The document discusses the assurance of God's care for humanity, drawing parallels between God's attention to birds and flowers and His concern for human welfare. It encourages Christians to live without undue anxiety about daily needs, highlighting the importance of trust in divine providence and focusing on present responsibilities rather than future worries. The text asserts that excessive anxiety is counterproductive and detracts from a fulfilling Christian life.

1. JESUS WAS A BIRD WATCHER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 6:26 26Lookat the birds of the air; they do
not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your
heavenlyFather feeds them. Are you not much more
valuablethan they?
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The God Of The Fowls And The Flowers
Matthew 6:26, 28
R. Tuck
The point which seems to be prominently suggestedhere is this: Fowls and
flowers representthe creatures and the adornments of the Father's house.
Disciples representthe children of the Father's house. It is fair and forcible
argument; it comes close home to us, by its appeal to our common everyday
observations and experiences, that if the Father cares, in a very marked way,
for the creatures and the adornments (show a mother's daily care to feed her
birds and tend her flowers), he will much more anxiously care for every
welfare of his children (see the way of that same mother with her babe). The
following line of thought will be readily illustrated.

2. I. Man is a part of God's creation, just as truly as fowls and flowers are, and
must be just as fully included in the Creator's daily care. "The eyes of all wait
on thee."
II. But, if included, man must he included as man, and as God knows man,
and all his wants, bodily and spiritual, seeing that God createdhim, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
III. For God's care - if we are to conceive of it as worthy of God - must be in
precise adaptationto eachcreature for whom he cares.
IV. Then we may be sure that God cares forman so far as man is kin with the
fowls and the flowers.
V. Then we may be sure that God cares for man so far as man is superior to
the fowls and the flowers. RememberMungo Park's reflectionwhen, in a time
of utter despair, he found a small moss, and, admiring its root, leaves, and
capsule, thought thus: "Canthat Being who planted, watered, and brought to
perfection, in this obscure part of the world, a thing which appears of so small
importance, look with unconcern upon the situation and sufferings of
creatures formed after his ownimage? Surely not." That reflection inspired
new effort, which resulted in Park's rescue. - R.T.
Biblical Illustrator
Take no thought.
Matthew 6:25
Take no thought for the morrow
J. Vaughan, M. A.
1. The question arises, Is not the Christian charactera provident one?
2. All this is done to drive us to live by the day: to let the day's affairs fill the
day's thoughts. See the benefit of this.(1) As respects ourpleasures. How can a

3. man enjoy pleasure when he has his mind disturbed about the future? We
must dwell on it undistractedly.(2) As respects your pains. That which makes
pain painful is the thought that it will continue.(3) As respects duties. The
secretof doing anything well is concentration.
3. We should have only to do with the sins of the current day. As with our sins
so with our cares.
4. The trouble which comes is very often not the trouble which we expected.
(J. Vaughan, M. A.)
No thought for the morrow
J. W. Reeve.
1. The Christian should live in quiet confidence in God.
2. This quiet dependence upon God is our happiness, usefulness, strength,
security.
3. If this were wrought in our hearts as a principle, how energetic we should
be in the exercise offaith in God.
4. The secretof getting through work is to take the work of the day and leave
all that does not belong to it.
5. Although a man leaves all to God, and is happy in Christ, he is not therefore
exempt from evil.
(J. W. Reeve.)
Undue anxiety reproved
R. Robinson.
I. THE PROHIBITION. If the text prohibits anxiety about gaining sustenance
itself, it must much more condemn such a dispositionof mind in reference to

4. the luxuries or show of life, what a world of uneasiness is createdby
inordinate desire about trifles.
II. THE REASONS OR MOTIVES FOR DOING SO.
1. The first is derived from a view of the conduct of the Gentiles.
2. Another lessonfor avoiding anxiety is this, "that our heavenly Father
knowethwe have need of these things."
3. There is no advantage in excessive carefulness.Learn:
1. Christianity is calculatedto make men happy.
2. Let Christians guard againsta distrustful spirit.
(R. Robinson.)The word " thought " is here used in the antiquated sense of
anxiety. In this sense it occurs in Baconand Shakespeare, "QueenCatherine
Parr died of thought." "The pale castof thought."
Evils of anxious forethought
Beecher.
1. From the intrinsic superiority of the spirit or the soul to its material
surroundings.
2. It is needless, as allmen stand in an order of nature that they are sure to be
supplied by a moderate exertion of their powers. A man ought to be ashamed
if a bird can geta living and he cannot.
3. Anxiety does no good. The mind works more wisely when it works
pleasantly. Anxiety distorts the future.
4. It brings men under the power of the imagination and phantoms, which
they fight without pause, and upon which they spend their strength for
nothing.
5. If a man is constantly looking to the future in despondency, where is faith in
his God?

5. (Beecher.)
Anxious thought incapacitates fora wise ordering of life
Beecher.
The whole successoflife depends upon the wholesomenessofa man's mind.
The ship-master that navigates the sea beyond the sight of land is dependent
upon the correctnessofhis chronometer and his compass. If the instruments
of navigation fail him, everything fails him. And what these are to navigation
on the sea and in a ship, the human mind is to our navigationof life. And
anything that disturbs the balance of the mind so far invalidates the whole
voyage of life.
(Beecher.)
Anxiety for the Future often arises from some unholy passion
Beecher.
Fearstill sits in the window. "Whatseestthou? " says Vanity. "Whisperings
are abroad," says Fear. "Menare pointing at you — or they will, as soonas
you come to a point of observation." "O my goodname!" says a man. "All
that I have done; all that I have laid up — what will become of that? Where is
my reputation going? What will become of me when I lose it, and when folks
turn awayfrom me? O trouble I trouble fit is coming!" What is it? Fearis
sitting in the window of the soul, and looking into the future, and interpreting
the signs thereofto the love of approbation in its coarsestand lowest
condition. Fearstill sits looking into the future, and pride, coming up, says,
"What is it that you see? I see," says Fear, "yourcastle robbed. I see you
toppled down from your eminence. I see you under base men's feet. I see you
weakened. I see you disesteemed. I see your powerscatteredand gone." "O
Lord; what a world is this!" says Pride. Now, that man has not had a particle
of trouble. Fearsatin the window and lied. And Pride cried, and Vanity cried,
and Avarice cried — and ought to cry. Fearsatand told lies to them all. For

6. there was not one of those things, probably, done there. Did Fearsee them?
Yes. But Fearhas a kaleidoscopein his eye, and every time it turns it takes a
new form. It is filled with broken glass, andit gives false pictures continually.
Feardoes not see right. It is for ever seeing wrong. And it is stimulated by
other feelings. Pride stimulates it; and Vanity stimulates it; and Lust
stimulates it; and Love itself finds, sometimes, no better business than to send
Fearon its bad errands. For love cries at the cradle, "Oh, the child will die!"
It will not die. It will getwell. And then you will not be ashamedthat you
prophesied that it would die. You put on mourning in advance.
(Beecher.)
A dissuasive from anxiety
J. E. Good., Gordon Calthrop, M. A.
I. The EVIL which we are directed to avoid.
II. The powerful CONSIDERATIONSBYWHICH THE SAVIOUR
ENFORCES THE PRECEPT.
1. The power of God as displayed in our creationand preservation.
2. The care of Divine providence.
3. The futility of excessive anxiety.
4. The beauty of nature.
III. THERE REFLECTIONS.
1. The connectionof Divine agencywith the existence of all things.
2. This subjectreminds us of Him through whom we have access to the
Father.
3. Let us learn lessons ofspiritual wisdom from everything around us.
(J. E. Good.)Appears to use a variety of arguments againstover-anxiety.

7. I. He that gave the lessergift will surely give the greater.
II. God cares forthe lowercreation.
III. Over-anxiety is useless.
IV. To be over-anxious is to arraignthe Divine foresight.
V. To be over-anxious is to sink from the level of the Christian disciple to that
of the heathen.
(Gordon Calthrop, M. A.)
Fretfulness
Beecher.
Arguments againstan unquiet spirit.
1. The general course of nature is in favour of men.
2. That there is a Divine providence which employs the course of nature and
gives it direction.
3. Fretting does no good, but uses up the nerve force needlessly.
4. It begets a habit of looking at the dark side of things.
5. The things we fear seldom happen.(1) A tranquil soul is indispensably
necessaryto anything like a true Christian atmosphere.(2)The chief ends of
life are sacrificedto the unnecessarydust which our feetraise in the way of
life.(3) What disagreeable companywe make of ourselves for God.(4)This
way of life, devoid of cheer, is bearing false witness againstyour Master.
(Beecher.)
The folly of looking only at the ills of life
Beecher.

8. Now, what if a man should go round searching for a more familiar
acquaintance with thistles and nettles and thorns, and everything sharp, up
and down the highways, over the hills, and through the fields, and insist on
putting his hand on everything that could give him a scratch? What if a man
should insist upon finding out whatever was sourand bitter, and should go
about tasting, and tasting, and tasting for that purpose. What if a man should
insist upon smelling every disagreeable odour, and should see no gaspipe open
that he did not go and look at it? When doves fly in the heavens, and go
swinging round in their flight, we know what they see the grassyfield, the
luxuriant grain, or the inviting perch where they may rest; but when buzzards
fly through the air they see no green fields, no pleasantgardens, but carrion, if
there be any in sight; and if there is none to be seen, there is discontent in the
buzzard heart.
(Beecher.)
One fretful person a pleasure spoiler
Beecher.
It does not take more than one smoky chimney in a room to make it
intolerable.
(Beecher.)
Over-anxiety forbidden
S. Martin., Adam Littleton, D. D.
I. Anxiety is useless aboutthings not under our own control. Duration of life,
etc.
II. Anxiety is useless in matters under our own management. Anxiety will not
furnish the opportunity of earning bread, or arm us with power — but the
reverse.

9. III. Anxiety does not attractus to the notice of God. He cares for us
irrespective of our carefulness. No promise is made to anxiety, etc.
IV. Anxiety is useless becauseJesusbids you getrid of it. Trust Him and let
the spirit rest, and be strong and glad.
(S. Martin.)
I. There is no wise man who will lay out his time and thoughts about things he
cannot bring to pass;no one debates but of things possible and probable, lying
within the sphere of his activity.
II. That our food and maintenance nourishes us, and augments and enlarges
the proportion of every limb, is not the product of our own care, but of God's
blessing.
III. So it is with all outward concerns. Fromthe Divine benediction which
accompanies them, they prove goodand useful to us. Not from our own care.
(Adam Littleton, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
EXPOSITORY(ENGLISHBIBLE)
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(26) Beholdthe fowls of the air.—Better, birds. As the words were spokenwe
may venture to think of them as accompaniedby the gesture which directed
attention to the turtle-doves, the wood-pigeons, andthe finches, which are
conspicuous features in a Galilean landscape. Our modern use of the word has
restricted“fowls” to one class ofbirds; but in Chaucer, and indeed in the
English of the sixteenth century, it was in common use in a wider sense, and
we read of the “small fowles that maken melodie,” as including the lark, the
linnet, and the thrush.

10. Are ye not much better than they?—Here againthe reasoning is à fortiori.
Assuming a personalwill, the will of a Father, as that which governs the order
of the universe, we may trust to its wisdomand love to order all things well for
the highestas for the meanestof its creatures. Forthose who receive whatever
comes in the spirit of contentedthankfulness, i.e., for those who “love God,”
all things work togetherfor good.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
6:25-34 There is scarcelyany sin againstwhich our Lord Jesus more warns
his disciples, than disquieting, distracting, distrustful cares aboutthe things of
this life. This often insnares the poor as much as the love of wealth does the
rich. But there is a carefulness about temporal things which is a duty, though
we must not carry these lawful cares too far. Take no thought for your life.
Not about the length of it; but refer it to God to lengthen or shorten it as he
pleases;our times are in his hand, and they are in a good hand. Not about the
comforts of this life; but leave it to God to make it bitter or sweetas he
pleases. Foodand raiment God has promised, therefore we may expect them.
Take no thought for the morrow, for the time to come. Be not anxious for the
future, how you shall live next year, or when you are old, or what you shall
leave behind you. As we must not boastof tomorrow, so we must not care for
to-morrow, or the events of it. God has given us life, and has given us the
body. And what canhe not do for us, who did that? If we take care about our
souls and for eternity, which are more than the body and its life, we may leave
it to God to provide for us food and raiment, which are less. Improve this as
an encouragementto trust in God. We must reconcile ourselves to our worldly
estate, as we do to our stature. We cannot alter the disposals of Providence,
therefore we must submit and resign ourselves to them. Thoughtfulness for
our souls is the best cure of thoughtfulness for the world. Seek firstthe
kingdom of God, and make religion your business:say not that this is the way
to starve; no, it is the way to be well provided for, even in this world. The
conclusionof the whole matter is, that it is the will and command of the Lord
Jesus, that by daily prayers we may get strength to bear us up under our daily
troubles, and to arm us againstthe temptations that attend them, and then let

11. none of these things move us. Happy are those who take the Lord for their
God, and make full proof of it by trusting themselves wholly to his wise
disposal. Let thy Spirit convince us of sin in the want of this disposition, and
take awaythe worldliness of our hearts.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Behold the fowls of the air - The secondargument for confidence in the
providence of God is derived from a beautiful reference to the fowls or
featheredtribes. See, said the Saviour, see the fowls of the air: they have no
anxiety about the supply of their wants;they do not sow or reap; they fill the
grove with music, and meet the coming light of the morning with their songs,
and pour their notes on the zephyrs of the evening, unanxious about the
supply of their needs;yet how few die with hunger! How regularly are they
fed from the hand of God! How he ministers to their unnumbered wants! How
cheerfully and regularly are their necessitiessupplied! You, said the Saviour
to his disciples, you are of more consequence thanthey are; and shall God
feed them in such numbers, and suffer you to want? It cannotbe. Put
confidence, then, in that Universal Parentthat feeds all the fowls of the air,
and do not fear but that he will also supply your needs.
Betterthan they - Of more consequence. Your lives are of more importance
than theirs, and God will therefore provide for them.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
26. Behold the fowls of the air—in Mt 6:28, "observe well," and in Lu 12:24,
"consider"—soas to learn wisdom from them.
for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gatherinto barns; yet your
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?—noblerin
yourselves and dearer to God. The argument here is from the greaterto the
less;but how rich in detail! The brute creation—voidof reason—are
incapable of sowing, reaping, and storing: yet your heavenly Father suffers
them not helplesslyto perish, but sustains them without any of those
processes.Will He see, then, His own children using all the means which

12. reasondictates for procuring the things needful for the body—looking up to
Himself at every step—and yet leave them to starve?
Matthew Poole's Commentary
God takes care ofall his creatures. Forexample, consider
the fowls, and those not the tame fowls about your houses, but the fowls of the
air, for whom the housewife’s hand doth not provide, neither hath God fitted
them for any labour by which they canprocure their livelihood, nor doth he
require any such thing of them, nor do they labour; yet their Creator(who is
your heavenly Father) feedeth them. You have much more reasonto trust in
God, if you could not labour, being hindered by his providence, for you are
more excellentbeings than sensitive creatures, and you have a further relation
to God than that of creatures to the Creator, for God is your heavenly Father;
you are in the order of nature, and especiallyconsidering that God is your
Father, much better than they.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Behold the fowls of the air,.... Not such as are brought up in houses, but which
fly abroad in the air, wild; and are not supported by their own, or any human
care, but by the care of God: Luke 12:24 particularly mentions the "ravens",
referring probably to Psalm147:9, and because they are very voracious
creatures:and there it is said, "considerthe ravens";look attentively upon
them, and with observation,
for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gatherinto barns. This is not said,
that men should not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns: but to reprove their
diffidence and unbelief: who, though they have the opportunity of sowing,
reaping, and gathering in, year by year, yet distrust the providence of God;
when the fowls of the air do none of these,

13. yet your heavenly Fatherfeedeth them; see Psalm145:15. The Jews
acknowledge this, that the leastand meanestof creatures are fed by God.
"Marsays (c), the holy blessedGodsits "and feeds", i.e. all creatures, and
takes care ofthem.''
Are ye not much better than they? Do not you differ from them? are ye not
much more excellent than they? And if God feeds and provides for inferior
creatures, suchas are very mean and contemptible, how much more will he
not provide for you? There is a passagein the Talmud, which has great
affinity to this of Christ's, and appears to have in it pretty much of the like
kind of reasoning. In the Misna (d) it is said, that R. Simeonben Eleazer
should say,
"Did you ever see a beast, or a fowl, that had a trade? but they are fed without
trouble.''
In the Gemara (e) is added,
"Did you ever see a lion bearing burdens, an hart gathering summer fruits, a
fox a money changer, or a wolf selling pots? And yet , "they are nourished
without labour", and wherefore are they created? To serve me, and I am
createdto serve my Maker:and lo! these things have in them an argument,
"from the less to the greater";for if these, which are createdto serve me after
this manner, are supported without trouble; I, who am createdto serve my
Maker, is it not fit that I should be supplied without trouble? And what is the
reasonthat I am sustainedwith trouble? My sins.''
(c) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 107. 2. Avoda Zara, fol. 3. 2. (d) Kiddushin, c. 4. sect.
14. (e) T. Hieros. Kiddushin, fol. 66. 2. Vid. T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 82. 1, 2.
Geneva Study Bible
Behold the fowls of the {k} air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Fatherfeedeth them. Are ye not much
better than they?
(k) Of the air, or that line in the air: in almost all languages the word heaven
is takenfor the air.

14. EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 6:26. Τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ] ‫ֹוע‬‫ף‬ ‫הֹו‬ ַ‫ש‬ ‫מֹו‬ ‫,םַי‬ the birds that fly in the air,
in this wide, free height, are entirely resigned!Genitive of locality, as in
Matthew 6:28. This is manifest (in answerto Fritzsche: towards the heavens)
from the juxtaposition of the words in Genesis 1:25;Genesis 2:19;Psalm8:9;
Psalm104:12;comp. Hom. Il. 17. p. 675:ὑπουρανίων πετεηνῶν. On the saying
itself, comp. Kiddushin, s. fin.: “Vidistine unquam bruta aut volatilia, quibus
essetaliqua officina? et tamen illa nutriuntur absque anxietate.”
ὅτι] equivalent to εἰς ἐκεῖνο ὅτι, John 2:18; John 9:17; John 11:51;John 16:9;
2 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 11:10. To this belongs all that follows as far
as αὐτά.
μᾶλλ. διαφέρετε αὐτῶν]This μᾶλλον (magis) only strengthens the
comparative force of διαφέρειντινος (to be superior to any one). Comp. on
Php 1:23, and the μᾶλλονthat frequently accompanies προαιρεῖσθαι.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 6:26. ἐμβλέψατε εἰς, fix your eyes on, so as to take a goodlook at
(Mark 10:21;Mark 14:67).—τὰ πετεινὰ τ. ου., the birds whose elementis the
air; look, not to admire their free, careless movements on the wing, but to note
a very relevant fact—ὅτι, that without toil they gettheir foodand live.—
σπείρουσιν, θερίζουσιν, συνάγουσι ε. ἀ.: the usual operations of the
husbandman in producing the staff of life. In these the birds have no part, yet
your Father feedeththem. The carewornmight reply to this: yes; they feed
themselves at the farmer’s expense, an additional source of anxiety to him.
And the cynic unbeliever in Providence:yes, in summer; but how many perish
in winter through want and cold! Jesus, greatestofall optimists, though no
shallow or ignorant one, quietly adds: οὐχ ὑμεῖς μᾶλλονδιαφέρετε αὐτῶν: do

15. not ye differ considerably from them? They fare, on the whole, well, God’s
humble creatures. Why should you fear, men, God’s children?
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
26. fowls]Old English for birds; cp.
“Smale fowles makenmelodie
That slepen all the night with open yhe.” Chaucer.
There is no argument here againstforethought or labour. In one sense
“trusting to providence” is idleness and a sin. God has appointed labour as the
means whereby man provides for his wants. Even birds shew forethought, and
searchfor the food which God has provided for them.
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 6:26. Οὐδὲ συνάγουσιν, neither do they collect)as for example by
purchase, for the future.[286]—ὙΜῶΝ, your) He says your, not their.—
μᾶλλον, more) i.e. you more excelas sons of God, than other men do, or than
you who indulge in such care (anxiety) consider. The word μᾶλλον, therefore,
is not redundant. In this verse, the argument is from the less to the greater;in
Matthew 6:25, from the greaterto the less.
[286]“Into barns:” or even into other repositories of food, as we may see
instancedin other animals—V. g.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 26. - Parallelpassage:Luke 12:24. The less generalterm, "ravens"
(even though these are "ofall the birds of Jerusalemdecidedly the most
characteristic andconspicuous," Tristram, 'Land of Israel,'p. 187), and the

16. change of constructionapparent in "which have no store-chambernor barn,"
point to St. Luke having preserved the more original form of the saying. So
also does the presence in Matthew of the Mattheanphrase "heavenly." On the
other hand, Matthew's "consider" (ver. 28, vide next note) is perhaps more
original. Behold(ἐμβλέψατε). Look on, use your natural eyes. In ver. 28
"consider" (καταμάθετε), learnthoroughly. Our Lord, in the present verse,
bids us use the powers we possess;in ver. 28 he bids us learn the lessons that
we can find round us. Luke has in both places the vaguerterm κατανοήσατε,
"fix your mind on." The fowls of the air; RevisedVersion, the birds of the
heaven (so Matthew 8:20; Matthew 13:32);a Hebraism. Forthe thought, cf.
Job 38:41;Psalm 147:9;cf. also Mishna, 'Kidd.,' 4:14, "Rabbi Simeonben
Eliezer used to say, Hast thou ever seenbeastor bird that had a trade? Yet
are they fed without anxiety." For; that (RevisedVersion); what you will see if
you will look. They sow not, etc. They carry out as regards their foodnolle of
those operations which imply forethought in the pastor for the future. Yet;
and (RevisedVersion). Also what you will see. Your heavenly Father
(Matthew 5:16, note). Are ye not much better than they? of much more value
(RevisedVersion). The thought is of value in God's eyes (cf. Matthew 10:31;
Matthew 12:12), as men and as his children, not of any superiority in moral
attainment.
CALVIN
26. Look at the fowls of the air This is the remedy I spoke of, for teaching us
to rely on the providence of God: for of all cares, which go beyond bounds,
unbelief is the mother. The only cure for covetousnessis to embrace the
promises of God, by which he assures us that he will take care of us. In the
same manner, the Apostle, wishing to withdraw believers from covetousness,
confirms that doctrine: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee, (Hebrews 13:5.) The substance ofthe exhortation is, that we ought to
trust in God, by whom none of his ownpeople, howevermean their condition
may be, are disregarded.

