You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.
But we are going to look at Matthew chapter 6 this morning.
I want to thank you one more time for the privilege of taking some time in study and prayer.
A couple of weeks ago was a really helpful time for me.
I'm so excited next week to jump into the Gospel of Luke with you.
Pray for that time. Read ahead if you like.
But regardless, be excited about what God will teach us there.
But today we're actually going to look at a pretty familiar passage in the Gospel of Matthew.
God has brought this passage to mind for me multiple occasions this summer
as He has been teaching me and in my life the priority of heavenly realities.
The fact that eternal truths must impact today.
That the reality of heaven has to shape and transform my earthly life.
He's been teaching me that primarily through the book of Daniel as we've been in it.
And in some other ways, I'll tell you more about that in a minute.
But first let's read God's Word together.
This is Jesus speaking in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount.
You'll hear that theme of our priorities right away as we start reading in Matthew 6 at verse 19.
This is God's Word.
In a world of broken promises, something completely reliable.
In a world of rapidly changing realities, something eternally unchanging.
In a world of mess and folly, something entirely pure and right.
Jesus says,
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 destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The eye is the lamp of the body.
So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
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.
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.
Will you pray with me?
Father, thank you for your word.
Thank you that it is not only true,
but that it is the truth that we need.
That it speaks into our lives.
That it changes our hearts.
So Holy Spirit, use your word in our hearts
to make us different.
To show us Jesus.
To strengthen our faith in Him.
We ask that you would do it in Jesus' name.
Amen.
I want to bring you into a conversation
that I had recently,
and a conversation that brought this passage
to mind for me again.
We were in our van,
driving back from the beach
at the end of vacation just last week.
summer is coming to an end,
and I turned to my wife
and asked what I thought
was a seemingly innocent question.
So, what does this fall look like for us?
Seemed like a good conversation starter.
And so over the next few minutes,
we did what many of you have done before.
You've had conversations like these.
We start talking about all the things
that are important to us
and that are on our plates.
And thinking of things like,
of course, school starting.
And there's teachers to get to know.
And wanting to volunteer
in our kids' classrooms.
And then there are small groups
and Bible studies
and friends at church
that we want to deepen relationships with.
Neighbors we ought to have over
and we still haven't gotten to know.
And others that we want to talk to
about Jesus.
And we need time with them.
There's goals at work
and a lot to be done.
Projects that are getting started.
Home repairs that we need to talk about,
have meetings about.
And we start talking.
I'm already starting to feel
a little unclear
how it's all going to happen
unless there are more than seven days
in any upcoming weeks.
My blood pressure is rising.
How am I going to manage all of this?
And then there's kids' activities.
Is gymnastics or swimming
or piano or ballet or art?
At least football is not on the list
in our family.
So we could cross that one off.
You know, or maybe we could do both of those
if we got the schedule to work out right
and we figured out the carpooling.
We could possibly fit them both
into the plan for the fall.
And I'll confess,
as we started having this conversation,
this thought literally went through my head.
It was brief and I slapped myself.
But I thought,
we've been watching the Olympic trials.
My girls love watching.
The Olympics are coming up.
You know what?
If they're going to make the Olympic team
in eight years,
I'm going to need them full time
in swimming and gymnastics.
We're already behind.
How are they ever going to get that moment?
That crossed my mind.
Oh yeah, did someone say date night?
Oh honey,
I think I promised once upon a time
that our relationship would be a priority.
That I would invest in that.
It would be important.
Good grief.
Many of you have had those conversations
and felt the anxiety build.
How am I going to figure out
what to do?
It may be a fall thing for you
or it may not be.
It may be a fall thing
that you haven't gotten to yet
because you're protesting
having that conversation in July.
But whether you're a planner like me
or a more spontaneous type,
I've realized that what often drives us
when we have those conversations
and make those decisions
is what I'd call the tyranny of the urgent.
You ever felt yourself driven by that?
For many of us,
when we get in conversations
like I just described,
everything feels urgent,
doesn't it?
How do I even know
what's really important?
There's so much that we could do
that sometimes we just shut
those conversations down
and go on with life
and then we end up living
by the tyranny of the urgent.
