The Promise of Provision

[0:00] God of waters. God of the sky.

[0:12] God in the morning. God in the night. God of the desert. God of the rain.

[0:26] God in the busy. God in the mundane. God of the mountain. God of the plains.

[0:38] God in the laughter. God in the pain. He's God of the promise. What he says remains true.

[0:49] He does what he's promised. For me and for you. If you got your Bible, go to Matthew chapter 6.

[1:05] Matthew chapter 6 is where our passage will be this evening. We started last week kind of a little mini series here in the month of January called the God of promise.

[1:16] Kind of the big idea behind this series is this. It's that in 2026, our circumstances may change, but God's promises do not.

[1:27] Amen? Many of our circumstances will change throughout this year, but there actually is something we can hold on to. Something that is secure. And those are the promises of God.

[1:40] And so that's what we started last week. And this series really is designed to kind of start 2026 out with the right mindset. That there are some things that we can believe in and have faith in.

[1:54] Whether this is the best year ever or one of the most challenging years ever. And last week, we looked specifically at Hebrews chapter 6. Where we looked at the differences between God's promises and everybody else's.

[2:09] You see, God actually has the authority to make these promises, right? There's no one of greater authority than God. He actually has the power to bring them about because everything is within His control.

[2:23] And He has the character to follow through. He is unchanging. And His promises display the unchanging nature of His purpose.

[2:35] And the specific promise we looked at last week was that, listen, no matter what happens this year, no matter what you go through, whether it's great or challenging, nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[2:51] Amen? Nothing can separate you from God. Because, as we saw in Hebrews, Jesus is our eternal high priest. That is, He always lives to make intercession for us.

[3:06] Alright? So, now we're going to turn our attention to another promise here in Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6, beginning in verse 25. And I think this is a passage that we should pretty much begin every new year off with.

[3:23] And probably read it over and over again throughout the year. It is a very familiar passage to us, and yet it gives us one of the greatest promises that we have in Scripture.

[3:35] So, Matthew chapter 6, and we're going to look at verse 25. I'll invite you, if you're able to, to please stand as we honor the reading of God's Word. Matthew chapter 6 and verse 25.

[3:47] Jesus says, Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. Anybody anxious about your life tonight?

[3:59] Do not be anxious about your life. What you're going to eat, or what you'll drink, nor about your body, or what you'll put on, is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

[4:11] 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?

[4:24] 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.

[4:35] 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?

[4:54] So don't be anxious about what you're going to eat, or what you're going to drink, or what you're going to wear. The nations, that is the unbelievers, the Gentiles, they seek after these things, and your heavenly Father knows what you need.

[5:12] He knows that you need them all. Instead, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

[5:25] Therefore, don't be anxious about tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

[5:38] And all God's people said, I mean, could there be a more relevant passage for us? Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for your promises. Thank you for the promise of last week that we saw in Hebrews 6, that Jesus is our eternal high priest, and therefore, no matter what happens in life, we may lose a lot of things, but we cannot lose Christ.

[6:04] And now I pray this morning, or this evening, as I think about so much that's going on, just our surrounding culture, what many people are dealing with as they begin a new year, Lord, come and talk to us.

[6:17] May this promise that we see in your word really be the foundation, the security that we put our hope in. And we pray it in Jesus' name, and God's people said, amen.

[6:29] Amen. You can be seated. Dennis Libinotti walked out of the Pasco County Jail and into the hot Florida sun. Dennis was a free man.

[6:42] His paperwork was finished. His sentence had been served, and all he had to do was just keep walking. But Dennis didn't do that.

[6:55] Instead, he did something that's very difficult to get our minds around. As Dennis entered into the prison parking lot, he stopped and he stared at all the rows of parked cars.

[7:10] And for the next several minutes, he tried to break into not just one, not just two, not just five, but 26 locked vehicles right there in the prison parking lot.

[7:29] And while Dennis was attempting this, the police deputies were watching the monitors inside the prison. And this went on for long enough until finally the police came outside and arrested Dennis on 26 counts of carjacking.

[7:47] When the police approached him, he didn't deny what he was doing. In fact, he told the police officers, I was simply trying to steal a car so I could drive home.

[7:59] You can't make this stuff up, right? And so Dennis was, needless to say, escorted back inside to the prison he just left.

