Well, we continue in Gospel of Matthew.
The Sermon on the Mount. We are in Matthew chapter 6 and
you'll notice the passage there in your bulletin, is a large
portion of chapter 6 of The Gospel of Matthew.
I'm going to start reading in verse 25, which is a few verses
down, from where your printed copy is, and read that portion,
which has to do with our topic for today and that is anxiety
being anxious. So, here now, the word of the
Lord Therefore I tell you do not be anxious about your life, what
you will 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,
they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into Barns and yet your
heavenly father feeds them, are you not a more value than they
and which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to
his span of life? And where are you anxious about
clothing? Consider the lilies of the
field. How they grow?
They neither toil nor spin yet. I tell you even Solomon in all
his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is
alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much
more clothe you? Oh, you of little faith?
Therefore, do not have not do not be anxious saying what shall
we eat? Or what shall we drink?
Or what shall we wear for the Gentiles seek after all these
things and your heavenly father knows that you need them all.
But seek first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness, And
all these things will be added to you.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will be anxious for itself, sufficient for the day, is its
own trouble. The word of the Lord, you may be
seated. On Mount Sinai, Moses heard the
word of the Lord and the Finger of God in scripture, rated the
great Commandments. And most of them are phrased.
Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not.
In that same Spirit our Lord when he comes to Earth and he is
on the mount and he is delivering the word of God
himself because he is God. He stays on that same vein.
He says do not and what we have here in the gospel of Matthew
was a whole cluster of do not do not be like the scribes because
they set aside the word of God and the law of God for the
traditions of men. Do not be like the Pharisees
when they pray because they love to be seen and heard of men do
not be like them when when they give their alms, they do it on
the street corners so that they can be seen of men.
Do not be like the Gentiles were like, the nations are the
people's, the folks. Roundabout, you everyone else.
Now we know, the Lord is addressing his disciples in this
entire sermon. And he's teaching them he's
discipling them. In fact, he's doing to them what
he wants them eventually to do to the nation's.
He says that he should that they should make disciples teaching
them to observe all things that I have commanded you.
So the Lord is not only instructing us but he's giving
us the pattern laying down the template that we should see.
And follow in our disciple, make a teaching about life in its
normality life. In its Earthly manifestation,
our Science here on Earth and how it relates to Heavenly
things Kingdom. Things Godly things and he's
seeking to change our hearts to change our beliefs in order to
change our Behavior to change our credenza that we might
change our agenda. The things we believe will work
themselves out in the things we do.
And so, using comparisons and negation, is he says, do not do
this, do not be like that. On the other hand do this and be
like this. So that's kind of the overall
context for all of these passages that we've looked at
here so far in the Sermon on the Mount and we're not through with
this one, we have one more Sunday to deal with this
particular Perico pay of scripture and we'll be looking
at it next week. So if you say wrong, you didn't
even mention this that and the other Well, maybe I'll mention
it next week because this is a teaching session more than
anything else. The Lord is now teaching by
contrast, he's laid out for his disciples that which they should
do in on this one. This do not or if we were
crafted in Mosaic terms, Thou shalt not is about anxiety.
Lord now is getting down to some.
Brass tacks is getting down to where we live because what he's
going to talk about are the basic necessities of life.
The must haves. The things we must have on our
life, all of us. Regardless of who we are.
We have to have these Essentials for life on Earth and he's
teaching us something about asking for our daily bread.
We're dealing here now with matters of survival as a And
three times in this text, he says do not be anxious.
Do not be anxious. So it's easy to see that.
He never really deviates from that particular subject for this
particular aspect of the teaching.
So what does the Lord teach us about anxiety?
Well 14 what thing is the choice of the word?
He uses. He uses this not used very many
times in the scripture but he uses the word and it's used a
few times in this passage. She used a couple of more times
in the New Testament and it's a word rich in meaning.
And I think if we want to kind of understand what anxiety is
about, we need to kind of look at the different ways that this
particular word is understood. It's a word that means to be
overtly concerned to have anxious are high expectations to
be intense in our intentions. It means to brood to fret.
To inquire to ponder, to speculate.
And to give consideration to what we would call cares of this
life issues of this life and the three things, he spells out or
food, drink and clothing and he deals with them with beautiful
imagery to tell us what he has in mind.
He refers to the fowls of the air and the flowers of the
field. In our anxiety for food and
drink. He says, take a look.
