Living the Good Life: Trusting in God’s providence, care, omniscince, and kingdom fights your anxious spirit (Matthew 6:25-34)
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Belief of the Mind does not equal trust in the Heart
Belief of the Mind does not equal trust in the Heart
Charles Blondin used to walk on a tightrope over Niagara Falls. Once he did so with a wheelbarrow. He asked a small boy on the bank, “Do you believe I could wheel you over?”
“Yes.”
“Will you let me?”
“No!”
The child demonstrates a belief of the mind not leading to a trust of the heart!
Life often feels like walking a tightrope. Circumstances keep throwing us off balance. Inflation is eating away at your paycheck, your job requires more from you, but the benefits and chances for advancement are dwindling. Your escrow account keeps growing due to rising interest rates and taxes, and you're afraid you will lose your house because you can’t pay your mortgage. You can't even afford to fill up your gas tank because you need to save an extra $25 for school supplies. You should get a physical, but you don't because you haven't met your deductible yet, and you're not sure if the insurance will cover it. So, you have to hope that the pain in your side is just a result of getting older and not the stag 4 pancreatic cancer your mind tries to convince you it is. Day after day, it feels like you are one strong gust of wind away from falling off the tightrope to your death over Niagara Falls. God comes along and says you don’t have to walk that tightrope. I will carry you on that rope. Will you let me?
We know God can walk across the tightrope over Niagara Falls just fine and could wheel us over safely in a wheelbarrow. But when God asks, “Will you let me?” What do you say?
Brothers and sisters, our fallen nature will see God’s provision in life in the scriptures and believe he is able with the mind that God is our good and sovereign caregiver, then turn around, like the child, and doubt in the heart his sovereign providence, care, omniscience, and the reality of his kingdom on earth now and to come. Having a knowledge of God’s sovereign providence, care, omniscience, and his kingdom does not alway lead to belief in your heart that God is truly your soverign caregiver.
This morning, Jesus will show you that when you prioritize your affection for him, practice contentment in him, and pledge your allegiance to his kingdom, your heart and mind will agree on God’s providence, care, omniscience, and kingdom. You will not have a divided heart, which is one of the causes of anxiety and fear in your life. Having a single minded heart united loyal love for Jesus and his ability to care for you will free you from the fickle cares of this world that keep you from enjoying the kingdom. In other words,
Trusting in God's sovereign providence, care, omniscience, and kingdom allows you to release your anxiety, knowing that He cares for you and will provide for your needs.
Trusting in God's sovereign providence, care, omniscience, and kingdom allows you to release your anxiety, knowing that He cares for you and will provide for your needs.
Jesus requires that you not only believe in your mind he is your soverign caregiver, but you also trust, that is believe in your heart, or you exercise faith, in his providence, care, omniscience, and kingdom.
What must you trust about the Father that will release your anxiety and be productive for the kingdom?
Trust in God’s Sovereign Providence
Trust in God’s Sovereign Providence
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? 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?
Jesus reveals that deep down in our hearts, we struggle to trust in God’s providence. He uses the example of birds being fed by God every day to illustrate how much more God cares for his people. He encourages his disciples to reconsider what they prioritize and worry about. Jesus asks, "Are you not more valuable than birds? If God provides for the needs of birds, won't he provide for your needs even more?" Our minds understand this, but our hearts are not fully convinced. John Calvin says,
There is nothing of which it is more difficult to convince men than that the providence of God governs this world.
John Calvin (French Reformer)
What is God’s providence?
What is God’s providence?
John Piper, in his massive work called “Providence,” notes that the word providence is built from the word provide, which has two parts: pro (Latin “forward,” “on behalf of”) and vide(Latin “to see”). So, you might think that the word provide would mean “to see forward” or “to foresee.” But it doesn’t. It means “to supply what is needed”; “to give sustenance or support.” There is an old English idiom that comes from pro video, which means, “I’ll see to it.” To provide is to take responsibility for caring for someone or something. So in reference to God, the noun providence has come to mean,
“the act of purposefully providing for, or sustaining and governing, the world.”(Piper, John. 2020. Providence. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.)
