SPEAKER_00: We're studying through the life and the teaching of Jesus from the book of Matthew.
SPEAKER_00: Now there's this section that starts in chapter 5 of Matthew.
SPEAKER_00: It's called the Sermon on the Mount.
SPEAKER_00: And it goes chapter 5, 6, and 7.
SPEAKER_00: It's one of the most famous sets of teachings from Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And we're past the halfway point.
SPEAKER_00: We're making our way through this sermon.
SPEAKER_00: Last week we looked at verses 22 through 24, and we talked about having a spiritual focus and a spiritual loyalty.
SPEAKER_00: Remember, this is Jesus training those who would be his followers.
SPEAKER_00: And he's describing for them a new society, not just a personal relationship with him, but literally, imagine, you know, like Moses when he got the Ten Commandments, went up on the mountain, and then he taught Israel how to be a nation.
SPEAKER_00: This is Jesus saying, hey, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
SPEAKER_00: I'm inviting you into a new kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: He starts the whole thing off by saying, the gates of the kingdom are flung wide open for the poor in spirit, for the meek, those who are suffering, those who need, you know, who are who are sorrowful.
SPEAKER_00: Those are the people that are welcomed into this kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: And he's gone on from there to lay out, just and describe, here's what it looks like to be in my kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: So last week he talked about just this devotion, this devotion to God, and having this focus and loyalty.
SPEAKER_00: I was reading this week, and I love this one word that this commentator used for this idea of having a single eye.
SPEAKER_00: Remember, we talked about that and how that's a difficult metaphor to translate over and understand how the metaphor works.
SPEAKER_00: He was saying a modern concept of this eye of having a single eye or a single focus is the idea of having goals.
SPEAKER_00: We talk so much about it's the new year, let's set some goals for this year.
SPEAKER_00: And what Jesus is teaching his followers, he's saying, listen, if your goals are not like singularly focused on my kingdom, they're not lined up with my kingdom, then your whole life is gonna be this confusing mess.
SPEAKER_00: And so there needs to just be this simplicity, this loyalty, this focus in on my kingdom in order for your life to emit bright, shining, pure light that's coming from it.
SPEAKER_00: So that's what we looked at last week.
SPEAKER_00: And um today we're going to look at Jesus' teaching about anxiety.
SPEAKER_00: Anxiety.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is one of my favorite movies.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know the name of this movie?
SPEAKER_00: What about Bob?
SPEAKER_00: He's holding his book there called Baby Steps.
SPEAKER_00: Um, Bob was paralyzed by anxiety, but his shrink also had his own set of issues, right?
SPEAKER_00: And so it's this it's this wonderful movie about which one is actually the one who needs the um the therapy the most, right?
SPEAKER_00: But but poor Bob, he is paralyzed by all these phobias and fears and anxieties.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, the most recent data shows that approximately 19% of U.S.
SPEAKER_00: adults have experienced anxiety disorder just in the past year.
SPEAKER_00: That's what is that, one in five?
SPEAKER_00: The prevalence of this is higher in females than in males.
SPEAKER_00: 23% females, 14% males.
SPEAKER_00: Over the lifetime, over their lifetime, about 31% of adults are estimated to experience an anxiety disorder.
SPEAKER_00: Almost a third of adults.
SPEAKER_00: When considering the severity of these disorders, and a majority, 43% of adults with an anxiety disorder just in the past year experienced mild impairment, while 22% had serious impairment and 33% moderate impairment.
SPEAKER_00: So taking that into account, this whole conversation around anxiety is more apt and appropriate than ever.
SPEAKER_00: And so beginning in verse 25, Jesus says this therefore, I tell you, don't worry about your life, what you'll eat or what you'll drink, or about your body, what you will wear.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing?
SPEAKER_00: Consider the birds of the sky.
SPEAKER_00: They don't sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly father feeds them.
SPEAKER_00: Aren't you worth more than they?
SPEAKER_00: Can any of you add one moment to his lifespan by worrying?
SPEAKER_00: And why do you worry about clothes?
SPEAKER_00: Observe how the wild flowers of the field grow.
SPEAKER_00: They don't labor or spin thread.
SPEAKER_00: Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all of his splendor was adorned like one of these.
SPEAKER_00: If that's how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won't He do much more for you, you of little faith?
SPEAKER_00: So don't worry saying, What will we eat, or what will we drink, or what will we wear?
SPEAKER_00: For the Gentiles eagerly seek all of these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them.
