Do Not Worry – That Means Today
Matt. 6:24-34
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
25 “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? 27 Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. 30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith? 31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
So just when we hope and think things are settling down, getting back to normal, giving us some breathing room, we are told by some that things are not a whole better. It is sometimes hard to know what is real and what is hype, what are legitimate recommendations and what are power grabs. Perhaps time will tell.
I have tried not to say too much about COVID-19 for the simple reason the more we talk about it, the more we seem to be tempted to fear and worry. It’s been a little bit of tight-rope walk to know what to say and how to address all this. But you, as a congregation, have done remarkably well here. You have used common sense, our policies have been reasonable and safe, and we have, most importantly, continued to gather here for worship with not much impact on attendance.
Still, human nature is prone to worry, to fear what tomorrow might bring. Food, shelter, and clothing are always on people’s radar, along with health and the possibility of dying prematurely because of disease or illness or an accident.
But over the last year and a half, there have been additional reasons to worry, resulting in questions such as, who do you trust, what do you believe, which “science” do you rely on, when does government go too far, when are we guilty of not trusting God and his providence? The divisions within our country over such questions continue. They may even be intensifying, especially now with an extraordinary vaccine mandate affecting 100 million workers.
And then there are all those negative side-effects over the months: human contact limited, isolation, the rise in depression, suicide, laziness, and crime; jobs not being filled; students having to resort to online education, something that did not work real well for most.
And then we face other societal events that tempt us to worry and fear in recent days and months: Haiti, hurricane Ida, Afghanistan, the cancel-culture, the unprecedented acceptance and promotion of deceptive ways of thinking, along with the silencing and ridiculing of those who hold to godly morality and the biblical teachings.
It’s a crazy world. Much of it has happened so fast. So often it is evil. And it can be scary.
I spoke on this a year ago when I preached on this same text. And what I said back then needs to be said again. The message from Jesus about worrying is clear. It is helpful. It is comforting. It guides us. It is encouraging. And it is something only true Christians can grasp and take with them daily (although we hope and pray others come to believe as well). But I also share this with you because there is the temptation before you to forget what Jesus said here, or not to believe what he said here – the temptation to look at what is going on around and within us so we sink into and become absorbed by worry and fear, which is exactly what Satan wants us to do.
So, what does Jesus say? First, he says, Don’t worry about your life… don’t worry about tomorrow.” “Do not give in to fear.” Why? Because your heavenly Father knows what you need and will supply you with what you need today. This is a promise. A promise that you are to cling to.
And to make the point clear, Jesus does a comparison thing. He says, “Consider the birds of the sky… Observe… the wildflowers .” “Look at what I do for them. Look at how much I value this aspect of my creation: I feed them, I clothe them, I care for them, in an amazing way. And you too – you human beings – are creatures of mine as well, but creatures made in my image and of far more value than any of these other things in the entire universe that I have created. Yes, you are fallen, you are broken by sin, you are sinful, but your value and worth in my eyes still remains and far surpasses all other created things. Look at what I do for them. Therefore, believe my word and promise that I know what you need, and I will provide you with what you need today.”
And yes, at some point God may withdraw this or that thing we need in this life; life may not go so well tomorrow; he may withdraw some aspect of his providence. Just ask the Christians who are trying to survive in Afghanistan, who are not only persecuted but may be tortured and killed tomorrow. So yes, God in his wisdom does withdraw aspects of his providence. And at some point, he will withdraw all his earthly providence from all of us, meaning we will die. But that future “when, where, and how” is in God’s hands and not one bit of worrying on your part will change a thing. What you are to know and believe is that today he clothes, feeds, protects, blesses, and provides for you in ways that are often marvelous, and always – always – underserved.
Worry is a sin. It is a great sin. It is saying, “I do not trust you, God.” And so, you should never justify it. It also is something we are all prone to do. Whenever there is not the strongest of faiths, there you find worry, a fear of tomorrow.
But that is why the other thing Jesus says in our text is even more important. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” This “kingdom of God and his righteousness,” these you are to seek, for they are more essential than his promise to provide your daily needs. And here is why.
The earthly kingdom, the nation, the country we belong to here, we will not always belong to. Either it will go the way of all nations or we will die, ending our citizenship. But this other kingdom, the kingdom of God, is not like any earthly kingdom. It has as its King, Jesus, the Son of God. And his kingship was most uniquely displayed when he wore his first crown, a crown of thorns. His crucifixion and death, followed by his resurrection, firmly established this kingdom of God. It is a kingdom that is here and begins here, but it is also an eternal one that is beyond here. This is what you are to seek: that eternal kingdom where Jesus is King.
But you are also to seek first “his righteousness.” And the wonderful thing is that when you seek and find “the kingdom of God” established by Christ, you also find “his righteousness.” The two go together. And this righteousness is not some sort of mild or incomplete righteousness; it is unbelievably perfect. It is human faultlessness. Those who have it have no faults, no sins on their record. You find this righteousness in the gospel – the good news – of the crucifixion and death of Jesus. As St. Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed…” (Rom. 1:16-17). Or as he says later in the same letter, “If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:17). Or this one: “The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 3:22-24). And finally this one: God’s “righteousness endures forever.” (2 Cor. 9:9; Ps. 112:9). The righteousness of God, which Paul equates with forgiveness of all sins (Rom. 4:6-8), is in Christ, in his work of redemption, it is free, it is received by faith alone, and it is forever.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
So here is what Christ was saying to them back then and to you right now. Do not worry about tomorrow, no matter how bleak or scary it may look, no matter what the devil and the world are throwing at you. Instead, cling to the promise of God that he will provide you with what you need and when you need it. He is a gracious God.
And, most importantly, even though you will worry and even as you worry – because sin is an ever-present reality for you and me – continue to seek Christ’s kingdom and the righteousness he has acquired for you.
Primarily this means you and I do the “church thing.” We will gather together regularly, as God tells us to do. In our gathering, we will pray and sing praises with our voices to this God of ours, as he tells us to do. I will preach law and gospel, sin and grace, as God commands pastors to do. You will hear the gospel – the righteousness of Christ – declared to you, which you are told to believe. You will approach the altar to receive the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, for this is the gracious command and invitation of the Son of God.
And if for some reason, you cannot gather with us here, we will come to you, if at all possible.
We go about the business God has given to his church on earth to do, listening only to him, trusting him. And as you and I do so, we are seeking and finding and partaking of this kingdom and this righteousness he speaks of. You find a crucified and now risen King whose love and power knows no depth. You find a righteousness that is unsurpassed. And you belong to a kingdom that endures forever.
Amen.
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