Do Not Be Anxious

Recap

Ok, now everybody go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Matthew 6:25-34 for our Bible passage tonight. And a quick recap:

What is this section of Scripture we’re studying called?

Who gave the sermon?

Why is the mount significant?

Scripture Reading

Matthew 6:25–34 ESV

“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.

God Cares for His Creation, so He Will Care for You

Explanation

Jesus gives two examples:

The birds

They do not become anxious about food.

They don’t store it up. They aren’t worried that one day they won’t be able to find food. They simply go out and find it, as God provides for them.

The flowers

The flowers of the field grow and are clothed in beauty

Solomon was David’s son who was king over Israel after him. He asked God for wisdom and was given it. The result is that his kingdom grew to be immensely rich.

Jesus says the beauty of even the most amazing clothes, like Solomon’s were, are less than the beauty of the flowers of the fields.

Jesus tells us that we, because we are made in God’s image, are more valuable to God than the birds or the flowers of the field. We are the pinnacle of his creation, because we are made in his image.

If we’re more valuable, then shouldn’t we believe that God will also feed and clothe us? He does it for lesser creation, so he will surely do it for the created beings that he loved so much that he came to die for us.

The Control Is In God’s Hands, Not Ours

Explanation

Jesus says in verse 27

Matthew 6:27 “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

It’s a good question. What power do we have to actually add a single hour to our span of life by worrying about the future.

We might think we have control over things, but we really don’t. We can’t make ourselves live any longer than God wants us to. We can’t make people do things. We can’t control the future.

But God does control the future. God does control the present.

So when the birds are fed, that’s God feeding them. When the fields are clothed with beautiful flowers, that’s God clothing them.

When you eat, when you put on clothes, when you drink, when you enjoy comforts… that’s God doing that for you. He is the one in control.

Illustration

Sometimes we don’t see this because we often think we have a lot of control based on the way we live our lives. We can make plans and know our schedule for the day and have an idea of how we want it to play out. It doesn’t always go the way we want (which reminds us that we’re not actually in control) but the feeling of planning gives us a sense of control.

Sometimes we need reminders of how God is the one providing for us.

This was true for me right after I graduated high school. Many of you know I went on a missions backpacking trip in Europe. The goal was to share our faith with people we encountered in the cities. But another side quest was to stretch our faith and watch God provide for us. We had only a few nights planned along our journey from point A to point B, and the rest was unknown.

We watched God provide free showers for us at a resort in Germany after a long night of riding trains just to get some sleep. We watched him provide a very expensive seafood meal for our group in Denmark through the generosity of a waiter we met that morning. And in so many other moments, God came through for us and provided for our needs, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And how we got to see that was letting go of the reigns and not planning out every particular detail. We mentally put ourselves in God’s hands to provide for us, and that helped us see that we were always in his hands.

Application

Because God already knows what we need, he cares for us, and he has the power to give us those things.

So we need to trust in God as provider. That’s what true faith is, trusting in God to be sufficient for you. Trusting God to care for your needs, physical and spiritual.

We Are Freed From Worries to Seek God’s Kingdom and Righteousness

Explanation

Because we know that God will provide for all of our needs, we are freed from the need to worry.

Instead, we can seek his kingdom and his righteousness. And we can do it FIRST. We can let God’s kingdom be our priority. Rather than seeking to build up our own kingdom, we can seek to build God’s.

And we can seek to live righteously, following all of his commandments and letting him change us from the inside out so that we look more like Jesus.

Illustration

How many of you have a job?

Now imagine if I told you that right now, you needed to get a full time job so you could pay rent, pay for your own food, your phone bill, pay for transport everywhere, etc. Essentially, that you had to do everything a working adult does.

How well do you think you would do in school?

Here’s the thing, you parents provide for your housing, your food, your transport, phone, sports, etc. And all that frees you up to focus on your schooling and your extracurriculars.

In an even greater way, God provides for all of your needs, through your parents, and even beyond what your parents give you. He frees you from truly having to worry all these things so that you can focus on him.

Closing

God will provide for your needs. He does it for all his creation, so he will especially do it for you. He is in control, and we are not.

Therefore, since worrying won’t do any good for us, and since our needs will be taken care of by God, we are freed to seek him first.

There is freedom in Jesus, from so many things. This passage shows us that we are free from anxiety. Our physical needs will be met by God. Our spiritual needs are met by Jesus through his death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. There is nothing left to fear.