Matthew 6:25-34
Good morning, everyone! It’s always refreshing when we can gather together as one body like this. Whether you’re a partner and regular attender, or here for the first time – welcome. We’ll meet together in a single service like this throughout the summer months which will be a great way to reconnect and worship God together. This morning, we’re continuing our study of Matthew and the Sermon on the Mount. Today’s passage covers Matthew chapter 6, verses 25 through 34, and Jesus’ exhortation to his listeners: “Do not be anxious”. As we study this text, we're going to see how our lives as believers should look when dealing with uncertainty about the future.
At this point in Chapter 6 of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has covered a lot of ground. His overall theme has been connecting his listener’s values to their behaviors, emphasizing an internal heart transformation over external religious practices. Give to the needy, but not so others see you doing it. Pray to God the Father in secret, not so others can view you as upright. Pray to a God who is approachable and benevolent, not as one who is distant or withholding. Pray the Lord’s prayer, which calls for reliance on God as our source of daily bread. Fast with hope and joy and in secret. Then in the passage immediately preceding ours, Jesus calls his listeners to avoid the foolish and dangerous traps of greed and materialism.
Fast forward to our present day. In my line of work, I help people make plans for their financial futures. And while some people have the ability to ‘just go with the flow’, I’ve noticed others tend to struggle with fear, anxiety or greed when faced with uncertainty. Sensible planning is prudent and can help limit difficulty down the road, but what happens when we fall into the trap of trying to control that which we ultimately have no control over? One of the more painful things I’ve observed is when someone realizes that what they’ve spent a lifetime building or collecting, ultimately has no value. Maybe it’s mourning a failed business venture or feeling the sharp change of priorities after a health scare or loss of life. Perhaps it’s the older retiree reflecting on the true cost of trading away her time for zeros in a bank account she’ll never be able to spend. Maybe it’s a hard-charging entrepreneur who, despite repeated successes, never discovered what ‘enough’ looks like and comes to realize his now-adult children never knew him as a father.
As we study these verses today, I believe we should be asking ourselves this question: "Do my thoughts reflect God’s promises?” Whether it’s saving for the future, keeping up with your neighbor’s new outdoor toys, the impact of tariffs, or improving your pickleball rating, we can all identify with the anxiety that comes from wanting more, the desire to be in control of having more and what about the desire to be in control of what others around us do with their lives? We all have things in our life that we give more attention to then what they deserve, don’t we? And if I’m honest, studying this passage makes me a little uncomfortable because I know I struggle with trying to control outcomes in my life instead of trusting in His plans and His timing. But God proves his good character to us over and over with the great patience of a Good Shepherd. In his kindness, Jesus knows and understands our tendency to be anxious. Our passage in Chapter 6 is a continuation of the discourse immediately preceding it which warns of the foolishness of trying to serve both God and money. Let’s get a running start this morning by reading from verse 24 through verse 25.
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
25 “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?
Matthew 6:24-25
OK, what is the question we should ask ourselves when we read the word ‘therefore’ in verse 25? What is it ‘there for’?! Great, yes, and for those of you who answered out loud you can pick up your gold star sticker from pastor Ryan after the service. This word ‘therefore’ helps us understand that the imperative command Jesus gives here saying “do not be anxious about your life” is within the context of the previous passage. The tension Jesus creates here is in part to force us and his listeners to stop and consider what our thought life is producing in us and for us. “Do my thoughts reflect God’s promises?”. The ‘therefore’ here at the start of this passage helps us understand that anxiety is downstream of, or the byproduct of, our temptation to lay up treasures here on earth instead of in heaven.
Anxiety is certainly a relevant topic in our culture today. With the increased access to technology and media sources designed to inject polarization, shame and confusion into its consumers, it comes as no surprise that our collective walking-around anxiety is at pervasive, alarming levels. We also know that people we care about suffer from sometimes debilitating anxiety driven by health issues which require medical and therapeutic support. The feeling of anxiety Jesus is calling his followers to stop here isn’t the main thing. Greed, the love of money, materialistic priorities … this pattern of laying up treasures for ourselves first here on earth is what results in the behavior of being anxious. Jesus exhorts us directly but also with compassion, because he knows: “It is useless to focus on things that do not satisfy.” Just like Jack shared with us last week, when comparing earthly treasures to kingdom treasures, substitutes never satisfy.
