Let's pray together. Oh, Lord God, you have such a wonderful word of comfort to us this morning. I pray, God, that you'd help me to be able to proclaim it accurately and passionately as I ought, and Lord, I pray that you would help your people to receive it. God, this is your wise, kind word for us. God, I pray that we would give it the attention it deserves, and God, that you'd be so pleased to work in us as a result. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, our brother Khalif got us started last week in his sermon by putting a song in our heads. I'm afraid I'm gonna do something similar this week. Because there's a little song that someone wrote. He wanted you to learn it note for note. Don't worry, be what? Be happy. Don't worry, be happy. This is a phrase that has become popular, famous all over the world, especially since Bobby McFerrin put those words to music in his international hit from 1988. The idea and the phrase, don't worry, be happy, is simple enough. We all want to be happy, but when you worry, you make yourself unhappy. You make your troubles double, as the song says. So choose not to worry and just be happy. While this is a pleasant sentiment, and the song is catchy, has a nice chill vibe, the philosophy behind don't worry, be happy is actually profoundly naive. Because of all people in this world, only biblical Christians have the right not to worry. The one who is not a biblical Christian, let's be honest, has much to worry about. You live in this savage world with no one to look out for you except yourself. If you do have a God, some false God, inevitably you will have to work for this God never knowing if it's enough to be in his good graces. You have to worry about that too. Meanwhile, the reality is there is one true God, and you are not in right relationship with him. He has been patient with you, but you have not served him, you have not worshipped him, you have been worshipping and serving yourself, and you don't know when the patience of the true God will run out for you, and his anger will fall on you. If you don't know the true God, you have much to worry about, but in contrast, The true Christian, he is saved, he is safe, and he is forever under his Father's perfect and loving care. No need to worry. Yet, Christians, yes, even true Christians all over the world frequently fall into worry. We worry about pretty much everything. We worry about our health. We worry about our church ministries. We worry about our country. We worry about our jobs. We worry about getting a job, losing a job. How are we going to do the next project at our job? We worry about our schoolwork. We worry about our relationships. We worry about that conversation that we know we need to have with somebody, but we don't know how it's going to go. We worry about so much. And in this way we act just like the rest of the world. We needlessly afflict ourselves and we dishonor our God. How about you this morning? Is there something you're worried about? Are there multiple things you're worried about? Are you worried about the future? Especially with the personal circumstances you're in or maybe the national circumstances that we face. Are you only happy and at peace when life is going well for you? When you see how everything's gonna work out, finally you can stop worrying. Or can you confidently, honestly say, you don't need to see how everything's gonna work out. Even if your circumstances don't look great, you can be content and confident in your Lord because you know that he loves you. Which is true for you this morning? Well, I know that worry, anxiety, is a common struggle, even for true believers. So I think we could use some instruction and encouragement from God's word, and that's what we're gonna do this morning. Let's look at the landmark instruction from our Lord Jesus on the subject of worry, which comes in Matthew 6. So please take your Bibles and open to Matthew 6, verses 25 to 34. The title of the message today is Worry, a painful pastime. Worry is a painful pastime, right, but we indulge in it all too often. Worry, a painful pastime. Our new message is in Matthew 6. This is page 963, if you're using the few Bibles. This message also appears in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5 to 7. Last time I was with you, we were looking at anger and Jesus' teaching in another part of the Sermon on the Mount. Today, we're looking at what he has to say about worry. Let's hear our master's teaching. Matthew 6, 25 to 34. For this reason, I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you, by being worried, can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow. They do not toil, nor do they spin. Yet I say to you that not even Solomon, in all his glory, clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith, Do not worry then, saying, what will we eat, what will we drink, or what will we wear for clothing? For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself, Each day has enough trouble of its own. A familiar, precious text, but so profound. We see in this passage both commands from our Lord Christ and reasons to obey his commands. The main command in this passage is obvious and emphatic. It's don't worry, don't be anxious, stop worrying. Three times in the passage, our Lord declares how his followers should not and must not worry See this in verse 25, verse 31, verse 34. And this is not a mere suggestion from Jesus. This is a command. It's a kind command, but it is a command. I say to you, he even says in verse 25, he's underscoring his personal and divine authority in this command not to worry. But what exactly does it mean to worry? Worry is not simply, and get this, worry is not simply exercising concern or having some measure of fear. Life has many proper concerns and fears. These are actually good for us to feel, to protect us, and to help us live wisely before God. You can just imagine how foolishly and dangerously we might live if we had no fear at all, or how recklessly, how sillily we would live if we were never concerned about anything. Now, it's good that we have a certain level of concern and fear in life, but worry is inordinate concern. It is concern or fear that goes beyond the proper bounds over a particular issue or just about the future in general. It's too much concern. It's tortured concern. It's unending concern. It's paralyzing concern. This is what we're talking about with worry. And have you ever experienced this? I'm sure many, if not all of you have. You start caring about a particular problem, and then you just keep thinking and thinking about that problem, and all its potential outcomes, and the dreadful effects it might have in your life, and you think about different ways that you can combat it, control it. And as you keep on thinking about it, you start to be overcome by unease, and even despair. This is what Jesus is talking about, and he says, in relation to this issue of worry, stop it. Stop being caught up in the cares of your life. Stop being ruled by your concerns. Stop devoting inordinate thought to your