WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.220 Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons Podcast, where you can listen to audio from our most 00:00:09.220 --> 00:00:10.300 recent sermons and more. 00:00:10.840 --> 00:00:15.100 Thanks for listening, and be sure to add this show to your library if you'd like to automatically 00:00:15.100 --> 00:00:16.820 receive new episodes each week. 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:27.840 Morning. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.380 If you have your Bibles with you, will you open them to Matthew chapter 6? 00:00:38.220 --> 00:00:43.140 If you are here this morning and you do not own a Bible, we would love to give you one as a gift. 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:47.700 We have Bibles in the back right there, the back of the auditorium, the connections table. 00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:50.820 I looked this morning, there's like four or five of them back there. 00:00:50.900 --> 00:00:53.520 If we need more than four or five, we can run and grab some more. 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:59.980 But if you do not own a copy of God's Word, please, as our gift to you, go grab a Bible. 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:05.520 Towards the end of our service this morning, we will be partaking in the Lord's Supper. 00:01:06.940 --> 00:01:12.000 If you are a believer, we invite you to partake of the Lord's Supper with us this morning. 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:18.200 If you missed your elements on the way in, right behind the camera platform there, you'll see them. 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:19.000 They look like this. 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:20.900 Just simply run back there and grab one. 00:01:21.480 --> 00:01:26.820 And at this time, our kids, kindergarten through second grade, are dismissed. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.200 So this morning, some of you were looking around. 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:34.380 Some of you were searching for him. 00:01:34.460 --> 00:01:36.120 I see you looking over there at his chair. 00:01:36.300 --> 00:01:37.320 He is not here. 00:01:37.880 --> 00:01:43.680 Pastor Bo, as he shared with us last week, he's away this week preaching at the church that he grew up in. 00:01:44.220 --> 00:01:46.720 They invited him back for their homecoming service. 00:01:46.860 --> 00:01:48.940 And so he's preaching for them this Sunday. 00:01:48.940 --> 00:01:51.340 But don't worry, you only get me one week. 00:01:51.420 --> 00:01:54.280 He's back next week to continue on in Matthew. 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:59.820 And so, but just in case you were wondering, just in case you missed it, that is where he is today. 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:02.320 So here am I. 00:02:04.500 --> 00:02:10.060 So Pastor Bo asked me probably about six weeks or so if I would preach for him on May 3rd, which is today. 00:02:10.600 --> 00:02:15.880 And in that moment, there were probably a couple of questions that would have been good for me to ask. 00:02:16.140 --> 00:02:21.340 Number one, I should have asked my wife, hey, what does our calendar look like? 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:25.500 Because if I had, then I would have known that she wasn't going to be here. 00:02:26.900 --> 00:02:31.780 Now, it's not like I'm keeping count or running accounts on how many times she's missed me preach. 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:32.760 It's three, by the way. 00:02:34.920 --> 00:02:36.240 She did ask me this week. 00:02:36.300 --> 00:02:40.320 She said, hey, are you going to mention from the stage that I've never seen you preach in person before? 00:02:40.860 --> 00:02:42.840 To which I responded, absolutely, I am. 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:48.360 So if you guys see her in person, she really loves it when y'all walk up and mention that to her. 00:02:48.420 --> 00:02:49.900 So just feel free to give her a hard time. 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:57.440 But in all seriousness, she and a bunch of other ladies from our church are serving in New York this week. 00:02:57.660 --> 00:03:03.540 They're ministering to the women of Iglesia Batista Nueva Vida Church in Queens, New York. 00:03:04.140 --> 00:03:05.160 I got it right. 00:03:05.940 --> 00:03:06.800 That was a mouthful. 00:03:07.220 --> 00:03:11.840 But just from updates we've gotten and some pictures that we have seen, they are having a great week. 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:16.640 And God is doing some really incredible things for them this week on the trip and through them. 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:19.800 And so, but if you would, just continue to be in prayer for them. 00:03:19.940 --> 00:03:21.360 They wrap up their trip today. 00:03:21.480 --> 00:03:23.180 They travel back later on today. 00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:28.200 And so we look forward to them coming home and sharing what God has done on their trip. 00:03:28.320 --> 00:03:31.200 I'm sure my kids are looking forward to him coming home as well. 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:32.000 They're probably tired of me. 00:03:32.860 --> 00:03:34.620 Number two, I said there were two questions. 00:03:34.620 --> 00:03:41.800 So the second question that I probably should have asked was, hey, hey, Pastor Bo, what passage of Scripture am I speaking on? 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:47.680 To which he would have told me, Matthew 625, do not be anxious. 00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:52.500 And that I probably would have felt really, really anxious. 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:55.860 I need you guys to understand something about me. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:59.300 I have a tendency to worry about things. 00:04:00.340 --> 00:04:05.100 Like, as a matter of fact, I might very well be the most anxious person that I know. 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:10.940 If worry were an Olympic sport, it's quite possible that I would compete for Team USA. 00:04:11.260 --> 00:04:12.760 Like, that's how serious it is. 00:04:13.600 --> 00:04:18.920 Like, what Michael Phelps is to swimming, that could probably be me to worry, okay? 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:21.800 So, Pastor Bo asked me to preach. 00:04:22.380 --> 00:04:22.980 I worried. 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:28.420 Preparation to come and speak to you guys today, I've worried. 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:35.480 If you can't tell right now in this moment, I'm a little worried and anxious. 00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:44.220 And the wild thing is, when I'm done and I walk off this stage and I try to make sure I make contact with all five steps so I don't fall on my face, 00:04:45.760 --> 00:04:47.100 I will feel relief. 00:04:48.620 --> 00:04:51.000 And then I'll probably worry about what you thought of it. 00:04:52.380 --> 00:04:58.440 You guys ever read something and just instantly feel like, man, I really needed to hear that? 00:04:59.760 --> 00:05:01.700 Had one of those moments this week. 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:12.420 I stumbled upon a Paul David Tripp quote that made me feel better about how much I'm worried as it pertains to giving this message about do not worry. 00:05:14.340 --> 00:05:34.460 So, this morning, as we talk about Jesus' command to not be anxious, I'm grateful. 00:05:34.460 --> 00:05:50.080 And I'm anxious, but I'm grateful to have this opportunity to share the truth of God's word, not as someone who has figured this worry thing out, but as someone who just so desperately needs to hear it himself. 00:05:52.140 --> 00:05:55.460 Let's read Matthew 6, 25 through 34 together. 00:05:55.460 --> 00:06:05.780 "Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body and what you will put on. 00:06:05.780 --> 00:06:10.060 Is not life more than food in the body, more than clothing? 00:06:11.380 --> 00:06:12.880 Look at the birds of the air. 00:06:12.880 --> 00:06:17.960 They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 00:06:19.020 --> 00:06:20.820 Are you not of more value than they? 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:27.300 And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? 00:06:28.020 --> 00:06:30.140 And why are you anxious about clothing? 00:06:31.060 --> 00:06:33.380 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. 00:06:33.380 --> 00:06:35.180 They neither toil nor spin. 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:40.500 Yet, I tell you, even Solomon, in all of his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. 00:06:41.780 --> 00:06:47.640 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, 00:06:48.280 --> 00:06:51.580 will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 00:06:52.660 --> 00:06:57.860 Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear?' 00:06:58.900 --> 00:07:04.260 For the Gentiles seek after all of these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 00:07:05.300 --> 00:07:11.380 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 00:07:12.740 --> 00:07:17.460 Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. 00:07:18.340 --> 00:07:20.340 Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." 00:07:21.540 --> 00:07:22.460 Would you pray with me? 00:07:22.460 --> 00:07:26.860 Father God, I thank you for this morning. 00:07:26.860 --> 00:07:35.660 Lord, I thank you for our opportunity to be in this house of worship, Lord, for the freedom that comes with being able to worship together. 00:07:36.700 --> 00:07:38.540 Lord, I pray that you would open our hearts. 00:07:38.540 --> 00:07:41.340 I pray that you would open our minds, Lord, to your word. 00:07:42.460 --> 00:07:45.660 God, let the words of this book penetrate our hearts. 00:07:45.660 --> 00:07:49.580 Lord, calm my nerves if you see fit. 00:07:50.620 --> 00:07:53.900 And if you don't, Lord, then I pray that it still glorifies and honors you. 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:56.060 In your name I pray. 00:07:56.060 --> 00:07:56.460 Amen. 00:07:57.740 --> 00:08:00.460 So this morning, we are continuing on in the book of Matthew. 00:08:00.460 --> 00:08:08.380 And over the last few months, we've studied how Jesus came not to set aside the law, but rather focus on the intent of our hearts. 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:22.540 More recently, we've covered how in our obedience, whether it's in generosity or prayer, that it should not come from a place of pride or showmanship like the Pharisees, but a place of sincere and private devotion. 00:08:24.860 --> 00:08:29.180 Master Bo shared with us last week, we are to store up our treasures in heaven. 00:08:30.300 --> 00:08:33.740 He shared with us that one simply cannot serve two masters. 00:08:35.100 --> 00:08:39.980 I read a quote this week that I think adequately illustrates the relationship between those two masters. 00:08:41.020 --> 00:08:43.500 It said, "God and the world will never agree. 00:08:44.220 --> 00:08:47.900 And however much we may attempt it, we shall never be able to serve both. 00:08:48.700 --> 00:08:54.060 You can live for this world or you can live for the next, but to live equally for both is impossible." 00:08:54.860 --> 00:08:58.540 Church, the message is quite simple, actually. 00:08:59.100 --> 00:09:01.100 We cannot serve two masters. 00:09:01.900 --> 00:09:03.900 We cannot worship two gods. 00:09:05.900 --> 00:09:08.460 We cannot have two kings sit on the same throne. 