Let's stand. Now, for the reading of God's
word, we are in The Sermon on the Mount.
If you're new to our church, we've been in this for many many
months and we're coming to the end of chapter 6 where Jesus is
talking about anxiety. We've been in these passages.
The last couple of weeks this morning, I'm going to be reading
from and preaching from Matthew 6, beginning at 25, through the
end of chapter 6 verse 34 This. Is the word that Christ himself
spoke. 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 of more value than they and which of you by being
anxious can add a single hour to his And of life.
And why 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 be anxious saying, what shall we eat?
Or what shall we drink? Or?
What shall we wear? 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.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God, please be
seated. We all know what it means to be
anxious and Jesus's words. Here are of profound
encouragement, but they're also profoundly skillful.
And the ways in which we, as his body can actually come along one
another when we're experiencing anxiety from verses 25 to 34,
Jesus gives three commands It's actually one command given three
different times. He asked five questions and then
he offers three tools. To help three points of council
this morning. What I want to do is look at
these three commands. I want to look at the questions
Jesus asked, and then I want to end by looking at the council
that he offers the tools that he brings.
Jesus is commands are very simple.
They booked in this section verse 25.
Therefore I tell you do not be anxious about your life.
Life and then it ends this section in verse 34.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will be anxious for itself. And then in the middle there It
also says therefore do not be anxious verse 25, verse 31 and
verse 34. Some commentators.
See this as a passage that is just about Comfort.
It's Jesus saying you don't have to worry others, see it as a
strong exhortation. Don't be anxious.
But the right way of seeing it is clearly that it's a command
but it's a command that brings Comfort.
It's a comforting command but it's only comforting.
We understand what Jesus means by the therefore for he doesn't
just tell us not to be anxious, but tells us why we don't have
to be anxious. And so Jesus does give us a
command. Just as Paul does in his
epistle, do not be anxious about anything.
What does anything Do not be anxious about anything but in
everything. What does everything by prayer?
And petition with Thanksgiving present your requests to God and
the peace of God, which transcends all understanding
will guard your hearts and Minds in Christ Jesus.
This is powerful stuff. Everybody that walked in here
this morning that is mildly aware of the world.
We live in experiences, anxiety. You know how I know.
Because at least a dozen times this morning already.
Someone has said, I'm so glad you're preaching on this,
because I struggle with anxiety, we all do and the Lord and his
compassion knows how to help us, but he also knows the danger of
that, which can easily be seen as nothing.
More than the common cold. Anxiety, really is dangerous.
And it's hard to overcome if we misunderstand Jesus.
And we see this only as a next rotation, don't be anxious.
We feel like anxiety should be easy to overcome.
Now, some of you remember, growing up with the show Bob
Newhart, he was a psychiatrist. A younger generation would know
him as Papa elf and the Christmas movie Elf the same
actor. If you want to laugh at some
point this week, Google just a six minute.
It comedy piece featuring Bob Newhart as dr.
Switzer talking to a client named Katherine big men.
She comes for help and this is how the conversation goes.
He says, let me speak to you. I'm paraphrasing about my
policies. My fees, he says, I charge $5
for the first five minutes. And nothing after that she's
like wow that seems too good to be true.
He says well I can almost guarantee our session won't last
the full five minutes he says you can pay by cash or check and
then there's this great line. He's a psychiatrist.
There's just great line I don't make change.
She thanked you some of your just now getting it.
She reveals to him, what her issue is when he looks at his
watch and says go. She reveals that she's afraid of
being buried alive in a box. He then offers his counsel by
saying, I'm going to give you two words.
Two, simple words that I want you to incorporate into your
life. He pauses leans over his desk
and almost shouts. Stop it.
You know, as a pastor sometimes
that's the sermon I want to preach, you think it's the
sermon you want to hear because it would be short.
I didn't even mean that to be funny.
It's just not that easy. It's not and it's not funny, is
it anxiety is powerful and it seeks to destroy our lives, by
setting our focus on things and as we do those things grow and
the Lord shrinks Jesus, command to not be anxious is gentle.
And strong. It's very clear but it's also
compelling. We begin to see his skill as our
savior. As one, who's proclaiming the
word by the way, he deals with anxiety.
Jesus, ask five questions and I think this is significant and
here's why. Anxiety speaks to us constantly
in questions. If you look with me at verse 33,
31 the second time, Jesus gives the command not to be anxious.
He says, therefore do not be anxious saying, what shall we
eat? What shall we drink?
Or what shall we wear? The principle that he teaches
here applies to all areas of anxiety, but for us, this isn't
our issue. There might be some here today
who don't have clothing, who don't have food, but most of us
walked into a full closet and we still might say, I have nothing
to wear Or we have a teenage boy who opens the fridge and it's
stocked full of good things to eat and he slams the door
saying, we have nothing to eat. This isn't our issue.
But anxiety is. And anxiety speaks to us in
questions. You receive an email from your
boss that says I would like to meet with you at some point next
week. That's all it says you received
that on a Friday and you spend the weekend wondering, what did
I do wrong? What does she want to talk to me
about? Have I failed?