[8:12] Faith family, Dennis was free for 10 minutes. He never even left the property before he became a repeat offender.

[8:23] And all God's people said, what an idiot, right? What an idiot. And if you think I'm being a little bit too harsh on Dennis, it's not me that's calling him an idiot.

[8:36] It's the book of Proverbs that calls him an idiot. Look at what Proverbs says in Proverbs 26, 11. Like a dog that returns to his vomit, there's an image for you, right?

[8:47] Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool, an idiot, a fool who repeats his folly. Now, let's not, again, be too hard on Dennis because if we're honest, we're just like him, aren't we?

[9:06] Come on, be honest. We all have patterns in our life that we return to behaviors that lead us to captivity. That is, instead of resting in the peace and the security and the freedom that God provides us, we continually walk right back into our own prisons.

[9:28] Amen? I'll say amen for you, right? Right? We all deal with that pattern. Come on, be honest. You know what I'm talking about? Some of you made New Year's resolutions to eat better and you've already gone back to unhealthy eating patterns.

[9:44] Some of you promised that you would do better financially. You've already gone back to some unhealthy spending patterns. Some of you said, my relationships are going to be better and you've already gone back to unhealthy relationship patterns.

[9:58] Some of you were like, I'm going to quit addictions and yet maybe you've already gone back into those unhealthy habits. Some of you made it your aim to, I'm going to think more positive.

[10:10] I'm going to think better thoughts. And you've already gone back to unhealthy thinking. Make no mistake about it. Every single one of us, in one way or another, is just like Dennis.

[10:22] We're just like him. We're like that dog that returns to his own vomit. And some of us never even make it out of the parking lot.

[10:34] Now listen to me. That is exactly the pattern that Jesus addresses in our own life here in Matthew chapter 6. Are you all with me tonight? You're feeling a little sleepy, okay?

[10:45] But I know you're with me, right? This Dennis pattern that exists in all of us is a pattern that Jesus addresses here in Matthew 6 that exists in our own heart.

[10:59] In this passage, Jesus gives the disciples and therefore us a promise. But listen to me. It's a promise that's intended to give you freedom. It's intended to give you peace and security in life.

[11:14] The problem is most of us rarely experience it because we keep going back to things that imprison us. Let me show you what I mean here.

[11:25] First, look at the promise that Jesus gives in verse 25. So I tell you, don't be anxious about your life, what you're going to eat or drink, or about your body, what you're going to put on.

[11:37] I mean, is not life more than those things? I mean, look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. But your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they?

[11:49] And which of you being anxious can add a single hour to a span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin.

[11:59] Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of those. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive, and tomorrow it's thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you?

[12:15] Oh, you of little faith. Are you all with me? We doing okay? You don't need a PhD in New Testament to understand that promise, do you?

[12:26] It's a promise of provision. That as Jesus says to his disciples, and therefore to us, to followers of Christ, like this is the promise that your Father gives you.

[12:39] Here it is. You have a heavenly Father, and that heavenly Father promises to take care of you. He promises to provide for you.

[12:52] Isn't that a great promise? I mean, can you imagine what your 2026 would be like if you lived daily resting in that promise, believing in that promise?

[13:05] Can you imagine the security and peace that you would have if daily you lived in the reality that you have a heavenly Father, and He is going to take care of you, He promises.

[13:19] Now look at just how comprehensive this promise is. First of all, that God promises to provide for your physical needs. Jesus here addresses in this passage the very basic things of life, right?

[13:33] What you're going to eat, what you're going to drink, the clothing that you wear. He's addressing the necessities, the things that are very common and what we need every day.

[13:45] And these are the things that so many people worry about, okay? Here's a little bit of stats that I researched in preparation for this message, that 80 to 86% of Americans feel some level of anxiety about their personal financial situation.

[14:07] Now, don't answer out loud. You don't need to raise your hand. But I wonder, are there some of you here tonight and you're stressed out a little bit, maybe stressed out a lot a bit, about the financial situation that you're in?

[14:21] It went on to say, with a large percentage of those feeling either moderate to severe financial stress. 54% feel financial stress or anxiety at least three days a week.

