Sunday, March 8, 2026
2026-03-08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8DekizrdBY

Amen. Amen.

Testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, testing, 1, 2, 3, that should be good. Hey, I can fix it later. Yeah. I had somebody pro playing last night. I had somebody pro playing last night. I had somebody pro playing last night. I'm not going to go there. I'm not going to go there. I'm not going to go there.

I'm not going to go there this morning. I don't know what that means. I was thinking about it, and for whatever reason, going in this direction seems a little more difficult for our family. This was evidenced by when I started making coffee here at the church this morning. About halfway through, I realized I did not have a coffee pot under the spout. If the coffee tastes strange, it's because it's floor coffee. So we're making it, and we are glad to be here this morning. We've got a couple of folks out sick, and so we are doing things just a little bit differently technology-wise, but we are so glad to be here this morning. 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,

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. The 19th Psalm begins by saying, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork." 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. And then David says something else halfway through. He says, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." And I think it's a beautiful and a wonderful combination to both be able to look out and to see God's handiwork and His grace poured out upon His world, but also to look into His Word and to find refreshment and to be revived

in the depths of our souls. In a few moments we'll be in Matthew chapter 6, and it's a very familiar passage. 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. And it's interesting because as we come to this this morning, one of the things Jesus does to help us in those struggles and worries, but also to combat our pride and self-sufficiency is to direct us to the natural world around us, to birds and to flowers, while at the same time we dive deep into the word of God, almost in a mirror of the 19th Psalm. So it is my prayer as we gather this morning that we would be strengthened, that we would be encouraged, that God would both confront us in our sin and brokenness, but He would also comfort us

by His grace and in repentance. So we're going to go ahead and pray, and then we'll read the 62nd Psalm, parts of the 62nd Psalm together. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you that you are sovereign over all things, that you have made the sun and the moon and our world and the trees and the birds and the spring frogs we hear at night. We just thank you for the beauty that you have bestowed upon us, and we thank you for the beauty and wonder of your word. So we ask this morning as we open your word, both as we read it together, as we sing and it directs our hearts toward those truths that are found in your book, as we gather around your table, and as we study the words of Jesus, may you nourish us, may you correct us, may you confront

us where we need it, and may you strengthen our hearts and direct them to you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're going to stand and we're going to read from the 62nd Psalm. Let's read together. "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. 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. 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 thing about raise a hallelujah, about singing in the midst of things. The song was originally written with 2 Chronicles

20 in mind. As God's people get ready to go out to battle, and the king, Jehoshaphat, he sends out the singers in front of the army, which at least, I was never in the military, but tactically seems like an unsound decision. Like, let's send the guys with the flutes and the bagpipes out first. I guess maybe depending on how much you like their music, but they do so praising God before their soldiers even arrive on the field. So we're going to start by singing "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 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. Our God saves. There is hope. In your name. 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. 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.

Our God saves. Our God saves. There is hope. In your name. Morning turns to psalms of praise. Our God saves. Our God saves. I raise a hallelujah louder than the unbelief. I raise a hallelujah. My weapon is a melody. I raise a hallelujah. 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. 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. 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. You're gonna hear my praises roar. Up from the ashes, hope will arise. Death is defeated. The king is alive.

Sing a little louder. In the presence of my enemies. Sing a little louder. Louder than the unbelief. 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. 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. 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."

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. 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. 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. 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."

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. 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. 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. 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. Buried he carried. My sins far away. Rising he justified. Freely forever. One day he's coming. Oh, glorious day. Oh, glorious day.

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. 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. 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. 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. Rising he justified, freely forever. One day he's coming, oh glorious day, oh glorious day. Oh glorious day, oh glorious day.

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, 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." 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,

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. 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

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 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. 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.

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. If you would, let's take the bread together, remembering Jesus' body given for us. If you would, let's take the cup together, the new covenant in Jesus' blood.

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. Around the table of the King. Amen. Amen. Amen.

All right, we are moving into Matthew chapter six. I had probably ill-advised 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 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.

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. 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. 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.

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? 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. 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 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.