Am I going to lose my job? If I lose my job then where am I
going to live? Am I going to have to go back
and live with my parents? You tell your parents about This
meeting, they begin to have their own anxiety, speaking to
them. Parents.
We feel a lot of anxiety. A child isn't performing well in
school. Or is it making friends or is
dealing with some mental? Emotional issue?
That's very heavy. You don't know how to handle it.
The question start once again, your limits are revealed, I
don't have enough knowledge. I can't hover over them at
school. I'm not sure what to do.
You go on a date and it seems to be going.
Well, you seem to like one another, but as that progresses
anxious questions come is, he the one, is she the one?
Does he like me? Does she like me?
You look at our culture. This is where the church has a
chance to really shine not just by standing for the truth which
we must, but how we encounter a world that doesn't stand for the
truth. Even in the midst of common
Grace. What would it look like for us
to be a non-anxious presence in a world?
So, dark. But often we're very anxious
because the question start coming, what if this happens,
what if that happens, what if they're elected and they're not
elected, and all of a sudden, our eyes are more focused on
those things which we must give attention to, but we take them
off of the Lord. And certainly, we know the
experience of experiencing something ourselves over the
loved one as it relates to health.
And then with the help of the internet you begin to Google
what it is. You've been told you might have
you know the questions come, don't they?
One of our early elders and our first missionary that we ever
sent out. often says to me, when we have the privilege of meeting
one-on-one, when we grow anxious, we close our eyes, we
close our ears and our mind goes crazy, It does.
Jesus asked the question. Five times he speaks into the
things that are making them anxious because he knows the
destruction of what anxiety can lead to.
Let's think about King David for a minute second Samuel 11 King
David does something he shouldn't do.
While all kings are at War which is where he should be, he looks
out and he sees Bathsheba, she's bathing, she's naked.
He desires her. She's brought to him.
There is sin word then comes to him that she is pregnant.
This is an unplanned pregnancy. It's a crisis pregnancy.
What does this man? Who's called a man after God's
Own Heart do does he listen to mediately to the word and
confess his sin and move into what he should do?
As a man of God? No.
It's his mind swirls with questions because anxiety speaks
to us in questions. He seeks to fix it so that no
one would know, it's his child that she's pregnant with.
So he calls for her husband to come home, your Raya, the
hittite Uriah and his Purity won't even go be with his wife.
So David continues to move through this anxious time,
making decisions that are horrific.
And he has this Soldier move to the front and then tells those
troops to be told to retreat. So that that man might be
killed. Anxiety can be extremely
destructive. Think about the Apostle Peter in
Mark 14, you know, Jesus tells Peter before that, that he's
going to deny him before the rooster crows.
Twice, Peter basically rejects what Jesus says.
I will never do that, even if I have to die.
But then when the young servant, girl, accuses him of being one
of his own, the anxiety sets in If I say I belong to him, what
will happen to me? He didn't just do this once, but
three times just, as Christ said, Mark tells us that he
called down, curses upon himself.
And what that means is, I would rather be found dead than for
you to believe that I was associated with him.
Do you think Peter ever thought it was possible for him to say
something like that? But he did.
When Mary Jo and other Thrive Advocates, meet with clients,
they come and when they come into that room anxiety has been
speaking to them. I know firsthand what that looks
like. The child of this community,
clay coffee, Roy and Janice coffee.
Son was a volunteer with me in the church.
I served in St. Louis and was passionate about
standing up for children in the womb.
He taught me so much. One day, we discovered that a
girl who was connected to our youth group wasn't actually
involved in our youth group was connected to our youth group was
pregnant not for the first time. But for the second, the first
child was aborted. I've told this story before, but
it's been many years and many of you weren't even in this church
yet, Clay and his wife, Hillary called me and said, would you go
with us across the Mississippi? River into East st.
Louis, because you couldn't get an abortion in St.
Louis County to meet her before she goes into the clinic.
I said sure, I'll go and never done anything like this, didn't
know what to do. We got there.
After about a 45-minute drive, we drove across the river
parked, and waited, and waited, and waited a long time.
And finally, her boyfriend and her pulled in her name is Erin.
we didn't have a plan but as soon as her boyfriend, got out
of the car, Clay went to talk to him, Hilary prayed, and I went
and put myself on my knees, right at her seat, so she
couldn't get out. And as I said, they're talking
to her, I prayed Hillary prayed. Clay, pray.
And I said you don't have to do this today.
It was the spring of 2000. My wife was at home, almost an
hour away pregnant, with our third child Kaden.
All I wanted was her to meet my wife, so that she could see the
pictures of a sonogram that showed he's alive.
Watch a video of his heart beating, I prayed and I prayed
and I prayed listening to her anxiety.
And she said what you would expect including this.
If my parents knew they would kill me.
Think about that. I said to her, they won't kill
you. She grew up in a Catholic
Family, very opposed to what she had already done.
Once, certainly opposed to what she was about to do I said they
won't kill you. But you know, you're a parent.
