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You can turn with me back to 
Matthew's gospel. We'll look at Matthew chapter 
six. Matthew chapter six. Our focus will be on verses 25 
to 34, but I want to read beginning 
in verse one, just so we can connect the dots in the larger 
context. So Matthew chapter six, beginning 
in verse one, take heed that you do not do your charitable 
deeds before men to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward 
from your father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable 
deed, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites 
do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory 
from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they 
have their reward. But when you do a charitable 
deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is 
doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret, and your father, 
who sees in secret, will himself reward you openly. And when you 
pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, for they love to 
pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets 
that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they 
have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into 
your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your 
father who is in the secret place. And your father, who sees in 
secret, will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use 
vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they 
will be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not be like 
them, for your father knows the things you have need of before 
you ask him. In this manner, therefore, pray. 
Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, 
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this 
day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our 
debtors. and do not lead us into temptation, 
but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom 
and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men 
their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will 
your Father forgive your trespasses. Moreover, when you fast, do not 
be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance, for they disfigure 
their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, 
I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, 
anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear 
to men to be fasting, but to your father who is in the secret 
place. And your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 
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 
God and Father, we thank you for this Lord's Day. We thank 
you for the blessing of corporate worship, for the fellowship of 
the saints, for the presence of Christ in the midst of the 
lampstand. We pray that you would be glorified here, that you would 
be worshiped and honored, that your Holy Spirit would be at 
work in our hearts and in our minds, that we would receive 
the teaching from our blessed Savior, this prohibition against 
carnal anxiety or worry that so often paralyzes the people 
of God. We confess all sin and unrighteousness 
and pray for cleansing in His most precious blood. And we pray 
that today, all over this earth, including our gathering here 
this morning, men, women, boys, and girls would seek first the 
kingdom of God and His righteousness. That that righteousness of Jesus 
Christ, that that blessed gospel of the salvation of sinners would 
be preached, would be blessed by the Spirit, and that many 
would come out of darkness into marvelous light. We thank you 
for your power, we thank you for your glory, we thank you 
for your majesty, and we pray now that you would guide us by 
the Holy Spirit, forgiving us of all sin and all unrighteousness. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, it seemed appropriate as 
we enter into a new year. As our brother prayed, we don't 
really know what's around the corner, but we're very thankful 
that we know that God is the one who is sovereign over all 
things. But with reference to chapter 
6 at verses 25 to 34, it's connected to the larger context. And basically, 
Jesus starts off chapter 6 by emphasizing religious observance. 
He deals with almsgiving. and then he focuses on prayer, 
and then he moves to the issue of fasting. About the center 
of the chapter, we see where our priority must be, our allegiance 
must be, and then that comes to pass in a very practical and 
concrete way in the way that we conduct ourselves on a daily 
basis in verses 25 to 34. So basically, if your treasure 
is in heaven, according to verse 21, if your eye is focused upon 
Christ, according to verses 22 and 23, and your slavery is to 
God alone, according to verse 24, then verses 25 to 34 encourage 
us how we're to function, again, in the day-to-day, ordinary, 
normal ebb and flow of life. Now, sermons like this typically 
are associated with two problems. The first is that the preacher 
assumes a posture of scolding. I don't want to scold anybody 
today. I don't like to be scolded, so 
therefore I try not to scold others. So if you feel scolded, 
think encouraged. But the second thing that oftentimes 
attaches to sermons like these is that the one preaching it 
is somehow the guru. He's going to be the guru today 
and teach us how not to worry. Brethren, I am not that kind 
of a guru. In fact, if you want a lesson 
on how to worry, then I'm your guru. So I'm in the same boat 
with all of us. I need the same reminders with 
reference to the to the individual, with reference to the family, 
with reference to society, with reference to the economy, with 
reference to politics, with reference to ecclesiology. All of those 
things can perplex the people of God. All of those things can 
be a sort of a contest in our hearts in terms of primary allegiance. 
But I do know that the teaching of Jesus here is a wonderful 
corrective. So we'll look at verses 25 to 
34 under two considerations. First, the prohibition given 
by Jesus in verses 25 to 32. And then secondly, the principle 
highlighted by Jesus in verses 33 and 34. So you've got a prohibition 
mentioned several times by our Lord, and then you have a principle 
highlighted by Him. Under prohibition, I want to 
look first at the command in verses 25 to 27, secondly a reproof 
in verses 28 to 30, and then finally a contrast in verses 
31 and 32. But in essence, what Jesus does 
here in this section is he tells us not to worry about our lives, 
not to worry about our bodies, and not to worry about our tomorrows. 
that I think gets at the very hub or substance of what our 
blessed Savior is trying to communicate. And in terms of worry, a simple 
definition is to give way to anxiety or unease, allow one's 
mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles. One thing I want to 
caution us is that Jesus is not here prohibiting the mindset 
of careful living, walking circumspectly, seeking to be a faithful steward 
of the resources entrusted to us, working hard so that we can 
provide for our families. We know there's other passages 
of Scripture that we need to take into consideration with 
reference to this passage. The man does not provide for 
his own. 1 Timothy 5, 8, he's denied the faith. He's worse 
than an infidel. So it's not the case that Jesus calls us 
to just lay on our couches, don't worry, be happy, and wait till 
the eschaton comes down and envelops us. No, that's not it at all. 
