Good morning, church. Let's open up our Bible to Matthew 6. As we continue to preach through the Sermon of the Mount. Today we're in Matthew 6, verses 25 to 34. It's a beautiful passage.
Of course, as always, if you are in need of a Bible and would like to use one and keep one, feel free to raise your hand and one of our members would be happy to give you a hard copy.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Heavenly Father, you are a good, good Father to those of us who were spiritual orphans, left alone, needing to fend for ourselves.
But through the power of the cross, through the giving of your Son, you have adopted us into your family.
So that now, though we were once poor, we are now infinitely rich in you.
And I pray through the preaching, through the reading of your Word, you would convince us once again of that fact.
Of how rich we are in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, that you will take good care of us.
Help us to have faith, grow our faith today.
For your glory and for our good.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
To honor the reading of God's Word, won't you stand if you are able.
It's Matthew 6, verses 25 to 34.
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.
It 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 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.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
You may be seated.
If you've been following the news, you know that there's been a surprising topic of conversation this past year.
One that seems like a very innocuous thing, but has actually struck fear into the hearts of many Americans.
And that's egg prices.
Because of various factors like inflation or the bird flu, we have seen an all-time high in egg prices at our local supermarkets this past year,
with an all-time high this coming this past March at $6.23 for just a dozen eggs.
That is an 80% increase from the prices that we saw in March of 2024, and a whopping 285% increase compared to the prices two years ago.
It's no wonder, then, that prices have notoriously become a symbol of a lot of American insecurity, strife, anxiety about our money.
Okay, well, maybe no more omelets for breakfast for a bit.
But that's not the only expense that has gone up.
According to a report by JPMorgan Chase, right now, housing affordability is at its historic low.
Since the year 2000 to now, the median household income has roughly doubled, but the median home price has tripled,
meaning that housing costs are increasing more and more and more each and every year,
but our income levels aren't keeping up with that cost.
And that gap between our income levels and the housing costs are just increasing more and more each and every year.
I hope this doesn't spark a mass exodus away from the greater Boston area,
but you guys know this, living in Boston is very expensive.
Boston's living expenses like rent and groceries are twice the national average.
And in fact, in 2024, according to Nomeo's Cost of Living Index survey,
Boston ranked fifth most expensive to live in, not just in America, but in the entire world,
behind Geneva, Zurich, New York City, and San Francisco.
So, if you're anything like me, you're probably squirming a little bit in your seats,
feeling nervous, feeling a little depressed as you hear me rattle off this news.
We feel the constant bills and the increased cost of living squeezing in on us, don't we?
The landlord is asking for more money next year.
The car just broke down.
The daycare rate just went up.
And even the eggs are getting so expensive.
Even if you're blessed not to have to worry about your next meal,
we all worry about something, don't we?
Whether it's your marriage, your relationships, your health,
or maybe it's just the overall fear of death, which undergirds all the other fears.
To all our anxiety, Jesus speaks peace to the raging storm within us.
When he says three whole times in our passage today,
do not be anxious.
And he reasons with us.
He gives us four different reasons today about why we shouldn't worry.
Because worry is unspiritual.
It is unnecessary, unproductive, and unfaithful.
But the most important reason of all why we shouldn't worry is because
we have a Heavenly Father who promised to take care of us.
That's the main point of my sermon today.
Jesus opens our passage today with the word,
therefore, logically connecting this passage with the one that we heard from last week.
Because in that passage, Jesus addresses a love of money for those who had it
and are storing it away in earthly places where moth and rust do destroy.
But in our passage today, which is almost like a part two,
Jesus addresses the same issue, a love and trust of money,
but only in a different scenario for those who don't have money.
For there is an organic connection between greed and anxiety.
Because the root issue ultimately is the same.
It's a love and a trust, an idolatry of money,
just appears differently under different lights, under different circumstances.
They're simply two sides of the same coin.
And we easily flip back from greed to anxiety very quickly.
In their hearts, the homeless can be just as greedy as the Fortune 500 CEO.
But the opposite is just as true.
The CEO can be anxious over his money just like the homeless.
Because even the wealthy are not immune from anxiety.
You might expect their crazy high net worth or their mansion in Hollywood Hills
to give them some kind of sense of security.
But have you ever noticed that sometimes it's really the richest in this world
that are actually oddly most anxious about their money?
