Matthew 6:25-34
God’s Promise to Provide
Read…
Prov. 23:4 Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease!
Pray
Intro
√ Worry
Last week we looked at the Pharisee’s attitude and use of wealth (money).
They wrongly believed that the accumulation of wealth equated to righteousness…
…whereas Jesus tells us that one’s attitude toward wealth is the real barometer of righteousness!
Therefore, we found that they gave themselves over to seeking after, storing up, and serving the false god Mammon (wealth)!
Rather than find satisfaction in life, the Pharisee (and anyone else) who give themselves to the pursuit of material possessions will find that their lives become consumed by…
…worry!
√ Don’t worry!
In contrast to the lives of the Pharisees, Jesus tells His disciples…
“Don’t worry”
In fact, three times in this section Jesus tells us not to worry about even the basic necessities of life.
Why should we not worry?
Because Jesus tells us that we can trust our Heavenly Father to…
Feed us
Clothe us
Know our needs
Therefore, the person who trusts in the Lord is set free from worry because they know that God has promised to provide all they need.
Ap. Worried?
Worry about money, and even about meeting our true necessities is actually a manifestation of a lack of faith!
Jesus wants us to know that when we have heavenly priorities in life…
…then we can have confidence that God will provide for our earthly needs.
So, let’s look at the practical wisdom Jesus gives to those who have a right attitude toward wealth.
The Father Feeds (vs. 25-27)
Matt. 6:25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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?
Matt. 6:26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Matt. 6:27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
√ Therefore
Note that Jesus begins this next section with the word…
“Therefore”
…you know the routine!
“Whenever you find a ‘therefore’, look and see what it’s there for!”
In this next section Jesus gives us practical application to the instructions that He gave us in the preceding verses with regard to a right attitude toward wealth.
Specifically, Jesus answers the question in everyone’s mind…
“If I give myself to pursuing the things of God, not material wealth, then how will I provide for the needs in life…food and clothing?”
After all, doesn’t the Bible say…
“God helps them who help themselves”?
No, the Bible tells us that we’re to live by faith!
Ex. The Pharisees had never learned to live by faith! They trusted in themselves.
Jesus calls His followers to live a life of faith in which they put the priorities of God’s Kingdom first…
…and trust the Lord to provide for their needs.
Ex. Turning down 2 jobs that I needed because they interfered with the purpose to which God had called me
So, Jesus now gives us two illustrations from Creation that prove that we can trust God to provide for our needs.
√ The Father feeds
The first area of provision that Jesus deals with is food. He tells us in vs. 25-26…
“…do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink. Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Jesus points us to the birds for a lesson on how God provides for our needs and why it is silly to worry about food.
He reminds us that birds don’t worry about what they’re going to eat tomorrow, they just eat what’s available today.
The evidence of their lack of worry for the future is seen in that they don’t store up vast supplies of food.
The Lord’s point is that since the Father provides food for the birds…
…how much more should we trust that He will provide food for those who are serving Him?
Ex. God provided for Elijah in the midst of a drought & the children of Israel in the wilderness with manna!
Understand that doesn’t mean we’re to sit around and wait for ravens to bring us a Big Mac!
Rather, we do our part (just like the birds who go out and gather up seeds each day)…
…and trust that God will provide for our needs.
I know that you can trust the Lord to provide because I’ve experienced it myself!
Ex. Moving to Arkansas
We weren’t making much money, but we never missed a meal!
Ap. God made you, He knows how to keep you going!
So, you don’t have to worry about food because the The Father feeds you and your family when you chose to serve God…
…not Mammon!
The Father Clothes (vs. 28-30)
Matt. 6:28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
Matt. 6:29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Matt. 6:30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
√ The Father Clothes
Another legitimate concern that we all have is how we are going to provide for clothing.
Living here in the USA we have a very warped perspective on what we “need” vs. what we “want”.
In the time that Jesus first shared these thoughts the average person may have had a couple of tunics, a pair of sandals, and a coat.
Yet, people still worried about how they would clothe themselves because things wore out and most folks didn’t have the money to replace their clothes on a regular basis.
