1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Amen. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Amen. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:25,000 Testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, 1, 2, 4 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:42,000 3, testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, testing, 1, 2, 3, that should be good. 5 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:49,000 Hey, I can fix it later. Yeah. 6 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,000 I had somebody pro playing last night. 7 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:17,000 I had somebody pro playing last night. 8 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:22,000 I had somebody pro playing last night. 9 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:32,000 I'm not going to go there. 10 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:37,000 I'm not going to go there. 11 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,000 I'm not going to go there. 12 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:08,000 I'm not going to go there this morning. 13 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,000 I don't know what that means. 14 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:17,000 I was thinking about it, and for whatever reason, going in this direction seems a little more difficult for our family. 15 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,000 This was evidenced by when I started making coffee here at the church this morning. 16 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:27,000 About halfway through, I realized I did not have a coffee pot under the spout. 17 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:32,000 If the coffee tastes strange, it's because it's floor coffee. 18 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:37,000 So we're making it, and we are glad to be here this morning. 19 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:46,000 We've got a couple of folks out sick, and so we are doing things just a little bit differently technology-wise, 20 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,000 but we are so glad to be here this morning. 21 00:05:49,000 --> 00:06:01,000 So I was reading through the 19th Psalm, and it's one of the psalms that, especially as we've gone from the kind of the cold and the dark of the last several months, 22 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:08,000 and the sun is out, and now it's getting to the place where, probably by Tuesday, some of us are going to be complaining that it is too warm. 23 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:17,000 The 19th Psalm begins by saying, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork." 24 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:30,000 And David, as he sings this song, he reminds us that God speaks through the sky, and through His creation, and it directs us to Him. 25 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:37,000 And then David says something else halfway through. He says, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. 26 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:42,000 The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." 27 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:50,000 And I think it's a beautiful and a wonderful combination to both be able to look out and to see God's handiwork 28 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:59,000 and His grace poured out upon His world, but also to look into His Word and to find refreshment and to be revived 29 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:06,000 in the depths of our souls. In a few moments we'll be in Matthew chapter 6, and it's a very familiar passage. 30 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:16,000 Jesus speaks about anxiety. In fact, He says, "Don't be anxious," three times. He uses the word anxiety another two times in this text. 31 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:24,000 And it's interesting because as we come to this this morning, one of the things Jesus does to help us in those struggles 32 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:31,000 and worries, but also to combat our pride and self-sufficiency is to direct us to the natural world 33 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:39,000 around us, to birds and to flowers, while at the same time we dive deep into the word of God, almost in a mirror 34 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:45,000 of the 19th Psalm. So it is my prayer as we gather this morning that we would be strengthened, that we would be 35 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:53,000 encouraged, that God would both confront us in our sin and brokenness, but He would also comfort us 36 00:07:53,000 --> 00:08:00,000 by His grace and in repentance. So we're going to go ahead and pray, and then we'll read the 62nd Psalm, 37 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:08,000 parts of the 62nd Psalm together. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you that you are sovereign over all 38 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:17,000 things, that you have made the sun and the moon and our world and the trees and the birds and the spring 39 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:24,000 frogs we hear at night. We just thank you for the beauty that you have bestowed upon us, and we thank you for 40 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:30,000 the beauty and wonder of your word. So we ask this morning as we open your word, both as we read it 41 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:39,000 together, as we sing and it directs our hearts toward those truths that are found in your book, as we gather 42 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:48,000 around your table, and as we study the words of Jesus, may you nourish us, may you correct us, may you confront 43 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:57,000 us where we need it, and may you strengthen our hearts and direct them to you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 44 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:05,000 We're going to stand and we're going to read from the 62nd Psalm. Let's read together. 45 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:34,000 "For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I shall not be shaken. On God and my glory, my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. 46 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:47,000 Trust Him at all times. O people, pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us." This is the word of the Lord. 47 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:57,000 And so we're going to sing two songs. One is that our God saves, and then another one, our little guy requested, raise a hallelujah. Just an interesting 48 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:03,000 thing about raise a hallelujah, about singing in the midst of things. The song was originally written with 2 Chronicles 49 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:10,000 20 in mind. As God's people get ready to go out to battle, and the king, Jehoshaphat, he sends out the 50 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:17,000 singers in front of the army, which at least, I was never in the military, but tactically seems like an 51 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:23,000 unsound decision. Like, let's send the guys with the flutes and the bagpipes out first. I guess maybe 52 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:30,000 depending on how much you like their music, but they do so praising God before their soldiers even arrive 53 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,000 on the field. So we're going to start by singing "Our God Saves." 