Let's come to our Lord in prayer this morning.
Lord Jesus, we do thank you that you have the words
of eternal life and that as your disciples,
we have no other place to turn,
even though there is such great temptation
day in and day out to look to the things of this world.
Lord, as we, your people, come around your word this morning,
we ask that by your spirit, you would speak to us,
that you would help us, that you would humble us,
that you would turn our eyes heavenward,
and that you would change us to be the light,
the salt of this world as you call us to be.
We ask for this in Jesus' name, amen.
Can everyone hear me?
So paradoxes are incredible things,
because two contradictory statements can be said
in the same sentence to bring out a truth.
And for me, the media during COVID really brought this out.
You see, on the one hand, this world was going through
a real experience of fear about a virus
that no one really knew much about.
People were terrified.
But on the other hand, we also witnessed
some of the most incredibly ridiculous behaviour
that the world has ever been exposed to.
I'm of course talking about people fighting over toilet paper
in the aisles of the local supermarket.
That's right, in the midst of a worldwide pandemic,
in the midst of such uncertainty and fear,
we were exposed to a great paradox,
in that we were shown, deep down,
people are actually pretty shallow.
Now the thing that brought all this about
was the unbelievable worry that people had.
Worry and anxiety over the things of this world
drove people to all sorts of insane behaviour.
Well this morning, our text is going to address
the root cause of worry and help us to see
that when our hearts are focused on the goodness
and the providence of God,
well the things of this world won't cause us to walk
in such crippling anxiety.
So if you have your Bibles with you this morning,
we're going to be in the text quite a lot.
So we're going to look at just one word in verse 25,
the first word.
We read, therefore.
Now it's been said from this pulpit before
that whenever you see the word therefore,
you must ask yourself the question,
why is that word therefore?
Well, it's usually there because the author
is summing up what's come before.
In other words, when you see the word therefore,
you need to look back so you can understand
the context of what you're reading.
And that's where we were last week.
You'll notice this is part two.
We were in the context to this passage
that spoke about what it is to live for the kingdom of heaven.
In fact, Jesus has been teaching us about what it is
to live as kingdom-minded people all throughout this sermon.
And he's been doing this.
He's been doing this teaching about what it is
to be part of his kingdom because the disciples of Jesus
are called out of this world and into his kingdom
to do something.
And that something is to be the salt and light
of this world, which means that when we become Christians,
we're not to depart from this world,
but to impart into it so that those trapped in the darkness
might come towards the light, glorifying our heavenly Father
because of our good deeds, chapter five, verse 16.
Again, we are the salt and the light of this world,
a peculiar people who live in a peculiar world,
yet with a totally different ordered way of doing things,
which really does something, our Lord tells us.
It really does something in the scheme of things.
For example, as we saw last week,
those of the kingdom are not to live
for the things of this world,
storing up earthly treasures.
Because as Jesus told us by way of incredibly
metaphoric language, all that we collect and value
in this world is going to rot in the ground anyway,
if it's not stolen beforehand, that is.
So don't be like those of the world who live
for the things of this world.
No, turn your minds to the things of God
and employ your abilities in living in response
to the things that God would have you to do.
And it's as you do this, said Jesus,
it's as you look heavenward and cast your eye
towards what God would have you to do,
that the things of this world will be seen
as they're meant to be seen.
That we're seen as things that have a use-by date on them,
not as things to cast all your energy towards.
No, to live for the kingdom of heaven,
our Lord Jesus told us,
well, that can never be taken away from you.
In other words, the treasures of living in obedience
to God's word will never decompose,
but follow you into eternity.
And it was as we were in our text last week
that Jesus ended with verse 24
with an incredibly sobering statement.
In fact, I would go so far as to call it
a black and white declaration,
meaning there is no gray areas to live out our discipleship.
Either God is your master and you will live to serve him
with all that you are,
or money, status, wealth still drives everything
that you're about.
And from that place of bondage and slavery,
you will live out your servitude
to the trinkets you collect and the treasures you store up.
We simply cannot serve two masters.
A sobering statement indeed.
This morning, we are going to continue
in our Lord's sermon in this part
about what it is to be a people
who have had their eyes lifted to heaven.
So with all that said,
let's dive headfirst into the text.
Again, looking at verse 25,
and I think we'll get a little bit past one word this time.
So these are the words of our Lord.
He says, I tell you, do not worry about your life.
