0:18 Continuing with our study on all that Jesus taught, all that Jesus commanded that we are told to proclaim. claim to all disciples in every nation. We now turn to Matthew's gospel and 0:36 chapter 6. We've been looking at the things that Jesus commanded that we have been told to teach others to do. In our last session, we were looking at the wrong attitude that people can have towards money. In the sermon on the 0:51 mount, Jesus first spoke about nine right attitudes in verses 3 to 12 of chapter 5. And then he spoke about nine wrong attitudes in the remaining chapters. First we saw was the wrong 1:08 attitude of anger. Matthew 5 21-26. Then the wrong attitude of sinful sexual desire where Matthew 5 27-32. And then the wrong attitude of 1:24 lying verse 33-37 telling lies. And then the wrong attitude of revenge verse 38- 42. And then the wrong attitude of hatred verse chapter 5 1:41 43-48. And then in chapter 6 1-18 the wrong attitude of seeking man's honor. And then seventhly we saw in our last study chapter 6 verse 19 to 24 the wrong attitude of the love of 2:00 money. And now we want to look at an eighth wrong attitude is chapter 6 verse 25-34 and that is anxiety. Now a lot of people don't think of anxiety as a sin. It's just like a lot of people don't think of anger as a 2:18 sin. A lot of people don't think that the love of money is a sin. A lot of people don't think that seeking honor from men is a sin. A lot of people don't think that if you hate your enemy, that's a sin. And a lot of people don't 2:33 think that if you tell small white lies, that's a sin. So many of the things that Jesus spoke here, a lot of even a lot of Christians don't think it's a sin at all. Many people think of love of money as a weakness or anger as a weakness. As long 2:49 as you call it a weakness, you'll never be free from it. Jesus didn't come to save us from weaknesses. He came to save us from sin. So call something a sin and Jesus will save us from it. But if you try to give it a more polished name, 3:03 you'll never be free from it. Call something by the dirtiest name you can think of. Call lust adultery. Call anger murder. Call love of money the hatred of God. And you'll be free from it. because you see what an evil it is. If you think 3:21 of AIDS and cancer as as serious as just a cough and a cold, you're not going to take those seriously. And many people take these sins very lightly, even though Jesus spoke so strongly against them. And I don't blame most people 3:35 because I say their leaders and their teachers have not taught these things to them. There's a great der lack of Christian preachers and teachers who preach the whole truth of God, who do not seek the honor of men, who do not 3:49 want anybody's money, but want to speak the truth to lead God's people to spiritual health. It's like a doctor who's not interested in your money, but who's interested in leading you to health. There are very few like that. 4:02 So, here's anxiety, which is another thing which people call a weakness. It's not a weakness. If you look here in this section, verse 25-34, three times Jesus Christ, Lord of the universe, says, "Do not be anxious." 4:19 Verse 25, I say to you, do not be anxious. Verse 31, do not be anxious. Verse 34, do not be anxious. In the space of these 10 verses, three times the Lord says, "Do 4:37 not be anxious." It's the same Lord who said, "Do not commit murder." Who said, "Do not commit adultery. Do not steal." Put them all together. Do not kill. Do not commit 4:54 adultery. Do not steal. Do not be anxious. Which is the one which is not a sin? Can you say, "Oh, well, I'm anxious only once once or twice a week." That's like saying, "Well, I murder people only once or twice a week." It's like saying, 5:13 "Well, I commit adultery only once or twice a week. Not too often." Why is it that we take some of those things seriously, which God has said, and some of these other things not so seriously? Well, I'll tell you why. Because your teachers haven't taught 5:27 you that these things are also what the Lord has said. Have you noticed for example until I pointed out to you just now that Jesus says that three times do not be anxious that is the same Lord who also told people don't commit murder don't 5:43 kill don't steal don't commit adultery who said don't fear for example fear is not a weakness it's a sin like murder is a sin how do we know what's a sin if God has said you shouldn't do it that's a sin that's my definition of 5:58 sin What is the right thing to do? If God has said you must do this, whether people say it or not, it's a right thing to do. If God has said you must love your wife, even your wife, if your wife is an evil woman, you got to love her cuz God 6:14 said so. And if God has said something don't do it, that is evil. Even if you don't think it is [Music] evil, it's not because I think adultery is bad. God has said don't do it. God has said don't be anxious, don't be 6:33 afraid. I want to look at these things which God has said don't do as evil. Anxiety destroys my fellowship with God. And anxiety is saying that God doesn't care for me. It's an insult to God. What would you think of 6:52 a four-year-old child who's eating from the garbage bins? And there are a number of them like that in our country unfortunately. They got a