54 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:29,980 In the name of the Father. In the name of the Son. In the name of the Spirit. Lord, we come. We are gathered together to lift up your name. To call on our Savior. To fall on your grace. Hear the joyful sound of our offering. As your saints bow down. As your people sing. 55 00:11:29,980 --> 00:11:59,960 We will rise with you. Lifted on your wings. And the world will see that. Our God saves. Our God saves. There is hope. In your name. 56 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:29,940 Our God saves. Our God saves. In the name of the Father. In the name of the Son. In the name of the Spirit. Lord, we come. We are gathered together. 57 00:12:29,940 --> 00:12:59,920 To lift up your name. To call on our Savior. To fall on your grace. Hear the joyful sound of our offering. As your saints bow down. As your people sing. We will rise with you. Lifted on your wings. And the world will see that our God saves. 58 00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:29,900 Our God saves. Our God saves. There is hope. In your name. Morning turns to psalms of praise. Our God saves. 59 00:13:29,900 --> 00:13:59,880 Our God saves. 60 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:29,860 I raise a hallelujah louder than the unbelief. I raise a hallelujah. My weapon is a melody. I raise a hallelujah. 61 00:14:29,860 --> 00:14:59,840 Heaven comes to fight for me. I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm. Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar. Up from the ashes, hope will arise. Death is defeated. The king is above. 62 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:29,820 the light. I raise it hallelujah. With everything inside of me. I raise it hallelujah. I will watch the darkness flee. I raise it hallelujah. 63 00:15:29,820 --> 00:15:59,800 In the middle of the mystery. I raise it hallelujah. Fear you lost your hold on me. I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm. Louder and louder. 64 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:17,780 You're gonna hear my praises roar. Up from the ashes, hope will arise. Death is defeated. The king is alive. 65 00:16:17,780 --> 00:16:29,780 Sing a little louder. In the presence of my enemies. Sing a little louder. Louder than the unbelief. 66 00:16:29,780 --> 00:16:59,760 Sing a little louder. My weapon is a melody. Sing a little louder. Heaven comes to fight for me. I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm. Louder and louder. You're gonna hear my praises roar. Up from the ashes, hope will arise. 67 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:29,740 Death is defeated. The King is alive. I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm. Louder and louder. You're gonna hear my praises roar. Up from the ashes, hope will arise. Death is defeated. The King is alive. 68 00:17:29,740 --> 00:17:59,720 We'll come to the table together. But before we do that, in Matthew, the sixth chapter, Jesus says this as he talks in the section directly before where we will be this morning. He says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 69 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:19,720 And I would just like us to take a moment and go to God as we consider our treasure and our heart, our desires and our fears, our joys and our sorrows, because oftentimes the depths of those things point us toward what we are truly trusting in. 70 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:39,720 Father in heaven, we come to you to examine our hearts, to look at our desires and our fears, our plans and our struggles, our disappointments and our heartaches. 71 00:18:39,720 --> 00:19:00,720 Help us to see them in light of you and your grace and ultimately your glory. Help us to treasure you above all things, that you would direct our hearts, that you would give light to our eyes, and that we would serve you with our whole hearts. 72 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:19,720 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If you would, read with me from Romans chapter 5 and verse 8. "But God shows his love for us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 73 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:50,720 One day when heaven was filled with his praises. One day when sin was as black as could be. Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin. Dwelled among men. My example is he. 74 00:19:51,720 --> 00:20:18,720 The word became flesh and the light shined among us. His glory revealed. Living he loved me. Dying he saved me. Buried he cared me. My sins far away. Rising he justified. Freely forever. 75 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:45,720 One day he's coming. Oh, glorious day. Oh, glorious day. One day they led him up Calvary's mountain. One day they nailed him to die on a tree. 76 00:20:45,720 --> 00:21:12,720 Suffering anguish, despised and rejected. Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is he. Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree. Took the nails for me. Living he loved me. Dying he saved me. 77 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:39,720 Buried he carried. My sins far away. Rising he justified. Freely forever. One day he's coming. Oh, glorious day. Oh, glorious day. 78 00:21:39,720 --> 00:22:06,720 One day the grave could conceal him no longer. One day the stone rolled away from the door. Then he arose over death he had conquered. Now is ascended, my Lord evermore. 79 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:33,720 The grave could not keep him from rising again. Living he loved me. Dying he saved me. Buried he carried. My sins far away. Rising he justified. Freely forever. One day he's coming. 80 00:22:33,720 --> 00:23:00,720 He's coming. Oh, glorious day. Oh, glorious day. Glorious day. One day the trumpet will sound, for he's coming. One day the skies with his glories will shine. 81 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:27,720 Wonderful day my beloved one bringing. My Savior Jesus is mine. Living he loved me. Dying he saved me. Buried he carried my sins far away. Rising he justified. 82 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:32,660 Rising he justified, freely forever. 83 00:23:32,660 --> 00:23:42,100 One day he's coming, oh glorious day, oh glorious day. 84 00:23:42,100 --> 00:23:53,660 Oh glorious day, oh glorious day. 85 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:27,700 Just a few minutes, we'll be in Matthew, the sixth chapter, and as we get there, we'll see Jesus over and over again, is going to use and speak about anxiety and being anxious, and the heart of that word that he uses, and we'll talk about this more in a moment, means to be, 86 00:24:27,700 --> 00:24:57,680 divided, to be being pulled in opposite directions. And so with that little bit of context, I want to read from 1 Peter chapter 5. As Peter calls us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, he will say this, "Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." 