17. Your heavenly Father feedeth them This deserves carefulattention: for,
though we are unable to explain the manner in which their life is supported,
which of us is in the habit of considering that their life depends on the
providence of God, which he is pleasedto extend even to them? But if it is
thoroughly fixed in our minds, that the fowls are supplied with food by the
hand of God, there will be no difficulty in expecting it for ourselves, who are
formed after his image, and reckonedamong his children. They neither sow
nor reap By these words it is far from being our Lord's intention to encourage
us to indolence and sluggishness. All that he means is, that, though other
means fail, the providence of God is alone sufficient for us, for it supplies the
animals abundantly with every thing that they need.
Instead of fowls, (ta peteina,) Luke uses the word ravens, (tous korakas,)
alluding perhaps to that passagein the Psalms, who giveth foodto the young
ravens that call upon him, (Psalm67:9.) Some think that David expressly
mentioned the ravens, because theyare immediately desertedby their
parents, [459]and therefore must have their food brought to them by God.
Hence it is evident, that Christ intended nothing more than to teachhis people
to throw all their cares on God.
PULPIT COMMENTARY
Matthew 6:26
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather
into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeththem. Are ye not much better
than they?
Verse 26. - Parallelpassage:Luke 12:24. The less generalterm, "ravens"
(even though these are "ofall the birds of Jerusalemdecidedly the most
characteristic andconspicuous," Tristram, 'Land of Israel,'p. 187), and the
change of constructionapparent in "which have no store-chambernor barn,"

18. point to St. Luke having preserved the more original form of the saying. So
also does the presence in Matthew of the Mattheanphrase "heavenly." On the
other hand, Matthew's "consider" (ver. 28, vide next note) is perhaps more
original. Behold(ἐμβλέψατε). Look on, use your natural eyes. In ver. 28
"consider" (καταμάθετε), learnthoroughly. Our Lord, in the present verse,
bids us use the powers we possess;in ver. 28 he bids us learn the lessons that
we can find round us. Luke has in both places the vaguerterm κατανοήσατε,
"fix your mind on." The fowls of the air; RevisedVersion, the birds of the
heaven (so Matthew 8:20; Matthew 13:32);a Hebraism. Forthe thought, cf.
Job 38:41;Psalm 147:9;cf. also Mishna, 'Kidd.,' 4:14, "Rabbi Simeonben
Eliezer used to say, Hast thou ever seenbeastor bird that had a trade? Yet
are they fed without anxiety." For; that (RevisedVersion); what you will see if
you will look. They sow not, etc. They carry out as regards their foodnolle of
those operations which imply forethought in the pastor for the future. Yet;
and (RevisedVersion). Also what you will see. Your heavenly Father
(Matthew 5:16, note). Are ye not much better than they? of much more value
(RevisedVersion). The thought is of value in God's eyes (cf. Matthew 10:31;
Matthew 12:12), as men and as his children, not of any superiority in moral
attainment.
BARNES
Matthew 6:26
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather
into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeththem. Are ye not much better
than they?
Behold the fowls of the air - The secondargument for confidence in the
providence of God is derived from a beautiful reference to the fowls or
featheredtribes. See, said the Saviour, see the fowls of the air: they have no
anxiety about the supply of their wants;they do not sow or reap; they fill the

19. grove with music, and meet the coming light of the morning with their songs,
and pour their notes on the zephyrs of the evening, unanxious about the
supply of their needs;yet how few die with hunger! How regularly are they
fed from the hand of God! How he ministers to their unnumbered wants! How
cheerfully and regularly are their necessitiessupplied! You, said the Saviour
to his disciples, you are of more consequence thanthey are; and shall God
feed them in such numbers, and suffer you to want? It cannotbe. Put
confidence, then, in that Universal Parentthat feeds all the fowls of the air,
and do not fear but that he will also supply your needs.
Betterthan they - Of more consequence. Your lives are of more importance
than theirs, and God will therefore provide for them.
END OF BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
WILLIAM A. QUAYLE
JESUS AND THE BIRDS
AND to offer a sacrifice according to
that which is said in the law of
the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or
two young pigeons."
"Behold, I send you forth as sheepin the

20. midst of wolves : be ye therefore wise as ser
pents, and harmless as doves."
"And it came to pass that, as they went
in the way, a certain man said unto him,
Lord, I will follow thee whithersoeverthou
goest. And Jesus saidunto him, Foxes have
holes, and birds of the air have nests;but
the Sonof man. hath not where to lay his
head."
"If a sonshall ask bread of any of you
that is a father, will he give him a stone?
or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him
a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he
offer him a scorpion?"
19
"Are not five sparrows sold for two far
things, and not one of them is forgottenbe
fore God?"
"And he saidunto them, Wheresoeverthe
body is, thither will the eagles be gathered
together."
"Considerthe ravens : for they neither
sow nor reap: which neither have store

21. house nor barn; and God feedeth them: how
much more are ye better than the fowls?"
"And Petersaid, Man, I know not what
19
20 OUT-OF-DOOES WITHJESUS
thou sayest. And immediately, while he
yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord
20
turned, and lookedupon Peter. And Peter
remembered the word of the Lord, how he
had said unto him, Before the cock crow,
thou shalt deny me thrice."
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that kill
estthe prophets, and stonestthem which are
sent unto thee, how often would I have gath
ered thy children togethereven as a hen
gatherethher chickens under her wings, and
ye would not."
"The Spirit of God descending like a dove
and lighting upon him."
ACROSS the sky of Jesus birds continually
make their fascinating flight. He had watched
the eaglesonmajestic wing in effortless motion.

22. He had seenthe pigeons in companies gyrating
in happy love of wings and sky. He had seenthe
homeward flight of ravens, who watchedin the
skies and knew when day was nearing night.
One can see far from Nazareth. From Naz
21
areth to the GreatSea was unimpeded vision.
On days of crystalline atmosphere the blue of
the sea was visible as it and the blue sky met and
kissed. In that wide Esdraelonplain and sky
birds were visible very far away. Jesus watched
them as boys have since boys were, only watched
them more intently, for he watchedthem as no
body ever did. The Makerof birds might well
be delighted in their happy, hurrying flight and
in their bickering or singing ways.
JESUS AND THE BIRDS 21
Birds are a singular loveliness and laughter.
Their flight is laughter. Their song is their
laughter. Their nest-building is laughter.
When birds build nests they sing. When they
do not they are usually songless.If ever a
daintier thing was thought of by the thoughtful

23. God than the bird's head, tuckedunder his wing
for sleep, I know not what it is, except a babe
cuddling to its mother's breast. These are two
22
inexpressible lovelinesses.Were winter ten
months long, it were wellworth waiting through
just to see the migratory birds return, to hear
their prodigal delight of song, when they fairly
sing themselves silent in their immense hilarity
of heart. What can exceedthe rhythm and
poetry of the swallows'ecstatic motion, living
in the skyand seemingly never tired though in
such endless ebb and flow of wing. I could
watchthem for a thousand years. I do watch
them with no intermission of delight, as they
sail on through the blue seas ofthe sky. How
much more He? They are bread-winners in their
flight, but are at the same time artists of dream,
and haunt man in their ever-varying, never-wav
ering wingings.
Those who are wise enough to observe birds
and bird ways, bird comings and goings, never
tire in their observation. When and how they

24. build their nests, when they lift their gladness
in song, when they thrust their brood into the
sky to try their wings, when they grow mute in
23
22 OUT-OF-DOORS WITHJESUS
the fall time, and when they gatherin clouds to
bear themselves south, how they flock and fly
in aerial battalions in the sky (as black birds
do) and practice flight, and maneuver in such
wise as to astonishall but themselves ! So they
leave their nests, erstwhile homes of life and
hunger and growthand feathering and dim long
ing for the skyand the strife of wings, and
leave them desolatedof the shadow of a mother
ing wing, with stray leaves nesting there, and
finally a flock of vagrant snowflakesnestling
there. And when the lastvoice is silenced, and
the lastnest desolate, and the last sweetnote
has died, how lonesome is the sky and how pa
thetic the wind with scarcelyevera bird song in
it ! And how mournful is the sky where the mar
tins spilled their love note in the spring, and
wandered all the summer hours in tireless jour

25. neyings! And when the meadow larks grown
silent long ago do not shine now with the stars
24
of their yellow breasts, so that our lowersky may
mistake them for sunlight, their melody fades
away, and hushes to the end that we might have
an expectationof their return to make our spirits
glad.
The same Christ who bade us considerthe
wild flowers, bade us considerthe ravens. There
is theme for endless considerationin any flower
or in any bird. We can observe what birds do,
but we never get any nearertheir secret. They
humble me to the dust. Man gets no nearer the
JESUS AND THE BIRDS 23
bird than to picture it, hear its song, study its
nest, and make notes on its coming and going.
He counts the eggs, but has no scintilla of knowl
edge of how an egg to which no chemist analysis
can give any clue, will hatch, feather for feather,
hue for hue, note for note in song. Every bird
is a mystery so clouded as to remain impenetra
25

26. ble as the depths of the sea. Everybird is a re
morseless humiliation to man's pride of penetra
tion into the secrets ofanything; and the bird's
nests are flowers in song and are part of the
prodigal delight of the world.
In the story of Jesus turtledoves and pigeons
find their place. These constitutedthe offering of
such as were positively poor, and are conse
quently a faint but serene light to hold in the
hand when our eyes turn to the nativity of Jesus.
Mary was undeniably poor that poor, so as to
remind us of the sacredsaying, "Thoughhe was
rich, yet for our sakes he became poor." He de
scendedfrom the highestheaven to the foot of
the ladder to be born among cattle and to have
the offering of the poorestmade to celebrate his
advent. That saying does give a hint very tender
and very glad and very beautiful. Jesus came
down where we live. The doves made mention
of his condescensionin sacrificialterms no
stormy ages canevermuffle to silence. I can
scarcelysee a pigeonin the steeples orcircling in
the skyor on the ground without grateful recol

27. 26
lection and reverence of my Lord. They have
24 OUT-OF-DOORS WITHJESUS
their part in the most beautiful story ever told
in the world.
"Birds of the air," your Masternoticedyou
as he gave you wings for flight and voice for
song, and spread your table for you.
"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings?"
He noticed the humblest plebeian bird, and said
over it the weightiestwords concerning provi
dence ever uttered. The lowliestbecame the
annunciator of the lordliest. All creationis
under the canopy of divine love and care.
"... I cannot drift
Beyond his love and care."
Quaint Whittier saw that. And he saw it as
27
Jesus saidit, touching the sparrows. "The
ravens." The birds have a Father. He giveth
them their daily bread. At earliestdaydawn and
at latestgloaming the birds sing their praise
to God. There is no other explanation of the

28. freshet of song that the birds pour on the day
break of the sky and on the gloaming shadow.
They praise their Fatherwhich is in heaven.
And to hear them is a call to prayer.
"The rooks are blown about the sky," as Ten
nyson saw them, and when, after a day spent in
foreign fields, the ravens make their homeward
flight to their rookerywith hushed voices some
times, or when they brawl in summer greenery
or in winter's nakedloneliness, we do well to
considerthem. He pointed these out to us
JESUS AND THE BIRDS 25
and we will. This raven has passedHis lips and
so cannot be ignored or forgotten. They remind
28
us perpetually of Him, as he reminds ns per
petually of them. His providence is a sole shel
ter and provision for us all.
And even the chickens, their daily household
voices and belongings, are knitted into the story
of redemption. Write it down on the heart. It
rains with tenderness like a summer evening
cloud "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, . . . how

29. often would I have gatheredthy children to
getheras a hen doth gather her brood under her
wings, and ye would not." Hush. Let our hearts
weep. Ye feathered creatures ofthe skyand
ground doubtless are setgreatstore by of God,
for Jesus paid heed to you.
And the dove which has dethroned the eagle
has become the bird of God. And "he saw the
heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove de
scending upon him." Sing to the dawn, ye birds ;
and sing all the day, for Jesus has paid heed to
your chiming with smiling eyes unforgettably.
The crowing cock whose clarionis a part of
29
the kindly music of the fields, is set into the pas
sion of God. The old-time churches summitted
them with a cock to remind us of our sin Peter's
sin and ours, and Peter's forgiveness.It is a re
minder of our frailty and God's tenderness,
which is as unfathomed as the morning light.

30. PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCEHURT MD
Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor
gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Fatherfeeds them. Are you not
worth much more than they? (NASB: Lockman)
Greek:emblepsate (2PAAM) eis ta peteina tou ouranou hoti ou speirousin
(3PPAI) oude therizousin (3PPAI) oude sunagousin(3PPAI) eis apothekas,
kai o pater humon o ouranios trephei (3PPAI) auta; ouch umeis mallon
diapherete (3PPAI) auton?
Amplified: Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they
reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you
not worth much more than they? (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
KJV: Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Fatherfeedeth them. Are ye not much
better than they? (NLT - Tyndale House)
Philips: Look at the birds in the sky. They never sow nor reap nor store away
in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you much more
valuable to him than they are? (New Testamentin Modern English)
Wuest: Considerthe birds of the heaven. They are not sowing seed, nor
reaping, nor even are they collecting into granaries. And yet your heavenly
Father is feeding them. As for you, do you not surpass them?
Young's Literal: look to the fowls of the heaven, for they do not sow, nor reap,
nor gatherinto storehouses, andyour heavenly Fatherdoth nourish them; are
not ye much better than they?

31. Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gatherinto
barns: emblepsate (2PAAM) eis ta peteina tou ouranou hoti ou speirousin
(3PPAI) oude therizousin (3PPAI) oude sunagousin(3PPAI) eis apothekas
Mt 10:29-31;Genesis 1:29, 30, 31;Job 35:11;38:41; Psalms 104:11,12,27,28;
Psalms 145:15,16;147:9;Luke 12:6,7,24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
Matthew 6 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Matthew 6:25-34 Overcoming Materialism- Study Guide- John MacArthur
Matthew 6:25-34 Overcoming Materialism- John MacArthur
Matthew 6:25-30a:Overcoming FinancialWorry 1 - Study Guide- John
MacArthur
Matthew 6:25-30a:Overcoming FinancialWorry 1- John MacArthur
Matthew 6:25-30a:Overcoming FinancialStress-John MacArthur
Matthew 6:25-34:Overcoming Financial Worry 2 - Study Guide- John
MacArthur
Matthew 6:25-34:Overcoming Financial Worry 2- John MacArthur
Spurgeoncomments that with these words "Our Saviorintended faith to be
our quietus concerning daily cares, or He would not have (spokenMatthew
6:25-26)."
C H Spurgeon - The birds are fed by God; will he not feed us? They are free
from the fret which comes ofhoarding and trading; why should not we be? If
God feeds the fowls of the air without sowing, or reaping, or storing, surely he
will supply us when we trustfully use these means. Forus to rely upon these
means and forget our God would be folly indeed. Our King would have his
subjects give their hearts to his love and service, and not worry themselves
with groveling anxieties. It is well for us that we have these daily wants,
because they lead us to our heavenly Father; but if we grow anxious, they are
turned from their designand made into barriers to shut us out from the Lord.
Oh, that we would be as goodas the birds in trustfulness, since in dignity of
nature we are so “much better than they ”! (Commentary)

32. Look (1689)(emblepo from en = in or on + blépo = to look)means to look in
the face, fix the eyes upon and so to stare at. It includes the idea of to
contemplate or consider. The aoristimperative is a command calling for one
to "look now", "look effectively", andcan even conveya sense of urgency.
One of the most dramatic NT uses is when "The Lord turned and lookedat
Peter" (Lk 22:61) after he had denied Him three times!
Friberg - literally, as an attentive looking on someone orsomething fix one's
gaze (earnestly) on, look at attentively (Lk 22.61);absolutely see clearly( Mk
8.25);be able to see (Acts 22.11);figuratively, as giving careful attention
consider, think about (Mt 6.26)
Gilbrant - It usually signifies a look of love, concern, or interest, as in the
accountof the rich young ruler (Mark 10:21). It can mean “to fix one’s gaze
upon” or “look atintently” as when the servantgirl lookedat Peter(Luke
22:56), or when Jesus lookeddirectly at the crowd after telling a parable
(Luke 20:17). Jesus turned and lookeddirectly (emblepō) at Peter after
Peter’s third denial (Luke 22:61). Emblepō also has a figurative meaning of
“to look at” in a spiritual sense, or “to consider” (Matthew 6:26; John 1:36).
There is also the possibility that emblepō can mean “able to see.” Acts 22:11
says Paul was unable to see afterhe was exposedto the light on the road to
Damascus. Emblepō is used to describe the sight of the formerly blind man
after Jesus healedhim (Mark 8:25).
Gilbrant - In classicalGreekemblepō is not used extensively but means “to
look in the face” or“to look at someone,”in the eyes, for example (Plato
Republic 10.608D). Emblepō can mean “to look into” in the sense of “to
investigate.” The Septuagintuses emblepō to translate three Hebrew words:
nāvaṯ, “to look, to behold, to consider” (Genesis 15:5);pānâh, “to turn
toward, consider” (Psalm40:4 [LXX 39:4]); and rā’âh, “to look at, consider”
(1 Samuel 16:7).
Emblepo - 10x in 10v - look(1), looked(5), looking(3), see(1).
Matthew 6:26 "Look atthe birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap
nor gatherinto barns, and yet your heavenly Fatherfeeds them. Are you not
worth much more than they?

33. Matthew 19:26 And looking at them Jesus saidto them, "With people this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Mark 10:21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One
thing you lack:go and sell all you possessandgive to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Mark 10:27 Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but
not with God; for all things are possible with God."
Mark 14:67 and seeing Peterwarming himself, she lookedat him and said,
"You also were with Jesus the Nazarene."
Luke 20:17 But Jesus lookedatthem and said, "What then is this that is
written: 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS
BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERstone'?
Luke 22:61 The Lord turned and lookedat Peter. And Peterremembered the
word of the Lord, how He had told him, "Before a roostercrows today, you
will deny Me three times."
John 1:36 and he lookedat Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb
of God!"
John 1:42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus lookedathim and said, "You are
Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas " (which is translated
Peter).
Acts 22:11 "But since I could not see because ofthe brightness of that light, I
was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.
Emblepo - 15x in 15v -
1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Ki. 8:8; Ps. 39:5; Job2:10; Isa. 5:12; Isa. 5:30; Isa. 8:22; Isa.
17:7; Isa. 22:8; Isa. 22:11;Isa. 51:1; Isa. 51:2; Isa. 51:6
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at (Lxx = epiblepo) his
appearance orat the height of his stature, because Ihave rejectedhim; for
God sees notas man sees,for man looks (Lxx = emblepo) at the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks atthe heart.”

34. Birds (4071)(peteinon) is a flying animal or fowl.
Not (3761)(oude from ou = not + dé = but) describes absolute negation.
Sow (4687)(speiro)means to scatterseed. Sowing, usuallyaccomplishedby
broadcasting seed, whichcould precede or follow plowing. Fields or individual
plants were fertilized with dung and the rain and sun brought different crops
to maturity at different times. Following the winter rains and the ‘latter’ rains
of March-April, barley was ready to be harvested in April and May, and
wheatmatured three or four weeks later.
Very few birds make a living from farming. You hardly ever see a red robin
planting some corn. God feeds the birds. And aren't you worth more than the
birds to God?
Said the robin to the sparrow:
“I should really like to 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 cares for you and me.”
Reap(2325)(therizo from théros = summer, harvest time) means to cut ripe
grain and to gather bundles of such grain togetherand thus to harvest.
Gather (4863)(sunago from sún = with, together+ ágo = lead) means to lead
togetherand then to gather or collect.
Barns (596) (apotheke from apotíthemi = to put away)describes a place where
anything is laid up, such as a repositoryof arms or arsenal, a treasury or in
the presentcase a granary or storehouse.

35. Men can sow, reapand gather, but are still to be like a little bird, trusting in
God to take care of them.
J C Ryle says Jesus "sends us to the birds of the air for instruction. They
make no provision for the future: “they do not sow or reap or store away in
barns”; they do not store food for the future. They literally live from day to
day on what they can pick up by using the instinct God has put in them. They
ought to teachus that no one doing their duty in the position to which God has
calledhim, will everbe allowedto come to poverty. (Matthew 6:25-34
Expository Thoughts)
His Eye is on the Sparrow
by Civilla Martin
Why should I feeldiscouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constantfriend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Refrain
I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.
“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;

36. Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Refrain
Whenever I am tempted, wheneverclouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closerto Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Refrain
and yet your heavenly Fatherfeeds them. Are you not worth much more than
they: kai o pater humon o ouranios trephei (3PPAI) auta; ouch humeis mallon
diapherete (3PPAI) auton?
Mt 6:32; 7:9; Luke 12:32
Matthew 6 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Matthew 6:25-34 Overcoming Materialism- Study Guide- John MacArthur
Matthew 6:25-34 Overcoming Materialism- John MacArthur
Matthew 6:25-30a:Overcoming FinancialWorry 1 - Study Guide- John
MacArthur
Matthew 6:25-30a:Overcoming FinancialWorry 1- John MacArthur
Matthew 6:25-30a:Overcoming FinancialStress-John MacArthur
Matthew 6:25-34:Overcoming Financial Worry 2 - Study Guide- John
MacArthur

37. Matthew 6:25-34:Overcoming Financial Worry 2- John MacArthur
Much more - Jesus gives two a fortiori (“how much more”) examples—“look
at the birds” (Mt 6:26), “considerthe lilies” (Mt 6:28)—to show that, since
God cares evenfor the birds and the lilies, how much more will he care for his
own. To be anxious, then, demonstrates a lack of trust in God, who promises
that he will graciouslycare for “all these things” (Mt 6:33; cf. Ro 8:32). (ESV
Study Bible Crossway)
G Campbell Morgan...
Let us ponder His teaching, first about the birds.
He says in effect:These birds of the air neither sow nor reap nor gatherinto
barns, but your Fatherfeedeth them; you can sow and reap and gather,
therefore much more does your Fathercare for you. The Lord's argument
here is not that we are to ceaseour sowing and reaping and gathering, but
that if He takes care of those who cannotdo such things, much more will He
take care of those who can. These birds of the air are without rational
forethought. By comparisonwith men there can be no toiling, no sowing, no
reaping, no gathering. But JESUS says, GOD has given you the power of
rational forethought, and much more will He take care of you. It is not that we
are to neglectthe use of reason, orforethought, or preparation. It is not that
we are to worry - but that we are to take thought for the morrow without
anxiety, knowing that, as GOD cares forthe birds, He will more perfectly take
care of us. (Matthew 6:25-34 Commentary)
Believers know Godas their "heavenlyFather" and since He is our Father He
will take specialcare ofus. Why? We are the bearers of His Name, and if He
did not take care of His family, what would the unsaved pagans think about
Him as a Father? Would they ever be interestedin knowing about Him?
Spurgeonwrites that...
You know what Luther said the little bird said to him. He sat on the spray of
the tree and sang,
Mortal, cease from toil and sorrow

38. God provideth for tomorrow.
And it chirped and pickedup its little grain, and sang again. Yet it had no
granary. It had not a handful of wheat storedup any-where, but it kept on
with its chirping
Mortal, cease from toil and sorrow;
God provideth for tomorrow
---
A little London girl who had gone into the country once said, "Look, mamma,
at that poor little bird. It has no cage!"
That would not have struck me as being any loss to the bird. And if you and I
were without our cage, the box of seed, and the glass ofwater, it would not be
much of a loss if we were castadrift into the glorious liberty of a life of
humble dependence on God. It is that cage ofcarnal trust and that box of seed
we are always laboring to fill that make the worry of this mortal life. But he
who has grace to spread his wings and soarawayand get into the open field of
divine trustfulness may sing all the day, and ever have this for his tune:
Mortal, cease from toil and sorrow;
God provideth for tomorrow.
Matthew Henry offers some excellentadvice on how to deal with worry and
anxiety writing that...
One would think the command of Christ was enough to restrain us from this
foolish sin of disquieting, distrustful care, independently of the comfort of our
own souls, which is so nearly concerned;but to show how much the heart of
Christ is upon it, and what pleasures he takes in those that hope in his mercy,
the command is backedwith the most powerful arguments. If reasonmay but
rule us, surely we shall ease ourselvesofthese thorns. To free us from anxious
thoughts, and to expel them, Christ here suggests to us comforting thoughts,
that we may be filled with them. It will be worth while to take pains with our
own hearts, to argue them out of their disquieting cares, and to make

39. ourselves ashamedof them. They may be weakenedby right reason, but it is
by an active faith only that they canbe overcome. (Matthew 6) (Bolding
added)
Spurgeonhas the following devotional on "Your heavenly Father"...
God’s people are doubly his children, they are his offspring by creation, and
they are his sons by adoption in Christ. Hence they are privileged to callhim,
“Our Father which art in heaven.” Father!Oh, what precious word is that.
Here is authority: “If I be a Father, where is mine honour?” If ye be sons,
where is your obedience? Here is affectionmingled with authority; an
authority which does not provoke rebellion; an obedience demanded which is
most cheerfully rendered—whichwould not be withheld even if it might. The
obedience which God’s children yield to him must be loving obedience. Do not
go about the service of God as slaves to their taskmaster’s toil, but run in the
way of his commands because it is your Father’s way. Yield your bodies as
instruments of righteousness, becauserighteousnessis your Father’s will, and
his will should be the will of his child. Father!—Here is a kingly attribute so
sweetlyveiled in love, that the King’s crownis forgotten in the King’s face,
and his sceptre becomes, nota rod of iron, but a silver sceptre of mercy—the
sceptre indeed seems to be forgotten in the tender hand of him who wields it.
Father!—Here is honour and love. How greatis a Father’s love to his
children! That which friendship cannot do, and mere benevolence will not
attempt, a father’s heart and hand must do for his sons. They are his
offspring, he must bless them; they are his children, he must show himself
strong in their defence. If an earthly father watches overhis children with
unceasing love and care, how much more does our heavenly Father? Abba,
Father! He who can saythis, hath uttered better music than cherubim or
seraphim can reach. There is heaven in the depth of that word—Father!
There is all I can ask;all my necessitiescandemand; all my wishes candesire.
I have all in all to all eternity when I cansay, “Father.” (Spurgeon, C. H.
Morning and evening : Daily readings. January 26 AM)
This Is My Father’s World
This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears

40. All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.
Feeds (5142)(trepho) means to nourish, feed or nurture.
If we worry constantly about having these essentials, we show that we have
not yet learned the basic lessonnature teaches thatGod provides for His
creatures’needs. Have you ever seena bird try to build more nests than its
neighbor. No fox ever worried because he had only one hole in which to live
and hide. No squirrel has ever been overcome by anxiety that he did not have
enough nuts storedfor two winters instead of only for one.
Birds work, hunting for the worms, etc God provides and then bring it back
to their baby birds, but they don’t worry.
ForgetWorry - Perhaps you've participated in an experiment where you were
given a phrase like "red car" and then were askedto put it out of your mind.
But the harder you tried, the more the "red car" dominated your thoughts.
This kind of exercise shows thatwe cannever forgetsomething by
concentrating on it.
Anxious thoughts, our natural response to the cares of life, are like that. Many
of us spend sleeplessnights trying to solve complex problems, and all we
accomplishis fixing them more firmly in our minds.
The Bible says that insteadof being weigheddown by our concerns, we should
give them to God. The apostle Peterput it this way: "[Cast]all your care upon
Him, for He cares foryou" (1 Peter5:7). And in Philippians 4:6, the apostle
Paul gave similar instruction.
Jesus told His disciples not to worry about the necessitiesoflife, because
"your heavenly Fatherknows that you need all these things" (Matthew 6:32).