SPEAKER_00: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself.
SPEAKER_00: Each day has enough trouble of its own.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we're gonna study this verse here with hearts that are sincere.
SPEAKER_00: We anticipate just that whisper of your spirit in our hearts and our minds as we're studying it.
SPEAKER_00: We give you full permission to dissect who we are, to convict us of sin, to teach us, to train us in righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: God, we are spiritually hungry for your work.
SPEAKER_00: We don't want to be an anxious people.
SPEAKER_00: We want to occupy our place in life with a non-anxious presence.
SPEAKER_00: Oh God, would you gift that to us, we pray, in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: So let's look at this together.
SPEAKER_00: What I'd like to do is give you a bit of an outline of what's in these 10 verses.
SPEAKER_00: So it opens up with a command to not worry about your life.
SPEAKER_00: And then verse 26 through 30, there are these two illustrations that are given to support that command.
SPEAKER_00: And then verses 31 and 32, the command again is reiterated.
SPEAKER_00: And we have the antithesis is seated, this idea of the antithesis is seated in Gentile living.
SPEAKER_00: Don't worry, because that's what the Gentiles do, uh that's what the Gentiles do.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 33 is an alternative is recommended, and a promise is paired with it.
SPEAKER_00: Can't wait to look at that promise.
SPEAKER_00: And then verse 34, the command is reiterated and made applicable to the moment.
SPEAKER_00: So six times, six times, how many times?
SPEAKER_00: Six times we have the word worry in this passage.
SPEAKER_00: This is one of those places where if you are struggling with anxiety, you've got to go back to it because Jesus, if he's your king, Jesus says to you, stop it.
SPEAKER_00: Stop it.
SPEAKER_00: And he gives you a framework, kind of some therapy that you can do in order to free yourself from anxiety.
SPEAKER_00: So here is, here is kind of, this is, well, this is where we're going.
SPEAKER_00: The concept of worry and anxiety is given handles, maybe we could say, or it's made concrete, because he says not only just stop worrying, but he says, stop worrying about this, stop worrying about that.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, there are three things that he says to stop worrying about.
SPEAKER_00: Did you see them there?
SPEAKER_00: What you eat, what else?
SPEAKER_00: What you're gonna wear, and what else?
SPEAKER_00: And drink.
SPEAKER_00: Drink he includes with the food.
SPEAKER_00: There's a third thing at the end.
SPEAKER_00: Don't worry about tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: What's gonna happen tomorrow?
SPEAKER_00: Let's look at this first verse.
SPEAKER_00: In verse 25, the opening command to not worry about your life.
SPEAKER_00: You like my little emoji there?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's the worry one.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, thank you.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, here's G, okay, this is Jesus talking.
SPEAKER_00: In my Bible, this is in red.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, this is the middle of the sermon.
SPEAKER_00: This is not some just like nice kind of your therapy appointment, then you gotta decide.
SPEAKER_00: This is Jesus the Lord, the Christ, saying to you, I tell you, don't worry.
SPEAKER_00: Stop it about your life.
SPEAKER_00: Stop worrying about your life.
SPEAKER_00: What you're gonna eat, what you will drink, or about your body, what you'll wear.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't life more than food and the body?
SPEAKER_00: More than clothing.
SPEAKER_00: He has in mind the worrier, the person that's concerned.
SPEAKER_00: Food and clothing.
SPEAKER_00: He's got in mind the person that's gotta hoard stuff, right?
SPEAKER_00: You ever watch Buried Alive?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: The underlying, what is that?
SPEAKER_00: What is what's going on there?
SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of different psychological things there, but there is an underlying fear in the hoarder's life that if I don't hold on to this stuff, I will lose some of my identity.
SPEAKER_00: There's this is a picture of somebody trying to be secure to alleviate anxiety.
SPEAKER_00: I've had the privilege of working with hoarders in my life for some weird reason.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I love hoarders, they're like dear to my heart.
SPEAKER_00: I I would be a hoarder if I didn't read the Bible, probably.
SPEAKER_00: Hoarding is fun, like stuff is fun, right?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, walking around your place is fun too, but there's something fun about just stuff, you know?
SPEAKER_00: And so I have cleaned out hoarders' houses, and it is traumatic.
SPEAKER_00: It is it is emotional, it is painful, and usually it only happens, and usually I'm I've been called to the scene because it's literally a crisis in the community.
SPEAKER_00: On one occasion, it was a renter, and the guy had to sell his house, and um the guy went to uh the same church that I was at and he said, Listen, I've got a renter.
