As they're making their way down, the kids are being dismissed. If you have a copy of the scriptures, I would invite you to turn to Matthew chapter 6.
Matthew chapter 6, we'll be looking at verses 25 through 34 this morning as our text.
Jesus said, Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you're going to eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns.
Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his span of life?
So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin, and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Now if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown in the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek.
For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things, sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Let's pray.
Father, thank you for this precious, precious word. Thank you for the gift of the word of God that we can hold in our hands and we can hear and read the very precious promises that you have given to your people.
Lord, would you rid us of worry by seeing that we have a Father in heaven who takes care of his own. God, help us by your spirit. Come, Lord, be in our midst, Lord, as we worship you, Lord, through Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Today as we're continuing in our study in the Gospel of Matthew, we come to a very familiar and perhaps maybe the most comforting portion of scripture in Matthew's Gospel.
It's in this passage today that we read the command, the well-known command that the Lord gave to his people to not worry.
It's not just an exhortation. God's people are commanded not to worry about their life, what they're going to put on or wear, what they're going to eat.
And then he says at the very end, don't even worry about what may or may not happen tomorrow.
But instead, he said, there is one thing, you are to seek, seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness.
But as we begin to study this, we need to ask ourselves a question in verse 25, why would our Lord suddenly tell his followers right here to not worry?
I mean, why introduce the topic of worry right here? I mean, look at verse 25. It says, Therefore I say to you.
Well, he's using therefore. So that means what he is about to say is connected to what he has just said.
Well, what did he just say? We looked at this two weeks ago.
He told them they are not to lay up treasures on the earth and said they are to lay up treasures in heaven.
In essence, he's telling them you need to stop living for this life, stop living for this age and look at the one to come.
He ended it. He says it is impossible that you try to serve two gods. You cannot serve both God and money.
There has to be a choice. So basically, he said, who are you going to serve? You want to serve God or money?
God or comfort? God or prestige? In other words, where does your security lie?
Does your security lie in the fact that you know God or that you have many possessions and the Lord is demanding unreserved devotion to his kingdom?
He allows no rivals to his rule. But now think about those people there who gathered.
What would happen if they give complete devotion to Christ?
If they are not allowed to serve the God of money and they can't lay up treasures on the earth, I mean, how are they going to live?
If they can't amass treasures here, how will they provide for their families? How are they going to survive?
And this is the whole point of this passage. The key is that they are commanded to not worry because they are to trust that the King takes care of those in his kingdom.
As God's people commit themselves to his kingdom and to his rule, by the way, his righteousness, so the King commits himself to taking care of them.
Now, the disciples of Christ, what they're finding is a total commitment to him. Then they have no reason to fear, no reason to worry.
Chris Miller in his commentary says, the one who pursues God will discover not only him, not only God, but also his provision.
Now, Matthew 6 has largely been a rebuke to the Pharisees. So now we're going to see a shift in the tone.
It's no longer polemical, but rather pastoral. It goes from a message of rebuke, he's rebuke the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, to now one of comfort.
So if he's no longer rebuke those hypocrites, instead he wants to exhort, he's going to comfort his disciples and he's going to lead them to trust him more.
Now, you understand there's a massive crowd there that day. And if you've ever been to Israel, they have the Mount of Beatitudes.
It's a big hillside there. So there's a massive crowd gathered around our Lord and they're listening really with bated breath to every word that he is speaking.
And in that crowd there were some who were rich, but there were many who were poor.
The temptation is that the rich would have been tempted to trust in their riches and laying up earthly treasures.
They're going to stockpile possessions assuming all is safe because they have so much. They don't have to worry about a foul day that may come.
They have no need to worry about the future, at least so they assume.
But also in that crowd there were many who were poor and they had nothing except the shirt on their back.
They had no possibility of storing up earthly treasures. They wanted food.
They didn't even know where their next meal was going to come from.
So you have two groups. The rich are there and they're tempted to put their trust in material possessions and the poor are there and they're tempted to doubt God's ability to provide for them.
Verse 25, Therefore.
In light of what he just said, you can't serve God money, not in God's kingdom you can't.
So he issues a new command to those who'd follow him and he says, Do not worry.
Don't even be anxious about such things.
Don't be anxious about what you're going to eat or what you're going to wear.
Don't even be anxious about your life itself.