41. The way to forgetour worries is to concentrate onthe goodness andloving
care of God, not on the problems that plague us. Then we cansay with the
psalmist, "In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight
my soul" (Psalm94:19). —David C. McCasland
When we give all our cares to God,
Our worries will depart;
He gives to us a peace of mind
That calms our anxious heart. —Sper
The more you think about God's goodness,
the less you'll think about your worries.
WORRY:
WHAT IS IT?
Worry...
...gives a small thing a big shadow
...is the interest we pay on tomorrow's troubles.
...overtomorrow pulls shadows overtoday's sunshine.
...is like a rocking chair; it will give you something to do, but it won't get you
anywhere.
...is an indication that we think God cannotlook after us. (O. Chambers)
...is putting question marks where God has put periods. (J R Rice)
...is the interest we pay on tomorrow’s troubles. (E S Jones)
is an intrusion into God's providence. (J Haggai)
...is a guestadmitted which quickly turns to be master.

42. ... never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its strength (A J
Cronin)
... is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble (G W Lyon)
...is practicalatheism and an affront to God (R. H. Mounce)
Worry is wrong and is in essencesin. Worry is unnecessary(cp "the birds").
Worry is useless (it cannotadd an hour to your life or an inch to your height).
Worry is blind (to the lessons taughtby God's providential care of the birds
and flowers). Worry is at its very core being, a failure to trust God.
When worry is present, trust cannot crowd its way in. (Billy Graham)
Only one type of worry is correct:to worry because you worry too much.
(JewishProverb)
Worms eatyou when you’re dead; worries eatyou when you’re alive. (Jewish
Proverb)
Happy is the man who is too busy to worry by day, and too sleepyto worry at
night.
To carry care to bed is to sleepwith a pack on your back. (T C Halliburton)
Don’t tell me that worry doesn’tdo any good. I know better. The things I
worry about don’t happen. (Anon)
Worry is a species ofmyopia—nearsightedness. (E. StanleyJones)
If we bring into one day’s thoughts the evil of many, certain and uncertain,
what will be and what will never be, our load will be as intolerable as it is
unreasonable. (JeremyTaylor)
So shakenas we are, so wan with care. (William Shakespeare)
MichaelGreenrecords the following story from the life of the fourteenth-
century German Johann Tauler, which aptly demonstrates something of the
attitude Jesus is calling His disciples to maintain...
One day Taulermet a beggar. ‘Godgive you a goodday, my friend,’ he said.

43. The beggaranswered, ‘I thank God I never had a bad one.’
Then Tauler said, ‘God give you a happy life, my friend.’
‘I thank God’, said the beggar, ‘that I am never unhappy.’
In amazement Tauler asked, ‘Whatdo you mean?’
‘Well,’ said the beggar, ‘whenit is fine I thank God. When it rains I thank
God. When I have plenty I thank God. When I am hungry I thank God. And,
since God’s will is my will, and whateverpleases him pleases me, why should I
say I am unhappy when I am not?’
Tauler lookedatthe man in astonishment. ‘Who are you?’ he asked.
‘I am a king,’ saidthe beggar.
‘Where, then, is your kingdom?’ askedTauler.
The beggarreplied quietly, ‘In my heart.’ (Ed: Case closedonthe need to
worry!)
E. E. Wordsworthwrote that...
There is a little motto that hangs on the wall in my home that againand again
has rebuked me: "Why worry when you can pray?" We have often been
reminded of the words of the Psalmist, "Fretnot thyself because ofevildoers,
neither be thou envious against the workers ofiniquity" (Ps. 37:1 - see
Spurgeon's note). Mr. Wesleyused to say that he would just as soonswearas
to worry. Worrying is evidence of a serious lack of trust in God and His
unfailing promises. Worry saddens, blights, destroys, kills. It depletes one's
energies, devitalizes the physical man, and enervates the whole spiritual
nature. It greatly reduces the spiritual stature and impoverishes the whole
spirit.
Warren Wiersbe -All of nature depends on God, and God never fails. Only
mortal man depends on money, and money always fails. (Bible Exposition
Commentary. 1989. Victor)

44. Worth more (1308)(diaphero from dia = transition or separation+ phéro =
carry, bear) means literally to carry or bear through, then to be different
from someone or something and finally to be of considerable value in view of
having certaindistinctive characteristics.
There’s not a bird with lonely nest,
In pathless wood or mountain crest,
Nor meaner thing, which does not share,
O God, in Thy paternal care.
Do you believe that you are worth much more than the birds to God? If so it
would not be surprising that you might have difficulty trusting God.
Remember God still loves us when we fail. We could never earn His love. We
could never make Him stop loving us. Regardlessof your past or your present,
if you are a child of God, you are worth much more than the birds, which are
creatures of Godbut not children.
Max Lucado has the following devotional on Mt 6:26...
Considerthe earth! Our globe’s weighthas been estimated at six sextillion
tons (a six with twenty-one zeroes). Yet it is preciselytilted at twenty-three
degrees;any more or any less and our seasonswouldbe lostin a melted polar
flood. Though our globe revolves at the rate of one-thousand miles per hour
or twenty-five thousand miles per day or nine million miles per year, none of
us tumbles into orbit.…As you stand … observing God’s workshop, letme
pose a few questions. If he is able to place the stars in their sockets and
suspend the skylike a curtain, do you think it is remotely possible that God is
able to guide your life? If your God is mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it
be that he is mighty enough to light your path? If he cares enoughabout the
planet Saturn to give it rings or Venus to make it sparkle, is there an outside
chance that he cares enoughabout you to meet your needs? (Lucado, M., &
Gibbs, T. A. Grace for the Moment: Inspirational Thoughts for EachDay of
the Year Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman)
George Mueller

45. A Man Who Trusted God
For All His Needs
George Mueller(1805-1898)is an example of the life of a man of faith, the
likes of which this world has seldom seen. He took Jesus'words to heart and
lived by His Lord's assurance thatHis heavenly Father would provide all of
his basic necessities.The following sectionhas a few of the vignettes from the
life of this humble saint of God and perhaps would whet your appetite to read
his free online biography (George Muellerof Bristol: and His Witness to a
Prayer-Hearing God).
Three weeks aftertheir marriage, they decided to depend upon God alone to
provide their needs as already indicated. They carried it to the extent that
they would not give definite answers to inquiries as to whether or not they
were in need of money at any particular moment. At the time of need, there
would always seemto be funds available from some source, both in regards to
their private income, and to the funds for his vast projects soonto be
discussed. No matter how pressing was the need, George simply renewed his
prayers, and either money or foodalways came in time to save the situation...
A well known story about Mueller indicates the kind of life that he lived.
One morning the plates and cups and bowls on the table were empty. There
was no food in the larder, and no money to buy food. The children were
standing waiting for their morning meal, when Mueller said, "Children, you
know we must be in time for school." Lifting his hand he said, "DearFather,
we thank Thee for what Thou art going to give us to eat." There was a knock
on the door. The baker stoodthere, and said, "Mr. Mueller, I couldn't sleep
last night. Somehow I felt you didn't have bread for breakfast and the Lord
wanted me to send you some. So I got up at 2 a.m. and baked some fresh
bread, and have brought it." Mueller thanked the man. No soonerhad this
transpired when there was a secondknock atthe door. It was the milkman.
He announced that his milk carthad broken down right in front of the
Orphanage, and he would like to give the children his cans of fresh milk so he
could empty his wagonand repair it. No wonder, years later, when Mueller

46. was to travel the world as an evangelist, he would be heralded as "the man
who gets things from God!"
By March, 1843, he felt the need for a secondhome for girls. On July, 1844,
the fourth house on Wilson Streetwas opened--the total of his homeless waifs
now being 130. A letter receivedon October30, 1845, changedhis entire
ministry...he was now age 40. Basically, it was a letter from a localresident
complaining that the noise of the children was a nuisance. They were vastly
over-crowdedand there was not enough space forland cultivation, washing
clothes, etc. He gave the letter much thought, listing the pros and cons. If he
were to leave, he would have to build a structure to hold at least300 orphans
at a costof $60,000. Onhis 36th day of prayer over the dilemma, the first
$6,000came in for a building program. By June, 1848, he receivedall of the
$60,000 whichhe needed. He had begun to build the previous year on July 5,
1847, ata placedcalled Ashley Downs as the bulk of the money had been sent
in. Building Number 1 was opened in June, 1849, andhoused 300 children
with staff sufficient to teach and care for them. It was a seven-acre site and
finally costabout $90,000as legalexpenses,furnishings, and land purchase
brought the price up higher than anticipated. The old houses on WilsonStreet
emptied and everyone was now under one roof.
Mueller was becoming a well known Christian leader. He answeredsome
3,000 letters a year without a secretary. Besideshis orphanages, the four other
objectives of his Scriptural Knowledge Institution claimed his attention and
he continued his pastoralwork at Bethesda Chapelalso.
In 1850, he felt the need for a secondorphanage. Donations beganto come in
miraculously again and finally, on November 12, 1857, a secondbuilding
housing 400 children at a costof $126,000 was built. Number 3 opened on
March 12, 1862, housing 450 children, and costing over $138,000. It was
housed on 11 1/2 acres. Number 4 was openedNovember 5, 1868, andNumber
5 on January 6, 1870. These lasttwo costover$300,000and housed 450 each.
From 1848 to 1874, moneycame in to improve and expand the work which
went from 130 orphans to 2,050 during this time and up to 13 acres. Mueller
describes these days, writing in 1874:

47. But God, our infinite rich Treasurer, remains with us. It is this which gives me
peace. Moreoverif it pleases Him, with a work requiring about $264,000 a
year...wouldI gladly pass through all these trials of faith with regard to
means, if He only might be glorified, and His Church and the world
benefited...I have placedmyself in the positionof having no means at all left;
and 2,100 persons,not only daily at the table, but with everything else to be
provided for, and all the funds gone; 189 missionaries to be assisted, and
nothing whateverleft; about one hundred schools with 9,000 scholars in them,
to be entirely supported, and no means for them in hand; about four million
tracts and tens of thousands of copies of the Holy Scriptures yearly now to be
sent out, and all the money expended...I commit the whole work to Him, and
He will provide me with what I need, in future also, though I know not whence
the means are to come.
His own personalincome varied around $12,000a year, of which he kept for
himself $1,800giving the rest away. (Adapted from the bookletby Ed Reese.
The Christian Hall of Fame series. ReesePublications, P.O. Box5625,
Lansing, IL 60438 )
Here is a youtube video biography I highly recommend - George Muller (1
hour)
Dandelions And Dollars - Severalyears ago I was a missionary home on
furlough, feeling anxious about my mounting financial needs. One morning at
the farmhouse where I was staying, I talkedwith the Lord and finally handed
over these needs to Him.
Later I was strolling through a field full of dandelions. Glancing down, I saw
at my feeta crisp one-dollarbill! As I picked it up, I sensedthat Godwanted
me to know that He would take care of me and my needs. If He wanted to, He
could turn dandelions into dollars! I've carried that dollar bill with me ever
since as a reminder of God's power to provide.
In Matthew 6, Jesus referredto His Father's care of the "birds of the air" and
the "lilies of the field" to illustrate His eagernessto meet our material needs

48. (Mt 6:26,28, 29). He also taught that we will have what we need if we focus on
spiritual priorities. Instead of being preoccupied with worry about personal
needs, we should be occupied with God's kingdom and His righteousness.And
when we are, we can be assuredthat not some, not most, but all things that we
need will be supplied.
Let's ask ourselves often:Am I preoccupiedwith material concerns or
occupiedwith God's kingdom and His righteousness?We can't do both. —
Joanie Yoder (Ibid)
The One who feeds the birds
And clothes the lilies fair
Will surely meet our needs
If we His purpose share. --DJD
If all we want is to please the Lord,
we'll have everything we need.
Of Pigs And Sheep - When author and preacher David Field arrived at the
country church where he was to be the guestspeaker, he was introduced to a
choir member. He askedher what she did. "I keeppigs," she replied. "How
many do you have?" he inquired. Without hesitation she answered, "A
hundred and ninety-two at the moment." Laughingly he responded, "Really?
Are you certain of that?" With indignation she retorted, "Of course I'm sure.
I've gotnames for all of them, haven't I?"
Imagine knowing the names of 192 pigs!But why not--if you regard them with
the fondness that womanhad for her herd?
What about the Creator, who has a name for eachof the countless stars in the
sky? (Isa. 40:26). That Creatoris also our GoodShepherd, whose love for us

49. rises far above the level of our human affection. And that GoodShepherd
calls His sheepby name (Jn 10:3).
We may be tempted to think that Almighty God, who upholds galaxies upon
galaxies, can'tpossibly be concernedabout us and our problems. But Jesus
said that the heavenly Father notices and cares for the needs of even the
smallestanimals, and that we are of much greatervalue (Mt. 6:26). He knows
our names and meets our needs. — Vernon C. Grounds
The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodnessfailethnever;
I nothing lack if I am His,
And He is mine forever. --Baker
God is big enoughto care for our smallestneed.
JACK ARNOLD
EIGHT REASONS FOR NOT WORRYING
Matthew 6:25-34
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Last week we saidthat worldliness is an attitude about life. It is any
attitude that excludes the person of Christ. Worldliness in relation to material
things can take two forms. First, the most obvious form is selfishly laying up
treasures on earth, hoarding them for one’s carnalends. The Biblical
exhortation to those who are rich in this world’s goods is to give their money

50. to the Lord’s work and to share with others in need. The second, and more
subtle form of worldliness is to worry about material things when you do not
have them.
B. A thinking person would say at this point that if the Lord’s people are not
to lay up treasures on earth, and if they cannotserve God and riches at the
same time, how are finances to be takencare of? How can they live if they do
not take the “dog-eat-dog”view of money that the unbelieving world has? In
Matthew 6:25-34, the Lord Jesus gives eight logicalreasons whyGod will
supply for His own people and why it is wrong for God’s people to worry or
be anxiously concernedabout materialistic matters.
II. THE INJUNCTION NOT TO WORRY -- 6:25a:
“Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor
yet for your body, what ye shall put on.” -- The words “take no thought:
should be translated “Be not anxious” or “Have no anxiety: or in our modern
thinking, “Do not worry.” Worry about material things is sin, for God
has promised to meet the needs of His people (Phil. 4:19). Furthermore
worry is futile and useless for it never solvedany problem at all. Christians
are to take their concerns aboutmaterial things to God and leave them there
for Godto handle (Phil. 4:6, 7).
NOTE: “Take notthought” does not mean that we must never think about
material things or contemplate the future. Nor does this mean the Lord is
advocating a shiftless, reckless,and thoughtless outlook on life. God’s people
are to be prudent and have foresight. It is not foresight that is spokenagainst
but foreboding about the future. The Lord is not condemning foresight; He is
condemning a worrying foresightas though it were our responsibility to
provide and not His. We are to prepare for that which may come, but we are

51. not to have constantoccupationof the mind and distractionof heart over
what may never come. What the Lord is forbidding is fretting concern, or a
worried fear about the future.
III. THE LOGIC OF CREATION -- 6:25b:
“Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? -- The first line
of reasoning is the logic of creation. This is an argument from the greaterto
the less. Since Godgave us life, certainly He can provide us with food. Since
He has done the greateractof creating our bodies, surely he can to a lesseract
of clothing them! The Giver of the gift of life will see that the sustenance and
support of that life will be provided If our Heavenly Fatherhas given us the
precious gift of life, then He will not be niggardly and stingy in providing
smaller gifts for us.
IV. THE LOGIC OF THE ANIMAL WORLD -- 6:26:
“Beholdthe fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not
much better than they?” -- The secondreasonfor not worrying is the
example of the animal world, and, in particular the bird world. This is an
argument from the less to the greaterin which the Lord is stressing the
superiority of man to birds. Birds have no way of storing food but God
provides providentially for them, even in the winter months. God takes care
of the little birds and looks afterthem. He sees to it that their life is
sustained. Since God does this for the birds, will He not do much more for
men who are made in the image of God? Doesn’tGod love His own more
than animals?

52. NOTE: This verse does not teachthat Christians can be lazy and sit around
and expectbread to arrive miraculously. Birds do not perch themselves on a
tree and gettheir food mechanicallyfrom God. No, they searchfor it
diligently. Even so, man must work, trusting God to provide for his needs.
NOTE: If God canprovide for birds in the hard winter months, then He can
provide for you in sickness andin old age.
ILLUSTRATION: A Rabbi said it this way, “In my life I have never
seena stag as a dryer of figs or a lion as a porter, or a fox as a merchant, yet
they are all nourished without worry. If they, who are createdto serve me,
are nourished without worry, how much more ought I, who am createdto
serve my Makerbe nourished without worry?”
V. THE LOGIC OF THE INABILITY OF MAN TO EXTEND LIFE --
6:27:
“Which of you by taking thought canadd one cubit unto his stature (age)?” --
The word “stature” should be translated age and a cubit was about 18”
long. The Lord is saying, “Who by worrying canadd a little time to his
life?” It is futile to worry about the length of one’s life, for no one canadd one
minute to it. Every man’s life is planned and God has an appointed hour for
his death. God will provide for His own until that moment of death.
VI. THE LOGIC OF VEGETATION -- 6:28-30
A. “And why take ye thought for raiment? Considerthe lilies of the field,
how they grow;they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you,

53. That even Solomonin all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” -- These
are flowers of the field; wild lilies, probably a scarletcoloredpoppy, that grew
at random on the hillsides. These flowers sprung up quickly and lived only a
short while. God took care of these flowers and they were clothedin more
beauty than all the glory of King Solomon. One flower’s glory is greaterthan
all the glory of wealthy Solomon. If God is interestedin a lone floweron the
hillside, how much more will He care for His own children? Infinitely more!
B. “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass ofthe field, which today is, and
tomorrow is castinto the oven, shall he not much more clothe you,” -- The
grass and the flowers ofthe field dried up and these were used for fuel in the
bread ovens of Jewishhomes. These forms of vegetationare transient and
passing. Theycome and go and that is the end of them. Yet, this cannot be
said of man. Man is a creature both of time and eternity, for man is made to
have eternal existence beyond the grave. Every man will live foreverbut
where he spends eternity will depend on his personalrelationship with Christ
in time. The point that since man is immortal, Godwill take care of him in
time, for God cares for His own.
C. “O ye of little faith?” -- The Lord does not admonish his disciples for no
faith but for little faith. It is not the absence offaith that concerns our Lord
but it is their inadequacy of faith; they do not have sufficient faith.
NOTE: Our Lord is warning againstChristians who have saving faith and
stop at that, having no greatdesire to push deeper into a faith-relationship
with their Lord. Without daily sanctifying faith, Christians will be defeated
and more prone to worry. Godis waiting to bless any Christian who chooses
to step out in faith and do God’s will. Faith trust the God who controls
circumstances. The personwho walks by faith masters the circumstances and
does not let the circumstances masterhim. He believes God can overrule
circumstances.

54. VII. THE LOGIC OF PAGAN PRACTICES -- 6:31-32:
“Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? Or, What shall we
drink? Or, Wherewithalshall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the
Gentiles seek”: -- The word “Gentiles” was a Jewishwayof describing people
who were without God. The closest synonym we have today is heathen.
Godless ones, those who do not know God, are ones who constantly worry.
Becausethey are not is possible to be a Christian, because one has trusted in
Christ, but have an apparent heathen philosophy, because one is living like
there is no God. Every time we worry, we are saying that God does not
exist.
NOTE: The Christian’s whole approachto life must be different than that of
the unbeliever. A Christian is trusting in his sovereignand loving heavenly
Father to meet his needs.
VIII. THE LOGIC OF FAMILY TIES -- 6:32:
“Foryour heavenly Father knoweththat ye have need of all these things.” --
Since God is our Father, surely He will provide for His own.
IX. THE LOGIC OF PRIORITY -- 6:33:
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;and all these
things shall be added unto you.”

55. A. It is perfectly logicalthat if the Christian puts God first, then God will be
pleasedand He will meet the believer’s material needs. (II Chron. 16:9:
“Them that honor me I will honor”).
B. This involves spreading the news of the kingdom of God to all men that
they might believe in Jesus Christ and be savedfrom eternal punishment. It
also involves constantlyseeking more of God’s righteousness in our lives; it
involves positively seeking practicalholiness and righteousness in our daily
experience.
NOTE: Reaching men for Christ and living godly lives must be first in our
lives and then God will bless us with physical needs.
X. THE LOGIC OF DAILY SUFFICIENCY -- 6:34:
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take
thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” --
The final argument is that of the burden of a day. In itself a day’s burden is
heavy enough. Why compound and double the burden by worrying about
tomorrow? If I add the worry of tomorrow to today’s burden, I am
doubling my load for today. The evil itself is sufficient for that day in which it
occurs.
NOTE: Worldly wisdomsays, “Don’t cross bridges until you get to
them.” Christ says, “You can make preparation to cross the bridge, but do
not worry about it or be too disappointed it does not work out.”

