Please turn in your copies of God's Word to the Gospel of Luke. Luke chapter 12, and we'll read verses 22 to 34. God promises to bless the reading, but especially the preaching of the Word. And so let us give our attention to these things. This is God's Word. And he said to his disciples, Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens. They neither sow nor reap. They've neither storehouse nor barn. And yet, God feeds them. How much more value are you than the birds? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his lifespan? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, 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, which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you? Oh, you of little faith. I do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also. So ends the reading of God's word. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we ask that even through the preaching of the word and our that our hearts would be receptive to receive your word by faith, and that even this morning, even if by degrees, our hearts would be more and more conformed to heaven, and that we would find our heart's desire located not in the things of this age, but in heaven itself, that our treasure and our heart would be there in the place where Christ is seated. And so, Lord Jesus, rule and reign in our hearts by faith. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Well, in our passage, Jesus tells us, do not be anxious. And he tells us this because he knows that we struggle with being anxious. He knows that as fallen humans living in a disordered world, we're prone to anxious thoughts. People were anxious in the ancient world, and people are anxious today. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 31% of US adults experience some kind of anxiety disorder in their lives. Another source reported that in 2022, one out of every 10 prescription that was filled was for medication dealing with depression and anxiety. The reality is that we are a people plagued by anxiety. And that's in part because we live in a world that's filled with many things that worry us and trouble us. The world is filled with evil people. Government offices and agencies are filled with malevolent people who want to control our lives and tyrannize us and suppress our faith in Christ. The air we breathe is filled with deadly diseases. Our roads are filled with reckless drivers, drunk drivers, who in a moment, without a moment's notice, could take our lives. And aside from all of the scary things of life that threaten our well-being, we also have major decisions that we've to make throughout life. Like what will I do when I graduate high school? What job will I take after college? What will I do in my old age? Who will provide for me? Should I marry this person or not? Should I stay in this current job or should I find something else? What if I'm single the rest of my life? We all have these big decisions of life that we need to make, and sometimes even the big scary decisions of life can leave us feeling anxious, so anxious that we're paralyzed into indecision. Well, the causes of anxiety are many, aren't they? And in our passage, the disciples are facing their own concerns. Jesus just came from a dinner party in which he managed to offend a room full of Israel's religious elite. They left the house arguing and trying to trap him and trick him. Crowds also are getting larger and Luke uses the kind of foreboding language of the crowds beginning to crush one another. There's so many of them. And Jesus has just taught his disciples not to find their security in possessions. They're not to secure their life in the stuff of this world. Well, if all of these threats are looming, and they're not supposed to find security in possessions, who or what will provide for the disciples? Who or what will protect them and guide them? Oh, we could understand if the disciples are feeling a little bit skittish and anxious at this point. And that's why Jesus now, as a loving shepherd, speaks to his little flock of disciples, comforting them and encouraging them, calling them not to be anxious. Jesus gently teaches them and us two things that provide comfort to our anxious hearts. As the antidote to our anxiety, he assures us of God's promise to care for us in this life. And he promises something even greater as he reassures us of God's promise to us of the life to come. And knowing this, we can let go of our anxiety and we can find comfort in the God who loves us, who takes care of us, and whose delight it is to give us the kingdom. Let's consider then the problem of anxiety, the promise of this life, and finally the promise of the life to come. First, the problem of anxiety. Well, as we should all very well know by now, Jesus is a master counselor. He is a wonderful shepherd of his people. Whenever he's dealing with people and their problems, He always knows how to sort of cut through the outer shell. He's always able to see beyond the symptoms and into the heart of the matter. And here, the problem he identifies and addresses is the anxiety that so often fills our hearts and our minds. He says in verses 22 and 23, Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will put on, for life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Our Lord explains that there's more to your life and your existence than the stuff you put in your mouth and you fill your bellies with. There's more to life than the clothing you wear. There's more to life than just the ordinary things, so don't be anxious about those things. Now to be clear, when Jesus says don't be anxious about eating and clothing and your body, he's not saying don't have a care or concern in the world. He's not saying, you