Look at the Birds

Hi my name is Declan Palmer, I am currently a sophomore and attending Southeastern University Online and studying for my bachelors in Ministerial Leadership: Christian Ministry. I am so glad that I have been given the opportunity to preach today, it is an honor and I would like to thank Pastor Stan and Angie for giving me this opportunity

One thing about me is that I am really bad at making decisions. I love going out to get food but If I go out to an ice cream shop, and they got like 20 flavors, im going to be sitting there for like at least 10 minutes trying to determine what flavor is the best.

And no, im not waiting there trying to decide because i dont like ice cream, i do, its because my brain convinces myself that if i choose the wrong flavor, the whole experience is going to be for nothing.

My problem isn't actually ice cream. My problem is that I want certainty.

And you know, its not really that big of an issue when I am deciding between cookies and cream or cookie dough ice cream (although im choosing cookies and cream every time), Ive realized that I do the same thing when faced with really hard and important decisions.

When I have to make hard decisions a bout school, or relationships, or a job I find myself wasting days trying to figure out the perfect choice because I want to make the best choice

And I know I am not the only person who does this, I feel that we become so obsessed with making the perfect decision, that we worry more about the decision and forget to trust God with our decision.

Sometimes we aren't just afraid of making a decision. We're afraid that if we make the wrong decision, stuff wont work out.

The issue here isnt about making the perfect decision, its about worrying about if everything will turn out okay.

Let's pray.

Dear God, I thank you for today and that we were all able to come here this Sunday in the house of the Lord. I pray that you can use me to speak to everyone today, and that we can take in this word not from me, but from everyone who is going to be speaking today. In Jesus' name, amen.

Let's look at Matthew 6:26

Matthew 6:26 NIV

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

This is one of my favorite verses because it shows us that God will provide.

And my first point is this:

1. God cares for us.

Jesus tells us to look at the birds.

The birds don't have barns where they store up food. They don't know what tomorrow holds. Yet God still feeds them.

And then Jesus asks:

"Are you not much more valuable than they?"

I want everyone to know that “you are more valuable than the birds.”

If God cares for something as small as a sparrow, how much more does He care for you?

Matthew 10:29–31 talks about how not even a sparrow falls to the ground outside of the Father's care, and that even the hairs on your head are numbered. Then Jesus says, "So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

God knows you. He sees you. He cares about you.

So don't believe the lie that you are worthless or that God doesn't care about what you're going through.

2. God does not provide everything we want.

When I was a kid, all I wanted to eat was sugar, candy, and juice. My parents knew that if that's all I ate, I would become unhealthy.

If I had gotten everything I wanted, I probably would have turned out very differently.

And God is our Father. He knows what is best for us even more than our earthly parents do.

Sometimes we don't understand why God doesn't give us certain things.

Sometimes we're not meant to know.

We just need to trust that God knows what we need.

Matthew 6:26 doesn't say that God gives the birds everything they want. It says "your heavenly Father feeds them."

God promises to provide what we need. That doesn't mean He promises us a better job, a nicer house, a nicer car, or more money.

God's provision isn't about giving us everything we want. It's about trusting that He knows what we need.

3. We must trust God with the things we can't control.

Matthew 6:25 NIV

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

The birds don't know how to plan for tomorrow. They don't know what the future holds. And yet God provides for them.

We can plan. We can prepare. We can make good decisions.

But there will always be things we cannot control.

I've spent so much time worrying about my future

But do you know where God points me when I worry?

He points me to the birds.

God says:

"I provide for the birds. Why wouldn't I provide for you?"

You don't need to know what tomorrow holds.

You just need to know the One who does know.

It's still good to plan. It's still good to have goals. But the moment we put our trust in those plans instead of God, that's when anxiety begins to take control.

And I have seen it in my life,

I started to trust that God will provide in my life, and truly put faith in God,

and man, anxiety just goes away

So going back to where I started, the reason I struggle so much with decisions is because I want certainty.

I want to know that everything is going to work out.

But I don't know what tomorrow holds, but i know who does know.

And I mean really, there is no reason to stress about a decision or be anxious when we know that God will provide either way

So when you are anxious or are worrying about something, remember the birds.

Remember that God cares for you.

Remember that He knows what you need.

And remember to trust Him with the things you cannot control.

Because when we know God is in control, anxiety doesn't have to control us.

Thank you, and I would now like to introduce Kaelynn.