[14:37] And 87% said they feel some type of financial stress at least once per week. Americans reported that financial stress was due to inflation, everyday expenses, the debt they're trying to pay off, housing costs, and the uncertainty of the economy.

[15:00] Of the top 10 things that people stressed about the most, guess what number one was? Anybody want to shoot out a guess? You've all gone to sleep.

[15:10] Okay, great. That's nice. It's nice to know. Or nobody has a guess. Number one was money. Number three was the economy. Number eight was job stability.

[15:21] And number nine was housing costs. Faith in the way, that's a lot of people that are stressed out about how they're going to survive financially.

[15:33] And here's what Jesus is saying. Are you listening? Christian, if you're here tonight and you're a follower of Jesus, you should not be in that number. You shouldn't be in the 80% stressed out about financial things.

[15:51] You shouldn't be in the category of moderate to severe stress over these things. Why? Because you have something the world does not have.

[16:03] That is, you have a heavenly father who has promised to take care of you. The middle section is really fired up.

[16:16] And so I'm going to stare the rest of it. No, I'm just kidding. All right. So come on, sides. All right, here we go. Now, listen. Look at verse 30 again. Look at verse 30. 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?

[16:36] I mean, if He takes care of the rest of His creation, how much more His own people, His own family. And so now, of course, this doesn't mean it's just going to fall from the sky.

[16:50] Of course, we're to use the gifts and talents and jobs and be wise stewards and all those things that the Bible teaches elsewhere as well. But through those things, God promises to provide.

[17:04] Are you with me? Second is that God promises to provide for your actual needs. Not just your physical needs, but your actual needs. In other words, it's important that I point out that Matthew 6 is not a name it and claim it promise, right?

[17:22] Hey, the Lord said, I get a Freari, all right? The Lord said, you know, I get a million dollar home. No, the Lord didn't, right? Not necessarily. That's not, of course, what this is saying.

[17:34] God never promises, nor would any good parent, to always give you what you want. Amen? He promises to give you what you need.

[17:46] Notice the text again. Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear. The Gentiles, that is the unbelievers, the nations, seek after these things.

[17:58] And your heavenly Father knows that you need them. In other words, the text here is saying, you have a Father, this is so important, listen, who not only provides to take care of you, He's a Father that cares for you.

[18:14] He cares for you. Because what He's going to provide are the things that you need, not always the things that you want. And parents know this, right?

[18:25] If you're a parent, you absolutely, like you have plenty of illustrations to prove this, right? I mean, listen, there is not a kid I have met that didn't think getting every toy in the aisle wasn't what they needed.

[18:38] Amen? No, no, no, no. I need all of these. I really do. Like, my life will not have any meaning or purpose if I don't have every toy on the shelf.

[18:51] But what do you know? What do you know as a good parent? You know that it's best to provide for them what they need and sometimes not getting what they want is what they need.

[19:05] Preach, preacher. That's good. Where are you? I'm just kidding. I'm picking on y'all, right? Right? Yeah, you want what you want, but he knows what you need.

[19:19] And so not only has he said, I'm going to take care of you, I'm specifically going to give you the things I know you need even if you don't understand. Here's the third thing, is that God promises to provide for your spiritual needs.

[19:33] Your spiritual needs. The text says, Jesus here in this passage, this is so, so good. It's why we sang the songs that we sang earlier this evening, is that Jesus doesn't say, God is in heaven like a boss who promises to give you a paycheck and benefits.

[19:53] He doesn't say, God is up there like the government. I'm so glad Jesus didn't say that. He's up there like the government and he's going to provide for you welfare.

[20:04] What does he say? He's not a boss. He's not a government. He's a what? A heavenly father. A heavenly father who will take care of you holistically, comprehensively.

[20:21] He's not just supplying a need. He's actually caring for your soul. Notice it on the screen. This is so good. In addition to having God's provision, you have God's presence.

[20:38] He's a father to you. He's a heavenly father. In fact, notice what Luke says in Luke 11, verse 11. What father among you, if his son asked for a fish, would instead of giving him a fish, give a serpent?

[20:54] Or if he asked for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then who are evil, that is like you're fallen sinful parents, and yet you 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?

[21:14] In other words, he gives you more than an egg. He gives you his own presence, his own spirit. And then look at Romans 8, 15.