know, he's not telling us to just have a case, hurrah, hurrah, whatever will be, will be kind of attitude. He's not saying, you know, don't worry, be happy. Jesus isn't telling you to be unconcerned about your work or not to give a thought to how you'll provide for yourself or don't care, don't give a thought to your health or your safety. No, in fact, if someone told us that, we should reject that advice. Someone who has no cares and no concerns in the world, we would say that they're living in dreamland. They're naive at best, irresponsible at worst. We know this, don't we? Concern is different from anxiety. When you're concerned about something, you may feel a little bit nervous, you realize there are stakes involved, but you apply your mind and your efforts to the situation and you try your best. But anxiety is different. When you're anxious about something, or you're panicky, You struggle to think about anything else. Maybe you struggle to sleep. Perhaps you begin to act compulsively. Anxiety is being fearful or worried about some uncertainty. It is the excessive worry that that uncertainty will lead to everything going wrong and your entire world falling apart. Well, imagine this. Imagine preparing for an important presentation at work for the boss. Concern in this situation might involve acknowledging the significance of the presentation. Okay, this is a big deal. I've got a big opportunity. I need to do well here. But then concern leads you to take proactive steps to ensure its success. You might spend extra time rehearsing your talking points. You double check your slides, your PowerPoint for errors, make sure everything is the same font and all that sort of stuff. You seek feedback from your colleagues to improve your delivery. And so concern is constructive, it leads you to try to do your best. In contrast, anxiety in this scenario would have you excessively worrying over every minute detail. It leads you to doubt that you even have the ability to do this presentation. It leads to racing thoughts, physical tension in your body, difficulty concentrating. It leads you to lie awake at night, catastrophizing. Oh, this presentation, if it goes badly, I'll lose my job, the boss will hate me, I'll be laughing stock. And if I lose my job, how will I provide for my family? And if I can't provide for my family, then we'll be homeless. And on and on, it catastrophizes as one feels the overwhelming pressure to perform perfectly. Concern, then, is the godly response to want to do things well and wisely, knowing that perfection isn't obtainable in this life. Anxiety, on the other hand, is this pressure to perform, and if one doesn't do everything perfectly, your world will end. And anxiety is a problem. It's a problem for a number of reasons. First of all, anxiety is a problem because it doesn't give us anything. In a moment, Jesus will ask, and which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? Jesus' point, of course, is that anxiety is a waste of time. It's futile. It can't do anything for you. And not only does anxiety not add anything to our lives, as probably as many of us know, it actually can take from our lives. Excessive worry takes our time as we spend hours churning in our minds our worst fears. Worrying takes our peace as we catastrophize every situation, turning every molehill in life into an insurmountable mountain. Worry takes our rest as we lie awake at night, worried about tomorrow. And that has a knock-on effect, doesn't it, where then you're too tired to work well the next day, and that further adds to more anxiety. Worry steals our health as we feel the physical effects of the tension and the damage to our guts that worrying has as it releases these various fluids in our stomach, leading to more acidity. Worry steals our hope. as we fear the worst about the future. And yet as bad as all of these things are, these are only symptoms of the more fundamental underlying problem of anxiety. The real problem that Jesus addresses with anxiety is that anxiety is a manifestation of fear rather than of faith. Your anxiety tells you that you are on your own. In every situation, in every circumstance, there's no one there to help you, especially not God. You and you alone need to figure out this problem, or you need to find a way to protect yourself against this catastrophe that is bound to happen. Your anxiety denies that there is a God governing the universe who's bigger than you, who's bigger than all of your problems, who holds you and all things in his hands, and you especially in his hands, as the special objects of his love. In that way, anxiety, excessive worry, has us living like practical atheists, fearful and faithless. Anxiety is a problem. But Jesus is about to talk us through our anxiety, helping us to overcome this problem. And he does so by applying two promises, one for this life and one for the life to come. So secondly, let's consider the promise of this life. Jesus tells us not to be anxious for life is more than food, on the body more than clothing. He's saying that your life is bigger than your physical concerns. Yes, you have real needs and concerns in this life, but he says, don't be anxious about those things. Then Jesus points our gaze up to the ravens flying in the sky. Yes, the ravens, in fact, have something to tell us about our anxiety. Verse 24. Consider the ravens. They neither sow nor reap. They have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. How much more value are you than the birds? Now, the raven is quite an odd bird to choose to illustrate God's care and concern. In a previous passage, God used the sparrow to illustrate God's care. God cares even for the sparrows. He knows their number. And yet, with sparrows