87 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:27,660 Peter says is a little bit different from what Jesus says, because Jesus will talk about the root and the cause of our anxiety. And Peter says, using a similar word with the same root, he says, "Take all those things that are dividing your heart and that are pulling your heart, those worries, whether they're fears, the brokenness of sin, our pride, our self-sufficiency, 88 00:25:27,660 --> 00:25:57,640 and bring them and give them to Jesus." Paul will say that when we come to this table, this is a time to examine ourselves, to look at our hearts, to be reminded of the one who died for our sins in accordance with Scripture, was buried, and on the third day, in accordance with Scripture, was raised again. 89 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:27,620 We read this at the beginning of this letter, "Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways of life inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." And so, as we come to the table, we are reminded, first of all, of our salvation. In the body and blood of Christ, where Jesus picks up the burden of our 90 00:26:27,620 --> 00:26:57,600 sins that was not his and pays the price. And in his victory over sin and over death, he gives that victory to us. And then as Christians, we are continually called to come to him, casting, as some translations will say, our cares upon him because he cares for us. You see, this meal directs us to the good news of the gospel, to the mercy 91 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:27,580 and grace of our good Father, to the sacrifice of his son Jesus, to the promise of the Spirit who strengthens us and teaches us and helps us to walk with him. Let's pray. Father in heaven, I thank you for grace. Without it, none of us would be able to stand anywhere near your presence. 92 00:27:27,580 --> 00:27:57,560 Understanding that grace comes at great cost. Your son gave himself for us. He was taken outside so that we could be brought in. That he took the cup of your wrath so that we could take the cup of salvation and blessing. This cup of the new covenant. 93 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:18,560 May you help us to see your grace and mercy. And in our hearts that are so often struggling and divided and preoccupied, that you would give us a single clear-minded focus on you. We ask that you bless this bread and this cup. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 94 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:27,540 If you would, let's take the bread together, remembering Jesus' body given for us. 95 00:28:27,540 --> 00:28:34,540 If you would, let's take the cup together, the new covenant in Jesus' blood. 96 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:27,500 The steps of rest, as His body healed on earth. As we share, in His suffering, we proclaim, Christ will pile my death in His jaw, in the face of heaven. 97 00:29:27,500 --> 00:29:57,480 Around the table of the King. 98 00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:27,460 Amen. 99 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:29,480 Amen. 100 00:30:57,480 --> 00:30:59,480 Amen. 101 00:40:57,480 --> 00:41:27,460 All right, we are moving into Matthew chapter six. I had probably ill-advised 102 00:41:27,460 --> 00:41:57,440 ly tried to cover all this last week. The thought in my mind last week is that these two sections, the section that precedes this where Jesus speaks about both our treasure in our hearts, our eyes and how we're seeing, who it is we're serving, where is our allegiance, that he identifies the problem, and then we're dealing with 103 00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:27,420 these two weeks to rectify that, I think, in two ways. One, by confronting us in those areas where we are wrong, but also by comforting us in those areas where we are struggling. So we're going to pick up in just a few minutes down in verse 25. Before we do that, though, let's go ahead and pray together. Father, we thank you for your word. Maybe a light to our feet and a lamp to our path. 104 00:42:27,420 --> 00:42:53,420 May your spirit be at work. May our hearts be opened to understand Scripture. May we be changed and transformed. Will you help us as we confront our pride and our self-sufficiency and our fear? Would you lead us into comfort and rest as we depend upon you? In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 105 00:42:53,420 --> 00:43:14,420 So one of the things that I sort of have a love-hate relationship is the fact that our kids have decided that they can cook and they can bake. You know, sometimes it goes really, really well, and then sometimes, you know, it goes less well. And so our girls came up and they made something, I think they've been affectionately labeled disaster muffins. 106 00:43:14,420 --> 00:43:30,420 And on their part, it was disaster muffins because as they were cooking, they put the wrong ingredients in and somehow, by God's grace, they turned out to be delicious and great and they shared them with the neighborhood and now it's like a favorite thing, disaster muffins. 107 00:43:30,420 --> 00:43:42,420 On my part, and I think likely Rachel's part as well, disaster muffins really gives you the story of what the kitchen looks like after they're done cooking, right? 108 00:43:42,420 --> 00:43:52,420 And so we stand there at the door and look, and I think my suggestion was, let's just toss a grenade in, turn around and walk away into the sunset as the explosion goes off behind us. 109 00:43:52,420 --> 00:44:10,420 It's better just to burn it down and rebuild. And I think that's kind of a human tendency. We may joke about it when the kitchen gets real messy, but I think it's kind of a human tendency for us when things are difficult or they seem overwhelming or they seem too big 110 00:44:10,420 --> 00:44:19,420 or too messy or too much of a problem. It's just like, let's just throw a grenade in, blow it up, and we'll start fresh somewhere else. 111 00:44:19,420 --> 00:44:29,420 And sometimes it's like, well, we can leave it behind and we'll start in a new location, start with a new job, maybe a new spouse, a new family, all kinds of new things. 112 00:44:29,420 --> 00:44:38,420 When things get difficult, one of our great tendencies is to just walk away. In Matthew chapter 6, 113 00:44:38,420 --> 00:44:46,420 Jesus has just finished evaluating the depths of our heart. And Jesus isn't just asking us questions about what we treasure, 114 00:44:46,420 --> 00:44:51,420 and how we look at things, and who it is we're following. He's not just seeking our answers to the question. 115 00:44:51,420 --> 00:44:59,420 The remarkable thing is that Jesus already knows the answer, and He knows our deepest secrets, 116 00:44:59,420 --> 00:45:06,420 the things that we have hidden and pushed down deep inside. He knows the brokenness of our sin, and He knows it 117 00:45:06,420 --> 00:45:13,420 more clearly than often many of us will even begin to admit that we know our brokenness. And what is remarkable 118 00:45:13,420 --> 00:45:21,420 is that Jesus looks at us, and He sees all of the brokenness, and all the disaster, and all of the mess, and He would be 119 00:45:21,420 --> 00:45:34,420 justified, and He would be right, and His glory would be magnified to just simply say, "Done with them." But He doesn't do that. 120 00:45:34,420 --> 00:45:40,420 And what I love about this section of Matthew chapter 6, this section of the Sermon on the Mount, 121 00:45:40,420 --> 00:45:47,420 Jesus has just said there's a bunch of you who are treasuring the wrong things. You're looking at stuff the wrong way. 122 00:45:47,420 --> 00:45:57,420 You're serving two masters, and He doesn't say, "I'm done with you." He begins to dive in to their hearts. 