needs. Do you notice that Jesus' commands in this passage are about worrying over life's needs? The terms life and body, do not worry about your life, do not worry about your body, in verse 25, they are meant in a temporal way, as seen by Jesus' immediate clarification regarding certain aspects of life in the body, food, drink, clothing. And when Jesus mentions these three items, he's really talking about all of life's needs, kind of like how in our language we talk about needing food, clothing, and shelter. In ancient times, shelter didn't usually make the list because you could sleep outside and that wasn't too bad. But you did need food, drink, and clothing. So when he refers to these issues, he's talking about the main things people be concerned about, but really through those, any need you might have in life, anything that you regard as a need or that actually is a need, he's just saying, I'm talking about that. Don't be inordinately concerned. Stop being inordinately concerned. And this is what we see, first of all. a command from Jesus not to worry about whatever it is that we actually need. But what are we to do instead of worrying? Notice that there's another command, and this is nestled in verse 33. He says, essentially, seek God. To be more specific, speaking of the Father in verse 33, Jesus says, seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Jesus preached throughout his early ministry, and as the Old Testament also declares, God has a kingdom, and that kingdom is coming. This is gonna be a righteous kingdom, it's gonna be established all over the earth. You, as one who believes in and would follow God, are to seek entrance into that kingdom, and you are to seek to advance that kingdom. That is to be your concern. More specifically, you are to put God's righteousness into practice into your life. You are to seek to please God, to obey God, to know God and to do His will. So we have two straightforward commands, really contrasting commands in our passage. Do not worry, but seek God. Do not worry, but seek God. Or we could summarize these commands from Jesus by slightly altering that famous phrase, not don't worry, be happy, but don't worry, Be holy. Don't worry, be holy. All right, so those are the commands. Straightforward enough, but if we're going to obey those commands, we need to hear some good reasons as to why we should do so. I don't know about you, but throughout life, when people tell you words like relax, calm down, don't worry, it's usually not effective. Why? Because there's not a reason supplied with that exhortation as to why you really can relax, you really can calm down, you really can stop worrying. It's a big step of faith not to worry, not to devote so much thought, so much concern over your needs. So why should we as Christians, as true Christians do so? Well, Jesus actually gives many reasons, many arguments in these verses, 25 to 34. But we can group the arguments into three main reasons. Three main reasons not to worry, but instead seek God. That's gonna be our outline for today. Three main reasons not to worry, but instead seek God. of these main reasons is gonna be marked out for us in the text by the repetition of Jesus' command not to worry. So anytime you see that word repeated, we're talking about a new main reason not to worry. So let's look at these. We'll move verse by verse through the text, take a closer look at each of these three main reasons. Our first one appears in verses 25 to 30. What's the first reason that you should stop worrying and instead seek God? Number one, worry is idolatrous. Worry is idolatrous. Notice the phrase that begins verse 25. For this reason. Now, verse 25 is one of the places we see the command not to worry. But by beginning verse 25 with that phrase, Jesus is already, or Jesus is indicating that he's already presented us with a reason to obey his command not to worry. For this reason, don't worry. I've already told you about the reason. What's the reason? Well, look back to verse 24. Jesus says, No one can serve two masters. For either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Do you see the connection? You see, Jesus has already been teaching in his Sermon on the Mount about how the truly righteous seek lasting treasure with God in heaven rather than the fading treasures of earth. Jesus has also made clear explicitly in verse 24, that you cannot serve God and wealth, possessions, things, at the same time. So how does that connect to the command not to worry? Well, the connection is this. Worry is worship of the treasures of the world. In some form or another, worry is worship of the things, the treasures of the world. It is idolatry. And because you cannot serve God and an idol at the same time, you cannot seek God and worry at the same time. And it doesn't only make sense because we have the two main commands in our passage that contrast one another. Do not worry, but instead seek God. It's because you can't do them both at the same time. And verse 25 is also making that connection for us. Have you seen how this works in your life, even with your own worries? What's happening, spiritually, theologically, when you worry, is that whatever you worry about is becoming, or has become, a more important treasure to you than even God, and whatever God's will is for your life. Just one example, maybe you worry about your health. There's a sickness going around, and you start to worry about getting sick, and God tells you to do certain things to be obedient to him, but then you think to yourself, oh, I don't wanna do that, because I might get sick. If I get sick, then some terrible, devastating outcome. My life is going to be ruined. You see, in that desire, not even necessarily for a bad thing, to be healthy, there's nothing wrong with that, but that desire not to be sick, that desire to be healthy, now becomes more important to you than actually God and obeying His will. Your concern, your adjusting your life just so that you won't get sick, and your resentment of people who might maybe get you sick, all that is born from your idolizing that worldly treasure. Whatever it is for you, maybe at certain times, maybe right now, whatever it is you think that you need, you absolutely must have, or you absolutely must not have, this is the thing that you love. This is the thing that you become devoted to. You think you need this to be happy, secure, And when something threatens your access or enjoyment of this thing, that's when you feel this ungodly fear, this inordinate concern. That's where worry comes from. You see, worry is an expression of your heart's worship, what you desire most deeply, what you think is most important. But as Jesus has already said before our text, this kind of idol worship is both senseless and blasphemous. Because nothing in this world can ultimately save you or satisfy you. Even being healthy, or having perfect relationships with other people. You think that's going to be the thing that keeps you absolutely safe, that's going to make you ultimately satisfied? No, never! Not going to