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Turn with me in your Bibles to 
Matthew chapter five. Matthew chapter, I'm sorry, Matthew 
chapter six. We'll pick up reading at verse 
19. Do not lay up for yourselves 
treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves 
break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures 
in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves 
do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there 
your heart will be also. The lamp of the body is the eye. 
If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full 
of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be 
full of darkness. If, therefore, the light that 
is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness? No one can 
serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love 
the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise 
the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 
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? 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? Which of you, by worrying, can add one cubit to his stature? 
So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, 
how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. And 
yet I say to you that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed 
like one of these. 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? Therefore 
do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? 
or What shall we wear? For after all these things the 
Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows 
that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of 
God and His righteousness. And all these things shall be 
added to you. Therefore, do not worry about 
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient 
for the day is its own trouble. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
gracious Father, we thank you for this, your word. And we pray 
now for the ministry of your spirit to guide and direct our 
thoughts, help us to receive with thanksgiving the word. Help 
us to obey it, Father. Help us to guard our hearts against 
this temptation, this sinful inclination to worry and to be 
fretful and to have a carnal anxiety. We ask that you would 
forgive us now for all of our sins and transgressions. We pray 
that you would cleanse us afresh in the blood of the land, that 
you would humble us under your mighty hand, that you would humble 
us under your gracious word. that God you would indeed teach 
us things that would last, that would be effective in our hearts 
and in our lives, that our conduct would be marked in a distinctly 
Christian way, that we would not be like the Gentiles who 
know not God, but we would be like the children of God who 
have confidence and faith and hope and trust in their Heavenly 
Father to make provision in all areas. We just thank you, Lord 
God, for this time of worship, We thank you for the blessing 
of coming in out of the world, gathering with the saints of 
Christ, singing praises to you and calling upon you in prayer 
and hearing from Holy Rick. We just pray that in all of this 
you would be glorified and exalted and honored, that you would be 
enthroned upon the praises of your people here. And we ask 
these things in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Amen. Well, as we have noticed, 
the Lord Jesus deals with religious observances in Matthew chapter 
6, verses 1 to 18. And here in chapter 6, verses 
19 to 34, he highlights the reality that we as God's people ought 
to live by faith. We ought to be loyal to the kingdom. We ought to be loyal to our Heavenly 
Father. Remember that last week we considered 
the command of verses 25 to 27, that we are not to worry. Then 
Jesus gives this indictment in verses 28 to 30. He says, why 
do you worry? In light of the fact that God 
is sovereign, in light of the fact that he clothes the lilies 
of the field and he feeds the birds of the air, why is it that 
you're fretful? Why do you have carnal anxiety? Why do you engage in these sorts 
of things? And this morning, we're going 
to take up the contrast in verses 31 and 32 between the Gentiles 
and the children of God, and then finally the governing principle 
of verses 33 and 34. We are to seek first the kingdom 
of God and His righteousness. If we engage ourselves in that 
particular, then everything else will fall into place. We must 
be those consumed with and preoccupied by the glories of the kingdom 
of God Most High. Just to set us back into our 
particular passage here, remember how Luther commented with reference 
to the birds. He says, you see, Jesus is making 
the birds our schoolmasters and teachers. It is a great and abiding 
disgrace to us that in the gospel A helpless sparrow should become 
a theologian and a preacher to the wisest of men. Whenever you 
listen to a nightingale, therefore, you are listening to an excellent 
preacher. It is as if he were saying, I 
prefer to be in the Lord's kitchen. He has made heaven and earth, 
and he himself is the cook and the host. Every day he feeds 
and nourishes innumerable little birds out of his hand. One of the observations, just 
as we wade into this passage, is to observe the kindness of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that he even addresses 
this is a display of his kindness. This is an inclination in the 
hearts of God's people. This is an ongoing tendency that 
we need to guard against. And Jesus gives specific strategies 
in how we can avoid this particular sin and evil. As well, the Lord 
Jesus is kind in that He uses lively illustrations. He uses 
real-world situations. He says, look at the birds, look 
at the lilies. If God the Creator is taking 
care of those things, of whom you have far more value, certainly 
He's going to provide the basic necessities to keep you alive. If He has clothed the lilies 
of the field, He will certainly make sure that you are not going 
naked. If He feeds the birds of the 
sky, certainly He's going to make sure that you get your daily 
sustenance, that you get your daily nourishment. Jesus uses 
these very homely, very plain and most excellent illustrations 
to bring us to a place of balance, to bring us to a place of stability, 
to bring us to a place of conscious recognition of who God is and 
what his purposes are with reference to his children. So let's look 
first at this contrast between Gentiles and children. Verses 
31 and 32. Jesus again makes the statement, 
therefore do not worry. You have to see this as the point 
in this section of Holy Scripture. I mean, if you come away from 
these verses and you scratch your melon and you say, I wonder 
what the Lord is trying to get at. You're failing to read. You're 
failing to consider. You're failing to understand 
the most basic and simple principle. Jesus doesn't want you to worry. Jesus doesn't want you to be 
governed by carnal anxiety. Jesus doesn't want you to obsess 
over the daily issues that oftentimes plague us and beset us. He repeats himself in this section 
because we repeat ourselves. Contrary to the warnings, contrary 
to the commands, contrary to the illustrations, contrary to 
the weight of biblical data, We still find ourselves governed 
by worry, perplexed by anxiety. So Jesus repeats Himself because 
we repeat ourselves. Remember last time we considered 
that worry betrays a lack of loyalty to the Kingdom. When 
you are worried, that shows division in your heart. It isn't a loyal 
subject to God's Kingdom who calls into question God's government 
and God's rule. It evidences divided attention. We'll work our way through this 
passage. If you're obsessed each and every day with food and drink 
and clothing, guess what you're not doing? You're not seeking 
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. It questions 
God's sovereign rule in the universe. It doubts God's fatherly care 
and provision for his people. It does not believe God's holy 
word. The scripture says, don't worry. 
