Providence

We are living in anxious days.

Death and sick tolls are rising. Graduations are canceled. Mothers are having babies alone. Weddings are being done in backyards. Government and political tensions are tight.

We were already anxious people, and when you add a global pandemic, peace can seem impossible to find. But, Jesus knew our constant struggle with worry and anxiety.

Like so many other places in Scripture, Jesus commands us in Matthew 6 not to worry. He began, halfway through His sermon, to look into His people’s eyes and see their concern and anxiety. Jesus is not addressing the noble anxiety we feel when the noble things and people in our lives are threatened, like a child running into a busy street. Jesus is addressing the anxiety that dismisses our trust in God.

When we worry in this way, it proves that we have lost sight of the mission God has created us for: to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind. It proves we doubt the faithfulness of our faithful God. It proves we think we can sit on the throne made for Christ the King, leaving us weary. It proves we are too close to where Jesus found us when He saved us, and we need to grow.

Jesus, in His goodness, grace, and sovereignty, invited us to seek His Kingdom and righteousness, knowing that there we will find peace. We seek His kingdom by prioritizing Christ, His Word, His people, and His mission. The kingdoms of this world, when sought after, leave us shaky, but the Kingdom of God is unshakable. And building our life upon it builds confidence and quells worry.

“God is shaking everything in the world that can be shaken in order to point to the one thing that can’t be shaken.” – Brian Frost

Worry appears in each area of our life that is detached from Christ’s preeminence. When worry arises, we must reestablish Christ as the King in that area. Out of the million voices, we hear daily, Christ is the only voice of peace, and drawing near to Him extinguishes the heat of anxiety.


 

SERMON NOTES

  1. Jesus commands us not to worry. (Matthew 6:25-34) 

    1. 2 Corinthians 11:28 — The Bible talks about anxiety in a different way than we do now. The kind Jesus is addressing can lead to what we think of as clinical anxiety, but the anxiety of the Bible is more of a noble anxiety.

      1. Worry proves we have lost sight of our purpose (6:25)

      2. Worry proves we doubt God’s faithfulness. (6:26,28-30) 

        1. Romans 5:8 — You are of more value to Jesus than the birds. He didn’t die for the birds, He died for you.

        2. Isaiah 49:15 — God will never forget us.

      3. Worry proves we are playing God. (6:27,34) 

        1. Psalm 103:19 — There’s only one King, and He is not afraid. God is the only one who can sit on the throne and rule over heaven and earth and not have a tinge of worry. He is the only one who fits on the throne.

      4. Worry proves that we need to grow. (6:31-32) 

  2. Jesus invites us to seek His Kingdom and righteousness. (Matthew 6:31-33) 

    1. Matthew 6:19-20 — God’s kingdom is absolutely unshakable. And therefore building our life upon His kingdom only creates peace and confidence.

    2. 1 Timothy 3:16 — It is an absolute mystery that sinners are able to get righteous enough to get into Heaven. It’s all due to Jesus.

    3. 2 Corinthians 5:21 — Let’s trust Christ. 

    4. Philippians 4:6-7 — Prayer helps us re-establish Christ as King in the midst of worry.

    5. 1 John 1:9, Isaiah 46:4, Psalm 32:8 — Whatever it is that you’re worried about, there is a promise that speaks to it within scripture.

 

INTROSPECTIVE QUESTIONS

  • Have you trusted Christ with your life? 

  • Are you resisting worry as seriously as Jesus addressed it here in Matthew 6? 

  • Do you reestablish Christ as King every time you worry or are anxious? 

  • Are you fighting worry with an open Bible? 

 

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Things feel gloomy and dark more often than not these days. This virus is scary, its impacts are sobering, and with lots of uncertainty and no end in sight, anxieties are high. Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us that Christ’s love for his children is steadfast, never ceasing, and mercy is new for us every morning in Him. Trusting in His sovereign hand over everything, even this virus, exchanges our gloom for hope, comfort, and certainty. It’s human to feel anxiety, fear, sorrow, hurt, uncomfortableness, anger, or even dread, but by believing in Christ’s triumph over death, over sin, and over brokenness, we are able to not let these things consume our hearts and minds. We are able to lay our heads on our pillows at night and say, “Things are always better in the morning.”

 

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