God assures his creation and image bearers that they will be provided for. Providence is the continuous and often unseen activity of God, sustaining his universe, providing for the needs of every creature, and preparing for the completion of his eternal purposes.
God's providence sustains the created order (Genesis 8:22). All life depends on God (1 Timothy 6:13). God controls the earth, wind, fire, and water at his discretion (Psalm 147:8). He provides food for the created world (Psalm 145:15–16). God’s providence can use miraculous means to accomplish his will (Job 5:9–10). He also controls all of human history, including human intentions (Habakkuk 1:12). God providentially works on behalf of individuals for their good (Romans 8:28). His saving purposes are fulfilled through His providence (Examples: Genesis 50:20; Acts 4:27–28; Acts 2:23; Galatians 4:4–5; Genesis 22:13; Genesis 45:5–8; 2 Chronicles 36:22–23; Ezra 6:14; Isaiah 44:28–45:1). God's providence prepares heaven and earth for the completion of his ultimate purpose, forming a people for himself (Revelation 21:3), and bringing all things under Jesus Christ’s authority (Ephesians 1:9–10), including the completion of his purpose for creation (Romans 8:20–21), directing all things for his glory (Romans 11:36).
The seventeenth century French theologian and Arch Bishop of Cambrai Francois Fenelon, wisely instructs us,
We sleep in peace in the arms of God, when we yield ourselves up to his Providence.
François De Salignac De La Mothe Fénelon (Archbishop of Cambrai)
God’s providence says to you daily needs, brothers and sisters, “I’ll see to it.” And the cross is proof you trust his providence.
When God looked at your sin, he said, “I’ll see to it.” The he sent his Son into the world to live a perfect law abiding life you could not live and bore that wrath you deserved on the cross. God raised him from the dead to ensure your sins are forgiven and your eternal life is secured. Trust in God’s sovereign providence so you can put your anxiety to death and rest in the peace of God.
Trust in God’s Soverign Care
Trust in God’s Soverign Care
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?
Jesus' illustration of the lilies of the field helps us understand something about God's fatherly care. God’s care for creation is a model for His care for us. He clothes the lilies of the field with exquisite colors to display his love for beauty to all creation to enjoy, even if it is for a day. Flowers are weak and feeble, easily trampled, picked for pleasure, and thrown into the fire when they dry up and loose their purpose.
The psalmist rightly says we are no different than the lilies of the field.
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.
One could think that God would not care so much about weak and frail human beings whose life spans are as fleeting as a flower, or even a vapor as James says in the New Testament. But God does not just see his image bearers through the lens of creation. He sees us with Fatherly eyes that stirs compassion and care for us. The same Psalmist also says,
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,
If God so intentionally and intimately cares for his creation, which is here to today and gone tomorrow, how much more intimately and intentionally does he care for us whom he has redeemed through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ? How much more will he care for us, whom he has given eternal life through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. You are no fleeting flower, brothers and sisters. You are a redeemed and restored child of the living God. He knows every hair on your head, and every thought in your mind, and every word on your tongue before you speak it (Psalm 139). He knows what you need before you ask for it (Matthew 6:8), and He cares about your anxious thoughts about your future needs. So, he commends you to
1 Peter 5:7 (ESV)
7 cast all your anxieties (cares) on him, because he cares for you.
Furthermore, cast your cares on Him because he can care for you. Keep in mind of God’s soverign providence. His compassion on you compels Him to care for you and his sovereignty enables him to care for you.
When I am tempted to forget that God cares for me, and the ministry of FBCL, I meditate on the cross of Jesus Christ. I think about how the Father demonstrated his love for in this, while I was a sinner, his enemy, he sent Christ to die for me. I think about the compassion of Jesus’ words on the cross, “Father, forgive Jason, for he does not know what he is doing.” I think about my adoption as his son and the inheritance that I’m promised all because he cares for me.
And then I look at saints who trusted God’s fatherly care, like George Mueller’s ministry to orphans in Bristol, England. Mueller once said
The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of faith is the end of anxiety.
—George Mueller
George Mueller
Faith in what specifically? For Mueller, it was faith in God’s fatherly care.