00:09:10.300 --> 00:09:14.460 But what Jesus shares in Matthew 6:25-34 is a passage of hope. 00:09:14.460 --> 00:09:19.340 It's a command, but then it's a promise from the only master that can satisfy. 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:25.980 We do not have to live in worry or being anxious about anything because God is on the throne. 00:09:27.980 --> 00:09:32.780 All right, so you guys didn't ask for this, and I'm certainly not qualified to give an English lesson. 00:09:33.260 --> 00:09:38.060 But the word "therefore" pops up three times in our passage today. 00:09:38.940 --> 00:09:43.420 And each time we're going to kind of talk about what it means because it matters, because it directs us, it guides us. 00:09:43.820 --> 00:09:46.700 So the word "therefore" is, in this context, is an adverb. 00:09:46.700 --> 00:09:51.100 It's technically a conjunctive adverb, which means it's a sentence connector. 00:09:51.660 --> 00:09:56.780 So the reason "therefore" is important is because it directly connects us back to last week. 00:09:57.420 --> 00:10:01.340 So let's read verse 25 again, but this time we're going to start in verse 24. 00:10:01.340 --> 00:10:04.300 No one can serve two masters. 00:10:05.100 --> 00:10:09.260 For either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. 00:10:10.220 --> 00:10:12.060 You cannot serve God and money. 00:10:13.180 --> 00:10:17.660 Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, 00:10:17.660 --> 00:10:19.740 nor about your body, what you will put on. 00:10:20.380 --> 00:10:24.460 Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 00:10:25.260 --> 00:10:28.860 Jesus says in verse 24, "No one can serve two masters." 00:10:29.820 --> 00:10:33.660 He's saying, "Therefore, for this reason, don't be anxious in your life. 00:10:34.300 --> 00:10:35.100 Put me first." 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:38.540 We will have moments in our life of uneasiness, right? 00:10:38.540 --> 00:10:43.420 Like, we'll have moments in our life that we don't understand, that don't make sense to us. 00:10:44.300 --> 00:10:47.260 We'll have moments of nervousness, like this one right now for me. 00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:55.100 But being anxious and worrying will emotionally and psychologically rob us of joy and peace, 00:10:55.100 --> 00:10:56.780 that God wants us to have. 00:10:57.740 --> 00:11:04.140 And what Jesus is directly connecting to our worry is the verse that tells us that we cannot serve two masters. 00:11:07.500 --> 00:11:13.100 In my life, I can see where anxiety is a direct descendant from worry. 00:11:13.100 --> 00:11:19.420 You see, worry comes from things that have happened in my past or things that may happen in my future. 00:11:20.460 --> 00:11:24.540 But the things that have happened in my past, I can't undo or change them. 00:11:24.540 --> 00:11:27.660 And the things that may happen in my future, I can't control. 00:11:28.540 --> 00:11:30.220 And God told me not to worry about it. 00:11:30.220 --> 00:11:35.420 Verse 26 says, "Look at the birds of the air. 00:11:35.420 --> 00:11:38.220 They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. 00:11:38.220 --> 00:11:40.300 And yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 00:11:40.300 --> 00:11:42.140 Are you not of more value than they?" 00:11:43.660 --> 00:11:47.580 You know, verse 26 speaks, Jesus speaks to our value to God. 00:11:47.580 --> 00:11:50.300 But in doing so, he compares us to the birds of the air. 00:11:51.340 --> 00:11:53.020 So it rained this week, right? 00:11:53.340 --> 00:11:54.620 Like everybody excited about that. 00:11:54.620 --> 00:11:55.580 We needed it. 00:11:55.580 --> 00:11:57.740 I don't think it rained in my house since like Christmas. 00:11:57.740 --> 00:11:59.740 And now we've gotten like four days of it. 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:00.460 So it's crazy. 00:12:00.460 --> 00:12:04.220 But after the rain one morning, I went for a walk. 00:12:04.220 --> 00:12:05.660 And you know, the rain had cleared out. 00:12:05.660 --> 00:12:08.940 And so I couldn't help but notice on my walk, like the birds were going crazy. 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:10.540 Like they're flying all over the place. 00:12:10.540 --> 00:12:11.500 Some of them are in groups. 00:12:11.500 --> 00:12:13.020 Some of them are like ones or twos. 00:12:13.020 --> 00:12:14.780 And they're singing. 00:12:14.780 --> 00:12:15.660 They're chirping. 00:12:15.660 --> 00:12:16.380 They're loud. 00:12:17.500 --> 00:12:21.260 And so like on my walk back, I started walking up my driveway. 00:12:21.260 --> 00:12:23.820 And I noticed they were all over my front yard. 00:12:23.820 --> 00:12:25.660 Like just everywhere in my front yard. 00:12:27.180 --> 00:12:31.820 So naturally, I've got a good friend that I usually reach out to when I have questions like this. 00:12:31.820 --> 00:12:35.020 And so like I pulled my phone out and I said, hey, hey, Google. 00:12:36.620 --> 00:12:39.340 Why do the birds cover my front yard after it rains? 00:12:41.100 --> 00:12:43.900 To which Google responds, it's funny you should ask that, Josh Nix. 00:12:43.900 --> 00:12:44.460 I'm just kidding. 00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:45.180 He didn't say that. 00:12:47.420 --> 00:12:53.420 But Google said, birds cover your yard after it rains because the moisture forces worms and larvae to the surface. 00:12:54.380 --> 00:12:55.180 I love this part. 00:12:55.180 --> 00:12:58.540 It says, providing an easy, all-you-can-eat buffet for them. 00:12:59.660 --> 00:13:05.340 The rain makes the ground soft and brings up earthworms, making it simple for birds to forage. 00:13:06.620 --> 00:13:08.540 Jesus says, look at the birds of the air. 00:13:08.540 --> 00:13:10.300 Or in my case, look at the birds on the ground. 00:13:11.420 --> 00:13:14.300 The Greek word is belepo, which means to learn from. 00:13:14.300 --> 00:13:16.620 Jesus is saying, learn from these birds. 00:13:17.660 --> 00:13:22.540 As beautiful as they can be in color or as fast as their wings can carry them from place to place. 