So, Jesus uses the illustration of a flower to remind us that God can put clothes on our back!
Jesus’ point is that since God adorns something as temporary as grass with beautiful flowers…
…how much more should we trust Him to provide clothing for us who are eternal!
Ex. The first set of clothes
God was the One who made the first set of clothes for people, remember Adam and Eve?! So, taking care of us isn’t an issue.
Ex. Exodus
God made sure they all had clothes and that what they took into the wilderness didn’t wear out!
Ap. God made you, He knows how to keep you covered up and looking good!
So, you don’t have to worry about having clothes to wear because the The Father clothes you and your family when you chose to serve God…
…not Mammon!
The Father Knows (vs. 31-32)
Matt. 6:31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?’ or “What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
Matt. 6:32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
√ The Father Knows
We’ve got another…
“Therefore”
…you know the routine!
“Whenever you find a ‘therefore’, look and see what it’s there for!”
That is, in light of the way that God cares for the birds, and clothes the grass…
…we can be confidant that our Heavenly Father is able to provide for our daily needs so we have no reason to worry about them!
Further more, the Lord tells us that we don’t have to invest our lives in the pursuit of these things as the unbelievers do because unlike their gods…
…our God and Father already knows what we need!
So, we can rest easy, without worry, confident that our Father knows every detail of our lives and will meet our every need.
√ Faith vs. Fear
This section also reveals the fundamental problem with Man’s religion…
The works of the Pharisees
Any other religious system
…that is, the religions of Man are characterized by fear!
That’s because the religions of Man do not bring the assurance that God is pleased with our efforts, or rituals.
The result of fear is anxiety – worry – a lack of real faith that is manifest by substituting trust with our own efforts.
Ex. Context of Jesus’ teaching
Remember, Jesus is addressing the false religion of the Pharisees that emphasized works vs. relationship.
While they made a great show of their material wealth…
…none the less, their lives must have been characterized by worry over the necessities of life or Jesus wouldn’t have addressed it here in this section.
The solution that brings freedom from fear and worry is to replace religion with relationship.
That’s what Jesus is driving at here!
That is, the person who has a right relationship with the Father has the assurance that God is pleased with him…
…therefore, he is not afraid of tomorrow because he is sure that God will provide for his needs.
So, we don’t need to busy ourselves with the pursuit of our daily necessities because God knows what we need and has a plan to meet it.
The Father Promises (vs. 33-34)
Matt. 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matt. 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
√ The Father’s Promises
Jesus closes His teaching by telling us that the right attitude toward wealth is to put God’s Kingdom first…
…rather, than to pursue the material treasures of this world.
For those who do God has promised to take care of their daily necessities!
That is an awesome promise!
How’s it work out in a practical way?
Ex. Provision for material needs
Peter and the disciples left their jobs, their homes and all the means available to them to provide for themselves.
Yet they never lacked for anything.
Over and over again we see Jesus making provision for them as they walked in obedience to His call on their lives and put the KOG first.
Jesus fed the multitudes and even provided the money Peter needed to pay the Temple Tax.
The really awesome truth is that the Lord’s promise is still true today!
Ex. George Muller
Ap. Is His Kingdom first in your life?
The answer to that question is found in the condition of your heart and the activity of your life…
Are you consumed with worry?
What do you invest your time, talent and treasure in?
By way of example, is your life characterized by the things that are important to God…
Worship
Prayer
Study of His Word
Ministering His love to others
Or, is your life crowded with the pursuit of things that Jesus said our Heavenly Father would provide?
The extent to which you seek His Kingdom first…
…is the extent to which you will experience God’s provision and peace!
Close
√ Don’t worry!
In contrast to the lives of the Pharisees, Jesus tells us…
“Don’t worry”
three times in this section Jesus tells us not to worry about even the basic necessities of life.
Because our Heavenly Father…
Feeds us
Clothes us
Knows our needs
Therefore, if you will trust in the promises of God and seek His Kingdom then you will be set free from worry because you know that God will provide all you need.