Yet today we find our society is filled with people, even believers, who are overcome with anxiety,
who are extremely anxious, anxious about everything, about finances, anxious about kids, about their health, about the state of our economy,
about the direction of the country this week, about Russia and Ukraine, about Israel and Hamas with Palestine.
And Jesus would tell his people today to stop.
He's not just telling, he's commanding, stop doing this.
You're to be anxious about nothing.
Worry about nothing is what he's telling to his people.
Now the English word worry that we use comes from an old German word that literally means to strangle.
And I find this to be such a good word picture.
Because if you're thinking about this, what does worry, what does anxiety actually do?
It strangles.
It strangles out peace.
It strangles out faith.
It strangles out hope.
And it certainly strangles out joy.
You cannot be filled with faith and filled with worry at the same time.
You cannot be worried and joyful at the same time.
You cannot be worried and enjoy peace at the same time.
Worry in its very essence is a sin of unbelief.
It's a doubting of God.
It's a doubt, an unbelief in the very ability of God to provide.
And God's people are to put to death this sin of anxiety, this sin of worry.
So the million dollar question then is, well, how do you do that?
That sounds nice.
Anxious people want nothing more than peace.
If I just suddenly tell you stop worrying, that doesn't help you.
You're not going to say, wow, thank you.
I've never thought about that.
I'll just stop.
That doesn't help.
Now, the world, they do have tips for overcoming worry.
They're not effective.
I did a Google search just last week and I read an article from a Harvard
happiness expert.
His name is Arthur Brooks.
And in this article, he gives four tips to overcoming worry.
I'm going to give you, this is the world's advice.
I'm going to give them to you real quickly.
Number one, he says if you want to overcome worry and anxiety, he talks about
overcoming anxiety and worry is a subset of it.
Number one, write down your worries.
And all these are quotes here at the bottom.
Anxiety of which worry is a component is essentially just unfocused fear.
Without a true focus, fear is a phantasm that you will struggle to deal with
adequately.
So write down what you're worried about.
Two, focus on outcomes.
So on your worry list, write down the best outcome for each problem, the
worst outcome, and then write down the most likely outcome.
Then add what you would do in each instance.
This makes a source of worry specific and it gives you a management plan.
So write it down and then you're going to write out the outcome that you would
most likely expect.
Thirdly, he says you need to fight superstition.
Give up the magical thinking that if you torture yourself enough about some
uncertainty, you will somehow improve the situation.
So don't just think that your worry has any magical ability to actually correct
the problem.
And lastly, he says you need to have a morning mantra.
Make this your morning mantra.
So when you wake up in the morning, he said declare your intention to stop
spending time this way and here's what I say.
So here's what he wants to be your mantra.
I don't know what this day will bring, but I am alive to experience it and will
not waste it worrying about these things that I cannot control.
The Ivy League happiness expert, he goes on to say in addition, there are some
breathing techniques and some focusing techniques that you should also employ
to help reduce worry.
Now, friends, this is the best that an Ivy League trained happiness expert can
come up with.
These were things.
The world who does not know God is left to its own resources in this battle.
When we come to Matthew 6 and we see that the Christian is not.
She's saying, well, how does a Christian control or combat the sin of worry?
It's not by mantras.
It's not by breathing techniques.
It is on knowing and meditating on the fact that you have a Father in Heaven who
knows all things, sees all things, is in charge of all things, can do all things.
And this God loves you.
He is in covenant with you.
He has adopted you into his family and you are not some helpless orphan.
So what Jesus is saying to his people is you can stop worrying not because worry
is going to be bad for your health or worry is going to rob you of peace or joy.
That may be true, but you can stop worrying.
Why?
Because there's someone present in your life who is there to take care of you
when anything happens.
Stop worrying about all the things of life as if you don't have a God who can
more than meet our needs.
Verse 25, therefore I say to you, don't worry about your life.
And he goes on to about any of those things.
Worry there.
It's the Greek word mernao and it literally means to be troubled with care.
You're just overwhelmed with care.
And I would suggest to you that worry is the most acceptable Christian sin that
exists.
And a Christian sin, by the way, is an oxymoron.
But I think this is the most acceptable sin that exists within the Christian
community.
We excuse it all the time.
We justify it as though it's just part of our natural makeup.
You hear things like, well, I'm just a worrier.
My mom was a worrier and I'm a worrier.
Or I can't help it, I'm a parent.