123 00:45:57,420 --> 00:46:02,420 Jesus is going to do two things this morning. He's going to confront, and He's going to comfort. And He's going 124 00:46:02,420 --> 00:46:08,420 to do that by directing us to the Heavenly Father. And He's going to show us, first of all, what the Heavenly Father 125 00:46:08,420 --> 00:46:14,420 has done through two pictures, birds and flowers, and then He's going to talk about the character 126 00:46:14,420 --> 00:46:23,420 of the Father Himself. And Jesus begins with this very simple word, "Therefore." And textually, this is a very 127 00:46:23,420 --> 00:46:30,420 important word because what it is, is Jesus is saying, "Here is the logical application of what I have just said 128 00:46:30,420 --> 00:46:36,420 about your treasure and about your eyes and about your allegiance. Here's the logical implication, and it's 129 00:46:36,420 --> 00:46:44,420 not judgment, and it's not dismissal, and it's not Jesus leaving to find somebody else. Instead, He confronts 130 00:46:44,420 --> 00:46:56,420 and He comforts us. And in using these three pictures that Jesus has just given us, He deals with our tendency 131 00:46:56,420 --> 00:47:02,420 toward pride. I've got it all figured out on my own. Our self-sufficiency, I can figure it out on my own. 132 00:47:02,420 --> 00:47:08,420 And our fear and brokenness that I'll never figure it out. And I'm lost. 133 00:47:08,420 --> 00:47:14,420 So there's three big things I want you to see as we dive into our text this morning. First of all is that 134 00:47:14,420 --> 00:47:22,420 Jesus truly sees us. Jesus knows the heart of our problem. He's not simply treating our symptoms, He is curing 135 00:47:22,420 --> 00:47:28,420 our disease, right? Behind your mask, behind your disguise, behind your excuses and your achievements, 136 00:47:28,420 --> 00:47:34,420 Jesus sees who you truly are. And seeing that truth, He still loves you. 137 00:47:34,420 --> 00:47:40,420 He's just seeing the depths of a brokenness. He doesn't just see it, but He also loves us. 138 00:47:40,420 --> 00:47:46,420 And He loves us enough, and this is wild. He loves us enough to be honest with us, right? 139 00:47:46,420 --> 00:47:50,420 He tells us the truth even when we don't want to hear it because it's what we need. It's what's good for us. 140 00:47:50,420 --> 00:47:57,420 And third, Jesus is patient with us. And we'll see this as Jesus repeats Himself three times. 141 00:47:57,420 --> 00:48:03,420 He could have summed up this entire section in a sentence. He could have just simply said, "Don't be anxious. Trust God." 142 00:48:03,420 --> 00:48:15,420 But He doesn't do that. He brings in the birds and the flowers, and He illustrates and He argues for our hearts. 143 00:48:15,420 --> 00:48:24,420 And here's the message that Jesus begins with. Just simply this, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious." 144 00:48:24,420 --> 00:48:33,420 He's going to use this word five times, and three of them are this command, "Do not be anxious." 145 00:48:33,420 --> 00:48:38,420 Let's read the first command, and then we'll talk about this use of this word through the text. 146 00:48:38,420 --> 00:48:44,420 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, 147 00:48:44,420 --> 00:48:51,420 what you will put on is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing." 148 00:48:51,420 --> 00:49:00,420 This word Jesus uses for anxious is a remarkable word. At its root, it carries the picture of division. 149 00:49:00,420 --> 00:49:06,420 What we're meaning is a heart that is pulled in different directions, a heart that is divided into pieces, 150 00:49:06,420 --> 00:49:13,420 and it's almost like a tug of war inside of our heart. This piece wants to go this way, this piece wants to go this way, 151 00:49:13,420 --> 00:49:21,420 and we're not sure which direction to go, and our heart begins to produce fear and worry and anxiety 152 00:49:21,420 --> 00:49:30,420 because it's being pulled in every different direction. And maybe it's easier to understand this as an illustration, 153 00:49:30,420 --> 00:49:35,420 because sometimes we struggle with divided focus. So this past week, Thursday, we were driving. 154 00:49:35,420 --> 00:49:42,420 We drove up to Pennsylvania. Our kids like horses. We went up to the Horse World Expo, which is kind of half trade show, 155 00:49:42,420 --> 00:49:49,420 demonstration, half horse training clinics, or I guess that would be third. Some preacher did not have math in Bible college. 156 00:49:49,420 --> 00:49:54,420 And so we went up to this, and most of the drive, it's fine until you get to that last little section 157 00:49:54,420 --> 00:49:58,420 where everybody's trying to get to the same place, and there's traffic lights that are turning, 158 00:49:58,420 --> 00:50:04,420 people who are ignoring them, people trying to merge. Everybody's trying to get to the same place as fast as possible. 159 00:50:04,420 --> 00:50:11,420 And the kids are excited, and they're loud. And finally, I'm like, "Guys, you've got to be quiet, because Dad can't see to drive." 160 00:50:11,420 --> 00:50:20,420 And it's like, okay, first of all, I've become my father, number one. Number two, how does my hearing impact my vision? 161 00:50:20,420 --> 00:50:30,420 And what it is, is there's so many things going wrong I'm trying to pay attention to, didn't have room to pay attention to what was happening in the car. 162 00:50:30,420 --> 00:50:37,420 And my focus couldn't split into all of these different areas. That's what Jesus is addressing in our hearts. 163 00:50:37,420 --> 00:50:46,420 Where all of these different things we're trying to pay attention to, that's here, and it's here, and it's noisy, and it's loud, and we're getting tenser and tenser as it happens. 164 00:50:46,420 --> 00:50:54,420 And Jesus is saying, "You've got to be quiet so you can see what is happening." 165 00:50:54,420 --> 00:51:03,420 Jesus is addressing our hearts. You see, the reality is our hearts are pulled apart with our pride, where we trust ourselves rather than God. 166 00:51:03,420 --> 00:51:08,420 Or in self-sufficiency, where we trust our ability rather than God's ability. 167 00:51:08,420 --> 00:51:17,420 Or fear, when we see the greatness of our fears, and our obstacles, and our brokenness, and the greatness of God, and we find ourselves seemingly without hope. 168 00:51:17,420 --> 00:51:24,420 This isn't just nervousness. It's not just stress about the future. This isn't just simply being fearful or unsettled. 169 00:51:24,420 --> 00:51:30,420 This is the experience of a heart that is being torn into pieces. 170 00:51:30,420 --> 00:51:37,420 This is the experience of a heart that is trying to serve more than one master, and is being torn apart by the effort. 171 00:51:37,420 --> 00:51:42,420 Whether it's pride, or self-sufficiency, or fear, all in the driver's seat. 172 00:51:42,420 --> 00:51:47,420 What they're doing is they're yelling at us, trying to give us different directions all at the same time. 173 00:51:47,420 --> 00:51:54,420 And maybe we recognize that. The ability, the inability to simply be at peace. 174 00:51:54,420 --> 00:52:01,420 If you had this happen, that single worry that multiplies by 10 at 2 o'clock in the morning. 