Look, first of all at the fowls of the air, the birds The birds
of the air. They don't have to do anything,
they don't reap. They don't so they don't reap
and they don't gather into barns.
In other words, they don't perform the whole range of
agricultural function from the breaking of the field of sowing
the seed, all the way through the Gathering of the Harvest and
garnering it in the barn. Do I have to do any of that?
They can just fly around. Scratch around, but it's
interesting. He uses as an example, the fowls
of the air, the birds because in scripture the birds don't have a
very good reputation and I would, my grandsons were a
little smaller. We had Angry Birds, you know,
the little stuffed animals that we got.
Well, the birds sort of have that reputation in scripture
birds in the Old Testament, especially the birds are
sometimes called the fowls of the air and they are Also seen
often as that, which is filthy, in fact, it was Unthinkable that
God would use a raven to feed the Prophet.
Elijah, remember that the fowls of the air that which you're not
too attractive and not too too, valuable either, they fly in
massive flocks. If you've ever seen a large
group of birds flock of birds flying over, in their migration
during the seasons. It's overwhelming.
I remember being down on my wrath.
A few years ago and there was this big black cloud that was
coming in and I could see it. And then I realized it was
birds, and they flew around and they finally came to rest in the
property next to mine and they covered from wingtip to wingtip.
They covered the whole acreage. I could probably look at 125
acres of land from my vantage point, and they completely
blacked out the entire place. And they there's a little water
there and they were able to come To take their bath and get their
drink and and take their rest in his eye, went on about my
business working on my place, I watched him and eventually began
to fly certain small portion of them went up.
Another one sort of moved in. They flew around the others came
into formation and you've seen it, the the massive amounts of
the teeming masses of the fowls of the air individually the B.
They've not only been considered filthy and scripture especially
the Condor the eagle, the vultures the Birds that are
scavenger Birds. But they're also considered
cheap. There's so many of them for one
thing and the most insignificant cheapest offering that you could
bring in the Old Testament sacrificial.
System was a, was a turtledove or the offering of a bird if
something so unattractive. So plentiful and Expendable, and
All of that, the Lord takes care of them with respect to food and
drink and provides everything they need for their survival.
What do you think? And here's a key word that used
three times in the text your heavenly father that's really
what Jesus is trying to teach us.
It's not about how we are to live.
It's not another set of rules, it's not more do's and don'ts.
It's not just merely sitting down a pattern and saying this
is the path walking in it. Do thou likewise know, What were
being introduced to is to care and the love of the heavenly
father, that's what Jesus wants to show us.
Not. Not the birds of the air and he
says, aren't you more valuable than they?
And then he looks at the flowers of the field because in the
Lilies of the Field, it's interesting to listen to some of
the scholars talk about what particular species of flower,
that might be concerned here. But to me, that's the
bluebonnets, that's, that's how I read my Bible.
I read my Bible all the way through with the star of Texas.
You ever been to the Hill Country in the spring?
Planes and Hills, beautifully arrayed with all those Blue
Bonnets and Indian paint brushes and the multiple wildflowers as
far as the eye can see, do you think the Taylor's and the die
masters of Solomon's kingdom could come up with anything more
beautiful than that, spacious? Wonderful glory.
And yet, even the flower Fades and the grass withers.
You go to the Hill Country in early April you'll see the Blue
Bonnets begin to come forth. You go in early May and they're
gone. They wither, they die.
If God. Cease after the flowers of the
field. Don't you think he'll take
interest in you? Don't you think he notices you
and this is really what the Lord is teaching.
He said, don't be concerned about these basic elements of
your survival. Your food, your drink and your
clothing. These are all Necessities.
We all see that this is these things.
The Lord teaches is so patently obvious.
Sometimes it's hard for us to grasp how he could be so simple
and down-to-earth. Food.
How long can you go without food?
Maybe a month. Drink specially water.
How long can you go without water?
Few days clothing. How long can get with us?
Don't even imagine that. The Lord takes care of us.
Even in these most basic mundane things.
And that's really what the Lord is trying to get us to see, is
it? We're now we belong to the Lord.
And he loves us and he cares for us and our heavenly father is
going to look after us, just like he closed the fields.
He's going to close us. He's going to give us what we
need. I've always been a bit of a
worrier. And as I read this definition of
anxiety, I found myself in almost every word and none of it
was flattering. And I get that from my mother, I
blame it on genetics. My mother was a chronic
Perpetual Warrior. She can come up with more
reasons, why something might not work or what you need to do.