Whatever feels most important to me
in the moment when I get there,
whatever I like or feel I need,
what we want.
And after those conversations,
that's often just Netflix
or something to check out
and not have to make any more decisions.
That conversation in our van
made me think of something
my dad used to tell me a lot
when I was growing up.
He used to say often,
the main thing is to keep the main thing
the main thing.
That's what that silly little acronym
in your bulletin stands for.
Jesus tells us that there is actually
a priority for our lives as His followers.
Something that ought to be primary
in how we spend our time,
our money, our energy.
Now it doesn't make all the decisions
for us, unfortunately.
But I'm convinced it must be
a part of our conversations
and I for one often leave it out
and let the tyranny of the urgent,
my momentary priorities
just rule the day.
If we can at least be making our decisions
with the main thing is the main thing,
we'll have gotten a good start.
And we just read it.
Jesus says to seek something first.
He actually tells us what's most important.
Our priority, seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness.
Oh, right.
Jesus should be a part of those conversations.
Heavenly realities are to shape
and transform my earthly life
every day, everything I do.
You see, we know why Jesus needs to remind us
to keep the main thing the main thing,
don't we?
It's because we're consistently caught up
worrying about other things.
It's the universal problem
Jesus addresses here in this passage,
doesn't He?
We struggle with worry
and with anxiety
because we are prone to be self-focused
and self-reliant.
You see, sometimes worry comes
from having self-focused priorities,
from placing an undue importance
on the things of the world
and what I want.
That's why Jesus begins this passage
talking about what we treasure.
That's the context of what He's saying.
Laying up treasures in heaven
instead of earth,
verse 19 and 20.
Of serving God instead of money,
verse 24.
We worry about the things
that are important to us,
don't we?
The things we treasure.
You've never gotten anxious
about something that's meaningless to you.
Often our hearts have begun
to treasure selfish things
more than we should.
So Jesus says, verse 25,
don't be anxious about your life,
about your body.
Verse 31, about what we will eat
or drink or wear.
Don't be anxious.
I'm concerned about me being fulfilled.
About me being secure.
That's what those verses mean.
I struggle to treasure God
and His kingdom
and I naturally treasure myself
and my kingdom.
Things going how I want them to.
That's one reason we worry.
But we also worry
because we're prone
to be self-reliant.
The rest of the passage here
where Jesus says multiple times,
do not be anxious,
is telling us not to be anxious
about things that actually do matter.
They're important things, right?
Food, clothing, and so forth.
Those are needs that we do have.
We may give them undue importance sometimes,
but other times the problem
is not so much that
as that we give ourselves
an undue burden to provide them.
And our anxiety comes from
how I will meet my needs.
Notice verse 27 makes this really clear.
Which of you, by being anxious,
can add a single hour
to His span of life?
You're not able, Jesus is saying.
Your being anxious doesn't address
your needs.
You see, your health matters
because God has given you life.
But we worry about it
as though we carry the burden
of fixing the problem,
of providing for ourselves
what we need.
And this is exactly the place
Jesus wants spiritual realities
to transform our lives.
Listen, it's not that
that your health doesn't matter.
That your need to eat
or your need to be secure
are unimportant to God.
In fact, quite the opposite.
He wants you to know
that these concerns
that are so heavy on your radar
are also on His.
We have an extravagant provider.
Our Heavenly Father delights
to meet our needs faithfully
and lavishly.
It is this generous
and caring heart of our Father
that is of utmost importance
in this passage.
It's the thing that it all hangs on.
Notice how Jesus makes the point
about how God cares for us
through examples in nature, right?
Verse 26,
look at the birds of the air.
They are not doing it.
They don't sow or reap
or gather into barns.
And yet, who does it?
Your Heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?
Who's taking care of the birds?
Your Heavenly Father.
The One who gave you life
and brought you into His family.
He didn't just do that
to let you starve.
Look how faithfully He cares
for the birds.
Day by day.
Meal by meal.
Even though they don't plant and till
to provide for themselves.
And then consider the lilies.
Verse 28,
how they grow.
They don't toil or 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,
it's not going to last.
It doesn't have the eternal life
with Him that you know.
How will He not much more
clothe you,
O you of little faith?
The lilies don't provide
their own garments.
And yet God clothes them
not just adequately,
but beautifully.
He displays His glory
and His creativity
and His creation,
doesn't He?
How much more will He do it
for His children?
It's that classic argument
from the lesser to the greater.
If He's done it for them,
how much more can we trust Him
to provide for His children
whom He loves so much more
than the grass and the birds?
We do not have a stingy
or unreliable provider.
We can trust our Father
who delights to give good gifts
to His children.
A pastor friend of mine
tells the story of a young boy
who was adopted into a family
after spending the first few years
of his life as an orphan.
Mistreated, malnourished,
often going for long periods of time
without being fed at all.
And he loved his new family,
loved being a part of it,
loved the home.
But not long after he was adopted
by his new family,
the parents began to notice food
missing from the fridge
and the pantry.
At first they didn't think
anything of it,
but as it became a pattern,
they started to look around
and investigate.
What's going on?
One day the father walked into
his newly adopted son's bedroom
and found him under the bed
with a stockpile of food
gathered around him.
And of course,
the son explained what was going on,
that he was fearful
that this wonderful food
he'd been receiving
would stop being given to him,
that it would run out,
that it wouldn't be shared
with him anymore.
It broke the father's heart,
of course.
It also gave the father
an opportunity
to reassure his son
of what was really true.
He got to say to him,
you're my son.
You're part of this family now.
This house is my house
and all the food in it
is mine.
And because of that,
it is yours.
It will always be yours
and I will always make sure
you have enough.
You don't have to provide
for yourself any longer.
You're my son.
So often we're like
the little boy under the bed,
aren't we?
We're not confident
in the provision of our father
and we're anxious
about providing for ourselves.
And Jesus says this morning
something very important.
It's not merely
don't be anxious.
But even more helpfully
than that,
it's you don't have to be anxious.
You don't need to be anxious.
You see, Jesus understands
why we are concerned
about these things.
And he knows that
just telling someone to worry,
to stop worrying,
probably won't help things.
You know that
if you've ever been worried.
Stop worrying!
That just makes it worse,
doesn't it?
If that's all that you're told,
you start to obsess
over the thing
that you're worried about
and I can't stop
thinking about it.
Jesus says something more.
He says,
I want you to know
you don't need
to be anxious.
Everything you truly need,
your heavenly father
will provide
faithfully
and lavishly.
Listen to how Jesus
closes the argument
verse 31.
Verse 31.
Therefore,
do not be anxious
saying,
what shall we eat
or drink
or wear?
Why?
For the Gentiles
seek after all these things
and your heavenly father
knows that you need them all.
He's not scolding you.
Stop worrying about eating.
You don't need to eat.
Now, what's he saying?
Don't be anxious
about what you're going to eat.
The most extravagant provider
in all the world
is your father
and he knows
what you need
even better
than you do.
You don't have to be anxious
about it.
I know you're concerned
about being fulfilled
and secure,
he says.
I'm not scolding you
for wanting your family
to be provided for,
but I want you to know
that I am the extravagant provider,
not you.
I know you need
all those things.
It's those without a father
who have to chase
after these things,
but you've been adopted.
You have a caring
and generous father
who provides
even for those
outside his family,
birds,
lilies,
Gentiles,
and so especially
for his own children.
His eye
is on the sparrow,
even the sparrow,
so you can know
he's watching you.
Here's the really exciting
part of that.
For those of you like me
having those conversations
in your van
and getting anxious
and not knowing anything
to do with the worry
and the anxiety
and not knowing
how to make any decisions
for what should be important
in the midst
of all the busyness.
Jesus says that
the reason I want you
to know that your heavenly
Father is providing
for all those other needs
is so you can keep
the main thing,
the main thing.
Verse 33.
Seek first
the kingdom of God
and His righteousness
and all these things
will be added
to you.
Having an extravagant provider
as your Father
frees us.
It sets us free
to have refocused priorities.
Our passions and lives
now can and must be shaped
by kingdom priorities.
Imagine that little boy
under the bed again, right?