There’s one more thing about this first verse I’d like us to understand before continuing. The Greek word used here for anxious is derived from merimna, which means to be ‘pulled apart or divided into parts’, fractured, or distracted. I don’t know about you, but I can relate to the sensation of feeling anxious to the point where it feels like I’m being pulled apart in my gut. Here, Jesus is calling his listeners to not let their anxiety about life’s necessities distract them from the trustworthy provisions and promises of God. Anxiety is the byproduct of distracting ourselves from Jesus and His eternal kingdom perspective and seeking control, instead of abiding in the vine. If we think our life is one to be steered and controlled instead of one to be given up, we will be fractured, pulled apart and anxious.
26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[a] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 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?
Matthew 6:26-30
Jesus reminds his listeners that they should trust in God’s provision for their earthly concerns. Things like food, water and clothing. From our present-day perspective, we have the advantage knowing this message also fits within the broader gospel story that promises we won’t have to be anxious about our life, or life’s necessities, because of Christ’s completed and redemptive work on the cross. But perhaps Jesus’ call to: “Do not be anxious about your life” comes across somewhat abruptly or even unreasonable to the listeners on the hillside that day?
Much like today, anxiety was commonplace during Jesus’ time. People were concerned about daily survival, let alone their social status and future. Jesus knew that food, clean water and clothing were not guarantees. The people of that day relied on seasonal rains, river floods and ancient wells to collect water and try to keep their crops alive. The 1st century Roman occupation levied taxes that impoverished the majority of people, affecting their ability to provide. Jesus’ call here should be something that raises tension for his listeners on that hillside. He’s challenging them, and us today, to stop doing what doesn’t work. But Jesus is also commanding the audience with a spirit of compassion and care. Verses 26-30 shift into encouraging some reflection by using familiar imagery of birds and flowers and asking his followers to consider how God also looks after them.
Look at the birds of the air. Consider the lilies of the field. This is relevant for us today as we’ve been watching nature spring back after a long winter. For those of you who enjoy gardening like I do, I am always amazed by the transformation some of these plants go through each spring. When we lived in TX, I remember that plants pretty much stayed green year-round. Of course, those were the ones that somehow survived hurricanes, droughts, bugs, acid rains and 100-year frosts that weren’t supposed to happen. But here in Boise it is different. I have a bunch of plants that basically look like dead sticks into mid-March that seem like they need pulled out and trashed. But the sun angles slowly change and we see the miracle of new growth emerging from dry branches. Here now in early May our trees and flowers are dressed with a beauty no man could have come up with on their own. We even have a pair of ducks that show up at our home each year like clockwork to find timely sustenance from the earthworms in our spring-showered lawn. So, what can we learn from the illustrations Jesus uses here with birds and flowers?
As we examine our thought life and whether it reflects God’s promises, we’ll see that anxiety is both unworthy and underestimating.
First, anxious thoughts are unworthy. John Stott observed, “Worry betrays a false view of human beings. It is as if we were merely bodies that needed to be fed, watered, clothed and housed. An exclusive preoccupation with food, drink and clothing could be justified only if physical survival were the be-all and end-all of existence.” Stott makes the case that, especially when our basic needs are met, worrying about those same basic needs reduces us from image-bearers of God to the same level as birds and plants. “Are you not of more value than they? Will he not much more clothe you?” Jesus isn’t just telling us to “do better”. He is tenderly saying “if you’re anxious, here’s what you’re forgetting.” He compassionately calls us back to reflect his identity, our true identities as cherished sons and daughters, by eliminating unworthy anxious thought patterns from our lives.
Last month, our study of Isaiah reminded us of Christ’s nature as the “Self-Forgetting Servant” and here Jesus is asking his followers to reflect that same self-forgetting posture. Jesus knows our tendency to have a fractured, distracted thought life. He knows that materialistic pursuits would compete for our attention and fracture our focus toward Him. Furthermore, He knows our terminal diagnosis, our sin nature inherited from birth, would demand we should be permanently separated and disconnected from God, and because of that live our lives entirely anxious and broken apart from relationship with Him. But God. Read Romans 5:1-2, 6-8.
Only God can make a demand for our faith and reliance. Only His work can transform us like the flower that bursts forth from its long winter’s sleep exactly as it was designed to do. And only because of the finished, redemptive, sacrificial work through the servant of Jesus Christ can we experience stillness and lasting satisfaction. Anxious thoughts are unworthy of his design for us to prioritize Him and prioritize His kingdom over laying up treasures here on earth.
Next, we learn that anxious thoughts are underestimating. We’ve seen how anxiety is not congruent with His design for us, and these illustrations remind us that birds and flowers will always behave, and only behave, like birds and flowers. Yet somehow along the way we get duped into believing that God’s provisional nature is not trustworthy. When this happens, we risk taking on God’s roles for ourselves, or not trusting He is who He says He is.
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Jesus poses this question to help us see the folly of anxiety, driven by our tendency to want to control and be self-reliant. Think about the absurdity of this phrase – as if you or I could actually control our lifespan by one extra hour? But Jesus is placing a spotlight here on two traps, two dangerous lines of thinking that I believe we should reflect on where our anxious thoughts come from this week. One – are you consumed by what you don’t have? Two – are you consumed by what you might lose? Or three – is it both?
This passage is not speaking against all planning or prudent forethought. This passage is warning us to take caution with the inputs we allow into our lives. Jesus is exhorting us to trust God’s plans over our plans. When something we want feels uncertain, we begin to feel anxious because we drift away from a single-minded, whole-hearted focus on His eternal plan. This causes us to underestimate God’s character and promises.
Deep down, don’t we know, and have enough experience in this life to prove, that we are not in control? When we underestimate God’s character, we will try to take things into our own hands. God exerts dominion over all things, not just the birds or flowers. He is sovereign. But when our focus gets fractured and distracted from Him, our focus inevitably shifts to ourselves.
In our modern culture, selfishness is easier than self-sacrifice. Isolation is easier than being deeply known by others. Distraction is easier than transformation. When we allow ourselves to elevate selfish endeavors, avoid discipleship and allow our minds to be distracted from God’s kingdom priorities, we are at the same underestimating God’s character.
I can’t prefer living with an anxious thought life if I truly trust that God’s provision is for my good. I can’t live a life where truth-tellers are avoided or rejected if I truly trust that God’s truth is best for me. And I can’t live a life where storing up treasures here on earth is more valuable than God’s eternal, promised reward in heaven. Friends – we should examine whether our thoughts reflect God’s promises. And imagine - what would your day-to-day life look like? How would it feel different if we lived like God was In Control, was For You, and Will Provide? Augustine summarizes this well, saying: “O God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.”
If we fully understand God’s character and trust in His promises, we’ll see that anxious thoughts are both unworthy and underestimating.
30 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? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:30-34
So far, we’ve dug into Christ’s call and command to not be anxious. Then we studied his illustrations covering why we are anxious. The therefore we see here is transitioning us to his prescription for how we can now overcome this condition of being anxious.
‘Oh, you of little faith’ leads us into the proclamation in verse 32 which states, ‘Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all’. When we are anxious, scattered, distracted and overwhelmed about the path we are on in this life, we are called to be faithful, single-minded and to trust in the character of our sovereign and provisional God. We are called to reset our gaze. That is the prescription.