00:13:22.780 --> 00:13:27.500 Jesus isn't talking about the vibrancy of their colors or even how fast their wings can flap. 00:13:28.540 --> 00:13:29.980 He's saying, look at this bird. 00:13:31.020 --> 00:13:32.860 This bird doesn't till up the hard earth. 00:13:32.860 --> 00:13:34.620 This bird doesn't plant the seed. 00:13:34.620 --> 00:13:36.700 This bird doesn't water it. 00:13:36.700 --> 00:13:38.020 It doesn't harvest it. 00:13:38.020 --> 00:13:39.260 It doesn't care for it. 00:13:39.260 --> 00:13:43.740 It says, as a matter of fact, this bird doesn't even know where his next meal is coming from. 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:46.700 But God feeds him. 00:13:50.940 --> 00:13:56.540 I have three points this morning that kind of just focus in on what we do when we worry. 00:13:57.420 --> 00:13:57.660 Right? 00:13:57.660 --> 00:14:03.180 So point number one, when we worry about material things, we underestimate how much God values us. 00:14:04.220 --> 00:14:07.340 I may have oversimplified it when I said God feeds the birds. 00:14:07.340 --> 00:14:11.260 The verse actually says your heavenly father feeds the birds. 00:14:12.460 --> 00:14:17.260 Jesus wants you to hear that your heavenly father who made you in his image, he feeds the birds. 00:14:17.980 --> 00:14:22.220 Your heavenly father who is rich in mercy, he feeds the birds. 00:14:22.940 --> 00:14:28.460 Your heavenly father who has plans in purpose for your life, he feeds the birds. 00:14:30.940 --> 00:14:34.780 Elizabeth Chaney spoke to this in her poem Overheard in an Orchard. 00:14:36.860 --> 00:14:43.980 It says, said the robin to the sparrow, I should really like to know why these human beings rush about and worry so. 00:14:44.860 --> 00:14:52.300 Said the sparrow to the robin, friend, I think that it must be that they have no heavenly father such as cares for you and me. 00:14:52.940 --> 00:15:06.060 Church, I think sometimes, I think oftentimes in our lives, we walk around like humans without a heavenly father. 00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:10.780 My worry underestimates how much God values me. 00:15:11.500 --> 00:15:19.340 But when it comes to the worldly things, my worry also overestimates the value of the thing or things that I am worried about. 00:15:20.860 --> 00:15:23.900 Pastor Rose spoke of some of these misplaced priorities last week. 00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:28.940 He pointed us back to Jesus in verse 24 who says no one can serve two masters. 00:15:30.140 --> 00:15:32.940 When Jesus tells us do not be anxious, I'm sorry. 00:15:33.340 --> 00:15:40.220 When he commands us to not be anxious, he's saying that what you worry about points to where your allegiance is. 00:15:41.340 --> 00:15:46.860 If we are consumed by anxiety, it's worth asking what master are we serving? 00:15:49.020 --> 00:15:51.120 Verse 27, Jesus asks us a question. 00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:56.780 He says, in which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? 00:15:58.380 --> 00:16:00.220 And the answer to that question is no one. 00:16:01.900 --> 00:16:04.720 Worry will not add a second to your life. 00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:10.760 I can personally attest to this. 00:16:11.100 --> 00:16:17.020 While worry may not add a second to your life, it will absolutely impact the quality of it. 00:16:19.420 --> 00:16:21.540 So this week, I went down a little bit of a rabbit hole. 00:16:21.640 --> 00:16:23.580 And again, I reached out to my good friend. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:27.260 I said, Google, what are some of the effects of worry? 00:16:28.260 --> 00:16:32.220 You guys ever search something up and you just realize like, oh, man, I've lived enough. 00:16:32.300 --> 00:16:33.100 I know the answer to this. 00:16:33.140 --> 00:16:36.120 I don't know why I just searched it at one of those moments. 00:16:37.680 --> 00:16:42.900 Well, Google took me to one of the most trusted medical websites on the Internet, WebMD. 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:44.020 Right? 00:16:44.140 --> 00:16:44.580 I'm kidding. 00:16:44.800 --> 00:16:45.140 I'm kidding. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:46.520 But here's what I learned. 00:16:46.620 --> 00:16:48.840 Worry triggers a fight or flight response. 00:16:49.020 --> 00:16:58.740 It releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which physically manifest as a fast heart rate, muscle tension, headaches, digestive issues. 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:06.700 Over time, chronic worry weakens the immune system, elevates blood pressure, causes fatigue or even exhaustion. 00:17:09.060 --> 00:17:11.600 Have you guys ever been physically affected by worry? 00:17:14.560 --> 00:17:16.880 Ever felt like you had like a 45 pound? 00:17:17.620 --> 00:17:23.700 You ever felt like muscle tension or tightness and you're like, man, I didn't even do anything yesterday, but right? 00:17:25.120 --> 00:17:30.060 You ever felt loss of appetite or nausea over something you're worried about? 00:17:31.840 --> 00:17:32.760 I did this one. 00:17:33.080 --> 00:17:34.360 I was about to say the other night. 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:35.740 I literally did this one last night. 00:17:35.800 --> 00:17:36.420 I'm not going to lie. 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:42.840 You ever laid in bed at night and just stared at the ceiling over something you're concerned about? 00:17:44.140 --> 00:17:46.380 Like exhausted but unable to sleep? 00:17:47.620 --> 00:17:54.120 God's word tells us that he has a plan and a purpose for our lives. 00:17:54.640 --> 00:18:02.360 And our worry is a sign that we don't adequately know him or we don't trust him or we just simply haven't surrendered to him as we thought. 00:18:05.640 --> 00:18:06.140 John MacArthur said it. 00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:07.200 John MacArthur said it this way. 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:14.680 Why would you even think that God somehow would not provide the fullness of life to fit with the fullness of his calling on that life? 00:18:16.420 --> 00:18:19.120 I'll tell you, birds, man, they're hard workers. 00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:21.920 They're pretty bad providers. 00:18:23.160 --> 00:18:25.320 Jesus says, look, learn from the birds. 00:18:26.780 --> 00:18:28.280 Verses 28 through 30. 00:18:28.800 --> 00:18:31.120 And why are you anxious about clothing? 00:18:31.420 --> 00:18:34.020 Consider the lilies of the field and how they grow. 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:36.380 They neither toil nor spin. 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:40.720 Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 00:18:41.660 --> 00:18:46.780 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, 00:18:47.320 --> 00:18:51.300 will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:59.200 Last few weeks in our young adult group, which meets in classroom 105 at 9 o'clock on Sunday mornings, 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:01.140 if you're 18 to 24 years old, we'd love to have you. 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:06.980 But in our group, we've been discussing the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:11.920 And I've got to be honest, I am fascinated by the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:15.060 But I enjoy the writing style. 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:19.200 It's like a perfect blend of, like, irony, cynicism, and sarcasm. 00:19:19.380 --> 00:19:22.680 And I don't know if you guys have picked up on it yet or not, but I'm a big fan of sarcasm. 00:19:25.620 --> 00:19:29.820 But the teacher referenced in Ecclesiastes is none other than King Solomon. 00:19:31.020 --> 00:19:35.200 God's Word tells us of Solomon's great wisdom and his wealth and his power. 00:19:36.740 --> 00:19:39.680 There's a story in the Old Testament, in the book of 1 Kings, 00:19:40.760 --> 00:19:43.720 where the Queen of Sheba comes to visit Solomon, 00:19:43.860 --> 00:19:46.860 and it actually says that she had heard of the fame of Solomon, 00:19:46.940 --> 00:19:48.140 so she came to test him. 00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:51.860 She comes to Jerusalem with a large group of people, 00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:54.260 like a royal caravan with her, right? 00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:57.360 But in verse 3, it says, 00:19:57.580 --> 00:19:59.980 she told him all that was on her mind, 00:20:00.040 --> 00:20:02.580 and Solomon answered her every question. 00:20:04.660 --> 00:20:07.680 In chapter 10, verses 4 and 5, listen to what it says. 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:12.660 And when the Queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, 00:20:13.420 --> 00:20:14.820 the house that he had built, 00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:16.120 the food of his table, 00:20:16.260 --> 00:20:17.480 the seating of his officials, 00:20:17.600 --> 00:20:19.260 and the attendance of his servants, 00:20:19.940 --> 00:20:20.500 their clothing, 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:22.000 his cupbearers, 00:20:22.280 --> 00:20:25.140 and his burnt offerings that he had offered at the house of the Lord, 00:20:25.780 --> 00:20:29.420 there was no more breath in her. 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:31.840 Literally took her breath away. 00:20:34.780 --> 00:20:35.840 When Jesus says, 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.500 even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these, 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:42.900 Jesus compares the lilies to King Solomon and says, 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:45.020 even Solomon can't touch how I clothed these. 00:20:45.360 --> 00:20:46.620 How much more will I do for you? 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:50.300 Point number two this morning, 00:20:50.420 --> 00:20:51.120 when we worry, 00:20:51.260 --> 00:20:54.520 we underestimate just how much God cares about us. 00:20:55.960 --> 00:20:57.020 When I was in middle school, 00:20:57.320 --> 00:20:59.760 we went on a trip for spring break one year. 00:21:00.220 --> 00:21:01.080 I know what you guys are thinking, 00:21:01.360 --> 00:21:03.420 like Disney World, the beach, whatever. 00:21:03.620 --> 00:21:04.660 No, we went to Iowa. 00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:06.400 Yeah, Iowa. 00:21:07.600 --> 00:21:09.680 It was a mind-blowing experience though, actually, 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:11.920 for a kid that grew up like in West Columbia, 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:14.540 you know, like had probably seen a couple of farms, 00:21:14.620 --> 00:21:16.260 but not real ones kind of thing. 00:21:16.260 --> 00:21:18.560 But man, we get to Iowa, 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:21.100 and I need you to understand the only expectations 00:21:21.100 --> 00:21:23.740 that I had had for Iowa were set in my brain 00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:26.620 by Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones 00:21:26.620 --> 00:21:28.300 in the movie Field of Dreams. 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:31.620 If you build it, they will come, right? 00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:33.580 When we got there, 00:21:33.660 --> 00:21:35.800 the fields didn't look anything like the movie. 00:21:36.620 --> 00:21:37.140 Serious. 00:21:37.820 --> 00:21:40.000 Like it was like early, early spring, 00:21:40.360 --> 00:21:43.980 like the ice and the snow had just melted away. 00:21:43.980 --> 00:21:45.540 The grounds were soaking wet, 00:21:45.760 --> 00:21:47.360 and it was just dirt. 00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:48.740 Like it was just muddy. 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:50.440 Tilled up dirt. 00:21:50.580 --> 00:21:51.460 There was no crop. 00:21:51.540 --> 00:21:52.100 It was just dirt. 00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:52.900 I was like, this isn't, 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:54.280 this isn't, this isn't what I know. 00:21:55.100 --> 00:21:58.400 But planting season had just begun for them, right? 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:02.520 My week was spent waking up at 5 a.m., 00:22:02.520 --> 00:22:04.320 checking on livestock with my uncle, 00:22:04.360 --> 00:22:06.360 and then planting in the fields. 00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:10.800 What I learned from my uncle after planting 00:22:10.800 --> 00:22:11.920 was then you pray. 00:22:12.800 --> 00:22:14.680 He said, son, now we pray. 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:17.400 He says, you pray for warm enough weather, 00:22:17.520 --> 00:22:19.840 and you pray for favorable soil temperatures. 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:23.360 If it's too cold or it rains too heavily, 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:25.320 it can damage seedlings 00:22:25.320 --> 00:22:26.920 and then force you to replant. 00:22:28.320 --> 00:22:29.660 In the summer, he said, man, 00:22:29.700 --> 00:22:31.520 we just control the weeds and the pests, 00:22:31.560 --> 00:22:32.520 and we wait for rain, 00:22:32.600 --> 00:22:34.080 but we hope for not too much of it. 00:22:35.020 --> 00:22:37.100 And he said, in the fall, you harvest. 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:42.280 In verse 28, Jesus tells us, 00:22:42.420 --> 00:22:44.000 consider the lilies. 00:22:45.040 --> 00:22:46.900 One thing that I learned while in Iowa 00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:48.960 was that corn doesn't care for itself, 00:22:49.060 --> 00:22:49.940 and neither do lilies. 00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:54.520 Lilies have to be planted and cared for. 00:22:55.260 --> 00:22:56.920 Lilies don't go looking for water. 00:22:57.040 --> 00:22:58.320 Water has to come to them. 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:00.380 They don't go looking for sunlight. 00:23:00.560 --> 00:23:02.420 Like, God's got to bring it to them, right? 00:23:02.860 --> 00:23:06.760 Jesus says, stop and consider the lilies. 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:10.040 He says, they don't toil over their clothes. 00:23:10.120 --> 00:23:11.080 They don't spin them. 00:23:11.980 --> 00:23:14.220 He says, consider, observe attentively, 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:16.760 fix your mind on. 00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:19.700 Observe this from the beauty of the lilies. 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:25.260 If God so magnificently arrays the flowers in the field, 00:23:25.580 --> 00:23:26.600 which are temporary, 00:23:28.280 --> 00:23:31.340 living today and trampled upon tomorrow, 00:23:32.340 --> 00:23:35.120 will he not do so much more for you? 00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:37.880 When I worry, 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:41.060 I underestimate how much God cares about me. 00:23:42.080 --> 00:23:42.940 And when I worry, 00:23:43.080 --> 00:23:46.080 I overestimate how much my caring can do for me. 00:23:47.540 --> 00:23:48.440 Verse 31. 00:23:50.440 --> 00:23:51.920 Therefore, do not be anxious, 00:23:52.140 --> 00:23:53.440 saying, what shall we eat, 00:23:53.500 --> 00:23:54.700 or what shall we drink, 00:23:54.760 --> 00:23:55.980 or what shall we wear? 00:23:56.720 --> 00:23:59.580 For the Gentiles seek after all of these things, 00:24:00.120 --> 00:24:01.400 and your heavenly Father knows 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:02.520 that you need all of them. 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:04.800 There's that word, therefore. 00:24:04.800 --> 00:24:09.240 Therefore, we are invited to know freedom. 00:24:09.960 --> 00:24:12.600 Therefore, we are invited to know freedom 00:24:12.600 --> 00:24:14.300 from worry and anxiety 00:24:14.300 --> 00:24:17.000 that comes from the daily necessities, 00:24:17.460 --> 00:24:20.680 and God knows what we need. 00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:23.540 We're invited to know freedom. 00:24:25.360 --> 00:24:26.940 But what do we do with big worries, right? 00:24:27.040 --> 00:24:28.700 Like, some of you guys are probably sitting here, 00:24:28.760 --> 00:24:29.440 and you're thinking, man, 00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:31.120 I'm not really worried about food. 00:24:31.360 --> 00:24:32.660 I'm not really worried about clothes. 00:24:32.780 --> 00:24:34.700 I'm really not even that worried about money. 00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:36.880 But what do we do with anxieties, 00:24:37.020 --> 00:24:39.820 like fear of losing a loved one? 00:24:41.300 --> 00:24:44.640 What do we do with a cancer diagnosis? 00:24:46.340 --> 00:24:48.360 What do we do when our marriage is falling apart? 00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:53.680 What do we do when the world seems like it's caving in? 00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:58.380 There's a passage in 1 Peter chapter 5 00:24:58.380 --> 00:25:00.360 where Peter is writing to believers 00:25:00.360 --> 00:25:03.140 who are being persecuted all across Asia Minor. 00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:05.960 I'd say he's writing to believers 00:25:05.960 --> 00:25:07.500 with some pretty big worries. 00:25:08.680 --> 00:25:10.740 He writes in verse 6 and 7, 00:25:11.220 --> 00:25:29.560 You know, Paul said it this way 00:25:29.560 --> 00:25:32.080 in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 6. 