Last week, Jesus left us with a very important statement. He said that we cannot serve two masters. He then followed that up, very bluntly, by saying that we cannot serve God and money. It’s the two-master issue. He taught us that we will end up hating one and loving the other and being loyal to one and despising the other. He talked about our heart in regard to material things and money and valuing the treasures of heaven over the things of this Earth. And our passage this morning is a continuation right out of these statements and so let’s read these verses for today.
Read Matthew 6:25-34
So, what is Jesus talking about here? Let’s understand the big picture of His lesson in these verses first and then we’ll move on to some of the finer points. Like I said a minute ago, this is coming right after Jesus’ talk on not being able to serve God and material things or money at the same time. Jesus is actually continuing through that same primary issue right now, with His main point being: are we more worried or anxious about all of the stuff, the material things, the money … or are we more concerned with Him and His kingdom? And that really is the main point here, and honestly that’s a powerful question, and we should probably all ask ourselves that question, and we could probably do that and call it a day right now, but we’re not going to of course. There is a great opportunity here this morning to talk about some of these things in a general sense and then we are going to circle back to the Kingdom focus.
Jesus starts out in these verses, in verse 25, and just breaks down the physical or material focuses that all of us will have to consider and deal with at some point, because all of these would be categorized really, as physical necessities. Let’s look at what Jesus lists in verse 25 again.
Read Matthew 6:25
Jesus says don’t worry about our life, our food, our drink, our body, or our clothes. I think we could look at His list there and be like “what?! I kind of need all of those things. And we do, and Jesus of course fully understands that. Remember He walked in our shoes, it says in Hebrews that He went through all of the things that we go through. He was hungry and He was thirsty, He didn’t really have a home, He had His clothes taken away from Him and given to others like some sort of prize, He faced down death and sweated blood as He agonized over it, and then He gave up His life for us. Jesus actually understands these things and He knows what our needs are. So, when we read this, He isn’t saying “oh don’t worry about these things, because you don’t really need them, and it’s not a big deal”. He’s not saying that. But what He is teaching us here is that our entire perspective on life needs to change.
That’s why His statements in verse 25 didn’t end with “don’t worry about these things”. It ends with a question, because this is a teaching moment. He says, “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”. And that’s something that we need to stop and think about it. And I think we would probably all hear that question and be like “Of course life is more than that”. But if we really step back, are we living like life is more than just staying alive, and getting the stuff that we need, or maybe just the stuff that we want? Is our life really purposed any higher than that?
Honestly, I think a lot of people are stuck in just like “existing mode”, it’s like work, play when I can, try to get the stuff that I want, sleep, and then just put that on repeat. But there’s no higher purpose then just continuing that cycle until death. I want to go back together to Matthew chapter 4 and see something that Jesus said there.
Read Matthew 4:1-4
If you were here and remember going through this together, we talked about what Satan was trying to do here. He was trying to tempt Jesus, to get Jesus to break, and a bunch of stuff, but at this very moment that we just read, Jesus is incredibly hungry. He had been fasting from food, while out in the desert, for forty days and forty nights. I literally can’t imagine the level of hunger that He must have been experiencing at that point. And so, Satan is like, “if You are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread”. And I’m sure Jesus wanted that bread, His body was probably in terrible shape after so long without food, but even in that state, He looked at Satan, and quoted from the book of Deuteronomy saying “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
And if we think about that in terms of Jesus’ question in Matthew 6: Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Then we see that there are really like, levels to living. Food and clothes, the bread that Satan was tempting Jesus with those things will help keep us physically alive and that’s not something that we should ignore. But the bigger thing that we must not miss, is that real living starts by listening to and following every word that comes from the mouth of God. Just like Jesus said. Sure, you can stay alive and make it to the end of your life with these things, and we’ll all need these things along the way, but is our only goal, to make it to the end of this life and maybe have some fun along the way, or is our goal to REALLY LIVE, to live God’s way, in the new life that we have in Christ? There’s a massive difference between those two ways of living and so, yes, to answer Jesus’ question, life is so much more than just the stuff, even the necessary stuff.