Worry is just a part of being a parent.
And I've been told that so much and we battle with that as well.
Or I worry because I care.
If I'm not worried, it's because I don't care.
I only worry because I care so much.
And we spin it and we justify it.
But the truth is, worry calls into question God's goodness, his grace, his
provision, and it calls into question his power, as though he were helpless in
the face of whatever we're enduring.
Now, three times between Matthew 6, 25 and verse 34, three times our Lord
issues his command to not worry.
Verse 25, therefore I say to you, don't worry about your life.
Verse 31, therefore do not worry.
In the final verse, verse 34, therefore do not worry about tomorrow.
Now, the very first command is you're not to worry about your life.
He says don't even worry about what you'll eat, what you're going to drink,
or what you're going to wear.
Now, he's using here some examples, food and clothing.
This is not an exhaustive list.
It's representative because it teaches a broader principle.
Food and clothing are legitimate concerns.
If you don't have enough food, you're not well clothed, and you're going to have
a tough time surviving.
They're legitimate concerns, but they're not ultimate concerns.
So there's a negative command, don't worry.
A positive command, trust the God who provides.
Now, you and I have very good reason to stop worrying and to start trusting.
Do you remember back in the Old Testament, Abraham, when he was referring to
Jehovah God, he referred to him as Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides.
Paul in Philippians 419, the apostle writes, he says, and my God shall,
he will supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus.
God is faithful, and he's faithful to meet the needs of his children.
And Jesus is talking to his followers in that day, and he says, listen,
isn't life, isn't it more than just food?
And isn't the body more than just clothing?
I mean, these are not ultimate things.
Legitimate, yes, but when we factor God into the equation, we consider them
not ultimate at all.
Why?
Because he's going to show us how God provides for us even in the face of want.
He gives two examples, and he gives both of these from nature
on how God's going to provide.
He's also employing the argument from the lesser to the greater.
If God takes care of birds, won't he much more take care of those who are
created in his image?
Now, let's look at the first example, verse 26 and 27.
He said, look at the birds of the air.
They're not sowing or reaping, gathering into barns, yet your heavenly father
feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?
Which of you by worrying cut out a single hour to span of life?
Now, you can picture the scene.
If you've been to Israel, you've probably been to the Mount of Beatitudes there.
Jesus is talking.
He's there on that Galilean hillside.
He's probably at the bottom, standing perhaps by the sea.
You've got all the people seated on the hillside there.
And I just imagined, I can't say this, this is me reading in the text, I would
imagine some birds are flying overhead, and Jesus looks up and he calls those
who are listening to him that day to observe them.
Consider the birds.
He said, look, they're not worried, they're not anxious right now about what
they're going to eat.
They don't sow in a field.
They don't sow seed.
And they don't come harvest time and try to reap anything.
They don't build barns to store grain into it.
And yet they're not worried.
They're not anxious at all.
Why?
Because they trust that God is going to provide food for them.
And he does.
The psalmist wrote this in Psalm 147.
God covers the heavens with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes
grass to grow on the mountains.
He gives to the beast its food and to the young ravens that cry.
God provides for his creation.
Now, we don't want to press this illustration too far, suggesting somehow
that God's people don't need to work or that God's going to magically feed them
even if they're lazy.
After all, birds do hunt for food.
But the reason they're able to hunt for food is because God has provided food
for them.
And what Jesus is saying is you don't have to worry because God ensures that
they don't have to worry, excuse me, because God ensures they're going to be
fed.
But then he looks at his people and he says, listen, birds are not created in
the image of God.
If God takes care of simple, insignificant birds, will he not much more, much
more take care of you who are created in his very image and are far more worth?
You have no need to worry, he says.
You're in his kingdom because he's talking to those in the kingdom.
You have a father who takes care of you.
Then he goes on, and I think this is great, he says, worry is really point...
Look at verse 27, which of you by worrying could add a single hour to the span of
life?
Some of you are like, that's not what my Bible says.
Some of you, if you're using the authorized version, King James, it says,
who can add one cubit to his stature?
Now, the Greek word is helekia, and it's a unit of measurement.
It literally can mean a unit of time or it can mean a unit of measurement like
height.
It just depends on context.
So it could read, which of you by worrying can add an hour to his life?
Which of you by worrying can add one cubit, that is 18 inches, to his height?