Now, I think it would be very helpful
for us to understand something
about what Jesus is saying here.
You see, as I've already said,
what we have before us this morning
is building off last week
what was said last week.
And as we saw in that passage,
Jesus wasn't teaching that a total rejection
of having things on this earth was on view,
but a reordering of one's life priorities,
a reordering of our life's priorities.
That's what we looked at last week.
Jesus made us keenly aware that there is a danger
that we have to be aware of,
a danger of living to store up treasures on this world
and find our worth in those things.
Now, as disciples, we're to live
with a reordered view of our things
because our stuff doesn't define us.
It's not meant to satisfy us.
And we know that because the Holy Spirit of God
has shown us someone so much greater that we live for.
Our heavenly master,
he has revealed that to us, to his people.
And so with that understanding,
by Jesus saying, don't worry,
he's not saying to the disciples, she'll be right.
Don't worry about it, cover.
Sarah, Sarah, whatever will be, will be.
But again, he's making us keenly aware
that there needs to be a reordering in our life
because if we still have our eyes firmly fixed
on the things of this world,
then we will live in a constant state
of worry about those things.
Let me explain it like this.
When Jesus says, do not worry,
we have to understand that statement
in the whole council of scripture.
And so with that said, he's not saying
that we should not concern ourselves with making a living.
And just because we follow him,
food will magically appear at our doorstep each morning.
And let me warn you, don't eat what the cats bring you.
Nor is he saying for us to just go and quit all of our jobs
and God will take care of the rest.
We know that's not the case because Paul says later
in 1 Timothy 5, 8,
that people who can work so as to provide for their families
but choose not to are worse than unbelievers.
Nor as Christians are we to ever turn away people
in genuine need.
It's a good and biblical principle to concern ourselves
with the practical assisting of others
in whatever way we can.
We saw that in the Ephesians series that we went through.
I also want to say that Jesus isn't saying
that you won't have any trouble in this life.
That if you put Jesus first, you get a spiritual hall pass.
No, you will have trouble and persecution
if you follow Jesus.
He tells us that plainly in John 15, 18 to 21.
So we mustn't misunderstand Jesus here.
He's not saying don't worry
because you really won't have any troubles at all.
Now as we're gonna see in our passage this morning,
he's saying don't worry because if you understand the truth,
if you raise your eyes from the things of this world
and to our heavenly father,
then you won't worry about your life
despite your troubles in this world.
Now it might be said,
we might explore worry a bit, the theme of worry.
And worry bubbles up to the surface
because we've drifted off and fixated on the wrong things.
Now please don't misunderstand me here this morning.
We all go through things in various degrees
and our trials certainly can bring out
some serious concerns for us.
Jesus knows that about his disciples.
He knows that we will go through all sorts
of trials and tribulations in this world
and that we will have to deal
with some pretty serious things on this side of eternity.
Christians go through financial hardship,
go through the loss of a spouse or child,
go through the deterioration of health,
bad news from the doctors.
Christians go through persecution
and times of oppression from governments
and communities, friends, and even their own families.
I know for myself going through the season
that Hayley and I have just gone through,
there were real moments of worry at night
as I lay there thinking about all the things
that could go wrong with a spinal operation.
I can't imagine what some of you have gone through
in this room this morning.
I might as say that worrying about things,
well, it doesn't always come
from these big life events either.
No, it can come just from life in general.
I think that's the deeper question
that our Lord brings out in us here this morning.
When he says, don't worry,
he brings out the question of where our hearts are
at any given moment with our walk with God.
Where are they when we go through various trials,
through the unpredictable, even the mundane?
You see, worry comes as a result of fixating
on what is right in front of you
and the what ifs of the situation.
And things get clouded when we get distracted
with the things of this world, whatever they might be.
That's usually why we worry because, yes,
you really might lose your house.
Yes, you may really lose a spouse, your health,
and yes, we may really be persecuted in this country
of ours because we don't use the right language
or affirm the right communities.
But all those possibilities bring out something in us.
Do we worry because our heart is fixated
on the wrong things?
Is it possible that we worry and fret
because our treasure is still on the things of this world?
Well, brothers and sisters, it's actually a wonderful thing
that Jesus is doing here.
Because as he tells us not to worry,
we again can think of the places where we do worry,
which is a good opportunity to do something
called self-examination.
Self-examination in light of the word.
And again, this morning, there is a good opportunity
to think about where and what we are trusting in
and a good opportunity to see where the things
of this world really do have our attention
and confess them before our Father in heaven.
And our Lord is doing this because he knows
what we will face in this world
and how fear will try to claw its way into our hearts
and drag us back into the darkest recesses of hopelessness.
So instead of saying, don't worry about it,
and that's that, Jesus actually breaks into
our fear and trepidation with truth
and tells us where we can lift our hopes
and where we can lift our eyes and put our trust.
That's right, Jesus again takes our minds
from where he knows they naturally gravitate towards
and with this passage gives us some great things
to help us lift our eyes heavenward to our loving Father.
Because he knows if we focus in on the truth,
the worries of this world will be seen for what they are.
However, church, you must understand,
Jesus isn't giving us a formula here to say over and over,
there's no place like home, there's no place like home,
there's no place like home.
No, he pierces our hearts with his word, the truth,
so that we might get things in perspective
and look heavenward so as to put our trust in someone
other than ourselves.
To put it plainly, Jesus holds the truth to us
in this passage so that we might trust our heavenly Father
as trust in the truth of who God is,
is what it takes to overcome worry in this world.
So six things we're gonna look at in this passage,
and for you note takers out there,
I very kindly numbered them for you.
You may see more in the text,
but six is what we will focus on this morning.
So first, you might notice it in verse 25
that Jesus highlights where our priorities go wrong.
He says, is life not more than food,
the body more than clothes?
And that's so great what Jesus is doing there.
He's telling us when worry starts to creep in,
we should ask ourselves the question in the midst of it all,
is life not more than food and the body more than clothes?
I think some should have asked,
is life not more than toilet paper?
Might be too late for that.
But that's a great question to ask ourselves.
When worry starts to creep in,
to kick your mind back into reality,
ask yourselves, is life more than what I eat
and drink and wear?
And it's funny because that's what
advertising companies go after, right?
They attach so much of those things to our status,
preaching to us that you're not as great as the next person
if you don't have the greatest things.
The world attaches so much satisfaction and status
to what you do with your body.
It's a worldly mindset and our Lord is saying
our lives are so much more than these things.
Because we don't live for the approval of others,
but in the hope of not just this life, but the life to come.
So this question gets us to see things in perspective.
If you're trusting in what the world labels
as great and important, then your priorities are misplaced
and you'll always worry.
Always worry that either you'll lose these things
or you won't do enough to get them, won't have enough.
So Jesus gets us to look at our priorities.
Second, he draws our minds to the providence of God
in verses 26 and 28.
He says, look at the birds of the air.
They don't sow or reap or store away in barns
and yet your heavenly father feeds them.
And why do you worry about your clothes?
See how the flowers of the field grow,
they do not labor or spin.
Notice what he's doing here.
He not only gets us to ask ourselves
where our priorities are when we worry,
he also draws our minds to the providence of God
in the midst of it, which is so clearly on display
in his creation.
I mean, this is an everyday thing that we can do.
Just open the door, walk outside and go and see.
Let me draw one example here on how important it is
to understand what Jesus is saying here.
We just got birds for Bethany and for her birthday.
And there's such a sense of care and love from her
already towards these little things.
I mean, she spent hours on YouTube researching
what they need to eat, where they're meant to live,
how they're meant to be handled,
and how they're meant to be protected,
especially from sticky little siblings.
And she does this because she loves them so much.
These aren't random little creatures to her.
They're her responsibility and she takes seriously
her role in the whole thing.
But that is nothing compared to what we saw on Monday
when she asked me to take her to the zoo
because she wanted to visit her budgie's little cousins
in the bird enclosure.
I mean, there's people in that place
who have spent years and years studying birds
so that they can help them survive and not go extinct.
And it dawned on me, the great similarity between my daughter
and these people who dedicate their lives
to these beautiful little animals
is that they both live to serve these creatures.
Jesus is drawing his disciples to something here,
not to little pets owned by children
or to the exotic fowl at the zoo
who are cared for by experts,
but to the birds of the air who are graciously,
wonderfully served by our heavenly father.
Now think about it, birds of the air,
grass of the field,
well, they don't have a personal relationship
with our heavenly father through the Lord Jesus Christ,
but we do, brothers and sisters.
So if God cares for them in such a way,
how do you think he's gonna care for us?
Are you not much more valuable than they?
Verse 26.
So we combat worry in our lives
by thinking where the priorities have gone wrong
and then we can meditate on God's providential care.
Third, Jesus has so kindly,
all throughout the Sermon on the Mount,
given incredibly deep logical reasons
for his argument, and we see it again in verse 27.
Jesus says, can any one of you,
by worrying at a single hour to your life?
I mean, think about what he's saying here.
When you feel that worry kicking in,
the what ifs of the situation,
if you relish it in your mind and spiral around it,
the only thing it will achieve
will be something like a whirlpool
that drags you down and suffocates you.
I mean, it's not like if you completely freak out
that the results are gonna change.
At the end of the day, the Lord is telling us,
worry doesn't actually do us any good.
It doesn't actually fix anything.
Fourth, when we worry, we act like people in the world,
more than those who know that we have a loving, caring,
providential heavenly father.
It's right there in verse two.
The pagans run after these things.
They worry about clothes and what they'll drink
and what they'll eat,
but your heavenly father knows that you need them.
In other words, to be consumed with worry
about how are you going to live
is something that those who don't trust in God,
that's what they do.
That's how the world thinks and acts
because ultimately they have no hope.
On the flip side, fifth,
if we trust that our father knows what we need,
then really at the end of the day,
really at the end of the day,
we have nothing to worry about.
Now don't mishear me.
Things get hard.
Things get scary.
That valley that you may be walking through
gets very, very dark, no doubt.
But it's not like our heavenly father is looking around
going, oh no, I've lost Bruce and Sheila again.
And the truth of the matter is that,
though we might feel scared,
our heavenly father knows exactly where he has us.
He knows exactly what we need
and he provides for us in the midst of it.
Sometimes what we need is not always what we want.
That's why knowing God as our father
tears away at worry because we know
that he knows us better than we know ourselves.
He knows what we need more than what we want
and he provides for us in that providential love and care.
So church, Jesus penetrates our ever sanctifying lives
by holding out to us some incredible truths
so that we might combat the worry
that so easily, so easily creeps in.
First, worry comes because our minds are disoriented.
So when things feel off course,
when things get hard, ask yourself in that situation,
is this really what my life is all about?
Second, we are testified to every day by God's creation
and it shows us that he cares for us
more than we could ever possibly imagine.
Third, worry actually doesn't change anything.
Fourth, worry about things is what the world does
because they walk around really with no hope
and but we do because fifth, we have a heavenly father
who not just loves us but knows what we need.
Now there's one more thing that Jesus adds into all of this
and we wanna take note of it, it's in verse 34.
Our Lord ends this entire point by saying,
therefore don't worry about tomorrow
for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.
In other words, we don't know the future
and so to look at your present situation and worry
is just as useless as looking to the future
and fretting over things that you just have no control over.
Now getting back to what was already said this morning,
just because you follow Jesus as Lord
doesn't mean that we have some spiritual hall pass
that protects us from every creepy crawly in this life.
No, God doesn't extract us from this world.
He actually sends us out into it to be lights
knowing that we will be in a dark world.
And so we just don't know what troubles will come
in that darkness.
And so our Lord is telling us this morning,
it does no good for us to fixate our minds
on what is wrong and what can go wrong in this world.
Now what He's preparing us for church,
what He's preparing His people for
is a way to deal with those things as they come
because trouble is part of a fallen world.
And so the Lord Jesus gives us some things here
to help us lift our eyes to the truth
so that we might be set free from worry
as we trust in the providential love and care
of our heavenly Father.
I want us to step back for a moment.
And I want to make you aware of something
running through the entire sermon on the Mount.
It's a theme that helps us to draw it all together.
It's on the slide.
It's the kingdom of heaven.
We've heard about it over and over and over again
through the five and a half months
that we've been in this book.
God promised through the prophets
that He would send a king who would usher in a kingdom.
And that's exactly what God has done with Jesus.
He is the promised king of God's heavenly kingdom.
Now what's important to note about all of this
is that God made a promise
and God fulfilled that promise in Jesus Christ.
He really did send a savior into this world
to save His people.
And so we can look at Jesus
and know beyond a shadow of a doubt
that our greatest need for yesterday, today,
and forever has been fully and completely met.
Our ultimate need has been met in Christ now
and for all eternity.
We've seen that through the months
as we've been in the gospel according to Matthew.
When Christ's righteousness is given to us,
we enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Are we given the status in Jesus
as a son or daughter of God?
That's right, we enter the kingdom of heaven
because the king of heaven came to live
and die for His people.
And we are told that whoever calls upon the name
of the Lord will be saved.
And so this morning, everything is put into perspective
when we understand who and what we are
in relation to this world.
Worry is squished when we see that we are citizens
of God's kingdom through the Lord Jesus Christ.
What a wonderful truth to not just meditate on,
but trust with all that we are.
So with all that said, with that understanding and told,
Jesus draws our attention to how we, His disciples,
citizens of the kingdom of heaven,
God's children should approach every given situation.
In verse 33.
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
And all, not some, all these things
will be given to you as well.
Church, we will come against all sorts of things
in this world.
But when you're dealing with worry, stop, ask yourself,
what is this life really all about?
Because at the end of the day, Church, because of Jesus,
you're no longer a citizen of the kingdom of darkness,
but a citizen of another kingdom.
So worry really comes when we drift off
and forget what we are now at this moment in Christ,
who and what we are now in relation
to the creator of all things.
Because of Jesus Christ, there is a new order
of priorities that come with being a citizen
of the heavenly kingdom.
So there's an order that we live for and seek in this world.
So in any given situation, you might ask,
am I seeking God's rule on earth as it is in heaven,
like we pray?
Or am I still looking for what works best for me?
Am I seeking the leading of Jesus in my life
or is my mind still positioned in such a way
that I'm looking at all of this with me at the center?
Remember, we're invited, invited by our heavenly father
to go and speak to him about all these things.
And I want you to notice this, Church.
Our Lord says to us that we don't seek God's rule
and reign in our lives as some afterthought.
We seek first above all else.
And that mindset isn't limited to Church life.
No, it infiltrates by the work of the Spirit,
it infiltrates everything that we're involved in.
Every hobby, relationship, desire, job,
recreation, business plan, our everything.
Without pushing this illustration too far,
we're kind of like a paradox, right?
On the one hand, we're a blood-purchased people
who are citizens of the heavenly kingdom,
children of the living God.
Yet we're still in our bodies in a fallen world,
which is grasping for all our affections and desires.
It's known by some as an already but not yet.
An already but not yet existence.
Jesus calls us to something so much greater
than a life lived for oneself.
He calls his disciples to a life of servitude,
both before our heavenly father and towards others
in the way that we act in this world.
And all of us are faced with decisions in our life.
King Jesus knows that.
Yet as we've seen, worry is a sign
that our priorities have gotten out of order
and that we've become disoriented.
And yet Jesus says when these things come,
raise your eyes heavenward
because we can know that our heavenly father
sees and understands every aspect of our lives.
And more than that, he cares for you.
And so in light of that church,
we can give ourselves over completely
to the cause of the kingdom in all that we do.
Not worrying that we'll be forgotten or misplaced
because we know that our heavenly father provides for us.
Because of Jesus, because of Jesus,
we can abandon ourselves into our heavenly father's care
and give everything we are for his service,
wherever we may find ourselves in this dark world.
Because we know by the words of our Lord
that we will be provided for in the here and the now
and for all eternity.
These are wonderful truths that Jesus gives us in his word.
The church, do you trust him?
Do you trust his word over what you see in this world?
Well, like always, we are invited
to come to the throne of grace as the people of God.
So let's do that now as his disciples and children.
Would you please pray with me?
Please pray with me.
Lord Jesus, we started our time this morning
asking that you would help us to understand your word
by your spirit who is working among us this morning.
And Lord Jesus, we have come up time and time again
against such wonderful truths that we need your grace
and your mercy and your love and your care
to lead and guide us in.
Lord Jesus, these are not words that you have given to us
to cast aside and keep doing things our way,
but words that bring us to you daily.
And so we ask that you would please help us.
Please change us.
Take us from where we were to take us
to where you want us to be.
Lord, we want to see your kingdom come on this earth
as it is in heaven wherever you have us.
Lord, we want to see people hear the gospel.
We want people to turn from the way they were going
and to put their trust completely and totally in you.
Lord, we want to be a people that make disciples
not of our own cultural community,
but of you in all that you have taught us.
These are things that we need your help
and we want your help in.
Would you please, Lord Jesus, lead and guide us
in what you would have us to do.
We ask for all of this in your mighty
and precious and holy name, amen.