56. POINT: There may be greatersins than worry, but few are more disabling.
Worry occupies the mind so that one cannotbe useful in areas he should
be occupied. Worry prevents joy and happiness. It above all is useless
and accomplishes nothing.
ILLUSTRATION: This thing of taking no thought for the morrow has
become a reality to me in recent weeks. As you know, ministers, rabbis and
priests may be exempted from taking socialsecurityif their conscienceor
religious beliefs are againstit. SocialSecurity has become a way of life for
most people, and men more and more depend upon government to take care
of them. SocialSecurityhas a way of keeping men from trusting in God.
After much struggle, I electednot to take it on the grounds that I do not think
the government should force socialsecurity if men do not want it, and that
it is goodto trust in God in one’s old age. The most insecure thoughts ran
through my mind, “How will I be supported when I am too old to work:
What if something happens to me? At leastmy wife and children will receive
something.” Worry, Worry, Worry! Finally I took out Matthew 6:34 and
claimed this promise and the peace filled my heart. If I am around in 30
years, I know that my God will supply for my needs, even in my old age. How
do I know? He promised to do it.
XI. CONCLUSION
A. SAVED: If a Christian will seek God, He will meet their needs (Psa. 37:25
- those who are living godly lives shall not beg bread). This is a promise.
B. UNSAVED: Forthose here without Christ, you are probably saying,
“How can that teaching of God’s care be true. With all the need and poverty
that exists in the world, with all the suffering of homeless and displaced

57. men, womenand children, how canyou make such a bold statement about
God’s care?” The answeris that these promises are only to Christians and
not to rejecters ofChrist. If you are here this morning without Christ, you
will never be able to claim the wonderful promises of God’s provision for
material things until you have receivedChrist into your life as personal
Lord and Saviour. A Christian need not worry about provision in time or
eternity, but every person without Christ should be in much anxiety, for a
Christless eternity waits him, where there is outer/darkness andgnashing of
teeth. Remember, if Christ is not your Saviour than He will be your Judge.
WILLIAM BARCLAY
Jesus goeson to speak aboutthe birds (Matthew 6:26). There is no worry in
their lives, no attempt to pile up goods for an unforeseenand unforeseeable
future; and yet their lives go on. More than one JewishRabbi was fascinated
by the way in which the animals live. "In my life," said Rabbi Simeon, "I have
never seena stag as a dryer of figs, or a lion as a porter, or a fox as a
merchant, yet they are all nourished without worry. If they, who are created
to serve me, are nourished without worry, how much more ought 1, who am
createdto serve my Maker, to be nourished without worry; but I have
corrupted my ways, and so I have impaired my substance." The point that
Jesus is making is not that the birds do not work;it has been said that no one
works harder than the average sparrow to make a living; the point that he is
making is that they do not worry. There is not to be found in them man's
straining to see a future which he cannot see, and man's seeking to find
security in things storedup and accumulated againstthe future.
CHRIS BENFIELD

58. A. The Fowls ofthe Air (26-27)– Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth
them. Are ye not much better than they? [27] Which of you by taking thought
can add one cubit unto his stature? Take just a moment to considerthe
countless millions of birds that inhabit earth. They do not sow a crop or reap
one. They do not gather a greatharvest into a barn. They are fed by the
Master’s hand. Eachday they wake their needs are the same and eachday
their needs are met. They are expectedto
searchfor their food, often spending the bulk of their waking hours feeding,
but God is faithful to them nonetheless. He cares for them because they are
His creation.
 Are ye not much better than they? Surely if God will care for the birds of
the air, He will care for those whom He has purchased in redemption. Just as
with the birds, we have to put forth the necessaryeffortmany times to receive
the provision of God, but He is faithful to us. Eachday we wake our needs are
much the same and eachday He provides for us. How many of us went
without a meal today? How many missed a meal this week because there was
nothing to eat? We will have to agree that God is goodand merciful to us.
 Which of you by taking thought canadd one cubit unto his stature? Jesus
goes onto speak aboutsenseless worry. The word stature has the idea of
height, but it can also referto age or time. I can’t add one inch to my height
through worry, and I can’t add one secondto my life through much anxiety.
We have to live our lives before the Lord, seeking to please Him, and trust
Him to continue His care for us!
Matthew 6:25-34: “Jesus TeachesHis Disciples NotTo Worry Or Be
Anxious”

59. by
Jim Bomkamp
Back Bible Studies Home Page
1. INTRO
1.1. In this next sectionwe will look at what Jesus says here in the
Sermon On the Mount about ‘worry’ and being ‘anxious’
1.1.1. He begins this teaching by saying, ‘for this reason’, and I personally
believe that what He is saying by that to His disciples is that since they cannot
serve God and Mammon, and because they have chosento follow Him, that
they can take greatcomfort now in the fact that they do not need to have any
worry or anxiety in their lives
1.1.1.1.Arecentstudy statedthat stress-relatedworrywas the greatestcause
of heart attacks in the United States
1.1.1.2.Worryis really the underlying cause of most of the problems and
difficulties that we have in our lives as the following quote from Parsons
Technologies illustrates, “Ata British clinic an examination of 500 patients
confirmed that more than one-third of their visual problems were causedby
emotional tension. Dr. Leonard S. Fosdick ofNorthwesternUniversity has
proven conclusivelythat worry restricts the flow of saliva. Then, because
natural mouth acids are not properly neutralized, tooth decayoccurs. A
survey of about 5,000 students in 21 different collegesconfirms that worriers
get the lowestgrades”
1.1.1.3.The following is a poem I found by an unknown author called,
“When Birds Worry
When the birds begin to worry
And the lilies toil and spin,
And God’s creatures all are anxious,

60. Then I also may begin.
For my Father sets their table,
Decks them out in garments fine,
And if He supplies their living,
Will He not provide for mine?
Just as noisy, common sparrows
Can be found most anywhere—
Unto some just worthless creatures,
If they perish who would care?
Yet our Heavenly Fathernumbers
Every creature great and small,
Caring even for the sparrows.
Marking when to earth they fall.
If His children’s hairs are numbered,
Why should we be filled with fear?
He has promised all that’s needful,
And in trouble to be near”

61. 1.1.2. In this sectionJesus uses some interesting subjects for the illustration of
His points about worry
1.1.2.1.birds ofthe air (sparrows)
1.1.2.2.liliesofthe field
1.1.2.3.grass ofthe field
1.1.3. Using Spurgeon’s outline headings, in this sectionof scripture Jesus
teaches the following about ‘worry’:
1.1.3.1.Itis needless
1.1.3.2.Itis useless
1.1.3.3.Itis heathenism
1.1.4. In the final part of this study we will look at verse 33 of this chapter
which perhaps more than any other verse has become the ‘life verse’ for many
Christians
2. VS 6:25 - “25 “Forthis reasonI say to you, do not be anxious for
your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body,
as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than
clothing?”” - Jesus tells His disciples that because He shall be their one and
only master, that they do not need to worry about the necessitiesoflife
2.1. person who occupies himselfwith the things of this world (mammon)
will then spend his time worrying and fretting about everything in his life,
howeverthe personwho lives for Christ and His kingdom shall not have to
worry about anything for the Lord shall provide for him
2.2. This verse and the ones preceding it here are not a contradiction of
the many exhortations in the scripture about diligent planning and working
hard and conscientiously, ratherwhat Jesus is exhorting againstis simply
worrying about the future

62. 2.2.1. We Christians are called to work hard, and if we will just live in the
now and work hard then the Lord will take care of our future
2.3. It is revealing that most of the scenarios thatpeople worry about the
most never even occur
2.4. Worrying about things does not change the outcome of the thing that
we are worrying about one bit, therefore worrying is a worthless activity as it
zaps us of our strength and health and yields nothing in return
2.5. Worrying shows a lack of faith in our life, as it tells the Lord that we
do not really believe His promises for us
2.5.1. We oughtto pray about our needs and the events of the future and then
just trust and restin the fact that the Lord will answerus according to His
perfect will
2.5.2. To worryafter we have prayed about things is a contradiction to our
faith, and thus it doubts the promises of God’s Word as well as His good
intentions for us, and for this reasonit is very sinful for us to worry
2.6. It is interesting that we Christians can trust God for the eternalcare
of our souls, yet we have a hard time trusting Him to take care of the small
details of our lives
2.7. The things that Jesus commands us here not to worry about concern
the ‘necessities ofour life’:
2.7.1. ourlife
2.7.2. whatwe shall eat
2.7.3. whatwe shall drink
2.7.4. ourbody
2.7.4.1.whatwe shall put on ( clothes )
2.8. God has not promised to meet all of the ‘wants’ that we may have,
rather He has only promised to supply all of the ‘needs’, yet that is more than
sufficient for us

63. 2.9. When Jesus says, ‘Is not life more than food, and the body than
clothing?’, I believe that He is challenging us about getting too concerned
about things that don’t really involve the necessitiesoflife
2.9.1. He would then be saying that there is more to our life than the food we
eat, and if God sustains our physical and spiritual life, it is irrational for us to
think that He will not also sustainus with food, especiallysince He has
promised to do so for us
2.9.2. He would then also be saying that there is more to the well-being of our
bodies than just the nice clothes that we may desire to place on ourselves, and
if God sustains our body in regard to its other needs, it is irrational for us to
think that He will not also provide us with clothing, especiallysince He has
promised to do so for us
3. VS 6:26 - “26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father
feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”” - WORRY IS
NEEDLES: Jesus tells His disciples to observe the ‘birds of the air’ for the
Lord provides food for them, and if He does so for them, He will also do it for
us
3.1. Jesus tells His disciples to observe that birds do not have to buy a
field and plant seeds in it in order to reap the food that they will need to eat,
for they have not the inclination nor ability to work for their food, yet they are
fed eachday, and the One who feeds them is the Lord
3.2. We people have an advantage overbirds who have limited
intelligence when it comes to having food to eat, for we CAN work and toil
and plan ways to provide food for ourselves to eat(birds aren’t smart enough
to be able to think about what might happen tomarrow), therefore we have
less reasonto worry

64. 3.3. Jesus tells His disciples that their faith in God’s providence should be
bolsteredbecause the Fatherprovides the food to feed all of the birds of the
air, and none of the birds will He ever considerto be a sonor a daughter of
His as is the case withus His very children whom He is calling to salvation
3.3.1. It is encouraging to ponder the fact that here Jesus points us to consider
that we have greatvalue to the Lord
3.3.1.1.Have youever wonderedjust what your worth really is to God?
3.3.1.1.1.Iwas thinking about this question this week, andthe Lord spoke to
me about what I was worth to Him, I am worth this much, the price He paid
for me was the life of His only and unique Son, and there is nothing more
valuable in all of existence than Him, He truly is priceless…
JOHN BROADUS
Matthew 6:26. The secondconsiderationis an argument from the less to the
greater, and this applied first to food, (Matthew 6:26) and afterwards to
clothing. (Matthew 6:28-30)Behold the fowls of the air—or, as in Rev. Ver.,
the birds of the heaven, birds that fly free in the sky, and over which men
exercise no care. (Compare Matthew 8:20, Matthew 13:32, Genesis 1:26)
'Fowls'formerly signified birds in general, but is now restrictedto a certain
variety of domesticatedbirds. Instead of the generalterm 'birds,' the similar
discourse in Luke 12:24, has the specific term 'ravens.'As sowing, reaping,
and gathering into barns are the three leading processesofagriculture, we
thus have it very strongly affirmed that the birds perform no part whateverof
the work which men have to perform in order to obtain their food. Of course
we know that the birds exert themselves;God does not feed them in idleness.
But they find their foodwithout any of our elaborate processes. The inserted
'yet' in the Com. Version enfeebles the simple and beautiful expression. Are ye

65. not, better, not ye; the 'ye' being expressedin the original, and thus shownto
be emphatic. Much better, Of much more value, as Com. Ver. translates the
same Greek phrase in Matthew 10:31. The conclusionthat much more will
God feed those who are greatly more important than the birds, is here left to
be understood, but in the similar argument of Matthew 6:30 is stated. The
Mishna says, "Have you ever seenbrutes or birds that had any trade? and yet
they are nourished without trouble."
CALVIN
26. Look at the fowls of the air This is the remedy I spoke of, for teaching us
to rely on the providence of God: for of all cares, which go beyond bounds,
unbelief is the mother. The only cure for covetousnessis to embrace the
promises of God, by which he assures us that he will take care of us. In the
same manner, the Apostle, wishing to withdraw believers from covetousness,
confirms that doctrine: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee, (Hebrews 13:5.) The substance ofthe exhortation is, that we ought to
trust in God, by whom none of his ownpeople, howevermean their condition
may be, are disregarded.
Your heavenly Father feedeth them This deserves carefulattention: for,
though we are unable to explain the manner in which their life is supported,
which of us is in the habit of considering that their life depends on the
providence of God, which he is pleasedto extend even to them? But if it is
thoroughly fixed in our minds, that the fowls are supplied with food by the
hand of God, there will be no difficulty in expecting it for ourselves, who are
formed after his image, and reckonedamong his children. They neither sow
nor reap By these words it is far from being our Lord’s intention to encourage
us to indolence and sluggishness. All that he means is, that, though other
means fail, the providence of God is alone sufficient for us, for it supplies the
animals abundantly with every thing that they need.

66. Instead of fowls, (τὰ πετεινὰ,) Luke uses the word ravens, (τοὺς κόρακας,)
alluding perhaps to that passagein the Psalms, who giveth foodto the young
ravens that call upon him, (Psalm67: 9.) Some think that David expressly
mentioned the ravens, because theyare immediately desertedby their
parents,459 andtherefore must have their food brought to them by God.
Hence it is evident, that Christ intended nothing more than to teachhis people
to throw all their cares on God.
Careful Unreasonableness
"Beholdthe fowls of the air."
Matthew 6:26,28
Considerthe lilies of the field, how they grow, they simply are! Think of the
sea, the air, the sun, the stars and the moon - all these are, and what a
ministration they exert. So often we mar God's designedinfluence through us
by our self-conscious effortto be consistentand useful. Jesus says that there is
only one wayto develop spiritually, and that is by concentrationon God. "Do
not bother about being of use to others; believe on Me" - pay attention to the
Source, and out of you will flow rivers of living water. We cannotget at the
springs of our natural life by common sense, andJesus is teaching that growth
in spiritual life does not depend on our watching it, but on concentrationon
our Fatherin heaven. Our heavenly Father knows the circumstances we are
in, and if we keepconcentratedon Him we will grow spiritually as the lilies.
The people who influence us most are not those who buttonhole us and talk to
us, but those who live their lives like the stars in heaven and the lilies in the
field, perfectly simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mould us.

67. If you want to be of use to God, get rightly related to Jesus Christ and He will
make you of use unconsciouslyevery minute you live.
Copyright Statement:
Takenfrom 'My Utmost for His Highest', by OswaldChambers. © l935 by
Dodd Mead & Co., renewed© 1963 by the OswaldChambers Publications
Assn., Ltd., and is used by permission of Barbour Publishing, Uhrichsville,
Ohio. All rights reserved.
TRUSTING GOD FOR THE MORROW
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Matthew 6:25-34
6-27-65 7:30 p.m.
On the radio you are invited to take your Bible, and with us here in the First
Baptist Church in Dallas, turn to the Gospelof Matthew, chapter6; and we
are going to read togetherverses 25 to the end of the chapter. The title of the
sermon is Trusting God for the Morrow. And there is no more pertinent
messageto my own soul and life, at least, than the messagethat our Lord
delivers here in the heart of His Sermon on the Mount. So let us read it out
loud together, Matthew 6, beginning at verse 25 and reading to the end of the
chapter, everybody:

68. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or
what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life
more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather
into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeththem. Are ye not much better
than they?
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how
they grow;they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass ofthe field, which today is, and
tomorrow is castinto the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of
little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we
drink? or, Wherewithalshall we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)for your heavenly Father
knoweththat ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness;and all these
things shall be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought
for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
[Matthew 6:25-34]
There is a word that is used in that passagesixtimes; but doubtless because it
is so familiar to us we have hardly noticed it, and especiallyso since it is an
English translation of 1611 and has altogetherlost its meaning to us today as
it had then. Now the word in the passageis "thought," and it is used six

69. times. "Therefore Isay unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall
eat, or what ye shall drink" [Matthew 6:25]. Again, "Which of you by taking
thought can add one cubit unto the length of his life?" [Matthew 6:27]. You
see, the Greek wordthere is "length" and it canrefer to your height, or it can
refer, as your life is consideredas a span, just add another cubit to the length
of it. And that’s what I think the Lord meant: "Which one of you by taking
thought could add one cubit to the span, to the length of your life, one foot
beyond the grave?" that’s the secondtime it’s used.
Or again, "Why take ye thought for raiment? Considerthe lilies of the field"
[Matthew 6:28]. Now again, "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall
we eat? or, What shall we drink?" [Matthew 6:31]. And then again,
"Therefore take no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take
thought for the things of itself" [Matthew 6:34]. Now six times that word
"thought" is used here in the King James Versionof the Bible. Now, allof the
previous translations, before the King James Version, translated that word
merimnaō, translated by "be not careful." But the 1611 King James
translators thought the word "be not careful" was not strong enough; so they,
they changedthe expressionto "take no thought, take no thought." Now I
want to show you what that meant when the King James Version of the Bible
was written.
Shakespeare livedwhen the King James Version of the Bible was written, and
in his play Julius Caesar, Iquote from the secondact, and the first scene,
"Take thoughtand die for Caesar." All right, againI quote from
Shakespeare,his Antony and Cleopatra; Cleopatra says to Enobarbus,
"What shall we do, Enobarbus?" And he replies, "Take thoughtand die."
Now Francis Bacon, who also was a contemporary with Shakespeare andthe
King James Versionof the Bible, in his history of King Henry VIII he speaks
of a man, and I quote, "Dying with thought and anguish before his case was
ever heard." Now a historian of the same period writes, "QueenAnne died of
thought." Now to us today that would be an unusual wayto commit suicide,
by thinking. Not many of us would have cause to die like that, would we?
"Take thoughtand die." And Queen Catherine died of thought. Well you
can immediately see, by quoting these passagesoutof the literature of the day

70. in which the King James Version was translated, that "thought" had an
altogetherdifferent kind of a connotationthen than it does to us today.
Now the Greek wordmerimnaō means – well, let’s just look at it, let’s just
look at it. And that was a goodtranslation in 1611. Now I’m going to read
out of the Bible, and these are passageswhere that Greek word is used.
"Jesus answeredand said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art merimnaō and
troubled about many things; but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen
that goodpart, which shall not be takenawayfrom her" [Luke 10:41-42].
That was when Martha was complaining about Mary, who was seatedat the
feet of the Lord listening to what He said, and she was in their cooking dinner
[Luke 10:38-40].
I’ve always had sympathy with Martha. I just can’t help but do that. Yet the
Lord said, "Now Mary, sitting down here listening to Me talk, that is a whole
lot better than going in there and preparing dinner." That shows you how
much more spiritual Jesus is than I am. I’d turn the thing around, I would.
I’d say, "Martha, you’re really doing goodover there cooking dinner. Keep it
up. Add another pot, add another dessert, getyou another Jerseycow, we’re
going to need it for this preacher." You know, that’s what I’d say.
But, oh! Notthe Lord: "Martha, Martha, thou art merimnaō about many
things," and it’s translatedhere "thou art careful about many things" [Luke
11:41]. All right, here’s another one. Oh, there are many things! It is just a
common word in the Greek, and it’s used all through the Bible. Here is
another one, in the famous passagein Philippians 4:6, "Be merimnaō for
nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let
your requests be made knownunto God."
And then here is another one in Simon Peter, chapter 5, his first letter in
[verses]6 and 7, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of
God, that He may exalt you in due time; casting all your merimnaō upon
Him" [1 Peter5:6-7]. Well, when I read the passagein its context,
immediately the meaning of the Greek wordis apparent. And it is exactly
what these translators were trying to achieve in 1611. Merimnaō, the Greek
word, meant cankering care, corrosive anxiety, despair and frustration that

71. comes from worrying about a tomorrow. Now that’s what the word means.
And that is the way the Lord is using it here in this passage.
So let’s take it in this passage, and look at it and apply it to ourselves. Firstof
all, our Lord – – and He says three things here, and we’re going to follow
them, one, two, three – – first of all our Lord says that the lessons ofnature
teachus that merimnaō is unnecessary. And He gives an illustration: "Why,"
He says, "Look at the birds that fly: they do not sow, they do not reap, they
do not gather in barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeththem. Why should
you be filled with corrosive, cankering anxietyabout what shall happen to us
in the care of us on any tomorrow?" [Matthew 6:26-27]. It is unnecessary
says our Lord.
Then He used another illustration: "These lilies of the field, look at them: they
do not toil, they do not spin and yet I say unto you, that Solomonic glory was
not as brilliant, and as colorful, and as beautiful as those lilies that God arrays
in their beauty and glory" [Matthew 6:28-29]. These,the Lord says, these, the
birds that fly and the flowers that bloom, they do not have the prerogatives,
and the authority, and the power, and the endowments that you have. Why,
we can plow, and we can sow, and we can reap, and we can gatherinto barns
and we can keepfor a future day; these have none of those things, none of
those endowments, yet God takes care ofthem. Why shouldn’t the Lord God
in heaven, our Father, also take care ofus?
Then He gives an illustration: "Is not the life more than meat, and the body
more than raiment?" [Matthew 6:25]. He is drawing an illustration there
betweenthe things that are far more important over which we have no control
at all. Why, a man canhave nothing in the choice of his body, his body. Did
you choose the colorof your eyes? Did you choosethe height of your stature?
Did you choose the generationin which we were born? Why weren’tyou
born a hundred years ago? Or why weren’tyou born fifty years since? Do
you choose anyof those things? Did you choose the soulthat inhabits your
body? Are you going to choose the greatultimate consummation by which
God shall change the destiny of this world?

72. Why, everything that is really important, your mother chosenfor you, your
father chosenfor you, your body chosenfor you, all of the generations chosen
for you, everything that is really vital and important, God has chosenfor you!
How much more then should we trust God, if we trust Him for these great
things in life? How much more should we trust God for the lesserthings in
life? What I’m going to wear, and what am I going to eat, and where I am I
going to sleep, and what shelter shall I have, and all the other things by which
people just frustrate themselves and sometimes worry themselves to death.
Let’s see if I canremember that thing, it’s coming back in my head:
Said the robin to the sparrow,
"I would really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush around and worry so."
Now the reply:
Said the sparrow to the robin,
"It surely must be
That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me."
["Overheardin an Orchard," Elizabeth Chaney, 1859]
See? I came out all right; I really don’t know if that’s where it goes ornot,
but that’s the sentiment.
Now the Lord will tell a parable – such as "the unjust steward" [Luke 16:8] –
the Lord will tell a parable about foresightand forethought, for a man to
think about the future and to plan for the future, but foreboding, the Lord
says, is interdicted. It ought not to be in our lives, that anxious worry about

73. the morrow [Matthew 6:34]. Look at the lily of the field, look at the bird of
the air; and God takes care ofthem [Matthew 6:26-29].
Now one thing about the birds, don’t getany idea that they just open their
mouth and the Lord feeds them. You know, they get up at the crack of the
dawn and they stay with it all day long. Well, if you’ll get up at the crack of
dawn and stay with it all day long, you don’t have anything to worry about.
God will take care of you, He really will. He really will.
You know a lazy fellow; I don’t have any use for him at all, I just don’t. I
think he’s a parasite, I think he’s a fungus, I think he’s a mistletoe; there’s not
anything goodthat I can think of about a parasite. I think people ought to
work – I think all of us ought to work – I think a preacherought to work.
And if I don’t work harder than anybody in this congregation, I think you
ought to sit up with me and have a sessionwith me. I think you should.
All of us ought to work, but we ought to work and not worry [Matthew 6:34].
We ought to work and not be filled with cankering anxiety, and corroding
care, and all of those forebodings that lie ahead in the providence of God.
Work, do your best, and then let God decide the ultimate, and the final end
and consummation. Turn it over to Him. All right that’s the first thing.
All right, the secondthing here the Lord says:He says, true religion – the
revelation of the true faith – makes our anxiety, and our worry, and our care
heathen. That’s what He says, now look:
Therefore take no thought, do not be anxious and full of care, saying, Oh what
shall I eat? What are we going to drink? What are we going to be clothed?
And how are we going to live? For after all these things do the heathen worry
about. But you, your heavenly Father knowethye have need of all these
things. Seek Godand all of these things the Lord will add unto you.
[Matthew 6:31-32]

74. The secondthing our Lord avows, that in the true faith and in the true
religion, these who know God and who worship our Father, to be anxious, to
be full of care, to be worrisome and filled with foreboding is to be like a
heathen! And that’s what they do.
Oh, have you ever visited among heathen people? I tell you, the things that fill
their minds with gross terrors, and superstitions, and dreads;they are afraid
of everything. They worship the devil. They worship the stones. They
worship the trees. Theyworship the wind. There’s not anything of which
they are not afraid, and there’s not anything of which they don’t have a dread
for what tomorrow is. And they live in that fear, and that darkness, and that
superstition.
And we are that way when our lives are filled with all of those dreads and
fearsome things of what lies ahead, or the tomorrow, or what’s all around us.
"Don’t," says the Lord, "don’t; for when you are that way, you are just like a
heathen. But you, you know God the heavenly Father, and He knows all
about your need, and He will provide for it" [Matthew 6:30-34]. Just trust
Him. Just believe in Him, and leave it to His gracious hand, and see if God
doesn’t do it.
You know this passagethat I read here using that word in Peter[1 Peter5:6-
7], brings back to my heart one of the, oh! most moving experiences ofmy life,
oh, oh! As you know, I started preaching when I was seventeenyears old, and
I was holding – scheduled, invited to hold – a revival meeting in a tabernacle
down there in centralWestTexas. And the tabernacle was locatedby a
beautiful little white church with columns out in front of it and over here a
parsonage andabout ten or fifteen acres ofground surrounded by a fence,
and that was the Baptist church.
And in that enclosure was this tabernacle. Well, I was to hold the revival
meeting, a teenager. And when the evening came, the first night of the
revival, I went down there and I thought the world was turning out, the whole
earth was assembling. There were people coming there by horseback, there
were people pouring into that enclosure by buggy and wagon;they were
coming by such cars as they had in that day, and they were coming afoot.

75. They were coming by twos, they were coming by singles, they were coming by
families; they were coming from the ends of the earth! And every last one of
them that came just scaredme that much more. And I nearly died in my soul.
My heart pounded, you could hear it; and my throat was dry, and my tongue
clave to the roof of my mouth; and I thought I was going to die! And I said to
the singer, "I think I’m going to die. I’m just not going to live, I just can’t.
I’m scaredto death, I’m paralyzed. I can’t breathe, and I can’t talk, and my
throat is dry, and it’s awful! Look at all these people, just acres of them, and I
don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t know what I’m going to do!"
Well, he was an older man in the Christian faith than I, and he said, "Now
you just come with me, young fellow, you just come with me." And he took
me back of the parsonage, whichwas empty, and there were some steps going
from the kitchendoor down to the ground. And he said, "Now you sit down
here by my side." And I sat down by his side, and he openedhis little New
Testament, and he read to me this passage, one I’ve just read to you:
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may
exalt you in due time; casting all your merimnaō on Him, casting all your
anxiety and fears upon Him" [1 Peter5:6-7]. Now he said to me, "You get
down here by my side." And I knelt down there by those steps, and he put his
strong arm around my shoulder, and he prayed for the young preacher.
Listen, dear people, you should have heard me in those days. Oh my, my!
Why, I preachedall over that tabernacle – I preachedall over the grounds, I
preachedup and down every aisle – why, you never saw the like! "And the
Lord came down our souls to greet, and glory filled the mercy seat" [from
"From Every Stormy Wind that Blows," Hugh Stowell];why, people were
shouting, they were singing praises to God, they were clapping their hands,
they were being converted. It was like an old time Pentecostalrevival!
I forgotabout my throat being dry, I just never did think about it. I forgot
my heart was pounding, I forgotI was scaredto death, I just forgot
everything in the glory of the presence of God. That’s what he’s talking
about. Now to heathen, it’s a heathen, when you are fretful, and full of
foreboding, and cankering anxiety; but it’s a Christian who rejoices in the

76. goodness ofGodand looks to heavenfor an answerfrom glory. That’s it.
That’s it.
Now there’s one other thing, one other thing, and we got time for it. Notonly
does He say that we have here in this cankering care, we have a thing that is
unnecessaryif we just look at all of the blessings ofnature [Matthew 6:26-30].
And not only, He says, is it not Christian and it doesn’t honor God, we’re just
like heathen when we do that. Then He says a last thing, He says in the
economyand in the scheme of the providences of God, it is futile. "Therefore
take no thought, no merimnaō, for the morrow; for the morrow shall
merimnaō for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof"
[Matthew 6:34].
What does our Lord say? Oh, it is very plain, and very pertinent, and very
pungent and very pointed what He says. He says that every day shall have its
share of merimnaō, don’t you worry, don’t you seek it, and don’t you add to
it, there’s going to be evil in every day, plenty of it. And there’s going to be
discouragementin every life, plenty of it. And there’s going to be things that
just bow you down and break your spirit, plenty of it. Don’t add to it, says
our Lord. There’s plenty of it in everybody’s life, and you can’t escape it.
You can’t escape it. You cannotobviate it [Matthew 6:34].
Do you remember reading about Achilles? His mother was a sea nymph. Her
name was Thetis. And she said, "I’m going to take this little boy, and I’m
going to make him invulnerable and invincible; and there is no evil ever going
to touch my son." So she took him down to the River Styx, and she held him
by his heels, and she dipped him in the River Styx to make him invincible and
invulnerable.
And all the days of his life the greatAchilles was the hero of all of the Greek
world. And in the Trojan War, Hectorcame out, the great champion of the
Trojan people, Hector came out and challengedAchilles, and Achilles slew
him. But, but, Paris took an arrow, poisoned the tip of it, and struck Achilles
in his heel, where his mother held him when she dipped him in the River Styx;
and Achilles died from the poison arrow.