The scripture gives us reasons why we're not to worry. But when 
we worry, what are we doing but calling into question God's holy 
word? It paralyzes individual and thus 
kingdom advance. When we are obsessed with food, 
with drink, with clothing, we're not advancing the kingdom. We're 
not concerned about those things that are most important. We are 
tied to the earth. Our minds are earthly. We are 
temporal in our orientation, where God is calling us to seek 
first heavenly reality, heavenly truth, spiritual good things. 
And then it shifts the focus, as I've alluded to, from the 
eternal to the temporal, and it reduces us to fearful, doubting, 
tormented souls instead of bold, faithful, earnest participants 
in God's government, in God's reign, in God's kingdom, and 
in God's particular plan. Worry is a bad thing. Carnal 
anxiety is a sinful thing. That's why the repetition from 
our Lord. Therefore, he says, do not worry. Note the specific obsession that 
he attaches it to here. What shall we eat? What shall 
we drink? What shall we wear? CH Spurgeon 
says the questions in this verse are taken out of the worldlings 
catechism of distrust. The questions in this verse are 
taken out of the worldling's catechism of distrust. And may we just observe, with 
reference to this obsession of verse 31, what shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall 
we wear? I would imagine that we could 
be a lot more benevolent to our brethren in Ethiopia, to our 
brothers and sisters in the Sudan, to Brethren in North Korea, where 
these are legitimate and real concerns in their lives. What 
are we going to eat today? What are we going to drink today? 
What are we going to wear today? Now, they're not supposed to 
worry, they're not supposed to fret, they're not supposed to 
be overcome by carnal anxiety and obsess over these things 
to the paralyzing of kingdom usefulness. But wouldn't you 
concede with me that it's far more understandable, at least, 
for them to make this their daily, almost, obsession? How much more 
unholy, ungodly, perverse, abominable, and wicked in North America. Remember, years and years ago, 
Steve and I went to the Union Gospel Mission down in Vancouver. We used to go there quite frequently, 
but this one particular time, there was food on the ground. 
And I think one or both of us made the observation, if this 
was in Ethiopia, you wouldn't find that food on the ground. 
Even the poor in North America throw away food. Even the poor 
in North America drop a donut or a bagel on the ground and 
don't pick it up and eat it. It's unconscionable that in North 
America, with soup kitchens, with Salvation Army, with government 
handouts, with all those things, And with most of us in this particular 
room, with jobs, with skills, with abilities, with time plots, 
with those things that God has equipped us with, the power to 
make wealth, it is unconscionable that we would be paralyzed with 
obsession over temporal matters when there's a kingdom of God 
Almighty that we are a part of. It's horrific. You meet the Ethiopian 
brother and he says, man, I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I need some 
clothes. Man, my heart's more sympathetic to him obsessing 
about that than someone in North America. The promise of our text 
here, brothers and sisters, is that he'll provide for our needs, 
not necessarily our wants. I don't get the food that I want. 
I don't get the drink that I want. I don't have the clothes that 
I want. That's not what this passage is dealing with. Jesus 
is assuring us that our Heavenly Father knows our needs and will 
provide accordingly. Don't come to Matthew chapter 
6 and say, God wants me to drive a Rolls Royce. God wants me to 
have a house by the lake. God wants me to treat every day 
as if it's my Friday afternoon. That is not the emphasis of the 
passage. The emphasis is that the subject 
of the kingdom must be loyal to his master, submit to his 
government, and not be marked by the whining and the sniveling 
and the obsession that the Gentiles manifest. That's the point. That's 
what Christ is after here. So he not only gives this command, 
repeats it. Therefore, do not worry, saying, 
what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear? 
He now gives two reasons in this section why we should do this. It's not nice. The Lord Jesus 
and his kindness. He doesn't just say, don't worry. 
Just put it out of your head. No, don't worry for these two 
reasons. The first is the conduct of the 
Gentiles. For all these things the Gentiles 
see. The four in this verse highlights 
that this is a reason why believers shouldn't worry. This marks the 
Gentiles. Why do Gentiles obsess over food, 
drink, and clothing? It's based on a commitment. It's 
based on an idea. It's based on a theory. It's 
based on a doctrine. It's based on a philosophy. There's 
no God. There's no belief in the Savior 
for everlasting life. There's no submission to a sovereign 
God who upholds the sparrows and who clothes the lilies of 
the field. When they don't have that idea, when they don't have 
that theology, when they don't have that proper understanding 
of who God is and the fact that he is governing this world, of 
course they're going to obsess about daily things, aren't they? 
