Mat. 6:25-34

A collection of short sayings (19–24) and (here) a more sustained argument (25–34)

are united by the theme of possessions.

In contrast with the materialistic concerns which occupy our attention most of the time,

Jesus calls his disciples to put God first,

both by giving priority to eternal issues and

also by trusting our heavenly Father to meet our material needs here on earth.

Let’s keep in mind as well, that worry is one sin, against which our Lord, largely and earnestly warns His followers against.

Jesus gives His followers many arguments to fight against this sin.

“Don’t worry, be happy!” That was the advice from a popular song several years ago.

But for the person who struggles with worry, such counsel is sadly simplistic, and easier said than done.

Perhaps no single problem plagues people more than worry or anxiety.

It may arise suddenly. It may accompany you daily. It

saps your sleep,

drains your joy,

exhausts your energy,

ruins your relationships, and

aggravates your body ailments.

For some people, worry is chronic and crippling. For all of us, worry is one of the most typical, everyday sins.

Yet the good news is this: Worry is a solvable problem. Grace applies.

God through His Spirit and Word provides Christians with all they need to fight against anxiety and to overcome worry.

Also, before examining His words, let me offer you some hope.

The very fact that Jesus Himself addresses worry means that there are answers from God for your problem.

You are not left with human-centered psychologies for answers to life’s problems.

The believer in Jesus does not need to depend on man’s opinions, theories, and techniques.

As a Christian, you have the Bible to teach you how to handle worry.

God Himself guarantees help and hope to worriers like you and me.

BIG IDEA We’re going to see how Jesus underlines for us how pointless it is to worry and then He gives us sound reasons for trusting our Heavenly Father.

The COMMAND about worry.

“Don’t worry”

The CHARACTER of this worry.

"“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, ...” () "So don’t worry...” () "Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow,...” ()

What does Jesus say about worry? He tells us to not do it. Making it wrong.

Forbidding it no fewer than three times in this same passage.

Worry, then, is sin.

The apostle Paul repeats this prohibition in , “Don’t worry about anything.”

The fact that your worry is sin, however, should not discourage you. It turns the lights on.

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners like you and me—to forgive us for our worrying and to help us change our patterns.

While God might not reverse the tough situations you worry about, He specializes in

pardoning,

cleansing, and

helping

the worrying person.

Amid difficult circumstances, He wants to change you.

Someone might ask, “Why is worry sinful?

After all, it is so common and natural.

Everybody does it.

Besides, it shows that we’re concerned about things in life.

Isn’t it better to worry a little than to be callous, indifferent, and apathetic to the world around us?”

What, then, is wrong with worry? Why is it sinful?

Jesus Christ answers that question in .

He does not merely prohibit worry; He gives you reasons why it is wrong.

He exposes the sinful roots of your anxiety with two penetrating pictures. This leads us to the...

The COMMAND about worry.

The CHARACTER of this worry.

“Don’t worry”

In short, the character of worry is idolatry.

Idolatry means to worship someone or something other than the true and living God.

It is giving yourself to some person, goal, ideal, or object other than Jesus.

It involves hitching your heart to some false savior and refuge;

exalting your personal desires above the Lord; serving some master other than God.

Worry expresses idolatry in the heart.

Your worry is a sign that in some way you are trusting in yourself,

that you are building your life on things or people other than Jesus.

Your anxiety is an automatic indicator of a heart that is not fully following the Lord

but is temporarily following something else.

In verse 25 Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, don’t worry.…”

His “therefore” points us back to the preceding context of verses 19–24.

In that passage Jesus shows how idolatry competes with God in three ways.

First, worry expresses that you seek and trust competing treasures (verses 19–21).

Jesus says, “Store up heavenly treasures rather than earthly, perishable treasures.”

The things of Christ and His kingdom cannot perish.

So many of your worries involve earthly things—

your job,

your marriage,

your money,

your possessions,

your health,

your children, etc.

You focus and fixate on them, you attach your heart to them, and

then you live in perpetual worry about when, how, if, or

how soon these things will perish or fail.

They end up controlling your mind and actions.

What you value supremely will rule your life. Why?

Because your treasure will control you.

They compete with God in heaven.

Heavenly treasures include every benefit found in Christ,

every jewel of the rich inheritance Jesus died to procure for His people.

Ultimately, that highest treasure is God Himself and His Son Jesus.