Now, to me, in most modern translations, it makes more sense to talk about age.
He's talking about worry.
Most people aren't worried that you're going to get 18 inches taller.
So he's talking about who by worrying can add even a single hour, one helekia,
to his life?
Who is going to extend your life at all by worry?
No one.
Your time on earth has been appointed by God, says feudal worry.
It's not what changed anything.
Who determines the length of our life?
God alone.
So where is feudal?
It is pointless because you and I do not possess the ability to change anything.
But he goes on.
He said, but look at the flowers.
So why do you worry about clothing?
Now, remember, there's poor people there who didn't have anything other than the
very clothes on their backs.
He said, but why are you worried about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.
They toil not, neither spin.
But then he goes on to say, Solomon, Israel's richest king, in all his royal magnificence,
was not arrayed like one of them.
But here's the point, verse 30.
If God is willing to clothe the grass of the field, just exists for a short time,
today he is, tomorrow he's cast in the oven.
Will he not much more clothe you?
Oh, you of little faith.
So again, they're on the hillside, Galilean hillside, and no doubt there were some
flowers growing.
Consider the birds, and he says, well, consider these lilies.
And these lilies are actually wild flowers that grew in that region.
Look how beautiful they are.
But they didn't labor to be that beautiful.
There's no toil involved.
God was responsible for their beauty.
Think about today, we're here in March, meteorological spring.
I know it's a few more weeks until we get to actual spring.
But spring's soon upon us, and the flowers are going to start to bloom,
and the most vibrant colors will soon be here also.
I don't know if you ever go over to Central Park and you see the tulip fields that
bloom every year.
I mean, they're beautiful tulips that just cover the park.
But those gorgeous flowers, they don't labor to be beautiful.
And that's Jesus' point.
He said, listen, you take Israel's richest king, the most opulent king that has
ever existed in our history, Solomon, he wasn't even dressed as ornately as one
of these simple flowers.
Kings in their majesty do not match the beauty of flowers that God created for
grass.
Do you get the point?
Kings, the people that we esteem the most, they can't even compare with how
God closed the grass.
And Jesus goes on, he said, however, in spite of a flower's beauty, they don't
last long.
They're here today, and tomorrow they're gone.
And then he said, they're cast into the oven.
What's that mean?
Well, as you had flowers that would fade and the grass that would wilt, they
would be used as a source for fuel in some of the wood baking ovens there for
bread.
What's the point?
Flowers are transient, and they don't have inherent worth.
They're beautiful, but they're not worthy.
But God closed the grass with them.
And then he says, but don't you think he's going to take care of you?
I mean, if he's willing to adorn fields with these beautiful yet short-lived
flowers, will he not much more, not just more, but much more take care of his
very own children?
So do you see how we're starting to defeat worry?
In this passage, we see the care of the Father, but also I hope you do see the
value and worth that he places on his children.
Because we sometimes think, do I matter to God?
Yes, you do.
Look at verse 26.
You have worth to God.
Are you not of much more worth?
You're a child of God.
The one who closed the grass of the field will also clothe his children.
Why?
Because you're not an orphan.
And then he says, oh, you of little faith.
Now, another way this could be translated is, oh, you little faith ones.
It can be a rebuke, but it can also be an exhortation.
The Lord is exhorting his disciples to what?
Don't be like the hypocrites.
Don't be like these religious leaders.
That's the first part of the chapter.
But you do need to trust God.
Will you trust your heavenly Father or not?
He's worthy, right?
He's worthy of our trust.
He said, you don't believe me?
Look at the sky and look at the birds flying.
Look out at the fields and see the flowers.
God, if he's anything, he's faithful.
And this is the point.
God is completely trustworthy.
So you and I need to repent of our unbelief disguised as worry.
I hope today that we start to see our worry dishonors God.
Our worry brings shame.
Having little faith shames the God who is completely faithful.
You can go to him.
You can put all your eggs in the one basket.
You can bank on him.
So what's the solution?
Arthur Brooks says, hey, repeat this mantra every morning and breathe right.
Jesus says no.
Verse 31.
Don't worry.
Saying, what am I going to eat or drink or wear?
The Gentiles, the nations that don't know God, that's what they're looking for.
Your heavenly Father, your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.
I'll tell you what you do do.
Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all those things are going to be added to you.
Don't worry about tomorrow.
Why?