You see, it makes sense. For after all these things, the 
Gentiles earnestly seek. They are anxious. They want these 
things. They desire them. They want to 
know where their next meal is coming from. Ronald says, he 
suggests to us that over-carefulness about the things of this world 
is most unworthy of a Christian. You see that? Don't worry. Why? Because there's a group 
of people out there that worry. When you look at them, you can 
learn something about their understanding about God. When they fret, worry, 
and are ridden with all these issues, we can conclude there's 
no doctrine of God there, right? That's not so with the child 
of God. That's not so with the believer in Christ. That's not 
so with the one who, by God's grace, has submitted to the kingdom 
and rule of God. Ryle says, he suggests to us 
that over-carefulness about the things of this world is most 
unworthy of a Christian. One great feature of heathenism 
is living for the present. Let the heathen, if he will, 
be anxious. He knows nothing of a father 
in heaven. But let the Christian, who has clearer light and knowledge, 
give proof of it by his faith and contentment. Right? Doctrine precedes practice. We believe that in this church. What we believe concerning God 
affects how we live for God. The child of God has a sovereign 
father. Therefore, when he goes out into 
this world, he isn't obsessing upon what he'll eat, what he'll 
drink, and what he'll wear. The Gentile doesn't have a doctrine 
of the sovereignty of God. He doesn't have a God in his 
universe, so therefore it is typical for him to obsess about 
these very things. Notice that Ryle says we ought 
to give proof of our clearer light and knowledge by our faith 
and contentment. I started thinking about this. I know in the past I would talk 
to people about what we call Calvinism or Reformed theology, 
the sovereignty of God and salvation. Sure, you've all had those discussions 
with people, right? We call them Arminians. We don't 
say Arminians. They're Arminians. They're saved 
by grace through faith, looking to Jesus. Thankfully, they are 
looking to Jesus. But we have these debates with 
them. We have these arguments with them. We take them to Romans 
9 to show God's sovereignty in soteriology. We take them to 
Ephesians 1 to show God's sovereignty in soteriology. We take them 
to John 6 to show God's sovereignty in soteriology. I wonder to myself 
if those opponents of sovereign grace couldn't be won over as 
well by our response to God's sovereignty in trial, and in 
difficulty, and in suffering. It's shameful, brethren, that 
we'll embrace the sovereign grace of God so curiologically, and 
then we lose our job and we freak out like a little girl. We embrace the depravity of man, 
the electing purposes of God, in particular, redemption. And 
I do, most wholeheartedly, in soteriology. But I get diagnosed 
with cancer, and I come unraveled. The same God who unconditionally 
elected, who hung His Son upon the cross for the elect, who 
sends the Spirit to irresistibly draw man, and who preserves us 
by His power and by His glory, is the same Father who inflicts us with difficulty, 
with hardship, with suffering, Maybe those Arminians or those 
unbelievers would have a newfound appreciation for our understanding 
of the sovereignty of God when we smiled and praised even through 
the midst of trial and difficulty. You see, as Calvinists and Reformed 
especially, We have this comprehensive view of the sovereignty of God, 
not just in this category of soteriology. But over here, we 
can fret, freak, and live like Gentiles because something bad 
actually happened to me in God's government. What are we suggesting 
to the people that are watching us? Sovereign grace is only true 
bringing the soul into salvation. But once you're in that state 
of salvation, you can function like the Gentiles and carry on 
like a whiner. See, this passage speaks to the 
contrary. Don't be like Gentiles. Don't 
think like Gentiles. Don't function like Gentiles. 
Don't freak out like Gentiles. That's what Jesus is calling 
us to. Note the inconsistency of a believer 
who actually affirms that system of Calvinism, which is a biblical 
doctrine, a biblical system, if you will, who affirms that, 
but then gets laid off and comes in good. I like to think, brethren, 
that when we preach these sorts of things, when we speak about 
these sorts of things, we reflect upon that. I mean, it would be 
a terrible thing to lose a job or to lose an arm or to be diagnosed 
with cancer. I'm not discounting that. I'm 
not bringing that into question. What I am suggesting is the God 
of sovereign grace and salvation is the God of sovereign grace 
in seeing us through these issues. Don't be like the Gentiles. Don't 
freak out. Especially don't do it in North 
America. That's an old, tired song. Note the second reason that Jesus 
gives. He gives the command, therefore 
do not worry, saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink 
or what shall we wear? He gives a forestatement for 
this is what Gentiles seek. This is what Gentiles are consumed 
with. The second reason is for your heavenly Father knows that 
you need all these things. This is the second reason. This 
is why you're not to worry. This is why you're not to obsess. 
This is why carnal anxiety shouldn't find its place in your heart. 
You shouldn't be every day saying, what am I going to eat? What 
am I going to drink? What am I going to wear? We might expand that to some 
other temporal concerns. What am I going to do? What am 
I going to do? How am I going to do it? God is your father. Gentiles 
can't say this. They can't boast of this. The 
atheists know nothing of this. They are living consistent with 
the reality that there is no heavenly father. Not so the child 
of God. Remember back in the time on 
prayer in Matthew, chapter six, verse eight. Notice the sovereignty 
of God is the impetus to prayer. Notice in chapter six, verse 
eight. Therefore, do not be like that. The heathen who multiply 
words. Why are the heathen multiplying 
words? They're throwing up words, hoping that some god in the pantheon 
will grab on and will bless them. That's probably why they're multiplying 
words. It does have some sort of application 
to a rosary, or just saying words, or saying prayers in a rote fashion, 
in a repetitious way. Certainly we can extrapolate 
that principle. But more than likely, the heathen 
was like what we find in Acts 17. They build an altar to the 
unknown god. They want to try and cover all 
their bases. Let's throw something on that altar and whatever God 
it is that's happy with that will be appeased and then he'll 
bless us. The same thing with this many word prayer that the 
heathen engages in. He's not got rosary beads. He's 
not repeating the Hail Mary or the Our Father. He's using a 
multitude of words, throwing them up into the sky, hoping 
they'll stick to one of the gods and that God will in turn bless 
him. And this is the point of Matthew 
6, verse 8. Therefore, do not be like them. 
You're not throwing words out in a multitude fashion, trying 
to stick to a God. No. He says, your Father knows 
the things you have need of before you ask Him. And instead of that 
absolute sovereignty of God inhibiting prayer, your Father knows what 
you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, 
pray. Right? You see it? Well, isn't Jesus saying the 
same thing in Matthew chapter 6 in verse 31? I'm sorry, verse 
32. He is saying your heavenly Father 
knows that you need all these things. So don't fret. Don't worry. Don't obsess. Don't be paralyzed by carnal 
anxiety. The knowledge of God promotes 
prayer. The knowledge of God promotes 
You see, what we do in the closet ought to be fleshed out in the 
world. If we go before the Lord and say, God, I know that I have 
these needs. Nevertheless, you have told me, 
or and you have told me, to pray in this manner. I'm going to 
pray that your name be hallowed. I'm going to pray that your kingdom 
come. I'm going to pray that your will be done on earth as 
it is in heaven. I'm going to pray that you provide 
for me, that you forgive me, that you give me the grace to 
forgive others, and that you protect me from spiritual danger. God, I know that you're sovereign, 
and I'm called to pray. In this verse, verse 32, your 
Father knows you need these things, so therefore live. Be paralyzed. Don't be the Gentiles. Don't 
be those who have no faith, who have no hope, and who have no 
sovereign God. Don't worry. The Gentiles are 
marked by worry. Don't worry. God knows that you 
need these things. Notice again, it's not everything. 
We don't come here and say, God knows that I need a new Cadillac. 
No, these things in the context is food and drink and clothing. Right? And don't you love the assumption 
of Christ how he so easily and casually makes this statement. I don't mean casually flippant. 
I don't mean easily as if it reduces the truth value. He assumes 
this and he assumes the disciples will understand. Your father 
knows you need these things. He doesn't say I want to give 
you 15 proofs and 15 arguments to establish that God really 
cares for you. Your father knows you need these 
things. Your father's concerned for you. Your father cares for 
you. He hangs those birds in the sky 
and he plants food in their mouths and he clothes those lilies in 
the field to make them look better than Solomon. Don't you think 
he knows that you have needs? Don't you think he knows that 
your metabolism needs nutrients? Don't you think that he knows 
that you need water? Don't you think he knows that 
you need clothing? Don't you think that he knows 
that? Now remember the immediate disciples or the immediate audience, 
they knew their Bibles better than we do. It would be very 
hard to avoid this conclusion in light of Psalm 104. What's 
it say? It causes vegetation for man. 
He gives man wine. He gives man oil. He gives man 
the benefits of all this good creation. Man goes about early 
in the morning to his task, to his labor. And it's God and His 
sovereign blessing, causing fruit, causing blessing, causing produce, 
and sustaining man. So when He says this in verse 
32, your Father knows that you need all these things. It's a 
no-brainer. It follows because of that. You don't have to spend time 
obsessing on those things. Rather, you should obsess about 
the kingdom. It's kind of an interesting juxtaposition, 
what he does in this passage. In fact, Lloyd-Jones brings this 
out well. It's almost as if he spends all these verses saying, 
do not worry about this, but rather worry about this. Sort 
of the force and the weight of verse 33. It's not that you worry, it's 
not that you seek, it's not that you fret, but your seeking, worry, 
and fretfulness ought to be directed to the Kingdom of God Most High. 
Now, when I say worry and fretfulness, I don't mean sinful, I mean activity, 
I mean energy, I mean effort should be directed to the Kingdom 
of God Most High. And we need to realize, brethren, 
what the men of God have learned throughout the history and throughout 
the ages. Remember, this isn't a theodicy. 
It doesn't speak to every issue. It doesn't speak to famine specifically 
in Ethiopia or in Haiti or in these areas. Jesus is not giving 
a defense about everybody all the time, everywhere, getting 
their food and getting their drink and getting their clothing. 
He's talking about loyalty to the kingdom. He's talking about 
the child of God and what our specific response is to be with 
reference to the kingdom of God. There's other passages that we 
would go to to address those larger concerns. to address famine 
in certain land. We'd certainly have to bring 
in the sinfulness of man. We'd have to bring in the sinfulness 
of oppressive government. We'd have to bring in the sinfulness 
of those men who rule with a heavy hand, with an iron rod, that 
do not do so in the fear of God. Those are all circumstances that 
we, in rehearsing a theodicy, a defense of God, would have 
to reckon with. That's not what Jesus is doing 
in this passage. He is speaking to the disciples 
of Christ. He's giving us this code of ethics, 
if you will, how you want to live in this present world. But 
what men of God have realized throughout the ages, the psalmist 
said, I have been young and now I am old, that I have not seen 
the religious forsaken, nor his descendants begging breath. It's 
not a beautiful statement. I have been young and now I am 
old, and I've learned these two things. I have learned beyond 
a shadow of a doubt." And this was before Costco and Superstore 
and Walmart. He said, I have not seen the 
righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. In Hebrews 13, 
as the apostle comes to conclude, and he gives these various exhortations, 
what does he tell us in verse 5? He tells us not to be covetous. He tells us not to be greedy. 
Provident is good. planning, doing, serving, honoring, 
glorifying God, providing for our own, 1 Timothy 5.8. It isn't 
providentness that is condemned in the scripture, it is covetousness 
which is condemned in the scripture. So the apostle says, let your 
conduct be without covetousness, be content with such things as 
you have. For he himself has said, now 
note the context, I will never leave you nor forsake you. We 
take that principle and we apply it spiritually, don't we? And 
well, we should. That fifth point of Calvinism 
teaches us that God preserves and by His grace we will persevere. So the reality is God will never 
leave us nor forsake us, but to wrench that out of Hebrews 
13.5 is not legitimate exegesis. The context is temporal. The 
context is stuck. The context is the people, who 
he already applauded in Hebrews 10, you joyfully endured the 
plundering of your goods. When those authorities have come 
in and have taken your stuff, and it rises up in you to get 
angry and to take matters into your own hands and go out and 
buy a gun and shoot them and recover your property. No, you 
need to realize there's more revelation, there's more Bible, 
there's more things to consider. By the time he gets to Hebrews 
13, he wants to appeal to the people and he says, let your 
conduct be without covetousness. Be content with such things as 
you have. You know, before we pray for 
more, we ought to pray for contentment with what we have. Before we 
pray for multiplication, let us pray for contentedness in 
what God has blessed us with. And then he underscores this 
with this promise. He himself has said, I will never 
leave you nor forsake you. Isn't the emphasis the same as 
here in Matthew 6? Your father knows you need these 
things. Do you really think he would send his son to die in 
your stead, to rise again, to give you the spirit so he can 
laugh at you while you starve to death? Really? That's your conception? Sounds 
like Israel in chapter 1 of the book of Deuteronomy. He brought 
us out here because he hates us. He brought us out here because 
he wants to destroy us. I've been studying this on Wednesday 
night. They interpreted the wilderness 
in a much different sense than God did. I suspect many of us 
interpret the wilderness in the same fashion that Israel did. 
We go through a wilderness. It may not be what they went 
through in terms of wandering through the through the villages 
and cities and plains of the promised land. We go through 
trials, and we go through difficulties, and we go through hardships. 
We go through what we might term to be a wilderness. And we immediately 
conclude that God's not there. God says, not only was I there 
with you, I carried you through it. That's the reality. That's our 
Father. Don't call into question His 
goodness. If there's a pinch in your life, it's for your good. 
If there's a trial in your life, it's for your good. If you don't 
find bags of money like everybody you know, it's for your good. 
If you don't get promoted at work, it's for your good. If 
you don't ever go viral, it's for your good. God knows us. He's intimately 
acquainted with us. And He has promised that He will 
work all things for our good, even the trials, even the difficulties, 
even the tribulations, even the hardships. If you doubt that, 
get your nose in the book of Deuteronomy. It's convicting. People actually have the gall 
to say, oh, that God of the Old Testament, how harsh, how wrathful. May I say it? He oozes. compassion. He oozes kindness. The language is somewhat, I mean, 
if we were big macho strong men, it would be embarrassing. As 
a father carries his son, so I carry you in the wilderness. I loved you, not because you 
were more numerous. I loved you, not because you 
were more righteous. I love you because I love you. That's a tautology, God. That's 
a logical fallacy. That's like saying it's wet because 
it's wet. I love you because I love you. That's glorious. The child of God ought to dance 
in light of such tautology. The child of God ought to rejoice 
in light of such tautology. The child of God ought to rest 
in the presence of his God who affirms him in those sorts of 
ways. Back to our passage. We've seen 
the contrast between Gentiles and children. Let's look finally 
at this governing principle. Seek God first. Verses 33 and 
34. Seek first, but seek first the 
kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be 
added to you. Again, we're not far from the 
Lord's prayer. You go into your closet, you 
pray God first and then bread. Right? God's name. God's kingdom, God's will comes 
before our petition that God feeds us with our daily bread. Life is to be the same. Conduct 
outside the closet is to reflect the closet. Conduct in the world, 
in the daily matters of life, ought to be a reflection of how 
the child of God prays. You go into the closet, you know 
the priority, you put God first, and then in its place you ask 
for bread. Jesus says the same principle 
is true in life. Instead of obsessing about food, 
instead of obsessing about grain, instead of obsessing about your 
new genes, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. That's what marks the child of 
God. The Gentiles get all caught up 
in what type of jeans they're going to buy. The Gentiles get 
caught up in what manner of dress they'll wear. The Gentiles look 
at the labels to make sure their suit bespeaks prestige. Is that how the child of God 
ought to function? Don't go out and sell everything you have 
that's nice. If that's what you're getting, 
get that out of your head. Note that it's a priority structure. 
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And then 
notice in all these things, not everything, not all other things. 
Have you ever heard that text wrenched out of Philippians 4? 
I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me. That doesn't 
mean you can jump over the moon. It doesn't mean you're going 
to be 6'8 and play for the L.A. Lakers. It doesn't mean you're 
going to get drafted and play on the Canucks. You may not even 
want to. You might want to play on some 
other tape. This, we can do anything through Christ who strengthens 
me, is conditioned by the context in Philippians 4. The same thing 
is true here. Seek first the kingdom of God 
and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to 
you. The food, the drink, the wearing 
or the clothing. The temporal matters that are 
mundane, the temporal things that are routine, the way God 
upholds the birds, the way that God clothes the lilies of the 
field. You have to worry about that because God is going to 
sustain you. Your orientation, your preoccupation, 
your mindset must be upon the Kingdom of God Most High and 
upon His righteousness. There is a marked contrast between 
verses 32 and 33. Gentiles seek. They earnestly 
pursue. They long for. They have anxiety 
over. What shall we eat? What shall 
we drink? What shall we wear? The child of God seeks as well. The child of God, however, seeks 
the kingdom of God and his righteousness. The child of God isn't tied to 
the temporal. The child of God isn't fixed 
to the daily. The child of God transcends, 
because of his participation in the kingdom of God, those 
mundane things that paralyze the Gentile. Seek first the kingdom. Carson 
says, this means to desire above all to enter it, submit to, and 
participate in spreading the news of the saving reign of God. The messianic kingdom already 
inaugurated by Jesus and to live so as to store up treasures in 
heaven in the prospect of the kingdom's consummation. It is 
to pursue the things already prayed for in the first three 
petitions of the Lord's prayer. 6, 19 to 34 is simply the flashing 
out of the Lord's prayer in your life. It is hypocritical. It is high-handed sin. It is 
wicked and abominable to trot into your closet and say, God 
first and then me, and then to go out into the world and live 
me first and then God. That's the point for Jesus' sake. I've given you this model prayer. 
Pray it. Take it to your closet. Recite 
these things, not in rote fashion, rubbing your beads, but recite 
these things from the heart, considering their implications 
for your life, for the church, for people that you know and 
love. And then when you go out from the closet, live that way. Live like God comes first. live 
like his righteousness matters, his standards, his law, his ethical 
purity, his goodness, his grace, his kindness. These are the things 
the child of God ought to be seeking. Frantz says the verb 
seek echoes the stronger compound verb which was used for the Gentiles' 
anxious quest for material provisions. In the previous verse he says 
disciples by contrast have a different orientation, a higher purpose 
in life. You see, if you're a child of 
God this morning and a participant in the kingdom of God, which 
the thought isn't bring in or usher in. Remember when we looked 
at the kingdom of God, it's not a piece of geography. It's not 
a necessary realm, but rather it's the reign of God, the current 
manifestation of God's glorious purposes in and through Jesus 
Christ. You seek that. You glut yourself in that. You're 
obsessed in a righteous way with that. You're not fixed to this 
earth. You're not tied to the ground. 
You realize that there are higher and more noble things that define 
you as a child of the living God. That these things that we 
have on earth are for but a season. The psalmist says we live for 
70 or 80 years and then we fly away. The child of God thinks 
more about and is concerned more about that flying away than the 
70 or 80 years that march the Gentiles' lives. That's what 
Jesus is getting at. Notice, we already touched on 
it, the gracious promise, all these things shall be added to 
you. C.S. Lewis said you can't get second 
things by putting them first. It's a great, great statement. 
You can't get second things by putting them first. You can get 
second things only by putting first things first. God's kingdom, God's righteousness 
first. Hope and understand that He knows 
your needs. You are not the Gentiles, and 
you submit to His gracious rule and reign, and these things shall 
be added to you." And then notice how Jesus balances out the whole 
discussion in verse 34. This is beautiful. Not that Jesus Christ needs me 
to applaud His preaching. Jesus is not the forerunner of 
the song, don't worry, be happy. Verse 34 tells us this is a world 
marked with trouble, marked with trial, marked with difficulty. Therefore, do not worry about 
tomorrow. For tomorrow will worry about 
its own things, sufficient for the day is its own trouble." 
Remember back in the section he says, can any of you by worrying 
add a cubit to your lifespan? Have you through worry actually 
made your life ten years longer? Medical science would probably 
prove the contrary. The people that worry end up 
with gastrointestinal problems. and probably die ten years sooner 
than the non-worrier. You study Eddie's in the group, 
you're going to probably live a lot longer than the roller 
coasters in the group. I'm not a prophet or the son 
of the prophet, but that's what happens. We worry. Our guts are 
in knots. They're tight. They're hard. 
It affects us. It hurts us. It brings damage 
to the body. What's Jesus' point here? Don't 
borrow from tomorrow troubles when today has enough. I love 
this realism. All this balance. Notice the 
logic of the passages. Don't worry because you'll never 
have trials. Don't worry because there'll 
never be difficulties. Don't worry. Be happy. He strums 
his guitar. No. The Lord has cautioned his 
disciples about worry regarding life, specifically with reference 
to food, drink, and clothing. The Lord Jesus now cautions his 
disciples about worrying about tomorrow. Why? Your gut right now may be in 
knots over some issue that you have to face tomorrow. And you 
could get run over by a car today. Don't go home and say, what did 
you learn in church? Oh, I found out I'm going to get hit by a 
car. No, no, no. No, no, no, no. That's not the 
point. James, right? Why do you boast about these 
things? Your life is like a vapor. You're here for a time and then 
gone. Let me just quote a few of the brothers here, because 
I think they depict it or they say it a lot better than you're 
going to go out and get hit by a car. That's probably not the 
best way to affirm you as human beings created in the image of 
God. J.C. Ryle says, we are not to carry 
cares before they come. Why do we? I got to tell you, 
this passage has been great. One may be saying, it's OK, you 
know, I like this sermon, but whatever. This passage is spoken 
to me in wonderful ways. These brothers have spoken in 
wonderful ways. It's as if Ryle spoke this for 
me. Why? We are not to carry cares 
before they come. We are to attend to today's business 
and leave tomorrow's anxieties till tomorrow dawns. We may die 
before tomorrow. We know not what may happen on 
the morrow. This only we may be assured of, 
that if God brings a cross, if God brings a cross, then He who 
sends it will give the grace necessary to bear it. Right? Are we Arminians now? Are we 
Pelagians? Are we Gentiles? We affirm the 
sovereignty of God in saving our hell-bound, hell-deserving 
souls, and yet we're going to fret over tomorrow because God 
won't be there to give us help, grace, spirit, word, those resources 
he has promised? R.T. Frantz says God's care and 
provision are assured. But that does not mean that the 
disciple's life is to be one long picnic. Right? You don't get to 34 and say, 
well, there it is. I'll never have trouble. It's 
almost as if 34 is this shock back into, oh yeah, there is 
trouble in my life. But Jesus' strategy isn't, you're 
not going to have trouble. It's how you deal with the trouble 
as a kingdom citizen loyal to the government of God most high. 
