REVIEW
FLIP CHART: SOM’S KEY VERSE, GOAL, MOTTO
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness ….” (Mt. 6:33a).
The law sends us to Christ for justification; Christ sends us back to the law for sanctification.
FLIP CHART: Show new “Perfect Righteousness” chart explaining steps to coming to Christ (As a worm, mourning, meek, spiritual hunger/thirst with the result of legal righteousness). Explain: moral righteousness, immediate moral change at conversion, gradual change through life’s challenges and speeding up moral change via CCRC (Concentration, Choice, Reflection and Confession/Thanksgiving). Key verse, “By one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb. 10:14).
FLIP CHART: John Stott’s outline of SOM.
25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28″And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was not dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
INTRODUCTION
Theme of 6:18-34 is “A Christian’s Ambition.” Here Jesus warns us to renounce materialism, the value system of the pagan.
Vss. 32-33: The pagans focus on material wealth, we are to focus on God’s Kingdom and righteousness.
FLIP-CHART – Vs. 33: But seek (zeteo) ye first the kingdom of God …. The same root word. So we could translate Mt. 6:33 as follows: We should have our thoughts dominated by and diligently, eagerly seek the extension of God’s Kingdom and His righteousness
REVIEW:
The big question for us: Do I have an unhealthy pre-occupation with things? Am I focused on laying up treasures on earth? Do I own a generous or a stingy eye? Am I seeking to split my allegiance between God and materialism? I have a worldview. Is it materialistic? Partially materialistic? Although there is a good type of worry/concern about the physical and spiritual well-being of others, anxious worry and running after material needs for self is the mark of a Materialist. It puts me in sync with pagans.
If my thought life focuses on worrying about material needs, I am a Materialist at heart. Don’t I realize that the body is more valuable than clothing? If God made the body, won’t he clothe it? Don’t I realize that I am more valuable than the birds of the air? If my Father feeds them won’t he also feed me? If he clothes the flowers of the field, won’t he clothe me? Worrying accomplishes nothing. It is much better to commit our needs for food, drink and clothing to our ultimate Omni-Multi-Tasker.
OUTLINE FOR TODAY:
REASONS WHY WE SHOULD NOT / MUST NOT WORRY ABOUT FDC
1. The Body/Life is Worth More than FDC
2. The World’s Birds are Fed by God
3. Worry Solves No Problems, Accomplishes Nothing
4. The Flowers that God Creates & Clothes Last a Day, We are Eternal
5. Our Father is the Ultimate / Perfect Omni-Multi-Tasker
6. Faith in a Loving Heavenly Father Overcomes Worry
7. Our Heavenly Father Knows What We Need
8. Anxiety is Worldly & Makes Us Like the Pagans
9. When We Prioritize His Kingdom He Supplies our Basic Needs
10. Don’t Bring Tomorrow’s Worries into Today
WHY WE CAN TRUST HIM WHILE PAGANS WORRY
I. THE BODY/LIFE IS WORTH MORE THAN FDC
Would God give us such a wonderful body, give us life and then be unable or unwilling to provide us with food, drink, and clothing in order to nourish and protect this body, sustain our life?
II. THE WORLD’S BIRDS ARE FED BY GOD
If He watches over the 100 billion birds in the world and tracks the 700 trillion strands of hair on top of the heads of the world’s 7 billion people, He also watches over us, His redeemed children, bought with the precious blood of the Divine Son.
III. WORRY SOLVES NO PROBLEMS, ACCOMPLISHES NOTHING
Worry is pointless, as pointless in worrying about extending our height or years on this earth. God is sovereign and those things are in our genes and in His hands. Worry doesn’t “add” to your life but it does “subtract.” Someone said that worrying is like shoveling smoke. It will keep you busy and wear you out but will not accomplish anything.
IV. THE FLOWERS THAT GOD CREATES AND CLOTHES LAST FOR A DAY, WE WILL LIVE FOREVER.
The argument is that if God will go to all that trouble to beautify a flower that has such a short life span, won’t he clothe me, His redeemed child, who will live with him eternally in heaven?
FLIP CHART: God uses nature to convince us of His care for us.
“Earth is crammed with heaven,
And every bush aflame with God.
He that has eyes to see takes of his shoes.
The rest of us sit around and pluck blackberries.”
(Elizabeth Barrett Browning)
V. OUR FATHER – THE ULTIMATE OMNI-MULTI-TASKER
We saw that he keeps his eye on each of the 100 billion birds in the world, numbers every strand of hair on every head in our world, clothes every flower, every blade of grass, manages every cell in every human body. He gives adequate and full attention to all of these things.
“An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as full as if there were no others.” (A.W. Tozer)
VI. FAITH IN A LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER OVERCOMES WORRY
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (30)
“Fear not …!” is one of the foundational principles of the Christian life.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in 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.” (Phil. 4:6-7)
“Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7) “You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern.” (I Peter 5:7 / Philips Translation)
Our Lord often chided his disciples for having very little faith.
He described them as those of ‘little faith’ when they feared drowning in a storm (Mt. 8:23-26; Peter, as a result of not walking on the water as Jesus had done was referred to as “You of little faith.” (Mt. 14:31; The disciples forgot to bring bread on a trip and were worried about the lack of food and again they were called “You of little faith.” (Mt. 16:8); When they were not able to cast a demon out of a boy while the Lord Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration they were rebuked as an “unbelieving and perverse generation.” (Mt. 17:17). Thomas when questioning the physical resurrection of Christ was challenged to “Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27); The author to the Hebrews wrote, “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” (Hebrews 3:12)
QUESTION: Was it ‘fair’ for our Lord to rebuke the disciples for lack of faith in the situations listed? If so, why? Isn’t it very natural to experience fear and doubt in the situations listed?