175 00:52:01,420 --> 00:52:06,420 I remember my mom once said when I was really upset one night, she said, "If you sleep on it, you'll feel better in the morning." 176 00:52:06,420 --> 00:52:10,420 I said, "Will not." Turns out, it's absolutely true. 177 00:52:10,420 --> 00:52:16,420 There's times where it feels like everything's piled up, and there's no hope or no end in sight. 178 00:52:16,420 --> 00:52:19,420 And so look at how Jesus deals with anxiety. 179 00:52:19,420 --> 00:52:24,420 He just simply says this, "Do not be anxious." 180 00:52:24,420 --> 00:52:29,420 Now, the sarcastic part of me wants to say, "Oh, good. That's real helpful." 181 00:52:29,420 --> 00:52:31,420 Right? Just stop being anxious, right? 182 00:52:31,420 --> 00:52:36,420 That's like telling somebody who's sick, "Just stop being sick. Stop having the flu." 183 00:52:36,420 --> 00:52:41,420 Right? Stop having that stomach bug. Just stop feeling bad. 184 00:52:41,420 --> 00:52:46,420 How can you stop being anxious? That's great advice. 185 00:52:46,420 --> 00:52:54,420 Jesus throughout this is going to name a whole lot of anxieties and fears. 186 00:52:54,420 --> 00:52:56,420 And I don't know if that helps us to be less anxious. 187 00:52:56,420 --> 00:52:59,420 In verse 25, look at this. 188 00:52:59,420 --> 00:53:05,420 The anxiety about food and what you're going to eat or what you're going to wear. 189 00:53:05,420 --> 00:53:07,420 Down in verse 27. 190 00:53:07,420 --> 00:53:12,420 The anxiety of how long is life going to last? How can I make it last longer? 191 00:53:12,420 --> 00:53:19,420 In verse 28, you find the anxiety about what am I going to wear? 192 00:53:19,420 --> 00:53:23,420 How am I going to shelter myself in this world? 193 00:53:23,420 --> 00:53:28,420 And in verse 34, there's just a general anxiety about the future. 194 00:53:28,420 --> 00:53:34,420 And Jesus, there's a lot of anxieties. 195 00:53:34,420 --> 00:53:37,420 And Jesus just says, "Stop." 196 00:53:37,420 --> 00:53:41,420 And what Jesus is going to do, he's going to identify the problem. 197 00:53:41,420 --> 00:53:50,420 Because at the heart of our anxiety, it's either, "I'm enough" versus the needs and the brokenness that surround me. 198 00:53:50,420 --> 00:53:55,420 Or it's, "My plan is enough" versus the needs and brokenness that surround me. 199 00:53:55,420 --> 00:53:58,420 Or it's, "I am not enough" versus the needs and brokenness. 200 00:53:58,420 --> 00:54:04,420 In all of these, what is happening is that our heart, whether in pride or self-sufficiency or discouragement, 201 00:54:04,420 --> 00:54:10,420 is pulling us as it fights us against all of these things. 202 00:54:10,420 --> 00:54:16,420 And instead of fighting, Jesus calls us to trust in the Father more deeply. 203 00:54:16,420 --> 00:54:20,420 Right? The heart divided by pride and self-sufficiency and fear. 204 00:54:20,420 --> 00:54:25,420 And so what Jesus says, He'll direct us to some concrete realities of the world in which we live. 205 00:54:25,420 --> 00:54:31,420 Right? And this is advice people give today. Right? Find the things you can see and touch and hear. 206 00:54:31,420 --> 00:54:33,420 And Jesus does exactly that. 207 00:54:33,420 --> 00:54:39,420 He says, "Look at the evidence of the Father's goodness in the birds and in the flowers and in the fact 208 00:54:39,420 --> 00:54:43,420 of your relationship with Him that He is your heavenly Father." 209 00:54:43,420 --> 00:54:47,420 And He contrasts the uncertainty of the future with the reality of the present. 210 00:54:47,420 --> 00:54:53,420 And what Jesus is doing is anchoring us in the truth of the goodness of God. 211 00:54:53,420 --> 00:54:57,420 We started with, "The heavens declare the glories of God." 212 00:54:57,420 --> 00:55:05,420 You see, our minds like to build our own worlds and our scenarios, but Jesus says, "Look to the truth of who God is." 213 00:55:05,420 --> 00:55:09,420 And see the patience of Jesus from time after time. 214 00:55:09,420 --> 00:55:15,420 From every different angle, He's not repeating Himself, even though it might seem like He is in frustration. 215 00:55:15,420 --> 00:55:19,420 He realizes that our hearts don't settle immediately. 216 00:55:19,420 --> 00:55:22,420 And so He's going to come back to this. 217 00:55:22,420 --> 00:55:24,420 And come back to this. 218 00:55:24,420 --> 00:55:26,420 And come back to this. 219 00:55:26,420 --> 00:55:29,420 Three different times in this text. 220 00:55:29,420 --> 00:55:34,420 To help our anxious, divided hearts that are wanting to run everywhere but where they need to be. 221 00:55:35,420 --> 00:55:38,420 To help us settle and to be calm. 222 00:55:38,420 --> 00:55:41,420 We'll be able to summarize Jesus' words like this. 223 00:55:41,420 --> 00:55:45,420 First of all, what God has done. And then secondly, who He is. 224 00:55:45,420 --> 00:55:49,420 So the first thing Jesus says is, "Look at the birds." 225 00:55:49,420 --> 00:55:55,420 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you eat or what you will drink, nor about your body. 226 00:55:55,420 --> 00:56:00,420 What you will put on is not life more than food and the body more than clothing. 227 00:56:00,420 --> 00:56:04,420 Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. 228 00:56:04,420 --> 00:56:09,420 Your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 229 00:56:09,420 --> 00:56:14,420 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his lifespan?" 230 00:56:14,420 --> 00:56:18,420 And so here Jesus says, "Don't be anxious." And then He just points at a bird. 231 00:56:18,420 --> 00:56:25,420 A common, everyday bird. Right? Not the power of an angel. 232 00:56:25,420 --> 00:56:29,420 Not a theological argument. Right? A bird. 233 00:56:29,420 --> 00:56:36,420 Something ordinary that His audience passed every single day, and often many of us do, without a second thought. 234 00:56:36,420 --> 00:56:44,420 And He says, "Look." Not just, "Oh yeah, that's a bird," but really look and seek to understand what God is doing to the birds. 235 00:56:44,420 --> 00:56:49,420 And what do you see? We might say, "A creature is so ordinary, I see them every day." 236 00:56:49,420 --> 00:56:57,420 And Jesus says, "I see a creature that doesn't plant fields, doesn't harvest fields, doesn't put those fields into his barn, 237 00:56:57,420 --> 00:57:06,420 but yet this creature has food." Now, Jesus is not saying the birds don't work, right? Because birds work hard. 238 00:57:06,420 --> 00:57:15,420 But what He is saying is that this bird isn't concerned about tomorrow. 239 00:57:15,420 --> 00:57:22,420 It's not seeking security by accumulation. It doesn't worry if there's going to be enough for tomorrow. 240 00:57:22,420 --> 00:57:35,420 It simply trusts that God will provide. What Jesus is just simply saying, if you want to sum it up, is that this bird's hope is found in the goodness and the provision of God. 241 00:57:35,420 --> 00:57:41,420 Now, for some of us, hearing that is pretty comfortable. 242 00:57:41,420 --> 00:57:47,420 For others of us, we might bristle a little bit. 243 00:57:47,420 --> 00:57:54,420 Saying, "Isn't it healthy? Isn't it good? Shouldn't I prepare for the future?" 244 00:57:54,420 --> 00:58:02,420 And I think the heart of that question is, "Where is your heart?" 245 00:58:02,420 --> 00:58:08,420 Because Jesus is going to point at this bird and say, "Are you not of more value than they?" 246 00:58:08,420 --> 00:58:11,420 You see, we really like to seek independence. 