SPEAKER_00: He's a little bit older, a guy, he's a little bit unique, and he's a hoarder, and I have to clean this place out.
SPEAKER_00: Would you come and help?
SPEAKER_00: And I said, Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00: And just in the most loving way, we had to just go in, and it's always, hey, go and distract that guy, get him into the other side of the room, and we're gonna just come through with with garbage bags and we're gonna just start throwing stuff away.
SPEAKER_00: On another occasion, literally, the city law code enforcement officer, Miss Huffman, she came to me and said, Listen, we're trying to clean up downtown.
SPEAKER_00: We we're a growing city, and we've got to get this place cleaned up.
SPEAKER_00: And we have right on Main Street this guy who has lived there for 60 years, and his entire two acres is full of stuff.
SPEAKER_00: And the city, we're gonna pay to put a dumpster, a not a dump, not like a little dumpster, not like the square, a 40-foot dumpster on his property.
SPEAKER_00: We are getting a team of volunteers and we are gonna clean that property.
SPEAKER_00: We are going to empty it out.
SPEAKER_00: The guy, a week before it happened, had major heart surgery.
SPEAKER_00: So he wasn't he wasn't there.
SPEAKER_00: Somehow he found out about it, took himself with his chest still freshly scarred and stapled together, he took himself to that property.
SPEAKER_00: He was so upset that his stuff was being, he had plenty of warning.
SPEAKER_00: He told he was told it was gonna happen, he knew it was going on.
SPEAKER_00: He was in like really bad shape, and I sat with him and distracted him for two hours as the rest of these 40 volunteers just threw away a small portion.
SPEAKER_00: We didn't even touch the house, we were just working in the yard.
SPEAKER_00: The stacks of stuff.
SPEAKER_00: I literally, when I wasn't with him, I found a newspaper clipping from the end of World War II out of Australia about um the Japanese bombing Australia, or something like that.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: A fresh newspaper clipping from the 40s in the front yard, in this stack.
SPEAKER_00: It was crazy, right?
SPEAKER_00: So hoarding is this symptom of an internal unrest of I've got to hold on to this stuff.
SPEAKER_00: And yet Jesus is saying, look, in my kingdom, you do not need to.
SPEAKER_00: You need to stop.
SPEAKER_00: You need to stop worrying about this stuff.
SPEAKER_00: And he's asked this rhetorical question.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Isn't life more than food and body more than clothing?
SPEAKER_00: Let me ask you that.
SPEAKER_00: Is your life more than food?
SPEAKER_00: Is your body more than clothing?
SPEAKER_00: It's amazing how life can get reduced down to that level.
SPEAKER_00: Those who are, we talked about hoarding, but then there's also the issue of obesity and being overweight.
SPEAKER_00: I think my BMI right now is 25.
SPEAKER_00: I'm technically considered overweight.
SPEAKER_00: I know I'd say that to people and they're like, nah, you're not overweight, and that's because they probably weigh more than I do, but that's fine.
SPEAKER_00: There is like a health metric, right?
SPEAKER_00: And where you're supposed to be at.
SPEAKER_00: And unfortunately, in the U.S., we have this unhealthy relationship with food where we don't answer this question right.
SPEAKER_00: And we say, no, my life is pretty much food.
SPEAKER_00: I would like to, I've had this vision of making this sign that I put into my kitchen that says, this is not a temple.
SPEAKER_00: This is a fueling station for the mission of God.
SPEAKER_00: Because here's the thing, here's the thing.
SPEAKER_00: We engage food culturally as an event, as almost not just an event, but as a sacred worshipful event.
SPEAKER_00: We're worshiping ourselves, we're worshiping our tongues, the pleasure of, you know, so you go in fast, and all of a sudden you realize, oh my gosh, I'm a worshiper of food.
SPEAKER_00: And pretty much I have three worship services a day called breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
SPEAKER_00: And if I miss one of those worship services, I am not okay in my religion, right?
SPEAKER_00: There is a disconnect between me and my God, the body, right?
SPEAKER_00: And then you have other people that are caught up in materialism.
SPEAKER_00: And pretty much, you know, it's like, where's the next mirror?
SPEAKER_00: Just to make sure that my clothing is right, my outfit is right.
SPEAKER_00: And yet, Jesus, in his teaching, is he saying, stop it, stop, stop worrying.
SPEAKER_00: Stop worrying about these things.