at least, even though they weren't considered to be all that significant a bird, you could still buy them and sell them at the market, and if you were poor, you ate them for your diet. But ravens are different. Ravens were unclean animals according to the laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. You couldn't eat ravens, you didn't even want to touch them, lest you become defiled. And yet Jesus says, despite their low status in the Mosaic economy, God still feeds the ravens. And what Jesus is doing is he's making a how much more argument. If God cares for and values these unclean and worthless ravens, how much more does he value you, you who he has redeemed with his own blood? If anxiety feeds on uncertainty, the uncertainty of how we'll provide for ourselves makes us fearful and anxious, and we wonder, how will I pay this bill? How will I do this? What if this happens? What if that happens? But here, Jesus deals with our anxiety by removing the uncertainty of the situation. God's care for you is not uncertain. It's not up for question. If he feeds the ravens, be assured that he values you and he will feed you. Next, Jesus highlights the futility of anxiety. We'll read verses 25 and 26 again. And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do a smallest thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Worrying comes so natural to us, doesn't it? When was the last time you woke up at night worrying about something, a bill that you had to pay, or a doctor's appointment, or a problem with a relationship you had? And it's not that these things are unconcerning, they are concerns. But in the midst of being anxious, it feels as though worrying is the rational thing to do. Right, there's a perceived problem. I need to figure out this problem. And so you churn it around in your mind all night long, and you can't get it out of your head. You analyze it to death. But you know what happens. The more thought and concern and worry you feed into the problem, the more it takes on a life of its own. But Jesus says, when has that ever worked? When has panicking and worrying ever helped you? Anxiety cannot add an hour to your lifespan. So why give it an hour, or two, or three, or a whole night's sleep? Well, Jesus has been pointing up to the birds and now he points down to the soil and he directs our gaze to the grass and the lilies that are growing there. He says in verse 27, consider the lilies, 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, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? Well, if ravens are of little value, and if ravens don't have barns and store food, and they don't work, but they're still provided for, how much less so the grass and the lilies of the field? The grass and lilies don't work at all. They just grow. Yet Jesus notes how even with the dried grass, their value is seen in how their, or their lack of value is seen in how it's just gathered and thrown as fuel for the fire, here today and gone tomorrow. And yet Jesus presents the lilies and flowers as being better dressed than Solomon himself, despite their short and insignificant lifespan. God clothes them. He causes them to grow. tends to them like a gardener, he dresses them like a tailor. And if God cares for insignificant blades of grass, again, how much more does he care for you, dear Christian? Have you ever wondered that? Have you ever questioned whether God is too busy and too concerned with maybe the bigger things of the world or the bigger things of the kingdom to be concerned about your little insignificant life? I've heard Christians speak that way. Well, I mean, God isn't, okay, he's sovereign, but he's not that sovereign that he's so concerned with my little life and what's going on in my life and my struggle in the home or the workplace. Not only does this thinking misunderstand the infinity of God, that God is without limits so that time doesn't apply to him, doesn't apply to him because he made time, it also misunderstands his level of care. To put it this way, if God says to us he has the time and concern to care for a blade of grass, then be assured that he has the time and he has the concern to provide and care for you, dear Christian. And he knows what you need. He knows what each blade of grass needs, and each flower needs, and he knows what you need. Verse 29, and do not seek what you are to eat or what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. This is why we don't have to be anxious about securing our life through possessions. like the one man with his barns or the other man with his inheritance from the previous passage. Jesus says that's the way the nations live. In other words, that's how unbelievers act. They seek after these things, meaning they dedicate their lives to the security of life through possessions. But you do not need to follow their path, for your father knows what you need and he will provide. And beloved, it's important that you not only hear this, and not only that you know this to be true, but that in faith you rest upon this truth. Because notice how Jesus gently chides his disciples in verse 28. Oh you of little faith. Why does he chide them for little faith? That's because anxiety, is a manifestation not of faith, but of fear. And in our anxiety, we are driven inward. Our anxiety causes us to look within ourselves and ask, what more must I do to secure my life? Anxiety tells the teenage girl that if she doesn't wear the right clothes, she'll be rejected by her peers and her social life will be over. And so she agonizes over what she is to wear. Or her anxiety tells her that if she is in a certain body shape or weight, no one will love her. And so she is driven either to bulimia or she throws herself into