Matthew 6:24-34

in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit a man no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and money therefore I tell you do not be anxious about your life what you will eat or what you will drink nor about your body what you will put on is not life more than food and the body more than clothing look at the birds of the air they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them are you not more valuable than they and which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life and why are you anxious about clothing consider the lilies of the field how they grow they neither toil nor spin yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these but if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven will he not much more clothe you oh you of little faith therefore do not be anxious saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear for the Gentiles seek after these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow for tomorrow will be anxious for itself sufficient for the day is its own trouble if you ever had one of those morning's where you woke up early the air was crisp cool and clean and everything including your life just felt fresh there's something about those morning's that allows our minds to be clear for our priorities to line up and for us to approach the day with a sense of purpose and conviction if something happens during the day maybe it's the distractions that pull us off track or maybe it's the demands of the moment that prompt our lives to get out of alignment whatever it is there's something about the daily grind of life they can cause the clarity we hold at the start of the day to quickly be cast aside as we hear Jesus words in Matthew 6 the vast majority of us at least those in the industrialized world know that at some level they're true for those of us who are Christians we know that they're true because they're spoken by Jesus and we trust that the voice of Jesus won't lead us astray but you don't need to be Christian to know that there's something more to life than food clothing and possessions after all in the last few decades we witnessed the rise of a society that based on the population as a whole has had more food clothing and possessions than any other culture our world has ever known and yet even in the midst of the abundance people have found themselves worried anxious disconnected and largely empty we witnessed these people who supposedly have it all we see what's lacking in their lives and no matter what we believe about things eternal we know that if life has some purpose it's something greater than materialism and while some of us have spiraled into the darkness of nihilism most of us continue to seek out something more and yet even as we find ourselves certain that a life free of worry and anxiety is superior even as we agree with the words of Jesus even as we tell ourselves that there's more to life than food clothing and possessions even as we breathe the cool and clean morning and find ourselves sure that we hold a different set of values we know that as the day goes on we're going to once again find ourselves casting our commitment aside as we give in to the pressures of the world around us there is just something about us that is drawn to a way of life that we have deemed inferior the question is as we pursue what we know to be foolish how do the words of Jesus ring in our ears is he speaking at us with a glare in his eye and a harshness in his voice or is he simply reminding us of our foolishness and inviting us back to him listen to his words as he points his followers to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field each time adding don't you realize that you're worth more than these Jesus doesn't come to us with a lecture he doesn't come and berate us for our foolishness rather he points out the truth we know about ourselves and invites us to something greater he invites us to return to the cool crisp and clean morning air a place of calm where we once again witnesses rain and find ourselves invited to live under it what are the things that leave you anxious or worried what tone do you typically hear Jesus speaking in when you think about the reign of God what does that look like we encourage you to take a moment and blog on these questions or discussed them with others who are watching with you as you think of questions you'd like to ask please submit them to this site so we can be sure to address them you can also look at questions that others are asking and give them your stamp of approval questions that have garnered the most interest will be answered first please also feel free to post any prayers you have on the prayer board you can find links to do all of these things below pause the video now and press play again when you're ready to finish the service eternal God you counsel us not to be anxious about earthly things keep alive in us a proper yearning for those heavenly treasures awaiting all who trust in your mercy that we may daily rejoice in your salvation and serve you with constant devotion through Jesus Christ your son our Lord who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit one God now and forever amen and now may the Lord bless you and keep you may the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you may the Lord look upon you with his favor and give you his peace

Channel: thefshbwl

Views: 4,935

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: anxiety, clothing, faith, food, life, materialism, money, trouble, worry

Id: MbV3iq45-hw

Length: 7min 51sec (471 seconds)

Published: Mon May 26 2008