Psychologists have even coined this term for it, calling it loss aversion,
which basically means that the more you have, the more you feel that you can lose.
So it leads not to greater security, but to greater anxiety.
Hollywood star actor Jim Carrey once said,
I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything that they would want to do
so that they can see that it's not the answer.
If you are anxious today about your money, about your finances,
getting rich and famous is not the simple answer to get rid of our anxiety.
Instead, Jesus holds out for us a better way.
For us not to be anxious.
And we'll see how Jesus reasons with us.
So let's get into the first reason that worry is unspiritual.
Jesus says in verse 25,
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
What does he mean by this?
Literally, the day after, I kid you not,
the day after we moved into our new home,
Christine and I, we found in our finished basement,
in the center of our hallway, about a half inch of water.
And after getting some help, getting some plumbers to come over,
we identified that it was from this clogged sewage pipe
in this tiny unfinished side room that we barely even use today.
Though that water was clear on our basement water,
we realized that was sewage water.
And for a long, long time, until the issue was resolved,
my entire life was in that little room.
Because that's all that I thought about.
I forgot about all the other problemless, livable space that I had in my room
because my life, all of my thinking belonged into that tiny side.
As Pastor Marshall Siegel shared a similar story,
and he preached,
anxiety can make it seem like one worry is our whole life.
The difficult relationship is our life.
The long jaw search is our life.
The wait for a spouse is our life.
The battle with chronic pain or illness is our life.
But it's not.
Isn't life more than whatever you're most worried about right now?
There even might be times in your life
where the budget is super tight,
and you're really anxious about that next meal.
But even then,
when it feels like your next meal is your entire life,
life is more than food and clothing.
In other words,
when we excessively worry about these things,
we miss out,
miss out on the more in life.
Universally,
humans have pondered philosophical questions like,
what is the meaning of life?
Why am I here on Earth?
And there have been lots of different answers,
lots of different stats at that question.
Take Charles Darwin,
the scientist who developed the pivotal theory of evolution,
and hear his answer,
his take on this.
That everything about us,
everything we do,
is only about surviving to procreate,
to pass down our genes to the next generation.
That's it.
Just physical survival.
When we excessively worry,
we think and we operate like Darwin.
We reduce life only down to physical survival.
But we know,
as children of God,
with people who have the Spirit of God living within us,
that there is more to life than just food and clothing.
For God's children,
our lives have deeper spiritual purposes,
like glorifying God,
enjoying our relationship with Him,
to live in the grace that He alone provides.
Worry shrinks our world down just to the physical,
making us forget about all the deeper,
spiritual,
eternal truths that give our life ultimate meaning.
So in that sense,
worry is unspiritual.
But while life is more than food,
at the same time,
Jesus doesn't mean that food and clothing aren't important.
The ultimate purpose of our lives is, yes, spiritual,
but at the same time,
Jesus is not agnostic,
who thinks that the spiritual is all that matters,
and the physical doesn't matter at all.
But He goes on to say that He is going to provide for us.
He doesn't say,
you should be content with starving,
with going cold,
but promises,
I'm going to take care of you.
So,
not only is worry unspiritual,
but worry is unnecessary.
What evidence does He show of that?
Well,
Jesus tells us to look up.
Observe the birds in the sky.
They neither sow,
nor reap,
nor gather into barns.
They literally live,
hand to beak.
But every day still,
with nothing in their bank accounts,
no rainy day fund,
our Heavenly Father feeds them,
day after day after day.
There are 50 billion birds
on this planet,
right here,
right now.
Can you imagine
the number of berries,
and acorns,
and insects
that are needed
to feed so many?
50 billion birds.
And yet,
for thousands upon thousands of years,
our Heavenly Father
has fed them
day after day after day.
Don't just look at the birds,
but look at all the earth.
See how the planet is teeming,
bursting with life.
Because there are not just
a hundred thousand,
not just a million,
but there are
8.7 million different animal species
that are on this planet
right now.
Our God is the source of life.
God is not a dull minimalist.
When He sets our creation up,
He sees,
and we see our full display
of His desire
and His ability
to sustain life.
And if the Lord
is sustaining
8.7 billion
different animal species,
and we are more important
than all of them,
based on what we know
from the creation narrative
of Genesis 1-3,
that we alone
are made in the
imago Dei,
the image of God,
then how will He not
also feed us,
protect us,
provide for us
as our Heavenly Father?