The Psalmist wrestles it out this way: "Who do I have in heaven but you? And I desire nothing on earth but you. "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever.” ()

Second, worry expresses that you look at life with competing eyes (verses 22–23).

The good eye lets God’s light into the body, while an evil eye results in a dark body. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Christ is light. Do you have eyes for Him or for other things?

When you fail to have a good eye—to set your sights on Jesus and His kingdom—

you will be filled with the darkness of chronic worry or invaded by acute worries.

Your vision will be clouded, temporal, earthly, and limited.

No wonder Scripture summons you to “set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” ().

Third, worry expresses that you serve competing masters (verse 24).

Slave masters require exclusive allegiance.

It is impossible to work at the same time for two different bosses.

"“No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” ()

Jesus declares that you cannot serve God and something or someone else, whether it is money (a typical object of worry)

or any other god.

When you fail to follow the true God, you seek to live for yourself by worshiping other gods.

The things you worry about reveal your idols—

pleasing your spouse,

legalistic perfectionism,

your children,

money,

revenge,

success,

and the like.

No one but the God of Scripture—the true and living God, the Father of our Lord Jesus—is

powerful enough,

good enough, and

wise enough

to provide for you and guide you.

He is a

good master,

a faithful God, and

a secure refuge,

incomparably more trustworthy than the substitutes we seek.

While our former master—sin—pays his slaves the wages of death,

our new master—God—freely gives His slaves the gifts of holiness and eternal life.

"But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification—and the outcome is eternal life!” ()

Repent of your

false masters,

false gods, and

false refuges, and

renew your faith in God your Savior.

Worry is devastating when we gather together.

Why? Listen to Jesus in "Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

Folks tied up in worry can neither pray, nor hear the Word, nor meditated upon it w/out all these worldly distractions.

But who created the natural world in which we live in?

Christ is teaching us to look at the natural world, the birds and wildflowers in the field.

Then look to the Hand that created all that and sustains all that!

This is consistent with the rest of Scripture as a means of fighting off worry,

Job says, "“Your hands shaped me and formed me. Will you now turn and destroy me?” ()

Job persuades himself of being preserved because God created him.

Peter too, "So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.” ()

Suffering according to God’s will are to entrust their circumstances to their faithful what? Creator!

Because God’s our faithful Creator therefore in all of the life given to me, spiritual and natural, I’m to rely upon Him!

Every carpenter that I’ve known is careful to preserve the work of their own hands, if they are able.

Why then should we doubt this in our Creator, who is Almighty and can do all things?!

Since Christ forewarns us of this sin, we must beware of it, that it doesn’t take root in our hearts!

To avoid it, let’s obey Scripture: "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act,” ()

"Commit your activities to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” () "Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” () "casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.” ()

This plays out like so: We have lost loved ones that we earnestly pray for.

We’re concerned for them and their eternal destinies.

So what do we do?

We’re to be diligent in the upright use of gospel preaching and holy living,

then we must leave the event of conversion blessing in the hand of God!

Paul’s counsel: "Don’t worry about anything,

[Then the ordinary means of prayer is to be employed] but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” ()

Worry is opposed to praying with thanksgiving.

God has called us to pray for them, preach the gospel to them

So we looked at the Command about worry, the Character of worry (that it’s idolatry in the heart)

The CURE for worry.

Now we come to

The CURE for worry.

“Seek first the Kingdom of God” (v33)

He doesn’t just tell us to do that, but He gives us reasons of why we’re not to worry.

Worry comes from little faith. Look at v30,

"If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith?”

Think with me. To worry is to deny—in practical ways—God’s power, wisdom, and love for you in your situation.

To worry is to forget the full implications of your identity as one of God’s chosen, adopted, and deeply loved children.

Jesus gives you reasons not to worry by feeding your faith.

The God who provides for birds and flowers is your Father, and He values you much more than He values them.

(Read vv25-30).

If God will provide for plants and animals, will he not much more care for you, dear Christian—

you who have been

made in His image,

bought by His Son’s death and resurrection, and

sealed by His Spirit?

The birds and flowers were not formed in His image, yet God provides for them.

"Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?” ()

This word, “Consider” means to look intently at.

Teaching us that all believers are to take a serious look at God’s works.

The wise man says, “Consider the work of God” () says, "Remember that you should praise his work, which people have sung about.”