SPEAKER_00: Now, as we go through this text, I'm going to show you some of the objections that people have as they hear Jesus' teaching, and then I'm going to try to respond to those objections.
SPEAKER_00: Critics argue that the passage, this passage seems to suggest that one should not plan or be responsible for their future, potentially leading to an impractical or irresponsible living.
SPEAKER_00: If you follow this, you would be irresponsible.
SPEAKER_00: You need to be prepared.
SPEAKER_00: And they they think that that's what Jesus is saying.
SPEAKER_00: The response to that is that Jesus is not teaching against prudent planning, but against anxious worry.
SPEAKER_00: In Luke 14, 28 through 30, Jesus speaks about the importance of planning, using the example of someone building a tower.
SPEAKER_00: The emphasis in Matthew 6 is on trusting in God's provision and not being consumed by worry, not on abandoning responsible planning.
SPEAKER_00: Let's keep going to the next section here, which are these two illustrations to support the command.
SPEAKER_00: You know the two illustrations?
SPEAKER_00: The first is the one about the birds.
SPEAKER_00: He says, think about the birds.
SPEAKER_00: Think about the birds for just a second.
SPEAKER_00: What's your favorite kind of bird?
SPEAKER_00: Raven?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, yeah, you would be.
SPEAKER_00: You're from Baltimore.
SPEAKER_00: The eagle, yeah, you're from Philadelphia, of course, yes.
SPEAKER_00: What else?
SPEAKER_00: Oh, car, a car, boy, those are so beautiful.
SPEAKER_00: They're red.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: What else?
SPEAKER_00: What other birds?
SPEAKER_00: Wood, oh, those are cool.
SPEAKER_00: They're like right hang on there, and they're like doing the thing with their nose, that's and their beak.
SPEAKER_00: That's pretty wild, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I like peacocks.
SPEAKER_00: What do you what'd you say?
SPEAKER_00: Hawks, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: The swoop down, they can go incredible speeds.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus says, look, consider the birds of the sky.
SPEAKER_00: Now, here's what he wants you to think about, okay?
SPEAKER_00: They don't sow.
SPEAKER_00: What's sowing?
SPEAKER_00: That's like planting the seeds, right?
SPEAKER_00: Like a farmer.
SPEAKER_00: They're not being farmers.
SPEAKER_00: What's reaping, right?
SPEAKER_00: Collecting the harvest.
SPEAKER_00: They're not going through the agricultural process like a farmer gathering into barns, yet, look at this: your heavenly father feeds them.
SPEAKER_00: And then there's a question.
SPEAKER_00: You see the question?
SPEAKER_00: This was not a question that was condoned by Peda.
SPEAKER_00: It didn't make it past their uh comms department when Jesus said this.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Aren't you worthy more than they?
SPEAKER_00: Like, you are worth more than the birds.
SPEAKER_00: And your father is feeding the birds.
SPEAKER_00: Can any of you add one moment to his lifespan by worrying?
SPEAKER_00: Do you notice all the questions here?
SPEAKER_00: When somebody's asking questions, what are they doing?
SPEAKER_00: What happens when a question is asked?
SPEAKER_00: There's a break, right?
SPEAKER_00: If a question is asked, you're there's a um, someone is leaving kind of a hole in the thought process, and you gotta fill it in.
SPEAKER_00: It's a great communication tool, asking questions.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is asking questions, and he's asking this question.
SPEAKER_00: How what does, in other words, what does worrying do?
SPEAKER_00: Is it gonna add to your life span?
SPEAKER_00: What's gonna change about your life by worrying?
SPEAKER_00: What do you accomplish?
SPEAKER_00: The master teacher here, laying it out.
SPEAKER_00: Look at this bird.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that a beautiful?
SPEAKER_00: That bird is eating its meal and it has not worried at all.
SPEAKER_00: It's not anxious, it didn't have anything to do with that tree there growing, it didn't have to produce the red fruit, and yet God is providing for that bird.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus says to you and I, you're worth more than that bird.
SPEAKER_00: Your life is of greater value.
SPEAKER_00: Of greater value.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Can I ask you a question?
SPEAKER_00: Why Jesus said that?
SPEAKER_00: Why is your life worth more than the bird?
SPEAKER_00: What's what is how how why is he allowed to say that?
unknown: Because we're created in the image of God.
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
SPEAKER_00: We're created in his image.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't make that bird in his image.
SPEAKER_00: He created it.