He's been every spare moment
because of his past,
he's had to spend his time
and energy
scheming how he can gather
more food
to provide for himself.
It's all he can think about
and dream about
but now he doesn't have to anymore.
Now he knows his Father
has him covered.
He's got time
and energy to spare.
Now we are freed up
to dream
not about ourselves
and making our lives better
and how we can move up
a little bit
but about God's kingdom
and how we can advance it.
And Jesus says
that's actually the treasure.
That's actually
what's most important.
This is the priority.
You can focus on the priority
without fear
of causing harm to yourself.
All these things
you tend to worry about,
those things
your Heavenly Father
knows you need,
they will be added to you.
Pardon me for a minute,
I'm a grammar nerd.
will be added
is in the passive voice.
It's a beautiful passive
because it's what's called
a divine passive.
It's passive
because you don't see
the subject of the sentence.
Who's doing the adding?
The divine passive is
God is doing the adding.
God will see to it
that those things
are added to you.
Your Heavenly Father
knows you need those things
and will take care of you.
And so,
knowing that our time
is valuable,
Jesus directs us here
on what the priority is
that must shape
our decisions.
It's the kingdom of God
and His righteousness.
Now that may sound like
old news to you.
Boy,
that was profound,
Will.
I didn't expect to hear that
at church today.
The importance of God
and righteousness.
I'd suggest it may be old news,
but it's not second nature
to us to live
with that kind of kingdom priority.
We have other priorities
pushed on us all the time,
don't we?
The news media
would 24-7
have us believe
that the political conventions
are what's most important
in life.
That international economy
or celebrity lifestyles
are most important.
Social media
is 24-7
telling us
that how we look
is what's most important.
Looking like
an all-American family.
And that our kids
should be priority number one.
And so,
what we feed them
or don't feed them,
whether we vaccinate them
or don't vaccinate them,
parent them this way
or that way,
it all hinges on that.
You've got to get it right
or you've failed.
It's going to determine
all the rest of their life
and whether or not
they're successful.
Listen,
Jesus says
to our anxious hearts,
let me cut through
the confusion
and the anxiety.
Seek first
the kingdom of God.
You don't know
how to sort out
the top priority right now?
Let me do it for you.
Me, the one who created
this whole world
and you to live in it,
I'll tell you,
seek first
the kingdom of God.
And now we're set free,
aren't we?
Our hearts,
our creativities,
our time
is set free
to serve the kingdom
with what some would look at
and say is reckless abandon.
They're not being wise.
But we can do that
because we know
that our heavenly Father
is meeting
all our needs.
See, I'm not just talking
about churchy stuff
here.
That's not all
the kingdom of God means.
Seek first the kingdom
is much bigger
than this building
or this day of the week.
What does it mean
to seek first the kingdom?
Just a few thoughts
to get you going.
At work,
it means rather than
just working to see
how you can make more money
at the end of this year,
you can invest
some of your time
to address broken systems
and unrighteous practices
in your industry.
It also means
practicing honesty
and integrity
in your business
rather than cutting corners
to get ahead.
With your free time,
it means rather than
getting to the gym
every single night
of the week
to perfect your body
just the way you'd like,
you can find yourself
in the Oscar Mason Center
perhaps one or two nights
a week.
Investing in the life
of a Jobs for Life student.
What about in your relationships?
It means rather than
focusing all your
relational energies
on those who will make you
look good
and feel good
about yourself,
boy, we like to do that.
We're free to invest
in those who can't
repay us.
It also means
we move intentionally
towards those
who don't know the king.
It also means
we use our tongues
to protect and build up
rather than slander
and tear down
those he made
in his image.
What about spiritually?
What about church stuff?
It means investing
in your relationship
with King Jesus.
That it's important
in your relationship
with your heavenly father
who is caring for you.
Maybe something else
is going to have to go
so that a small group
Bible study fits this fall.
Maybe corporate worship
does need to be
more of a priority
for you.
Maybe you can sacrifice
a little sleep
to be with your father
and trust him
to meet your need
for daily strength.
It also means longing
and praying
for his kingdom to come.
How about parenting?