Mueller ministered to orphans on the streets of Bristol in the mid-1800s. He relied on prayer to obtain resources for his children. He prayed to God, believing in God's sovereign providence and that God cared about his ministry and the orphans. With faith in God’s fatherly care, Mueller was released from being overwhelmed with anxiety when providing food, clothing, and shelter for over 300 orphans at a time. His faith in God’s promises to provide for his people gave him freedom.
John Piper says,
Faith in the promises of God’s fatherly care produces freedom from fear, freedom from anxiety, and therefore freedom from things and freedom for people and freedom for love.
John Piper
You can have freedom as you walk the tightrope of life. God promises to see to it that you are taken care of as he carries you across the Niagara Falls in a wheel barrel. He promises to care for all your needs so you can have the freedom to enjoy the journey, and the faith to get to the other side. You have the freedom to enjoy the glory of God’s Fatherly care; when he shows up huge for you in his perfect time. Trust in your Father’s sovereign care for you.
Trust in God’s Sovereign Omniscience
Trust in God’s Sovereign Omniscience
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.
To say that God is omniscience is to say that God is all knowing. He knows all things past, present, and future. What is hidden from human sight is still known by God. Scripture stresses God's wisdom in all his actions and often grounds this in his all-embracing knowledge.
It is important to remember that God's knowledge is absolutely complete (Mt 10:30). He understands the things that are hidden from human understanding, as Moses said in Deuteronomy 29:29 (ESV), "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." God is aware of every action of man, as Job said, "For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps" (Job 34:21). Furthermore, God knows every aspect of everyone's heart and mind, as mentioned in 1 Chronicles 28:9 (ESV), "… for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever." Brothers and sisters, God knows His children's needs even before they pray and ask Him as Jesus says to his disciples
Matthew 6:8 (ESV)
8 … your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
In verse 32 of our text, Jesus grounds why you should not worry about what you will eat, or what you will drink, or what you will wear in His Father’s Omniscience.
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
Notice the contrast that Jesus presents to his disciples. The Gentiles are unbelievers who seek food, clothing, water, and shelter with unbelief. They trust in idols and false gods, which are depicted as temperamental and self-serving. That’s you when you trust in your health, wealth, and prosperity, friend. Health, wealth, and prosperity are major idols in American culture, and we are prone to put our hope in them. So, when they are at risk of being taken away, you are anxious and fearful about your basic needs being met. Why? Because in reality, false gods do not exist. Idols made of stone and wood, paper or perception, are worthless; they are neither omniscient nor omnipotent. They are incapable of ensuring that you are cared for, nor do they care whether you are cared for.
On the other hand, your Father in heaven cares for you, has the ability to care for you, and knows your deepest needs far better than you do. Thomas Brooks says,
There is not a desire that arises in thy soul, but the Lord takes notice of it.
Thomas Brooks
The Unsearchable Riches of Christ (1655)
Thomas Brooks
It’s September of 1838. George Mueller’s ministry has suffered financial hardship. They are literally living day by day on small offerings given by a few faithful people. Listen to Mueller’s own words,
“On September 18th, we received one pound eight shillings to buy the meat and bread which was needed, a little tea for one of the houses, and milk for all-no more than this is needed. Thus the Lord has provided not only for this day, but there is money for bread for the next two days. Now, however, we are in dire straits again. The funds are exhausted. The laborers who had a little money have given their last shillings.
Now observe how the Lord helped us! A lady from London brought a parcel with money and rented a room next door to the Boys' Orphan House. This afternoon she brought me the money which amounted to three pounds two shillings and sixpence. We were at the point of selling these things which could be spared, but this morning I asked the Lord to provide for us in another way. The money had been near the Orphan Houses for several days without being given.”
God knew Mueller’s needs long before he asked for them to be met. God had already arranged for the money to be in Bristol for several days before it was delviered to Mueller. God move a faithful woman to provide enough money to meet the needs of the orphanage before the needs of the orphanage we known.
And Mueller knew this because he says, “That proved to me that it was in the heart of God from the beginning to help us.” Muller believed the promises of God’s providential care. He trusted that God would see to it his needs were met, which gave him the freedom to pray and hope, instead of being riddled ith fear and anxiety.