He doesn't want us to be governed by worry. He doesn't want us 
to be governed by anxiety. He doesn't want us to be paralyzed 
from kingdom pursuits. So note first the command in 
verse 25a, therefore I say to you, do not worry. Do not worry. Easier said than to be done, 
obviously, but the repetition of our Lord's words seems to 
indicate or presuppose that this is something that will plague 
the people of God. In other words, once you come 
to the Savior, once you are clothed in His righteousness and you've 
been cleansed in His blood, it doesn't mean now you can don't 
worry and be happy. It doesn't mean that there's 
no more problem on the face of the earth. In fact, verse 34 
balances out the whole section, telling us that tomorrow has 
enough troubles of its own. So the passage doesn't mitigate 
the reality of the hardships associated with life. Jesus is 
not a health, wealth, and prosperity teacher, but the fact that he 
commands this several times indicates that there is a susceptibility 
in the hearts of men to be given to carnal anxiety. Therefore, 
I say to you, do not worry. That comes on the heels of what 
he says in verse 24. 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. So what's the take-home message 
from verse 24? Well, I'm to serve God. I'm to 
be faithful to God. I am, to use the language that 
he'll use in verse 33, seeking first the kingdom of God and 
His righteousness. So notice that the therefore 
comes on the heels of that. You are a slave of God, you are 
a servant to God, therefore I say to you, do not worry. And then 
the specific concerns are indicated there. He says, 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 he gives these concrete applications of what it is possibly that we 
may worry about. Jesus is a connected preacher. 
He doesn't just give this sort of admonition to not worry, but 
he flushes it out. He fills it out. He underscores 
the difficulties associated in life. Of course we're concerned 
about our lives. Of course we're concerned about 
our bodies. Of course we're concerned with whether or not we're gonna 
have another meal. It has well been said, we're 
only nine meals away from anarchy. And I think that is becoming 
more obvious as this history proceeds. And so the fact that 
these things enter in upon us, again, Jesus doesn't say, you're 
dirty, rotten scoundrels. I can't believe that you're concerned 
about your life. I can't believe that you're concerned 
about your body. He's saying, I don't want you 
to be overcome by those concerns. I don't want you to have divided 
allegiance based on those concerns. I don't want you to depart from 
the God that you are enslaved to by grace alone, through faith 
alone, in Christ alone. I want you to be kingdom oriented. I want you to be focused. I want 
you to be purposed. And don't you love the example 
that he gives with reference to bringing this to pass? Look 
at verse 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? Jesus teaches us something very, 
very important here. Man is more important than animals. 
I'm not suggesting we go out and treat animals with utter 
disdain and contempt and kick every cat that we see, but we 
are of more value. Why? Because we're the pinnacle 
of God's creation. In the creation of all things, 
in Genesis chapter 1, Verses 26 to 28, it's man that bears 
the image of God. It's not the Baltimore Oriole. 
It's not the Beluga whale. It's not the shark. It's not 
the dog in your garage or in your living room. Hopefully it's 
not in your garage today. It's not those beasts. It is 
rather man. Jesus invokes the same sort of 
an analogy in chapter 10 of Matthew's gospel. A sparrow doesn't fall 
apart from the will of your father. Are you not more valuable than 
the sparrow? So Christ, again, is a connected 
preacher. He knows the problems that affect 
mankind, but he also knows the remedy is oftentimes to be seen 
in the way that God governs and sustains the lower creation. 
Luther makes the observation based on, look at the birds of 
the air. He says, you see, he 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. Christ 
is doing that. And then note the specific statement 
that he draws from this in verse 27. Spoiler alert, the answer 
is... No one. Verse 27, which of you 
by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? How can you possibly 
extend your life? How can you possibly provide 
promise for the future based on your worrying? Again, brethren, 
I'd probably be immortal by this stage if that was in fact the 
principle. But you can't. You can't increase, 
you can't make it better. Worry doesn't bring peace to 
the soul of a man. And that's precisely our Lord's 
teaching. Now notice He gives them this 
reproof in verses 28 and 29. He continues, so why do you worry 
about clothing? Can he assume something concerning 
his audience? He assumes something that is 
typical of mankind. He assumes the reality that there 
will be a concern for our lives, for our bodies, and for our tomorrows. So he's offering to us the corrective 
such that our lives and bodies and tomorrows don't take our 
focus off the kingdom of God and his righteousness. So notice 
in verse 28, why do you worry about your clothing? Consider 
the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil 
nor spin. Again, that doesn't mean lay 
on your couch, hold out your hand, and hopefully the checks 
start to roll in. Lay on your couch and keep your 
front door unlocked so that when the brethren come along and say, 
we've got a chicken for you, and we've got a bag of vegetables, 
you can tell them, well, just come on in and set it in the 
kitchen. And go ahead and prepare it for me, because I don't want 
to get up off of this couch, because I'm like the lilies. 
They don't toil, and they don't spin, and yet God clothes them. 
That's not the point you're supposed to take away from this. You're 
supposed to take away the God of absolute unrivaled sovereignty, 
who governs all His creatures and all their actions, takes 
care of the lilies in the field. And if He takes care of the lilies 
in the field, how will He not with us freely give us all things? Isn't this Paul's point in the 
book of Romans, chapter 8? The God, the Father, who did 
not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us, how shall He not 
give us all that we stand in need of? And again, brethren, 
we're not talking about the best cars. We're not talking about 
the best foods. We're not talking about the best 
clothing. The apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 6 says, if we have 
food, if we have clothing, with this we shall be content. Not 
with steak and lobster and everything else that we might find desirable, 
but if we're sustained by our God, we give praise and glory 
to our God. And notice he ups the ante in 
verse 29. And yet I say to you that even 
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Remember that scene in first 
Kings chapter 10, the fame of Solomon had spread throughout 
the nations and the queen of Sheba gets wind of it. And the 
queen of Sheba visits Solomon. What happens there? She's blown 
away. She can't imagine that somebody 
has such riches. Somebody has such resources. 
Somebody has such wisdom. Somebody has such a kingdom like 
this. It truly was mind-blowing for 
the Queen of Sheba. What's Jesus saying? The lilies 
of the field clothed by God, these lilies that neither toil 
nor spin, are more glorious than even Solomon in his kingdom. 
In other words, you've got to trust in God. You cannot let 
this anxiety or this carnality or this worry disrupt you from 
the main things. Now notice, thirdly, under the 
prohibition given by Jesus, the contrast in verses 31 and 32. 
First, he speaks of the conduct of the Gentiles in verse 32, 
and then he speaks of the knowledge of the Father in verse 32b. But look at verse 31, therefore, 
again, do not worry, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall 
we drink, or what shall we wear? Just want to remind you that 
doesn't mean don't go to work tomorrow and lay on your couch. Don't worry about it. Don't be 
grief struck over it. Because you see that while we 
might think it's a legitimate concern for the preservation 
of life and for body and for our tomorrows, we can slip into 
a position where it becomes obsessive, where that's all we're governed 
by. That's the only thing that matters. C.S. Lewis, I can't 
remember where I read it, but he speaks about that statement 
in Proverbs, giving neither poverty nor riches. And he makes the 
observation that many a man will say that he's making his way 
in the world, and yet, more realistically, the world is making its way into 
his heart. We thought that's a good caution for us. Yes, the 
Bible enjoins hard work upon the people of God. Yes, the Bible 
stipulates six days you shall work a labor and do all your 
work. It definitely calls us to that, but it also calls us 
to be mindful that we can't serve God and Mammon. We're to serve 
God and God alone. And so the Lord Jesus issues 
once again this statement in verse 31, As I said, the repetition 
indicates obsession. Spurgeon comments here, the questions 
in this verse are taken out of the worldling's catechism of 
distrust. They're taken out of the worldlings' 
catechism of distrust, this constant thought that perhaps God will 
not be there for us. Go back to the middle of the 
chapter, or the first third of the chapter, specifically at 
verse 11. Give us this day our daily bread. Brethren, if we pray that in 
faith to this good God who clothes the lilies of the field such 
that they exceed the glory of Solomon, who feeds the very sparrows 
of the air, if we are praying, give us this day our daily bread, 
then at some point we must leave it with him. We mustn't be governed 
by the carnal spirit that says, but what about me? What about 
this? What about that? This is what Jesus is trying 
to stifle among the professing people of God. You're not supposed 
to be governed by these things, because it reveals an allegiance 
problem relative to God and His kingdom and His righteousness. 
So notice the reasons there again in verse 32. He speaks of the 
conduct of the Gentiles and the knowledge of the Father. Now 
the Gentiles here is used as those unbelieving people, the 
ones outside of Christ. We see Paul use it that way in 
Ephesians 4, 17. No longer walk as The rest of 
the Gentiles won. So their Paul is magnifying their 
conduct and demonstrating that's something we're supposed to avoid. 
Jesus is dealing now with the mindset of the philosophy of 
the Gentile. He's sort of penetrating behind 
the scenes in terms of what governs people who live in a world where 
they don't have a sovereign God. Now I'm not suggesting that there 
is no sovereign God over them, but they don't have him experientially. They haven't believed the gospel. 
They are not saved. So Jesus cautions his people 
from thinking like Gentiles. Jesus cautions his people from 
thinking like atheists. Jesus cautions His people from 
thinking as if God or the gods aren't omnipotent, aren't omnipresent, 
aren't omniscient, aren't the sovereign being that is revealed 
in Isaiah the prophet chapter 57 and verse 15. God, the High 
and Holy One, He inhabits eternity, but He also dwells with those 
who are of a contrite spirit. So when you come to this particular 
statement, the Lord Jesus is condemning a particular line 
of thinking on the parts of his people, on the part of his people. 
So notice again verse 32, for after all these things the Gentiles 
seek. This is the reason why they're 
not supposed to worry, because that's Gentile thought, that's 
Gentile conduct, that's Gentile practice. Again, not making sure 
that you work hard and providing those things that your family 
needs for your lives, for your bodies, and for your tomorrows. 
But when you're obsessed with that, when you're consumed with 
that, when that's all that activates you, you have more in common 
with the Gentile than you do with the covenant people of God. 
The obsession is of those who do not know God, for after all 
these things the Gentiles seek. It reflects a philosophy, it 
reflects an atheistic thought process that were just governed 
by chance, By fate? By random happenstance? We don't 
live in a theistic universe? We don't have a sovereign God? 
We don't have the God outlined in Westminster's Shorter Catechism 
wherein he governs all his preachers and all their actions? Which 
Shorter Catechism reflects the teaching of Scripture? Daniel 
chapter 4. There is none who can stay his 
hand. There is none who can say, what doest thou? There is that 
reality that among the people of God, what we know about God 
should be fleshed out in how we live before God. In other 
words, theology matters, right? You can have impeccable orthodoxy, 
but if you're frantically, don't look at my thumbs, biting your 
thumbnails, then it reveals that perhaps your orthodoxy needs 
to be translated into orthopraxy, or the practice of the Christian 
faith, the act of the Christian faith. So Jesus says, don't be 
like the Gentiles. This is their thought process. 
They are blind men wandering in a blind universe with no all-seeing 
God who provides for them according to his mercy, goodness, and kindness. 
As Ryle says, he suggests to us that over-carefulness about 
the things of this world is most unworthy of a creature, a Christian 
rather. He says, one great feature of 
heathenism is living for the present. Yeah, I think we'd all 
agree with that. 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. As well, brethren, 
when Jesus cautions us about the thought process here of the 
heathen, again, verse 32a, for after all these things, the Gentiles 
seek. Remember that we're dealing in 
a context of temporal provision. Temporal physical provision. Isn't that the illustration of 
your life? You can't add a cubit to it. Your body, food, clothing, 
your tomorrows. It's temporal stuff. It's not 
ever not amazed me, figure that one out if you will, that sometimes 
Calvinists or Reformed believers who have a very astute doctrine 
of God in matter spiritual forget it when it comes to the practical. 
Oh yeah, God's absolutely, positively sovereign. He chose us in Him 
before the foundation of the world. In love, having predestined 
us unto adoption as sons. We affirm that, we confess that, 
we love that, we delight in that. And yet it may look like the 
cupboards are getting bare and we forget all about God's absolute 
sovereignty. We forget all about God's providence, 
wherein He governs all His creatures and all their actions. See, the 
Lord is taking this doctrine and He's putting it right into 
your kitchen. He's putting it right into your bedroom. He's 
putting it right into your workplace. He's putting it right into your 
car. He's putting it right into your discussions concerning Him 
and His world. So yeah, affirm the glory of 
God in the electing and predestinating power that He exhibits in the 
salvation of sinners, but glorify God that your daily bread is 
on your plate in the morning as well. The same God of Ephesians 
1, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places 
in Christ, is the same God of Psalm 68, where the psalmist 
praises God because he loads us daily with benefits. The psalmist 
in Psalm 103, he certainly capitalizes upon and he celebrates the forgiveness 
of sin as that sort of crown jewel of God's goodness to his 
people. But he also celebrates physical, temporal deliverance. 
He praises God that he's in the spiritual, he praises God that 
he's in the physical. He praises God that he's in the 
eternal, he praises God that he's in the temporal. And that's 
exactly what Jesus is reminding us here. Affirm God's absolute 
sovereignty, but see it not only in election and predestination, 
but see it in the provision of jobs, see it in the provision 
of clothing, see it in the provision of food, see it in the bringing 
of tomorrow, such that while you may have some concerns about 
what these morons are gonna usher in in 2024, nevertheless, you 
know that they are God's morons at the end of the day. They are 
under his power. They are operating in a manner 
that is tethered. They are not free to go about 
doing whatever it is that they deem. I find great comfort in 
that. The reality that as bad as it 
may appear, God is not shaken. God is not off his throne. God 
has not been cast down. God is over all things. And may 
I suggest at the outset of a new year, read your Old Testament. 
You'll get a great big dose of that all throughout. You'll get 
a great big dose of that reality when Israel, the two tribes, 
the northern and the southern, are undergoing chastisement, 
are undergoing difficulties, when they're under the reign 
of a Manasseh or under the reign of an Ahab. Well, did God take 
a holiday during the reign of Manasseh or of Ahab? No, God 
is sovereign over them. What about right now and presently? 
Christ has exalted to the right hand of God Most High. He is 
the head over all things. He does so specifically relative 
to his church, but he has absolute comprehensive sovereignty. All 
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So for 
us, understanding that, we live like Gentiles when we deny it 
at the level of practicality. When we start to fret, when we 
start to cower, and when we start to think that it's only gonna 
ever be bad, well, it might be, but God sustains, God gives grace, 
and God will see you through it. And as we muse on history 
past, we see the very same lessons. You know what, one of the most 
quoted, you've heard this from me many times, the most quoted 
or alluded to verse in the New Testament is Psalm 110.1. The 
Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your 
enemies a footstool. Well, what was going on in the 
Roman Empire at the time that they would rehearse this over 
and over again? Oh, I don't know, a godless state? 
A group of unbelieving Jews that were trying to target the people 
of God? Abortion, infanticide, homosexuality, all the sorts 
of things that we say, oh, there's never been a day and age like 
ours. Well... there has been, we just have 
the luxury of being able to find out about it like that, because 
information is always right there concerning the various situations 
affecting us. So with reference to the Lord 
Jesus' teaching, he tells us to guard against the conduct 
of the Gentiles, and then he speaks of the knowledge of the 
Father. Notice in verse 32b, he says, for your heavenly Father 
knows that you need all these things. The for, again, highlights 
that this is a reason why believers should not worry. Don't worry. 
Why? Because you'll be like the Gentiles. Why? because your God, 
your Father, already knows the things that you need. In fact, 
look back in Matthew chapter 6, specifically at verse 8. In 
the context here of praying, Jesus mitigates against or militates 
against the motivation behind our prayer. If your motivation 
is simply to be seen by men, you're not praying right. But 
then he condemns the manner of our praying. Notice in verse 
7, and when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen 
do, for they think that they will be heard for their many 
words. In other words, you're going to kill God with all of 
your words, or not kill him, but invoke him because of the 
manifold number of words. So Jesus goes against that motivation 
and that manner, and then he prescribes for them specific 
manner on how to pray, content too. In this manner, verse 9, 
I'm sorry, verse 8, therefore do not be like them, for your 
father knows the things you have need of before you ask him. He 
uses the same argument here to discriminate against or to kill 
our worry. Verse 32b, for your heavenly 
father knows that you need all these things. He says this casually. He says this freely. He says 
this without argument. He understands who his father 
is. He understands divine omniscience. He understands divine benevolence. He understands that God has got 
you carefully in his hand. The knowledge of God, or the 
doctrine of the knowledge of God, is the basis for prayer 
in Matthew 6, 8, and 9. And the doctrine of the knowledge 
of God is the basis for, I don't even want to say this because 
it seems unattainable, but a worry-free life. Again, brethren, it's theology 
proper that stabilizes the soul. It's what you know of God that 
affects how you live for God, or contrary to what you should 
be living for in terms of God. What a man thinks, that's how 
he functions. This is Paul in Romans chapter 
12. Therefore, do not be conformed 
to this world, but rather be transformed by what? By the things 
that you do, by the places that you go, be transformed by the 
renewing of your mind. Paul understands where the battle 
is fought and won. Get the mind instructed, get 
the mind theologized, get the mind filled with an understanding 
of who God is, and then the conduct will follow. Because that is 
the way we're made up. That is why God uses preaching, 
God uses reading, God uses the mind to get to us in terms of 
our understanding so that we'll live in a manner that is consistent 
with His will and His word for us in this present evil age. And then in terms of God's goodness, 
again, that's assumed for your heavenly Father knows that you 
need all these things. Right? He knows that you have 
lives. He knows that you have bodies. 
And he knows that you have tomorrows. Consider the psalmist, Psalm 
37, verse 25. I have been young and now am 
old, but yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his 
descendants begging bread. And then Hebrews 13, five. Paul 
there, I think Paul wrote it, invokes a principle that we oftentimes 
spiritualize. I don't think there's anything 
wrong with spiritualizing, but in the context of Hebrews 13, 
it's temporal, it's physical, it's real life, it's lives, bodies, 
and tomorrows. Hebrews 13, 5, let your conduct 
be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have, 
for he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. 
Again, brethren, we have that blessed reality that will never 
leave us or forsake us in the spiritual realm, but it's a promise 
attached to a prohibition against covetousness. Why shouldn't you 
covet? Because God has purpose to never 
leave you nor forsake you. Jesus assumes this in verse 32b. Your heavenly Father knows what 
you need. He's not gonna hold you over 
the fire pit like a man with a spider and watch you just vexed 
and frustrated and anxious. No, God is good. Now that brings 
us then to the principle highlighted by Jesus in verses 33 and 34. There's first an exhortation, 
second a promise, and then a conclusion. Note the exhortation. So we have 
been forbidden or prohibited from worrying about life, bodies 
and tomorrows. And now he says in 33a, this 
is the point, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Again, go back to the Lord's 
prayer in Matthew six, you'll see a pattern here. When it comes 
time to pray, do we pray first for our food, our forgiveness 
and our protection? No. There's a pecking order in 
the Lord's prayer. We pray first for God's name, 
for God's kingdom, and for God's will. In other words, we seek 
first his kingdom and his righteousness, and then these things, food, 
forgiveness, and protection, will be added to us. See, what 
the Lord is doing here in verses 25 to 34 isn't brand new information. I've got something all together... 
No, no, he's simply reiterating what he's already said here in 
chapter 6. He's got a hammer, he's got nails, 
and he keeps pounding away. Because this is a vital component 
in our Christian lives, that we don't live like the Gentiles, 
that we live in light of a good God, that we are not governed 
by carnal anxiety or by worry, but we're governed by kingdom 
principles. And so the very emphasis of our Savior here reiterates 
what we find there in the Lord's Prayer. Now notice the priority. He says, seat first the kingdom 
of God and His righteousness. Now the kingdom of God is His 
rule, His reign, His presence, His power. Typically in studies 
in the Lord's Prayer, there's a twofold component. You have 
the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory. We're presently 
in that kingdom of grace. The gospel is preached, the spirit 
attends, people get converted, the converted get edified and 
strengthened and sanctified and built up such that they can live 
in this present evil age. We pray for the kingdom of glory 
as well. That's how John ends the revelation, 
even so come Lord Jesus. This is what should be symptomatic 
of the hearts of God's people. We ought to long for the coming 
of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. We ought to have 
this desire for the clouds to be rolled back, for the sky to 
be opened, and for our blessed Savior to come in the glory of 
His Father with all of His holy angels, taking vengeance on them 
who know not God and on those who do not obey the gospel, to 
be marveled at or admired by those who by grace have believed 
on Him. So we ought to seek first God's 
kingdom, brethren, not our kingdom. were to seek first God's reign 
and rule and righteousness and power, not riches and accolades 
and prestige. Again, I do not want to be misunderstood 
here. I am all for hard work. I'm all 
for guys getting recognized at work, girls getting recognized 
at work, getting promotions, given more responsibility. None 
of what I say should affect that reality, but it's a question 
of allegiance. It's a question of priority. 
It's a question of the larger concerns of a man's life. Is 
it only about these things? Because if so, we need the corrective 
of our Savior so that we'll seek first the kingdom of God. And 
then he goes on to say, and his righteousness. Again, that's 
the rightness of God, the perfection of his goodness. But in the Sermon 
on the Mount, I suspect there's a larger overarching concern. 
I think that the Sermon on the Mount, rightly interpreted, serves 
as a pedagogue as well. In other words, it serves to 
show us our sin, our lawlessness, our rebel hearts, and then it 
casts us to the foot of the cross, seeking the righteousness of 
another. In other words, when Jesus says, 
seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, yeah, 
the rightness of God, the perfection of His righteousness, but also 
the person of the Savior. Look at chapter 5, specifically 
at verse 20. For I say to you that unless 
your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes 
and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 
If you were an outsider, you were not a believer at that point, 
you were hearing that. How do you think you would respond 
to that? You'd say, wait a minute. The Pharisees and the scribes, 
these are the righteous guys among us. These are the right 
guys among us. They're the religious teachers. 
If their righteousness isn't good enough, then what hope for 
a slob like me? What hope for a piker like me? 
What hope for a wretch like me? So I think Machen is right. I 
think Martin Lloyd-Jones is right. One of the functions of the Sermon 
on the Mount is to show us our sin. It's to show us our depravity. It's to show us our lawlessness. 
How do you know you're sin and misery? The law of God tells 
me so. Well, Matthew 5 to 7 is a whole 
bunch of law. That's why I started off by saying, 
I don't want to scold. I'm certainly not a guru when 
it comes to law keeping, but that law should make a man a 
seeker after righteousness. Seek first the kingdom of God 
and His righteousness. Our brother Steve read Jeremiah 
23 at the outset of worship last week. Jeremiah 23.6, now this 
is his name, by which he will be called the Lord our righteousness. 1 Corinthians 1.30, but of him 
you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, 
that is, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. What is Jesus 
doing here? He's calming His people. He is 
gently reproving His people. He is exhorting His people to 
not be governed by worry, to not be divided in their allegiance, 
to make sure that the priority structure is in place. But He's 
also calling out to sinners. He's addressing unbelievers. 