the arms of whoever will show her attention. Anxiety tells the small business owner that unless he can solve every problem and remove every uncertainty, all that he's worked towards to build will come crashing down before him. And so he loses sleep night after night trying to anxiously solve every single problem. And in that sense, anxiety is works-based. Anxiety drives us inward, causing us to ask, what more works must I do to secure for myself the things of this life, or even the life to come? Well, if anxiety turns us inward to our works, the antidote that Jesus applies is for us to look outside of ourselves and look to God and to look to His gracious provision. Anxiety says, what more works must I do? But faith looks outside of oneself to God and trusts in His promises for this life. So when you feel anxious about your value and your worth, or you feel anxious about your provision, Remember the ravens and the lilies who neither work nor toil nor save nor build barns, and yet God values them and he provides for them. And how much more does God value you than things like birds and plants? Martin Luther described the flowers and birds as our teachers. He said, the flowers stand there and make us blush and become our teachers. Thank you, flowers, you who are to be devoured by the cows. God has exalted you very highly that you become our masters and teachers. And so in faith, look around at the world that God has created. Look up at the heavens and see the ravens and birds flying in the sky. Watch the cardinals as they land on your tree in your backyard as you're drinking your morning coffee. Look at the flowers that grow in your garden and remember God's care. Remember that this is not an empty, meaningless, purposeless world. Remember that you are not the product of a random meaningless event that supposedly happened billions and billions of years ago. No, you were created by God with purpose, and he made you very good in the beginning. And now he has bought you for himself with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are of great value to him, more than birds and plants and flowers. And if he provides for the rest of his creation, Be assured, Christian, he will provide for you. That is God's promise in this life. And yet as wonderful as God's promise is for this life, there is an even greater promise. And that's the second, the third thing we see, the promise of the life to come. In verse 29, Jesus told us not to seek after the things of this age, Now in verse 31, he tells us what we are to seek. He says, instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. What does it mean to seek something? Well, to seek something is to set your heart upon that thing. It is to make that thing your chief desire, your goal, your purpose, your motivation, what you get up in the morning for, so to speak. And so when Jesus is saying, not to seek food and clothing. He's not saying, oh, just forget about your responsibilities, go live like a monk somewhere, take a vow of poverty. No, Jesus isn't saying that. Rather, it's the seeking that's tied back to verse 23, where he said that life is more than food and clothing, and tied back to verse 15, where he said that life doesn't consist in the pursuit of possessions. In other words, we're not to seek. possessions and the acquiring of more stuff as the seeking of our life. And that's what we're told to do. The great lie of this age is that security comes through the accumulation of stuff. And it tells us that this life and this material world is all that's there. And so you'd be a fool not to live it up and enjoy this life now. Eat, drink, be merry. Enjoy many years, as the man in the previous passage said. But Jesus calls us instead to seek something much, much greater. And he backs it up with a promise. Instead of seeking possessions and comfort and ease as the highest good of life, Jesus tells us, instead seek the kingdom. What is the kingdom? The kingdom is heaven. Jesus here is referring to our heavenly salvation, which he won for us through his cross and his resurrection. It is the eternal life that we will enjoy with God for all of time. And Jesus says, this is to be your highest aim and pursuit in life. True life isn't found in steak and lobster dinners with wine. True life isn't found in being able to afford the nicest home or the latest model of car. True life isn't bound up in you getting that next promotion and higher salary. No, Jesus says, that would be a mistake. True life, your life, is found in the kingdom of Christ. And this must be your first pursuit. Christian, is this your pursuit? Is this what you are seeking? It's worth considering. If this is what that word seeking means, that we're expending our time, our energy, our thought, our resources on seeking the kingdom, in what ways are you seeking the kingdom? How are you investing in the treasures of heaven? Now, of course, we are all busy people. We have jobs to work, houses to run, children to clean up after. In that sense, we do toil. We are unlike the ravens and the lilies. We have a few more responsibilities than they do. And yet, even as we fulfill our duties, and even as we give ourselves to genuine concerns, are we in those things, seeking first the kingdom? In the time that you have free, How do you spend it? Do you spend every waking moment thinking about the things of this life like money, provision, leisure, vacation, hobbies, but spend very little towards seeking Christ's kingdom? How much of your week is spent seeking the kingdom through prayer, reading, and meditation on scripture, recalling the points of the sermon on Sunday? fellowship with other believers, discipling other believers, which is fundamental to our calling as Christians. You