message. YOU HAVE INCREDIBLE VALUE!! Last weekend we looked at the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans tells us that Christ died while we were still enemies of God. WHY? Because God loves you more then words can describe. That means you are worth loving!! The Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, He who uses the earth as His footstool and the Heavens as His throne. He who sees the beginning and the end all at once because He is outside of time. He sees YOU. He loves YOU. Jesus died for YOU!

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You are not equal to animals. In fact, you are the prize of God’s creation. You are not a mistake. You are not an accident. You are a child of God Most High, loved beyond words. Jesus isn’t using sparrows and lilies to down play your value. He is using something of little value, showing how God loves and cares for them, and reminds you that you are of MUCH greater value than these things.

We live in a society that promotes that love must be earned, it must be attained. You have to be worth loving and if you are not, you feel it. You feel like an outcast and lonely. If anyone feels lonely or dejected, or if you struggle with self worth, this is good news for you and you really need to hold on to what I’m saying.

You have a Heavenly Father who knows you intimately. He knows what you need before you ask, He just wants you to ask. He knows the extent of your struggle, and Jesus knows what it is to struggle and feel pain. You are loved, not because of anything you do, but completely because of who He is. God loves you, and there’s nothing you could ever do to to make Him love you more or love you less.

I believe that there is someone here that is questioning their worth, and I want you to hear the voice of the Father, the gentle whisper of someone close, saying to you, “I love you”

Jesus goes on to say this

Matthew 6:31–34 NLT

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Don’t Be Anxious

Jesus says, “So...”

The ‘so’ is to remind us that He is building here. ‘So’ is the connecting word

You are valued, SO don’t worry about these things.

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Let me ask you, and I don’t need a show of hands or anything; I just want you to contemplate this. When things get tight, and I know for many people right now things are tight. When things get tight, what is often the first place we stop putting our money?

When things get tight, what is the one area of spending a married couple starts to fight about most often? Food and clothes.

Remember a couple weeks ago I quoted Job. Job says that if we put our trust in money, we might as well start making sacrifices and serving other gods. When we put trust in money, it is a form of idolatry. Why? Because we are trusting something man made more than we are trusting our Heavenly Father.

Well Jesus takes this a step further. He says that unbelievers are consumed with thoughts about what to eat and what to wear. Why? Because an unbeliever has no one to put their trust in. An unbeliever can only rely on themselves, and so they work harder, they spend less time at home, they take extra jobs, they set out to make sure they have enough because if they don’t do it, no one is going to do it for them.

All the while, they store up and don’t give, they don’t enjoy life because they are overcome by worry.

But a believer has a different perspective. As a believer, you know that you are loved by a Heavenly Father who was willing to send His one and only Son to die for you. You know that there is no end to God’s storehouses. I’m not saying to be lazy and do nothing, because Scripture has something to say about that too.

What I’m saying is that if you are willing to put God first with your finances, He is going to provide for you in ways you are not expecting. In the Old Testament, God actually tells His people to test Him in this

Malachi 3:10 NLT

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

Now I want to be clear on this. Tithing is one of those topics that has been mishandled in the past, and what I don’t want to lay a burden on someone that is too heavy to bear. Tithing is not explicitly taught in the New Testament, but Paul does say this

2 Corinthians 9:6–10 NLT

Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

Earlier, Paul encourages the Corinthians to give in proportion to what they have. I think that is why the church has stuck to the teaching on the tithe. As God provides and blesses you with more, then you will be able to give more.

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The point is this. Jesus calls us to a life of generosity. When we are willing to put God first in our finances, it changes our focus from the things of this world to the things of Heaven. When we are willing to put Jesus first with our finances, then he will meet all our needs.

Back when we looked at Jesus’ teaching on how to pray, I said that part of praying, “Give us our daily bread” is learning what our daily bread looks like. It might mean skimming some of the extra things that can distract us, and focusing on the important things.

Closing

I know that our dollar doesn’t go as far as it once did. Everything keeps getting more expensive and the spending keep getting tighter and tighter. I get it. As tempting as it may be to skim back on the generosity, I honestly believe this is actually an opportunity to really see the ways God provides.

So my challenge for you this week is to take sometime in your prayer closet. If you’re married, pray with your spouse. Take your finances, lay them before the Father, and have a conversation with Him. We serve the God of the Universe. If I am going to pick a financial advisor, its going to be Him.

Ask God what generosity looks like in your current situation. Ask Him if there’s spending that you need to cut back on for a time. Ask Him what it looks like to seek first the kingdom of God with your finances.

Then put it into practice, not be grudgingly, but excitedly, eagerly, because you don’t just serve a God who is more then able. You are loved and valued by a Heavenly Father who wants to open His storehouses for you.

BE Assured