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. When things get difficult, one of our great tendencies is to just walk away. In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus has just finished evaluating the depths of our heart. And Jesus isn't just asking us questions about what we treasure, and how we look at things, and who it is we're following. He's not just seeking our answers to the question. The remarkable thing is that Jesus already knows the answer, and He knows our deepest secrets, the things that we have hidden and pushed down deep inside. He knows the brokenness of our sin, and He knows it more clearly than often many of us will even begin to admit that we know our brokenness. And what is remarkable

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 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. And what I love about this section of Matthew chapter 6, this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has just said there's a bunch of you who are treasuring the wrong things. You're looking at stuff the wrong way. You're serving two masters, and He doesn't say, "I'm done with you." He begins to dive in to their hearts. Jesus is going to do two things this morning. He's going to confront, and He's going to comfort. And He's going to do that by directing us to the Heavenly Father. And He's going to show us, first of all, what the Heavenly Father

has done through two pictures, birds and flowers, and then He's going to talk about the character of the Father Himself. And Jesus begins with this very simple word, "Therefore." And textually, this is a very important word because what it is, is Jesus is saying, "Here is the logical application of what I have just said about your treasure and about your eyes and about your allegiance. Here's the logical implication, and it's not judgment, and it's not dismissal, and it's not Jesus leaving to find somebody else. Instead, He confronts and He comforts us. And in using these three pictures that Jesus has just given us, He deals with our tendency toward pride. I've got it all figured out on my own. Our self-sufficiency, I can figure it out on my own. And our fear and brokenness that I'll never figure it out. And I'm lost.

So there's three big things I want you to see as we dive into our text this morning. First of all is that Jesus truly sees us. Jesus knows the heart of our problem. He's not simply treating our symptoms, He is curing our disease, right? Behind your mask, behind your disguise, behind your excuses and your achievements, Jesus sees who you truly are. And seeing that truth, He still loves you. He's just seeing the depths of a brokenness. He doesn't just see it, but He also loves us. And He loves us enough, and this is wild. He loves us enough to be honest with us, right? 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. And third, Jesus is patient with us. And we'll see this as Jesus repeats Himself three times.

He could have summed up this entire section in a sentence. He could have just simply said, "Don't be anxious. Trust God." But He doesn't do that. He brings in the birds and the flowers, and He illustrates and He argues for our hearts. And here's the message that Jesus begins with. Just simply this, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious." He's going to use this word five times, and three of them are this command, "Do not be anxious." Let's read the first command, and then we'll talk about this use of this word through the text. "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing."

This word Jesus uses for anxious is a remarkable word. At its root, it carries the picture of division. What we're meaning is a heart that is pulled in different directions, a heart that is divided into pieces, 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, and we're not sure which direction to go, and our heart begins to produce fear and worry and anxiety because it's being pulled in every different direction. And maybe it's easier to understand this as an illustration, because sometimes we struggle with divided focus. So this past week, Thursday, we were driving. We drove up to Pennsylvania. Our kids like horses. We went up to the Horse World Expo, which is kind of half trade show,

demonstration, half horse training clinics, or I guess that would be third. Some preacher did not have math in Bible college. And so we went up to this, and most of the drive, it's fine until you get to that last little section where everybody's trying to get to the same place, and there's traffic lights that are turning, people who are ignoring them, people trying to merge. Everybody's trying to get to the same place as fast as possible. 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." And it's like, okay, first of all, I've become my father, number one. Number two, how does my hearing impact my vision? 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.

And my focus couldn't split into all of these different areas. That's what Jesus is addressing in our hearts. 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. And Jesus is saying, "You've got to be quiet so you can see what is happening." 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. Or in self-sufficiency, where we trust our ability rather than God's ability. 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. This isn't just nervousness. It's not just stress about the future. This isn't just simply being fearful or unsettled.

This is the experience of a heart that is being torn into pieces. This is the experience of a heart that is trying to serve more than one master, and is being torn apart by the effort. Whether it's pride, or self-sufficiency, or fear, all in the driver's seat. What they're doing is they're yelling at us, trying to give us different directions all at the same time. And maybe we recognize that. The ability, the inability to simply be at peace. If you had this happen, that single worry that multiplies by 10 at 2 o'clock in the morning. 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." I said, "Will not." Turns out, it's absolutely true. There's times where it feels like everything's piled up, and there's no hope or no end in sight.