So look to the birds,
look to all the earth,
and see that worry
is unnecessary.
But when you observe
the birds,
it's an important fact
to see that it's not
that the Lord
supernaturally
sends His angels
to spoon-feed
each and every bird,
but the birds
actually have to go
out from their nests,
leave their trees,
and go scour
the land for food.
So in what sense
does our Heavenly Father
actually feed them?
It seems that Jesus
draws heavily from
Psalm 104,
which we read
for our call
to worship this morning,
where the psalmist
extols the Lord
as the sustainer
and provider
for all creation.
It's in His
sovereign providence
that He provides
everything that
these birds need
to live.
He grows the trees
to give them homes,
He plants the bush
to give them berries,
He causes the sun
to rise
to wake them up.
There are a million
things that need
to go right
for these birds
to be able to go out
and find food,
from the fine-tuning
of physical forces
like gravity,
down to the sustenance,
the sustaining
of their little,
tiny,
four-chambered hearts
to cause them
to beat.
So yes,
the birds need
to go out
and find their own food,
but it's only
because of the work
that the Lord
has done
can they do so.
In the same way,
our lives
are not a banquet
where every single
blessing is handed
down to us
on a silver clatter.
We wake up early,
we labor late,
we sweat
for that next paycheck,
yet how easy it is
for us to slip
into the illusion
that we need
to fend for ourselves,
that we're alone
in this world,
that we are
our ultimate providers,
so we fight
tooth and nail
anxiously
to secure
our own futures
because no one else
is looking out for us.
And then when
that paycheck
does come,
we think we did it,
we earned it,
but the Apostle Paul
asks in 1 Corinthians 4,
what do you have
that you did not receive?
If then you received it,
then why do you boast
as if you did not receive it?
What have you done
to earn your health,
friend?
Or your intellect?
Or all your financial
and educational privileges
that literally billions
on this planet
have no chance
of receiving?
even the very gift
of life,
have you earned
any of this?
So yes,
work hard
to put food
on your plates
and clothes
on your back,
but never think
it is done
by your strength alone.
For as John Piper said,
God is doing
10,000 things
in your life
right now,
and you might be aware
of only two
or three of them.
And if the Lord
is doing 10,000
more things
in your life
that you are not
aware of,
why do you worry?
If God is sustaining
8.7 billion
or million
different animal
species,
and he promises
to sustain you,
why do we worry?
If God
is not worried,
why do we worry?
If you are not
convinced
why we shouldn't
worry,
and also look out
to the fields,
see the lilies,
see how beautifully
they are clothed.
And while Jesus
is making a similar
point with the lilies,
compared to the bird,
he is actually making
a more emphatic
point of why
we shouldn't worry.
He does so
in three different ways.
First,
the humble flowers
of the field,
they are even
more transient
and seemingly
more insignificant
than the birds.
The average lily
blooms only
one to two weeks
out of the entire
calendar year,
so it is no wonder
that they are here
in the fields one day
and unapologetically
thrown into the oven
tomorrow.
Yet the Lord
adorns them
with incredible
beauty and care.
You know,
if you were to
direct an animated
movie,
if you were to
build the world
from scratch,
you just
wouldn't pay
that much
attention to
one small
part of the
background
and one
small tiny
scene.
But in the
abundant,
overflowing
care
and design
of our
good Heavenly
Father,
that's exactly
what He does.
Secondly,
Jesus says
that they don't
toil or spin.
And compared
to the birds,
they don't even
lift a single
finger.
and yet
they are
clothed
by God.
In the
ancient
Near East,
spinning was
often the
most time
consuming
chore in
the house,
requiring
hundreds upon
hundreds of
hours to
just generate
one single
garment.
In fact,
historical records
show that
women at the
home were
constantly
spinning thread
when they
weren't doing
other chores
or other
work.
The
lilies don't
do this.
And in
fact,
they don't
even do
anything.
They do
less work
than the
birds.
And yet,
God
beautifully
clothes them.
How much
more will
He sustain
you?
Thirdly,
He makes
the astounding
comment that
even Solomon
in all his
glory was
not fully
arrayed like
these.
Compared
to one of
the richest
men in
really all
of human
history,
a man
who had
a thousand
wives,
fourteen
hundred
chariots,
twelve
thousand
horses,
and earned
and generated
thirty
thousand pounds
of gold.
Every single
year,
the rough
equivalent
now is
one point
four billion
dollars a
year.