And the reason why Jesus is talking about worry and anxiety about the stuff, is because often times we’re not satisfied with just what we need, and the reality is that maybe we worry about getting all of stuff that we want. Or maybe we worry about losing the extra things that we already have. The mindset of this world is that we only have this one period of time on Earth and so we have to get and experience everything that we can, and would desire, during this short time. But that mindset completely ignores the new life that we have in Christ, it ignores the call to follow Jesus and serve Him and other people, it ignores the eternal life that we will live in Him, it ignores the city of the Living God that we will one day set foot in, it ignores so much. And if we ignore all of those things, and so much more, then it becomes really easy to just become consumed, with the worry, of getting, and doing, all of stuff that I can right now, before my time is up. But as Jesus said, isn’t life more than just that? And Jesus goes on and gives some really practical examples of God’s care for His creation and how that relates to us. Let’s read these next verses again, verses 26 through 32.
Read Matthew 6:26-32
Jesus tells us to look at the birds and to look at the flowers of the field. He’s like don’t you see how God the Father takes care of these things? How He takes care of His creation? He says the birds aren’t planting and harvesting crops, but God provides them food, He says that the grass of the field is here today, but might be burned up tomorrow, and yet God still covers it in these beautiful flowers. He actually cares. He cares for even the smallest parts of His creation, but Jesus’ point here, and please let us take this to heart, is that we are so much more valuable to God, then the birds, and the flowers, and the grass. So, if He cares for, and takes care of these things, can we not trust that we will be taken care of as well?
Maybe some of our concerns, and some of our worry, or some of our anxiety, can be helped, by simply taking to heart a greater understanding of how awesome our God is, and how much He actually loves and cares for us. That’s what Jesus is teaching us here. And I do think that this is the biggest piece of the puzzle, in dealing with these particular things, but there are other practical ways as well.
Maybe the finances are rough right now, maybe even the necessities are hard to come by. Maybe it has us worried or anxious about the days to come. Well, I would absolutely say in every situation, we start in prayer, we put it before the Lord, but then we also get to work towards solutions. If there is a serious need, in the necessities, then maybe we as a church, as God’s people, can come along side and help with the necessities in some way. The church started with those principles, and we still need to have them. I want to go to Acts 2 together and see what this looked like.
Read Acts 2:44-47
What is so cool about this, is that we are kind of right in the middle of the same situation here right now. Yes, the church as a whole has been around for a long time now, but this Church is new, we’re about 3 and a half months old at this point, and we have the opportunity, to see it grow, and participate in the growth, that God is doing here. And one of the core elements of even calling this church, Base Church, is the understanding, that this church, is building on the base, or foundation, of Jesus, of God’s word, and the example that it gives us.
And here, it gives this great example of the earliest churches gathering in homes, praising God, helping each other out, having a good reputation in the community, sharing meals, and then watching as God works in people, in the church, and in the community.
That’s how things started and it’s how things still need to go. So, if there is a need in the necessities, please, let’s talk about it, and let’s try to make sure that each other is taken care of. And maybe practically, that means money help through just a particular situation, or maybe it even means sitting down and working through a budget for a more long-term solution. But any of these things are for the goal, of reducing our worry, or anxiety, over these things, so that we can be all the more focused on the things of the Lord. One of the points of our mission statement here at Base is to make disciples, or grow as followers of Jesus Christ, and sometimes it’s even in dealing with these really practical things, such as finances, that will help us be even more effective in following and serving the Lord.
And so, Jesus back in Matthew 6 and let me read verses 31 and 32 again.
Read Matthew 6:31-32
And so once again, Jesus says, don’t worry, He says that our heavenly Father, God the Father, knows all about the things that we need. He says that the gentiles or the world is going to be constantly asking, what do we eat?, what do we drink?, what do we wear?, and it’s really easy for us to get caught up in that same way of thinking. And those sorts of things are going to lead to more questions, like, what do we drive?, where do we live?, where’s our next vacation going to be?, what can I show off on Instagram? There’s just so much to get caught up in, there’s so much opportunity, to start worrying about all of the stuff, and all that is going to do, is just distract us from really living and from what’s most important. Even in just considering those simple questions that Jesus gives, are we content that we just have some food to eat, whatever it may be, or do we feel like we deserve or need a nice ribeye steak or a dinner out all the time? Are we content even if we literally only had water to drink, or do we feel like we need a Starbucks every day? Would we be content with some second hand clothing, or do we need labels and designers all over us?