And so look at how Jesus deals with anxiety. He just simply says this, "Do not be anxious." Now, the sarcastic part of me wants to say, "Oh, good. That's real helpful." Right? Just stop being anxious, right? That's like telling somebody who's sick, "Just stop being sick. Stop having the flu." Right? Stop having that stomach bug. Just stop feeling bad. How can you stop being anxious? That's great advice. Jesus throughout this is going to name a whole lot of anxieties and fears. And I don't know if that helps us to be less anxious. In verse 25, look at this. The anxiety about food and what you're going to eat or what you're going to wear. Down in verse 27. The anxiety of how long is life going to last? How can I make it last longer?

In verse 28, you find the anxiety about what am I going to wear? How am I going to shelter myself in this world? And in verse 34, there's just a general anxiety about the future. And Jesus, there's a lot of anxieties. And Jesus just says, "Stop." And what Jesus is going to do, he's going to identify the problem. Because at the heart of our anxiety, it's either, "I'm enough" versus the needs and the brokenness that surround me. Or it's, "My plan is enough" versus the needs and brokenness that surround me. Or it's, "I am not enough" versus the needs and brokenness. In all of these, what is happening is that our heart, whether in pride or self-sufficiency or discouragement, is pulling us as it fights us against all of these things. And instead of fighting, Jesus calls us to trust in the Father more deeply.

Right? The heart divided by pride and self-sufficiency and fear. And so what Jesus says, He'll direct us to some concrete realities of the world in which we live. Right? And this is advice people give today. Right? Find the things you can see and touch and hear. And Jesus does exactly that. He says, "Look at the evidence of the Father's goodness in the birds and in the flowers and in the fact of your relationship with Him that He is your heavenly Father." And He contrasts the uncertainty of the future with the reality of the present. And what Jesus is doing is anchoring us in the truth of the goodness of God. We started with, "The heavens declare the glories of God." You see, our minds like to build our own worlds and our scenarios, but Jesus says, "Look to the truth of who God is."

And see the patience of Jesus from time after time. From every different angle, He's not repeating Himself, even though it might seem like He is in frustration. He realizes that our hearts don't settle immediately. And so He's going to come back to this. And come back to this. And come back to this. Three different times in this text. To help our anxious, divided hearts that are wanting to run everywhere but where they need to be. To help us settle and to be calm. We'll be able to summarize Jesus' words like this. First of all, what God has done. And then secondly, who He is. So the first thing Jesus says is, "Look at the birds." "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you eat or what you will drink, nor about your body.

What you will put on is not life more than food and the body more than clothing. Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his lifespan?" And so here Jesus says, "Don't be anxious." And then He just points at a bird. A common, everyday bird. Right? Not the power of an angel. Not a theological argument. Right? A bird. Something ordinary that His audience passed every single day, and often many of us do, without a second thought. 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. And what do you see? We might say, "A creature is so ordinary, I see them every day."

And Jesus says, "I see a creature that doesn't plant fields, doesn't harvest fields, doesn't put those fields into his barn, but yet this creature has food." Now, Jesus is not saying the birds don't work, right? Because birds work hard. But what He is saying is that this bird isn't concerned about tomorrow. It's not seeking security by accumulation. It doesn't worry if there's going to be enough for tomorrow. 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. Now, for some of us, hearing that is pretty comfortable. For others of us, we might bristle a little bit. Saying, "Isn't it healthy? Isn't it good? Shouldn't I prepare for the future?" And I think the heart of that question is, "Where is your heart?"

Because Jesus is going to point at this bird and say, "Are you not of more value than they?" You see, we really like to seek independence. 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, "You need some help?" They go, "No, I've got it." Because you know, as a dad, they do not have it and it's not going to end well. But I found this in my life as well. Somebody will ask me, "Hey, do you need some help?" They'll be like, "I'm all set. I got it." 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."