You might ask, “Why did God wait several days to deliver the money? Why not give it to him right away?” Mueller insightfully answers this question.
“But because He [God] delights in the prayers of His children, He allowed us to pray so long. Our tried faith made the answer much sweeter.”
When God does not answer your prayers to have your needs met right away, do not assume he does not know what you need, as if he can’t see you or that he is ignoring you. Maybe it is very much the opposite. Maybe God is enjoying your prayers and he is excited about your faith, and how your heart will respond when you see his glory and your tried faith making the answer to your prayers all the sweeter.
Trust in God’s sovereign omniscience.
Trust in God’s Sovereign Kingdom
Trust in God’s Sovereign Kingdom
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.
Jesus’ main imperative in this section sets your priorities in proper order. Your solution to anxiety and fear is to seek first the kingdom of God. Jesus has made it clear that the cause of worry, says John MacArthur, is the seeking the things of this world, and the cause of contentment is seeking the things of God. How is this true?
It is true because of what we learned last week. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also Matthew 6:21. Your heart holds your identity, and everything your prize in this life. The things of this world are like water in your finger tips. No matter how hard you try to hold onto it, you escapes your hands. This causes fear and anxiety. Jesus says there are better things to treasure when you seek first his kingdom, namely himself.
Daniel Doriani notes, “to seek the kingdom is to seek the King, to love him as Savior and Friend, to bow to him as Lord, to trust the God who has chosen us, redeemed us, and taught us to trust him.” Jesus is your treasure, and what he promises you can never be taken away from you. He says store up treasures in heaven, where moth and rust cannot be destroy. Why? Because treasures in heaven are treasures of the kingdom, and they are being protected by your Father. The apostle Peter encourages with you keep in mind
1 Peter 1:3–5 (ESV)
…God has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Your treasures and inheritance are being kept for you in heaven and guarded by God so that you will never lose them, and have them taken away from you. Therefore, you should prioritize your affections for Jesus, practice contentment in Jesus, and pledge your allegiance to his kingdom, or as Jesus says, Seek first His kingdom in all things.
God sovereignty over his kingdom is the glue that keeps your rest together. God is joyfully advancing his kingdom in the hearts of men, women, and children. He is moving all of the past, present, and future toward his desired end. There is coming a day when,
Revelation 11:15 (ESV)
15 … “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
Everything you do for God’s kingdom will be rewarded and will last forever because God sovereignly rules, reigns, and advances his kingdom.
David Livingstone was a young man with a passionate heart for the Lord. One day he got to his knees and said this prayer, “Lord, Send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. Sever any ties, but the ties that bind me to your service and to your heart,” and the words of God came to him “Lo, I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.” He packed his bags and went off to Africa. He spent most of his life mapping much of the wild frontier of West Africa, while he shared the gospel with unreached tribes. He gave his entire life to his ministry, and even sacrifice much of his family for the sake of the kingdom. He once said,
“I place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of God. If anything will advance the interests of the kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by giving or keeping it I shall most promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time or eternity.”.
David Livingstone (Missionary and Explorer)
David Livingstone was a man who understood what it means to seek first the kingdom of God. He trusted in God’s providence. He trusted in God’s care. He trusted in God’s omniscience, and he trusted in the eternal hope of the kingdom. And toward the end of his life, after suffering physical hardship of sickness and loss, years away from his family, all for the sake of the kingdom, someone asked him if he every considered the sacrifice he made of the kingdom of God. Livingstone replied,
“For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.”
When God came to George Mueller and David Livingston lived lives that sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. They said yes to God when said, “I can wheel you across Niagra Falls on a tightrope.” And look at what God accomplished through these men. George Mueller robbed the streets of Bristol England of 100,000 orphans and raised over 4 billion dollars for his ministry with speaking a word to the public. David Livingston brought the gospel to much of the content of Africa while he mapped it for exploration. What do you think God could do with us if we trusted his sovereign providence, soverign care, soverign omniscience, and his soverign kingdom to come?