[21:28] For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, Abba, Father.

[21:39] The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. We doing okay?

[21:50] I mean, what a promise. What a promise. Faith family, if you're a Christian, this means that at every moment throughout 2026 and beyond, every single moment, you have a heavenly father who promises to provide for you.

[22:07] I know, I know some of you came here tonight needing to hear this. I know because you were a stressed out mess. You're so full of anxiety.

[22:18] You're like, I know some of what's happening in our own culture and how that's impacting businesses and how that's impacting lots of different situations.

[22:28] And I know that if you're being honest, there are some of you that are like, how am I going to get through this? Here's how you're going to get through this. Your heavenly father is going to take care of you. He'll provide for you physically.

[22:41] He'll give you what you actually need. It might not be what you want, but it'll be what you need. And even above the physical needs, he's going to give you himself. You have his presence, not only his provision.

[22:55] Paul makes a similar promise about the Lord in Philippians 4. He's writing to a church that's experiencing severe economic hardship and difficulty.

[23:08] In fact, to the Corinthian church, he'll refer to them and he'll speak of their severe poverty. So these Christians were really, really hurting economically.

[23:20] And this is what Paul says to them. I've received full payment and more. I'm well supplied having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. That is, even in their poverty, they gave sacrificially.

[23:33] A fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And then here's the promise. What a great promise. And God will supply every what?

[23:44] Every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To God and Father be the glory forever and ever.

[23:57] Amen. What a promise. What freedom and security and peace this promise provides. So here's the question.

[24:08] Here's the question. If that's the promise, then why do we worry? Why are we so stressed out? Why are we so anxious?

[24:21] And here's, I think, the answer and then I'm going to try to prove it to you in the text. It's because we're just like Dennis. What I mean is that we can't even make it to the parking lot without returning to our prison of anxiety.

[24:36] And here's why. Here's why. Are you with me? Here it is. Because most of us, if we're being honest, base our security on the promise of other things rather than the promises of God.

[24:55] You see, here's the disconnect. It's that God has given us the promise that we just unpacked exegetically and yet we'll leave tonight and we'll live tomorrow trusting in the promises of other things.

[25:12] In fact, I want to show you how this is the case in Matthew 6 because here in Matthew 6, this was really kind of a light bulb moment for me as I studied this passage again.

[25:24] Listen, Jesus not only tells you not to be anxious, He tells you why you are. Why you're so anxious. Why you worry.

[25:36] Let me go back and show you the context. This is the piece I think that gets left out of Matthew 6, verse 25 because Matthew 6, 25 comes at the end of the chapter meaning Jesus had said some things previous to this that might help us understand this more.

[25:54] Are you all with me? So let's go back and look at the beginning of the chapter. Look at Matthew 6, verse 1. Now, beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

[26:10] Thus, when you give to the needy, don't sound a trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may be praised by others.

[26:20] Truly I say to you, you have received or they have received their what? Reward. What is Jesus exposing here? I want you to, if you've zoned out, what do you do?

[26:33] I know you hadn't but I was just checking, right? Zone back in. I really want you to think about this. What is Jesus exposing here? He's exposing a heart that seeks the praise, the applause, the attention of others rather than God.

[26:52] Are you with me? Say yes. That's clearly what he's talking about, right? You pray on the street corner. Why? You want the praise of other people, not authenticity toward God.

[27:03] When you give, you blow the trumpet so that everybody, I just gave, did you see how much I gave? Why? You want the praise of man, not the pleasure of God.

[27:15] That's clearly what Jesus is talking about. So why would someone, when they serve or pray or give, why would they be motivated to be seen by others?

[27:26] Here it is. Here it is. It's because the praise of other people comes with a promise. Jesus calls it a reward.

[27:38] That is, the praise of others offers you a promise. And here's the promise. You'll be accepted. You'll be liked. Boy, people will see you as righteous.

[27:52] And that's the promise you want. That's the promise that gives you security. Namely, the praise of other people. Do you see that? Okay. Jesus keeps going.

[28:03] Verse 19. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy or where thieves do not break in and steal.

[28:22] So question, why would someone be tempted to store up worldly treasures or possessions? It's the same thing. Look at it. Possessions provide a promise.