77. You can’t escape it. Those Greekshad an insight into human life that is
phenomenal. Sometimes you can almostsay those stories are inspired. You
can’t escape. It’s coming, plenty of it, in your life, lots of it.
Could I take an illustration out of sacredliterature? Ahab saidto Micaiah,
"Take this man who prophesies evil with me, when I go up to Ramoth-gilead
to take it, take Micaiahand put him in prison, and feed him bread of affliction
and waterof affliction, until I come back in triumph and prove that the Spirit
of God is not in His prophet." And Micaiahsaid, "If you come back at all . . .
the Lord hath not spokenunto me" [1 Kings 22:26-28].
And in the battle at Ramoth-gilead, even though Ahab disguisedhimself, there
was a man that drew back his bow at a venture. He aimed his arrow and he
let fly his arrow without aiming it. And that arrow sped its way, and in a joint
in the harness of Ahab entered in, and went through his heart, and his blood
flowed out on the floor of the chariot [1 Kings 22:34-35]. And they took him
back to Jezreeldead [1 Kings 22:37].
You can’t escape it. Don’t you ever persuade yourself that, "I am an electof
God, and there are fortunes that guide my life and there are providences that
rule over my days, and I shall be untouched by all of these sorrows and trials
that plow up other people." Don’tyou think that. They’re coming to you,
just as they have come to your neighbor, and just as they have come to the
man that lives on the other side of the tracks. All of us alike, "Sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof" [Matthew 6:34]. All of us shall experience it.
Well, what shall I do, worry about it? I know that there are dark days as well
as light ones that lie ahead. I know there are tears as well as smiles that lie
ahead. I know that there are a thousand dark things that lie ahead. Why, if
nothing else, and if Jesus delays His coming, shall it be cancer? Shallit be
arthritis? Shall it be multiple sclerosis? Shallit be a stroke? Shallit be
invalidism? And when? What shall it be?
Why man, whateverit is, let God decide and trust Him for it. I have strength
for the day. Isn’t that what the Book says? "And as thy days, so shall thy
strength be" [Deuteronomy 33:25]. I have strength for this day; but I don’t

78. have strength for the foreboding. And when the time comes in any trial that
arises, there will be grace for that day when it comes.
How many times do people come up to me and say, "Pastor, youknow, I don’t
know whether I’m savedor not. I don’t know whether I’m a Christian or not.
I’m afraid to die. I’m afraid to die. It scaresme to death when I think about
dying." Why man, that’s an exact illustration of what the Lord is talking
about.
Well, you’re not ready to die yet. Wait until the day comes, and as you have
grace for the trials of this moment, and as you have strength from heaven for
the sorrows thatmay appear this moment, so you will have strength and grace
when the moment comes to die. You don’t need dying grace now. Thatcomes
then when you need it. And if God bestowedit upon you now, why the
wisdom of God when you don’t need it? Wait for that day and that hour, and
dying grace will be given to you then.
In one of my pastorates,abouttwo blocks down the street lived one of the
godliest, saintliestold soldiers of Jesus, an old preacher, that I ever knew in
my life. Oh, the churches he’d organized, and the sermons that he preached,
and he’d organized! He’d built an orphan’s home and takencare of a
generationof many, many children. He was a greatold man of God. And I
tell you, I went down to see him and he was dying. And you know what that
man said to me? There, lying on his deathbed, just this side of glory, he said
to me, he said, "Oh, oh, is it like this to die? Oh," he said, "I hear angels
singing." And he says, "And I see the pearly gates ofglory." And he says,
"And I see the golden streets." And he says, "I hear the voice of God." And
he says, "And I see the face of the blessedJesus. Oh," he said to me, "who
would ever have thought that to die was like this?" My soul! "Oh, who would
ever have thought that to die would be like this? Angels singing, and visions
of glory, and the face of Jesus."
Let it be that when the time comes;grace for that hour as God shall give us
grace for this. "Therefore be not anxious, full of carking care, frustrating
anxiety, for the Lord knows all of the things you have need of" [Matthew
6:31-34], and He will give us grace for now and strength for now, and help for

79. now, and every day shall be a now, with its full measure of shepherdly
benediction and guarding love from heaven.
Now we must sing our song. Our time is done. And while we sing the appeal,
you, somebody you give himself to Jesus;come and stand by me. A family you
coming into the church, a couple you, however Godshall say the word, shall
make the appeal, come tonight. When we stand up to sing, stand up coming.
"I decide now, and here I am." In this balcony round, down one of these
stairways at the front or the back, on either side; in this greatthrong of people
on this lowerfloor, into the aisle and down to the front, "Here I come, pastor,
and here I stand. I decide now. Here I am." Make it, make it. "Lord, I do
trust Thee;I open my heart to Thee. In repentance and faith, in asking
forgiveness and salvation, Lord, here I come, here I am." Or to put your life,
and prayers, and love, and devotion with us in this precious church, come. As
the Spirit of God shall make the appeal, answernow, while we stand and
while we sing.
Matthew:True Religion, Part6: Anxiety’s Antidote
Sermon by J. Ligon Duncan on August 26, 1997
Matthew 6:25-34
DownloadAudio
Our songs have been songs of hope and trust in the living god, and we come to
Matthew 6, and the Lord Jesus’discussionof anxiety and its antidote. We’ll
begin in verse 25, but you’ll notice that the first word, or therefore, points you
back to the immediately preceding verses, andso these passagesare tied
togetherin thought. Matthew 6, beginning at verse 25, hear God’s word:
(Matthew 6:25-34)

80. Our Lord and our God, we know the difficulty with which we struggle with
the sin of worry, we know the frequency with which we are vexed by it, and
we ask Your own divine intervention. Teachus by Your Word to trust in the
Savior, in your providence, in Your purposes for us. We ask, O God, that You
would enlighten us by the truth of Your Word, and You would searchour
hearts as we considerhow this truth applies to us. We pray, heavenly Father,
that we would honor You in our thought life and in our desires and ambitions,
and in every area of our life before You. We ask these things in Jesus name,
Amen.
Worry is the respectable sin. Christians know that they are not supposed to
murder , commit adultery, or lie, or cheat, or steal, or, at leastthey are not
supposedto admit that they do; but we all admit to one another that we
worry. And perhaps we do so because we do not realize what a vital spiritual
issue it is. It’s interesting, isn’t it?
Matthew Henry reminds us that Jesus speaksto His disciples over and over
againabout the issue of worry. He is deeply concernedabout worry because
worry, He teaches,is a sign that our treasure is in the wrong place. Worry,
Jesus teaches, is a moral deficiency that canbe tracedto three factors in our
lives.
It can be traced to unbelief. We don’t believe that God will provide for us and
so we worry about it. It can be traced to a lack of submission to His Lordship.
We want to be in controlof our lives. We know that we’re not, but we’re
trying as hard as we can be to be in control of our lives, and so we worry
about the gap betweenwhat we’re trying to do and what we’re not sure that
we can accomplish. Worry can be traced, frankly, to worldliness – having our
desires seton the wrong things – things that we know we may not obtain
rather than set on those things that we know that we cannotlose if we will but
setour hearts on them. Worry you see, Jesus teaches,is a spiritual matter.
And our reflecting on worry today gives us the opportunity to ask ourselves:
What are the root causes ofour worry? What does our worry teachus about
our relationship to Christ? And what does our worry teachus about our
spiritual priorities? If we will address those questions today individually and

81. today particularly, I promise you there is spiritual blessing awaiting. If we will
deal with that hard matter that worry attaches to us all, and let me say, that
worry is not simply a temperamental matter. I am temperamentally inclined
to worry. I can find a dark cloud behind every silver lining. And I am
temperamentally tempted to this particular sin, but I can’t blame this on
temperament; this is a spiritual matter and all of us are affectedin different
ways. Let me say very briefly. Don’t simply associateworrywith fear or with
anxiety. That is one part of worry, that is to be sure. But we’re going to see
today that when Jesus said, “Do not worry about anything,” that He is
speaking about two sides of worry and all of us struggle with one or other or
both of those sides of worry.
There is the anxiety kind of worry. We fret over things; we fearthings.
Someone was telling me that there was an article in the newspaperabout what
we fear, and it said that people fear being in car wrecks, andpeople fear
cancer, and people fearfinancial disasters in their lives. We could make lots of
lists of what we fearif we wanted to today. That’s one side of worry –
becoming paralyzed and fretful over things that might happen , the things
that are outside of our control – anxieties controlling our lives.
But there’s another side of worry as well. The Lord Jesus says that side of
worry is ambition. You see, you may not be worried about financial disaster,
but your whole life may be wrapped up in gaining financial security. In that
case your worry manifests itself, not in anxiety, but in ambition. You have
become preoccupied;you have become fixated on some terrestrialreality and
you have lostsight of the greaterthings – the first things. Either one of those
ways are ways that we can fall prey to the sin of worry.
The Lord Jesus Christ, in this passage today, is addressing you and His
disciples asking you to examine your hearts in regard to worry. And He
teaches us at leasttwo greatthings here.
I. We must wage wayon anxiety in our lives.
The first thing that He makes clearthroughout the passageis that we must
wage waron worry in our lives; we must wage waron anxiety in our lives. He
opens in verse 25 with these words to the disciples, “Forthis reasonI say to

82. you, do not be worried for your life, as to what you will eat, or what you will
drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on.” There Jesus’words
approximate the extent of Paul’s comprehensive commands that we are not to
worry about anything. In Philippians Paul says, “Do not worry about
anything.” The Lord Jesus’command here comes as close to that as it possibly
could without using the same words. Christ is determined that His disciples
see that this is a religious issue.
In particular, worry is a manifestation of worldliness. It may reflectmisplaced
priorities, misplaced ambitions, misplacedloyalties, misplaced trust,
misplaced hopes. When Jesus meets worry with a direct contradiction just like
Paul, “Don’tworry. Do not worry, don’t do it.”
Now let me pause and say very quickly that, as we saw lastweek and as we no
doubt shall see again, there is a difference betweenworry and genuine
concern. There is a difference betweenproper caring concernabout earthly
matters and fixation on those matters. Jesus, whenhe says, “Do not worry,” is
not saying that we should not concernourselves with making a living. Just
wake up tomorrow and I’ll leave the food on the doorstep. The Lord Jesus is
not saying that it is improper to concernyourself with how you’re going to
feed your family, nor is he saying that we are exempt from our responsibilities
to help one another when we’re in a time of need. Someone comes to us
hungry and they have no means at that time for gaining food and we say, “Oh,
don’t worry about it, be warmed and be filled.” Those are the words of the
Pharisees.We must concernourselves with the practicalassisting ofone
another in times of need. Nor is Jesus saying that we are exempt from troubles
in this life. Jesus is not saying, “Christians, you ought not to worry because
you don’t really have any troubles in this life.” It’s very interesting that that is
not what the Lord Jesus Christ says in this passage. In fact, in this passageHe
promises us that we will have trouble. So He’s not saying, “Don’t worry
because you really don’t have any troubles.” He’s saying, ‘Don’t worry’ for
another reason. He’s not saying, “Don’t worry because there’s an absence of
trouble in the life of my people.” He’s saying, “Don’tworry because ofthe
providence of God in your life despite your trouble.”

83. So the Lord Jesus is not condemning our proper provision for the future and
He’s not condemning an appropriate concernfor the present, but He is
attacking that wearing anxiety which frets over whether God will give us what
we need or that preoccupationwith those things which are temporal to the
point that it clouds our eyes to the most important thing in life.
Jesus knows that worry displays itself in various forms. Worry may come in
the form of fixation – something that you just can’t let go of. You’ve prayed
about it. You’ve done all you could about it. Workedon it and, in the night, it
comes back to you. You rehearse it in your mind over and over and over
again. It may be a fear. It may be a desire but you just can’t let it go. Worry
has takenhold if you have fixated. Worry also comes in the form of
preoccupation, doesn’tit? When we give our attention to one particular duty
and we keepdoing it and doing it and we forgeteverything else. We neglect
other duties because we’re lockedon to this one thing. Our anxiety is stoked
about it and we can’t think about anything else;we’ve gotto do that. Worry
also manifests itself in imbalance because sometimes we give ourselves to a
duty which is comparativelyunimportant in light of all our other duties, but
we’re so anxious about it we can’t leave it alone, and we neglectthings that
are far more important so that we can do that thing.
Those of you who are computer users, and even our youngeststudents are
computer users, know something about this kind of imbalance that is
manifested in worry. Since the advent of the computer, we spend much of our
time making sure our headers are nice and that our margins are fixed the way
we want and the type is neat and that bold and that italic is put in the right
place and sometimes we work real hard to make sure that the paper looks
greatand then we forget to write the contents of the paper. The layout’s
beautiful but there’s no content, and we hand it in to our teachers and they
say, “How much time did you spend writing the contents of the paper?”
“Well, I was working on the margins.” It looks nice but we have given
ourselves to something which is comparativelyunimportant. An imbalance
has come. We have fixated on something that has causedus to leave alone that
which is really important.

84. Worry occurs in all those forms and it’s roots canbe found in these problems.
The root of worry, or the roots of worry, can be found in the problem of trust.
We have a trust problem – some of us who worry. We don’t believe that the
Lord is going to provide what we need. We fearthat we may be left without
something we need so we worry about it. A lot of goodthat does us but we feel
better after we’ve worried about it. Sometimes worry’s root problem is a
problem of submission. We saythat Christ is Lord, but really, we want to be
Lord of our lives. And we’ve gotwonderful plans for our lives. And we’re
working very hard to make those plans come about, and we know that we
ultimately can’t make them come about because we’re notsovereignand we
have a problem submitting ourselves to His Lordship in our life and
consequently, we worry.
Others of us have a desire or an ambition problem. We worry because we are
essentiallyworldly. Now don’t miss one of the opportunities that Jesus is
giving here. Jesus is certainly telling His disciples. Your walk with me, your
walk with God, canbecome clouded by becoming distractedwith the cares of
this world. But Jesus canalso be asking a deeper question here. Jesus canbe
asking this question: Is it possible that your worry is an evidence that you
don’t have a relationship with your heavenly Father? Is it possible that your
worry is showing you that what you really love and really have an ambition
for and what you really have a desire for is noteternal fellowship with the
heavenly Father? That’s a goodquestion for all of us to ask. Where is our
heart? You see it’s flowing on from what the Lord Jesus has alreadyaskedus:
” Where is your treasure? Where is your heart? Who is your master? What
does your eye setitself on as the things that you most desire in life?” The Lord
Jesus knows that worry may manifest that you care more about the things of
this world, that you’re not sure whether you’re going to getor not, than you
do about your eternalfellowship with the living God. Something which no
believer fears is ever going to be takenawayfrom him or her. To worry is an
opportunity for selfexamination and its roots canbe found in problems with
trust, with submission, and frankly, with worldliness.
Now Jesus knows that worry is a powerful enemy; and He knows that the only
way that worry can be beaten , the only waythat this insidious sin canbe
rooted out of our lives is through truth and through trust. He knows that our

85. minds must first be brought past it with the word of truth. If we don’t think
rightly, we’ll never beatworry. But he also knows that, ultimately, worry
cannot be conquered by right thinking. It is only conquered by faith. So it
takes both truth and trust to beat worry. We may review Jesus’words about
right thinking in these passagesand still not beat worry in our lives because
worry is ultimately at bottom a sign of a lack of trust in our heavenly Father.
So bear that in mind as we look at Jesus’arguments in verses 25-34. He gives
us six arguments that we canuse againstworry. When worry is zeroing in on
you, and you feel surrounded and absorbed and consumedin it, the Lord
Jesus says use these truths to fight back againstworry.
First of all, He addresses the issue of our priorities. That’s the first battle that
He says we need to fight againstworry. Look at verse 25, “Is not life more
than food and the body more than clothing?” If you want to battle worry you
must argue your priorities againstit. You must ask , “Well, isn’t life more
than what I eat and drink and wear?” Isn’t it interesting that 2,000 years after
Jesus’time we’re still preoccupied with what we eat and what we drink and
what we wear. What are most advertisements in all the media about? What
we eat, what we drink and what we wear. What status we attachto these
things. And the Lord Jesus says life is more than those things. And the
advertisements are saying, “Life is these things. If you get more of them, you
have more life.” And the Lord Jesus is saying don’t be fooledby that lie. Life
is more than that; your priorities are misplaced if you find your trust in those
things and if you have put your hopes and your trusts in those things, you’ll
always worry and you’ll wonder. When are you going to lose them or if you’re
going to get them.
The secondargument that the Lord Jesus gives us we find in verses 26 and 28.
It’s the argument of providence. He not only says argue your priorities against
worry. He says argue the providence of God towards His creationagainst
your worries. In verse 26 He says, “Look atthe birds of the air,” and in verse
28 He says, “Observe how the lilies of the field grow. And look – Godprovides
for the birds, God clothes the flowers, the grass ofthe fields – those things are
creatures.” He teaches us there that God’s providence towards His inferior
creatures ought to comfort those of us who have a heavenly Father. Birds of

86. the air and the grass of the field do not have a personalrelationship with the
living God and heavenly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus’
disciples do. Therefore He says, ” If God cares forthem, don’t you think He’s
going to care for you? The Lord Jesus is even a little bit tongue in cheek in
that you see where He says in verse 28, “Are you not worth much more than
they? Aren’t you worth more than birds?” It’s a little bit tongue in cheek.
He’s saying, “Come on, you’re the children of the Living God. He provides for
birds and you’re afraid that He’ll provide for your needs?”
Then He argues a common sense argument in verse 27. He says worry is
unproductive. Worry doesn’t do you any good. Worry is ineffective to
positively change anything to getyou the results that you want. Notice His
words, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” He’s
saying, “OK, go ahead and worry. What’s it going to getyou? A few more
ulcers is all it’s going to getyou. It doesn’t do anything to change your
situation.” It isn’t a positive, constructive response to the difficulties of life.
Notice againin verse 32, He gives another argument againstworry. We’re to
remind ourselves whenwe give in to worry, we’re giving in to pagan thinking.
If you want to think like a pagan, go aheadand worry. He says this, “Forthe
Gentiles eagerlyseek afterall these things.” He’s telling his disciples, “Don’t
fall into the trap of thinking like an unbeliever. Gentiles are consumed with
these things in their lives. Gentiles can’t think about other things other than
this. You shouldn’t be that way. Don’t give into that trap.” You see, Gentiles –
they really do have something to worry about. They are apart from God and
they have only the anticipation of eternalcondemnation. You, however, have
nothing to worry about,” the Lord Jesus Christsaid. “Foryour life is hidden
with Christ in God.”
Again in the end of verse 32, He gives us this argument that we are to use
againstworry when we it attacks us. This againis a pointing to the providence
of God, but now it’s God’s fatherly providence – His paternal providence.
And He says, “Foryour heavenly Father knows the things that you need.”
Our heavenly Father knows whatwe need better than we know what we need.
He provides it for us – fully and graciously.

87. Christ calls His disciples to use that as an argument againstworry when we’re
tempted to fret, and again, He gives a final common sense argument against
worry in verse 34. He basicallysays that worry is wasteful. It just distracts
you from doing that which is useful. Why? Becausewe don’t know the future.
And to speculate and worry about the future is ridiculous. Notice His words,
“Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will care for itself. Eachday has
enough trouble of its own.” The Lord is saying that troubles will come. We
don’t know what troubles will come; we don’t know when those troubles will
come and it does no goodfor us to fixate on them and worry about their
coming. Instead, we must deal with those things as they come because trouble
is just a part of life in a fallen world. Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly
upward, the Psalmistonce said. The Lord Jesus saidthere is no sense in
speculating on what trouble may come. All of these are arguments that the
Lord Jesus provides us to use againstworry when we are tempted to give in to
it. But we will not prevail againstit until we trust in God’s providence.
Becausethe keyto Jesus’argument is the phrase your Fatherwho is in
heaven. Your Fatherwho is in heaven knows what you need. And when we
realize that, when we realize our heavenly Father knows our needs and He
provides for those needs and when we cantrust in that, there is the root
weaponagainstworry.
II. Our chief purpose should be God’s kingdom.
Jesus then directs us to a secondtruth. He directs us to the truth that we
must make sure that our prime ambition, our first purpose, our chief end, our
most important desire and motive in life is God’s kingdom.
He teaches us this in verse 33 where He says, “But seek firstHis kingdom and
His righteousness andall these things will be added unto you.” Jesus is saying,
When you’re dealing with worry, stop and ask yourself: What am I seeking in
life? What’s the most important thing to me in life? Am I seeking God’s
kingdom? Am I seeking to see the conscious and practicalrule of the Lord
Jesus Christ workedout in my life? Is that what I’m seeking?Am I seeking
His righteousness?Am I desiring to see the holiness of God implanted in me
by grace lived out in practicalrelations with my neighbors, my relations and
with my friends? Is that what I want? If that’s what I want, nobody can take

88. that awayfrom me. I don’t need to worry about that. Nobody under heaven
can take that away from me. So, if I’m worrying my heart must not be on
that. I must want something that I really might lose.
And notice again the order that He says we’re to seek it. We’re not just to seek
God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness;we’re to seek it first. Jesus says,
“Seek firstthe kingdom.” He’s saying, “Look, there are many responsibilities
in life. There are even many legitimate desires in life. I may desire to pursue a
hobby. I may desire to pursue a relationship. I may desire to pursue a
recreation. I may desire to pursue a vocation. I may desire to pursue a
particular business plan. All of those are fine as long as they are not the first
thing. Do we seek first God’s kingdom. Does it show in our choices?Does it
show with what we do with our money? Are we really seeking Godfirst with
what we do with the resources that God gives us? Does it show? Do we give
then towards the cause ofthe kingdom, or do we spend it on something else?
Do we really show that He is first in our lives with what is important to us-
with what we value. Are Christian friends and fellowship with them? Is that
more important than being with the right crowd? With the movers and
shakers? Withthe beautiful and the powerful? Or do we really value
Christian fellowship with strong Christian friends more than that? Students,
you will face those struggles this year. Will you value those who are seenin the
eyes of other men and women or will you value those who are close to God
who walk with Him? Will they be the ones that you want to be near? Or will
you choose to be with those who are trendy and beautiful and handsome and
popular? All of us face that decisionin life. And the Lord Jesus is saying.
When we worry it is a sign that perhaps our priorities have gotten out of
order or perhaps they were never in order.
You see, the cure for anxiety is to recognize that the heavenly Father knows
and sees andunderstands our lives. And He cares for us and so we cangive
ourselves overto the cause of the kingdom not worrying that we will be
provided for because we know that He provides for us. We can abandon
ourselves into His care and give everything for Him because we know that all
these things will be provided for us in the here and hereafter if we will but
trust in Him. Where is your trust? Have you trusted in Him? Does it show
even in the hour of anxiety?

89. Let’s look to Him in prayer.
Our Lord and our God , we would commit the whole of our life into your
generous hand and seek first the kingdom, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
WestLafayette, Ohio
June 16, 1985
Father's Day
Worry
Matthew 6:25-34, KJV
As a kid I used to read MAD magazine. The main cartooncharacterwas
named Alfred E. Newman, the classic airhead. To show how dumb he was his
famous motto was "What, me worry?" Alfred E. Newmanis probably the
only person without a care. As a matter of fact, anxiety is one of the most
widespreademotions in the 20th century. Everything moves at double speed
and you never know where you'll end up.