SPEAKER_00: It's beautiful because he made it, but it doesn't bear the image of God.
SPEAKER_00: And so it is not of equivalent worth.
SPEAKER_00: So let's reverse the logic.
SPEAKER_00: He does care for you because you bear his image.
SPEAKER_00: He's aware of the things you have need of because you bear his image.
SPEAKER_00: You're intended to be cared for by him.
SPEAKER_00: And yet you have this working example of this bird that he's caring for.
SPEAKER_00: And we get kind of wrapped up in what's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_00: Where's my food gonna come from?
SPEAKER_00: Where's my clothes gonna come from?
SPEAKER_00: Alright, and then the next illustration here is the flowers.
SPEAKER_00: Why do you worry about clothes?
SPEAKER_00: Observe how the wild flowers of the field grow.
SPEAKER_00: They don't labor or spin.
SPEAKER_00: Yet I tell you that not even Solomon, in all of his splendor, was Dorn, like you know who Solomon is?
SPEAKER_00: Who was who's he talking about with Solomon?
SPEAKER_00: King Solomon, right?
SPEAKER_00: King Solomon was the zenith of progress for Israel.
SPEAKER_00: It was called the golden era, right?
SPEAKER_00: David did all this work to set up his son Solomon for success.
SPEAKER_00: Solomon is the wisest king, the wisest man of his day, and he just flourishes.
SPEAKER_00: Incredible wealth.
SPEAKER_00: One of the seven wonders of the world is Solomon's hanging gardens, right?
SPEAKER_00: Incredible.
SPEAKER_00: And yet Jesus comments and says, these flowers don't even compare.
SPEAKER_00: Like Solomon doesn't even compare to these flowers, these lilies of the field.
SPEAKER_00: And then we have another question.
SPEAKER_00: If that's how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won't he do much more for you?
SPEAKER_00: Oh you of little faith?
SPEAKER_00: It's amazing.
SPEAKER_00: Won't he do much more for you?
SPEAKER_00: That's that right there is something worth writing and sticking on your in on your bathroom mirror.
SPEAKER_00: This is Jesus, your Messiah, the one who rescued.
SPEAKER_00: He died for you on the cross so that you could be reconciled to God.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what he's saying to you about stuff.
SPEAKER_00: Your relationship with stuff, the things you're worried about in your life.
SPEAKER_00: He says, won't he, the Father, do much more for you than the grass?
SPEAKER_00: Do you believe that?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, take that one to the bank.
SPEAKER_00: And he comments.
SPEAKER_00: He says, he says, what's lacking is faith.
SPEAKER_00: He's he's a little bit getting in there poking you.
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like your friend in junior high, like poking you in the side.
SPEAKER_00: You a little faith.
SPEAKER_00: Come on.
SPEAKER_00: You gotta believe this.
SPEAKER_00: You gotta believe that he's gonna do much more for you.
SPEAKER_00: He's gonna do much more for you.
SPEAKER_00: Let's look at another objection to this.
SPEAKER_00: Some might view the passage as advocating for a passive reliance on divine provision.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'm gonna sit here, arms crossed, until God provides for me.
SPEAKER_00: They're dismissing the need for human effort or initiative.
SPEAKER_00: It could give birth to a lazy lifestyle.
SPEAKER_00: That may be one of the fears that comes up.
SPEAKER_00: But instead, here's the response to that argument.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible balances trust in God with the value of work.
SPEAKER_00: If you don't believe me, go look at 2 Thessalonians 3.10.
SPEAKER_00: It talks about look, if you don't work, you don't eat.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus' point is about the attitude of the heart, prioritizing spiritual over material concerns, and not encouragement to inactivity.
SPEAKER_00: He's not saying, sit and twiddle your thumbs.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying stop worrying about it and get to work.
SPEAKER_00: One of the greatest gifts that God's given us is this ability to work in the world with Him.
SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes work is considered this evil thing or this negative thing.
SPEAKER_00: I've heard Christians say, oh yeah, work is that's a part of the curse.
SPEAKER_00: We gotta work.
SPEAKER_00: Work is horrible because Adam sinned, and no, work happened and was commanded before sin ever came into the world.
SPEAKER_00: Adam and Eve were told, hey, so like uh rule over the garden.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to subdue the garden.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to tend to the garden, take care of this garden that I'm putting you in.
SPEAKER_00: There was a good work that they were called to.
SPEAKER_00: We are designed to work.
SPEAKER_00: God has uh created us in his image, he works, we are called to work, we're also called to rest.