happen! Why are you devoted to that? Why are you so worried about that? Moreover, you are now neglecting, you are now devaluing that which should have your ultimate valuation and devotion, God. So it's useless, but it also is something that God cannot endure in his people. God cannot endure idolatry among his people, giving his glory to another, therefore he is committed to make sure that we do not worry. But there is a positive side to this concept of worry and worship as well. Look at what appears after Jesus' command not to worry in verse 25. For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life as to what you will eat or what you will drink, nor for your body as to what you will put on. And then he says this, is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? That's a rhetorical question. What's the expected answer? Of course it is. Of course life is more than these things. Life is more than simply acquiring food, drink, clothing, money. positive relationships with other people. You are so much more than a body that merely has to have its needs provided for. You are a living soul. You were meant to know, worship, and enjoy the living God. But idolatrous worry, it prevents us from seeking out the true purpose of our lives and keeps us stuck on the most basic, shallow level, being concerned about things and all that's passing away. We were never meant to stay there. The majority of our life's thought and energy, yes, some thought and energy has to go to these things. We do live, we do have physical bodies. But the majority of our life's thought and energy ought to be directed to life's greatest purpose, knowing God. Worry fundamentally distracts us. And God doesn't want us distracted. He doesn't want us distracted from the primary and best thing, Him. Now this is only the beginning. In verses 26 to 30, Jesus points out how we often overestimate the importance of creation to the neglect of serving and enjoying our creator. He's gonna illustrate that in various ways. For instance, we often think that preparing for the future, preparing for the future is essential and it's the only way to prevent your ruin. If you don't prepare for the future, you're toast. But look what Jesus says in verse 26. Look at the birds of the air. that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Stop there for a second. Jesus here focuses first on the basic need of food. This is obvious, everybody has this need. But Jesus makes an observation about food and birds. Jesus points out that birds do not prepare for the future, even when it comes to their food. They do not plant. They do not harvest, they do not store crops, which seem like essential things for humans to do. But birds do work. They do fly, they build nests, they go out each day looking for food. And in this way, lo and behold, birds get enough food to live and even thrive. Birds all around us all the time, tweeting at 4 a.m. in the morning. How is this possible? How can birds do so well when birds don't wisely store up for themselves food for the future? Well, it's because God graciously provides them their food. They can't do it for themselves, so God does it. In fact, God does this really with all creatures, as Psalm 145 says, whether that creature is able to store it for themselves or not. Now with this observation, is Jesus implying that we shouldn't try to store up anything for the future? No. The Bible exhorts us to wise stewardship, wise planning, especially in Proverbs. However, get this application. If due to difficult circumstances, you are not able to store up for the future, or maybe you did store up something and it was lost, how should you respond? In that instance, by not worrying at all. Why? Because you can be sure that God will still adequately provide for you. By the way, notice the end of verse 26. After speaking about the birds and they're not getting ready for the future, he says, are you not worth much more than they? Another rhetorical question. Are you worth more than a bird? Of course you are. You are made in the image of God. And if you know Jesus Christ, you are in his son. You've been bought with precious blood. You've been adopted as a son or daughter in God's family. You are worth way more to God than a bird. His eye is on you all the time. You are precious in his sight. And if God takes care of these birds, which are of little importance, nobody's even Hardly noticing the birds. And won't God take much more care of you? Will he not exercise his perfect care towards you, you whom he loves? You are way more important to him than mere birds. But this isn't the only improper way that we esteem creation over the creator. We sometimes think that we have real power and control over our lives. It all comes down to us, our choices, our planning, our decisions. But look at what Jesus says in verse 27. And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? This is a third rhetorical question from Jesus. And the expected answer is no one, not one of you. Not one of you can add a single cubit to his lifespan. You can't lengthen your life even a little through worry. You say, is that really rhetorical? Oh, of course it is. And Jesus' audience, Jewish audience, they certainly would have gotten this immediately. This all comes from an understanding of God's absolute sovereignty, which is proclaimed again and again in God's word, even over the length of our lives. Listen to what Psalm 139 says. Psalm 139, 16, speaking about human lifespan. Psalm 139, 16. The Psalm is speaking to God. Your eyes have seen my unformed substance, and in your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. Your entire length of days, even every day along that lifespan, is already determined by God. God has complete control of all things. And if God has ordained every one of our days, even the length of our days, then will even maximum or frantic concern lead to a longer lifespan? Not a bit. Jesus is thus pointing out, as he does explicitly in a parallel passage, Luke 12, 25. If you can't do this one simple thing, add a tiny bit to your lifespan through your anxiety-filled actions and thoughts, what makes you think you can accomplish anything good through worry? In other words, why obsess about the creation when it's your creator who has the real control and power? In many ways, worry is a struggle for control. But guess what? You're always gonna lose that struggle because you're not in control. That's one of the things the Bible's gonna tell you again and again. You're not in control, but there is someone who's in control, and he loves you. That's why you don't have to worry. Now, does God's sovereignty mean that our efforts are pointless? It doesn't really matter how we live or whether we work or whatever. No, but it does mean that even in our actions and thoughts and planning, we must remember who's the one who gives us strength and wisdom for that work and planning in the first place and who it is that makes that effort in planning effective or not. Consider what Psalm 127 says. Psalm 127, verses one to two. Unless the Lord, that is