90. Some of the things we worry about are minor. I have to worry about whether
my socksmatch. I also get anxious when I've hit my seventh red light in
Coshocton.
The kind of anxiety Jesus is talking about is more serious. In verse 25 he gives
the "trinity of cares"-
What am I going to eat?
What am I going to drink?
What am I going to wear?
This isn't about menus or the colorof your socks. It's about having enough to
eat and clothes on your back. Despite all of our prosperity, millions still worry
about the necessitiesoflife. If you have a job you worry about losing it. If
you don't lose it, inflation will devour it. Nothing in life is certain and it
always seems safestto expect the worst. Whetheryou worry a lot or a little it
can have a drastic effect on your life. The vastmajority of illness is either
causedor originated by anxiety. The modern badge of successis a raging
ulcer. If you don't have an ulcer you're not tying hard enough.
A lot of people suffer from "nerves" but it really has nothing to do with your
body's nervous system. It's all due to anxiety. The most prescribed drug of
the 1970'swas Valium. It temporarily eases anxiety. The drug which has
surpassedit in the 80's is Tagament. It helps ulcers. Bothof these canease
the symptoms but they don't even begin to provide a cure.
I realize that some of these facts hit a little close to home for some people here.
Now, I'll give a personalconfession. During a recentanalysis that was done

91. on my ministry, I was told that I am a prime candidate for burnout. Burnout
is where you get so uptight about your job you ceaseto function. You protect
yourself by seeking isolationfrom everyone, even those closestto you. It
seems like protection but all it really does is increase anxiety. I haven't
burned out yet but it's always a possibility. Some of you may be in the same
boat.
Jesus Christ forbids worrying. Now that figures, because he forbids just
about everything we are inclined to do. But what's interesting is that he gives
so much space to it. In the Sermon on the Mount, adultery gets three verses.
Murder and love both getfive. But worrying gets nine whole verses.
Anything that gets this much attention must be studied closely.
Jesus begins in verse 25 by saying,
"Therefore I sayunto you, take no thought for your life."
This is the keyto the whole passage andunfortunately the King James version
doesn't mean what you may think it means here. "Take no thought" does not
mean we should ignore our needs and not plan for anything. It's really an Old
English expressionfor "Do not worry" or "Don'tbe anxious." This is exactly
what the Greek means.
There are two reasons whyJesus is againstobsessive worrying. The first is
that worrying is incompatible with what it means to be a Christian and the
secondis that worrying doesn't make a lot of sense even if you're a pagan.

92. The first one is the most important. Worrying does not go along with true
faith. It's not spiritual. In verse 30 Jesus says that those who getbent out of
shape over food and clothing are people of "little faith." The reasonis that
those who worry about their earthly needs are ignoring God. Notice how
Jesus puts it in perspective in the end of verse 25,
"Is not the life more than meat (of food), and the body than raiment, (or
clothes).
The Bible claims that God has createdeach of us and he also sustains us. This
means he provides us with everything we need for life. Our body is obviously
more important than the clothes that coverit and our life is more important
than the food that nourishes it. Well, if God takes care ofwhat's really
important, why do we doubt him when it comes to the minor things?
If you really believe in God this has to make sense. Verse 27 reinforces it -
"Which of you by worrying canadd one cubit unto his stature?"
In other words, no matter how much you worry you can't add a footto your
height. But Goddoes it for all of us betweenchildhood and adult life. This
verse can also be translated,
"Which of you by worrying canadd an hour to his life?"
The answeris obvious - no one. Worrying not only can't add to your life - it
will often shorten it and usually takes awayfrom it.

93. In verses 26 and 28 Jesus points to nature. Birds don't have John Deere
tractors or fertilizer or combines but God sees thatthey are fed. Flowers are
another example. Theydon't import cloth and send it to a seamstress. They
don't have to because Godgives them garments that just can't be comparedto
what we wear. Look atthis poppy. . . . it has a lot more beauty than the suit I
am wearing. Ofcourse, this is an el-cheapo suit but even an expensive Italian
one couldn't compare with the beauty of this flower. If God will do all this for
birds and flowers, whatcan he do for us?
At this point I should talk about some of the misconceptions Christians have
come up with. Some believers use these verses to argue you shouldn't have
insurance or save money for retirement. They say these things show you lack
faith in God. (A deaconin Celeste'shome church told me this.) You can also
argue that Christians shouldn't have jobs because neither the birds nor the
flowers "work."
I don't think I am watering down Jesus'teaching when I say that this is not
what he means here. The stress in these verses is not on the un-necessityof
work but on the way we shouldn't worry because Godtakes care ofus. God
provides for birds and flowers in a rather complex way. It doesn't just
"happen." Proverbs 6:6 points to the ant. The NIV says,
"Go to the ant, you sluggard, considerits ways and be wise. It has no
commander, no overseeror ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and
gathers its food at harvest."
Jesus himself tells us we should provide for our families, which is the main
reasonto have insurance. We cannot sit back in our LazyBoy chair, twiddle

94. our thumbs, mutter, "Godwill provide" and do nothing. Paul says in 2
Thessalonians 3:10,
"If anyone will not work, let him not eat."
Martin Luther who lived five hundred years ago had a greatstatementabout
this. He wrote:
"Godwants nothing to do with the lazy, gluttonous bellies who are neither
concernednor busy; they act as if they just have to sit and wait for God to
drop a roastedgooseinto their mouths."
God wants us to work, he wants us to considerthe future but he doesn't want
us to worry about it. Always keep Godand his love for you in the picture.
All of this has shown that worrying is not spiritual. Neither is it sensible. In
verse 34 Jesus mentions today and tomorrow -
"We worry about tomorrow but trouble always hits you today."
Whenever we worry we are upset in the presentabout something that may
happen in the future. It may happen - but it may not.
One of our strangerpresidents was Calvin Coolidge. He was strange because
he never seemedto worry. When someone askedhim why he was so
unconcernedabout problems he said,

95. "Life is like standing on a road with ten driver-less cars coming at you. If you
wait long enough, nine of them will end up in the ditch before they ever getto
you."
That still leaves one carbut I'd rather face one than ten.
It's just not sensible to worry. If what you feareddoesn't happen you've
worried once for nothing. If it does happen you have worried twice insteadof
once. Anxiety always doubles your trouble.
There's only one thing in life worth worrying about - your relationship with
God. In verse 33 he says,
"Seek ye first the kingdom of Godand his righteousness."
We should seek God. Specificallywe should seek his kingdom and his
righteousness. God's kingdomis whereverJesus is in charge. This canbe the
Millennium but it canalso refer to the rule of Christ in our lives right now.
When you acceptChrist as your Savior you enter into the kingdom at that
moment.
Accepting Jesus establishesyour relationship with God. You also have to
maintain it, which is where God's righteousness comes in. We should seek to
live the way God wants us to live. Don't worry about the failings of the past
or the sin you'll probably commit next week. Focus onhow you are living
right now.

96. Is your life in agreementwith the teachings of Jesus?
________
Typed on March 7, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of LedgewoodBaptistChurch,
New Jersey
Dr. S. Lewis Johnsondiscusses the providence of God and explains how worry
by the believer is an expressionof unfaithfulness.
SLJ Institute > Gospelof Matthew > The Sermonon the Mount > The
Infidelity of Anxiety,
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The Scripture reading is againfrom Matthew chapter 6, and we are finishing
the chapter, beginning at verse 25, reading through verse 34. Matthew
chapter 6 verse 25 through verse 34,
“Therefore I sayunto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat,
or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not
the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Beholdthe fowls of
the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet
your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto his stature?
And why take ye thought for raiment? Considerthe lilies of the field,
how they grow;they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you,
That even Solomonin all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass ofthe field, which to day is, and to
morrow is castinto the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of
little faith? Therefore be not anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What
shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these
things do the Gentiles seek)for your heavenly Father knoweththat ye

98. have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and
his righteousness;and all these things shall be added unto you. Be ye
therefore not anxious for tomorrow: for tomorrow shall be anxious
for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is its own evil.”
May God bless this reading from his word.
Our subject for this morning in continuation of the exposition of the Gospelof
Matthew is “The Infidelity of Anxiety.” Someone has calledour age the Age of
Anxiety. I think it’s an apt phrase. And the surprising thing about it is that it
is not only applicable to our adults, but also to our youth. It was rather
surprising for me to read, a few years ago, that a Gallup Poll was taken
among our youth, and the question that was askedthem is, “Whatis the basic
feeling that you have toward life?” And 60% of the young people had replied
in rather shocking and surprising unanimity: fear. That’s a very strange
answer, and especiallystrange from our youth: fear.
The Age of Anxiety. I think anyone who looks out over our societyand
examines the everyday feelings that the average personhas, must agree that a
greatdeal of fear is found in our society. Anxiety.
The word, anxiety, is an interesting word, and for those of you who are Latin
students, you may remember that lying back of our English word “anxiety” is
the word angustia, and usually found in the plural form of angustiae. It means
something like, “constrictedness,” “narrowness,”“contractedness.”The Latin
verb ungo means, sometimes, “to throttle,” “to choke,”and it is derived from
a Greek word, ungko, which means much the same thing.
Perhaps we’re most familiar with the expressionangina, and angina pectoris,
which, of course, is heart disease – a particular kind of heart disease – which
refers particularly to that kind of illness in which there are spasms of pain in
the chest, with feelings of suffocation, usually due to anemia of the heart
muscle.
Anxiety is the feeling of contractedness,ofconstriction, a kind of feeling in
which we getthe idea that we are being threatened. And so this feeling of

99. anxiety is this indefinite sense ofbeing threatened. And, strikingly – as most of
us know who have experienced anxiety – it is not so much the object that is
important, but the feeling itself. And often, the feeling so overshadows the
reasons forit, that it’s difficult for us to evenexplain the reasons forour
anxiety.
It’s probable that this fear or anxiety is not to be interpreted as a fear of
death. I do not think that our age is characterizedby a fear of death. Some of
you who may be interestedin this subject – the older you get, the more
interestedin it you become [laughter] – know that at the present time there is
an unusual interest in death, and in many cases, anapparently honestattempt
by many people to deal with the problems of death.
Many books have been written in the past few years on the subject of how to
deal with death, and written by men who are totally unbelievers, and some
women as well, so that I do think that our age is an age in which the fearof
death has become much more of a problem than it usually is. All men are
characterizedaccording to the Scriptures by fear of death, but we have seen
evidences in our societythat it is not so much a fear of death as a fear of life
that is a reasonfor our anxiety. The Buddhists in Vietnam who made
themselves living torches without any kind of Christian hope illustrate for us
the factthat men may not be fearful of the experience of death itself, even
though they do not have Christian faith.
I think it’s a striking thing, too, that in our age we do not have the sense of
spiritual reality that we used to have. One of the outstanding German
theologians, Helmut Tielicke, has said that in the case of Luther, “That
medieval monk was filled with the anxiety of guilt in the presence ofthe divine
judge, and this wrung from his lips the question, ‘How can I find a gracious
God?’” But today, it’s the fearof the appalling and unfathomable contentions
of life that grips men.
Now, of course, I would be very happy if our age were an age in which men
were gripped by the same thing with which Luther was gripped, because it is
of the greatestimportance that we realize that God is a judge, and that we all
face him someday. And the fact that Luther was so impressed with this fact

100. and so gripped with it, and so stirred by it, that he was brought to his
tremendous experience through seeking to find a gracious God, is itself
incentive, it seems, for everyone who does not have this fear to seek the
answerto the question, “How canI find a gracious God?”
But it’s shocking, to say the least, that people should be so disturbed in our
day by the lesserevils, the contingencies oflife. And so, it’s the fear of the
contingencies, the fear of the things of life, that have gripped our society,
which is perhaps insight into the shallownessofour thinking. I think this is
best caughtand most beautifully caught in one wise comment, “I’m not so
much afraid of the end of the world as I am the end of the month.” [Laughter]
All of us know that anxiety, but it’s a sad thing that that grips us more than
the factthat the time is coming when societyand life as we know it is going to
end, and men are going to be faced with the fact of a God who judges.
Now, amid the hopeless solutions of the world, there stands the Christian good
news. The Christian goodnews does not ignore the problem, nor does it deal
with it as science does, leading inevitably to the nihilism of a Jean-PaulSatre.
But it deals with it in the light of divine revelation, and in the divine revelation
– the goodnews of the GospelofJesus Christ – we have that which deals with
man’s guilt, and we have that which deals with man’s anxiety.
The Apostle Paul puts it very beautifully in speaking ofguilt, for he says, “By
him, Jesus Christ, all that believe are justified from all things from which he
could not be justified by the law of Moses. Thatbeautifully expresses the
answerto the problem of guilt. The problem of guilt is solvedin the death of
our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is there that he took our guilt, the took our
condemnation, and it is possible for everyone of us, sitting in this room to have
the sense offreedom from guilt and condemnation.
But then, having said that, the Bible so beautifully and particularly in the New
Testament– although this is not absent from the Old Testamentalso –
expresses the freedom that we have from anxiety in that little phrase which
occurs so often: “fearnot.” Fearnot; these are the words that deal specifically
with the question of anxiety, and they deal with the problem of the
contingencies oflife. Now this is the answerto the tranquilizers: fear not.

101. Well, let’s look at our text, and we notice first of all the problem, and the
principle that meets that problem, declaredin the 25th verse of Matthew
chapter 6. “Therefore”—now, in seeing the therefore, we immediately want to
look at the preceding context. The Greek text has something like, “On account
of this.” What is the Lord Jesus referring to when he says, “Forthis reason, I
say unto you”? Well, the immediately preceding verse has stated, “No man
can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he
will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.”
Now evidently the connectionlies with that little statement, we are either
slaves of God or we are the slaves of Mammon. These in the context here are
the two alternatives. You cannotserve God and Mammon. And if you’ll
remember the message lastSunday morning, I pointed out that this word,
serve, is a word that really means “slave,” andof course it would be
particularly meaningful in the time in which the Lord Jesus saidthis, for a
slave was the total property of his master. His master had total ownership.
And also with total ownership, total responsibility. And so in the light of the
fact that we are his slaves, ideally we are serving him. We are not serving
Mammon.
Well if we are his slaves, then we have no worries, because the responsibilities
are his. Therefore, I sayunto you, be not anxious for your life, for you are his
slave. He has total ownership, and in having total ownership, he has total
responsibility. So in the light of this relationship that we bear to him, why
should we be anxious? As a master cares forslaves, so our God will care for
us.
It’s not surprising, then, that in this passage, we should have three
occurrencesofthe expression, “be not anxious.” In the 25th verse, “Therefore
I say unto you, be not anxious.” In the 31stverse, “Therefore,be not anxious.”
And then, in the 34th verse, “Be therefore not anxious about tomorrow.” So in
the light of the fact that we are his slaves, “be not anxious.” Anxiety about the
contingencies oflife have no place in the life of a slave, whose responsibilities
are to his master.

102. This principle, I think, is related to what I have calledin the notes, what we
put in – that is, our labor. There are some people who have lookedatthis and
reasoned, in the light of it, that we should do nothing, absolutelynothing, that
even work is ruled out for the Christian. And as you know, in New Testament
times, the Apostle Paul had to write one or two exhortations with reference to
individuals who took very much the same viewpoint. Knowing that the Lord
had promised to take care of his saints completely, and that Jesus Christ was
sooncoming, they abandoned all work. And the Apostle had to exhort them to
work, and, further, warn them if they did not work, then they did not have
any right to their daily food and sustenance.
We are not to interpret these words, “Be not anxious; be not anxious four
your life,” as references thatare designedto tell us that we should not work.
The point is that we should not worry. Now, Godput Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden in the ideal circumstances and told them that they were to
work. They were to till that garden. And then, in afterwards he said, in your
work, you’re going to find it quite difficult, but the work remained the same.
We are, as God’s creation, expectedto work. That means all of us, even
preachers. Theyshould work, too.
So it’s not the work that the Lord Jesus is speaking against. It’s not foresight.
Christians ought to exercise foresight. It’s not foresightthat he’s attacking.
It’s the foreboding foresightthat he is attacking. He’s not talking about a
shiftless, thriftless, reckless,thoughtless, improvident attitude of life, as
someone has put it. He is saying that he must work, but in our work, we are
not to be anxious.
Then he speaksaboutwhat we put on. He says, “Be not anxious for your life,
what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall
put on. Is not the life more than food and the body than raiment?” What does
he mean by this? The lessonis very simple, it seems to me. Having given us
life, he surely will give us the lesserthing, the daily needs. Below the question
of needs is the question of life itself. The question of needs is that of a minor
matter in comparisonwith the question of the life itself. And, every one of you
is a man of faith in one respect:you must trust him for your life.

103. It’s been brought home to me so vividly, recently in the hospital. In fact, we
have a young man now, in his twenties, still in the hospital, and his life was
hanging by a thread. His heart actuallystopped beating four times a week
ago. You know, we canbe very anxious about the things we put on, about the
food that we eat, about the clothing; what we drink. But so far as the beating
of the heart is concerned, there isn’t anything we can do about it. We have to
trust God for that.
As a matter of fact, the Bible speaks ofGod as the God in whose hands thy
breath. You are not sure of drawing any breath exceptthe one you are
drawing right now, for the rest of them, you have to trust God. And so, you sit
before me as men and women of faith, even though it may be unwitting faith.
Now you see, the thing the Lord Jesus is saying is, why are you anxious for life
– what you’re eating, what you’re drinking, what you’re putting on – when
you must depend upon God for that which is the fundament thing: the life
itself; the body itself. So, if you must depend upon him for that, can he not be
depended upon for the other little things, the contingenciesoflife?
Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking if, those people to whom
our Lord was speaking had to live in the 20th Century, they’d discoverit was
not so easy, what with all of the things that we have to put up with. They
didn’t have Washington to contend with. No, they didn’t. They had Rome to
contend with, and I’d rather have Washington. And I’m willing to go on
record for that. [Laughter] I would rather contend with Washingtonthan
Rome, for eventhe simple man had to pay 40% of his income in taxes. And
there’s some of you in this audience who do not have to pay 40% of your
income in taxes. They had excessive taxation. They had all the problems that
we have plus, in addition, many other problems that we do not have. And yet,
the Lord Jesus’words are, “Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat,
what ye shall drink, or what you shall put on.”
Now, having stated the principle, he argues it. And, after all, you might expect
a preacherto have seven reasons. Ifhe doesn’t have sevenreasons, he’llhave
three. But sevenis better, because that’s the number of perfection, so we are
taught. So I want to, briefly, in the next ten or fifteen minutes, speak about

104. these sevenarguments in favor of this principle of trusting God that the Lord
Jesus offers.
Now the first one has already been statedin the 25th verse. It’s the argument
from the logic of creation. His greatgifts are inclusive of his little gifts, and if
he has given his life, if he has given us a body, he surely will give us all of the
smaller and lessergifts that go along with life and the body. To express it in
the words of the Apostle Paul, as he puts it in Romans chapter 8 and verse 32,
it is, “He that did not spare his ownSon but delivered him up for us all, how
shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” So if you see, if the Lord
Jesus has been given as our Savior, and as the sin sacrifice, the greatestgiftof
all – and through him we have life – shall not all the lessergifts be ours as
well?
This is one of the greatestofthe arguments for eternalsecurity. It’s one of the
greatestofthe arguments for the ministry of the Holy Spirit being given to the
saints. And it’s one of the greatestarguments for the definite atonementin the
word of God. He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not also freely give us all things? So if he gave us the Lord Jesus
to die for us, he surely will give us the Holy Spirit to bring us to faith in
Christ. He’s talking about the redeemed. He’s talking about the elect. He’s
talking about those who are the sons of a heavenly Father.
Now the secondargument is the argument from nature. “Beholdthe fowls of
the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gatherinto barns. Yet,
your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” This
is one of the evidences that our Lord Jesus was “country-bred” it has been
said.
Palestine was the crossroads ofbird migrations. And here in our Lord’s
language, there appears that which reflects his environment. And again, he
argues, from the less to the greater. Look at the fowls, they do not sow. They
do not reap. They do not gatherinto barns, yet your heavenly Fatherfeedeth
them. Are you not much better than they? Now as you can see, this is no
incentive to idleness. I do not know of any being in this universe who is more
active than the bird. Now if you have any sparrows around your house, they

105. are the closestthing to perpetual motion that I have ever observedin all my
life.
I know this is a sign of my age. Whenyou get old, you are interested in two
things: the garden and the birds. [Laughter] These are two definite
characteristicsofold age. Ask a young person about the birds. He doesn’t
know one bird from another. Birds are all birds to him. But ask an older
person. They not only know the birds. They know the differences, they know
their habits, they’ve been sitting out on the patio observing them. And, also,
they garden. Ask a young personabout plants – they don’t know anything
about plants – unless they’ve been brought up on the farm.
Now birds are constantlyactive. In the first place, they’re up long before I am.
When I get up, they’ve already been working a goodwhile. I remember
contending with the sparrows around my house when they wantedto build a
nest in a blind just opposite my desk. And all I had to do was to raise the
window and reachout and pull the blind to in order for their nests to fall to
the ground. This went on for a long time. And they were always up before I
was. When I came into the study, I could hear them. They were already there.
This was the struggle:Dr. Johnsonversus the whole sparrow population
[laughter], DartcrestAvenue – a road.
And, the birds, they’re constantlyengagedin activity. All that they do, it’s
amazing. I have been constantlyamazed at how they are just always active,
caring for their young, building their nests, teaching bird culture to the little
birds. And one thing you’ll notice about the birds is they’ll never sit on a limb
and open their mouth toward heaven expecting God or some unknown power
to drop a worm in their mouths. Always observing, always working.
Now the striking thing the Lord Jesus says here is that these birds, they have
no incentive to idleness, but they are a beautiful lessonto us of what God our
Father desires to do for us. For he adds, “Are not ye better than they?” We’re
much better in the sight of God, much more precious to him than the birds,
although not a one of them falls to the ground that our heavenly Father is
aware of. So the argument from nature, they work – they constantly work –

106. but the birds do not worry. They are not disturbed by the contingencies oflife.
They trust. It’s instinctive; but they do not worry.
Now the third argument is one from human inability: “Which of you by being
anxious can add one cubit unto his stature?” Stature is a word that may refer
to age, or it might refer to height. Now, I think it refers here to age. You
wouldn’t think of anyone who would be stupid enoughto think that by
worrying he could add eighteeninches to his height, for a cubit was about
eighteeninches (it was the distance from the end of the fingers to the elbow,
generallyspeaking). Now no one would think that by being anxious he could
add that much height – that’s ridiculous.
But it also had to do with age as a figure of increasedlife. The New
International Versionrenders this “a single hour.” Now we have an
interesting way of expressing things. We speak of our years as milestones. If a
person has a birthday, we sayhe’s past his tenth milestone, or his twentieth
milestone. Or when he reaches seventy, we sayhe has come to his seventieth
milestone. Now we mean by this that life is like a journey. Now suppose that
this is a reference to age, then, of course, whichof you by being anxious can
add eighteeninches to his age, or eighteeninches to his span of life? Well, if
you’ve traveled for seventy years, you’ve been down a rather lengthy road,
and the idea of adding eighteeninches is the idea of insignificance.
The facts are that we cannoteven add an insignificant cubit to our milestone
or to our journey through life. We’re unable to do this. That’s why we ought
to trust God. We are unable, as human beings, to do anything so simple as
that. We can worry ourselves to death, but we cannotworry ourselves to life.
The fourth argument is the argument from the flowers. And why are you
anxious for raiment? “Considerthe lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil
not, neither do they spin.” This last statement, incidentally, is the origin of the
statementthat a humorous Christian made about “lily Christians.” He said,
the church is full of lily-Christians. Someone said, “Whatdo you mean, lily-
Christians?” He said, they toil not, neither do they spin. There are many of us
in the church of Jesus Christwho are not involved at all – lily Christians – but
that isn’t really the point of this.