SPEAKER_00: And so we next go into this command being reiterated and the antithesis seated in Gentile living.
SPEAKER_00: So here we go.
SPEAKER_00: So don't worry, he says.
SPEAKER_00: Again, what does he say?
unknown: Don't worry.
SPEAKER_00: Don't worry, that's right.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, don't miss this.
SPEAKER_00: That's what the sermon's about, right?
SPEAKER_00: We could cover it in five seconds.
SPEAKER_00: Don't worry.
SPEAKER_00: That's the sermon.
SPEAKER_00: Saying, what will we eat, what will we drink, or what will we wear, right?
SPEAKER_00: Those are the questions.
SPEAKER_00: Who's asking those questions?
SPEAKER_00: The Gentiles are eagerly seeking all.
SPEAKER_00: Who's the Gentiles?
SPEAKER_00: Anyone who's not Jewish at the time, anybody disconnected from God's kingdom, he's saying, those who are genetically disconnected, they're not in his kingdom yet.
SPEAKER_00: Those outsiders who are far away from God, this is what they're worried about.
SPEAKER_00: They're asking these questions.
SPEAKER_00: What are we gonna drink?
SPEAKER_00: What are we gonna eat?
SPEAKER_00: What are we gonna wear?
SPEAKER_00: He says, your heavenly father knows that you need them.
SPEAKER_00: He knows that you need them.
SPEAKER_00: It is amazing just the amount of anxiety that exists because people act like Gentiles.
SPEAKER_00: What does it mean to be a Gentile?
SPEAKER_00: It just means you're a foreigner.
SPEAKER_00: What are you a foreigner from?
SPEAKER_00: You're far away from God's kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's the idea.
SPEAKER_00: It's not this DNA, like, you know, am I pro have this disposition towards anxiety because I don't have the DNA of the Jews?
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: He's talking about, hey, they're far away.
SPEAKER_00: They just don't know this stuff.
SPEAKER_00: We know it.
SPEAKER_00: We're accountable before God.
SPEAKER_00: And we do not need to sit there and think and worry and be torn up inside over our anxiety.
SPEAKER_00: Another objection.
SPEAKER_00: Here's another objection.
SPEAKER_00: The directive to not worry about basic needs may seem insensitive to those in poverty or crisis.
SPEAKER_00: We're a church that's blessed with people that are still trying to make it.
SPEAKER_00: They've got a rough past.
SPEAKER_00: I've I've always wanted to be a part of a church like this.
SPEAKER_00: Before I was here, I was a part of a church with a lot of wealthy people.
SPEAKER_00: It was very boring.
SPEAKER_00: Nobody thought they needed anything, and it sucked.
SPEAKER_00: And so I moved to Baltimore so that I could be in close proximity to people who are real, where life is real, and sometimes things break down and people get sick and people die and relationships break down and all that stuff, right?
SPEAKER_00: And so is Jesus being insensitive when he says, hey, stop worrying?
SPEAKER_00: Do you think was he not being caring?
SPEAKER_00: No, of course we know Jesus is loving.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus' teaching acknowledges the reality of these needs.
SPEAKER_00: He acknowledges the reality of these needs.
SPEAKER_00: The emphasis is on trusting God's care and not allowing worry to dominate our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Recognizing that our value to God is greater than the material concerns themselves.
SPEAKER_00: Your father, he just says in that last verse, he says, your father knows the things that you have need of.
SPEAKER_00: And then the alternative recommended.
SPEAKER_00: And then a promise is paired with it.
SPEAKER_00: But, but, and this is what this is the contrast that exists.
SPEAKER_00: You're either living on one side of that butt or the other.
SPEAKER_00: Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
SPEAKER_00: You've got to decide what's going to occupy your heart.
SPEAKER_00: You're going to be taken up with seeking after food and clothing and what's going to happen tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: Are you going to be worried about that?
SPEAKER_00: Or are you going to seek first God's kingdom?
SPEAKER_00: This is what you've got to decide.
SPEAKER_00: You've got to decide, are you going to let God's kingdom be the priority?
SPEAKER_00: I love this picture.
SPEAKER_00: This is from Black Friday.
SPEAKER_00: Let me just say, could you could we just like replace the boxes there with going for God's kingdom as a church?
SPEAKER_00: Where we're just like knocking down the doors.
SPEAKER_00: God, we're going for your kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: We're here, we're going for you.
SPEAKER_00: But sometimes the setting's not very loving, right?