[28:35] And what is that promise? If I have enough of them, I'll be secure. Are you with me? All right? If I have enough money, if my investments do well this year, if I get a better job, if I can get more stuff, then I'll be secure.

[28:55] That's the promise my money gives me. That's the promise all these worldly treasures give me. Are you tracking with me? If I get the praise of other people, I'll have a promise.

[29:08] That promise is I'll be accepted. If I store up for myself lots of possessions, I'll have a promise. And that promise is I'll be okay. If the economy tanks, I've got enough money to get through it.

[29:22] Are you with me? Right? In fact, in Luke's account of this very passage where Jesus says, you know, consider the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, in Luke's account of this teaching, he actually puts a parable that Jesus taught right before it, which I think makes this even more obvious.

[29:44] Look at Luke chapter 12, verse 13. Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me, which of course, in the ancient Near East, you know, your inheritance is your security.

[29:58] Right? It's passed on from generation to generation and it's how you survive. So he's dealing with their security. Jesus says to him, man, who has made me a judge or arbitrator over you?

[30:12] And he said to him, take care and be on your guard against all covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his what, faith family?

[30:25] Possessions. So he told them a story. Let me tell you a parable. Let me tell you a story. Here's the story. Story about a land, the land of a rich man that was profoundly plentiful.

[30:38] It produced hundredfold. I mean, boy, the return on his investment was well. So he thought to himself, what am I going to do?

[30:48] I mean, I have nowhere to store my crops. And so he said, here's what I'll do. I'm going to tear down my barns and I'm going to build larger ones and there I'll store all my grain and my goods.

[30:59] And I'll say to my soul, soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. So do what? Relax. Eat, drink, and be merry, Dave Matthews.

[31:13] Two of you caught that. Never mind, right? Dave Matthews band reference. Okay, never mind. But God said to him, in other words, what's he saying there? I've got so much, you know what I can do?

[31:24] Relax. I'm so secure, I can rest in the promise of my possessions. But God said to him, fool, this night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?

[31:40] So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God. Now, listen, faith, what's that story about? That story is about a man who believed this, that possessions promise provision.

[31:59] That my provider are my possessions. Please tell me you're tracking with. This is clearly what Jesus is teaching. My security is not found in a heavenly Father, but a bigger born.

[32:14] Third example in Matthew 6, verse 24, and I'll say this briefly. Look at verse 24. No one can serve two masters, Jesus says. You're either going to hate the one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other.

[32:29] You can't serve God and what? Money. What is Jesus addressing here? Someone who wants their cake and wants to eat it too. That is, they want to build their life on the promise of God, but also the promise of money.

[32:44] So let me just stop. Do you see the pattern that leads up to verse 25 where Jesus starts the do not be anxious section? Are you with me?

[32:55] The pattern repeatedly throughout the chapter is this. It's Jesus saying, or what he'll say is don't be anxious, don't worry, having already given you the reason why you worry.

[33:12] You with me? Don't worry, don't be anxious, and here's why you're anxious and you're worried, and it's this. You look to other things to provide what only God can.

[33:29] you think the praise of others will give you the acceptance. You think the possessions of life will give you security. In other words, the reason why you worry is because you don't take comfort in the true God, you worship false gods.

[33:49] You have believed the promises of other gods, and then this was the light bulb moment for me, is that this is why many of us have trust issues.

[34:00] We have trust issues because, here it is, let's be honest, your life has been one broken promise after another given to you by one idol after another.

[34:13] You'd better say amen, right? Just keep this up here. This is light bulb moment. This is like, hello, do some heart work, some soul work tonight.

[34:24] We all have some level of trust issues because our life has been one broken promise after another that has been given to us by one idol after another.

[34:36] And you know this. You build your life on the security of the promise of praise, and they don't love you in return. You build your life on the promise of possessions, and you lose your job or the economy tanks.

[34:50] You keep believing that the providers of this world will finally one day give you the security that you so desperately want. And that's why I'm saying we're all like Dennis.

[35:05] We just walk right back into the prison we've just been freed from. And you actually fall for it. I do too. Oh, this legislation will make my life better because you think the government can give you security?

[35:27] Oh, this new job, oh, when I get the new job, then my life will really be secure. Did you not learn anything from the last job?