107. The lilies here were the scarletpoppies and the anemones, and they had a very
brief life in Palestine, very much like our day lilies. They bloom for a day, and
then they are gone. Now in their brief life, the Lord Jesus says, “Theyoutshine
Solomon.” But they are temporal, and we are eternal. And furthermore, God
decks them with beautiful attire. And will not the God who decks the scarlet
poppy with beautiful attire do not as much for those who are his eternal sons?
Will he give us ordinary garments, when he bestows upon the flowergarments
that surpass Solomonin all of his glory? They are the plebians of his universe,
and we are the aristocrats ofhis universe. And surely, if you look at the
flowers and see whathe has done for them, you can expectthat he will do a
greatdeal more for those who belong to him in this personalway in which we
do. I think now I can understand how the Lord Jesus will say, in just a
moment, “O ye of little faith.”
The fifth argument is the argument from the Gentiles. Strange for us to think
of an argument from the Gentiles, but you must remember that the Sermon
on the Mount was addressed, primarily to Jewishbelievers, and the Gentiles
were those who did not have the revelationof God for the most part. And the
Gentiles, therefore, became almostsynonymous with unbelievers, though
Gentiles could be believers, of course
The lessonfrom nature is over, and now we have the lessonfrom revelation.
Worry about the future is at bottom, heathen, worldly-mindedness. So, he
says, in verse 31, “Be not anxious, therefore be not anxious, saying, What shall
we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithalshall we be clothed? (For
after all these things do the Gentiles seek),”and it’s my observationthat the
Gentiles are still seeking these things.
Now you cansee this in two ways. You can see it in some of the more favored
Gentiles heaping up for themselves greattreasures upon the earth. We’ve seen
the climatic illustration of it in a Howard Hughes, who at the end of his days
was totally unable to control himself or his possessions,and had to leave them
behind. So, we heap up treasures upon the earth. Now that’s one way in which
the Lord Jesus’words are to be applied. They apply to the rich. They apply to

108. those who have spent their whole life in heaping up treasures upon the earth,
which at one time and sometime, soon, they’ll have to leave.
But there’re others. They are the poor, the poor who do not have this. And
because they do not have it, they, too, are anxious, anxious for what is going to
happen to them. Suppose that trouble becomes before I reach65, and
Medicare does not apply to me. Suppose all of these other things may happen
to me. And so the rich illustrate their unbelief by piling up great riches upon
the earth, and the poor illustrate their anxious care by worrying over the fact
that they don’t have it. Be not as the Gentiles.
The characteristicsofthe Gentiles pervade the church of Jesus Christ today.
We are not really convinced that Godis adequate. We’re not really convinced
of it. All of our anxieties are cribbed, cabined and confined, to borrow an
expressionto the visible. But the Gentiles don’t have any Father. It’s no
wonder that the Gentiles do what they do. They don’t have a heavenly Father.
The kinds of gods the Gentiles had in these days were gods that made anyone
afraid. Their gods were the gods who lied, the gods who cheated, the gods who
lusted. Readthe stories of the gods of the Gentiles. They were men like you
and I are men, exceptthey were generally worse. Theymurdered. They stole.
They schemed. I said they lusted. They lied. They cheated. It’s no wonder that
the Gentiles were fearful of their gods and had no hope in their gods. They
worshipped them out of fear. They worshipped them out of anxiety. They
were afraid of them.
Go today to the back parts of this universe of which we are apart, and you’ll
still find some individuals who have this same attitude toward their gods. But
the Lord Jesus says we have a heavenly Father – a heavenly Father, think of it
– and yet, we’re anxious.
The sixth argument is the argument from the family tie. In the latter part of
the 32nd verse, “Foryour heavenly Fatherknoweth that ye have need of all
these things.” Think of it, a foreseeing, almightyFather, who is able to do
exceedingly, abundantly, above what we ask or think, who knows aheadof
time what our needs are, and has all the powerwithin his power to meet every
one of them.

109. It’s very striking to observe the differences betweenthe memorials of the
Christians and the pagans, in their epitaphs of the early centuries. Among the
paganepitaphs, we have things like this: “To the unrighteous gods who
robbed me of my life;” “Our hope was in our boy, not all is ashes and
lamentation;” “I, Procepei, lift up my hands againstthe gods who took me
undeserving.” The epitaphs of the Gentiles.
But then go into the catacombs and read the epitaphs of the Christians:
“Tarentiana lives;” “Agape, thou shalt live forever;” “Marcus, innocentboy,
thou art now among the innocent.” That’s all the difference in the world. The
gods took me undeserving; Tarentiana lives.
Matthias Caludias was the greatGerman consoler, and he had written, “He
who will not believe in Christ must see to it how he will get along without him.
As for you and me, we cannot. We need someone who will lift and hold us up
when we are alive, and who will lay his hand beneathour head when we die.
And this we can do abundantly, according to what is written about him, and
we know of nobody who we’d rather have do it.”
The final argument is the argument from the day’s sufficiency. And here he
turns from revelation to Providence. Worry may be defeated by living one day
at a time. Tomorrow’s anxieties are enough for tomorrow. Do not double
them by anticipating them.
Now this raises the question of the prayer of trust. It really raises the question
of Philippians chapter 4 verses 6 and 7. That beautiful text of the Apostle Paul
reads like this, “Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made knownto God. And
the peace whichpasses understanding shall keepyour hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.”
You’ll notice the Lord Jesus doesn’tfollow the methodologyof modern
psychology. Now let me make a very guarded statement. There are benefits
from modern psychology. There is no question about that. But at the same
time, for a Christian, modern psychologyis one of the most deceptive
disciplines that exists today. Modern psychologyis responsible for a greatdeal

110. of the lack of trust that exists in Christians. Now, I’m referring to those who
have become enamoredof modern psychology.
Modern psychologyis, essentially, a discipline that leads to trust in humanity
rather than in God. I do not deny that there have been some interesting and
some worthwhile things that have come to our attention through modern
psychology. But modern psychologyis a very dangerous discipline for
Christians who do not understand its true nature.
Now having saidthat, I want you to notice the Lord Jesus does not say, “Stop
worrying; pull yourself together.” In the first place, that’s useless, becauseit’s
impossible. We cannot stop worrying. That’s the very thing about worrying
that we cannot handle because worrying is the activity of the mind and the
heart that we cannot control. And furthermore, that’s bad modern
psychology. That would be repression. The Lord Jesus does notsay, “Stop
worrying; it may never happen.” That’s popular psychology. I’ve even seen
that among Christians. No need to worry about that because it may not
happen, after all, it’s only something that you have in your mind, and why
worry about something that may not happen. That’s of no help whatsoeverto
me. Do you know why? Becauseit may happen. [Laughter] It may. That’s
popular psychology:don’t worry about it, because it may not happen. But it
may. As a matter of fact, it’s biblical to saythat it may. In fact, it does happen.
Job said, “Forthe thing which I greatly feared is come upon me.” It came.
There’s an anecdote I read just yesterday. It said, if you worry, always do
your worrying in advance, otherwise youwill miss most of your chances.
[Laughter] Well that’s humorous, but it’s not right. There’s a sense in which
many things that we don’t worry about come to pass, but there’s a sense in
which some of them do – and that’s the thing that disturbs me. Some of them
do.
What’s the Christian method? Why, the Christian method is take them to the
Lord. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication by
Thanksgiving let your requests be made knownunto God. And the peace of
God which passethall understanding shall keep your minds and hearts
through Christ Jesus. Yousee, the greatpromise of the word of God is that we

111. cannot controlour minds and our hearts and those thoughts that grip us in
our anxiety, but God can! That’s the truth of the word of God. He can do it.
And not only that, but as they are brought to him, he will do it—shall keep
your minds and hearts.
The Psalmistsaid, “I laid down and slept”—allofus canlay down with sleep,
but that’s another matter; he said, “I laid down and slept, for the Lord
sustainedme.” It is the answerto the tranquilizers.
SatchelPaige was one of the greatpitchers in baseballof about twenty years
ago—infact, for about thirty or forty years. He was one of the really, truly
greatpitchers but unable to pitch in the big leagues, andsome of you may
remember that finally Mr. Paige made the big leagues whenhe was really past
his prime, and he was still pretty good. He has a little philosophy of life – he
still goes aroundpushing baseball – and he gives eachboy that comes to him
his card, and on the back are his rules for a happy life. They are, number one,
avoid fried meats which angry up the blood. Two, if your stomachdisputes
you, lie down and pacify it with coolthoughts. Three, keepthe juices flowing
by jangling around gently as you move. Some of us have no problem with
that; we don’t jog, we jiggle [laughter]. Go very light on vices such as carrying
on in society;the socialramble ain’t restful. Avoid running at all times. And
finally, don’t look back, something may be gaining on you. [Laughter]
The answers to worry according to Scripture are this simple matter of taking
things to a sovereignGod, and counting upon him to meet all of our needs in
his ownsovereignpower. And I want you to especiallyremember this, that he
does do it! It’s not a question of making him do it, of doing something so he
will do it. But he does it, as these are brought to him.
Some of us geta little magazine and last week there was a note in it about
Oral Roberts and healing. Someone askedMr. Roberts, “Why is it that not
everyone is healed in your healing meetings?” He said, “Well, sometimes God
acts sovereignly.” [Laughter] Well, the glory of the Christian gospelis that he
always acts sovereignly, and he does his will.
The Lord Jesus restatesthe principle in verse 33. And may I sum up by saying
simply this, that worry is needless. It’s blind. It refuses the lessons oflife. It’s

112. wicked. It does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but it does empty today of
its strength. The secretoftranquility is trust. There is an old Christian cliché:
When we’re worrying, we’re not trusting; when we’re trusting, we’re not
worrying. And that’s generally true.
I think that if we were to look at the whole matter and finally come down to
the greatestillustrationof all, it would be the illustration of our Lord Jesus
Christ. There is no one who more beautifully illustrates the tranquility of trust
than the Lord Jesus. Throughoutall of his life – and he most beautifully
illustrates it in the last moments when hanging on the cross – in the midst of
the greatestdesolationand dereliction, he cries out, “My God, my God, why
hast Thou forsakenme?”
Now you’ll notice that he took his anxieties to the Lord. He didn’t throw them
out to the Gentiles and ask for an explanation from them. As a matter of fact,
he reachedback into the Old Testament, took a text from Psalm22, “My God
my God, why hast Thou forsakenme?” took that petition from the word of
God itself and offeredit to his Father in heaven. And in the midst of this
greatestdesolationand dereliction, his trust is unwavering. It is my God, my
God, why has Thou forsakenme? He let his requests be made known unto
God, and the answers came. In a moment he says, it is finished.
So, we need not look into the future as if it were a befoggedlandscape. It’s a
landscape markedout by a loving heavenly Father who cares forall of his
sons. And he who possessedthe lasthour no longerneeds to fear the next
minute. May God help us to be delivered from the guilt of sin, but the
anxieties of sin as well. Shall we stand for the benediction?
[Prayer] We are grateful to Thee, Lord, for the greatpromises of the word of
God. We thank Thee for the exhortations of the Lord Jesus, groundedas they
are in divine redemption and the possessionof a heavenly Father.
And Lord, if there is someone here who does not know this heavenly Father,
give them no rest nor peace. Give them all anxiety until they rest in him.
For Jesus’sake. Amen.

113. SERMON:A Sermon for the Ages:The Utter Foolishness ofWorry
SCRIPTURE:Matthew 6:25-34 SPEAKER:MichaelP. Andrus DATE:
March 25, 2007
Today I want to speak aboutone of the most useless, debilitating, and
destructive habits a person can possibly engage in, yet one that is so common
that I suspectscoresin my audience are doing it right this very moment. In
fact, I suspecta few are so involved in doing it that they haven’t even heard a
word I’ve said so far.
I’m talking about worry. Not concern, not responsibility, not thoughtful
analysis, not industriousness, but worry. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus
delivers a categoricalprohibition to worry, as four different times He tells us,
“Don’t do it.” But what stands out to me in this passageatthe end of Matthew
6 is the logical, water-tightreasoning He gives as to why we shouldn’t worry.
Will you listen carefully to words of Jesus, as found in Matthew 6:25-34:
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink;
or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food,
and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they
do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying
can add a single hour to his life. "And why do you worry about clothes? See
how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that
not even Solomonin all his splendor was dressedlike one of these. If that is
how God clothes the grass ofthe field, which is here today and tomorrow is
thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?'or 'What shall we drink?' or
'What shall we wear?'Forthe pagans run after all these things, and your
heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his

114. righteousness, andall these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do
not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Eachday
has enoughtrouble of its own.”
The Dallas Morning News quotedMickeyRivers, who used to play baseball
for the Yankees and the Texas Rangers, with this profound advice:Ain’t no
sense worrying about things you got controlover, because if you gotcontrol
over them, ain’t no sense worrying. And there ain’t no sense worrying about
things you got no control over either, because if you gotno control over them,
ain’t no sense worrying. Now frankly, I can’t figure out if the way he put that
is profound or silly, but it seems to me to capture the essenceofwhat Jesus is
saying to us.
Sadly, the indisputable fact is that worry is an almost universal tendency of
the human race, and some people are clearlyaddicted to it. They worry about
everything, and if they can’t find something to worry about, they worry about
that, because something bad must be just around the corner! Unfortunately,
worry is one of those addictions that is treated as acceptable in our
2
Christian culture, probably because it is so common–like pride and jealousy
and gossip. You canbe a worry wort and still teacha Bible class, orlead
worship, or even preach. Nevertheless God’s Wordclearly tells us that worry
is unreasonable, unnecessary, unrewarding, unfaithful, ungodly, unwise, and,
if we’re going to be perfectly honest, it canbe downright sinful.

115. Therefore, I think we need to give careful attention to what our Saviorhas to
say about worry. And as we do so, it is my prayerful hope that every one of us
might make a consciouseffortto appropriate the victory over worry that is
available to us. And I pray that some who are addicted to worry might begin
the road to recovery–eventoday.
I see here in this passage sixreasons Jesus offers as to why we should not
worry.
1. Worry is unreasonable because it makes mountains out of molehills. (25)
Jesus addressesthree issues that were common worry generators in His day:
food, drink, and clothing. I suspectHe was talking primarily to poor people–
those who often did not know where their next meal was coming from, who
had to give a gooddeal of forethought to acquiring waterand storing it, and
who had little excessclothing.
Now let’s face it, there’s probably no one here this morning who has reasonto
worry about where his or her next meal is coming from, or water for a
shower, or clothes. But isn’t it interesting that even those who have plenty of
food, drink, and clothes still worry about these same things–only in different
ways.
Let me take clothes, for example. Has any woman here ever stoodbefore a
walk-in closetwith literally dozens of dresses, skirts, slacks, sweaters,and
shoes and said, “I can’t find anything to wear”? Be honestnow! Listen to how
Jesus talks to us about these kinds of worries:“Do not worry about your life,
what you will eator drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life
more important than food?”

116. Life is more important than what we eat or drink. Let me try to prove that to
you. Talk to someone who has recently lost a family member, especiallyif the
one who died is a child. If you ask them how much time they’ve spent recently
thinking about food or drink or clothes, I canalmost guarantee they would
say, “That stuff doesn’tmean anything to me now. If I could have my
daughter back, I’d give up everything I ownand eat bread and waterfor the
rest of my life!”
That’s what Jesus means when He says, “Life is more important than what we
eat or drink.” Death helps us get our priorities straightand stop elevating
mundane issues to critical status. It helps us to quit making mountains out of
molehills.
The body is more important than what we put on it. We give so much
attention to our bodies. John MacArthur writes, We pamper the body,
decorate it, exercise it, protectit from disease and pain,
3
build it up, slender it down, drape it with jewelry, keepit warm or keepit
cool, train it to work and to play, help it getto sleep, and a hundred other
things to serve and satisfyour bodies.i But it’s only when the body itself quits
functioning that we fully realize what’s really important. Talk to someone
with Parkinson’s DiseaseorMS. Ask how important fancy clothes are when
he or she has to fight to even make their limbs do what their minds tell them.

117. Or think back to your last visit to the hospital for surgery. They put this
ridiculous hospital garment on you–something you would never be caught
dead in anywhere else. But you put up with it. Why? Becauseyou know your
health is more important than how you look. Don’t sweatthe small stuff, Jesus
says. Stop worrying about insignificant things and give attention to what
really matters, like life and goodhealth.
2. Worry is unnecessarybecause Godis our Father. (26)
Here is Jesus’argument in a nutshell:
God takes care ofthe birds. And we His children are much more valuable
than birds.
He says in verse 26, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or
store awayin barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” I want you to
look at some birds on the screen. Notone of these birds is driving a tractor or
a combine. People do that, but birds don’t. Not one of these birds warehouses
worms for the winter months. People do that, but birds don’t. Yet just
because birds don’t plant or harvest or store up food doesn’t mean they go
hungry. Why? BecauseGodfeeds them.
By the way, how does God feed birds? Does He drop worms into their nests?
Does He catchfish and lay them out on the beach for the seagulls? Does He
put sacksofbirdseed out in the forest? No, Godfeeds them by giving them the
instinct and the ability to find food and to participate in the greatprocess He
Himself setup, which we call the food chain. But they do not worry about
where their next meal is going to come from.

118. Please don’t learn the wrong lessonhere. Jesus is not telling us to live like
birds, exceptin regardto worry. He is not suggesting thatwe quit planting
crops, harvesting, and storing food in barns. Those are the means God has
provided for us humans to feed ourselves. Jesus is not forbidding thought, or
even forethought; He is only forbidding anxious thought. He is telling us that
we don’t need to fret and stew and worry about the necessitiesoflife, because
the same Fatherthat enables birds to survive in their surroundings and with
their instincts will provide for us in ours. In fact, we canbe even more sure
that God will take care of us than we are that He will take care of the birds.
Why? Because we His children are much more valuable than birds.
The leading radicals in the animal rights movement of our day tell us that
animals are equal to humans in value. For example, the editors of The Great
Ape Projectwrite, “We demand the
4
extensionof the community of equals to include all greatapes: human beings,
chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.” Theyare actually lobbying the
United Nations to pass a DeclarationonGreatApes to guarantee apes the
right to life, liberty, and the freedom from torture. But their concernis not
just for the apes. Karen Davis in a recent WashingtonPostinterview
compared the slaughterof chickens by KFC to the Holocaust. She described
poultry farms as “huge prison camps,” where chickens are humiliated,
tortured, and murdered.ii
Now I am an animal lover and I believe animals are a wonderful part of God’s
creation. Mankind has a responsibility to treat all of God’s creationwith care
and dignity. We are supposed to be stewards of the animal kingdom.I’m

119. convinced there will be a wealthof animal life in heaven. To me all this means
that animal cruelty is evil and absolutelyinexcusable. I don’t even hunt or
fish (which is a personal preference of mine, not something I expectof others).
But as valuable as animals are, and as valuable as birds are, they are not as
valuable as human beings. Why do I say that? Because Jesus says so:“Are
you not much more valuable than they?” We have a heavenly Father, but the
animals don’t. Did you notice Jesus’words:“Your heavenly Father feeds
them,” not “their heavenly Father feeds them.” They have a Creator, but we
have a Father. Therefore, if Godtakes care of the animals, and if we are much
more valuable than they, won’t He take care of us? Worry is unnecessary.
Have you heard the little children’s poem? Said the robin to the sparrow: “I
should really like to 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 cares for you and me.” Of course, the
sparrow had it all wrong; we’re the ones with the heavenly Fatherwho cares,
so let’s act like it and quit worrying.
3. Worry is unrewarding (or unproductive) because it can’t make anything
better. (27)
Extending life is an absolute obsessionto many in our culture. People exercise,
eat only health food, supplement their diets with vitamins and minerals, get
regular physical checkups, and do countless other things they believe may add
to their life spans. Some, like Ted Williams, are even having their bodies
frozen in liquid nitrogen, hoping that a cure for what killed them will one day
be discoveredso they can be resuscitated.

120. But Jesus asks, “Who ofyou by worrying canadd a single hour to his life?”
On the contrary, you cantake years off your life by worrying. Dr. Charles
Mayo of Mayo Clinic fame, wrote, “Worry affects the circulation, the heart,
the glands and the whole nervous system. I have never met a man or known a
man to die of overwork, but I have knowna lot who died of worry.”iii Worry
is
5
unrewarding and unproductive.
4. Worry is unfaithful because it doubts God’s character. (28-30)
Jesus has used the birds of the air to illustrate the fact that worry is
unnecessary. Now He uses the lilies to illustrate that we are actually faithless
when we worry. Jesus probably isn’t talking about Easterlilies. The Greek
word used here implies flowers of a wide variety. Look at the flowers on the
screen. How did they getso beautiful? They didn’t work at it. They didn’t
shop for prettier petals.
God dresses the flowers;He designedthem; He gave them their color;He
thought up their shape. And when you get right down to it, you have to admit
that He did a pretty goodjob. Here’s Jesus’reasoning:
Flowers dress betterthan kings. Yet they are temporal while we are eternal.

121. He puts it this way: “I tell you that not even Solomonin all his splendor was
dressedlike one of these.” Nothing manmade can ever rival what God has
made. I enjoyed seeing HooverDam severalyears ago;it’s amazing. But does
it hold a candle to the Grand Canyon? Not on your life! Have you seenthe
Eiffel Towerin Paris? It’s an amazing structure, but it’s nothing comparedto
the FrenchAlps. When God dresses nature, He does it up right! Now here’s
the point, in Jesus’ownwords: “If that is how God clothes the grass ofthe
field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not
much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
Flowers are like grass in that they are temporary. Mostlast a few days, some a
few weeks, and some even a few months. I think we still have a poinsettia from
Christmas, but it’s on its last legs. We, however, are eternal! We not only last
for days, or weeks, ormonths, or even years;we last forever. Why do we
worry, then, about such things as clothes?
Now I admit, just before Easteris probably a bad time to talk about the sin of
worrying about clothes. Some ofyou ladies will soonbe out shopping for a
new Easterdress. That’s OK–you will only add to the beauty of the day. I’m
not in any waycriticizing you–unless, of course, you spend your whole week
stewing about it, or unless your entire Easteris ruined when anotherwoman
across the aisle shows up in the same dress.
The point of the illustration about the flowers is that when we worry we
demonstrate a lack of faith in God. One writer put it this way: “You believe
that God canredeem you, save you from sin, break the shackles ofSatan, take
you to heaven where He has prepared a place for you, and keepyou for all
eternity, and yet you do not trust Him to supply your daily needs?”

122. 5. Worry is ungodly because it mimics pagans and ignores God’s providence.
(31, 32)
For the third time Jesus says, “Do not worry.” Look at verse 31:“So do not
worry, saying, ‘What
6
shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’Forthe
pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you
need them.” Let me clarify what Jesus means by “pagans” here. He’s not
talking about witch doctors in the jungle or idol worshipers in Asia; he’s using
the term “pagans”to simply refer to people who are not God-worshipers–
unbelievers, if you will. If you were not a God-worshiper, that is, if you didn’t
have a heavenly Father big enough to help you and small enough to care, then
worry would be natural and quite understandable.
Unbelievers look at the birds and flowers we saw a few moments ago and
comment on the wonders that evolution has produced! I feelsorry for them.
Phil Yancey wrote of the atheist, “It is a terrible thing to be grateful and have
no one to thank–to be awedand have no one to worship.”iv But we have a
Father to thank and to worship, and what a God He is! He knows what we
need before we do. The implication is, of course, that we can trust that His
knowledge willbe translatedinto provision. Let me ask a simple question: Do
you really think we as Christians worry any less than atheists? If not, isn’t
that a sadcommentary on the level of our faith?
6. Worry is unwise because it overloads our circuits. (34)

123. I’m going to come back to verse 33, because it’s really the key to the whole
passage, but look at the last verse in the chapter: “Therefore, do not worry
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Eachday has enough
trouble of its own.” Of course, mostof our worry and anxiety is about
tomorrow. We don’t worry about the past, though we may regretsome things
about it. We don’t worry about the present, because we’re dealing with it. We
worry about what we expect to happen tomorrow. But how much sense does
that make? Mostworries never materialize. John Stott observes wiselythat
worrying about trouble doubles it: “Forif our fear does not materialize, we
have worried once for nothing; if it does materialize, we have worried twice
instead of once. In both casesit is foolish: worry doubles trouble.”v
What worrying about tomorrow does is to overloadour circuits and cause
emotional meltdown, even spiritual depression. Justthink for a moment about
the kinds of things we worry about besides the necessitiesJesusspeaksof–
food, drink and clothes. Whatdo adults worry about? The stock market
Terrorism Jobsecurity The weatherHealth, particularly as we get older Our
kids Our elderly parents Now what possible gooddoes it do to worry about
the weather? Whatcan you do about it? Why worry about the stock market?
My experience is that if you buy a stock it’s going to go down and if you sell it,
it’s going to go up, so why worry about it?
What do children worry about? I askedone of our children’s workers that
question, and here are some of the things she hears from our children:
7

124. Will God still love me when I’m bad? Will my mom and dad get divorced
after that argument last night? How canI be safe from the bully at school? Do
other kids think I look ugly? Am I smart enough to meet my parents’
expectations?
What do teens worry about? One of our youth staff provided this list: School
and grades AppearanceDatingGetting a job, making moneyRelationshipwith
parents
Now if I were to summarize and categorize these issuesthat generate worry, I
think I would do it this way: Life and health Safetyand protectionSecurity
and significance Value and worth Relationships
Friends, please understand that not one of these issues is helped by worry!
Actually all of them are important, all deserve considerationand careful
thought. But none is aided by anxiety or worry, and if we’re not careful they
will overloadour circuits. If there are new troubles tomorrow, there will be
fresh grace to handle them.
Conclusion:In conclusionI want us to zero in on the heart of the matter: Seek
first God’s kingdom and righteousness. (33)The key verse of our passageis
verse 33: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.” I want to ask three simple questions about
this incredibly profound verse:How important is it to seek God’s kingdom
and righteousness?How do we do it? What are the promised results?
How important is it to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness? Jesus says to
do it “first.” That doesn’t merely refer to chronologybut also to priority. Of
all the things we have to do, seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness is of

125. first importance. Before we plant, harvest, store, or prepare our food, we
should seek God’s kingdomand righteousness. Beforewe go shopping for a
new wardrobe, we should seek God’s kingdom and righteousness. Before we
invest in the stock marketor seek medicalhelp or try to find a new job, we
should seek God’s kingdomand righteousness.
How do we do it? Seeking God’s kingdomand righteousness means, first of
all, making sure we are citizens in His Kingdom. Notevery human being is,
you know. God is our Father but not everyone is His child. Jesus Himself said
that some (even some religious people) have the Devil as their father and are
part of Satan’s Kingdom, not God’s Kingdom. Well, how do you geta
passportto God’s Kingdom? The Bible says we must humble ourselves,
repent, believe in
8
Jesus and be born again. Here’s how the Scripture states it very succinctly–
“Believe onthe Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!”
Once you know you’re a citizen, seeking His kingdom is tantamount to
honoring and obeying the King. You see, we not only need to seek God’s
Kingdom but also His righteousness. He expects obedience from us; He
expects us to keepthe GreatCommandment: “You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and your neighbor
as yourself.” He expects us to keepthe GreatCommission:“Go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Fatherand of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you.” We don’t earn salvationby keeping these commandments,
but we demonstrate our relationship with Him by keeping them.