SPEAKER_00: We want to do this together.
SPEAKER_00: No, we're not throwing any elbows as we go for the kingdom, right?
SPEAKER_00: But there's an intensity about Black Friday.
SPEAKER_00: There's this beating down the doors, right?
SPEAKER_00: There's like everybody's checking their clock.
SPEAKER_00: It's 6.01.
SPEAKER_00: Why didn't they open up yet, right?
SPEAKER_00: Let's go for it.
SPEAKER_00: Let's seek first the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: One commentator says this the whole theme of this section has been that God will take care of his people.
SPEAKER_00: So we should put our trust completely in him.
SPEAKER_00: Our Father is the supreme giver.
SPEAKER_00: Do you hear that?
SPEAKER_00: He is the supreme giver.
SPEAKER_00: And it is tragic when we, whom he loves, care more for ourselves than for him.
SPEAKER_00: He is better at caring for us than you are for caring for yourself.
SPEAKER_00: He knows what you have need of.
SPEAKER_00: He has your best interest in mind.
SPEAKER_00: Your lack is not his oversight.
SPEAKER_00: Your low bank account is not that he just kind of forgot about you on the backside of the wilderness.
SPEAKER_00: God loves you and he knows what you have need of, and he's calling and inviting you into a relationship with him.
SPEAKER_00: The commentator goes on.
SPEAKER_00: He says, so Jesus says, we must not just refrain from the things of the world, but actively replace concern for earthly matters with an overriding concern for the things of God.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody may say, there's a concern that focusing on seeking God's kingdom could lead to neglecting earthly responsibilities.
SPEAKER_00: If I'm seeking first God's kingdom, well, what about my kids?
SPEAKER_00: You know?
SPEAKER_00: What about my schoolwork?
SPEAKER_00: What about going to work?
SPEAKER_00: And they see it as a false dichotomy, right?
SPEAKER_00: Is that the term for it?
SPEAKER_00: False dichotomy.
SPEAKER_00: As if seeking God's kingdom is against doing the things he's made you responsible for.
SPEAKER_00: The idea is, no, be a citizen, occupy this land, live with a non-anxious presence as you engage the responsibilities that He's given you.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the response.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus advocated for a balanced life of loving God and loving others.
SPEAKER_00: Seeking God's kingdom involves practical expressions of faith, such as compassion and justice, which have tangible impacts on worldly matters.
SPEAKER_00: Let's keep going.
SPEAKER_00: This last verse, the command is reiterated and made applicable to the moment.
SPEAKER_00: To the moment.
SPEAKER_00: He gives some sense of timing.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the verse.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, don't worry about tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
SPEAKER_00: Tomorrow will worry about itself.
SPEAKER_00: Each day has enough trouble in its own.
SPEAKER_00: And so this is not against planning.
SPEAKER_00: It's not saying, hey, don't plan for the future.
SPEAKER_00: It's saying the condition of your heart as you look into the future, you've got to guard it.
SPEAKER_00: It's not a disposition of anxiety and fear.
SPEAKER_00: Oftentimes, anxiety is related to the future.
SPEAKER_00: I think that's the difference between fear and anxiety.
SPEAKER_00: Fear is very much in the present.
SPEAKER_00: Anxiety relates to worries over the future.
SPEAKER_00: As we reflect on the richness and the depth of Jesus' teaching out of Matthew, we're reminded that the Christian life is not one of passive resignation.
SPEAKER_00: You're not called to passivity, but of an active, ongoing trust.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus calls us to a radical reorientation of our priorities, urging us to place our trust not in the uncertainties of this world, but in the steadfast, unfailing faithfulness of our Heavenly Father.
SPEAKER_00: In this world where worry and anxiety often loom large, Jesus offers a different narrative.
SPEAKER_00: He points us to the birds of the air, the lilies of the field, not as examples of carefree living, but as reminders of God's providential care.
SPEAKER_00: This is not a call to abandon planning or responsibility, but an invitation to rest in the assurance that our lives are held in the hands of a loving Father.
SPEAKER_00: As we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, we are promised that our needs will be met.
SPEAKER_00: This is not a prosperity gospel that equates faith with material blessing, but it is a promise that our deepest needs, love, security, purpose, and belonging, will be met in God.
SPEAKER_00: We are called to live in the present, engage with the world around us with compassion and justice, reflecting the very nature of the character of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: In closing, let's remember that our worries about tomorrow cannot add a single hour to our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, let's embrace each day with faith and trust, knowing that our future is secured in the hands of God, who cares for us more deeply than we can imagine.