And yet,
Jesus declares
these common
lilies are
more beautifully
clothed.
This is
absolutely a
remarkable
flex by
God.
my case
in point,
in prepping
for the
sermon,
I found
out that
there was
a t-shirt
that sold
for
four hundred
thousand
dollars.
I immediately
got upset.
And so I
looked it up
and I got
even more
upset
because it
looks like
a regular
black t-shirt
with some
diamonds,
of course,
thrown on it.
But if you
wore that
four hundred
thousand dollar
t-shirt and
walked by me
in the street,
I wouldn't even
bat an eye
at you.
There is no
way that even
this four hundred
thousand dollar
t-shirt could
compare to the
beauty of the
common lily.
because if you
zoom,
you zoom into
that shirt,
you're going to
see still,
lifeless threads
of cotton.
If you zoom
into the
lily,
you'll see the
amazing design
of our
Heavenly
Father.
We see
its dynamic
cells
bustling
with activity,
chloroplasts
capturing sunlight,
converting it
to energy,
mitochondria,
the powerhouse
of the cell,
empowering the
processes of
life,
nutrients
being shuttled
around by
complex networks
of membranes.
Look inside
the nucleus
and you'll
find in its
DNA 36,000
protein encoding
genes.
in a code
so complex
and beautiful
that we're
only just
beginning to
start to
understand it.
Do you know
that the lily
is famous
among scientists
for having
one of the
largest genomes
out of any
plant?
In fact,
it's actually
30 times
longer than
the human
genome.
If you were
to stretch out
the DNA
of a single
cell from
end to end
while a
single human
cell would
contain six
feet of
DNA,
which is
incredible.
We're talking
about a
microscopic cell.
If you stretch
out the
instructions of
life,
reach out to
six feet.
But a
cell from a
lily contains
almost 200
feet of
DNA,
almost half
of a football
field.
No room
or laboratory
could ever
replicate this
kind of living
pathos.
truth.
With all
our degrees,
all our
money,
all our
human intellect,
this is
beyond the
best that
humans could
ever generate.
So,
why worry?
If the
Lord feeds
billions of
birds and
He intricately
clothes the
lilies,
if He says
that He will
provide for
you just as
He provided
for them,
worry is
unnecessary.
In between
these examples,
we find our
third reason of
why we
shouldn't worry
because He
asks in
verse 24,
which of
you by being
anxious can
add a
single hour
to His
span of
life?
Jesus is
saying that
worry is
unproductive.
It doesn't
accomplish a
single thing.
Because even
before creation
began, the
Lord knew the
precise day
and time
that He
would enter
this world.
And He
knows the
precise day
and time
that He
would leave
it for a
better one.
No amount
of worry can
lengthen our
lives, even
just for an
hour, He
says.
Therefore,
knowing worrying
is one of the
most unproductive
things that we
can do.
We should
then channel
that anxious
energy instead
through prayer,
as the
Apostle Paul
exhorts us in
Philippians 4,
when he says,
do not be
anxious, which
is the exact
same phrase in
the Greek as
we find in
our passage
today.
Do not be
anxious about
anything, but
in everything, by
prayer and
supplication, with
thanksgiving, let
your requests be
made known to
God.
I'm reminded of
something from
Pastor Mark
Detter, who
commented that the
older he gets, the
more convinced he
is that his
daily time of
prayer is the
most important
time of his
day.
Because that's
the time he's
most certain is
least wasted.
Other things he
might do in
pastoral ministry
might come to
not, but that
time in prayer is
the most productive,
least wasted time
in his day.
And when we
pray, the peace
of God, as
Paul writes, the
peace of God
will guard our
hearts and our
minds.
The peace of
God, which
surpasses all
understanding, he
says, will guard
our hearts and
our minds.
In Christ Jesus,
our Lord.
So let's learn to
humble ourselves
before him,
casting our
burdens, throwing
our burdens onto
him.
Why?
Because he cares
for us.
Then skipping
ahead to the
end of the
passage, Jesus
urges his
disciples not
to worry about
tomorrow.
He says,
tomorrow will
be anxious for
itself, making
tomorrow grammatically
the subject, the
doer of the
action.
And this shift
is significant.
We're no longer
the doer of the
action, but Jesus
is inviting us to
step out of the
driver's seat,
let go of our
need for control,
and let tomorrow
drive itself.
Let tomorrow worry
about its own
anxieties.
For just as
Corrie ten Boom
has powerfully
stated, worry
does not
empty today,
worry does not
empty tomorrow
of its sorrow.
It empties
today of its
strength.
How unproductive
is worry.
Of course, Jesus
is not denigrating
all future
planning.
It's often good
and wise of us
to exercise the
sermon that God
has given us to
plan for the
future.
But once you set
a plan, why
worry?
The Lord has
promised us new
mercies for each
and every new
day.
tomorrow's
mercies will
rise to meet
tomorrow's
troubles.
Next week's
mercies will
approach and
conquer next
week's troubles.
worry not even
in the midst of
hardship because
all that it does
is zap you of
the strength that
you need today.
And we need all
the strength that
we can get,
don't we not,
because life is
hard and each
day is filled
with its own
trouble.
The rest of
this passage,
it strikes a
remarkably optimistic
tone, but this
verse is
important.
This verse 34
grounds us back to
real life, reminding
us that for
Christians, we are
not immune from
all trouble.
In fact, there
are those who do
struggle financially
and they lack
food and clothing
even to the point
of death.
But that doesn't
mean that Jesus
is being unfaithful
to his promises,
but that we can
throw this passage
all together.
Because the point
of what Jesus is
saying is not for
us to think that
will never suffer
or never even
die.
That would
stretch his promises
way too far.
But the point of
this passage is
for us to live
with the absolute
assurance that our
good Heavenly
Father will take
care of us.
That he, as we
just said, will
work all things
for our good.
God will not
live with a
childlike confidence
that we will not
go a day without
food unless the
Lord wills it.
That we will not
go cold unless the
Lord wills it.
That we will not
die a second sooner
than God wills it.
No amount of
worrying can change
any of that because
worry is unproductive.
We come to the
final reason of
why we shouldn't
worry because worry
is ultimately
unfaithful.
At the end of
verse 30, Jesus
gently rebukes his
disciples for worrying
for their little
faith.
When he addresses
them, oh you, oh
you of little
faith.
About five times
in the Gospels do
you find Jesus
gently rebuking his
disciples using the
same exact phrase.
You see, Jesus has
never, ever rebuked
his disciples for
their lack of
ability or
intellect or
resourcefulness or
preparedness.
But he has rebuked
them for their
little faith.
For their lack of
trust that God can
and will provide and
protect his
children.
even after they've
witnessed supernatural
miracle after miracle,
they've seen with
their own two eyes
Jesus turning water
into wine, feeding
5,000 plus with five
loaves and two fish,
and then doing it
again by feeding 4,000
plus with seven loaves
and a few fish.
Yet they doubted.
They questioned if
God can protect
and provide for
them.
Are we not in the
same boat, brothers
and sisters?
We do well to
believe that Jesus
Christ has provided
for us the spiritual
bread of his flesh,
the drink of his
blood, the clothing
of his righteousness.
But often when it
comes to actual
physical food and
clothing, we
struggle to believe.
That's exactly what
Martin Lloyd-Jones
observes when he
says, I once heard
a man use a phrase
which affected me
very deeply at the
time and still
does.
He said that the
trouble with many of
us Christians is
that we believe on
the Lord Jesus
Christ, but that we
do not believe him.
He meant that we
believe on him for
the salvation of
our souls, but we
do not believe
believe him when he
says such a thing
like this to us,
that God is going
to look after our
food and drink and
even our clothing.
How easy it is for
us to lack faith that
God will provide for
us.
If we lack faith,
we'll be like the
Gentiles.
As verse 32 goes,
for while the
Gentiles seek after
all these things,
your heavenly father
knows that you need
them.
God is unfaithful.
Again, worry is
unfaithful because
it's the behavior of
godless Gentiles.
Worrying is to be
expected from the
spiritual orphans in
this world.
Worrying is uncharacteristic
of the child of God.
Every time that I've
met up with my
parents these past
three years, they
without fail give my
wife Christine and
me two dozen baked
eggs.
I made the silly
mistake of saying out
loud that I like them
three years ago, which
somehow translated in
their minds that I will
always like them and I
will always never get
sick of them.
But because of their
love for us, every
time I see them rain or
shine, whether the
egg prices are through
the roof or not,
they're always greeting
us with two dozen
baked eggs.
And those eggs are
just a small part of
the strength I get from
the support of my
loving parents.
They don't get to
visit a ton, but when
they're home with us,
even when I feel like
life is crazy and I
feel like there's just
so many things to do
and so many things to
worry about and I feel
anxious and distracted,
I feel a sense that
everything is going to
be okay.
Like I'm not alone in
this big scary world,
but I have people that
are on my side to
support me, cheer me
on, root for me.
I know how privileged
we are to have the
support of loving
parents and I know
that some of you
don't have that
opportunity and that
blessing.
But this church family,
brothers and sisters,
we all share in a
greater love, in a
greater protection and
greater support from
our heavenly Father,
Father, a Father who
does far more than
just bake off two
dozen eggs, but a
Father who provides
lovingly every single
thing that we need.
So knowing that you
have this kind of
heavenly Father, don't
be anxious, but
instead seek first the
kingdom of God and his
righteousness.
We come to the
pivotal verse 33 in
our passage.
Do you notice how
much of what Jesus
is saying today is
about our vision?
Continuing that theme
from last week.
Look at the birds,
look at the lilies,
and unlike the
Gentiles who only look
after their food and
clothing, you look,
seek for the kingdom
of God and his
righteousness.
In fact, the central
verb in this passage,
do not be anxious, in
the Greek, it literally
means not to be
double-minded, but it
means to be single-minded,
undistracted, focused on
just one thing.
It's the same word that
Jesus uses when he
addresses Martha in
Luke 10, when she's
troubled about many,
many things.
Remember there,
Jesus and presumably
his 12 disciples
drop by Martha's
house.
Some of us get
stressed when one
person drops in
randomly, but let
alone 13, not just
any 13, but the very
Son of God, and his
super-important
capital-A
apostles.
No wonder Martha
feels the need,
then, to cook the
bread.
Cut up fruit.
Offer clean water
to wash.
Sweep the floor.
Tidy the main room.
Arrange the seating.
Add oil to the
lamps.
Oh, there's so much
to do.
But out of the
corner of her eyes,
she sees her
sister Mary.
And she's just
sitting there,
chilling with
Jesus.
As her chamber
fills and builds,
she then pumps
off and vents to
Jesus.
Lord, do you not
care?
Do you not care
that my sister has
left me to serve
alone?
Tell her then to
help me.
Jesus gently
corrects her.
Martha, Martha,
you are anxious.
You are anxious.
In trouble about
many things.
But one thing
is necessary.
Jesus today
sees how anxious,
distracted,
busy-bodied we are.
The company
is starting to make
layoffs.
My kids need money
for college.
The rent is
getting higher.
My parent is sick.
School loans
are due.
The roof is leaking.
And the eggs
are so expensive.
Lord, do you
not care about me?
Hear Jesus
speak to you.
Child,
child,
you are anxious.
In trouble
about many things.
but one thing
is necessary.
That one thing
should be to seek
the kingdom of God
and his righteousness.
At the risk of this
merely becoming
a slogan,
let's talk about
what this phrase
actually means.
We already read
an example of this
a couple passages ago
in the Lord's Prayer.
Where the prayer
starts not off
with,
give me
my daily bread.
But how does it start?
It starts with,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will
be done.
So we are to
prioritize first
not
food and clothing,
not our physical
survival,
but
to seek
first
living under
the kingship
of God.
of course
whether you
like it or not,
we all live
under the sovereign
reign
of the king.
But seeking
first the kingdom
of God
means to live
in a way
that you recognize,
rely,
rejoice,
and revere
God as your king.
Then we live out
then
the fifth
beatitude
to hunger
and thirst
for righteousness.
And we make it
our deepest
wish
to be holy,
to be righteous,
to grow
in
obeying
all of his
commandments.
So seek
first the kingdom
of God
and his righteousness.
And then
all these other
things will be
added to you.
Just like
the king
Solomon,
he prayed
for wisdom
and all these
other things
came along
with it.
If we seek
first the kingdom
of God,
all these other
things will be
added to you.
But what's
the greatest
evidence of this?
We already see
evidence of this
in creation,
in the lilies,
in the birds,
but the greatest
evidence we have
of the care
of our heavenly
father is in
the giving
and sacrifice
of his only
son.
In another
lesser to
greater argument,
the apostle Paul
writes in Romans
8.32,
He who did not
spare his own
son,
but graciously
gave him
all.
How will he
not also
graciously with
him give
us all
things?
If our
heavenly father
has given
his very own
son,
he's done
the hardest
thing possible,
sacrificing
his son,
how will he
not also
with him
graciously
give you
all that
you need?
If he's
already proven
his generous
love for
you,
how will he
not also
give you
the lesser
things like
food and
clothing?
For the
good news
of the
gospel is
that though
Jesus Christ
was rich,
yet for
your sake
he became
poor,
so that
you,
by his
poverty,
might become
rich.
This is one
of the
greatest
one-verse
pictures of
the gospel
finding
scripture.
That though
Jesus was
king in
heaven,
he humbled
himself by
becoming
flesh,
not by
being born
as royalty,
but as a
carpenter's
son in a
manger.
And then
though he
did not
deserve this
at all,
because he
never sinned,
but he
was mocked,
spit upon
wit,
and nailed
to the
cross.
For the
forgiveness
of our
sins,
for those
of us
who were
spiritually
bankrupt,
he were
dead in
our sins,
that we
were unfaithful
in our
doubt,
in our
worry,
he took
our
place.
Because
unlike the
birds,
he went
hungry.
Unlike
the lilies,
he went
naked,
so that
poor and
wretched
sinners like
you and
me might
be clothed
and fed
in this
life and
more fully
to the
life to
come.
Do you
see,
brothers and
sisters,
how incredibly
rich you
are?
Satan,
he tries to
make you feel
poor.
He does.
By squeezing
you tight with
the bills in
life,
by making you
compare your
life with
other people
in this
world,
by depressing
you with
news,
by how
expensive the
eggs are.
But if you
think that you
are poor,
Satan has
convinced you
of a lie.
Because,
brothers and
sisters,
you are
unimaginably
rich.
You have
been blessed
with every
spiritual blessing
by the power
and the
glorious riches
of his
grace.
You are
adopted into
his family,
set to
receive an
unfathomable
inheritance
and have
you.
Though you
have nothing
else in
life,
if you
have Christ,
you are
unimaginably
rich.
The
inverse of
this is
true.
If you
don't have
Christ,
you own
the world,
you,
my friend,
you are
of the
poorest.
If you're
here today
and don't
know the
riches that
are found
alone in
Jesus Christ,
consider this
a free
invitation to
become rich.
Oh, so
rich, richer
than you
could ever
imagine.
Once you
receive Jesus
Christ as
your Lord and
Savior and
treasure, you
will have
enduring riches
that go beyond
any life
circumstance,
any financial
season.
Because the
rest of the
world, they
get high when
things go
well.
But they
plummet to
the depths
when things
are tough.
Augustine
rightly said,
fear is a
response of
the human
heart when
it's one
thing is
threatening.
But if
Christ is
your one
thing,
if you
make it
your one
thing to
seek after
the kingdom
of God
and his
righteousness,
then we
can find
this rare
jewel of
Christian
contend,
as Jeremiah
Burroughs
writes,
though I
have not
outward
comforts and
worldly
conveniences to
supply my
necessities,
yet I
have a
sufficient
portion
between
Christ and
my soul
abundantly
to supply
me,
satisfy me
in every
condition.
If I
have but
Christ with
me, I
have
enough,
he is
bread to
the hungry,
water to
the thirsty,
a garment
to the
naked,
health to
the sick,
and life
to the
dead.
Let me
have Christ
and I
can want
nothing.
He is
all in
all,
and in
him I
have all.
Christ is
your one
thing.
If you
seek the
kingdom of
God and
his
righteousness,
then whatever
season you
go through
right now
or in the
future,
this good
portion will
never be
taken away
from you.
From this
time forth
and forever
more.
Brothers and
sisters,
let us not
be anxious
because we
have a good
heavenly
father who
will take
care of
us.
Let's
pray.
Lord,
we believe
help our
unbelief.
Lord,
we believe
help our
unbelief.
We want
to do all
things in
faith.
No matter
what season
that comes,
no matter
what obstacles
are in our
way,
we know
that we
are stupid
rich in
you,
Christ.
We are
unimaginably
rich,
set to
receive a
glorious
inheritance.
thank you,
Lord,
that you
have reversed
our entire
lives,
our fortunes,
by giving
us the
greatest
blessing
of heaven.
There is
nothing more
for you to
give.
We look
to you,
we depend
on you,
and we
seek you
first.
In Jesus'
name we
pray.
Amen.