00:25:32.180 --> 00:25:32.360 It says, 00:25:32.360 --> 00:25:34.120 Do not be anxious about anything, 00:25:34.300 --> 00:25:36.360 but in everything by prayer and supplication 00:25:37.040 --> 00:25:38.220 with thanksgiving, 00:25:38.680 --> 00:25:40.480 let your requests be made known to him. 00:25:41.220 --> 00:25:41.920 It's God. 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:44.160 And the peace of God, 00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:46.220 which surpasses all understanding, 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:48.480 will guard your hearts and your minds 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:49.300 in Christ Jesus. 00:25:50.980 --> 00:25:54.360 Paul writes this to the church in Philippi 00:25:54.360 --> 00:25:58.320 while he is literally chained to a guard in prison. 00:26:01.080 --> 00:26:02.480 Who better to learn from 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:04.200 than the persecuted and the oppressed? 00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:06.960 Do not be anxious. 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:09.560 Continuing in Matthew 6, 00:26:10.760 --> 00:26:11.840 verse 33, 00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:15.260 But seek first the kingdom of God 00:26:15.260 --> 00:26:16.140 and his righteousness, 00:26:16.380 --> 00:26:18.720 and all of these things will be added to you. 00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:21.720 Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, 00:26:21.900 --> 00:26:24.160 for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. 00:26:25.020 --> 00:26:27.860 Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 00:26:30.300 --> 00:26:31.540 You see, the choice, 00:26:31.640 --> 00:26:34.580 this choice to seek first the kingdom of God 00:26:34.580 --> 00:26:36.240 is the fundamental choice 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:38.520 that everyone makes when they first repent 00:26:38.520 --> 00:26:40.200 and surrender their lives to him. 00:26:41.260 --> 00:26:43.660 And yet, every day after that, 00:26:43.720 --> 00:26:46.140 our Christian life will either reinforce 00:26:46.140 --> 00:26:48.700 that decision or deny it. 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:57.220 The reality is that every concern of every day 00:26:57.220 --> 00:26:59.780 for a believer is another opportunity 00:26:59.780 --> 00:27:02.680 to put your faith in him 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:06.600 or to put it in yourself. 00:27:10.100 --> 00:27:12.040 What we see at the start of this verse 00:27:12.040 --> 00:27:13.460 is not simply a command. 00:27:13.600 --> 00:27:14.580 It's an invitation. 00:27:16.080 --> 00:27:16.780 Jesus is saying, 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:18.180 continuously in your life, 00:27:18.280 --> 00:27:19.220 seek first the kingdom. 00:27:19.620 --> 00:27:20.080 He's saying, 00:27:20.320 --> 00:27:20.820 seek it today, 00:27:20.980 --> 00:27:21.640 seek it tomorrow, 00:27:21.820 --> 00:27:22.620 seek it next week 00:27:22.620 --> 00:27:23.840 and the week following too. 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:26.780 Keep seeking the kingdom. 00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:29.220 Ironically enough, 00:27:29.260 --> 00:27:30.400 when we surrender to him, 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:32.000 the worry we've been holding on to, 00:27:32.060 --> 00:27:33.000 it surrenders too. 00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:36.400 Sinclair Ferguson says it like this, 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:38.260 the secret of freedom from anxiety 00:27:38.260 --> 00:27:39.700 is freedom from ourselves 00:27:39.700 --> 00:27:42.720 and abandonment of our own plans. 00:27:46.780 --> 00:27:47.760 When we worry, 00:27:48.020 --> 00:27:51.020 we underestimate how much God wants to bless us. 00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:52.780 That's our last point. 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:55.760 Psalm 37, 4 says, 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:57.760 delight yourself in the Lord 00:27:57.760 --> 00:28:00.900 and he will give you the desires of your heart. 00:28:02.780 --> 00:28:04.540 John Piper says it like this, 00:28:05.220 --> 00:28:07.540 God does not bless us begrudgingly. 00:28:08.140 --> 00:28:09.420 There's a kind of eagerness 00:28:09.420 --> 00:28:11.420 about the beneficence of God. 00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:14.440 He does not wait for us to come to him. 00:28:14.540 --> 00:28:15.480 He seeks us out 00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:19.100 because it is his pleasure to do us good. 00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:22.680 God is not waiting for us. 00:28:22.740 --> 00:28:24.160 He is pursuing us. 00:28:27.520 --> 00:28:28.440 When I worry, 00:28:28.800 --> 00:28:32.160 I underestimate just how much God wants to bless me. 00:28:32.980 --> 00:28:34.200 And when I worry, 00:28:34.320 --> 00:28:35.860 I overestimate the good 00:28:35.860 --> 00:28:37.940 that I can do for myself. 00:28:41.840 --> 00:28:43.700 I'm going to be transparent with you this morning. 00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:46.420 I spent a lot of time this week 00:28:46.420 --> 00:28:48.980 trying to answer one question for myself. 00:28:48.980 --> 00:28:50.580 It just seemed like it was popping up everywhere. 00:28:51.320 --> 00:28:54.660 Is anxiety in my life a sin? 00:28:58.240 --> 00:28:59.740 I think the better question 00:28:59.740 --> 00:29:03.020 and the one that Jesus is calling me to respond to is, 00:29:03.480 --> 00:29:06.580 what does being anxious say about me? 00:29:09.380 --> 00:29:13.240 Am I trusting his word when he says that he values me? 00:29:14.540 --> 00:29:18.480 Am I trusting his word when he says that he cares about me? 00:29:19.880 --> 00:29:23.880 Am I trusting his word when he says he wants to bless me? 00:29:25.880 --> 00:29:31.400 Or do I sit on the throne of my life 00:29:31.400 --> 00:29:34.900 seeking to change a past that I simply cannot change? 