[35:40] Oh, this relationship, oh, this relationship will really be more fulfilling. This achievement, boy, if I just get that recognition or achieve that in my vocation, then I'll really have peace.

[35:58] And we are spiritual idiots. Don't hate me. I'm not calling you a spiritual idiot.

[36:12] Proverbs is. Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.

[36:26] So when the world makes you a promise to provide for you and you actually believe that and base your life on it and then that promise is broken and you go right back into your prison of anxiety and then the Lord sets you free and you don't even get to the parking lot before you're accepting and basing your life on another promise given to you by the world, you're like a dog returning to your vomit because you're a fool repeating the folly.

[37:06] Amen? But there is a different way. And this is why I love you and I care for you both myself and us as a faith family is there really is a way to freedom, there is a way to security and peace.

[37:27] Watch. Here's how Jesus takes everything we just talked about in the last, it felt like 10 minutes. I mean, this is such an engaging sermon. Anyways, he takes everything in chapter 6 and condenses this to this.

[37:42] Here it is. This is how we close. Verse 33. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things that you worry about will be taken care of.

[38:05] They'll be added to you. That statement by Jesus is a statement where you can actually find lasting and eternal security.

[38:17] Amen? Amen? That is, by working through the context of chapter 6, here's what I want you to see and we're done. You can either keep trusting in the promises made by the false idols of the world, praise of others, possessions of life, the rewards that come with serving money, or you can trust your heavenly father's promise to provide for you and seek him above all of those things and let him take care of you.

[38:59] Here's the promise of 2026. Are you ready? here's the promise based on Matthew 6. If you will set your heart on the provider, he will take care of the provision.

[39:14] Seek first the kingdom of God. Ultimately, let the foundation of your life be him and his righteousness righteousness.

[39:28] And you won't have to worry about a thing. Amen? In his book, Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller gives several examples of how people responded during the 08-09 economic crisis.

[39:44] I close with this and we're done. Some of those examples were how the CFO of Freddie Mack, the Federal Home Loan Association, hung himself in his basement when the economy collapsed.

[39:57] The CEO of Sheldon Good, a real estate firm, shot himself behind the wheel of his car. A French money manager who managed many of Europe's royal families lost 1.4 billion dollars in a Bernie Madoff scheme and he slid his wrist and died.

[40:17] A Bear Stearns executive, when he learned that he would not be hired by J.P. Morgan after they purchased the firm, jumped from his 29th floor office building.

[40:30] They thought the securities of the world would give them security and yet it proved to be a broken promise.

[40:41] And while these examples may be extreme, they do show us how people respond when the world breaks its promises to us. And while most of us would not jump to our death, listen to me, some of us worry ourselves to death.

[41:00] Your heavenly father, are you listening? I really am close to done. Listen, listen. Your heavenly father does not want you to live that way. He doesn't want you to live in a prison of anxiety.

[41:14] He doesn't want you to be like Dennis, stuck in a pattern of the prisons of this world. He wants you to live with the security that He will take care of you.

[41:27] So, faith family, if you find yourself asking in 2026, what am I going to eat? Remember, God has already given you the bread of life.

[41:41] If you ask, what am I going to drink? Remember, He has already provided for you living water. if you find yourself asking, what am I going to wear?

[41:54] Remember that in Jesus, you have already been clothed in righteousness. What I'm saying is, you can trust Him in the lesser things, because He's already provided for you the greatest thing.

[42:14] And all God's people said, amen. So, Lord, help us, please help us live in this promise. I think this is so helpful to our soul, so helpful to our heart.

[42:30] As Jesus addresses the promises that we seek in the world, and yet we have a Heavenly Father who has already promised to take care of us.

[42:42] And as we close the message with, if you have taken care of the greater things, then we know you will take care of the lesser things. I mean, at the end of the day, what is clothing in comparison to being right with you?

[43:00] What is food in comparison to being in relationship with you? And so, help us in these moments as we enter into a time of remembrance and communion and to set our minds on the fact that you have already provided for us the greatest thing.

[43:20] You have given us yourself through the sacrifice of your Son. And if we can trust you with that, we can trust you with anything. So help us now as we have this time of remembrance in Jesus' name.

[43:35] Amen. Amen.