Dr. Bradford Reaves
CrossWay Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD
www.mycrossway.org
We are coming to the closing of the sixth chapter of Matthew, taking us two -thirds of the way through the Sermon on the Mount. And as we conclude this chapter we come to the subject of worry. Jesus tells us that worry is a practice for the pagan that is a sin for the believer because it questions the very character of God and strikes at his promises.
It is no surprise that the issue of worry comes on the heals of the issue of money. Our culture is a climate of worry and much of the reason of that is that many in power try to use fear to control. And so many of the worries of the world are surrounding the economic stability. In fact, as I was writing this message, I received an email from a news source with the headline: “Urgent: U.S. Credit Downgraded Under Biden.” The culture of fear and worry over money and security will literally drive people to suicide. People worry over their stocks, their properties, their retirements, and rising inflation. It is that kind of fear that will compel many to willingly take the Mark of the Beast.
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 “And who of you by being worried can add a single cubit to his life span? 28 “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 “For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25–34 LSB)
So our question before us this morning is, “What is the biblical response to worry?” There are many passages throughout the Old and New Testaments that exhort us not to worry, but what exactly does that look like? Does that mean we approach life with a Laissez-faire kind of approach? What was Jesus saying? Jesus’ teaching in 6:25 begins with the word “therefore.” That is, there is something in the previous passage that forbids worry. In Matthew 6:24 Jesus gave us a choice—“You cannot serve both God and Money.” And so the conclusion is that if your life is concerned with money, your life will be filled with anxiety over money. If you life is concerned with the things of God, you will no longer be concerned about temporal things.
Three times in our passage, Jesus tells us not to worry: Verse 25, verse 31, and verse 34. In verses 25 and 31, Jesus tells us not to worry about food, water, and clothing. In verse 25 it is a present imperative; stop, not. In verse 31 he is talking about worry over the future of these things. In verse 34, Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow. And all of this defines for the disciples the attitude with how believers should live our lives in a material world.
In first century Palestine, these were of great concern. ?n fact most people lived their entire lives trying to stay hydrated, fed, and clothed. There was no running water and in the heat of the summer, streams would dry up, food was a constant chore of life, and most people had a single set of clothes to live by. You either made a rare trip to the market to replace your clothes or you made your own. But Jesus gives us three reasons never to worry:
1. Worry is Unnecessary Because of Your Heavenly Father?
2. Worry is Uncharacteristic Because of Your Faith
3. Worry is Unwise Because of the Future
(main points adapted from John MacArthur's message from this passage)
1. Worry Is Unnecessary Because of Your Heavenly Father
The first point of all of this is that our worry is unnecessary simply because of who our Heavenly Father is to us. The truth is, if we are worrying about life, then we have not come to an understanding about who exactly God is and what it means to be called His child. We can worry or we can worship. To worry is to say that we don’t trust God for the outcome, to worship means that we have full confidence in our Heavenly Father.
Among the first illustrations Jesus uses is he directs our attentions to the birds.
“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? (Matthew 6:26)
Now, I can imagine that as he is preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, there are birds flying overhead. Israel is known as for the abundance of birds and birdwatchers from around the world come to Israel to see the birds. Birds migrate through there because of it being a land-bridge between Europe and Africa.
Who gives to the animal its food, And to the young ravens which call out. (Psalm 147:9)
And my God will fulfill all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
Now it is important for us to understand that Jesus doesn’t tell us not to labor. This is not an excuse for slothfulness.
“Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, set His seal.” (John 6:27)
For even when we were with you, we used to command this to you: if anyone is not willing to work, neither let him eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
He who cultivates his land will be satisfied with bread, But he who pursues empty things lacks a heart of wisdom. (Proverbs 12:11)
Rather, Jesus is saying not to become preoccupied with the worry of where food is going to come from. The argument Jesus uses moves from the lesser to the greater. If you look at the birds, there is not any bird out there on prozac because of a food shortage. If God gave them life, He will sustain it and the same goes for us.
I remember watching an episode of “Alone.” A show where contestants are marooned in a forbidding area of wilderness completely alone (not even a camera crew) as they must live completely alone off the land. In one episode in Season 3, Dave Nessia was getting a routine medical check and had to be evacuated because he was badly starving, even though he had a horde of smoked trout meat. He was starving and yet he was saving the fish. And Jesus underscores this in verse 27: “And who of you by being worried can add a single cubit to his life span? (Matthew 6:27)
The idea here is not adding to our stature, but rather adding to the length of our days. We live in an age where we are almost obsessed with health and exercise. The fear of illness and disease keeps people constantly at their doctors. This fear was used during COVID to convince people to lock down, wear masks, take experimental shots. I remember seeing people wearing all sorts of garments, looking very foolish, in an attempt to ward off an unknown and unseen virus.
In fact, worry will not add to your life, it will shorten it. great percentage of our illnesses is in some way related to worry and anxiety and stress. In fact, the #1 killer in America is heart disease. 38% of all deaths are heart related and many of those are related to hypertension, high blood pressure and anxiety.bWorry has been linked to cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis, gastrointestinal illness and suicide. 3/4 of all visits to primary care physicians are stress-related complaints or disorders. (Sermon Central)
“And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. (Matthew 6:28–29)
Here again, Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater. There is almost a sense of humor in Jesus’ words. He says even the flowers are dressed beautifully and they are cared for by God, will He not do the same for each of us?