00:29:36.220 --> 00:29:38.980 Do I sit on the throne of my life 00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:41.820 seeking to chase things that can't satisfy me? 00:29:43.600 --> 00:29:46.220 Do I sit on the throne of my life 00:29:46.220 --> 00:29:49.620 seeking to control a future that's outside of my control? 00:29:49.620 --> 00:29:55.580 Why does God not want me to be anxious? 00:30:00.260 --> 00:30:01.380 Because he knows 00:30:01.380 --> 00:30:03.820 when he sits on the throne of my life, 00:30:03.900 --> 00:30:06.760 there's no condemnation for my mistakes. 00:30:07.900 --> 00:30:09.980 When he sits on the throne of my life, 00:30:10.060 --> 00:30:11.860 he already has a plan for the tomorrow 00:30:11.860 --> 00:30:12.980 that I'm worried about. 00:30:13.840 --> 00:30:16.900 And when he sits on the throne of my life, 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:18.680 he will satisfy me 00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:21.240 and give me all of the things that I need. 00:30:25.320 --> 00:30:28.760 Every man chooses who sits on the throne of his life. 00:30:32.780 --> 00:30:34.720 But God, I might lose my house. 00:30:36.040 --> 00:30:36.940 Seek first the kingdom. 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:39.840 But God, my health. 00:30:41.320 --> 00:30:42.520 Seek first the kingdom. 00:30:43.840 --> 00:30:45.040 But God, my marriage. 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:48.440 Seek first the kingdom. 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:51.540 But God, what about my kids? 00:30:54.220 --> 00:30:55.720 Seek first the kingdom. 00:30:56.920 --> 00:30:58.260 But God, my life. 00:30:59.820 --> 00:31:01.740 Seek first the kingdom. 00:31:03.320 --> 00:31:04.720 I'm going to ask the worship team 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:06.660 and prayer encouragers to come up 00:31:06.660 --> 00:31:08.540 and get in place, 00:31:08.580 --> 00:31:09.520 and I'll close with this. 00:31:11.020 --> 00:31:13.000 There's a sweet lady. 00:31:13.940 --> 00:31:15.120 I've mentioned this before, 00:31:15.280 --> 00:31:17.160 so I apologize if you've heard it. 00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:18.280 But there's a sweet lady 00:31:18.280 --> 00:31:19.520 that was my Sunday school teacher 00:31:19.520 --> 00:31:21.180 many, many years ago. 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:23.980 She may or may not be sitting in this room right now. 00:31:26.180 --> 00:31:28.700 But I remember a song that she taught 00:31:28.700 --> 00:31:30.420 to a bunch of, man, 00:31:30.520 --> 00:31:32.920 hooligan kids in a classroom in Red Bank. 00:31:33.020 --> 00:31:34.660 Like, man, we were a ragtag bunch. 00:31:36.420 --> 00:31:38.100 But, you know, I figured if we can learn 00:31:38.100 --> 00:31:40.080 from some birds, 00:31:40.120 --> 00:31:42.340 we can certainly learn from a kid's song, too. 00:31:43.740 --> 00:31:44.960 And it went like this. 00:31:46.900 --> 00:31:50.940 I cast all my cares upon you. 00:31:53.320 --> 00:31:57.020 I lay all of my burdens 00:31:57.020 --> 00:31:59.940 down at your feet. 00:32:02.080 --> 00:32:05.300 And any time that I don't know 00:32:05.300 --> 00:32:07.620 what to do, 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:11.700 I will cast all my cares 00:32:11.700 --> 00:32:13.240 upon you. 00:32:18.840 --> 00:32:21.320 The truth of God's Word tells us 00:32:21.320 --> 00:32:23.000 that the God who took care 00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:25.060 of our greatest problem 00:32:25.060 --> 00:32:26.880 at the cross 00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:29.420 cares about all of our needs. 00:32:30.620 --> 00:32:31.260 All of them. 00:32:33.260 --> 00:32:35.360 If you are sitting here this morning 00:32:35.360 --> 00:32:37.880 living in a worry, 00:32:38.460 --> 00:32:40.500 living in an anxiety, 00:32:41.620 --> 00:32:43.460 living in anxiousness, 00:32:43.560 --> 00:32:44.160 God's saying, 00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:45.040 give it to me. 00:32:46.420 --> 00:32:47.560 Give it to me. 00:32:49.460 --> 00:32:51.640 But seek first the kingdom of God 00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:52.440 and His righteousness. 00:32:53.460 --> 00:32:54.460 And all these things 00:32:54.460 --> 00:32:55.720 will be added to you. 00:32:56.620 --> 00:32:57.320 Would you pray with me? 00:32:57.320 --> 00:32:57.380 Amen. 00:33:03.260 --> 00:33:06.840 God, I thank you for this morning. 00:33:09.120 --> 00:33:11.220 God, I thank you for the truth 00:33:11.220 --> 00:33:12.420 of your Word. 00:33:16.040 --> 00:33:19.040 God, I don't want to carry this around anymore. 00:33:22.600 --> 00:33:25.300 I'm tired of being wrapped up in my past. 00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:32.000 I'm tired of worrying about the future. 00:33:33.260 --> 00:33:40.440 I'm tired of sitting on the throne of my life 00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:43.080 seeking myself first. 00:33:46.600 --> 00:33:47.960 God, help me seek you. 00:33:51.100 --> 00:33:52.120 In your name I pray. 00:33:52.820 --> 00:33:53.080 Amen. 00:33:55.480 --> 00:33:57.180 That's it for this week's message. 00:33:57.700 --> 00:33:59.140 Be sure to check back next week 00:33:59.140 --> 00:33:59.980 for a new episode. 00:34:00.560 --> 00:34:01.320 And in the meantime, 00:34:01.560 --> 00:34:02.800 you can visit us online 00:34:02.800 --> 00:34:04.760 at willowridgechurch.org 00:34:04.760 --> 00:34:06.880 or by searching for Willow Ridge Church 00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:09.200 on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. 00:34:09.640 --> 00:34:10.580 Thanks again for listening.