Tomorrow is going to take care of itself sufficient for the day as its own evil or its own trouble.
Now look, as God takes care of birds and as God takes care of the fields, he's also going to take care of his children.
He doesn't renege on it.
And therefore he says, don't worry.
Now get this, people.
This is for us. Don't worry about your life at all.
At all.
Why?
Verse 32.
Get this in your spiritual DNA.
Get this in your memory bank here.
Your heavenly Father knows what you need.
He knows your situation, even if it be difficult.
He can change it any time he wants.
What is your job?
You trust him.
Friends, worry is pagan.
Verse 32.
All the unbelievers, all the Gentiles are worried.
Those who do not know God, they worry almost as a default mechanism.
They have to.
They don't have God as Father.
They don't have God as Father caring for them.
So they worry.
And how does their worry express itself?
They try to amass as much as they possibly can for security against the future.
So if I just have more and more and more, then I'm going to make sure by rainy day
fund is so funded that I can't ever suffer loss.
It's pagan.
J.C. Ryle wrote this.
He said, over-carefulness about the things of this world is most unworthy of a Christian.
One great feature of paganism is living for the present.
Let the pagan be anxious if he wants to.
He knows nothing of a Father in heaven.
But let the Christian who has clear light and knowledge give proof of it by his faith
and contentment.
Those who, by God's grace, through faith in his Son, have been brought into God's kingdom,
can rest assured that the King will take care of those in his kingdom.
Verse 33, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
Seek, secteo is the Greek word, and it literally means pursue in order to obtain.
It's not just, I'm not just looking for it.
I'm pursuing it, and I've got, I have to have it.
But notice he said seek first in importance.
This is to be the consuming passion and priority of every believer.
So we seek his kingdom and his righteousness.
Those are synonyms.
They refer to the same thing.
If you're seeking his kingdom, then you're seeking that his righteous will be done on
earth and in your life as well.
That's what he's saying.
Now notice what the Lord did not say, and this is just as important.
The Lord did not say seek for his kingdom.
He would have said that if he were talking to unbelievers.
He said seek first his kingdom.
Why?
He was speaking to those who were already in the kingdom.
This is it.
Kingdom citizens, the church, the people called out by God's grace must align their priorities
to God's interest.
Or in other words, we are to get our will to match God's will.
That's what we do.
So you don't be anxious about the things of the world, but there should be something that
is consuming you, something that is motivating you.
And friends, it has to be this, the kingdom of God.
Nothing else matters more.
That's why nothing else takes priority over what we do every day here, or every Lord's
ass I should say.
G. Campbell Morgan, he wrote, the kingdom of God should make every nerve tingle and
throb and every artery flow with force.
If you've seen God's glory at all, it has to do something to you.
If you know anything about God being your father, it's I have to have him.
Let us be done away with lesser things, following Christ, seeking his kingdom first.
Realize where you came from.
God has rescued you from a domain of darkness.
He's placed you into the kingdom of light, and those who've been placed there should
be ardent.
They should be zealous for the things of God.
They have to be.
And friends, that's the problem.
We are far too easily satisfied.
People are like, well, get to church if I can, as long as my schedule allows it and
these other things aren't taking place.
You know nothing of seeking first the kingdom of God.
You're not going to stand before God and say, hey, God, you're first, but this is my priority.
Then he's not first.
Let us understand that.
But there's a promise attached.
All these things will be added unto you.
Seek God first.
Seek his kingdom first.
Nothing else having priority.
And he said, you will have what you need when you need it.
Clothing, food, drink, whatever you need for your life, God's going to provide it.
So be anxious about one thing, that you're seeking God above all else.
That you're trusting him to take care of everything else.
And lastly, look at that last verse there.
Therefore, don't even worry about tomorrow.
Because of the promise in verse 33 that all these things are going to be added to the
one who seeks him.
He said, don't even worry about tomorrow.
Has God promised to provide all that you need as you seek his kingdom?
Do you believe him?
And the message comes full circle.
He began with don't worry about your life.
And he ends it commanding you don't even worry about tomorrow.
Why?
Because God is your father.
That's why.
You don't worry about tomorrow.
Tomorrow, if the Lord allows us to see it, it will take care of itself.
And by the way, it will have its own unique problems.
Every day does.
So don't borrow off them.
I think most of us can say we have enough trouble each day.
We don't need to borrow off tomorrow.