247 00:58:11,420 --> 00:58:19,420 Right? Toddlers. It's been a while since we had a toddler, but one of the things that always struck terror into my mind is when I would ask them something, 248 00:58:19,420 --> 00:58:21,420 "You need some help?" They go, "No, I've got it." 249 00:58:21,420 --> 00:58:25,420 Because you know, as a dad, they do not have it and it's not going to end well. 250 00:58:25,420 --> 00:58:29,420 But I found this in my life as well. Somebody will ask me, "Hey, do you need some help?" 251 00:58:29,420 --> 00:58:31,420 They'll be like, "I'm all set. I got it." 252 00:58:31,420 --> 00:58:40,420 And if there was a narrator to my life, the narrator would be saying, "He did not have it, and all was not well in what was about to happen." 253 00:58:40,420 --> 00:58:45,420 You see, Jesus' words here are a comfort to those who, who look and say, "I don't have enough." 254 00:58:45,420 --> 00:58:47,420 And Jesus says, "You're fine." 255 00:58:47,420 --> 00:58:55,420 But they're a challenge to those of us whose hope is in something other than Jesus. 256 00:58:55,420 --> 00:58:59,420 Not depending on what God gives, but depending on ourselves. 257 00:58:59,420 --> 00:59:02,420 But there's a great illustration in Exodus chapter 16. 258 00:59:02,420 --> 00:59:09,420 God's people are super hungry, and they've been hungry, and they have prayed, and God has provided them food, 259 00:59:09,420 --> 00:59:15,420 and in this, it's interesting, because they began to complain, and there's a whole sermon here. 260 00:59:15,420 --> 00:59:19,420 We don't have time for this morning, but instead of asking God, they simply complain. 261 00:59:19,420 --> 00:59:25,420 There might be a lesson for us in the order in which they do things, but God provides them bread. 262 00:59:25,420 --> 00:59:30,420 We call it manna, and he does so with some very specific conditions. 263 00:59:30,420 --> 00:59:36,420 In Exodus 16:8, he gives them just enough for that day. 264 00:59:36,420 --> 00:59:42,420 The only exception is Friday into Saturday, they're allowed to gather enough for Saturday. 265 00:59:42,420 --> 00:59:47,420 But what's remarkable is if you look at what happens in Exodus 16, 266 00:59:47,420 --> 00:59:53,420 there's a bunch of people who are so worried about what happens next that maybe God will miss a day on the manna. 267 00:59:53,420 --> 00:59:58,420 They begin to fill up as many containers as they can. 268 00:59:58,420 --> 01:00:02,420 And they fill up their tents with as much as they can get. 269 01:00:02,420 --> 01:00:10,420 And it says they woke up the next morning, and the manna already had full-grown worms, and it stank. 270 01:00:10,420 --> 01:00:14,420 Food doesn't generally go bad and have full-grown worms overnight. 271 01:00:14,420 --> 01:00:21,420 God, in His miraculous provision, was also teaching them a lesson in dependence. 272 01:00:21,420 --> 01:00:25,420 And I understand, right? We want to have some buffer and some margin, 273 01:00:25,420 --> 01:00:30,420 and to make sure in case something happens, we're all set. 274 01:00:30,420 --> 01:00:35,420 God is not just feeding in this moment to the Israelites. 275 01:00:35,420 --> 01:00:38,420 He's teaching them that I am always enough. 276 01:00:38,420 --> 01:00:44,420 The issue at the heart here is not whether you have a savings account or you don't. 277 01:00:44,420 --> 01:00:49,420 That's not the issue. The issue is, where is your hope? 278 01:00:49,420 --> 01:00:54,420 Is it in a storehouse, or is it in God? 279 01:00:54,420 --> 01:00:57,420 Where is it that we're trusting? 280 01:00:57,420 --> 01:01:07,420 Because so many of us, the hope of the self-sufficient heart is that I can take care of it because God might not be enough. 281 01:01:07,420 --> 01:01:12,420 That was the worry in Exodus, that God might not be enough. 282 01:01:12,420 --> 01:01:16,420 But Jesus really is getting to the heart of the question. 283 01:01:16,420 --> 01:01:22,420 It's this: which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his life? 284 01:01:22,420 --> 01:01:31,420 And the reality here, what Jesus is getting at with the birds and all of these things, is control. 285 01:01:31,420 --> 01:01:39,420 Because at the heart of what we think will bring peace is that if I can control my circumstances, 286 01:01:39,420 --> 01:01:46,420 if I can prepare for the future, if I can get everything figured out in the proper way, then I will be set. 287 01:01:46,420 --> 01:01:59,420 And Jesus says, "You can't add a single hour to your life. You're never ultimately in control." 288 01:01:59,420 --> 01:02:07,420 The Father is the one who has been holding you all along. And see, the invitation here is to the proud and the self-sufficient, 289 01:02:07,420 --> 01:02:14,420 and to those of us who try to clutch on to security. It's not that we're not supposed to work or build or plan. 290 01:02:14,420 --> 01:02:23,420 The issue is, where is our hope? Is it in our work or our plan? Or is it in the God who provides? 291 01:02:23,420 --> 01:02:29,420 And what Jesus is saying is you can set down that worry and that fear about enough. 292 01:02:29,420 --> 01:02:35,420 Not because provision doesn't matter, but because the one who feeds the sparrow has not forgotten you. 293 01:02:35,420 --> 01:02:42,420 You were never securing yourself. He was. And to the fearful, 294 01:02:42,420 --> 01:02:46,420 He says, "The Father is holding you closely." 295 01:02:46,420 --> 01:02:51,420 He then moves to this picture of flowers. "Why are you nervous about clothing?" 296 01:02:51,420 --> 01:03:00,420 "Listen to the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even like Solomon, in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 297 01:03:00,420 --> 01:03:10,420 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, O you of little faith?" 298 01:03:10,420 --> 01:03:15,420 Now Jesus points to a flower and says, "They neither toil nor spin." 299 01:03:15,420 --> 01:03:18,420 And the language here is of anxious effort. 300 01:03:18,420 --> 01:03:24,420 The issue is not, "Do you work or do you not work? Do you not provide or do you not provide?" 301 01:03:24,420 --> 01:03:29,420 The issue is the heart of the attitude with which you are going to work. 302 01:03:29,420 --> 01:03:37,420 There's self-sufficient language. If I have the right approach and the right system, the right sequence of steps, it'll get me to where I need to be. 303 01:03:37,420 --> 01:03:44,420 And Jesus points to the flower and goes, "He does none of that. He simply grows." 304 01:03:44,420 --> 01:03:50,420 And he is clothed in a glory that surpasses the greatest human achievements in all of history. 305 01:03:50,420 --> 01:03:56,420 If you read about Solomon and what he did and what he accomplished, 306 01:03:56,420 --> 01:04:05,420 Jesus isn't belittling Solomon. He's simply saying, "Look at the glory of God and how he provides for this tiny little flower." 307 01:04:05,420 --> 01:04:10,420 And then he says this, "Oh, you of little faith." 308 01:04:10,420 --> 01:04:14,420 Jesus is not belittling us. He's not making fun of us. 309 01:04:14,420 --> 01:04:17,420 He's tenderly addressing what's underneath our struggles. 310 01:04:17,420 --> 01:04:20,420 You see, we live in a world where fear is everywhere. 311 01:04:20,420 --> 01:04:26,420 It's capitalized on for everything from political agendas to advertising campaigns. 312 01:04:26,420 --> 01:04:31,420 Right? Fear infiltrates every piece of media almost that we consume. 313 01:04:31,420 --> 01:04:35,420 Even our advertisements. 314 01:04:35,420 --> 01:04:45,420 And Jesus says the issue here at the heart of this anxious work is fear. 315 01:04:45,420 --> 01:04:49,420 Maybe it's this, if I stop, everything stops. 