SPEAKER_00: In so doing, we find true freedom from the anxiety and worry and the freedom to live fully in the present, serving God, loving others.
SPEAKER_00: Let's step into this week with this assurance in our hearts, living out the radical trust, filled, trust-filled life that Jesus calls us to.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to take out your card, your index card.
SPEAKER_00: On one side of that card, you've written out the things that cause anxiety in your life.
SPEAKER_00: At different times.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe your anxiety level isn't super high right now, but these are the things that you wrote down as sources of anxiety.
SPEAKER_00: What I want you to write on the back side is that God's got it.
SPEAKER_00: God's got it.
SPEAKER_00: He's got it.
SPEAKER_00: God knows.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to write who God is on the back.
SPEAKER_00: What verses?
SPEAKER_00: And then once you're done doing that, share a pen with somebody else.
SPEAKER_00: Here's an extra pen.
SPEAKER_00: Right here.
SPEAKER_00: God's got it.
SPEAKER_00: What else did our text include?
SPEAKER_00: What did it say about God?
SPEAKER_00: He knows, right?
SPEAKER_00: What else does he say?
SPEAKER_00: He will provide.
SPEAKER_00: These things will be provided for you.
SPEAKER_00: What else does he say?
SPEAKER_00: He says, don't worry.
SPEAKER_00: He straight up says it, right?
SPEAKER_00: He's got it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going all the way back here.
SPEAKER_00: The other thing you can write on that card, it may take some time, but I would just say, I would pray and say, God, what can I observe in creation, in nature, that just shows me you got it?
SPEAKER_00: You know, Jesus gives this example of the birds have food.
SPEAKER_00: He made these flowers, you know.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe that's good enough of a response.
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, you look at the ocean, all that water.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're you maybe you've got a concern about like um lack.
SPEAKER_00: And all you need to do is you just need to think about how big the ocean is or how big the universe is.
SPEAKER_00: You know?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we've got the breath that's in us, right?
SPEAKER_00: You think about all the functions right now going on at a cellular level in your body.
SPEAKER_00: Breathing, circulation, digestion, all, and I'm not a medical, I know we got medical people in here, and I would slaughter it.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what?
SPEAKER_00: What else?
SPEAKER_00: What he's provided.
SPEAKER_00: That's another thing you could put on there.
SPEAKER_00: It's like your history.
SPEAKER_00: How have you seen God work already up to this point?
SPEAKER_00: What's he done for you?
SPEAKER_00: How has he proved himself to you?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know?
SPEAKER_00: Do you know what a um a sacrament is?
SPEAKER_00: A sacrament.
SPEAKER_00: The idea of a sacrament is the overlap between heaven and earth.
SPEAKER_00: Where you're on earth, but you experience a piece of heaven.
SPEAKER_00: In the Protestant church, we really have two official sacraments.
SPEAKER_00: One is baptism, the other is communion.
SPEAKER_00: If you're Catholic, you've got like the seven sacraments, right?
SPEAKER_00: And they've included it.
SPEAKER_00: Which, you know, I don't know about those seven sacraments specifically, but I think there's a lot of areas where heaven crosses over with earth, where we experience God's presence on earth.
SPEAKER_00: But we have one clear sacrament, which is taking communion together.
SPEAKER_00: It's us on earth, but we are joining God in a heavenly reality when we take this meal together.
SPEAKER_00: So let's pray, and then I'm going to invite you to come forward, take the elements back to your seat, and we'll take communion together.
SPEAKER_00: Father, we thank you for loving us, caring for us, and knowing on our card the things that cause anxiety.
SPEAKER_00: You know the things that we have need of, and you're bigger and better than what is on that side of the card.
SPEAKER_00: God, we entrust to you our worry, our anxiety, our concerns.
SPEAKER_00: We don't want to have a little bit of faith.
SPEAKER_00: We don't want to be those, oh you of little faith.
SPEAKER_00: We want to be those of like, yeah, we've got a lot of faith.
SPEAKER_00: We're okay because we have so much faith.
SPEAKER_00: Anxiety isn't racking our life because of how much we trust in you.
SPEAKER_00: We love you, God.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for loving us.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for putting up with us in our anxiety.
SPEAKER_00: Deliver us.
SPEAKER_00: Let us be a church that's delivered from anxiety.
SPEAKER_00: We pray this in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.