You see, Jesus' words here are a comfort to those who, who look and say, "I don't have enough." And Jesus says, "You're fine." But they're a challenge to those of us whose hope is in something other than Jesus. Not depending on what God gives, but depending on ourselves. But there's a great illustration in Exodus chapter 16. God's people are super hungry, and they've been hungry, and they have prayed, and God has provided them food, and in this, it's interesting, because they began to complain, and there's a whole sermon here. We don't have time for this morning, but instead of asking God, they simply complain. There might be a lesson for us in the order in which they do things, but God provides them bread. We call it manna, and he does so with some very specific conditions.

In Exodus 16:8, he gives them just enough for that day. The only exception is Friday into Saturday, they're allowed to gather enough for Saturday. But what's remarkable is if you look at what happens in Exodus 16, there's a bunch of people who are so worried about what happens next that maybe God will miss a day on the manna. They begin to fill up as many containers as they can. And they fill up their tents with as much as they can get. And it says they woke up the next morning, and the manna already had full-grown worms, and it stank. Food doesn't generally go bad and have full-grown worms overnight. God, in His miraculous provision, was also teaching them a lesson in dependence. And I understand, right? We want to have some buffer and some margin,

and to make sure in case something happens, we're all set. God is not just feeding in this moment to the Israelites. He's teaching them that I am always enough. The issue at the heart here is not whether you have a savings account or you don't. That's not the issue. The issue is, where is your hope? Is it in a storehouse, or is it in God? Where is it that we're trusting? 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. That was the worry in Exodus, that God might not be enough. But Jesus really is getting to the heart of the question. It's this: which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his life? And the reality here, what Jesus is getting at with the birds and all of these things, is control.

Because at the heart of what we think will bring peace is that if I can control my circumstances, if I can prepare for the future, if I can get everything figured out in the proper way, then I will be set. And Jesus says, "You can't add a single hour to your life. You're never ultimately in control." 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, 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. The issue is, where is our hope? Is it in our work or our plan? Or is it in the God who provides? And what Jesus is saying is you can set down that worry and that fear about enough.

Not because provision doesn't matter, but because the one who feeds the sparrow has not forgotten you. You were never securing yourself. He was. And to the fearful, He says, "The Father is holding you closely." He then moves to this picture of flowers. "Why are you nervous about clothing?" "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. 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?" Now Jesus points to a flower and says, "They neither toil nor spin." And the language here is of anxious effort. The issue is not, "Do you work or do you not work? Do you not provide or do you not provide?"

The issue is the heart of the attitude with which you are going to work. 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. And Jesus points to the flower and goes, "He does none of that. He simply grows." And he is clothed in a glory that surpasses the greatest human achievements in all of history. If you read about Solomon and what he did and what he accomplished, Jesus isn't belittling Solomon. He's simply saying, "Look at the glory of God and how he provides for this tiny little flower." And then he says this, "Oh, you of little faith." Jesus is not belittling us. He's not making fun of us. He's tenderly addressing what's underneath our struggles. You see, we live in a world where fear is everywhere.

It's capitalized on for everything from political agendas to advertising campaigns. Right? Fear infiltrates every piece of media almost that we consume. Even our advertisements. And Jesus says the issue here at the heart of this anxious work is fear. Maybe it's this, if I stop, everything stops. It's not that there's no faith, it's the faith has been placed primarily in self and not in God and what I can do and I can accomplish. And here's the reassurance to those of us who are trying to be self-sufficient. You can rest. From the anxious, driven, performance-based work, it's really just fear wearing the costume of responsibility. The father who clothes the grass of the field that's here today and gone tomorrow, he will clothe you. Not because you found the right system, but because you are his and he knows what you need.

And so he says to our anxious hearts, the hearts which are either trying to be proud of what we have or trying to plan for how we can survive the future. Jesus is saying, "We know what you need. Look at how God has provided." And he provides for you and you trust him. And then he says this, "Look at your father." He's moved from the things God has made to God himself. Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear?" For the Gentiles seek after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." Right? Jesus simply says this, "Your heavenly Father knows."