By God's grace. She said I'll go meet your wife.
We called the local St. Louis Clinic much like the one
Mary Jo's serves. And a woman named Robin duble
came over and met with her at our home.
What led her to that place? Was anxiety.
Not what we might call common anxiety, but a profound sense of
I can't do this. My parents will reject me.
I will be alone. Anxiety, speaks in questions.
What will you do? You're only a junior in high
school. What will you do with your
friends? What will you do with your
future? Those questions, get loud.
And as those questions, get loud, the crisis, gets bigger,
and Bigger and bigger in our minds and what we need as
believers. Is to have a non-anxious
presence where we move towards people helping them.
Even those who are in Christ, see that God Is Bigger.
God is greater Christ is far larger than the crisis that
you're in. And so, Jesus asked these five
questions and these five questions are meant to elevate
their vision of how good God is, how great God is, how big God is
these questions come and verse 25, 26 27, 28 and 30.
And as he asked these questions, he reveals profound It'll look
with me at the first question verse 25.
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. First question is not life more
than food and the body more than clothing.
He knows Food Matters, he knows Clothing Matters but he's
getting at the essence of what matters most he then gives his
first instruction of counsel There are three things that
Jesus does in his counsel. The first is this, it's an
action. He says, look, when you and I
are anxious, we are already looking at whatever it is.
That's making us anxious and listening to the questions that
are speaking to us, the way in which we break out of.
That is to look Jesus is so brilliant.
Here, he says, verse 26. Look at the birds of the air.
They neither neither sow. Nor reap, nor gather into Barns
and yet your heavenly father feeds them.
Then comes the second question. Are you not of more value than
they? You are.
You are we and him are far greater.
Jesus sin leads to his second point of counsel.
He says, in verse 28. And why are you anxious about
clothing? Consider the lilies of the
field. There were considered there.
Literally means study. Do you know what meditation is
its study? And so often were meditating and
studying on the questions that are coming to us.
What if what if what if Jesus says, 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. Jesus is showing us that the
Lord provides. Thirdly.
He tells us in verse 33 along with looking along with studying
considering he says in verse 33, but seek first, the kingdom of
God and his righteousness and all these things will be added
to you. For us.
Our primary concern is not food. It's not clothing what we're
going to wear. There are many things that make
us anxious and anxiety, speaks to us with so many questions,
but the principles of Christ council is right.
Every time look, look around you.
There is a God that is in control.
Consider what you see and see the goodness of God.
The provision of God seek his kingdom and his righteousness.
And all these things will be given to you as well.
What Jesus is pointing to in his sermon and what the word of God
points to from beginning to end is the history of redemption.
That this father who knows everything about us.
Who knows what we need. He is our provision.
He is our protection. He is our priority because we
are his God, demonstrated his own love for us in this while we
were still sinners Christ died for us.
The greatest fear we should have, is the fear of God.
The fear of God, not being who he says he is.
But we need to fear that. Christ.
Jesus was given to us as provision provision that we
would have him for all eternity. Speaking of clothing Christ,
Jesus was given to us that he and his righteousness, might
clothe, our unrighteousness. All who are in Christ are
clothes? He reveals to us in his word.
That were his. But he will never leave us or
forsake us, where his priority. How amazing is that?
Anxiety. Cannot be dealt with.
Just by you hearing are saying to yourself, are saying to
another stop it. Anxiety is not like a pot of
water on a gas stove, where when you turn out the flame it cools
down quickly, it's like an electric stove.
Where, once those words of anxiety speak to you, the stove
is lit, and it stays hot. And even if you turn it on, it
remains hot for a long. Time to the touch anxiety is
real. And it can be so destructive and
our savior knows and with compassion and his heart and
compassion in his command. He says, therefore don't be
anxious. The reasons are because who is
Father is who the holy spirit is and who we are in him.
Father in heaven. We know the familiarity of this
pain. And sometimes we wish it was
that simple. But what we also know is that
you have promised to lead us that you're with us that you
will never forsake us. So Lord, as we your people sit
here, Filled with anxious questions, anxiety.
Speaking to us. Starting now, father this day,
would you give us the power and ability to look and see your
goodness? Your Grace, Your Glory, would
you cause the things that are overwhelming us to grow,
strangely dim in the light of your glory?
And grace, father, would you cause us not to just look but
also To consider to meditate upon how you have saved us and
how you continually rescue us. Father, would you show us your
presence when we see que your kingdom, and your righteousness
that priority in doing? So, we see that we are yours.
Father. There are many in our body who
are feeling on Unthinkable, wait.
Lord, bring them. Clothes and bring us close to
them that we might walk with them and their hurts friends.
Whatever you're anxious about, don't be anxious about it alone.
Come and talk to one of the pastor's.
Somebody that you know who loves Christ.
And Lord, as we finished with this beautiful piece of music,
let the words not just be beautiful but let them soak into
our hearts with this profound, truth of who you were, who you
will be, who you are the same yesterday today, and forever.
We pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Please stand.