He is telling people that the way of this kind of peace is 
through the Lord's righteousness. It is through the Lord's righteousness 
provided in His Son, who is the Lord our righteousness, that 
secures for you place in His kingdom. So seek first His kingdom 
and His righteousness, and then these things will be added to 
you. And notice that promise based on what he says there in 
verse 33. But seek first the kingdom of 
God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added 
to you. Brethren, it's the things in 
context. You've probably heard the statement 
from Philippians 4, through him I can do everything. You know, 
the young basketball star figures because he's a Christian, he'll 
be able to jump higher, stuff harder, and be better than all 
of his competitors. No, that's not what Paul means 
there. The auto mechanic. I'm going 
to be the best auto mechanic because in Christ Jesus, I can 
do everything. You still got to read, you still 
got to work hard, you got to have dexterity with tools. There's 
a lot of things involved there. We got to make sure that we don't, 
you know, get rid of any limitations on context. When he says, in 
all these things, what's he talking about? Your life, your food, 
your clothing, and your tomorrows. Again, not steak and lobster. 
Not, I can jump higher and dunk harder than anybody on the face 
of the earth. Not, I'm gonna be the best attorney 
in Vancouver, because in Christ Jesus, I can do everything. You 
can't fly to the moon unassisted. Does that not be covered by Philippians 
4? We gotta make sure that what 
Jesus is promising here is what Jesus is promising here. Paul, 
as I said in 1 Timothy 6, 8 says, in having food and clothing, 
with these we shall be content. Right? Doesn't specify what food 
and what clothing. Doesn't specify how much food 
or how many clothes. It says you have it. You have 
it. Lewis says, you can't get second 
things by putting them first. You can get second things only 
by putting first things first. I think that's a perceptive statement 
here. You can't get second things by 
putting them first. In other words, your life, your 
body, your tomorrows shouldn't become your priority, shouldn't 
become your allegiance. No, you don't get second things 
by putting them first. You get second things only by 
putting first things first. Seek first the kingdom of God 
and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to 
you. And then the conclusion, verse 
34. Notice he commands again, do 
not worry. Do not worry. Don't be governed 
by anxiety. Don't be fretful. Don't be the 
sort of person that is paralyzed by that kind of fear and trepidation. But here the object is a bit 
different. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow. He's cautioned us about lives 
and bodies, and now he cautions us about tomorrow. And as I said 
earlier, verse 34 balances out the entire section. This isn't 
a theology of be, you know, don't worry, be happy. This isn't hakuna 
matata, I'm dating myself here when my kids were little. This 
is not this kind of a concept where, you know, you've got God 
now, and just don't worry about tomorrow. He understands that 
each day has sufficient troubles. If Jesus is trying to sell the 
kingdom only based on benefit, he's doing a pretty bad job. He ever bought a used car? He 
ever bought something from somebody that only saw it as gold and 
then it wasn't? Well, how do they sell it? Well, 
it's never broken down. It will never break down. It's 
only ever good until you drive off the lot. Jesus says, sufficient 
is the day for its own trouble. Brethren, the Christian life 
is not the eradication of hardship. Do not worry about tomorrow. And then as the reason, he says, 
for tomorrow will worry about its own things. There is hardship, 
there is difficulty, there are challenges to be faced. And then 
the reality that he states, he says, sufficient for the day 
is its own trouble. The presence of trial and hardship 
and affliction and difficulty is not confined to verse 34, 
it's illustrated and demonstrated throughout the scripture. As 
I said earlier, read the Old Testament, read about your hero, 
King David, read about your hero, the apostle Paul in the New Testament. 
Read about your Lord Jesus, man of sorrows and acquainted with 
grief. He had no form, no comeliness. There was nothing about Him that 
suggested that we fawn all over Him. You read about the apostles 
in Acts chapter 5. They rejoiced because they were 
counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. You're about the 
history of the faithful in the church and life of God. They're 
in Hebrews chapter 11 at the very end. There's no whiff of 
health, wealth, and prosperity. There's every whiff of hardship, 
and affliction, and trial, and difficulty, and Jesus doesn't 
mitigate that. But what he wants you to know 
is that don't worry about what tomorrow may bring, because as 
you're worrying about tomorrow, you're not seeking first the 
kingdom of God and His righteousness today. And if you're not seeking 
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness today, you're 
not going to be fit to deal with the troubles of today. In other 
words, what Jesus impresses upon us is not the idea that there's 
no hardship, but he's telling us that if we want to navigate 
through the hardship, we need to have the priority structure 
that he's enjoined upon us. Ryle says we are not to carry 
cares before they come. Maybe you're like me, you've 
wasted a lot of time in your life worrying about things that 
never happen. Isn't that weird? I'm sorry, 
I'm not trying to have some encounter group here, but it's just bizarre 
behavior. Is it DNA? Is it parental upbringing? Is it the weirdnesses that happen? 