Not if you get it figured out. Not if you pass the test. He knows, right? Before you're worried. Before it's 2am and you're unsure of what the future holds. Your heavenly Father knows. And this is the word for the fearful child. Right? The one who is genuinely his, who wants to believe or is trying to believe. The one who says, "Help my unbelief." Maybe we carry a persistent fear that will be forgotten. That our needs are either too small to be seen or too large to be able to be met. And that full trust might cost too much. Your heavenly Father knows. And so Jesus draws a contrast. The Gentiles, specifically those outside the family of God, those without the Father, they seek after these things. And once again, Jesus is not saying, "It's bad to go to work.

It's bad to have a savings account." He's not saying those things. He's saying, "With what attitude are you making your way through this world?" Is it a way where your trust is focused down here, or your heart and your trust is focused up here? Are these things your tools to be used for the kingdom and for the glory of God, or is this your heart? And that's what you're chasing. And Jesus says this, "They seek all these things, but your heavenly Father knows that you need them." They're grasping in the dark, trying to find something to satisfy their soul. And he says, "You're not anxious and grasping." So we have a little cattle dog, and he loves to play some ball, like desperately loves. 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.

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. Like all of his energy is just focused on, "Let me get the ball. Let me get the ball. Let me get the ball." 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, 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. 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. But he runs it back, and he drops it, and he waits for me to throw it for him, not grasping anymore.

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. 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." Seeking confidently in the goodness of the Father. And then he goes on this, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." Right? Seek first. Our priority above all else is the kingdom. We have practical responsibilities, things that we need to do, but above everything else is the kingdom of God. And when we put that in perspective, everything begins to shift. Instead of, "How do I secure this?" We seek God's glory. Instead of, "What is the right system?" We seek his glory. "What if I don't have enough?" We seek his glory.

We orient our life around the Father and purposes, and let his kingdom be our treasure. His priorities shape what our eyes see, that he is our master to whom we give allegiance. And then he says, "All these things will be added unto you." And I want you to be very careful here, because this is not a formula for prosperity. He's not saying, "If you can figure out the formula," right, that's the lie of self-sufficiency, then God will have to pay you back. He's saying that in the broken puzzle of life, when you put the kingdom in the center, right, your mission and your fears and your anxieties are met in Christ. It doesn't mean that you're never going to face hardship. We're never going to have a struggle. We're going to face a life where we often will have needs, but we have a Father who knows those needs.

And He knows, and He sees, and He provides. Right, this is the orientation of a life that is focused correctly. And then Jesus says this, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." What Jesus says is, "Your day is already filled up on troubles," right? That doesn't seem very encouraging at first. Jesus says, "You have all the trouble that you can handle today." What He's saying is that all the trouble for today, your heavenly Father will meet. All the trouble for tomorrow, your heavenly Father will meet. Like manna from heaven, provided new every morning. Great is His faithfulness, right? The invitation is to not live in tomorrow, but to live today trusting in the Father's care, right? Not being irresponsible about the future, but letting tomorrow's hypothetical fears, which so many of us have, right?

They fill up our life today, and we worry so much about tomorrow we aren't present in the reality of today, right? 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. 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. Three kinds of people walk into this text at the beginning. The self-sufficient one who has built their security with their own hands and lies awake wondering if it's going to hold. 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." Look at the birds. Or those who have the great plan. Some of us are like that.

If I can figure out the system, the plan, the right order in which to do things. Jesus says, "You're not the source. You're not the hope." God is. Consider the lilies. 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. Saying, "Maybe we've been left to manage alone." Jesus says, "You've been seen. You've always been seen. Your Father knows, so seek first His kingdom." All right, three encounters with the same Father. Three different issues of the heart, but one message underneath it all, that our Father securely provides for our needs. So Jesus is saying to our anxious hearts, set it down, rest, and look to the goodness of God. Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for Jesus and for grace and for hope, for peace.

Help us not to be distracted by our fears or insufficiencies. Help us not to be overwhelmed with our plans. Help us to seek your will in all things and to rest in your goodness. 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. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're going to stand and we're going to sing by the grace of...

I rest my soul on... I put my trust in Jesus... ...the moment I awake. And when my soul is lost at sea, He will be my rock. My vision be in Christ alone. 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 by the grace of God. So I, upon His shoulders, safely brought this far. Helper of my helpless soul, the King of broken hearts. 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. 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.

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. 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 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.

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 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

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. 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. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray.