A Call to Trust (Matthew 6:25-34)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
The world can be a scary place to live. A world where sin has affected every part of creation. A world where sin has affected every relationship to some degree. A world that is becoming scarier at this time, not because the world is more sinful now than before, but because the world seems to be changing at a faster speed than ever before with the massive amounts of information that we are able to hear and find out about in a moment’s notice from the internet in our hands.
All of these things cause us to be troubled in various ways. But as if the troubles of today were not enough, there is the added troubling of all the what if scenarios that begin to flood our minds. We worry what may or may not come. What trial or affliction is around the corner. With google, we try and all become experts in everything and ultimately failing to become experts in anything because we try to be doctors and diagnose ourselves and what is going on with us. We worry about providing for our family and will provisions fail, will our job be there tomorrow, will the next recession do us in? We worry about what our children and grandchildren will live in.
All of these worries work there way into our minds and leave us crippled with anxiousness. Even we who are Christians are often easily overcome by such anxiousness. Thankfully the Lord Jesus does not leave us without a word on this matter. He speaks this word to us here in our text this morning to strengthen our hearts and minds in the midst of the unknown, in the midst of life’s troubles.
So I invite you to take your copy of the Bible and turn with me this morning to Matthew 6:25-34. If you are visiting with us and you do not have a copy of the Bible, please feel free to grab that Red Bible in the Pew seat in front of you. You can find our passage this morning on page #965.
While you are turning there, let me bring you up to speed with where we are if you are new with us this morning or have been out a few weeks. We have been working our way through the gospel according to Matthew since the first of December. The gospel of Matthew was estimated to have been written in the late 50’s or early 60’s. Just to make clear, not the 1950’s or 60’s, the year 0050s. This gospel account was written by one of the twelve disciples, Levi who was called Matthew, a former tax collector. And he has written this retelling of the good news of Jesus to try and persuade his fellow Jews that this Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah who has brought about the kingdom of God and fulfills the promises of old. Matthew has also began already to teach us that there is a new people of God with a new promises of blessing as found in Matthew 5:1-12, in what is known as the beatitudes. And therefore, this new people of God has been given a greater law to follow as the people of God. And in the midst of giving this law, particular instructions are now being given by Jesus himself, the Anointed Messiah King, calling the people to love God and trust him…
Here is what I think the main idea of Matthew 6:25-34 is: Don’t be anxious about the unknowns, instead trust your Father who loves and cares for you. We are then going to unfold this in three points flowing from this main idea: (1) God’s care for creation, (2) God’s care for you, and (3) God’s call for you.
Point #1: God’s Care for Creation
Point #1: God’s Care for Creation
Matthew 6:25 starts with the word, therefore. This then points us back to the proceeding passage of Matthew 6:19-24 and what it has just been emphasizing of the need to focus on serving God over money. The need to store treasures in heaven and keeping our eye fixed on the LORD. It is then assumed that these disciples, and we who read this as Christian, indeed are choosing to serve God alone. And therefore because our treasures are indeed being laid in heaven, then we should not be anxious about the things of this world.
Therefore, we as Christians are not to be anxious about our life or what we will eat or what we will drink or what we will put on for clothing. This is the redundant theme of this passage, to not be anxious. But the grounding of this call to not be anxious is maybe not what we would expect. The first grounding for this call to not be anxious is found in Matthew 6:26…
The birds of the air are the reason we are not to be anxious. Jesus points our eyes to these little chirping, flying creatures as the grounding of why we should not be anxious about our lives. Why does Jesus do this? Because he teaches us to take notice of these little chirping, flying creatures and see how God cares for them. They need not try and figure out as the birds of the air how to plow the fields, sow the seed, cover the seed, and then harvest the seed and store it for their food. Our Father in heaven feeds them as part of his providence over his creation.
To borrow from John Piper, “Providence is God’s use of his power and his authority to bring about an ultimate purpose for the universe that cannot fail.” (1)
Not only has God sovereignly spoke creation into existence by speaking it into being, but God cares for this creation in providing for it’s ultimate good for his glory in his providence. And this is to be of great encouragement to us as Christians.
Our father has not created and then abandoned his creation. He cares for the smallest details of his creation, including the feeding of the birds of the air.
But in case we are still leery of God’s providence in care for his creation, Jesus takes us to another example. Matthew 6:28-30…
With all their bright and beautiful colors of their blooms, Jesus points us to the lilies of the field to teach us that God has clothed even the grass of the field with such splendidness.
Jesus even teaches that not even Solomon in all his riches was clothed as beautifully as these flowers of the field. For these do not labor, yet year after year they bloom with such an array of beauty.
God in his providence has cared for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. And the reason Jesus points us to these is to teach us that if God has cared for these things in creation, how much more will he care for us, dear Christian? For he cares for these things that are alive today and gone tomorrow. How much more will he care for us? For God has put eternity in our hearts. Ecclesiastes 3:11
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
And because of this reality, Jesus says there in Matthew 6:26, are we not of more value than the birds of the air. Then again in Matthew 6:30 how much more will he clothe us.
Let God’s providential care for his creation encourage us in his providential care for us.
Point #2: God’s Care for You
Point #2: God’s Care for You
All of creation was spoken into existence by God. And he cares for it all. But the pinnacle of God’s creation is that which he has made in his image, mankind.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
And from the beginning then, God had told man that he provided all that they needed:
Genesis 1:29 “29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.”
But there is a problem, this promise of Genesis 1:29 was in the garden of Eden prior to the fall of man and sin entering the world. A world where toil and anxiousness had not entered. But in the fall of man in Genesis 3, that was no longer the case. The provision of food and water would not be as readily and easily available. For here the curse for man in the fall.
Genesis 3:17 “17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;”
And yet, even though the ground was cursed and painful to work, the LORD continued to provide. We see this in Genesis 4 with Cain and Abel both having animals and the fruit of the ground before them.
In the flood, God provided for Noah and his family. Along the way, God graciously provided for Abraham in calling him to leave his own country to wander and follow God to a land of promise, though his eyes did not see it. God provided along the way.
In Joseph going before his brothers to Egypt, God was providing care for his people, the twelve tribes of Israel, in Joseph going to store up food for the upcoming famine by giving him an understanding of visions and what was to come.
400 years later, when Israel would leave Egypt in the Exodus, as they journeyed in the wilderness, the LORD provided for them with water and quail and manna. Even in the midst of their sinful grumblings and doubts, God provided for them, they had food and their clothing and shoes did not wear out as they were left to wander.
The Lord provided the people a land of milk and honey in which they finally entered 40 years later. A land of great provision. But only for a short time, not because God was unable to provide, but because Israel failed to keep their end of the covenant, they failed to hear and obey the LORD. They turned to other gods and idols. And they were then cast into exile.
Yet, even in that of Daniel and Shadrach and Mishach and Abindigo, do we not see that they who refused the kings meal were provided and cared for in eating. How they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the rest?
Time and time again, God has shown that he cares for his people, for those who he has called to himself. God’s people have not been neglected in provisions along the way.
We learn this from the Psalms:
Psalm 37:25 “25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”
Psalm 103:13–17 “13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children,”
Time and time again, God has shown his faithfulness to care and show compassion for his people when they humble themselves before him and call out to him.
But even more so, we need to see now as God has provided for his people previously, that he is promising much more so now under a new covenant that is being established as a new people of God are being defined.
Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has begun to teach us who the new people of God are, not those who belong to Israel by blood, but those who are in Abraham by their faith, those who believe God and it is counted to them as righteousness. Those who are the blessed in seeking the kingdom of heaven and being persecuted for it, those who are persecuted for Jesus’ namesake.
A people of God who are to fulfill the mission mandate to be a light to the nations. Jesus is here emphasizing that his disciples are the new people of God, and if they will hear and obey, if they will trust God, they can rest assured their Father will care for them and provide for them.
Why? Because are they not more valuable than the birds of the air? If our Heavenly Father has cared for such creatures in the provision of food, will he not much more care for us in the same?
Or the lilies of the field, they which are here today and gone tomorrow, with their being clothed in such splendor, will not our Father in heaven not care more for us in ensuring we are clothed sufficiently?
Furthermore, we can not only look to the birds of the air, the lilies of the field, the past of Israel, we can look to the cross to see God’s loving care for us as mankind.
We can look to the cross where our Heavenly Father did not withhold the giving of his own Son as a sacrifice in order to rescue us from the curse of sin and death. We can look to the cross where Jesus was pierced for our transgressions so that we might be declared righteous in him. We can look to the cross where our Heavenly Father did not withhold his Son to ensure the price for our sin was paid in full in order to bring us from death to life, to free us from the bondage of sin.
Our greatest need was provided for by our Triune God. The Father sent the Son and the Son laid down his life for us. And the Spirit testifies these truths to us and is now at work in us to open our eyes and hearts to believe.
If this is true? If while we were still sinners, Christ died for us? How much more will our Father now that we are adopted as his sons in Jesus care for us by providing our basic needs of food and drink and clothing?
Christian, when anxiousness rolls upon you and tries to weigh you down with its weight, look to the Cross and see how the Father has loved you and rest assured that he who did not spare his own Son will not withhold the things you need in this life.
Look to the cross and cast all your anxieties away. 1 Peter 5:7 “7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
Our God cares for us, and this is foundation for us in being told to not be anxious. For if we truly believe God is who he reveals himself in the Scriptures, then we can have faith and not be anxious. Anxiousness is the product of little faith, faith that fails to fully see the goodness of God and his loving care of his people. This is why Jesus states there “O you of little faith” there in verse 30 on those that are anxious about clothing. Not doubting their total belief, but a rebuke on them limiting the bigness and goodness of God.
Daniel Doriani writes:
Matthew, Volumes 1 & 2 Reason 4: God Cares for Creation—Flowers and Grass
Strong faith does not come by introspection, by working up feelings of trust in God. Rather, Jesus says, stronger faith comes by contemplating God’s ways with his creation. Watch the birds. Observe or contemplate the lilies and the grass.4 The animals and plants point beyond themselves to God, their caretaker. Strong faith knows that he dresses the lower creation and will also dress us.
Christian brothers and sisters, even when hardships and trials and tribulations come, we must remember that all things are being worked out according to our good God’s purpose (Romans 8:28) and for our ultimate good.
But, maybe you are one who is with us here this morning who has to this point rejected God and his care for us in Jesus. Friend, no wonder you are anxious in these matters of food and drink and clothing and much more. You think that provision is dependent on you alone. You think that it is all left up to chance. That is enough to make any man anxious. But friend, see that this is simply not true.
The very God who spoke all things into existence, he is caring for all things that he created, including you and I. He has proven his care by the sending of his Son, Jesus. Friend, you have heard me call those in Christ to look to the cross, and I urge you to do the same this morning. Look to the cross to see God’s love and care for those created in his image. This is the great length the Father has gone to in order to rescue us from sin and death and the curse of this world. Come to Jesus and find rest for your anxious soul. Come and find rest in the one who has come to rescue you from your greatest need, the curse of sin and death. Come and believe today.
God cares for you, look to the cross and see this great and loving care.
Point #3: God’s Call for You
Point #3: God’s Call for You
Because God cares for you and me, then we now turn to God’s call for us through Jesus. Primarily that we are not to be anxious. This has been stated three times in our passage this morning. First there in verse 25, then again in verses 31, and then again in verse 34 where we read…
Today has its own troubles, Christian. We are not to be anxious about tomorrow and what may or may not happen. We are not to be anxious about the basic needs of life, for our Father knows we need them. Instead we are to lay our anxiousness down. We are to trust our good and gracious and loving Father to care for us like a good Father does!
Let us be reminded over and over again of our Father’s goodness, from our daily Bible Reading, to our time together. We must be reminded regularly, because we are a forgetful people. For these reminders are the shot we need to let go of anxiousness within our hearts.
Then as we cast our anxiousness away, then we must set our eyes rightly towards what we are to seek. We are not called to seek and know what all is to come, we are to seek the kingdom of God. Matthew 6:33…
To seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness is to seek the eternal, the spiritual more than we do the things of the flesh. It is to seek this greater righteousness that King Jesus has been calling us to if we are to enter the kingdom of God. A greater righteousness of heart, that is not hypocritical and for show before man. A greater righteousness that is rooted in humility and casting our utmost hope on Jesus and what he has done for us.
A greater righteousness that not only focuses on what society calls the major sins, but puts to death the often socially acceptable sins of gossip and slander. Greater righteousness calls such sin to be put to death. Greater righteousness calls us to not insist on our own ways but to seek the interests of others, to prefer one another. Learning to be a people united in the mutual faith in Jesus Christ and maturing in that faith together, even when we have nothing in common except the gospel.
Then as we seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, ensuring that the righteousness of Christ is being worked out in us, producing good works in us.
Beloved, being anxious about the troubles of tomorrow can not add to our lives, not an cubit of height or a span of even an hour. Therefore let us remember the goodness of our Father and trust that he will provide for us. Let us lay aside our anxiousness and go about the business of our King (Daniel 8:27).
Let’s pray…
Endnotes:
Piper, John. Providence. Article. https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-difference-does-providence-make