Think back to the children of Israel.
How did God provide for their food?
How often did he give manna?
Daily.
Except on the Sabbath.
So also, how does God give grace?
Daily.
And it's not hypothetical grace for what hypothetically may come.
So many people have no peace because they're worried.
They're like, I don't know how I'm going to respond.
I'm like, God hasn't given you the grace for that yet.
God has only given you grace that is needed for today.
God is the God of the present.
The grace that is needed today is given today.
And the grace that is needed for tomorrow will not be given today.
Whatever happens tomorrow, whatever.
God will give you his grace and strength to face it if he has called you to it.
Ray Pritchard says don't borrow trouble.
There's plenty to be thinking about right now.
So many people are frozen with fear over what might happen two or three months down the road.
Listen.
If God could create the world in seven days, he can surely handle your problems in June or July.
Each day has enough trouble to keep you plenty busy.
You take care of today and God will take care of tomorrow.
God is the God who is.
I am that I am.
He's the God of the present.
And so he's telling his people that's where we must live also.
And friends, all of us have failed in this.
All of us have failed miserably at this at times.
So we don't dwell in the past.
We don't live in the future because grace is given today.
Lamentations chapter three when Jeremiah wrote this, he says it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.
That's not a reason we're still here.
He's talking about Israel there.
Because his, that is God's, compassion, they don't fail.
Notice what verse 23 says.
God's compassion is God's mercies.
They are new every morning.
Mercy never runs out.
It's always there.
New every morning.
Indeed, this is why we can stand and sing that beloved hymn.
Great is thy faithfulness.
God is faithful.
Has he ever let you down?
Has he ever one time reneged on a promise?
He's the only one that's completely trustworthy.
Everyone else will let you down.
Not our father.
Spurgeon says, cast foreboding cares away.
God provided for today.
O my heart, he says, what rest there is for thee if you will give yourself up to the Lord and leave all your own concerns with him.
Mind the Lord's business and he will see to thy business.
Excellent.
So let's just bring this to a close then.
To those gathered here at Christian, you are not pagans.
The name of God has been stamped upon you in baptism.
You bear his name.
Do you realize that in baptism, God's name was placed upon you?
You were baptized into the name of the Father and the Son and the blessed Holy Spirit.
You bear his name.
So you have the covenant sign that you're one of his and you're invited to the covenant meal.
We're invited to fellowship with the Lord, to feast at his table.
So that means every Lord's Day that the people of God gather here and around the world, every Lord's Day, we are reminded that we have a Father in heaven who can, a Father in heaven who takes care of his own.
So the question I pose to you as we end this is will you trust him or not?
He's the one who gave his son, the one who has adopted you into his family, and the one who has given you a shared inheritance with Christ.
Will you trust him or not?
And recall to trust him completely. Why?
Because he is completely trustworthy.
As we prepare for the table and we have this time of self-examination, may we repent of our sin before the Lord.
May we ask him to forgive us, to cleanse us, to wash us from the sin, and to grow us in our faith so that we learn to trust him more.
Oh, that we would learn to do so.
That our eyes would get a glimpse of his glory and his faithfulness.
I believe if we did that, we would never fear. We would never worry.
I think it was Murray McShane who said, if I could hear Jesus praying for me in the other room, I doubt that I'd be afraid of 10,000 armies that would come against me.
Jesus is praying for you, believer. He's for you. He's your Father.
Are you going to trust him? Let's pray.
Father, we thank you, Lord, for your word.
There are so many, many reasons to trust you more.
God, I failed you. We have failed you as a people. I have failed you as a son.
Lord, how often do we allow anxiety or worry to creep in until it consumes?
God, have mercy upon your people. Forgive us of our unbelief.
Forgive us for the ways that we have failed to trust you, Lord, or that you would come through.
Father, we felt we had to take matters into our own hands.
Lord, we're not that different from Abraham when he went into Hagar.
God, forgive us, Lord, of our sins.
Lord, our sin of worry is great before you, but you are a forgiving God.
You are compassionate. Lord, we bear the name of God.
We're yours. Lord, you have redeemed us.
And Lord, as we prepare to fellowship with you this morning, God, we ask that you would cleanse us now.
Prepare us, Lord, to enter a time of communion with the risen Christ. And it's in his name we pray. Amen.
I'm going to ask the deacons if you would come and prepare the table for communion, please.