must ask yourself these questions, and if need be, repent before the Lord, and redirect your gaze to the seeking of the kingdom. However, while these questions should challenge you, and they should convict you, and they should redirect your concern to first seek the kingdom, much like Jesus rebuked Gentle rebuke for being of little faith. These questions are not designed to cause you to anxiously seek the kingdom. Seeking the kingdom ought to be our concern and priority, but Jesus doesn't want us to anxiously seek the kingdom, because notice how after telling us to seek the kingdom, the very next thing he says is, Fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. So even as Jesus calls you to seek the kingdom, the very next thing he says is, don't be fearful and don't be anxious, as if this were something that you would seek and not find. Rather, you can seek the kingdom without anxiety and without worry, because past tense, the father has delighted to give you the kingdom. So God is not waiting to see how hard you seek, and if you seek enough, and then maybe, perhaps, he'll begrudgingly give you the kingdom. No, quite the opposite. The Father has willingly, gladly, and with a big smile on his face, given you the kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ. The kingdom comes to us, not through works, but through faith. Some Christians are anxious about their standing before God. They worry about that sort of thing. They worry, have I done enough in the church to be good with God? Have I spent enough time reading the Bible or praying midweek? Have I attended enough prayer meeting or whatever other things that go on in the life of the church in order to satisfy God and be able to stand before him? Have I earned enough religious capital Sometimes we can put this burden of anxiety on ourselves, but sometimes others, just like the Pharisees, place this burden of anxiety on other Christians. As a result, we can find ourselves serving and seeking from a heart of fear rather than from a heart of faith. But whatever the cause of this anxious seeking, dear Christian, if you fall into this category, here instead, Block out the fear of man and the words of man who try to make you feel anxious about your service before Christ, and only hear Christ's words when he says, fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. What this means, beloved, is that you do not need to be uncertain about God's care for you in this life, are of his promise to you of eternal life in the heavenly kingdom to come. Therefore, you can seek his kingdom now and serve his kingdom now in the confidence that you stand in the Father's good pleasure through Jesus Christ. And his opinion is the only opinion you need to care about, and you have it. You have it, not through works or anxiety or looking within yourself. You have it because Christ secured it for you. Trust in Christ and have this assurance. And because you have been given the kingdom, Jesus says, now invest in the kingdom, verses 33 and 34. Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. When Jesus says sell all your possessions, invest in heaven, he's of course not giving a universal command to take vows of poverty or a rejection of private property. Rather, he's contrasting the mindset of the nations who equate life with possessions versus this heavenly mindset that realizes that even if we lost everything in this life, we would still have everything because we still have Christ. in heaven. And thus the call to sell all you have and give it all away is simply a call to remember your life is not found in the possessions and things of this age. But again, it's a call to remember that your life is found in heaven. And so more than simply an imperative, you must do this. If anything, it's indicative. Remember, this is what you have. This is why you can invest you know, put all the chips on heaven because it's secure, it's safe, there is no risk, it's not even a bet. And whereas wealth in this life is insecure, robbers can steal your money, the government can destroy your savings through inflation and money printing, your heavenly treasure is safe and secure in Christ and the life to come. These two promises, God's promise to provide in this life, and his promise to provide in the life to come are the antidote to anxiety that our hearts so desperately need. And so, dear Christian, what are you anxious about? Recall Jesus' words to anxious Martha, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her. And this morning, dear Christian, Jesus says the same words to you. Yes, there are many things that trouble your soul. Your mind is weighed down heavy like a heavy laden ship in the sea with storms blowing all around it. You have many cares and concerns. But all of these things are to be subordinated to one thing, the one thing that matters above all, seeking the kingdom by faith. And so then, let us seek this treasure, being assured that it is the Father's good pleasure to give us Christ and his heavenly kingdom. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have given us the kingdom, you have given us Christ. And so, Lord, what can we say but thank you? What can we do but return gratitude and service to you and ask, Lord, that as John asked, that we would diminish and Christ would increase in us, that we would have more love to you, Lord Jesus, more love to thee. Continue, Lord, to take our gaze away from the things of this earth. Help us to see all things as your creatures and as your creation that you provide for, and then fix our gaze ultimately not on the sky or the earth, but to heaven itself, where our eternal treasure awaits us in the presence of Christ himself. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.