Where is Our Faith Part 2
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Recap
Recap
Last time we talked about the basic principle which is where are we laying up our treasures, we covered verses 19-24. We learned that it is not wrong to have wealth, to have investments as long as they do not consume us and we are using them to further God’s kingdom. As Brother Bobby said last Sunday we must keep our focus on the things of above, focused on Christ. Everything we have is not ours it belongs to God, and everything we have we should be using for His kingdom. We cannot love the world and love God, He requires complete devotion. Well today we are going to start on the next section which is the daily practice of the principle we learned about in the earlier verses (not laying up treasures on earth) ultimately do we love God or the world. Today we are starting in verse 25 going through verse 34, we may or may not make it all the way through today. So, lets dive in, I will read all the verse and then we will go through them one by one. Remember our definition of faith Trust, dependence, and reliance on God.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 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! 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will 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.
25 “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? 26 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? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 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?
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Remember we are looking at the sermon on the mount, and remember what Brother Bobby said last week about this section it is right after the Lord’s prayer. Also in chapter 7 verses 7-11 Jesus teaches us that if we who are worldly and evil give what our children ask for then how much more will God “give good things to those who ask”. This section of scripture is often used to deal with the idea of anxiety or worry in the ESV the heading is “Do Not Be Anxious”. Now there are some key phrases that our Lord uses that will help us to understand where our worries and our anxieties stem from. These are found in verse 25, verse 30, and the key verse to unlocking it all is verse 33. We are going to look at three points today. 1. Our Value 25-30. 2. Hindered Testimony 31-33. 3. Loss of Joy 34.
Our Value
Our Value
25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat, and not for your body, what you will wear. Is your life not more than food and your body more than clothing?
Here I used the LEB translation, the ESV says “Therefore” well remember anytime we see this we need to back up a little and find our why we are there. The LEB says for this reason, for what reason, well it is from the earlier section about laying up treasures in heaven. Anytime we are reading Scripture we must remember that the paragraphs and division were added much later. That is why we are looking at these two sections as one unit from verse 19 all the way to 34. If our focus is the kingdom, and that is where we are putting all of our efforts (treasures) then we need not be anxious. We need not to worry about these worldly things, we should remain focused on the things of above. Focused on God’s kingdom, and the work that God has called us to. We should not be concerned about the trivial things of life like food and clothing. We should be concerned with the things of God.
26 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?
Jesus uses the example of nature here to illustrate God’s provision. He uses the birds as an example, which in the area of Palestine would have been plenty. First off Jesus talks about food. The birds do not work the fields planting and reaping crops, but somehow they manage, how is that. It is God’s provision, he provides for His creation. But I want to point our that we should not just sit around waiting for God to provide for us. All through Scripture we are called to be diligent workers for the Lord. What do birds do all day, they fly around gathering for their nest, as well as eating. They are very industrious creatures, just as we should be. The key here is not to focus on material things, things of this earth. Jesus then points to our value as God’s children, the pinnacle of God’s creation, made in His image.
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Does being anxious or worrying about something make anything better, NO. If we are constantly anxious and full of worry it will actually cause us physical harm. According to Medical News Today constant anxiety leads to these health risks: depression, digestive issues, insomnia, chronic pain conditions, difficulties with school, work, or socialization. Worries and anxieties about things of this world will pull us away from God, remember you cannot serve two masters.
28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Now Jesus moves from food to clothing. He again uses nature to illustrate His point. If God’s nature is taken care of would He not care for us as well. God’s beautiful flowers are even more beautiful than King Solomon arrayed in all his fine linens and gold.
30 But if God dresses the grass of the field in this way, although it is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not do so much more for you, you of little faith?
Here is the real question, one of the points that Jesus is trying to make, I mentioned this verse earlier. The question is if God clothes the grass, that is here one day and burnt up the next, will He not do the same for His children. Then Jesus hits the heart, “you of little faith”. Being anxious and worried about food and clothing stem from a lack of faith. Do we not claim that God provides for all of our needs, we make all these claims about our faith, but are we truly trusting in God, or are we just talking. Do we really put all our trust in God to provide for us. And when I talk about God providing for us, I am not just talking about our personal lives. Do we trust in God to provide for His church, do we have faith in Him that He will meet all our needs. God has provided for the most important thing that we need and that is our salvation, so if we trust Him with our eternity, why can’t we trust Him with the temporary.
Hindered Testimony
Hindered Testimony
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
Here again we see the word “Therefore” so because we know that God provides for the things in nature, His creation, and us being adopted into His family through Christ why would He not take care of us. Because of the preceding verses we should not be anxious about, food or drink or clothing. So, what does this have to do with hindering our testimony, well the pagan religions were full of anxieties, constantly worrying about appeasing their God’s. If we act like the world but speak like a Christian what does that say about us. How can we tell someone about our faith when we are full of worry.
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
Are we acting like the world. Or putting our faith in God’s provision, because He knows what we need. He know better what we need than we do. Psalm 139:1-6 “I like to put it this way: since God’s ability transcends my reality, it’s best for me to bow at His immensity. God is always greater than our present knowledge of Him. If God were small enough for our brains, He wouldn’t be big enough for our needs.”
John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016).
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Here is the key of this entire section. If we seek the things of God first everything we need will be provided for us. I also want to point out that Jesus tells us to do this first. So, before we start worrying about the world, we should focus on the Kingdom. When we put Him first, everything else falls into place. Let me ask you this, are you seeking fist the kingdom of God and His righteousness in your personal life. Now let me ask us this as a church are we seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, or are we just playing church. Where is our faith. Are we a prayerful person, seeking God’s continued guidance, and provision. Are we are prayerful church doing the same.
Loss of Joy
Loss of Joy
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
“Therefore” we see again Jesus pointing us to one of His previous statements. Here He is pointing us back to verse 33, that is why we should not be anxious. There is also another by product of worry, and that is a loss of joy. When we lack faith in God’s provision, and we worry the joy that we find in Christ is lost. We are consumed with the world and we do not experience the joy found in serving our Lord in His kingdom.
Where is Our Faith Part 2
Where is Our Faith Part 2
What can we learn from this section of God’s word, what can we apply to our lives. First off are we seeking God in everything we do. Second are we focusing on Him, and not the world, are we seeking His kingdom or are we seeking our own.