Just in case of something all the contingencies, many of them
- and tried to prevent them all Really in my life.
I've only worried about three days.
Yesterday today, and tomorrow. The guilt and the regrets of
yesterday. Just eat us up, Don't Lie.
They keep us from enjoying the moment quite often.
The cares of today. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof, and then the cares.
And the needs that are you remember, when Jesus gave the
parable of the soils, sometimes it's called the parable of the
seed, but really it's the same seed, sometimes it's called the
parable of Sword release the same.
Sore, it's really the parable of the soils because there are
different soils. And one of the soil was such
that there would be tears and weeds and thorns and Briars that
would grow up and choked out of the seed.
And that's where many of Us live our two days.
We live it with the cares of this world.
The pleasures of this world, The Riches of this world, choking
out, the things of God, and that's what the Lord in this
whole sermon is getting us to do, is to shift our worldview
from this plane. To the Heavenly to understand
the kingdom of God. The things of God.
We saw it last week in the treasures that we store up in
that we lay up in there. Set forth.
The Lord is trying to move us away from the cares of today.
The cares of this world, the things that choke out the things
of God. And the third day, I worry about
is the, is tomorrow, the uncertainties the possibilities.
What will tomorrow be like? Do I have enough of this?
Have I saved enough have. I worked enough have I What what
happens if this happens. Those sorts of things can just
destroy our soul. And by the way, in this passage,
wherever you see the word life, like the very first verse.
Therefore, I tell you do not be anxious about life and he talks
about how your life is affected here in this verse, the word
that's translated life in. This verse is the word Sookie.
It's been the word we get sold our psychology.
It's our souls, what's it? What's at stake is our very
soul. Soul.
And so the scriptures have a lot to tell us about what we are to
do. But the Lord has a rebuke In
this passage and we always need to pay attention to rebukes
whenever they're in scripture. The scripture, you know, is
profitable for correction for reproof for rebuke, and for
training in righteousness, according to Paul writing to
Timothy. So we need to see that this not
just for instruction, the scriptures, not just for
inspiration. It's also for correction, bar,
rebuke and far reproof and there's a bit of rebuke In this
passage, and it comes in one single word in the original
text. It's just one word.
Now, it's translated in our text here.
Of course, it's text. It's translated.
Oh, ye or you of little faith. It's actually a compound word.
He says you little faith ones. You with shriveled-up.
Faith. You with anemic Faith.
Weak Faith, short Faith. Poor faith.
You do that have barely any faith at all.
That's who he's talking to. In other words, he's talking to
me. He may be talking to you as
well. It is a lack of faith, it's a
lack of belief. You do know that the word faith
and belief is the same word in the original.
It's just translated differently in the scriptures, depending on
whether they need a nominative, or verbal form, and context,
Etc. But it's always the same word,
belief, you who do not believe you, who have a weak faith, and
that's what I'm here to do this morning.
Just To encourage you to trust the Lord.
To pray. The prayer that is prayed in the
scripture, Lord, increase. Our faith are the Cry of the man
that said, Lord, I believe help my unbelief.
Are to stand in the shoes of doubting Thomas when he said,
unless I see and verify with empirical evidence, I will not
believe. Then the Lord showed him, some
empirical evidence and he believed You see, our faith has
an element. I've been.
Repeating this almost every sermon.
Now for years, that that faith in scripture is loaded.
There's several elements to our faith in order to have a full
well, orbed saving biblical faith in requires, certain
things of our whole soul. There's an element of knowledge
in faith. We have to know, that's why the
Lord has gone to so much trouble over the years to reveal
himself, to make himself known, Then they will know that I am.
The Lord is repeated over and over and over and over and over
and over in the Book of Ezekiel, the Lord wants to be known and
we need to know the Lord, that's how we have.
Our faith increased is by learning more about him, but
then there's also the element of obedience Our faith must have
feet Faith must produce Works. Faith must have some real
substance to it. It needs to go forth and do it.
Needs to follow and Obey. But then Faith also involves
Trust. A dependency and a confidence
and Assurance in our Lord God. And as we mentioned in this
particular, passage the Lord is pointing us to the heavenly.
Father, he says your heavenly father feeds them in summary of
The Birds and so forth. And then down in verse 32, he
says, your heavenly Father Knows.
That you need all of these things.
