Audio - Sermon On The Mount 14 of 18
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The Sermon on the Mount, 14th Sermon
The Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity
October 6, 2002
NKJ Matthew 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? 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? 27 "Which of
you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 "So why do you worry about
clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor
spin; 29 "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these. 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? 31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What
shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 "For after
all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need
all these things. 33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you. 34 "Therefore do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day
is its own trouble.
TEXT: 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?
Once again our Lord continues His point from last week—don’t spend your life
trying to accumulate mammon—wealth on earth that is above what you need—instead
focus on the treasures of heaven
And don’t spend your time on this earth worried about the things of life—He’s
speaking here to the 12—who were already worrying—Jesus is telling them to stop
What did they have to worry about—they were walking with the Son of God—the
Messiah spoken of in Scripture from the beginning of time
But we must remember that they walked away from their fishing boats and
jobs—some had wives and families—these are men—humans just like you and me—who
have always been responsible for feeding and clothing their families and
themselves
Now Jesus says—Don’t worry about your life—the life given to you by your
Creator—your worry about earthly needs distracts your attention from God—don’t
worry about food or shelter—God will provide
To properly understand what Jesus is teaching us—we must put things in
perspective
When you became a Christian—you became a despised target of the devil—who will
attempt to use every trick he knows to cause you to worry—to distract you from
focusing on God
The devil is the prince—or ruler—of this world—that’s what Jesus calls him in
His discussion of the sending of the Holy Spirit
NKJ John 16:8 "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment: 9 "of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10
"of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 "of
judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
Our flesh and blood has to live in this world—and this world is ruled by the
devil
We as humans are always seeking a way to avoid danger—and starvation—lack of
shelter—lack of clothing—are all very real dangers—and that is what the 12 are
worrying about—as I follow Jesus—how will I provide for my family
Jesus is telling the 12—and us—to avoid concern about making a living—and focus
on living God-pleasing lives
There’s a temptation to be concerned about this life—and disregard our heavenly
citizenship—and the devil and his workers praise the man who seeks and gains
prosperity here on earth
NKJ Philippians 3:17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who
so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 18 For many walk, of whom I have told you
often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of
Christ: 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory
is in their shame -- who set their mind on earthly things. 20 For our
citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed
to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to
subdue all things to Himself.
Does all this mean that we should sit around every day—reading our Bibles—and
waiting for God to drop food on our laps—NO!--let Scripture answer
Scripture—look at these words of Paul
NKJ 1 Thessalonians 4:9 But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I
should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;
10 and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we
urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; 11 that you also aspire to
lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands,
as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside,
and that you may lack nothing.
NKJ 2 Thessalonians 3:6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not
according to the tradition which he received from us. 7 For you yourselves know
how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor did we
eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day,
that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we do not have
authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. 10 For
even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work,
neither shall he eat.
So once again—the Scriptures are crystal clear—we are here to work—earn our own
way—but not to get caught up in the ways of the world and seek fame and fortune
on this earth
Compare this to Jesus’ teaching in John’s Gospel
NKJ John 12:25 "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in
this world will keep it for eternal life.
Don’t fall into Satan’s trap—don’t get caught up in the ways of this world—seek
your treasures in heaven—we continue with the text
TEXT: 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?
Now Jesus drives His point home with a series of illustrations—the first
concerning food—if God takes such care to feed the birds—how much better will He
care for His children
Take note that Jesus chooses birds—who can neither sow nor reap—we are that much
more advantaged to the birds—therefore—we surely will be cared for by our Father
in heaven
TEXT: 27 "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
Next an illustration concerning worry—in order to properly understand—we have to
go back to an Old Testament psalm concerning the length of life
NKJ Psalm 39:5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as
nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah
Here King David is inspired to describe the length of his life as the width of a
hand—so we see that Jesus’ question about worry says—if you worry can you add a
cubit—18 inches to your life?
This is of course ridiculous—no one can worry themselves into a longer life—and
that is exactly the point that Jesus is making
TEXT: 28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 "and yet I say to you that even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
This illustration makes Jesus’ point concerning clothing—He chooses the wild
flowers in the field—no one planted them—no one cultivates them—and no one
waters them
If they grow—it is because God provided for their needs—how much more will He
provide for our needs
He dresses the fields with such splendor that even King Solomon could not buy
anything more beautiful then a wild flower
We’ve all seen flowers—and I’m sure we all get the point
TEXT: 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?
Jesus is still speaking to His disciples—and now tells them that if God clothes
the grass of the field with the beauty of lilies—and the grass grows for such a
short while and then is burned in the ovens—how much more will He insure that
His children who will live for all eternity are clothed appropriately—have faith
in your God
TEXT: 31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we
drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 "For after all these things the Gentiles
seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
Jesus summarizes His lesson—don’t worry—worry is what the Gentiles or pagans
do—they don’t even know God—they worry if they appealed to the right gods and
did they appease them with the right offering
We know God—we are His children—we have faith that He will keep His promises and
provide for us—thus there is no need for worry
TEXT: 33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these
things shall be added to you.
This is consistent with the prayer Jesus taught us—seek first the Kingdom—Thy
Kingdom come—then all else will be given—give us this day our daily bread—and
forgive us our trespasses, our sins—this is our seeking righteousness
How perfectly it all fits together
TEXT: 34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry
about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Put your worries into tomorrow—and tomorrow never comes—because tomorrow becomes
today—therefore it is never appropriate to worry—and that’s just the way Jesus
wants it
Work on becoming righteous—work on growing as a Christian—work on loving your
neighbor—and don’t waste any effort worrying—God will provide
He’ll provide our daily bread—and He’ll provide opportunities for us to do good
works—the good works of our faith
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!