The language for Father used in verse 32 is not the Greek Yahweh, rather it is pater (pah-TAIR) which is derived from a root word signifying nourisher, protector, or upholder. The same title is used in Luke’s account of this passage, Chapter 12 verse 32, Jesus tenderly says: ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom’. Perhaps you are like me and struggle with this mental picture of a relational and tender-hearted God instead of what I sometimes see as an all-powerful, controlling and distant God. This is a helpful perspective to be reminded of when I find myself in an anxious loop and having a hard time trusting God’s provision is benevolent and intended for my best. The fatherly language used here is one of authority, but also care, compassion and tenderness and is very much aligned with Yahweh and the Good Shepherd we read David write about in Psalm 23 and elsewhere in scripture.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Psalm 23:1-3
If we are able to fully embrace the nature of a sovereign, tender and provisional God, then Jesus’ statement: ‘Oh, you of little faith’, ‘Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all’ can be received as both deeply encouraging and fully trustworthy. We can change our gaze and view ourselves as worthy children. We can stop striving to control and stop underestimating His heart. His job is to provide for us, and we can start resting, knowing He is always in control of satisfying our needs. His nature as a sovereign means He is ever-present, always watching. And our role in this is simply one of faith. We can trust in God’s provision above our worldly concerns. We can rely on Him for our daily bread and along the way we can monitor our internal heart posture when faced with uncertainty in our thoughts and plans. We can lay our thoughts down and ask the Holy Spirit to remind us of God’s promises.
Verses 33 and 34 remind us of the benefits and impacts of following the prescription of faith, or single-mindedness, when we deal with anxious thoughts. First, we see that we do not have to be anxious about our life. With the power of the Holy Spirit changing our hearts and our minds, it is now a choice for us as believers to abstain from greed, from laying up treasures here on earth and from trying to control our lives. So, one benefit is living a life with an eternal perspective and not one weighed down by anxiety about what we need in this life. Our father, the Good Shepherd, knows and cares deeply for us.
Second, we should be able to experience the ability to be generous and free with our resources. We can do this when we are comfortable and we can do this faithfully when we are uncomfortable. Generosity can take the form of time, money, spiritual gifts and many other resources. We can rest knowing that our heart postures will be examined, not our outward actions or appearances. And finally, we can impact others around us as we participate in living out our faith amongst both believers and non-believers. If anxiety is a distraction from whole-heartedness, from a single-minded focus on God, then we know how isolating it can feel when left unchecked. Our faith is not meant to be practiced and lived out in isolation, so we should be drawn toward the body and toward discipling one another as we put off the old, anxious self and put on the truthful mindset as image-bearers and children of a sovereign, provisional and loving God.
=-=-=-=
Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. In this passage we’ve seen how Jesus calls us to not be anxious, helps us understand why we are anxious and gives us the prescription for how to overcome anxiety. An anxious thought life is one that emerges from trying to lay up treasures on earth instead of heaven. Anxiety distracts us from God’s truth and what He has for us. Anxious thought is unworthy of who we are as image-bearers, and underestimates who God is. It is useless to focus on material things that do not satisfy.
God's purpose and plan for each one of us is a life of worshipful service, in response to a relationship that He offers to have with us. I hope and pray that this week we can all spend time examining whether “our thoughts reflect God’s promises”. The evidences in our hearts and lives that we are walking with an eternal perspective should affect our internal thought lives, the motivations behind the plans we make, our generosity toward others, and our willingness to be tethered to the body and engaged in discipleship ministry. My prayer for us today is that God's presence would overtake each of our hearts, and that we'd long to rest in His provision.
PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for this opportunity to study your Word together today. We ask that your Holy Spirit would work in each of our hearts this morning as we seek to direct our thoughts toward your promises and character. Help us return quickly to your truth and an eternal perspective when we find ourselves anxious from the circumstances in our daily lives. Thank you for this body of friends and believers who we can support and rely on as we all do our best to reflect you to the world around us. Amen.
COMMUNION
At the Communion table, we pause to remind ourselves of the sacrifice that Jesus, God’s son, made for each of us, while we were still sinners. On the night our Lord was betrayed, he sat at the table with his disciples. He was focused and attentive to the heart condition of those men with Him, despite being fully aware of the sacrifice He was about to make for them and all of us.
He passed the bread and gave thanks, knowing that his hour was soon to come. Take now and eat this bread, a symbol of his body broken for us, and our act of worship.
He then passed the cup and gave thanks. Take now and drink from the cup, a symbol of his blood and sacrifice for our sins.
BENEDICTION (these are Jesus’ words from John chapter 14 verse 27)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you.
Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
John 14:27
