We're turning to Matthew chapter 6 this evening, this morning, this afternoon, we'll get right. Matthew chapter 6. The verse is verse 24 that we're reading from. Matthew chapter 6 and the verse 24 it says, No man can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap. nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit on to his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, for they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you that even Solomon, in all of his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore have God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven? Shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink? Or with all shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, And all these things shall be added on to you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Amen. Let's briefly pray. Now as we do so, let me encourage you to pray. We don't want this just to be mere form, but we bow our heads in prayer to pray for two things. We pray for God's servant that he'll know the infilling of the Spirit. And then that you, as a Christian, you would know the infilling of the Spirit, so that you might hear a right he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And may the Lord speak to your heart, and then you'll profit as you've sought the Lord. Say, Lord, speak to my heart. May there be a word for me. Loving Father, we humble ourselves, we bow our heads and our hearts before thee. Lord, we now cry to Thee that Thou wilt come near in the preaching of the Word. We rejoice, O God, in Thy Word, the Word that liveth and abideth forever, the Word that cannot be changed, the Word that is forever settled in heaven, given to us by the mouth of God, God-breathed, God-inspired. And now, God, we cry to Thee that today we might know the blessing of being here publicly and gathered under the preaching of the Word. Lord, quicken us by the Word, revive our souls, speak into our lives and our circumstances. Many and varied are the needs, O God, even in this band of people before us today. Grant, Lord, therefore their needs to be met through the Word, and we'll give thee praise and glory for it. Lord grant, Lord, now the infilling of thy Spirit for both preacher and Here alike we pray this in our Savior's precious name. Amen and amen. Simplicity was one of the marks that characterized the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ in his public ministry. It is then no wonder and no surprise to us that the divine record records that the common people heard him gladly because even the uneducated could grasp what the master was communicating to them in their discourses. The eloquent and articulate language of the religious leaders of the day found little traction or resonance with the masses. Instead, the people gravitated to the pleaing and the simple preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the methods that the Savior employed to captivate his audience's attention was the use of common day objects from which he would teach then a spiritual lesson. This we find him doing throughout what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. A sermon that is recorded in Matthew 5, 6 and 7. You look there at Matthew 5 in the verse 13 we find the Savior employing table salt to simply describe what his children are to be in a sin-corrupting world. Ye are the salt of the earth, he said. In verse 14 he uses a candle to explain what the Christian is to be. He is to be a light, she is to be a light in a dark world and he encourages the believer not to be secret in his discipleship but rather that he is to shine in a dark world, to set his light upon a candlestick and not hide it under a bushel or under a jug or a bowl. A bushel simply being a dry measure of weight. In Matthew 7, the verses 9 and 10, he uses the image of a father, the kindness of a father in giving good things to his child. To picture the kindness of our heavenly Father who gives good things to them that ask Him. In verse number 13 and 14 of Matthew 7, he employs two gates and two ways to explain the difference that exists between those who are saved and bound for heaven and those that are unsaved and bound for hell. In verse 17 and 18 of the chapter, he uses a good tree and a corrupt tree to illustrate how the nature of the tree really dictates what type of fruit it produces and how the fruit that we bear in our lives really evidences whether the divine nature is in us or whether there is still an unsaved or a sinful nature that still abides within us. And then in chapter 7, the end of the Sermon on the Mount, he takes Two builders, one building his house upon a rock, the other, the foolish builder, building his house upon the sand. And he represents them, that the wise builder is like the one who not only hears the word, but then obeys the word, while the foolish builder is the one who hears the word, but then forgets and never puts it into practice within their lives. Now, in the passage that we read together, From this sermon in the mount back to chapter number six, we find the son of God employing another common day object to impress another spiritual truth upon the minds and the hearts of his enthralled audience. Behold, he says in verse 26, behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feedeth them, are ye not much better than they? It is this behold that we want to consider as we behold the foils of the air. There are three things that I want us to think about in the message. I want to think first about the context of the behold, the content of the behold, and then the comfort of this Bible behold. In the first place, I want you to think about the context in which this behold sits. In what setting do we find the Son of God saying the words, behold, the fowls of the air? Well, if you look back to the previous verse, the verse 25, we get the context in which these words rest. Therefore, I say unto you, take no thought for your life. what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Now, we must not read something into the words of Jesus Christ that are not here within this portion of God's Word. Whenever the Lord Jesus Christ said that we're to take no thought for your life, or what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, or yet what you shall put on your body. The Lord Jesus Christ, he is not saying that we are to be thoughtless or we are to be negligent when it comes to the simple basics of living in this world, what we eat, what we drink, and what we put on. The Savior is not saying that we are, as it were, not to consider these things, we are not to provide for the family. He's not saying these things in this particular passage, but rather, when he uses this term, take no thought, he is telling his congregation that they are not to become overly anxious. about these particular things. The word used here, take no thought, it simply means to be anxious or to be troubled with cares. It's interesting to notice that the Savior will use and employ this particular word three times throughout this portion at the end of the chapter number six. He uses it in verse 25, take no thought. Then verse number 31, therefore take no thought. And then a verse number 34, take therefore no thought for tomorrow. Now you may think, well, he's simply saying the same thing three times, but that is not the case. Because the Savior uses a different term, not a different term, but he changes the form of the verb that he uses here, this taking thought, that's a verb, an action word, but he changes the tense of, or the form of the verb each time. And so this is what he actually is saying in the verses 25, 31, and 34. He's saying, don't worry, stop worrying, and don't start worrying. That's the simple way that we could read it. Don't worry, stop worrying, and don't start worrying. In other words, if you're worrying now, stop. And if you're not yet worrying, don't start worrying. This is what the Savior is driving at. in Matthew chapter six. In Matthew chapter six then, we are being encouraged by the Son of God that we're not to be excessively anxious or troubled with the cares of this life. With that in mind, is this not then a most suitable passage and a most suitable behold to be considering today with all that is happening in our world? Worry, anxiety, Concern, fear, uncertainty are very much at their height in these days. Excessive concern is rife among the general populace, and it is no less prevalent, I believe, among the people of God. And let me say that this passage is not teaching us that we are to have a cavalier or a careless approach to all that happens in this world. We're not going to go around the world and say, que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be. These words from the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 25 are simply encouraging us not to become excessively worried about life in this world. We're not to become excessively anxious about the temporal things of life. Sadly, in our society, individuals are more concerned about the temporal things of life than they are about the spiritual things of life. And so the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that this is an age-old problem, He's enforcing this truth into the minds of His own followers, that they're to be more concerned about the spiritual realities than they are about temporal matters. That is why He goes on to say in verse 33, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." We find our neighbors, our friends, our loved ones are concerned about their health. keeping themselves safe with regard to COVID-19. And they're concerned about their work and the prospect of being laid off. And maybe that is looming over your heart, your life. You've looked at the business and you've sat down and you've thought, well, there's not an awful amount going out. And I've been furloughed for now six months, and possibly it's going to be extended even further, and maybe you're here today and you're anxious about such things, but the Lord Jesus Christ is saying here, you seek first the kingdom, put God first. And he will add all other things to you. He may close the door in one place, but open it in another for you. to be a witness for Him to someone else, to be a light, to be salt, so we're not to become so caught up and so anxious and so fretful that we forget about the spiritual things in life. Really what the Savior does here is what the Apostle Paul will encourage his own readers to do there in the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter 4 verse 6 and 7, be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God and the peace of God. which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. The Christian, possessed now with the peace of God, is not to go around the world bowed down because of excessive care and worry. Such on the part of the believer, the Christian, the child of God, exhibits a lack of faith in our God as the world looks on. And folks, I'm preaching to myself. You can ask the wife. She knows all about it. The anxious care and worry and fretting. Just about the normal day things in life. And here we are as the children of God. protected by him and loved by him and cared by him. And here we are so full of worry and so full of fret and so full of excessive anxiety. Peter, he would say something on this matter, how to handle worry. Over there in 1 Peter 5, verse 7, writing to the saints of God, and I remind you that they were being severely tested, these saints of God, Peter advised such to cast all your care upon him, for he careth for you. And where better can we cast our cares but on our God today? Harry Ironside, He said, it is the will that his children should live without worry or anxiety. When Jesus said, take no thought, he did not mean that his disciples should be careless, but that they were forbidden to be anxious, to become distressed and perplexed as they faced the future. He who has saved and cared for us thus far can be dependent on to undertake and provide for us to the end. Let me read that last statement again. He who has saved and cared for us thus far can be dependent on to undertake and provide for us to the end. Believer, think of all today for a moment. all the matters that cause you concern. Think of those troubles that have you worrying through the day, and not only worrying through the day, but fretting through the night, so much so that the sleep goes. There are so many of them to enumerate, money worries and family worries. health worries, church worries, employment worries, schooling worries, relationship worries, and yet God would say, take no thought, don't become overly anxious, for your heavenly father he knoweth that ye have need of all these things, the basics of life. what you'll eat, what you'll drink, and what you'll put on. And so these words of verse 26, they sit within the context of this tendency that every one of us have to become overly anxious and fretful about life's necessities. This is the context. But let's go into the content of the behold. The Lord Jesus Christ was a discerning preacher. I suppose his omniscience helped him in a greater way than any preacher. He knew exactly what was beyond the smiling face. He was able to look beyond the outer and right into the soul, right into the heart. It was he who said that, I, the Lord, I search the heart. I try the reins. In other words, I see beyond the plastic smile. I see beyond the words, all is well. Things are fine within the family. He saw their furrowed brows. Yes, and he saw their anxious heart. He peered right inwardly, and he discerned their inward fears. And as he understood the state of his congregation, he encouraged them to look heavenward. Look heavenward. Look away from the world. where there is care and anxiety and worries and fears and all the things that would cause you to fret. And I want you to look into the sky and I want you to look at the birds. I want you to behold the fowls of the air. They sow not, neither do they reap, neither do they gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? What is Christ doing here? He's arguing from the lesser to the greater. Now we've spoke about that before. He speaks and he preaches and he expounds and he deals and he argues from the lesser to the greater. What is the lesser within the verse? It's the birds. the fowls of the air, add as that which is less." And he says, look at them. Look at them. Look at them as they fly. Look at them as they sit on the branches and chirp in the morning. And in the afternoon and in the evening, look at them as they gather into the nest and lie down and fall asleep. I don't know if birds lie down, I'm not too sure. I'll have to look that up. Maybe they sleep standing. I think cows sleep whenever they stand, but that's by the way. I don't know how birds sleep, but I say, the Savior said, look at the foils of the air. They receive all they need from their Creator. And then, arguing from the lesser, then he goes to the greater. And he goes to the greater, and he now says, with the truth established in the minds and the hearts of the hearers, he then states to these individuals, if God would feed the birds, will he not feed you? What are they compared to you? You're much better than the birds flying overhead. And I am told that Galilee, and this is where the Savior was preaching. He was preaching in Galilee. I am told that Galilee was positioned at the crossroads of birds' migration routes from Europe to Africa. And so as the birds were migrating from Europe, they would have come to Israel and spent some time there in their feeding grounds, and then they would have carried on south towards Africa itself. And the Son of God, he says, I want you to consider the three essential stages of food production that birds don't concern themselves with. Firstly, they don't sow. You don't see a bird going out into a harrowed field, do you? A little seed in its beak and deciding, well, I must sow this seed for harvest time. We never see birds doing that. Maybe some farmers would maybe rather have them do that. In actual fact, birds do the opposite. They probably come and take up the seed in their mouths, but we don't see them sowing the seed. We don't ever see them reaping. You don't see a bird getting into a combine harvester and making their way through the golden fields. We don't see them getting a sickle on their back and mowing down the harvest and gathering in the sheaths. That's silly, isn't it? And we don't see them gathering into barns. We don't see them in a John Deere or a Massey Ferguson. I'll keep everybody on side here today. We don't see them getting into some type of truck into some type of vehicle with the sheaf-laden cart behind them, maybe behind some animal, and going into the farmyard and then putting it all into the barn. We don't see birds do that. None of these stages of food production concern the birds of the air. Sure, why would they need to? They've got a father. They've got a heavenly father. They don't need to concern themselves about a task that was never entrusted for them to take care of. Why would they need to worry about a task, to a matter that is tasked to one greater than themselves? You see, God cares for the birds. We know that from scripture, many of the verses. We know that God made the birds on creation week. In Job 38 verse 41 we read, who provideth for the raven his food? God. When his young ones cry to God, they wander for lack of meat. Talking of the created world of animals, including the fowls of the air, the psalmist said in Psalm 104, verse 27 and 28, these wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give them meat in due season, that thou givest them they gather. Thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Psalm 147, verse nine, he giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. Matthew 10, 29, the Savior said, are not two sparrows so for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father. The Bible speaks of the Creator's care of his creature. Now that is not to say that the birds of the air are inactive when it comes to the obtaining of the essentials of life. The birds don't sit on the branch and wait for some unseen hand to come down and to drop food into its beak. The birds don't do that. No, the birds are active. The birds are proactive. And it's amazing the ways and the means of How they gather food, they search for it continually. They search for it constantly. They even obtain food as they fly through the air, the birds. They work for their food. They work for it. Even though God has provided what they need in the world to sustain them, they must work to acquire it. There's a little side note. Let me say that idleness and inactivity are never encouraged in scripture. In actual fact, it is opposite. A man was banished from the Garden of Eden. He was sent forth to work. Genesis 3, 19. God's pronouncement, in the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread till thou return on to the ground. And thus Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 3 verse 11, for even when we were with you, this we command you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. As age, strength, and health permit, We are to labor and we are to work. And yet in our labors, we are not to become overly anxious or fretful, because just as God provides for the birds, he will provide for you and me. And so why do we then find ourselves worrying about a matter that is tasked to one greater than ourselves. In considering how God provides for the birds that are of less value and worth than ourselves, ought not we, ought not we cease from worrying? And ought not this put to bed our worries and help us to live without anxious care? You maybe heard the little poem before, It does highlight to us the lack of our faith compared to the faith exhibited by the mere birds of the sky. A little poem goes like this. Said the robin to the sparrow, I should really like to know why these anxious human beings rush about and worry so. said the sparrow to the robin, friend, I think that it must be that they have no heavenly father such as cares for you and me. Isn't it amazing that the brute beasts and the brute animals of this world exhibit greater faith in their father than we do? at times. And I wonder, I wonder as the birds fly over our heads, chirping and singing, I wonder are they saying something to us. Where's your faith? Where's your faith? Look at me, I'm just a little bird. I've never been redeemed by blood. I've never been adopted into God's family, but here I am, I'm exhibiting faith in my Father, my Creator. Where's your faith? You who are of more value than them, than me. I wonder, are they lamenting? Is it a chirp of lament? over our unbelief when it comes to how the daily necessities of life will be found. I wonder, are they laughing at us? I wonder, are they mocking us when they discern the pent-up worries and fears that we are pressed down with? Oh, for the trust and faith of a bird to know that we have a Father who cares for us. There's a third and there's a final point to the message, this behold of Scripture. Think about the comfort of this behold. From the words of Christ, here in verse 26, there are various comforts to be found. The first comfort is to be found in the relationship that we have with God. The relationship that we have with God. Note what the Savior says there in the middle of the verse. Yet your Father, your heavenly Father, feedeth them. And it is that phrase, your heavenly father. It speaks of our relationship, the relationship of every child to God. He is our father. And we are his children. And what a father he is. He's a loving father. He's a caring father. He's a gracious Father. He's a generous Father. He is a merciful Father. He is a kind Father. He is a good Father. He is an all-wise Father. He's our Father, yet your heavenly Father. There's comfort in the words of Christ. You've got a Father, you've got a heavenly Father, and all the comfort that is derived and that flows out of this thought, that I have a Father, comfort to know that as a fact, and the fact that as His child, I have a Father who will protect me, John. 10 29 my father which gave me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand there's comfort in the fact that as his child he is my father will provide for me we have it here in verse 26 he will provide right down there to the verse 32 for your heavenly father knoweth that ye have need of these things as a father And as his child he will school me, he will educate me. There Isaiah 54 verse 13. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children. The comfort to know that as his child he'll discipline me. When I need disciplining, he'll discipline me. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. I, and as his child, I am an inheritor of all things. And if children, Romans 8 verse 17, and if children, then heirs. Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. One preacher said, what an astounding blessing to have God for our Father in a world like this and in times like these. What comfort to look up to the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity and rejoice that he is a Father's heart and that his heart beats in unutterable love to me. What an encouragement to be able in the midst of trials and troubles and temptations and losses and crosses and disappointments and the vexations of life to look up to my heavenly Father and to say, I will cry unto God most high, unto God that performeth all things for me. Is God your Father? I remind you that he's not the father of all, only those who have been redeemed, sealed. reconciled to God, adopted into the family, are able to call God their father. So have you experienced the new birth? Have you been made a member of the household of faith? Are you a child of God? If so, then rejoice, rejoice that God is your father. And if not, then settle this matter once and for all today. I spoke to a man this morning And I asked, has he made any spiritual preparation? And to date he hasn't. Don't be foolish. Prepare to meet God. Make sure you're a part of the family of God. And you'll have a father such as what I've spoke of. The second comfort to be found is in the comfort, is the comfort of the care that we receive from God. the relationship that we have with God, then I think of the care that we receive from God, the Son of God. He talks here about the care that the fowls of the air receive from God the Father. And by inference, we are then to conclude that we receive a similar care, but could I say maybe, no, most definitely a greater care. a care that is far greater in its extent. Why do we receive a greater care than the birds of the air? Well, they are simply his creatures, but we are his children. Yes, we are his creatures, but more than that, we're his children. Remember, child of God, that he who is good, and he who is glorious, and he who created all things by his word, and he who governs all things by his wisdom, and he who upholds all things by his power, and he whose resources are infinite, is he who cares for you. And since he cares for us, we are then to cast our cares on him. One preacher said, since God cares for us, let us not dishonor him by nursing our doubts or encouraging our fears, but let us trust in him at all times, for his word is true, his love is constant, and his knowledge is perfect. Child of God, rest today on this truth, that you are the object of God the Father's tender, perfect, and ceaseless care. The third and final comfort that we find is the comfort of the value that we are to God, the relationship I have with God, the care that I receive from God, and the value that we are to God. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ, he asked at the end of this verse, are ye not much better than they? Speaking of the files of fear, are ye not much better? The word better there is the word value. And so Jesus Christ, he's saying, are you not much more valuable than them? And oh, what value God's children are to him. You know, you're maybe here today, and you think to yourself that you're not much value to God. You're not much value to him. But I remind you that the sufferings that Christ endured upon the tree in order to acquire redemption and salvation from you shows the tremendous value you are to God. If he would suffer what he suffered on the tree, what value he must see in you, what value you must be to him, And since we are better or of more value than the simple fowls or the birds of the air, then God will provide for us in a similar manner as he provides for that which would be deemed to be of a lesser value. He's not going to provide for the birds and to leave you without. What comforts there are then to be found in the words of Christ, to know that I am related to God, I'm his child, to know that I am cared for by God, and to know that I am of value to God. Martin Luther, a Protestant reformer, when preaching on the sin of worrying, he said these words, that I love better than any other on earth. Now you may think, well, he was obviously speaking about some other reformer, some other great preacher that he read his sermons about, this great preacher that he loved better than any on earth. He said, it is my little team, Robin, who preaches to me daily. He said, I put some crumbs upon my windowsill, especially at night. He hops onto the windowsill when he wants his supply and takes as much as he desires to satisfy his need. From thence he hops away to a little tree close by, lifts up his voice to God and sings his carol of praise and gratitude. Then tucks his little head under his wing, goes fast to sleep and leaves tomorrow. to care for itself. He is the best preacher that I have on earth. We would have to admit, brethren and sisters, that the birds of the air, they put us to shame. They live lives free from anxious care while we fret and worry on a daily basis. Oh, to take a leaf out of their book, and oh, to trust in the God who cares for us. The one whose eye is upon the sparrow is the one who watches over me. Behold the fowls of the air. For they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Of course you are, your has redeemed child. May God comfort our hearts through this behold of scripture today. Let's bow our heads in prayer. O God our Father, we thank Thee for Thy care of Thy creation. We believe, O God, that the knowledge of God goes to the extent of the fall of a simple sparrow. He knoweth all about us. And if He knows about such things, does He not know about our cares and our worries? Of course He does, for we are of more value than they are. What value Thou hast placed upon us, Thou hast redeemed us, Thou hast reconciled us to Thee. We bless Thee for this simple illustration from the Master. We do not belittle its simplicity. the Savior, who could have used such eloquent language. He uses the simple foul of the air to preach a message to these souls of ours. And so every time we see the bird fly overhead and every time we hear the bird chirping on the branch, May we be smitten with conviction of sin that our trust in thee is not as it ought to be. Part us with thy blessing. Bring us again to thy courts tonight and save the lost. Restore the fallen, for we offer prayer in and through the Savior's precious and worthy name. Amen and amen. Thank you and God bless.