I've picked on Joel Osteen before because I think he's a heretic. He's a false teacher. He, in 
the name of Jesus, is preaching a version of health, wealth, 
and prosperity. His book titles are enough to condemn him. The 
title, Be a Better You. What does that mean? I know some 
self-righteous in our midst will say, I can be a better me by 
doing this, that, and the other. We are wretched, defiled, and 
wicked on the best of days. Our righteousness is in Jesus 
alone. Don't ever forget that. Well, he has a new book, How 
to Make Every Day. I don't know if I'm getting the 
title accurate. How to Make Every Day as if it's Friday afternoon, 
because everybody lives for Friday afternoon. Friday afternoon is 
what the goal of life is. Really? I personally like Mondays, but 
that puts me in a weird category. How to Live Every Day in light 
of the kingdom and reign and rule of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. That's a better book title. Might 
not fit, but it's a better book title. That title, the heresy of health, 
wealth, and prosperity, teaches that life is about you. It's a me-centered, humanistic, 
pagan, and I echo John MacArthur, satanic perversion of gospel 
truth. Whatever we might suggest about 
Pastor John MacArthur's dispensationalism, I think he's wrong. He thinks 
I'm wrong, not that he knows me from, you know, the man on 
the moon. This is right. In speaking about 
Joel Osteen, he doesn't say, oh, he's a little off. He's missed 
the mark a little bit. He says it's a satanic perversion. 
What's the ultimate? That's what Jesus says isn't 
going to be the case. You're not going to be a better 
you in and of yourself. Every day is not going to be 
a Friday afternoon. If that's what you signed up 
for as a Christian, you signed in the wrong place. You know, the young recruit that 
gets off the bus and has the drill sergeant screaming at him. Every single one of them says, 
what did I do? Why did I do this? What am I 
in for? This guy's yelling at me. I can 
smell his bad breath. He's calling me names. He's making 
fun of my mother. He's speaking ill about me. What 
do I have to endure for the next two months? It goes through your 
mind. Never happened with a Christian. 
I didn't sign up for this. I thought when I bowed the knee 
to King Jesus all my troubles went away. I thought when I came 
to Christ I would have no difficulty. Everybody would love me and every 
day would be a Friday afternoon. Jesus says sufficient for each 
day is its own troubles. It's not a picnic. You think 
the Christian life is a picnic. You have been sadly deluded. 
I hope you haven't picked that up here. Frantz says, God's care and provision 
are assured, but that does not mean that the disciple's life 
is to be one long picnic. Each day will still have its 
troubles. The preceding verses simply provide 
the assurance that by the grace of God, they can be survived. John Stott captures this verse 
beautifully. Believers are not exempt from 
experiencing trouble. It is true that Jesus forbid 
his people to worry. But to be free from worry and 
to be free from trouble are not the same thing. You can have 
troubles. In light of God's holy word, 
you must have troubles and not be worrisome, not be full of 
carnal anxiety, not be paralyzed with the kind of ethic that affects 
the Gentiles. thought says, Christ commands 
us not to be anxious, but does not promise that we shall be 
immune to all misfortune. Can I just break it to you? In 
this world, you will have tribulation. That is an axiomatic principle 
of Christian discipleship. That tribulation may take the 
form of physical suffering or distress. That tribulation may 
take the form of mental suffering and distress. It may take the 
form of challenges and trials and hardships. It may take the 
form of other people affecting you in a negative way. But in 
this world, get it in your head, you will have trouble. You will 
have tribulation. Jesus, of course, doesn't stop 
there. He says, Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. 
The text is not telling us we will be free from trouble. The 
text is commanding us to be free from worry. Scott then quotes 
a man who ministered during World War II. A man who saw with his own eyes 
buildings bombed. A man who saw with his own eyes 
people displaced. A man who saw with his own eyes 
people dying in the ravages of warfare. And this man in the 
midst of it is preaching through the Sermon on the Mount. And 
I think what this man says ought to be internalized by each of 
us. He says, against that background, what I've just sort of explained, 
the bombing campaigns and the people dispossessed and the people 
suffering and the people dying in hospitals and all those sorts 
of things where the ravages of war are a reality. He says, against 
that background, the command then to look at birds and lilies 
might well have sounded hollow. Jesus would go into a war-torn 
city and say, don't worry. Look at the birds. Look at the 
lilies. This man understood that in the 
midst of the ravages of war, it might ring hollow. Wait a 
minute, our children are dying, our hospitals are filling, our 
arms are blown off, and you're going to tell us to look at lilies 
and birds? Jesus, you just don't understand. He says, nevertheless, 
I think we must stop and listen when this man says it, whose life on earth was anything 
but bird-like and lily-like. When he points us to the carefulness 
of the birds and lilies, we ought to take heed. He says, were not 
the somber shadows of the cross already looming over this hour 
of the Sermon on the Mount? Did not Jesus understand when 
he was teaching this doctrine that he was about to face the 
wrath and fury of God most high? What Jesus faced on the cross 
makes the ravages of war look like, and I don't mean disrespectfully, 
an easier thing. He suffered God's fury for our 
sin. A man whose life was anything 
but bird-like or lily-like, we need to listen to him. This one 
who was perfected, this one who learned obedience through suffering. Brethren, it's this Christ who 
tells us to look at the birds, look at the lilies, and don't 
keep worrying about tomorrow. Each day has enough troubles 
of its own. Don't borrow from Monday, don't 
borrow from Friday. Nine times out of ten, you'll 
admit that I got all worked up over nothing. It's useless. And 
it reflects the attitudes and the mindsets of the Gentiles 
and it busies and occupies the child of God with an obsession 
that the Lord Jesus Christ condemns. The moment you entrust or the 
moment you fret about these issues, food, grain and clothing, you're 
not obsessed with the kingdom. You're not seeking first the 
kingdom of God and His righteousness. You're not looking out primarily 
for the glory of God and the majesty of God and the excellence 
of God. It has become you, all about 
you, all about your pleasure, your happiness, your good, your 
satisfaction, your self-sufficiency. That's what Christ condemns. Do not worry about tomorrow. 
Tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the 
day is its own trouble. If we were to summarize, guess 
what we've been told? Don't worry. Don't worry about 
life. Don't worry about the body. Don't 
worry about food. Don't worry about grain. Don't 
worry about what you're going to wear. Take a lesson from the 
lesser creation. Look at those birds. You're driving 
home today. Look at a bird. Don't crash, 
but look at the bird. They fly around. God feeds them. You drive past a field and you 
see those flowers and they're decked out in the beauty that 
exceeds Solomon in his glory. God clothes them. Is he going 
to look after me? Is he going to care about me? One 
for whom Jesus died and rose again? You see, our Calvinism 
can't just be located in soteriology. Our Calvinism must flesh itself 
out. in the day-to-day intercourse 
of life. It rings hollow when a man affirms 
the five points but doesn't affirm a sovereign God gave him a difficulty. 
It just doesn't make sense. We need to guard against the 
temptation of living like the Gentiles. They live that way 
because of their godless philosophy. Again, I commend to you Lloyd-Jones' 
treatment. It speaks about the Gentiles 
and their philosophy. What a man believes concerning 
God affects the way he lives for God. When a Gentile does 
not believe in a sovereign God, it is not uncommon for him to 
fret about the daily necessities of life. Conversely, when a child 
of God understands who the sovereign God is, he ought not to fret 
about the daily necessities of life. And we need to live like 
the children of a heavenly father, knowing that God cares for us. 
You know how much of the Bible tells us that? Jesus loves me, 
this I know, for the Bible tells me so. We need to receive it. 
We need to listen to it. We need to heed it. We need to 
pray to God to increase our faith, because at times we doubt these 
things. At times we're like those children on the plains of Moab 
who said, God brought us out here just to kill us. God brought 
us out here just because he hates us. Such wickedness ought never 
to proceed from the mouth of one who confesses Jesus Christ 
as Lord and Savior. We ought never to conclude, God 
is trying to get me. God is trying to ruin me. God 
is trying to make life difficult for me. The children of God were 
told very specifically, God did send you out there to that wilderness. 
He did so to test you and to humble you. But in verse 17 of 
chapter 8, it says that in the end, he might do you good. The 
purposes of God are good for his people. It's how Asaph starts 
Psalm 73. Truly, God is good to Israel. That's axiomatic. Don't doubt 
that. Don't question that. Don't reject 
that. Don't despise it. Don't say, 
well, God is good to Israel, but you know, He's kind of forgot 
about me. No, if you are in the church of Jesus Christ, you are 
professing saving religion, God the Spirit has done a work of 
regeneration in your heart. You're the Israel of God, and 
He's good to you. Always. We can combat worry through prayer. First part of Matthew 6, we can 
combat worry through confidence in God. Those are two principles if we 
were going to have strategies for effective life, you know, 
free of worry, pray and live like a believer. That'd be a 
short book too. Two principles on how to deal 
with your anxiety, pray and live like God your Father. It's really 
not much more intricate than that. Pray, believe. And then finally, I said this 
last week. I think it bears repeating. Some 
of you here have not believed the gospel. Some of you here 
have not come to Christ. I don't know who it is. I'm going 
based on averages and statistics. Generally, in a group of people, 
you can't believe that every single one is in Christ. If everybody is in Christ, then 
maybe we'll just be reminded about how grateful we ought to 
be. You know, the text here tells us not to worry about tomorrow. 
Again, this is to the child of God. If you are not a child of 
God, you ought to worry about tomorrow. You ought to worry 
about going into a Christless Monday. You ought to worry about 
going into a Christless Tuesday. You ought to worry about going 
into a Christless Wednesday. And not only should you worry 
about that, you ought to worry about today. Sufficient for the 
day is its own troubles. You've got enough sin in your 
heart, enough sin in your mind. I don't care how old you are. 
I don't care how bad you've been. I don't care how good you've 
been. You have enough sin to plunge you into hell for a thousand 
million eternities. There's trouble in such language. The only remedy, the only salvation, 
and the only refuge from the troubles that today has with 
reference to your sin is Jesus Christ. Believe on Him, repent 
from your sins, and receive the blessed free gift of everlasting 
life. That's what you need to do. So don't worry about food. Don't 
worry about drink. Don't worry about what you'll 
wear if you're not a child of God. Flee to Christ. Find entrance into this kingdom 
of God. Do not stop. Do not tarry. Do not rest your head tonight 
without having come to the Lord of glory. Because if you don't 
close with Christ, there is tons to worry about. Like where will 
you spend eternity? The gospel is the answer to those 
daily troubles. The gospel is the answer to tomorrow's 
troubles as well. It is to believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Well, let us pray. Father, 
thank you for your word and thank you for your grace and your mercy 
and for the instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, what 
beautiful statements, what beautiful words. to encourage us, to guard 
against this sin of worry. Father, help us to take these 
things to heart. Help us to avoid living like 
Gentiles. Help us to realize that You are 
our Heavenly Father, that You know we have need for these things, 
and that You will provide for them. As well, God, help us to 
understand that we do have troubles in this world, that there are 
tribulations, that there are trials and difficulties, and 
that at times there are things that seem to be overwhelming. 
Help us, God in heaven, to realize that you are working all things 
for good to those who love you and to those who are the call 
according to your purpose. May we not just sloganize certain 
verses or may we not just use them as mottos, but may we live 
in light of the truth of Holy Scripture. And we pray through 
Jesus Christ our Lord.