father who doesn't care for them. They got a mother who doesn't care for them. Is our 7:06 heavenly father like that? Does our heavenly father not care for us? It's an insult to put our heavenly father in the same category as those fathers of those children who are eating from the garbage bins. They don't know 7:22 where their next meal is going to come from. They have a right to be anxious because their earthly fathers don't care for them. But if you have a heavenly father and you're anxious, you're saying that your heavenly father is also in the 7:32 same category. This reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life. Verse 25. Don't be anxious for your life. What you eat, what you drink, or for your body. Isn't your life more than food, body, and 7:52 clothing? And then he look takes the example of the birds of the air. Look at the birds. They don't sow. They don't reap. They don't gather into barns. Yet your heavenly father feeds them. How many times have you seen a 8:10 dead bird on the road? It is such a rare sight to see a dead bird on the road. I think I can count on my fingers the number of times in my 72 years that I've seen a dead bird on the road. Where have you seen birds starving? It's such a rare thing. There 8:32 are millions and millions of these birds on earth and they get food. Even though they don't sow, they don't reap, they have to go looking for food here and there. Who feeds them? Jesus said your heavenly father feeds them. He is not 8:49 their heavenly father. He is your heavenly father. He's their creator. But as a creator, he feeds them. But with you, he's not just creator. He's your father. Are you not worth much more than these birds? What a question that 9:11 is. I read a little little poem once, which is a very interesting poem many years ago that I haven't forgotten. [Music] It's about two little birds talking to each other, said the robin to the sparrow. I would really like to 9:29 know why these anxious human beings rush about and worry so said the sparrow to the robin. Friend, I think that it must be that they have no heavenly father such as 9:47 cares for you and me. Did you get it? Two birds talking to one another, saying, "Why are these anxious human beings always running around worried, their brows furrowed, and wondering what's going to happen next?" And the 10:01 other bird says, "Perhaps they don't have a father like we have who cares for us." What an insult. That's what we see here. We need to remember that not just as a lovely story, not just something that brings a little smile on our face, but Lord, I 10:17 have insulted you by saying you don't care for me by every anxiety. To have a concern for our children, for example, is good. If your children haven't come home in time from school when they should have been home by now, and one 10:35 hour has gone by, they haven't come back yet, you wonder what's happened. Have they had an accident? And in some countries, have they kidnapped them? To be concerned is right, but to be anxious is wrong. It's like I said earlier, to 10:49 have money is right, to love money is wrong. To be concerned for our children, to be concerned for their future education, etc., etc. To be concerned for their growth and their spiritual growth is right, but to be anxious, that's wrong. 11:06 Do not be anxious. And then Jesus says, "By anxiety, can you add height to yourself?" No. Why are you anxious about clothing? He says, "Look at the liies of the field, how they grow. They don't toil and spin clothing for 11:23 themselves. Yet I say to you that even Solomon, the great king, in all his glory, could not clothe himself like these flowers. And if God can so clothe the grass of the field which is alive today 11:41 and tomorrow thrown into the furnace, won't he do much more for you, oh men of little faith? He's speaking to his disciples. He says, "Why are you so worried about what type of clothing you're going to wear, where you'll get 11:56 it from, etc. Food? God cares for the birds. He cares for the liies, the grass of the field, which is not even the flowers. The grass of the field he cares for. He clothed the flowers with such 12:14 beauty. Won't he clothe you? He certainly will. So then do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat or what shall we drink or with what shall we clothe ourselves?" For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek, 12:33 but your heavenly father knows that you need all these things. You see faith in this area is to say my heavenly father knows what I need. Then you say why should we pray? Because in prayer we are expressing our need to go so that we come into 12:53 fellowship with him. God wants to have fellowship with us and that's why he wants us to talk to him and commune with him and God wants to commune with us. It's very very important. This is not possible in the Old Testament. In the 13:08 Old Testament, God just spoke to the prophets. The prophets spoke to God. Nobody could have a direct communication with God. But today, as God becomes a father, you know how much we love little children when they come into our home. 13:23 Think of a couple that never had children for many years and they have a little child. How delighted they have are to have that child. How much that mother talks to that child even at a time when the child can't understand a 13:35 word of what you're saying. The desire to communicate and how excited you are when the child speaks a few words. Do you know that God is a loving father? He says in Isaiah 49 and verse1 15, "Can a mother forget her sucking 13:51 child and not care for the child of her womb? Even she may forget." A nursing mother may forget her nursing child, but I will not forget you. It's a beautiful picture how God is not only like a father, he's like a mother. He cares for 14:10 us so intensely. There are many people who are afraid. When I grow old, who will take care of me? I've heard people complain that to me, "Brother Zach, my children are not taking care of me. Now I'm old and I took care of them 14:28 when they were little children. They're not taking care of me when I'm old." And I asked them this question. Did you bring up your children to take care of you, or did he bring up your children for the glory of God? Don't bring up children to take 14:43 care of you when you're old. Bring up your children for the glory of God. And if you want to know who'll take care of you, here's a promise for all of you old people from Isaiah 46 and verse 3 and 4. The Lord says to you, I have borne you on my back from 15:00 your birth. From your birth, I've carried you. I carried you from your mother's womb and even to your old age I will be the same. Even when your hairs are gray in your graying years I will bear you. I 15:18 have done it and I will carry you. I will bear you. What a promise. Trust in God. You don't have to depend on your children. Trust in God. God can use anybody. God can use means to provide your need. You don't have to be anxious. 15:34 The Bible says, "Be anxious for nothing." In Philippians 4:6, it's an absolute statement. Philippians 4:6, "Be anxious for nothing." But we need to do something about that cause of anxiety. Maybe 15:54 there's some problem you're facing right now and you don't know how it is going to work out. What should you do? He he doesn't say don't do anything. He says, "Pray about it." And supplication means make a specific request to God. Tell God 16:10 exactly what the problem is. That is supplication. And then don't forget to complete the prayer with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is saying, "Thank you, Father, for having heard my prayer. Thank you for caring for me." It's like the receipt that my letter has 16:30 reached God's presence. He received the letter. Thank you for hearing me. And then when you do that, it says here in verse 7 of Philippians 4, the peace of God, which is the opposite of anxiety, the peace of God will, which is beyond all 16:49 comprehension, which we cannot even understand, will guard. God is a military word like a fortress. It will guard me and my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. That is a command we must obey. 17:08 Be anxious for nothing. He doesn't say don't do anything about it. Make that request known to God in prayer and in a specific request. And God will make sure his peace like a military garrison surrounds your heart and your mind so that you can 17:27 be free from anxiety. Only God can free us from it. I can't just, you know, work myself up to be free from anxiety. And when I'm free from anxiety, I'll be free from a lot of discouragement. This is a wonderful step that we must take. And then he goes on 17:43 to say in Matthew 6 and verse 33, if you want to be anxious about something, let me paraphrase his words. Don't be anxious about all these earthly things. But if you do want to be anxious about something, be anxious about 17:58 pursuing after God's kingdom first and his righteousness. In other words, let those energies be directed towards seeking God's kingdom first and his righteousness. and you'll find that all these earthly things which you're 18:14 anxious about will be taken care of. That's a wonderful promise. It's one of the most fantastic promises that Jesus gave and it applies to anyone in any age that if you devote yourself to seeking the rule of God, the kingdom of God means the rule of God in 18:32 your life. It's not a the word kingdom is not a word we use much nowadays but it refers to the rule of God in our life. God is my authority. He's the one who rules over me. He's the government of God. I submit 18:51 to his rule in my life. That is the meaning of seeking God's kingdom. And to seek his righteousness means to seek total purity in every area of my life. I long for a life of total purity. I want God to rule over my life, every area of 19:07 my life. I want God to make me totally pure in my life in every area. And when I seek these things first, all my earthly needs will be added to me. And I want to say to you, my dear friends, our life should be a testimony to the truth of this verse. 