Yahweh, unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless Yahweh guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors. For he gives to his beloved even in his sleep. Brethren, the profound truth is, despite how it sometimes feels, excuse me, you are not the one who is actually supporting yourself in your life. You're not the one keeping yourself afloat. God is. Yes, you are called to work hard, you're called to work wisely for God's sake, and this is the normal means by which God provides for you in your life. It is through your own work and effort. But if you suddenly aren't able to work, or you somehow didn't anticipate something happening in the future in your work, don't worry. Why? because it was never you sustaining yourself in the first place. It didn't come down to your effort and wisdom. That's just the means that God normally uses, but that's not what's dependent. That's not what God is dependent on. He's dependent on himself. So then, indeed, why should we devote so much thought, so much concern, so much pursuit to creation when God is the one with the real power? See how Jesus further illustrates God's importance versus creation's importance in verses 28 to 30. Talked about birds, now he's gonna talk about plants. Verse 28. And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow. They do not toil, nor do they spin. Yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will he not much more clothe you? Now Jesus here is making an observation about wildflowers. It says lilies here in our translation, but the word really refers to any kind of wildflower. You ever seen wildflowers? Depending on your route to church, you might have seen some wildflowers on the way here. As I was making one turn on my way here, I saw some purple wildflowers in somebody's yard. I'm sure the person didn't cultivate those, they just appeared there as if by accident, but so beautiful. These beautiful purple flowers standing out against the green grass. Now, Jesus wants us to make an observation about wildflowers, and that is, they don't provide their own clothes. They don't provide their own adornment. Jesus says specifically, they don't toil or spin. What does that mean? Well, it means that flowers don't work a difficult day job so that they can make money to buy clothes, and they don't spend time at home making clothes, spinning clothes for themselves. Why not? Because they're flowers. They can't work. They can't make money. They can't make clothes. All they can do is grow and accept whatever adornment God provides for them. They can't make or buy their own clothes. But notice what Jesus says. He says, not even Solomon looked better than these wildflowers. And that statement should give us some pause, because if we know anything about Solomon, we know he was the greatest, most glorious king in Israel's history. Jesus says, the simple flowers on the side of the road, they look more splendid than King Solomon ever did by his own wealth and wisdom. Yet flowers are so transient. Jesus notes this as well in verse 30. He says, these flowers, this grass, I mean grass that turns into a flower, that's basically what a wildflower is. This grass is only alive today and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace. That is, in that day, as flowers dried up and died, as the grass dried, people gathered them, cut them, gathered them, and then burned them as fuel. Flowers are so transient. Yet God still takes interest in adorning the grass, these short-lived wildflowers. This tells us something about God. What does it tell us? It tells us that God loves to adorn his creation. Why? because it shows forth his glory. He is a God of beauty and creativity and majesty, and it's reflected in what he makes. Isn't this what the Psalms say in another place? The heavens declare the glory of God. Day to day pours forth speech. Night to night reveals knowledge. All of creation is saying, look at my beauty and look at the one who made me. He's the truly beautiful one. So of course, God will love to adorn even quickly fading flowers. What's the point of that then? How's that connect to worry? Well, if God delights to adorn near worthless flowers, come up in a moment, wither in a moment, burned, forgotten. If God delights to adorn these near worthless flowers, God will surely delight to adorn you. Why? Because you as his child are worth so much more to him than a flower. He will make sure that you are adequately adorned and even, listen to what Jesus says here, What he implies, he will make sure you are even beautifully adorned. You say, ooh, that sounds like a pretty nice promise. Can't wait till God unloads all those expensive clothes and he totally beautifies my body exactly the way I want it to be. Well, hang on a second. In this statement, God is not necessarily promising you that you will wear the latest fashions or that you will be the next model in a magazine? Because God does not adorn every creation the same way, though all are beautiful in their own ways. When you look at anything in this creation, bugs, birds, flowers, people, they all look very different, yet each one brings glory to God. Now God may provide us with simple clothes, plain face, And to many, we may not seem very beautiful. But if you look more closely, you will see the glory of God, especially when a spirit of righteous contentment shines through. Now God may provide for some expensive clothes, natural beauty, but we should not expect nor agonize after that. Rather, as 1 Peter 3 says, it is the inner beauty that we are to seek after, because it's the inner beauty that beautifies whatever outer adornment we might have, and it's the beauty that lasts. I don't know if you've ever noticed being around content, righteous, spirit-filled people. Even if on the outside there's nothing very remarkable about their appearance, there is something beautiful about them. Why? It's the Lord shining through them. You wanna be beautiful? Cultivate the inner beauty. Because that's what really makes the outside beautiful. Now does this mean we should just let our outer appearance go? No, of course not. Your family will appreciate your efforts to make yourself look nice. And you don't wanna put a stumbling block before the gospel by your appearance. But Christ's word here about wildflowers, it speaks to one of the fundamental worries that we have in this life, about our appearance. Am I gonna be adorned enough? Am I gonna be pretty enough, handsome enough? Christ's words show us that we can and must stop obsessing about our appearance. We should stop. being inordinately concerned with clothes, jewelry, hair, physique, or whatever. This is obsessing about creation. This is worship of mere things. If God is motivated to make his creation beautiful when that creation is not important and unable to provide for itself at all, God is more than able, more than willing to make sure that you are adequately and even beautifully adorned. You don't have to be inordinately concerned about it. So then Jesus shows in multiple ways in these first verses that worry really