A Messiah Who Provides
Text: Matt. 6:25-34
Introduction
1. Illustration: Corrie Ten Boom spoke of the unraveling effects of worry, when she said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but it empties today of it’s strength.”
2. The Mayo Clinic claims that 80-85% of their total caseload is due directly to worry and anxiety.
3. Jesus tells us not to worry because He will provide for us. He does so because:
a. He values us
b. He cares about us
c. He has a purpose for us
4. Read Matt. 6:25-34
Proposition: Instead of worrying we should place our faith and trust in God.
Transition: We need to recognize that Jesus...
I. Provides Because He Values Us (25-27).
A. Far More Valuable to Him
1. Jesus assures us that he is in control when he says, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?"
a. He doesn’t just tell us not to worry, but gives a good reason why we shouldn’t worry.
b. That is why I tell you refers back to the previous verse, in which Jesus declares that a Christian’s only Master is God.
c. He is therefore saying, "Because God is your Master, I tell you not to worry" (The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 1-7).
d. God is not only the Master of you, but he is master of the universe and everything is in his control.
e. In the Greek, the command do not worry includes the idea of stopping what is already being done. In other words, we are to stop worrying and never start it again.
2. Furthermore, it’s not just the big issues of life that we shouldn’t worry about, but every aspect of our lives should be free from worry.
a. Everyday life makes the command all-inclusive.
b. The word life is a comprehensive term that encompasses all of a person’s being—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Jesus is referring to life in its fullest possible sense.
c. Absolutely nothing in any aspect of our lives, internal or external, justifies our worrying when we have the Master we do.
d. Worry is the sin of distrusting the promise and providence of God, and yet it is a sin that Christians commit perhaps more frequently than any other.
e. You heard me correctly, worry is a sin! "Worry is practical atheism and an affront to God" (Mounce, 58).
f. The English term worry comes from an old German word meaning to strangle, or choke.
g. That is exactly what worry does; it is a kind of mental and emotional strangulation, which probably causes more mental and physical afflictions than any other single cause (The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 1-7).
3. The needs that Jesus mentions here are the most basic—what we eat, what we drink, and what we put on.
a. Throughout Bible times, food and water could seldom be taken for granted.
b. When there was little snow in the mountains there was little water in the rivers, and inadequate rainfall was frequent.
c. Shortage of water naturally brought shortage of food, which seriously affected the whole economy and made clothes harder to buy.
d. Yet Jesus said, do not worry about any of these things.
4. Jesus twice uses a standard type of Jewish argument traditionally called qal wahomer-"how much more?" (vv. 26, 30).
a. Not only is life more important than food which sustains it, but it also consists of much more. A life which is dominated by worry about food is missing out on the more of life (France, 267).
b. Jesus is saying that there are more important things in life than these seemingly indispensable things, and the thing that is most important to him is you.
c. It is amazing that we value things, but God values people.
d. You have heard both Tina and I talk about our favorite Hebrew term segullah, which was term that described a kings most prized possession. You are God’s segullah - his most precious treasure.
e. So why should you worry?
5. Jesus illustrates this point by saying, "Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?"
a. There are many birds in northern Galilee, and it is likely that Jesus pointed to some passing birds as He said, Look at the birds.
b. As an object lesson, He called attention to the fact that birds do not have intricate and involved processes for acquiring food (The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 1-7).
c. Like every creature, birds have their life from God. But God does not say to them, in effect, "I’ve done My part; from now on you’re on your own."
d. The Lord has provided them with an abundance of food resources and the instinct to find those resources for themselves and their offspring.
e. If God so carefully takes care of such relatively insignificant creatures as birds, how much more will He take of those who are created in His own image and who have become His children through faith?
f. The very fact that God sent His Son to die on the cross in the sinner’s place should give you some idea of the value He places upon human beings who were created in His image and likeness (Horton, 121).
