The Un-anxious Life: Trusting the Promises of God, Part 2
Matthew: The King and His Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 33:32
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· 10 viewsThe un-anxious Christian life lays down anxieties by trusting in our Good, Sovereign, and Wise Heavenly Father’s promises.
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“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.
“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.
The Christian CANNOT trust Mammon to provide for life’s necessities either.
The Christian is NO LONGER enslaved to the “god” of Mammon.
The Christian is enslaved to our Lord and master.
“Worry is to be over-concerned about something other than the kingdom of God.” —R. T. France
What’s the line between Godly concern and over-concern?
Godly concern still thinks about and considers the future.
Godly concern can also be concerned about something but it leads to action and prayer.
Over-concern always thinks and acts like everything depends upon you.
Over-concern acts as though everything is completely out of control.
Over-concern does not pray at all or prays as though God needs to be desperately informed on the matter that He is “clearly ignorant” on.
“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?
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety ignores the power of God.
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety ignores the power of God.
Our “life” or soul or (Gk: ψυχὴ) is MORE than food.
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 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.
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety ignores God’s Fatherly provision.
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety ignores God’s Fatherly provision.
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety provides nothing to your life.
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety provides nothing to your life.
Anxious worry changes NOTHING about our lives.
Anxious worry reveals a lack of trust in the hand of Heavenly Father.
The kind of anxious worry that Jesus is condemning here is a worry that is UNPRODUCTIVE.
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety personifies the life of an unbeliever.
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety personifies the life of an unbeliever.
Matthew 6:30–31 (ESV)
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.
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety personifies the life of an unbeliever.
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety personifies the life of an unbeliever.
The Gentiles, or the “Ethnos” (Gk: ἔθνος) seek after the things to eat, drink, and wear.
But those who know the Covenant keeping God of Israel do not seek after them in the same way.
The Gentiles are constantly seeking to provide for themselves out of their own resources and provision.
They are pursuing a vision of the world that depends upon them.
Unbeliever and Anxiety
If you’re an unbeliever here, I would imagine that you’re an anxious person.
You’re an anxious person because apart from knowing God as Father, everyone would be.
The natural bend of the heart of man is toward anxiety and fear.
Fear of the future.
Fear of the unknown.
Fear of tomorrow.
“Worry is over-concern that results from ‘over-loving’ something–that is, loving it more than God. Concern results when you love something in a proper way and not more than God. Indifference is a lack of love.” —Timothy Lane
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Here is a man that seems reasonable.
You can imagine this man was deeply anxious over the matter.
How will I be taken care of?
But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully,
and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’
And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
Jesus is not saying that a person shouldn’t build larger barns.
This man was building larger barns UNTO himself.
He was building larger barns as a way to increase his own namesake.
And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’
He even says “relax, eat, drink, be merry” which is a clear indicator that his desire is to satisfy his hungry heart with goods.
But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
There are two pieces to the problem, (1) this man has laid up treasure “for himself.”
This means that his riches only are viewed in light of himself.
(2) This man is NOT rich toward God.
He is not generous toward God but views his money as a way to increase his own name.
Anxiety always comes back to something we perceive as valuable to your life.
That’s why eating, drinking, and wearing are emphasized here.
But those are not generally where our anxious society dwells.
People pleasers could be more aptly described as “over-loving” approval of others.
Our societal anxieties rest on places like,
“How do other like me?”
“What will they think of me?”
How will it go with my life?
Job pleasers could be described as “over-loving” your performance at work.
How will it go with my life?
Spouse pleasers could be described as “over-loving” your spouse because of the excessive expectations we try to live up to.
How will it go with my life?
Unfortunately, Christians have become almost indistinguishable at this point from the world.
This is to our shame Christians.
We have become almost complete “like” the Gentiles in this respect.
It is to our shame that we look just like the rest of the world in this.
There is little uniqueness in the Christian community in this way.
Imagine with me how unique it would be if the watching world observed a people that we UN-ANXIOUS.
That trusted the hand of our heavenly FATHER.
No change in our situations, only a stead confidence in our Father.
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety distracts you from the present.
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety distracts you from the present.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety distracts you from the present.
The un-anxious Christian lays down anxieties because your anxiety distracts you from the present.
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of it’s sorrow. It empties today of it’s strength.” —Corrie Ten Boom
The anxious heart NEVER allows you to remain in the present.
The anxious heart NEVER allows you to be present in the moment.
The anxious heart NEVER allows you to be with the people you’re with.
The anxious heart always desires you to think about the future.
A father at home with his family, but anxiously thinking about the struggles of the week ahead.
A mother sitting around the dinner table with her family, but concerned with her children’s futures.
A teen getting home from school for the weekend, but to fret about the upcoming week ahead.
Always on to the next thing.
Always thinking ahead of what’s to come.
Always planning and strategizing about what will happen.
Always running scenario’s that are completely fictional.
The un-anxious Christian trusts in the promise of the value placed upon His children.