I've picked on parents
a little
and included myself
and my Olympic dreams
in that mix.
I think it's really important
for us as parents here.
It's vital for us
to remember
that we are not
the only ones
with a heavenly father.
Remember the sign
of the covenant promises
that we placed
on little faith
just a few minutes ago?
This passage means
that our kids
have a heavenly father too.
An extravagant provider
for them.
And not one
that is you
or me.
It's their heavenly father.
And that means
priorities as a parent
are not merely
making money
to put food
on the table
and clothes
on my kids' backs.
Not merely shopping
for clothes
and cooking food.
But,
even more than that,
teaching them
the truths
of God's words
so that they
know their heavenly father.
Exposing their hearts
to the glories
of the gospel.
Sacrificing
and serving
alongside our kids
for the extension
of the kingdom
so they see
what's most important.
Helping them learn
to love others
different from them
the way the king
loves us.
How about that
for this school year?
Things our kids
need
to be reminded
of.
You see,
the vision
of Southwood
is to advance
the kingdom
of God.
And that doesn't
mean only
in this place,
only on Sundays.
That means
every moment
of every day
in all of life,
all of us,
to advance
God's kingdom.
We're called
to seek first
His kingdom,
to long for,
pray for,
and work for
a world
that reflects
His righteous character
everywhere.
Some of us
need to go back
and have that
anxiety-inducing
van conversation
all over again
from a different
perspective.
That's our priority
this fall.
It's going to look
different for every
one of us,
but regardless
of what it looks like,
the main thing
is to keep
the main thing
the main thing.
And in this passage,
the main thing
is to experience
the extravagant love
of our Heavenly Father.
See, most religions
and sadly,
even many Christian churches
tell you to seek God first
and do kingdom stuff
and if you do it
well enough,
God will take care of you.
He'll provide
everything you need
if you just seek Him
hard enough
and well enough.
Biblical Christianity says,
before you sought God
at all,
He sought you
and loved you
so much,
He sent His Son
to die for you.
How do you know
that you're more valuable
than the birds,
more important to Him
than the lilies?
Romans 8,
He who did not spare
His own Son
but gave Him up
for us all,
how will He not also
along with Him
graciously
give us
all things?
Listen,
He has already
made you
His sons and daughters.
You're not auditioning
with how well
you seek the kingdom.
He has already
made you
His sons and daughters.
Jesus says,
He is your heavenly Father.
He will provide
faithfully
and lavishly.
He has met
your greatest need
in sending His Son
to be your Savior,
your substitute.
You can trust Him
to meet all
of your other needs.
He is,
after all,
your Father.
And so He
and His kingdom
are worth seeking
above all else.
If selfish people
like you and me
are going to have
our hearts changed
to the point
that we'll be willing
to reorder our priorities
and reshape our lives
for the sake of the King,
the main thing
we need ringing
in our ears
and hearts
this week
is the soul-freeing
good news
that our Heavenly Father
is caring for us
and holding us
in His hands.
We've heard it sung
once beautifully,
this morning.
It's captured really well
in the words
of this children's song
by Rain for Roots
that James is going to
come and sing
for us now.
As James sings
these words,
listen to these simple
and beautiful words
and consider God's Word
to you this morning.
See the birds you are singing
in the spring air
giving everything
they need
they don't worry
where the next meal
will come from
they don't worry
about a thing
so just
look around you
and try to listen
to the song
creation sings
don't you worry
cause you're in
the hands
of the God
who made everything
She's not
See the flowers in your colorful beauty.
They're dressed better than the king.
They don't worry about what they should wear, no.
They don't worry about a thing.
So just look around you and try to listen to the song creation sings.
Don't you worry cause you're in the hands of the God who made everything.
You're not a bird and you're not a flower and you don't have petals and wings.
But there's good news you were so much more to the God who made everything.
Oh.
So when you worry about today or tomorrow and the storms that they might bring.
Do remember that you're in the hands of the God who made everything.
So just look around you and try to listen to the song creation sings.
Don't you worry cause you're in the hands of the God who made everything.
God who made everything.
You're in the hands of the God who made everything.
For more information visit us online at southwood.org.
Thank you.