is wrong worship. It is an unacceptable diversion of your Godward devotion to what ultimately doesn't matter. The things and treasures of this world Make no mistake, worry, by overvaluing creation, by obsessing with creation, it is a manifestation of heart idolatry. Creation does not deserve our great esteem, or our constant and loyal thoughts. Our loving and holy creator does. Now the second main reason that Jesus gives us not to worry, but instead seek God, appears in verses 31 to 33, and that's number two, Worry is unnecessary. Worry is unnecessary. This is surely implied in the first verses we've looked at, but beyond that worry is idolatrous, worry is unnecessary. And Jesus begins to present this main reason after repeating the command not to worry in verse 31. Do not worry then. Saying what will we eat or what will we drink or what will we wear for clothing? Notice what he says next in verse 32. For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things. Now for the term Gentiles here, we're not just talking about non-ethnic Jews. Gentiles here is used to refer to the people of the world who do not know God. What characterizes them? Well, as we already know, they are full of worry. They are full of concern. And how does it manifest itself? That they can never rest chasing after what they think they need and desire. Isn't this what we see in our world? You need more. You're not safe yet. You're not satisfied yet. You need more. The Gentiles eagerly seek all these things. Why does he point that out? To establish a contrast. Jesus is reminding his disciples, you are not the Gentiles. You are not of the world. You have no need to act like the people of the world. Think their thoughts. Truly, the contrast between Christians and the people of the world should be great. The people of the world, they constantly gather, they constantly store up their goods because they believe that their possessions, their reserves will make them happy, make them secure. But God's child is not afraid to give away his goods to meet needs. Or to cast off whatever distracts, even if it's not a bad thing, it's distracting me. Why can a child of God do that? Because he knows his peace and provision is in God. I don't need these treasures. You know, they can be fine for some people, but for me, it's a distraction. Or, I'm glad to give this up to help somebody else. That's what a child of God does. The Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, but that shouldn't be true, Christians. Why not? Look at the second half of verse 32. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Wow. God's omniscience, his perfect knowledge of all things, including you, makes worry for the Christian totally unnecessary. God is fully aware of anything and everything that you truly need. It could be food, clothing, sleep, encouragement, whatever. If you need it, God knows that you need it. In fact, God knows your needs better than you yourself do. You may think, God, God, I really need this, and he's like, actually, you don't. You need something else. And not only does God know, but he is passionate about providing for your needs. Why? So that you are not sidetracked from seeking him. Isn't this the goodness of God? He says, I'm the greatest treasure. I'm the essence of your life. I know these things could distract you. So here's my promise. I'm going to take care of all those for you. So nothing should hinder you from seeking me. Now, sometimes we suspect this isn't true. We say in our hearts, God, you know what I need. You've not provided that. I cannot handle this situation right now. Why have you not shown up to give me what I need? But God speaks to us in response from this text. My dear son, my dear daughter, I do know your needs. I've actually given you exactly what you need right now, even in the circumstance that you feel is too much. No, this is precisely what you need. Trust me, seek me, be obedient. This simple truth that God knows our needs and is committed to providing for them should liberate us from worry. Just this fact. If God knows my needs and he says I don't have to seek after them because he's gonna take care of them, what do you gotta worry about? This is the comfort even when it feels like, looks like, even your basic needs have not been met. Because that's the big objection to this whole text, right? God says he's gonna provide for his people's needs, but God, I know some Christians in church history or in the world today who are not having their needs met. They're starving. They're not properly clothed. Some of them have gotten sick. Some of them have been killed. Seems like you didn't get their needs, God. Actually, we do see this in the scriptures. Paul himself testifies that there were times in his life that he was poorly clothed and he was without food. Jesus just said, you don't have to worry about food or clothing. Paul says, yeah, there were times I didn't have food or clothing. What? But you see, when Paul reported that, he was not citing God as unfaithful. He was not complaining about his situation. You know what he was doing? First Corinthians 4.11, he was praising God. Why? Because Paul knew that suffering meek provisions for a certain time was what he needed, was God's will for Paul at that time. This was what was necessary for the most important thing, which is what? Glorifying Christ, knowing and glorifying Christ. That's actually more important for Paul and should be more important to you and me than even our physical life. What do you need more than your physical life to know and enjoy Jesus Christ? God will make sure that that need is never neglected for you. And so all the other needs are gonna be aligned underneath that greatest need. So let that sink in for us for a moment. It may be, that our greatest need for a particular moment or a particular season of our lives is to suffer even without what other people have. Even without the basic necessities of life. But let us let our God have his perfect way. Jesus says, your heavenly Father knows that you need these things. It's good for us to pray to God about it and be like, God, you know that I'm in this situation. This seems really hard. Are you really providing for my needs? I trust that you are, but I don't understand. That's fine for us to pray to God that way, but let's take him at his word. Our father knows our needs. Let's let him have his perfect way. Let's humble ourselves before him because he sees the big picture, but we don't. He has the perfect knowledge, we have limited, very biased knowledge. To bring in what Pastor Bobby was preaching about not too long ago, it may be in God's wisdom that it may be necessary that you or I or both of us, all of us, one day suffer martyrdom for the Lord. God says, you're gonna suffer and you're gonna die for me. But that will not be a testimony that God has failed in provision for us, that will be a testimony of God's provision for us in that special hour. He says, this is how you will glorify me. Isn't that what Jesus said to Peter at the end of the book of John when he restores