The Lord knows. The Lord cares.
And the Lord is near. Let me point you to a passage of
scripture that has been an inspiration to me for years and
it thrilled to be the first time I saw it years ago, I just
couldn't get over it. I kept going back to it, you
might want to mark it in your scripture.
It's in Exodus way back in the Old Testament, Exodus chapter 2
and you know, the story there, it's the story of The Exodus and
it starts off telling about the children of Israel, big and
bondage and slavery in Egypt, and God is going to deliver them
by the hand of Moses. And you all know the story quite
well. Listen to this, this little
phrase, it's a little portion here in Exodus.
Chapter 2, says, during the many days, the king of Egypt died and
the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery.
And they had been in slavery for about three hundred plus years
and several Generations. In fact, they're the whole
dynasty of pharaohs had come and gone and they had forgotten all
about who Joseph was and what the beginnings of God's people.
In Egypt were all about. It was a whole different
generation with a whole different view of things.
And so these these pharaohs had had reduced Israel to slavery
and a wretched slavery at that and the people groaned because
of their slavery and they cried out for help.
If I were preacher, I talked about the importance of crying
out for help. There's no shame when you find
yourself in the Foxhole. Are you find yourself in the
gutter are flat of your back? There is no shame in, calling
out to the Lord, in my distress, I cried to the Lord said, the
psalmist and the Lord hears us. It expects us to do that.
Don't find yourself in any place in life, even at some of the
most extreme points emotionally and socially and financially in
any other way that you're in won't Cry out to God for help.
That's what Israel did in their bondage.
They cried out to the Lord, by the way, the word usually in
the, in the, the word that usually used in the Old
Testament, they had means to cry out audibly, to cry out, where
you can be heard physically, they cried out to the Lord,
their cry for rescue from slavery.
Came up to God. Psalmist prayed, Lord, incline,
your ear. And here's an example of the
Lord inclining, his ear and the cry for rescue from slavery.
Came up to God. Many of us are enslaved, were
enslaved by various kinds of sins and disabilities.
There's all kinds of 12 step programs.
But I would say before you begin one step of any kind, you need
to cry out to God, for deliverance, from whatever it
is, that has you enthralled. And he's taking you down in this
life and sadly in certainly in the Life to Come.
And listen to The Experts and God heard their groaning.
God heard him, he remembered his Covenant with Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. Remember those covenants and God
made with the Patriarchs back in the Book of Genesis God,
remembered those covenants. God saw the people of Israel and
God knew And that's what I tell you this morning.
God sees your heart, he sees your condition.
He sees your need, not just for Daily Bread.
Not just for food, not just for clothing, not just for drink but
he sees your need at the human level at the natural level at
the material Level but also even more so at the spiritual level
God sees he knows all The All-Seeing Eye.
Detects everything. Nothing escapes.
His surveillance system. You may feel like you're
isolated that you're far that you're down that you remove that
you're in darkness, but God sees it.
He saw the people of Israel. And was simple phrase and God
knew. He knows.
He cares. He's a Heavenly Father.
He will give you what you need. He'll emphasize this several
other ways in the sermon before he's done.
But, but here he isolates on it to encourage you words of
scripture. I think that we need to look at
in the New Testament. They're very short.
Dear, each one is written by a great Apostle.
The great Apostle Peter tells us this, it talks about the mighty
hand of God and then he says, casting all your anxieties and
it's the same word that used in our Matthew text casting, all
your anxieties upon him because he cares for you.
The reason you can do it is because he cares, he sees he
knows he remembers his Covenant. And so, Peter just says casting.
All your cares, your anxieties, your frets.
Your dilemmas. Your difficulties upon him for
he cares for you. Let's don't ever forget we have
a wonderful Heavenly Father. Paul, the other great Apostle,
gives us a few words as well found in the book of
Philippians. It's the same word for anxiety.
The Lord is at hand, do not be anxious about anything but in
everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving,
let your requests call out, cry out, tell God what you need, be
made known to the Lord. Did you catch the two things?
Peter assures us? That he cares.
And polishers us that the Lord is at hand He is near.
He's a loving Heavenly Father. Jesus came to make him known.
The Bible says that Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God.
He is the express image of God's person.
He's a True Image, a true icon of the true God as truly man and
truly God, he manifest he makes known our heavenly father and
that's what he's telling us in this passage his father and our
father is near loves cares. Knows call upon him.
Now. Now.