Jesus told us last week that where our treasure is, that’s where our heart will be also. You can eat your treasure, you drink your treasure, you can wear your treasure, you can drive or live in your treasure, you can go far away to your treasure, you can worry and have all of the anxiety in the world about this treasure, you can try to get as much treasure as you can in your bank account. Or you can…verse 33. The first part of that says:
Read Matthew 6:33a
“seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”
And if we do that, then the very God, of this universe, that loves us, and cares for us, will in His grace, help take care of the necessities that we need. When He says, that all of these things shall be added to you, He is talking about the necessities, things that we might be genuinely worried about, and things that we actually need.
And now obviously, God could absolutely do the miraculous, and provide for our needs in supernatural ways. He did that for the Israelites in the Old Testament when He gave them manna, or bread from heaven, that appeared for them each morning to eat. He could do that still, He is still the same God, but He usually works in much more practical ways. And maybe that is through providing work to get the necessities, maybe that’s through caring for each other and helping one another, maybe He just shines a big light on a bunch of extra stuff in our life, that we don’t need, and we can exchange those things for the real necessities, maybe it happens a lot of different ways. But the point here is, do not underestimate His care for us, but also realize, that there is absolutely an instruction to action here, to SEEK FIRST His Kingdom, and His work, that He has laid out for our lives.
And maybe we’re like, “what in the world does that mean?”
When we talk about the Kingdom of God, it’s understanding, that God is King, and He is absolutely in control of everything. It’s an understanding that His rule, His word, and His purposes, OVERRULE, everything else in this world. When we read His word, it instructs us how to live His way, how to honor Him with our lives, how to love and to serve others that He might be glorified. When I think of living for the Kingdom, I think of the two great commandments that Jesus gave in Matthew 22. There He tells us to:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself”
So that begs the question: Are we building up our little temporary kingdom, or are we really living for His Kingdom?
Are we really loving Him with everything we have? Are we really loving, and love in action, the people around us? We need to realize through all of this passage that Jesus isn’t just saying, stop worrying about these things. He is saying that we need to replace that worry with a greater level of concern, for the things of His Kingdom. And when we do that, then God will see to it, that the necessities that we need to live, will be there when we truly need them. And remember this is the necessities, this is not promise of a bunch of earthly extras, but what does that matter at all, in light of the treasures of heaven that we looked at last week. And finally verse 34.
Read Matthew 6:34
Jesus says, don’t worry about tomorrow, tomorrow is its own deal, and we’ll deal with it when it gets here. Let’s do today, because today is literally the only day that we have any real control over. I can’t change the past, and I am not promised tomorrow, and I definitely can’t change the future after today. So, I need to be living for the Kingdom today, with a plan to keep doing that tomorrow, and so on from there.
There’s no time, to be like, I’ll get to living His way, and serving Him, and other people, maybe in a year, maybe when I have all of this other stuff worked out, or maybe in a month, or even in a week really. What happens, if our plans aren’t God’s plans, and we end up meeting Him in a few days from now?
That should cause us to consider the way that we are actually living right now. If we died tomorrow, would we be ready and happy to meet Jesus and hear His assessment of our lives? Or would we be like “Oh no, I was planning to get to those things later”
Jesus is absolutely, King of the Kingdom, right now. We may live in a place called America, which honestly is worldly nation like every other one, with a massive focus on materialism, but if we believe in Jesus, then we are citizens of the very Kingdom of God. Our King, Jesus, has called us to live with a greater concern for His Kingdom, and for His purposes, than we even have for our material needs. But He says that He will take care of our material needs as we seek to live for Him and His Kingdom. And He encourages us to do this today, not tomorrow, but we should keep doing it tomorrow, as well, if we get there. And if we don’t get there, then hopefully we put our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to save us from our sins, and hopefully we have lived in such a way, to honor God, and love, serve, and tell other people about Jesus, so that when we meet Him, we might hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”