Do you remember the story of the emperor’s clothes? If I am recalling it right, someone persuaded the emperor to buy a suit of clothes that only people with the most exquisite taste in fashion could see. Of course, the emperor could not see the clothes, nor could anyone else – because the peddler was lying. There were no clothes to be seen. But no one would say so, not even the emperor! Why not? Because no one wanted to admit that they couldn’t see the clothes the emperor had spent a fortune buying.
Of course, the emperor wanted to show off his new clothes. So a parade was arranged. And there, on the street, with thousands of onlookers, the emperor rode along, completely exposed. But, knowing that they themselves would be exposed as having less than refined taste, the people wouldn’t speak up and tell the truth. The emperor was out in public in the raw! And no one would say it…except a little boy in the crowd. And, of course, he blasted out the facts: The emperor has no clothes.
It’s a child’s tale, to be sure, but it exposes – if I may use that word – some very grown-up truths. Vanity leads to self-deception, and fear of those with power over us causes us to collude in their despotism by flattering them. In other words, we all have a tendency to live a lie. (Isaac Butterworth, Sermon Central)
With that Jesus says, “You of little faith.” (Verse 30). Wow. Powerful words from such a simple topic of food and clothes. Which brings us to our next point:
2. Worry is Uncharacteristic Because of Your Faith
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 “For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31–33)
Look there is not promise that God is going to make you rich. There is no promise that God is going to give you more than you need. There is no promise that God is going to lavish you with wealth. There is a promise that God is going to take care of you and your necessities (MacArthur). What I want you to notice here is the distinction between the believer and those who have no faith in Jesus Christ.
What I mean by that is that worry belongs to those in the kingdom of darkness, not the kingdom of light.
“For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. (Matthew 6:32)
Worry is not a trivial sin. It is a challenge to the very character of God. Jesus will underscore this in Matthew Chapter 7:11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
The rest of the world is in complete spiritual darkness. We are walking in the light. There were times in our lives when Andrea and I should not have made it. The economy was in turmoil, or jobs were lost, or circumstances were beyond difficult. Yet it was clear that God was caring for us. We trusted Him. That’s why the principle of tithing is so important. It is saying, “God, you are first because we trust you. Not because this makes sense.”
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says Yahweh of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and empty out for you a blessing until it is beyond enough. (Malachi 3:10)
Do you think God knows your needs. Do you trust in His goodness. Children of the King do not need to conduct themselves as the devil’s beggars.
3. Worry is Unwise Because of the Future
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:33–34)
No matter what is happening in the world. No matter who claims to be in control. No matter what the economy is doing. No matter what the news is saying. No matter the events of the world. Not only is God in control, you are securely in His hands. No one, no matter how powerful they appear to be, knows what tomorrow holds. Jesus reminds us that he is the God of tomorrow. Only God knows what it will bring, but more importantly you are in His care.
The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of Yahweh; He turns it wherever He pleases. (Proverbs 21:1)
Make sure that your way of life is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” (Hebrews 13:5)
Do you believe that? John Chrysostom was a fearless preacher who was even unafraid to criticize the emperor, who lived in the same city, Constantinople. He did much to alleviate poverty, even selling some of the treasures of the church in order to feed the poor. Predictably there were many who did not like him, including the emperor.
The emperor once threatened Chrysostom with prison for his preaching. Chrysostom responded that the Lord would go to prison with him. Then the emperor said he would take away all his possessions. Chrysostom replied, "There is no way for you to take away all that I possess. My treasures are in heaven and you cannot reach that far." Then the emperor said, "Well, I will banish you to the remotest corner of the kingdom." (Later he did banish Chrysostom to a remote island.) Chrysostom answered that the remotest spot in the world was part of his Savior's kingdom and his Lord would be there too.? (Ajith Fernando, The Call to Joy & Pain).
The voice of God assures us of his care. The voice of the demonic brings fear and uncertainty. The demonic realm wants to withhold you from the God’s blessings and living in spiritual victory. They can’t harm you, but they can lie to you. 2 Tim 1:7 “7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-discipline.”
And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one deceives you. 5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. (Matthew 24:4–5)
This is a day of tremendous deception. There is only one way to avoid being deceived; by studying the truth. God sent to us His own son Jesus to be the Living Word - the truth. So that we would know the way and that we would not be deceived by the god of this world.
On March 5, 1994, Deputy Sheriff Lloyd Prescott was teaching a class for police officers in the Salt Lake City Library. As he stepped into the hallway he noticed a gunman herding 18 hostages into the next room. With a flash of insight, Prescott (dressed in street clothes) joined the group as the nineteenth hostage, followed them into the room, and shut the door. But when the gunman announced the order in which hostages would be executed, Prescott identified himself. In the scuffle that followed, Prescott, in self-defense, fatally shot the armed man. The hostages were released unharmed. (Bobby Scobey)
God dressed himself in street clothes and entered our world, joining us who are held hostage to sin. On the cross Jesus defeated Satan and set us free from the power of sin and after he ascended into Heaven, he sent his Holy Spirit to be our advocate. Will you come to him today?