Peter? And Jesus says to him, when you're young, you are allowed to dress yourself, do whatever you want, but when you're old, somebody else is gonna gird you and you're gonna go where you don't wanna go. And the commentary from John is, this Jesus said to testify how Peter would glorify God in his death. It may be necessary for us to glorify God in that way. And if we love Christ, if we are committed to glorifying him the most, we will say, I accept that. This really is what my life is all about. How could I complain? If this is what will glorify God the best, then I submit to that. And as Paul says, we can also say, if that's what God has deemed appropriate for us, this is the way that God brings us safely to his kingdom. You say, what's safe about martyrdom? That's just the way Paul describes it. When he's about to be martyred, he says, I know that God's gonna bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. That's how he does it. It's sometimes through death, through martyrdom. If that is God's provision for us, and it may be, we do need to be sober about that. He will, of course, provide us the strength for that day so that we can endure it. But let's get this conviction settled in our hearts. No matter the situation, God's omniscience and care means we have no need to worry, because he knows our needs. You really can say, all right, this is what I'm facing, but God's got it. He already knows. I told him about it in prayer, and he's omniscient. So even though it seems like I'm really suffering right now, he knows and he cares, so I don't have to worry. In fact, look at the promise explicitly stated by Jesus in verse 33. This is amazing. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. In this verse, we see the second main command that we looked at earlier, don't worry, Instead, seek God. But notice now that the command is actually part of a conditional sentence. Jesus says, if you are willing to seek God, to seek God's righteousness and his kingdom as first priority, he will add to you all these things. What are all these things? Well, what he's just been talking about, the needs of life, food, clothing, shelter, drink, whatever. So we could state the amazing promise of verse 33 in this way. When you seek the greater things over the lesser things, God gives you both. Wait a second. Let's make sure we get this straight. Either you can seek God and get perfect provision for this life thrown in, or you can seek the things of the world, lose those things, and lose your place in God's eternal kingdom and your eternal soul. That seems like a no-brainer, right? Why would I choose this? I'm gonna choose this. Right? If God has already promised to meet all of your needs, if you will only truly seek him, well then worry is completely unnecessary, isn't it? He'll say, I'm doing what God said, I'm seeking him. So he has to fulfill the other part. And he will, because he's God. I don't have to worry. You don't have to worry. You don't have to worry. No matter what it looks like, come on, God's gonna test you. God's gonna put you in situations where it's like, I don't see how God's provision is going to happen. But he will not prove unfaithful to his promise. He says, you seek me, I'm gonna give you the other things. Now let it be my way, God says, let it be my timing, but I'm gonna give it to you. I'm gonna give it to you. You need it, you got it. I'm not gonna fail you. Like Solomon who asked wisdom from God instead of lesser things. So we, when we choose the best, we get the lesser things as well. Indeed then, it is senseless for us to act like the people of the world to be frantic, to be consumed with concern, and ignore our Father's thoroughly knowledgeable, promised, generous provision by our worry. God's omniscience, God's loving care makes worry completely unnecessary. There's one more main reason from Jesus that we should not worry, but instead seek God, and it's just in verse 34. We've seen number one, worry is idolatrous. Number two, worry is unnecessary. But number three, worry is overburdening. It's overburdening. Let's see how Jesus explains this in verse 34. First part, he says, so do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. There's a bit of humorous personification going on here, even though God is ultimately the one who will take care of tomorrow. Jesus speaks about tomorrow as if tomorrow we're a being, tomorrow we're a person that he says cares for himself. Really, when we worry, if we're following Jesus' kind of metaphor here, we insist on taking on tomorrow's troubles today. And it's like we're going up to tomorrow and say, you know, tapping him on the shoulder and say, you know what, just give me the troubles now, just give me the troubles now. But tomorrow says to us, no, no, no, no, no, it's okay. I've got these for now. I'll bring the troubles later when you're ready, but I got these for now. Why does tomorrow need to hold back like that with us? Because of what the rest of us says. Each day has enough trouble of its own. This sentence is a sobering admission of our limited capacity as humans. God designed us, even before the fall, to live dependently on him. Thus, God made us only able to handle challenges basically one day at a time. If we try to go beyond our creative capacity, If we try to take tomorrow's troubles now, tomorrow's problems now, guess what? We will find ourselves quickly overwhelmed because we are not meant to handle that much trouble at once. Even if you just look earlier in this passage, what we read earlier in the service, Jesus taught his disciples to pray for daily bread, not next month's bread, not next year's bread. Just give us the provision I need right now. That's what we pray. And that's important because we won't receive the future's full provision until we get there. Again, that's uncomfortable for us naturally in the flesh. We want to have it all settled now. I want to see your provision now. I want to see how it all works out now, God. Then I can stop worrying. God says, that's not the way I made you. I'm not giving you the future's provision yet, so don't take on the future's troubles yet. Leave that with me. Leave that with tomorrow. Now does this mean that we shouldn't prepare at all for the future? No, we already talked about that. God has called us to exercise wisdom and foresight. We should make reasonable preparations today for tomorrow. But we must acknowledge that our preparations are gonna be limited. We simply can't prepare for everything. Why? Because we don't know everything. Because we don't know the future. Because our resources are limited. But you know what? That's fine. That's by design. Why? So that we will humbly, worshipfully, reverently rely on God. We must rely on God to foresee and provide what we cannot. Isn't this what Solomon is trying to teach the people in Ecclesiastes? He says, you want control. You want to find the wisdom that's gonna make it so that you never encounter any problems, never encounter any disasters in your life. Guess what? It doesn't exist. There is no such wisdom. But that's okay because God's in control and he wants you. He designed this so that you would revere him and depend on him. If we go against that design, we're not gonna win. You don't have the capacity for more than taking it one day at a time. And God is only too pleased to take care of tomorrow, especially when we will trust him with it. Rather than worry about tomorrow, God wants us to focus on serving and enjoying him today. And really, you know, this is one of the most tragic aspects of that painful pastime of worry. that when you're worried about tomorrow, you miss out on what God's doing right now. You can't appreciate it. You can't enjoy it. You can't participate in it because you're so distracted. You're so destabilized. You're so caught up in thinking about tomorrow's problems. But he says, but look what I've given you today. Why are you missing out? Give me tomorrow. I'll take care of it until you're ready for it. So then, we've come to the end of our passage. Let's review the arguments that Jesus gives us. Jesus commands us, his followers, not to worry, but instead to seek God. And he's given us three main reasons to do so. Number one, worry is idolatrous. It's esteeming creation over the creator. Number two, worry is unnecessary. It forgets God's care, it forgets his promises, it forgets his intimate knowledge of us. And number three, worry is overburdening. It stretches us beyond our creative capacity. Now these are precious truths and promises from our Lord Jesus Christ, but now I have to ask you on behalf of Christ, do you believe it? Do you believe this word from your Lord? Or does Jesus need to say to you what he says to the crowds here, verse 30, You have little faith. You have little faith. And by the way, that is not a commendation. Some might take it and be like, oh, you know, you at least have a little faith, I'll give you that. No, when Jesus says you have little faith, he's basically saying, where is your faith? Doesn't seem like you have faith at all. Worry is an expression of lack of faith. Jesus says, if I've given you all this truth, I've given you all these promises and you still worry, well then there's only one explanation. You don't believe. Where is your faith? Worry is so futile. God's care for us is so great. Will we really stubbornly refuse to humble ourselves, believe in the Lord and take a risk by choosing not to worry and leaving it with God? That will glorify God. That will allow us to be happy. But it will require you to let go of control. Let go of your way, your design, your understanding of how your life should go. Are you willing to do that? It's the only way to be happy. It's the only way to be holy. If you resist, you're not gonna win. So what are you gonna do? Will you believe this wonderful word from your Lord Jesus Christ? Would we not rather be free from the agony and distraction that is worry? I mean, really, when you are caught up in worry, does it feel good? In a weird way, it does to the flesh, especially initially. But if we're honest, it is torture. We want to be free from worry. God says, here's the way to be free. Will you take him up on that? Other things are gonna be of limited benefit, breathing exercises, songs you might listen to. They're not bad, but they're not gonna get to the heart of the issue. Are you gonna trust God? Are you gonna trust God again? Because just when you think you've dealt with worry, whew, not a problem for me anymore, then a new test comes into your life and God says, well, what about with this? Are you gonna trust God again? He's the same God, his promises haven't changed. Circumstances might look a little bit different, but you can still trust them. Now, allow me to get real practical with you for a second. You say, that sounds really good, Dave, but specifically, how do I do this? Let me give you seven suggestions, seven practical applications as to how you can put the truths of this scripture into practice in your life. And these are gonna come at you kinda quickly, but let me give you seven practical applications. Ways to combat worry, number one, Confess and repent of worry. Confess and repent of worry. Worry is disobedience to Christ's command, and it's a mark of prideful distrust. You're saying, I hear you, God, but I just don't believe you. That's sin, but don't hide it. Confess it to God and turn away from it. And you know what? He will bring you back into his banquet of refreshment. So do that. Number one, confess and repent of worry. Number two, search for and cast out the idols of your heart. Worry needs an idol to function. Therefore, think through what it is you feel you can't live without. Unmask that idol, repent of it, and trust God to satisfy and secure you in place of whatever that passing treasure is. Maybe it's the approval of men. Maybe it's your health. Whatever it is, say, God, I'm leaving that with you. You know my needs. I want you whenever your will is for my life. That's number two. Search for and cast out the idols in your heart. Excuse me a second. Number three, pray. Pray to your father. Philippians 4, 6-7 describes prayer as the antidote to worry. Have needs, God says, tell him about it in prayer. But have faith in your prayers. How many of us have had a really desperate need, we pray to God about it, but we feel no more at peace at the end of our prayer than when we did before? You know why that is? It's because we don't really believe God when we're praying. or say, God, I want you to take care of this. No, I'm not sure if he's going to. Be like Hannah, who prayed out of the great distress of her heart, but then when she stopped praying, she went away and she ate and she was happy. Why? Because she believed God heard her and believed God would provide. Now I'm not saying that when you prayed, your burdens were just gonna totally go away, but you should, if you believe the Lord in your prayer, you should experience a measure of peace. That's what God designed prayer to do, partly. Prayer does other things. Take advantage of the antidote of prayer. Hold God to his promises when you pray. You say, I prayed it. God's gonna keep his promises, his way, his timing, but I'm gonna hold him to his word. And God says, that's exactly what I want you to do. Wait confidently for my provision. So, confess and repent of worry. Search for and cast out idols of the heart. Pray to your father. Number four, replace worried thoughts and other avenues of temptation. Replace worried thoughts and other avenues of temptation. To protect yourself from worry, You must put off thoughts that lead to worry, and put on thoughts leading to righteousness. You may find that there's something that's really concerning to you, and every time you think about it, you just end up worrying. Well, you know what? Pray to God about it, and then choose to think about something else. Devote yourself to something else. Think on what is good, Philippians 4, 8 says. Again, a passage associated with peace. And if certain hobbies, people, activities in your life are unnecessary, but they're causing you to worry, what should you do? Get rid of them. Yes, you can do that, and you should do that. We are to get rid of whatever is unnecessary that entangles us, right, from following the Lord Jesus Christ, so do that. You say, but other people are gonna think I'm weird. Who cares what other people think? You have your own relationship with the Lord, and it starts with Him first. Number five, clarify your responsibilities versus God's responsibilities. Clarify your responsibilities versus God's responsibilities. As we've seen, God makes us great and precious promises, but we have to be faithful stewards. We can't be like, hey, you know, God's got this, I'm gonna be responsible. No, you have to do your part too. But when we think about our responsibility, we often feel overwhelmed, and we can get confused, especially if the tasks become great. So here's the thing you can do. Just take a piece of paper, and put a line down the middle of it. And on one side, write down your biblical responsibilities before God. And then on the other side of it, write down God's biblical responsibilities when it comes to your task and it comes to the needs of your life. Fill that out, and then look at your side and make a plan for that day or that week or that month as to how you're going to fulfill your responsibilities. But for anything on the other side, Pray about it to God and leave it with him. You can say, that's not my responsibility. That's above my pay grade. God, I'm trusting you with it. And just writing those things out, a lot of times you'll see, oh, I really don't have to be overwhelmed because my responsibilities are limited. I don't really have to take on, oftentimes our obligations, our burdens, our tasks, they seem way more than they actually are. So just writing it out can be helpful. Number six, guest support for the body of Christ. You know this. Worry can be both blinding and paralyzing, but when we share our struggles with our fellow Christians, it's almost like a magic spell is broken. Even in just sharing it with somebody, we're like, oh man, it sounds a lot less now that I say it to you. Or maybe we just hear the instruction and encouragement of a brother or a sister, and we say, you know what, you're right. Others can really help us see clearly and encourage us. So take advantage of the resource of God's church. You weren't meant to deal even with worry alone. You're meant to get help from your brethren. So do that if you really wanna overcome. And help support others too. You think you're the only one who struggles with anxiety? Get to know the rest of your brethren. You'll realize this is a common to man occurrence. Then finally, act in faith, number seven, act in faith. Sometimes, no matter what you've done to prepare, a situation will simply look impossible for God to keep his promises. This was true many times in the Bible, but Proverbs 30 verse 5, the word of the Lord proves true, and God proved himself faithful in the past, he's not gonna prove himself unfaithful starting with you. Therefore, resolve to act in obedience based on God's promises despite what you see, and wait for the Lord to vindicate your faith. I'll say this too, just real practically. Sometimes things are, they just seem so overwhelming and worrisome until you actually start doing whatever the task is before you. Once you go into it, once you start that obedience, you suddenly realize this isn't so hard. You gotta take God on faith. You can't rely on your feelings. If it looks impossible, don't worry about it. If God said it before you, he's gonna be with you and he's gonna help you do it. Just go in, act, obey, take that step of faith. So to review, that's confess and repent of worry, search for and cast out idols of the heart, pray to your Father, replace worried thoughts and actions with, or replace worried thoughts and avenues of temptation, clarify your responsibilities versus God's responsibilities, get support from the body of Christ, and act in faith. Now, I have to say one final thing. The comfort of this passage, as I said in the beginning, is only for those who know Jesus Christ. If you're trusting in something else to make you right with God, other than Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection on your behalf, I'm telling you right now, you have a ton to be worried about. God is not your father. You are not rescued from your sin. You have nobody to watch out for you in your life, and actually, God is set against you as an enemy. He is a holy God and you are in rebellion against him. He would rather that you come to him, but you haven't. So condemnation hangs over you even now. But it doesn't have to be that way. If you will do as Jesus said and repent and believe, if you will turn from your sins, turn from yourself, turn from all your efforts to make yourself acceptable to God on your own, if you will turn from all that, give that up, and say, I want Jesus, I want his will for my life, I want him to be the Lord, I want his sacrifice and life on my behalf, and guess what? You will receive eternal life, you will be forgiven, you will be rescued from the wrath of God, and you will have God as a father to provide whatever your needs are in this life. I talked about before, it's a no-brainer Would you seek God and get the provisions of life thrown in, or would you seek yourself and the treasures of this world and lose everything for eternity? Now, if you are truly God's child, let me say again, because God loves us, let us not worry like the rest of the world. They have reasons to worry, we don't, so let's not live like they do. Let us show the world that if you will only seek God truly, you don't have to worry. Let's close in prayer. Our Lord, we love you. We are amazed at your promises to us, that you really do give the antidote, the cure for anxiety. But God, we have to take hold of this every day. Lord God, you know that I have told you many a day, Lord, the troubles are too many. Lord, there are so many things to be anxious about. And then God, I pray to you, that I remind yourself of your truth, and I say, I'm going in, Lord. You gotta provide. And Lord, you have every day. So God, I will trust you with that, we will trust you with that for the future. There are so many troubles, God. There are so many things that we could worry about. But we'll take you at your word. You know us, you love us, so we don't have to worry. Help us, God, to give up our own way, our own control, our own view for how things must go, and say, no, God knows. I'll let him deal with it the way he thinks is best, and I'll accept whatever his provision is. I pray, Lord, that you do that. I pray any who don't know you, God, who don't know the loving Father who provides and who protects in the way that only you do, I pray that they would repent and believe today, to give up their sin, own themselves as sinners who have rebelled against you and have wanted to live their own lives their own way, and say, nope, that's not what God requires. That's not what God deserves. I'm giving it all over to him. I pray that you do that, God, for your glory, amen.