316 01:04:49,420 --> 01:04:55,420 It's not that there's no faith, it's the faith has been placed primarily in self and not in God 317 01:04:55,420 --> 01:04:57,420 and what I can do and I can accomplish. 318 01:04:57,420 --> 01:05:01,420 And here's the reassurance to those of us who are trying to be self-sufficient. 319 01:05:01,420 --> 01:05:05,420 You can rest. 320 01:05:05,420 --> 01:05:09,420 From the anxious, driven, performance-based work, 321 01:05:09,420 --> 01:05:13,420 it's really just fear wearing the costume of responsibility. 322 01:05:13,420 --> 01:05:17,420 The father who clothes the grass of the field that's here today and gone tomorrow, 323 01:05:17,420 --> 01:05:19,420 he will clothe you. 324 01:05:19,420 --> 01:05:21,420 Not because you found the right system, 325 01:05:21,420 --> 01:05:25,420 but because you are his and he knows what you need. 326 01:05:25,420 --> 01:05:29,420 And so he says to our anxious hearts, 327 01:05:29,420 --> 01:05:34,420 the hearts which are either trying to be proud of what we have 328 01:05:34,420 --> 01:05:39,420 or trying to plan for how we can survive the future. 329 01:05:39,420 --> 01:05:42,420 Jesus is saying, "We know what you need. 330 01:05:42,420 --> 01:05:45,420 Look at how God has provided." 331 01:05:45,420 --> 01:05:47,420 And he provides for you and you trust him. 332 01:05:47,420 --> 01:05:50,420 And then he says this, "Look at your father." 333 01:05:50,420 --> 01:05:53,420 He's moved from the things God has made to God himself. 334 01:05:53,420 --> 01:05:57,420 Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear?" 335 01:05:57,420 --> 01:06:02,420 For the Gentiles seek after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 336 01:06:02,420 --> 01:06:05,420 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, 337 01:06:05,420 --> 01:06:08,420 and all these things will be added unto you." 338 01:06:08,420 --> 01:06:10,420 Right? 339 01:06:10,420 --> 01:06:12,420 Jesus simply says this, 340 01:06:12,420 --> 01:06:17,420 "Your heavenly Father knows." 341 01:06:17,420 --> 01:06:20,420 Not if you get it figured out. 342 01:06:20,420 --> 01:06:22,420 Not if you pass the test. 343 01:06:22,420 --> 01:06:23,420 He knows, right? 344 01:06:23,420 --> 01:06:24,420 Before you're worried. 345 01:06:24,420 --> 01:06:27,420 Before it's 2am and you're unsure of what the future holds. 346 01:06:27,420 --> 01:06:29,420 Your heavenly Father knows. 347 01:06:29,420 --> 01:06:32,420 And this is the word for the fearful child. 348 01:06:32,420 --> 01:06:33,420 Right? 349 01:06:33,420 --> 01:06:37,420 The one who is genuinely his, who wants to believe or is trying to believe. 350 01:06:37,420 --> 01:06:41,420 The one who says, "Help my unbelief." 351 01:06:41,420 --> 01:06:45,420 Maybe we carry a persistent fear that will be forgotten. 352 01:06:45,420 --> 01:06:52,420 That our needs are either too small to be seen or too large to be able to be met. 353 01:06:52,420 --> 01:06:57,420 And that full trust might cost too much. 354 01:06:57,420 --> 01:07:00,420 Your heavenly Father knows. 355 01:07:00,420 --> 01:07:02,420 And so Jesus draws a contrast. 356 01:07:02,420 --> 01:07:08,420 The Gentiles, specifically those outside the family of God, those without the Father, they seek after these things. 357 01:07:08,420 --> 01:07:12,420 And once again, Jesus is not saying, "It's bad to go to work. 358 01:07:12,420 --> 01:07:16,420 It's bad to have a savings account." He's not saying those things. 359 01:07:16,420 --> 01:07:22,420 He's saying, "With what attitude are you making your way through this world?" 360 01:07:22,420 --> 01:07:28,420 Is it a way where your trust is focused down here, or your heart and your trust is focused up here? 361 01:07:28,420 --> 01:07:36,420 Are these things your tools to be used for the kingdom and for the glory of God, or is this your heart? 362 01:07:36,420 --> 01:07:39,420 And that's what you're chasing. 363 01:07:39,420 --> 01:07:44,420 And Jesus says this, "They seek all these things, but your heavenly Father knows that you need them." 364 01:07:44,420 --> 01:07:49,420 They're grasping in the dark, trying to find something to satisfy their soul. 365 01:07:49,420 --> 01:07:51,420 And he says, "You're not anxious and grasping." 366 01:07:51,420 --> 01:07:59,420 So we have a little cattle dog, and he loves to play some ball, like desperately loves. 367 01:07:59,420 --> 01:08:07,420 So when I get the ball out, I have it in the chucket because I need to throw it like half a mile, like 40 times to tire him out. 368 01:08:07,420 --> 01:08:16,420 When he first sees me walking out with that ball, it's just like he's ready to attack the ball and attack me to get the ball. 369 01:08:16,420 --> 01:08:20,420 Like all of his energy is just focused on, "Let me get the ball. Let me get the ball. Let me get the ball." 370 01:08:20,420 --> 01:08:28,420 And so I'll be holding the chucket up here, and this little dog is jumping, where his head is at the same height as my head, 371 01:08:28,420 --> 01:08:36,420 trying to grab a hold of that ball with all that he can. And so many of us are walking through life, jumping at all of these things. 372 01:08:36,420 --> 01:08:43,420 But here's the thing about Ranger. Once I throw the ball for him three or four times, he's still excited about the ball. 373 01:08:43,420 --> 01:08:50,420 But he runs it back, and he drops it, and he waits for me to throw it for him, not grasping anymore. 374 01:08:50,420 --> 01:09:00,420 The picture here of our hearts as we trust our Heavenly Father is not this, "Quick, let me get some before it's all gone. 375 01:09:00,420 --> 01:09:09,420 Let me get it before somebody else gets it, but rather I will trust my Father to provide for me because he knows what is best." 376 01:09:09,420 --> 01:09:17,420 Seeking confidently in the goodness of the Father. And then he goes on this, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, 377 01:09:17,420 --> 01:09:27,420 and all these things will be added unto you." Right? Seek first. Our priority above all else is the kingdom. 378 01:09:27,420 --> 01:09:37,420 We have practical responsibilities, things that we need to do, but above everything else is the kingdom of God. 379 01:09:37,420 --> 01:09:45,420 And when we put that in perspective, everything begins to shift. Instead of, "How do I secure this?" We seek God's glory. 380 01:09:45,420 --> 01:09:51,420 Instead of, "What is the right system?" We seek his glory. "What if I don't have enough?" We seek his glory. 381 01:09:51,420 --> 01:09:58,420 We orient our life around the Father and purposes, and let his kingdom be our treasure. 382 01:09:58,420 --> 01:10:04,420 His priorities shape what our eyes see, that he is our master to whom we give allegiance. 383 01:10:04,420 --> 01:10:08,420 And then he says, "All these things will be added unto you." And I want you to be very careful here, 384 01:10:08,420 --> 01:10:17,420 because this is not a formula for prosperity. He's not saying, "If you can figure out the formula," 385 01:10:17,420 --> 01:10:23,420 right, that's the lie of self-sufficiency, then God will have to pay you back. 386 01:10:23,420 --> 01:10:31,420 He's saying that in the broken puzzle of life, when you put the kingdom in the center, 387 01:10:31,420 --> 01:10:39,420 right, your mission and your fears and your anxieties are met in Christ. 388 01:10:39,420 --> 01:10:45,420 It doesn't mean that you're never going to face hardship. We're never going to have a struggle. 389 01:10:47,420 --> 01:10:53,420 We're going to face a life where we often will have needs, but we have a Father who knows those needs. 390 01:10:53,420 --> 01:10:57,420 And He knows, and He sees, and He provides. 391 01:10:57,420 --> 01:11:03,420 Right, this is the orientation of a life that is focused correctly. 392 01:11:03,420 --> 01:11:08,420 And then Jesus says this, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, 393 01:11:08,420 --> 01:11:15,420 for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." 394 01:11:16,420 --> 01:11:21,420 What Jesus says is, "Your day is already filled up on troubles," right? 395 01:11:21,420 --> 01:11:23,420 That doesn't seem very encouraging at first. 396 01:11:23,420 --> 01:11:28,420 Jesus says, "You have all the trouble that you can handle today." 397 01:11:28,420 --> 01:11:35,420 What He's saying is that all the trouble for today, your heavenly Father will meet. 398 01:11:35,420 --> 01:11:40,420 All the trouble for tomorrow, your heavenly Father will meet. 399 01:11:40,420 --> 01:11:45,420 Like manna from heaven, provided new every morning. 400 01:11:45,420 --> 01:11:58,420 Great is His faithfulness, right? The invitation is to not live in tomorrow, but to live today trusting in the Father's care, right? 401 01:11:58,420 --> 01:12:05,420 Not being irresponsible about the future, but letting tomorrow's hypothetical fears, which so many of us have, right? 402 01:12:05,420 --> 01:12:12,420 They fill up our life today, and we worry so much about tomorrow we aren't present in the reality of today, right? 403 01:12:12,420 --> 01:12:21,420 The anxious heart lives in a future that hasn't happened yet. Rehearsing losses, carrying weight, they have burdens you haven't even picked up. 404 01:12:21,420 --> 01:12:31,420 And Jesus says, "Don't," not because there's not going to be trouble tomorrow, but because the Father who holds tomorrow is the same Father that holds you today. 405 01:12:31,420 --> 01:12:37,420 Three kinds of people walk into this text at the beginning. 406 01:12:37,420 --> 01:12:46,420 The self-sufficient one who has built their security with their own hands and lies awake wondering if it's going to hold. 407 01:12:46,420 --> 01:12:56,420 Jesus looks to those of us who are like that and says, "You can take that weight off your shoulders, the weight that you have to be the one to get it right." 408 01:12:56,420 --> 01:13:02,420 Look at the birds. Or those who have the great plan. Some of us are like that. 409 01:13:02,420 --> 01:13:08,420 If I can figure out the system, the plan, the right order in which to do things. 410 01:13:08,420 --> 01:13:14,420 Jesus says, "You're not the source. You're not the hope." 411 01:13:14,420 --> 01:13:18,420 God is. Consider the lilies. 412 01:13:18,420 --> 01:13:27,420 To those of us who are fearful, we're genuinely wanting to trust, but we're carrying that fear of being unseen or uncared for. 413 01:13:27,420 --> 01:13:31,420 Saying, "Maybe we've been left to manage alone." 414 01:13:31,420 --> 01:13:39,420 Jesus says, "You've been seen. You've always been seen. Your Father knows, so seek first His kingdom." 415 01:13:39,420 --> 01:13:43,420 All right, three encounters with the same Father. 416 01:13:43,420 --> 01:13:54,420 Three different issues of the heart, but one message underneath it all, that our Father securely provides for our needs. 417 01:13:54,420 --> 01:14:05,420 So Jesus is saying to our anxious hearts, set it down, rest, and look to the goodness of God. Let's pray. 418 01:14:05,420 --> 01:14:12,420 Father in heaven, thank you for Jesus and for grace and for hope, for peace. 419 01:14:12,420 --> 01:14:18,420 Help us not to be distracted by our fears or insufficiencies. 420 01:14:18,420 --> 01:14:27,420 Help us not to be overwhelmed with our plans. Help us to seek your will in all things and to rest in your goodness. 421 01:14:27,420 --> 01:14:34,420 We thank you that you are the one who provides for the birds and for the lilies, and that you are a good Father who provides for us. 422 01:14:34,420 --> 01:14:38,420 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 423 01:14:38,420 --> 01:14:43,420 We're going to stand and we're going to sing by the grace of... 424 01:14:48,420 --> 01:15:01,420 I rest my soul on... 425 01:15:01,420 --> 01:15:16,420 I put my trust in Jesus... 426 01:15:16,420 --> 01:15:44,420 ...the moment I awake. And when my soul is lost at sea, He will be my rock. My vision be in Christ alone. 427 01:15:44,420 --> 01:16:12,420 This grace is all He's got. His love is like the mighty ocean. His love for me will never stop. Oh, His arms are strong enough to carry me through it all 428 01:16:12,420 --> 01:16:40,420 by the grace of God. So I, upon His shoulders, safely brought this far. Helper of my helpless soul, the King of broken hearts. 429 01:16:40,420 --> 01:17:08,420 His love is like the mighty ocean. His love for me will never stop. Oh, His arms are strong enough to carry me through it all by the grace of God. 430 01:17:08,420 --> 01:17:36,420 When breath grows still and night draws near, I will not be afraid. I know the plans He has for me. Don't finish at my grave. 431 01:17:36,420 --> 01:18:04,420 His love is like the mighty ocean. His love for me will never stop. Oh, His arms are strong enough to carry me through it all by the grace of God. 432 01:18:04,420 --> 01:18:32,420 So thankful that you are here with us this morning. We'll be back Wednesday night, 6 p.m. for our Wednesday evening Bible study. Next Sunday, we'll send out an email about this tomorrow or Tuesday. We are planning, we try to generally do this in the middle of the month, a fellowship meal. We're going to do it a little bit differently 433 01:18:32,420 --> 01:19:00,420 now that it's starting to warm up. So we are going to, we haven't done this for a while, but we'll have a bunch of fried chicken. So if you want to bring a side or something to go along with that, you're welcome to, or you just come and eat with us. We'll eat right after our Sunday service next Sunday. Also coming up end of the month, Palm Sunday is the last Sunday of this month. And then Resurrection Sunday Easter is the first Sunday of April. 434 01:19:00,420 --> 01:19:30,400 There are a couple of things coming up for us. So I'm going to go ahead and pray. We'll read from Philippians four, and then we will sing the doxology. So let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for how you have blessed us. Help us to steward those blessings well and wisely for the good of your people and for the good of the kingdom. We thank you for Jesus and for grace and for hope. Help us to be a light shining in a 435 01:19:30,400 --> 01:20:00,380 dark world. Thank you for all the goodness that you have poured out upon us. Be with us as we move into this week, and we do so with our treasure in heaven, our eyes fixed on you, living according to your will. Give us strength, protect us from evil, and help us to seek the good of your kingdom. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Paul writes this in Philippians after 436 01:20:00,380 --> 01:20:30,360 reminding the Corinthians that Jesus is returning. He says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." So just a reminder. Church, God knows your every need, and it is my prayer that he would teach our hearts to trust him in every circumstance. 437 01:20:30,360 --> 01:20:42,340 So bring your worries to him in prayer. May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. 438 01:21:00,340 --> 01:21:30,320 Let's pray. 439 01:21:30,320 --> 01:22:00,300 Let's pray. 440 01:22:00,300 --> 01:22:30,280 Let's pray.