19:27 I have sought to live following this verse for more than 50 years now, sincerely seeking God's kingdom and his righteousness first to the best of my knowledge and ability. And I can testify that God has certainly added all my earthly needs to me. I 19:46 mean, I've been my wife and I have been through times of deep poverty, but we never got into debt. And all my 72 years have never been in debt. When we get into debt, we're saying our father has forsaken us. If we trust in God, he will provide 20:04 our need. When the Bible says in Romans 13 and verse 8, owe no man anything, he's teaching us never to get into debt. I want to explain what a debt is. If you take a loan from the bank to build a house, there is no debt there because 20:23 for the money you borrowed, there's an asset there which balances in the weighing balance. One takes care of the other. Or if you take a loan to buy a car and it's insured, then there is a balance there. There is no debt there. But if you have borrowed 20:42 money to spend it on yourself to go on a vacation or spend it on a wedding and it's evaporated, there's nothing there. That's a debt. And we should not get into that type of debt. We must learn to live within our income. But if we spend extravagantly, 20:56 there'll be plenty of reason for anxiety. The Gentiles live like that. It says all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek. What are the things the Gentiles eagerly seek? people of the world. They seek to live a very luxurious, comfortable life. And if they 21:12 can't afford it, they use their credit card to keep buying things and get into credit card debt endlessly. It's a shameful thing. If a Christian is in credit card debt, let me tell you that directly. If you use a credit card, make 21:26 sure that it's paid within the month so that you don't pay any interest on it. Then it's okay. But if you are one who is getting into the habit of using credit card and getting into debt, I want to say to you in Jesus name that 21:40 you are living in disobedience to God, you have every room to reason to be anxious and worried. You're testifying that your heavenly father doesn't care for you. You're trying to live beyond your means. You're not satisfied with 21:51 what God has given you. I'm not speaking what I've not practiced. I've been through times when we had very little, my wife and I, but we decided we'd never get into debt. We live with what we have. And as God increased the circle of 22:04 our finances, we could buy more things. And that has been such a tremendous education for us that I can stand boldly before people today and say, "No matter what our circumstances, I have learned to be content." Paul could say that in 22:20 his late 60s, I've learned to be content in all circumstances. I've learned to have little and I've learned to have much. That's up to God. But I'm perfectly content. godliness with contentment is great gain. It's very important for us to understand these 22:36 simple principles of finances because a lot of anxiety comes because of a wrong attitude in the area of money. It's a continuation from that statement that you cannot serve God in money that Jesus spoke about anxiety. He said for this 22:51 reason he said in Matthew 6:25 do not be anxious. So seek the kingdom of God first and therefore do not be anxious concerning tomorrow for tomorrow will take care of itself. Matthew 6:34 each day has got enough trouble of 23:06 its own. Just live for today and lay up for the future by all means. The Bible says go to the ant in Proverbs chapter 6. And because the ant knows that in winter time there won't be enough grain so it lays up for the future. There's 23:22 nothing wrong in having a savings account. Jesus Christ had a treasure who kept money that was like a savings account. There's nothing wrong in that. You don't have to spend everything you earn today itself. But it's not laying 23:34 up a treasure for yourself. Is being wise about the future. Wise to provide for your children. 2 Corinthians in chapter 12 and verse 14 says 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 14. Children, parents need to lay up for their children. That's a perfectly right 23:51 thing to do. You don't lay up treasure for yourself, but you must provide for your children. That's right. 1 Timothy 5:8 says, "If you don't care for your family, you're worse than an unbeliever." So, with wisdom, we can be 24:04 completely free from anxiety. We're not seeking for things that God hasn't given us. We're satisfied with what God has given us, but we're not going to be anxious. We're going to live within our means. It's a good thing to ask 24:16 ourselves this question, this little phrase that Jesus used in verse 32. these things the Gentiles seek after. What are the things the Gentiles seek after? Ask yourself whether you're seeking after those things. Are you 24:31 seeking for the same things worldly people seek? Then you shouldn't be calling yourself a Christian. You should be calling yourself a worldly person. A Christian is one Matthew 6:33 who seeks God's kingdom first and his 24:45 righteousness and finds that all the other things are added to him so that at the end of his life whether he's lived for 50 years or 90 years he can say I spent my life seeking God's kingdom first and his righteousness and I can 25:00 testify at the end of all these years that God has added other things to me. I can certainly say that at the end of 52 years of being a born again Christian, I spent my life seeking God's kingdom and his righteousness and God has added all 25:12 that I need for me. May that be your testimony, too. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we bow before you, help us to have the values of your word and your kingdom in our life. We humbly ask in Jesus name. Amen.