The un-anxious Christian trusts in the promise of the value placed upon His children.
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?
For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
The un-anxious Christian trusts in the promise of the value placed upon His children.
The un-anxious Christian trusts in the promise of the value placed upon His children.
This comes back to what we talked about a couple of weeks ago with the orphan mentality.
The beauty of the good news of Jesus Christ is that God the Father has adopted into His Family through the forgiveness of sins in Christ the children of God.
We were once orphans and strangers to God.
And Jesus returns to this again here.
The Gentiles seek after all of these temporary things, but the children of God know that the Father has their best interest in mind.
“When you worry, you are not enjoying your relationship with God; you’re missing part of the joy and fullness that He promises to you.” —Timothy Lane
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
The crazy thing for the Christian is that we can sit and believe that “Jesus died for me.”
And simultaneously hold to, “I wonder if I will have this thing…”
Do you see the contrary nature of this?
If the Father delights to give to His Son for sinners..
Then won’t He much more give us everything we NEED?
If the Father graciously secures everything we need to be made right with HIM through Faith…
Then won’t He give us whatever we NEED?
It should probably be mentioned here as well that often what we think we need is not what we actually need.
What we think we cannot go without is really a secondary or less important thing entirely.
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;
or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
I want us to pause and consider something before we move on from this.
This first section focused on LAYING DOWN anxiety in repentance.
We need to “put off” our anxieties.
But if we don’t pick up something in it’s place.
We will be much worse than we were before.
Jesus used an illustration of the way He got rid of spiritual forces of darkness.
Matthew 12:43–45 (ESV)
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none.
Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order.
Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first…
“Unless God’s Spirit takes up residence, a person purged by self-denial becomes vulnerable to reinfestation by graver evils such as pride, hypocrisy, and contempt for others.” —The Reformation Study Bible
It’s very possible for a person to become a less anxious person and no more conformed to Jesus Christ.
Through self-effort and self-improvement a person can make great strides.
But without the SPIRIT of the LIVING GOD breaking through their heart to empower them in such an endeavor, it will be folly.
The un-anxious Christian trusts in the promise of priority to kingdom seekers.
The un-anxious Christian trusts in the promise of priority to kingdom seekers.
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.
The un-anxious Christian trusts in the promise of priority to kingdom seekers.
The un-anxious Christian trusts in the promise of priority to kingdom seekers.
The kingdom of God is where God’s rule and reign and authority are.
This means that Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God in His earthly ministry.
So the kingdom is already HERE.
Yet, we wait for it to come in FULL.
To “seek first the kingdom” is to desire the spread of the reign of Jesus Christ.
“When you seek the King, you are seeking his kingdom. This kingdom includes everything that comes from him.
It includes his law, his grace and mercy, his blessings of life, adoption, and holiness, and all his promises throughout Scripture. Those who seek him feed on his Word and seek to imitate him.” —Ed Welch
Think about this, it’s not possible to be serving the kingdom of SELF and the KINGDOM of God at the same time (Matthew 6:24).
The kingdom of self tries to build their own lesser kingdoms in their own way.
The kingdom of self is where anxiety dwells.
But the kingdom of God, when we seek to build it, it’s a kingdom known by peace.
So it’s possible to think you’re building the kingdom of God…
but if you’re trying to build it using the tools of the kingdom of self it will also produce a kind of unhealthy anxiety.
If we’re trying to build two kingdoms at once, we actually fail to build either.
This means that in your homes, we seek the kingdom first.
This means that in our workplaces, we seek the kingdom first.
This means that in our sports and play, we seek the kingdom first.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Troubles will come tomorrow.
J.C. Ryle used to refer to tomorrow as the “Devil’ Day”
“Tomorrow is the devil's day, but today is God's.” —J.C. Ryle
Expository Thoughts on Matthew Matthew 6:25–34: Over-carefulness about This World Forbidden
We are to attend to to-day’s business, and leave to-morrow’s anxieties till to-morrow dawns. We may die before to-morrow. We know not what may happen on the morrow. This only we may be assured of, that if to-morrow brings a cross, He who sends it, can and will send grace to bear it.
But kingdom building happens today.
We have been discussing in Sunday school how God provides differently for cities as he does those who receive directly from the providence of God.
What difference is their in God providing for a need through the use of a fruit tree or the hand of His children?
There is NONE.
His providence is over even our giving and care for one another.
So when we’re prompted to give as Christians, we should remember that we don’t need to see reasons.
We know and trust that our Sovereign Lord is using us to accomplish His purposes.
The un-anxious Christian life lays down anxieties by trusting our Good, Sovereign, and Wise Heavenly Father’s promises.
The un-anxious Christian life lays down anxieties by trusting our Good, Sovereign, and Wise Heavenly Father’s promises.
Are you burden with anxieties?
Come unto Jesus.
Are you heavy with the labor of worry?
Come unto Jesus.
Are you concerned with the future?
Come unto Jesus.
Are you fearful of what tomorrow holds for your family?
Come unto Jesus.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”