6. Jesus not only tells us not to worry, but asks us what’s the point? He says, "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?"
a. The word being translated here has been traditionally be been translated "cubit." It can refer to length in stature or height, or it can refer to lengthening ones life span. Since Jesus is talking here about survival and not stature, we must assume that he is referring to adding years to your life (France, 269).
b. Our culture is obsessed with trying to lengthen life. We exercise, eat carefully, supplement our diets with vitamins and minerals, get regular physical checkups, and do countless other such things in the hope of adding a few years to our lives.
c. You can worry yourself to death, but not to life. Dr. Charles Mayo, of the famous Mayo Clinic, wrote, "Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands and the whole nervous system. I have never met a man or known a man to die of overwork, but I have known a lot who died of worry" (The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 1-7).
d. Worry makes no sense for it changes nothing. It is a waste of energy and does not help in any way that matters.
B. God Values People
1. Illustration: Havner stated, “ Worry, like a rocking chair, will give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere.”
2. Psalms 55:22 (NLT)
Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
3. We need to stop worrying because we are God’s prized treasure.
a. He will never abandon us.
b. He will never forsake us.
c. He will never forget about us.
d. He will always be there for us.
4. We to stop worrying because we serve an awesome God.
a. He is complete control of our everyday lives.
b. He is in control of our financial lives.
c. He is in control of our physical lives.
d. He is in control of our spiritual lives.
5. We need to stop worrying because it is sin.
a. It is like saying God you can’t take care of me.
b. It is like saying God my problems are bigger than you.
c. It is like saying we don’t trust, have faith in, or believe in God.
d. It is like saying we are on our own.
Transition: Another reason to stop worrying is Jesus...
II. Provides Because He Cares About Us (28-30).
A. He Will Certainly Care For You
1. Jesus shifts his focus from food to clothing. He tells us, “And why worry about your clothing?"
a. People in Jesus’ day considered their cloaks essential, and the law in fact took this for granted.
b. Exodus 22:26-27 (NLT)
If you take your neighbor’s cloak as security for a loan, you must return it before sunset. This coat may be the only blanket your neighbor has. How can a person sleep without it? If you do not return it and your neighbor cries out to me for help, then I will hear, for I am merciful.
c. They were essential not just because they made you acceptable in public, but because they protected you from what could be a harsh climate.
2. Jesus continues his point by using another plentiful visual illustration, "Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are."
a. This expression draws to mind God’s provision in nature for flowers growing wild, which probably surrounded Jesus, the disciples, and the crowd as he spoke.
b. Even today, red and purple anemones with crowning ten-inch stalks, along with blue irises, grow wild on the hillside above the Sea of Galilee (Wilkins, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Matthew, 298).
c. Under a microscope these flowers show themselves to be even more marvelous and intricate than anything the people in Jesus day could ever have imagined.
d. Yet even Solomon, one of the richest kings the world has ever known, in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these little flowers which anyone there that day could have picked by the dozen.
3. So what is Jesus’ point? Simple...he cares about us. He says, "And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you."
a. Here Jesus point is not about survival but splendor, because the flowers are here today and gone tomorrow. Yet God gives them such beauty that the even the richest of the rich cannot match.
b. If God gives so much care to a part of his creation that soon disappears, how much more care does God give to the pinnacle of his creation - humans.
c. Jesus is saying that the God who created such a magnificent universe is certainly capable of meeting our essential needs.
d. He cares about our clothing. Now he doesn’t care that you wear brown shoes with black pants, but he cares that you have clothes to wear so that your body is protected.
4. Look at what Jesus says to us when we worry about the essentials of life, "Why do you have so little faith?"
a. The point is that the God who created such a magnificent universe is certainly capable of meeting our essential needs.
b. It is significant that each of the four other times Jesus used the phrase "why do you have so little faith," it was also in relation to worry about food, clothing, or life span (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 1-7).
c. To be anxious even about things which we need to survive, Jesus says, is sinful and shows little faith.
d. This term in Matthew refers to those who are afraid instead of trusting God (France, 270).
e. A person who worries about those things may have saving faith, but he does not have faith that relies on God to finish what He has begun.
B. Because He Cares For You
1. Illustration: Christian guitarist Phil Keaggy, in his song "A Time and a Place," said, "Said the robin to the sparrow,
I would really like to know Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so. Said the sparrow to the robin,
Friend, I think that it must be That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me."
2. 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
3. We shouldn’t worry because God cares for us.
a. The Bible tells us that he cares about us so much that he even has the hairs on our head numbered.
b. He cares about us so much that he promises to meet all our needs.
c. He cares about us so much that he sent his only Son to earth to die for us.