I don't know. What shapes a person where they 
waste incessant amounts of time worrying about things that may 
or may not happen? And if we're trusting the living 
and the true God, if they do happen, we have his promise that 
he'll see us through it. Yea, though I walk through the 
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? Because 
thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort 
me. Ryle says, 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 tomorrow brings a cross, he who sends it can and will 
send grace to bear it. Amen. R.T. France, a modern commentator, 
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. So don't worry about tomorrow. Don't panic about tomorrow. Don't fret concerning tomorrow. You got enough to deal with today 
to seek God and his kingdom and his righteousness. And then Matthew 
Henry, he oftentimes nails things in a very beautiful way. Let 
us not pull that upon ourselves altogether at once, which providence 
has wisely ordered to be borne by parcels. The conclusion of 
this whole matter then is that it is that it is the will and 
command of the Lord Jesus that his disciples should not be their 
own tormentors, nor make their passage through this world more 
dark and unpleasant by their apprehension of troubles than 
God has made it by the troubles themselves. By our daily prayers, 
we may procure strength to bear us up under our daily troubles 
and to arm us against the temptations that attend them, and then let 
none of these things move us. That's a very valuable statement. 
Let's not become our own tormentors. Let's not work ourselves up over 
troubles when the troubles themselves aren't gonna be that severe. 
Again, it's nonsensical. It's folly. It's weird. It's 
a lack of wisdom. And that's why Jesus teaches 
it here, so that we won't worry about our lives. We can't add 
cubits to our stature Or about our bodies. What are we going 
to wear? What are we going to eat? Or our tomorrows. Ryle was right. We could be dead 
by tomorrow. I don't say that with a gleeful 
hope, but I say that with a amusing smirk. We could be dead by tomorrow. Doesn't James condemn this attitude? 
Oh, we'll go to such and such a city tomorrow. We'll traffic. 
We'll sell. We'll buy. We'll deal. You don't 
know that you're a vapor. You're here for a time and then 
you're gone. You're not the kingdom of God. You don't have that lasting, 
you know, stability. You're here today and then gone 
tomorrow. I think that's a good and helpful 
perspective for the people of God to sort of, to imbibe. Again, 
not for self-deprecation, I'm just garbage. No, but to get 
a good dose of reality. The Bible does that. It compares 
man with grass. in contrast to the stability 
of the Word that endures forever. Those are good checks upon us 
in our pride, good checks upon us in our temptation to worry. 
And in conclusion, if you had to summarize, I would think you'd 
take home this point. I shouldn't worry. No, you shouldn't. You shouldn't worry. You should 
work, you should labor, you shouldn't lay on your couch unless it's 
time to lay on the couch, but you shouldn't be paralyzed, you 
shouldn't be captivated, you shouldn't be mesmerized by the 
concerns of this world to the detriment of your never-dying 
soul. We're to seek God, we're to seek his kingdom, we're to 
seek his righteousness. The man who prays as he ought 
will live as he ought. I stole that from John Owen. 
You see the connection between Matthew 6 in the Lord's Prayer 
and Matthew 6 in this injunction not to worry. If you pray, give 
us this day our daily bread, provide for me my forgiveness, 
provide for me my protection, then go out and live as you want. 
Don't just pray it emptily and then be governed by worry. Trust 
God for your provision, trust God for his concern, trust God 
for his kindness and providence, and then live in light of that. 
Live in light of that reality and enjoy the things that He 
gives you. Pray continually for what you need, but rest assured 
that He has you and that He governs you and that He cares for you. 
And if anyone's not a believer, I want to direct your thought 
again to verse 32. Seek first the kingdom of God 
and His righteousness. This is not an appeal to you 
to go out and be better. Stop worrying and you'll go to 
heaven. Stop obsessing about money, stop obsessing about cars, 
stop obsessing about all those worldly things, and then you'll 
go to heaven. That's not my appeal. My appeal is Paul's appeal, is 
Jesus' appeal, is Isaiah's appeal, is Moses' appeal, is God's appeal. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you will be saved. Look to the Lord our righteousness 
for cleansing in his blood and clothing in that righteousness. 
The glory of the Christian gospel isn't try harder, do more, be 
better, but it's rather believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and 
you will be saved. Because in that gospel, what 
God does is he takes that blood of Jesus and washes and cleanses 
you of all your sin. But it doesn't stop there. You 
need to be clothed in righteousness so that you can stand before 
him. Well, Jesus fulfilled all righteousness such that when 
we believe in him by grace, that righteousness is imputed to us 
or given to us, constituted ours. And the way we receive it is 
by the empty hand of faith. Look to Christ, look to that 
righteousness, and by grace, enter the kingdom of God. Well, 
let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for this exhortation 
of our Lord Jesus against worry, and help us to internalize these 
things, help us to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness, 
and to realize that you are good in your providential dealings 
with your people. We ask that you would bless this 
local body. We pray for your blessing upon 
other churches in our community. We pray that your gospel would 
go forth powerfully, conquering and to conquer. And we pray through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.