Why do yo think that God created everything in six separate days?

Each day is distinct and God takes a particular view of each day after He made everything and then provides a day of rest.

Certainly one of those reasons was to teach us to consider distinctly the works of His hands and specifically to do that meditating on the Lord’s day of rest!

David sees creation as this great book wherein a person may read the glory of God!

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.” ()

We hear David again, "For you have made me rejoice, Lord, by what you have done; I will shout for joy because of the works of your hands. "How magnificent are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts!” ()

I’m thinking that the more we’re focused upon the Lord and His works the less we’ll struggle with the sin of worry!

And in thinking through the “birds of the sky” (v26).

They make no provision in summer so that they can stay alive in winter.

Yet God so fattens them so that if man needed to eat in the winter, he’d get a bird with some meat on it.

Oh how glorious is God special providence in this minuscule area of bird feeding, how then should any child of God distrust His providence.

Is He going to feed the birds and neglect His own children?

After all, God did not send His Son to take the form of a plant or animal, but to

en-flesh Himself as one of us.

He did not sacrifice His own dear Son to purchase sunflowers and lilies, did He?

He puts clothes on billions of wildflowers and feeds billions of birds everyday!

He gives those things those gives of food and clothes to objects that aren’t super valuable.

In that, none of them are made in His image and have been adopted into the family of God!

But God has made us heirs of His kingdom!

Heirs of God and coheirs with Christ! ( says).

This means that we share in Christ’s Kingship and therefore we partake of the kingdom of heaven as our inheritance.

We’re made kings by our Father in His spiritual kingdom in three different ways:

1. Because they are Lords and Conquerors of their enemies, Sin, Satan, the World, Death, Hell.

In addition, Jesus tells you not to worry because worrying characterizes pagans,

2. They are partakers of the kingdom of Christ and of salvation; for we have received of Christ grace for grace, and glory for glory.

3. They have interest, dominion, and sovereignty of all things by Christ.

What are those things compared to the supply of food and clothes?

How about the gift of salvation?

Our Father cuts us off from the family to which we naturally belong in Adam

as children of wrath and of the devil and

grafts us into His own family to make us members of the covenant family of God.

Or what is food and clothing compared to the work of God’s Spirit in us?

It’s the Spirit of God that

enlightens our mind,

sanctifies our heart,

makes God’s wisdom and will known to us, guides us to eternal life, yes, works the entire work of salvation in us and seals it to us unto the day of redemption ().

makes God’s wisdom and will known to us,

guides us to eternal life, yes,

works the entire work of salvation in us and seals it to us unto the day of redemption ().

Beeke, J. R., & Jones, M. (2012). A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life (p. 548). Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Book

In addition, Jesus tells you not to worry because worrying characterizes pagans,

not those who belong to, and are known by, the heavenly Father.

"So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” ()

Pagans—idolaters, unbelievers—eagerly seek temporal things.

But the believer in Jesus must live differently.

Christian, you have a Father in heaven who knows your true needs and will meet them.

He provides for His people.

Jesus encourages us in the next chapter,"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.” ()

To worry is to doubt His knowledge, goodness, and might toward you.

To believe God’s goodness is to be freed from worry.

Worry then, results when our remaining unbelief, our inadequate faith, gets the upper hand in our hearts.

The remedy? Believe Jesus and His gospel promises.

Trust all that God has promised to be for us in Jesus.

The antidote to worry, then, is to trust in God.

You must replace anxiety with a growing focus on the things of God. Jesus puts it this way: "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” ()

The remedy for worry is to seek the Lord, to believe His promises and orient your life around His priorities.

"Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.” ()

You must give yourself to Him, confident of His kingdom promises.

God guarantees to give you the things you truly need.

"He did not even spare his own Son but offered him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?” ()

Not one of His promises to us has ever failed. He is a very present help in time of need.

Let God’s kingdom guarantees compel your faith and dispel your worries.

Jesus concludes His message to worriers with a final plea: "Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ()

Worrying cannot improve your future.

Instead, it diverts you from your present responsibilities.

It drains your energy and saps your vitality.

It also makes you miss the present joys and blessings of God’s provision.

Jones, R. D. (1999). Getting to the Heart of Your Worry. The Journal of Biblical Counseling, Number 3, Spring 1999, 17, 23.