4. We shouldn’t worry because of God’s promises.
a. He promised never to leave us or forsake us.
b. He promised to provide for us.
c. He promised to protect us.
d. He promised to prepare a place for us.
5. We shouldn’t worry because God is faithful.
a. 2 Timothy 2:11-13 (NLT)
This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.
b. God doesn’t know how to be unfaithful.
c. God promises even to be faithful when we are not.
d. We can stop worrying because God will always be there for us.
Transition: A third reason that Jesus gives us to stop worrying is that he...
III. Provides Because He Has A Purpose For Us (31-34).
A. Your Heavenly Father Knows
1. Scripture is very clear that believers in Jesus are very different from those who do not believe.
a. 2 Corinthians 6:17 (NLT)
Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.
b. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 (NLT)
God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.
Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.
c. God has called us to separate ourselves from those who do not follow Christ and be different from them because we are different.
2. Jesus tells us that this is another reason not to worry. He says, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs."
a. Those who have no hope in God naturally put their hope and expectations in things they can enjoy now.
b. They have nothing to live for but the present, and their materialism is perfectly consistent with their religion.
c. They have no God to supply their physical or their spiritual needs, their present or their eternal needs, so anything they get they must get for themselves.
d. They are ignorant of God’s supply and have no claim on it. No heavenly Father cares for them, so there is reason to worry (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 1-7).
e. However, we are not like that, for we have a Heavenly Father who cares for us!
3. Instead of worry, Jesus tells us to "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."
a. The word seek should more appropriately be translated "seek continually," and, furthermore, carries with it the idea to "try to attain" (Horton, 123).
b. The use of the imperative "seek" does not mean to look for something not present, for Jesus has already announced the arrival of the kingdom.
c. In this context it means that his disciples are to make the kingdom of heaven the center of their continual, daily priorities.
d. They have already entered the kingdom of heaven and are to live with that reality, drawing on God’s ordering of their daily lives (Wilkins, 299).
e. "Rather than seeking and worrying about food, drink, and clothing like unbelievers do," Jesus says, "focus your attention and hopes on the things of the Lord and He will take care of all your needs."
4. Disciples of Jesus have a different orientation, a higher purpose.
a. We are also to seek… His righteousness. Instead of longing after the things of this world, we are to hunger and thirst for the things of the world to come, which are characterized above all else by God’s perfect righteousness and holiness (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 1-7).
b. We must understand that God is in control of everything, and as long as we are seeking Him and working to be more like Him He will meet all of our needs.
c. Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NLT)
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
5. Jesus concludes by getting to the heart of the matter when he says, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today."
a. Anxiety will not add even the smallest unit of time to one’s life.
b. Not only is it true that we cannot extend our life by worrying, but daily experience in our comparatively fast-paced culture confirms that worry and a troubled heart actually shorten life.
c. Making reasonable provisions for tomorrow is sensible, but to worry about tomorrow is foolish and unfaithful.
d. God is the God of tomorrow as well as the God of today and of eternity.
B. God Takes Care of Today
1. Illustration: I heard a story about a woman who for many years couldn’t sleep at night because she worried that her home would be burglarized. One night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he got there, he found a burglar. The husband said to the burglar, "Come upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting 10 years to meet you." A real burglar can steal from you once; worry can steal from you night after night, for many years. Worry not only steals our sleep, but worry also steals our health and our abilities to cope with life productively.
2. Lamentations 3:22-24 (NLT)
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”
3. It is time to stop letting worry steal from you.
a. It will steal your rest.
b. It will steal your health.
c. It will steal your peace.
4. It is time to stop letting worry control you.
a. If you let it worry will control every aspect of your life.
b. It is time to start letting God control every aspect of your life.
c. It is time to start letting God have control of your present.
d. It is time to start letting God have control your future.
e. It is time to start letting God have control your finances.
f. It is time to start letting God have control your family.
Transition: It is time to let go and let God!
Conclusion
1. Jesus is a Messiah who provides.
a. He provides because he values you above all else.
b. He provides because he cares for you above all else.
c. He provides because he has a plan for your life.
2. Worry will:
a. Shorten your life
b. Steal your joy
c. Make you less effective for the Kingdom of God
3. Worry will not:
a. Change your circumstances
b. Solve your problems
c. Benefit you in any way
4. So don’t worry, be joyful!