QUESTION: Even when turmoil and problems are happening, why can a small child sleep at night?
ILL: Of course, once a child is old enough to grasp a situation he/she can become a worrier. E.g. Heather Williams pulling her hair out as a six year old due to hearing about the tensions in Kediri in 1965.
Isaiah wrote, “Thou doest keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee.” (Isa. 26:3)
The ability to believe and trust in God is determined by how we see God, how we visualize Him. “The antidote for worry is faith, but not just cold, unreasonable faith but faith in a loving, caring, dear, heavenly Father who is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, omni-benevolent, ultimate/omni-multi-tasker. How we see God determines our ability to trust Him.
“Worry is not a trivial sin, because it strikes a blow both at God’s love and at God’s integrity. Worry declares our heavenly Father to be untrustworthy in His Word and His promises . . . Worry shows that we are mastered by our circumstances and by our own finite perspectives and understanding rather than by God’s Word. Worry is therefore not only debilitating and destructive but maligns and impugns (attack as false or lacking integrity) God.” (MacArthur, 425).
“Worry blocks out any thoughts of what God is able to do for us. We are worried about how we are going to handle a situation.” (From the web)
“. . . those of us who once put ourselves in God’s hands, trusting in him for redemption, so often fail to trust him with our daily lives.” (William Klock)
ACTIVITY / SING:
God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way.
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me.
He will be my guide,
Hold me closely to His side ,
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way.
By a roadway in the wilderness
He’ll lead me,
And rivers in the desert will I see.
Heaven and earth will fade
But His word will still remain.
He will do something new today.
Two keys for dealing with worry:
(1) Remember we have a loving heavenly Father who cares for us and is able to help us. To remember who our Father is, is to use the following acronym / formula – PBBF=F
PROVIDER FOR BODY, BIRDS, FLOWERS = FATHER
(2) Cast the care, the situation on the Lord in prayer with thanksgiving.
VII. OUR HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWS WHAT WE NEED
O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
In Matthew 5:45 we see that God sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous.
In Matthew 6:26, through their industry, God provides food for the 100 billion birds in the world.
In Matthew 6:8 our Savior said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Matthew 6:4 and 6:18 says that our Father sees what is done in secret.
So we see that our Lord is very much aware of our material needs. Thus He says plainly in verse 32, “. . . all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”
In fact in the Disciple’s Prayer, the fourth petition is for our daily bread.
ILL: In the Old Testament God is called Jehovah-Jireh. When Abraham was taking his son to Mt. Moriah Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here but where is the lamb for the burnt offering” (Genesis 22:7). Abraham replied by saying, “God himself will provide a lamb ….” Of course God did provide a ram caught in a thicket. Abraham called the place where he sacrificed the lamb, “The LORD will provide” or “Jehovah Jireh.”
ACTIVITY – SING:
Jehovah Jireh
My provider
His grace is sufficient
For me, for me, for me
Jehovah Jireh
My provider
His grace is sufficient for me
My God shall supply all my needs
According to his riches in glory
He will give His angels
Charge over me
Jehovah Jireh cares
For me, for me, for me
Jehovah Jireh cares for me.
David wrote in Psalms, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” (Psalms 37:25). This doesn’t say that the children of the righteous don’t beg bread; but it does say that David never witnessed that kind of situation happening.
Our Lord calls the listeners on their lack of faith if they worry about food, clothing, drink, life span. He wants us to look to Him as Our Provider.
“Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed.
For his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Thy faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
Therefore I will wait for Him.
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
To the one who seeks him;
It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
(Lam. 3:23-26)
VI. ANXIETY IS WORLDLY, LIKE THE PAGANS
O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
The Lord is drawing a distinction between two groups of people in this section, the children of God (Your Father) and pagans.
“. . . all these things . . . “ (vs. 32), that is food, drink, clothing and life span dominate the life of pagans.
“These things dominate the lives of unbelievers” (NLT); “People who don’t know God and the way He works fuss over these things.” (The Message); “Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things.” (Contemporary English Version);
“For the heathen wish for and crave and diligently seek these things.” (Amplified). (6:32)
The pagans store up for themselves treasures on earth, overall they are stingy with what they have, because their first impulse is preservation, instead of being generous, they are Materialists serving Mammon.
If we spend our time in anxiety and worry concerning our material needs we become at heart Materialists and in that sense we are more like pagans then like children of God.
“Worry, Jesus says, is characteristic of a pagan, and not of one who knows what God is like. Worry is essentially distrust of God. Such distrust may be understandable in a pagan who believes in a jealous, capricious, unpredictable god; but it is beyond comprehension in one who has learned to call God by the name of Father. The Christian cannot worry because he believes in the love of God.” (Barclay, 258)
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)
We must work towards a transformed, renewed mind that see God for who He is and then commits fully all needs to Him with confidence that He who cares for bodies, birds and flowers will also take care of us.
SO WHAT???
1. How we see God impacts our ability to trust Him explicitly. If we really believe He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, omni-benevolent and the ultimate omni-multitasker we will find it easier to cast our cares on Him instead of worrying about them.
2. Our Father is always totally aware of our material needs.
3. When we worry about our material needs we are more like the pagans then like the children of a loving Father.