126. We also seek His kingdom and righteousness whenwe pursue intimacy with
the King through prayer and Bible Study and meditation and fellowship.
What are the promised results when we seek first God’s kingdom and
righteousness?In other words, when Jesus says, “Seekfirst his kingdom and
his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well,” what
“things” is he talking about? Well, it seems to me He must be talking about
the things He has just mentioned–food, drink, clothes. I think that’s also true
of the other things we so often worry about: Life and health Safety and
protection Security and significance Value and worth Relationships
But is this promise an iron-clad guarantee–thatif we seek Godwe will enjoy
long life and goodhealth? Is Jesus saying that if you seek Godfirst, no
terrorist can strike your family, your stock picks are all going to be winners,
and you will never have cancer? No, forthere are many other Scriptures that
make it clearthrough both example and teaching that we live in a fallen
world. Furthermore, God uses tragedy and illness and even poverty at times
to teachus things we might never learn otherwise. Rememberwhat Jesus said
about the sparrows? “Notone of them will fall to the ground without your
Father’s will.” But sparrows do fall to the ground and get killed. His promise
was not that they would not fall, but that this would not happen without God’s
knowledge and consent.
So also for God’s children. Our freedom from anxiety is not due to some
guarantee that we will not experience trouble or tragedy, but rather due to the
confidence we have that God is our loving Father and will treat us lovingly as
His children. ___________

127. i. John MacArthur, Matthew 1-7, 421.
9
ii. Charles Colson, Breakpoint#91201, December1, 1999.
iii. MacArthur, 423.
iv. Phil Yancey, Open Windows
v. John R. W. Stott, Christian Counter-Culture, 169.
DAVID LEGGE
Now we're turning againthis morning to Matthew's gospelchapter6, and we
have been going through studies now for some time in the Sermon on the
Mount. We're on study number 17, and God willing we may finish the chapter
today. We're looking at the subject 'Don't Worry'. Now, I have quite a heavy
cold and I hope to getthrough this OK - maybe Lawrence will bail me out if I
don't get through it all, but please do bear with the coughs and splutters
throughout the sermon, and hopefully the Lord will have something to say to
your heart.
We tend to think of worry as a small thing, a weakness in our character, a
slight personality defect that we cannothelp
Verse 25, we'll read verse 24: "No man canserve two masters:for either he
will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannotserve God and mammon. Therefore I sayunto

128. you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;
nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat,
and the body than raiment? Beholdthe fowls of the air: for they sow not,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth
them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can
add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment?
Considerthe lilies of the field, how they grow;they toil not, neither do they
spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomonin all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass ofthe field,
which to day is, and to morrow is castinto the oven, shall he not much more
clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall
we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithalshall we be clothed? (For
after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)for your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and
his righteousness;and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore
no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things
of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof".
I doubt whether or not you have ever seena gravestone withthe epitaph 'Died
from worry' on it, but the fact of the matter is it could be written on many of
the gravestonesthatwe have in our land and in our world. Doctors never
ceaseto tell us today that many of the illnesses that we have with us are
directly, not just the symptom, but are directly relatedto the problem of
anxiety, the problem of fear and the problem of worry. Now we're all guilty of
this sin. Indeed, most of us worry sometimes, some of us worry a lot of the
time, and there's a small elite group of worriers who worry all the time. There
is even a group of people who worry so much that when they run out of
something to worry about they worry about that! They have in their mind a
reserve list of things to worry about, and if on occasion during the day they
find that they're not worrying, they're not chewing something over, there's
not something gnawing at their soul, they will just recallfrom their
subconscious this list of things to worry about, and start from the top and go
down them all.
The first thing, and probably the most fundamental thing, that I want to leave
with you today: our Lord is teaching us the wickednessofworry

129. I'm sure that all of you find yourself in one of those categories today. The
thing that we realise and face day-by-day in our world is that worry, stress,
and nervous anxiety perhaps could be labelled 'public enemy number one'.
Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are not immune from this problem. We've
been looking in recent weeksathow the Sermon on the Mount is given to the
Lord's children, to His disciples, to Christians. In that light, therefore, we
must take the exhortation of the Lord and realise that we can be prone to
worry. The NationalAnxiety Centre in Maplewood, New Jerseyin the United
States gives a list of the top ten anxieties from the 1990s. Number one was
AIDS; number two drug abuse; number three nuclear waste;number four the
ozone layer, five famine; six homelessness;seventhe national economic
deficit; eight air pollution; nine waterpollution; and ten rubbish.
If you go down all ten of those top ten things to worry about in our world, you
will find that all of them can generallyand broadly be categorisedunder the
Lord's definition of the things that humanity generallyworries about. Eating,
drinking, and putting on. They're worried about their life, they're worried
about things that will encroachupon their life - whether it be illness to snatch
awaytheir life, or whether it be simply their welfare, looking afterthemselves
by putting things upon them. The Lord in verse 25, after our study last week
on treasures, building up your treasures in heaven, the Lord comes as a
parentheses in verse 25 and says:'Therefore, if you are laying up treasures in
heaven, as I have taught you to do, and not on earth - if your heart is in
heaven and not on earth; if you're living for heaven and not the earth; if
you're single-sightedand not double-minded and unstable in all your ways;if
you're only serving one Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, and not the
personificationof avarice and greedand materialism which is mammon - if
you are doing this you will have no need to worry'.
We tend to think of worry as a small thing, a weakness in our character, a
slight personality defect that we cannothelp. You often hear people say:'Ach,
I'm a realworrier, but that's just me, that's just the way I am'. Friends, we
need to realise that in the context of where we find worry, the subjectand the
theme, in the Sermon on the Mount would lead us to believe that worry can be
the beginning of serving mammon. Worry canbe the seedof following
another god that is giving the Almighty God competition. You may think that

130. to serve mammon is just to be rich, perhaps you think that a successful
businessmanis in dangerof serving mammon - but the fact is, the Lord is
saying it canstart from this anxiousness overthe smallestthings in our life,
basic things like eating and drinking and what we're going to put on. That's
the first thing, and probably the most fundamental thing, that I want to leave
with you today: our Lord is teaching us the wickednessofworry.
Now, of course it's unnatural for us not to be concernedaboutthese things.
You might say: 'Well, who doesn't worry?', that's like saying 'Who isn't a
sinner?'. But the fact of the matter is, these basic things in life, we do worry
about them: eating and drinking and what we will put on - and the reasonis
there's a demand for these things in life. If you look at verse 26 you will see
that the Lord puts them down in order of importance. He starts off with
eating, we need to eatto live. He talks about drinking, we need to drink to
keepbody and soul together. Then He goes down, and of less importance there
is clothing. The Lord is saying: 'Life needs these things', and you and I both
know that, but yet the Lord comes in with this conclusion - and this is the crux
of the matter - is the life not more than food, is the life not more than drink, is
the life not more than clothes?
Now listen to me today: worry is not weakness, worryis wickedness!Why is
it?
The Greek wordfor 'life' here is the very word 'soul'. Out of the soul, our
personality, our intellect, our emotion, our volition, our will, comes that
desire. We know we need to eat, we have an appetite to eat, so we go and eat.
It's the same with drinking, it's the same with keeping ourselves warm and
protectedwith clothing. Yet the Lord says that out of what may be an
innocent human appetite, and basic demand and need, you canworship
another god! Sin can come out of the most basic things in our life. Now listen
to me today: worry is not weakness, worryis wickedness!Why is it? Turn
with me to Psalm78 for a moment, this Psalm is the historicaltrail of the
Israelite's pilgrimage through the wilderness and indeed their many sins
againstGod. It's a little cameo of their whole history, and we break into verse
19 in the wilderness - and remember that they were being fed from heavenby
the manna, but yet: "They spake againstGod;they said, Can God furnish a

131. table in the wilderness?",verse 20, "Behold, he smote the rock, that the
waters gushedout, and the streams overflowed;can he give bread also? Can
he provide flesh for his people?".
Whenever we say, as the children of God, 'Can God? Will God? Is God able?',
that is unbelief! My friend, worry - worry - is unbelief. 'Can God do this for
me? Can God getme out of this situation?' - anyone who worries, myself
included, reveals within himself his own unbelief in God. Remember that this
whole Sermon on the Mount is specificallydealing with the theme of
hypocrisy, religious ostentationand hypocrisy. Here the Lord is coming, He's
dealt with almsgiving, He's dealt with prayer, He's dealt with fasting, He's
talkedabout the Pharisees and what they're like - white on the outside, and
dead men's bones on the inside - and now, don't think He's left the subject of
hypocrisy, He's coming againand He is telling us: 'Foryou to be a child of
God, for you to be a believer and to worry, is to be a hypocrite'. Do you getit?
Worry is hypocrisy.
My friend, worry is unbelief...worry is hypocrisy
Think about it: how can a Christian have faith in God and then worry? How
can he mark himself as one who believes and is trusting, justified by faith, but
also the just shall live by faith, and then turn around and worry: 'Can God?'.
It is a burden to worry simply because it is a burden living without faith in
God. Child of God, if you're burdened with worry today it's because you're
burdened with a lack of faith. God says to you worriers:'Take no thought'.
When we look at the originallanguage that Greek wordappears six times
within this passage. Othertranslations translate it: 'Do not be anxious', 'Do
not worry', but literally it means this: to be drawn in different directions - do
not be drawn in different directions! Why? Becauseworryis something that
pulls you apart from the inside out, and theoreticallyit is what pulls you
betweenGod's camp and mammon's camp.
'It's alright for you David, you don't know what I'm going through, you don't
have the worries that I have, you don't have the concerns that I'm bearing at
this moment'. I know it's difficult to acceptthese words and teaching from one
who is experiencing little hardship in his life and problems at this time, but

132. please - as I have exhorted you right throughout these studies - remember
who's speaking here, it's not David Legge, it is the Lord Jesus Christyour
Saviour, the One whom Isaiah calledthe Man of Sorrows and acquainted with
grief. I want to bring you right to the Mount now, I want you to hear these
tender words from the loving Lord Jesus, I want you to see the honey dripping
from His loving lips as He says to these people: 'Put worry awayfrom you!
Don't let it tear you apart any more'. This is One who knows what He's
talking about from experience.
F. B. Meyerputs it beautifully when he says of our Lord: 'He never forgot
that He was the child of the labouring classes, thatHis mother at His birth
had brought the gift of the poor to the temple, and that from boyhood He had
been accustomedto the shifts of poverty. His frequent speechabout patching
garments and using old bottle skins, about the price of sparrows and the
scanty pittance of a labourer's life, indicate that His mind was habituated to
the experience ofthe poor'. Your Lord's mind was habituated to the
experience of the poor, and it is that suffering Saviour who says to you today:
'Look up! Take no thought, look up!'.
Look up to what? Well, of course we look up to God. But the Lord says, 'As
you're looking up to God take a little note of the things that are on the way
up'. He gives us three wonderful illustrations from nature. I don't know
whether you've evernoticed throughout the Gospels thatmost of our Lord's
illustrations come from nature, because in nature you have the plan and the
sovereignpurpose of God createdfor us. We can see God's intention for life.
We often, when we're illustrating things, use materialism and mechanics - we
talk about a car, and a helicopter, and a plane, and all sorts of things that we
have made. But when the Lord Jesus is illustrating things He talks of things
that God has made, not imitations - because wheneveryou go into an
imitation that man has made and look at it with a microscope, youcan see
that it's clumsy, it's big, it's bulky, and it's ugly, and it's only from a distance
that you cansee any imitation and beauty. But when you narrow into God's
creation, and when you look into the depths, you cansee the intricacy of God's
plan and God's purpose.

133. Have you ever lookedout of the window in the Iron Hall and seen, on the
telephone wire, a sparrow with its feathers falling out because it's worrying
that much?
In the very week ofcreationwe cantell that God has supplied absolutely
everything for you. Neverforget, my friend, that for five days God createdthe
earth, and then on the sixth day He createdman. Five days before He created
man He's preparing everything that man needs before He makes man. The
way we live our lives you would think that He createdman on the first day,
and then He spent the other four days supplying his need - no! God supplies
our need first, and then He creates us.
He says first of all, look at verse 26:"Beholdthe fowls of the air: for they sow
not, neither do they reap, nor gatherinto barns; yet your heavenly Father
feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?". Look at the birds! They've
no need to hoard, they've no need to store, they're not worrying about the
future and piling things up for their supply and their providence in the days
that lie ahead. Now let me tell you this: He's not advocating a carefree
irresponsible attitude to work. You can't use this as a text and say:'Well, the
sparrows don't work, so I'm not going to work'. Paul says: 'If any will not
work, neither should he eat'. What God is saying to us here today is, when we
do work and when we obey the command of God to work, God will provide
for us. Look at the birds, they don't even work, yet God provides for them -
are you not much better than they?
Let's think about this. Have you ever lookedout of the window in the Iron
Hall and seen, on the telephone wire, a sparrow with its feathers falling out
because it's worrying that much? I've never seenone. Have you ever seenone
sitting in a nest depressedaboutwhere the next worm is going to come from to
feed it's little ones? As you look at creation, and you look at the parables that
the Lord Jesus uses and His illustrations, I wonder sometimes the more I read
it and study it: is the wildlife round about us more aware of God than we are
at times? If you get up early in the morning before the sun has risen, what a
Bible lessonthere is there for anyone!Do you know what I'm talking about?
The song, the dawn chorus, that doxology of praise, the first thing you hear in
the morning are those birds singing - I wonder what they're singing, but I

134. have a suspicionthey're singing: 'Great is Thy faithfulness, oh God my
Father, Thy mercies are new every morning!', they don't worry!
The Lord never said: 'Oh ye of little faith' to a sparrow. It's amazing to think
that the Lord Jesus is directing us today, and He is telling men, to be like
birds. 'Men, be like birds, for know ye not that ye are of more value than these
sparrows?'. Whata Bible lesson!Be like a bird! What a theologian - forget
about A.W. Pink, or Tozer, or any of these, Matthew Henry, the puritans and
everything. Here's a theologianfor you: a bird! A bird, a prince of preachers
of a bird. We need more bird brains like this, we need people who will have
faith in God like a little bird.
'Said the robin to the sparrow:
I really do not know
Why it is these human beings
Rush about and worry so.
Said the sparrow to the robin:
I think that it must be
That they have no heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me'.
If you can't change it, why are you worrying about how you're going to
change it?
Look to the birds. Then He says:'Look at your height'. Verse 27:"Which of
you by taking thought canadd one cubit unto his stature?". The Greek
literally could read: 'You can't add one more year unto your lifespan'.
Whether it's your height or whether it's your life, you can't do anything about
it. A woman for 40 years worried that she was going to die of cancer, and at
the age of70 she died of pneumonia - she wasted40 years of her life worrying
about the wrong thing. Oh, how often we do this. What we're doing is, we try
to take the responsibilities that are God's out of His hands and put them in
our hands. We want to controlthem, but we can't control them. It is in our

135. worry that we're saying: 'I can't handle this' - well then why are you trying to
handle it? 'I can't cope with this, how am I ever going to get out of this? I
can't change this' - if you can't change it, why are you worrying about how
you're going to change it?
That's a big question, isn't it? If we know it's foolishto worry and be anxious,
why do we do it at all? I'll tell you why we do it: because we're that used, as
old sinners, with being independent of God that even with the grace ofGod in
our life we find it hard to utterly rely upon Him. My friend, He says:'Your
heavenly Father will care for you'. Godis there, why do you need to worry?
What goodis worry doing when God is there? More than that: if God wasn't
there worrying wouldn't make any difference either! Forit does nothing,
worry only changes things for the bad, makes things look worse - but trusting
God makes things better!
Look to the birds, look to your height, look to your life - then thirdly He says:
'Look at the lilies'. Verses 28 to 30, look at them: "Considerthe lilies of the
field, how they grow; they toil not", that's a man's work, "neither do they
spin", that's a woman's work, "Yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all
his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the
grass ofthe field, which to day is, and to morrow is castinto the oven, shall he
not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?". Considerthe lily, the lily is
rare, the lily is precious, the lily is colourful, even Solomonin all his glory -
and remember that the Queenof Sheba came to see Solomon's glory, the
pageantry of Solomon's kingdom and the glory of his gold was world
renowned, and she saidto the King: 'It was a true report which I heard in
mine own land of thine acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not their
words until I came and mine eyes have seenit, and behold the one half of the
greatness ofthy wisdom was not told me, for thou excellestthe fame that I
heard'. You're clothed greaterthan that!
If He gave His Son, do you not think He'll give what you need?
Do you believe that? Even the grass ofthe field, He says, that's worth nothing
- it's the stuff that fuel is made out of, it's fired into the oven, it's here today
gone tomorrow - God even clothes it for its short lifespan, how much more is

136. He going to clothe you, O you of little faith? Now look, the Lord Jesus is using
an argument here of reasonthat you find right throughout the New
Testament. It's calledthe 'fortiori argument'. What it means is this: it is an
argument in the form of 'if this, then how much more that?' - if this, then how
much more that? If I look after the birds, then how much more will I look
after you? If I look after your height, then how much more will I look after
your life? If I look after the lilies, how much more will I look after your
clothing? Perhaps the most famous of this fortiori argument is found in
Romans 8 and verse 32: "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him
up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?". If He
gave His Son, do you not think He'll give what you need? If then, then how
much more that?
We find it in the Sermon on the Mount, and we'll come to it in chapter 7 verse
11, speaking ofpraying for the Holy Spirit: "If ye then, being evil, know how
to give goodgifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which
is in heaven give goodthings to them that ask him?". If you're an old sinner,
and you cangive a lollipop to your child; how much more shall God give you
the Holy Spirit? Fretting child of God, wait till I tell you - this might be
simplistic to you, but God has no room for you in His life if it's too simplistic
for you - for the saints of God, since our Lord Jesus Christ taught this at the
Sermon on the Mount, have been living on these three illustrations through all
the turmoil and hell that life has thrown at them - they have stoodupon the
rock of God's word! The saints of God have tried and proved this: George
Mueller basedhis whole life of trusting God on these two greatpromises
concerning birds and lilies!
Could the Lord accuse us today and say: 'O ye of little faith'? Remember that
was the Lord's recurring rebuke to His disciples. They were in the boat, and
oh they were so praiseworthyof the Lord Jesus, but then the storm came and
their boat was rockedand they were nearly thrown out into the depths of the
ocean, and as far as they were concernedthe Lord Jesus Christ couldn't care
less if they perished or not - they were going to drown and He could have
stopped it! What did the Lord say: 'O ye of little faith!'. He was going to feed
5000 people, and they doubted the Lord's ability to serve food for them, and
the Lord Jesus said:'Why reasonye among yourselves?'. Do you know what

137. one of the greatestproblems to faith is in a believer? Reason!Why reasonye?
You mightn't be able to work it out, but God's ways are not your ways, His
thoughts are not your thoughts - O ye of little faith!
You only need to look around you today and see how, in a materialistic world,
this is what people are worrying about. The economy, recession, possessions,
career, profession- it is worldliness
Petergot out of the boat, which most of us wouldn't even do. He's walking on
the water, but he takes his eyes off the Lord and he begins to fall - and that
can happen to us. Whether it's the storm, whether we don't know who's going
to feed us and we reasonthat God cannot do it, or whether we're sinking into
life's depths and oceans - O ye of little faith, look to the birds, look to your
height, look to the lilies, and trust God! The disciples came to Him in Matthew
17 and said: 'Lord, we've tried casting these demons out, but they'll not go'.
The Lord said: 'They won't go because ofyour unbelief'.
My friend, that's the wickednessofworry, but there is the worldliness of
worry. The Lord doesn't just use these three illustrations, He says:"After
these things do the Gentiles, the nations, seek". Youonly need to look around
you today and see how, in a materialistic world, this is what people are
worrying about. The economy, recession, possessions, career, profession - it is
worldliness today, and the Bible teaches us that in the last days this will be a
characteristic mark of men and women. In other words, listen now: all that
the sinner without Christ lives for is to eat, to drink, and to be merry! Are we
different? Paul said: 'What does it advantage me if the dead rise not?' - he's
saying: 'If there's no resurrection, and this Lord Jesus Christis a farce and a
myth and a liar and a cheat, what does it advantage me? Eat, drink, and be
merry - you might as well, because there's no God!'.
In Matthew 24 the Lord saidthat as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at
the coming of the Son of man - and He marks it by this characteristic:men
were eating, men were drinking, men were marrying and giving in marriage
until the day that Noahentered into the ark. Now, have we that attitude? My
friend, you're going through the turmoil and the trial of life, you don't know
where the next loaf of bread perhaps is coming from, you've got illness and

138. sicknessonyour mind, trouble and bereavement - but, my friend, have faith
in God, for God is there and God is true, and God will deliver! We betray His
existence whenwe worry, we give a bad testimony when we worry, when we
adopt the attitude of the world: "Foryour heavenly Father knoweththat ye
have need of all these things".
God will supply your needs, there's no sense in worrying about tomorrow, as
He says in verse 34, for tomorrow won't change. Worrying about tomorrow
does nothing for today, in factif anything it doesn'tdo anything for
tomorrow, it doesn't do anything for today only destroy today. You've maybe
heard of Corrie Ten Boom, she spent years in a Nazi concentrationcamp and
helped many Jewishpeople. She was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
she went through more heartache and trial and tribulation than you and I
perhaps all put togetherwill know in our lifetime. Do you know what she said
a few years before she died? 'Worry does not empty tomorrow of sorrows, it
empties today of strength'.
Imagine what could be done for God if you put all the energythat you use
worrying into His service. Imagine if you turned your worrying into prayer,
into fasting, into witnessing. Is there a wayout? Praise God there's a way out
of worrying - verse 30:"Ye of little faith", you need faith. Verse 32, you need
your heavenly Father, for He knows;you need to look to the heavenly Father
in faith. Verse 33, seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, then
all these other things that you're worrying about will be sorted out. That
righteousness is not imputed righteousness that the boys and girls were
hearing about this morning, because youdon't seek afterthat - it's given to
you in one justifying act of faith. What this is, is chapter 6 and verse 1, the
almsgiving, the works of righteousness;it is chapter 5: 'Except your
righteousness shallexceedthe righteousness ofthe scribes and Pharisees'.
Seek that godliness, that holiness, that life of Christ in you by the Spirit - and
the word 'seek'is the presentimperative which means this: an unceasing
quest, seek it and God will supply your need!
Imagine what could be done for God if you put all the energythat you use
worrying into His service

139. This is God's SocialSecurity plan: seek first the kingdom of God. What do
human beings do: 'I must eat, I must drink, I must have clothes to put on and
shoes to put on the children's feet. I must, I must have this, and this, and this,
and this' - but God says if you want those things, if you need those things, you
must decide: 'I must have a relationship with God, I must have faith, I must
be more godly, I must be more holy'. You've got to reverse the whole natural
order, and first and foremost be rightly related to Him. Why? Why? Here we
come back againto the whole theme of this Sermon: you cannotproduce an
inner life with God if you are continuously focusing on your outward life.
Whether it's in prayer, fasting, almsgiving - it doesn't matter, even in
providing food, drink and clothing - if you're continually focusing on the
outward you will never produce an inward relationship. But, my friend, if you
seek first the kingdom of God, all these other things Godwill sort out for you.
I'm not saying you'll be rolling in money, but God will supply your need.
Bishop Castles,one of the Cambridge seven, when he was going to the mission
field as a pioneer - he had on all his luggage two words: 'God first!'.
How can you have no worries? Put God first. A wee girl was trying to dress up
in her Mummy's gloves. She had one of those big leatherones up to her elbow
with all the buttons, and she was getting more and more frustrated - she
couldn't get them all in the right place. She gotso annoyed that she shouted
out: 'Mummy, they won't come right!'. Then her Mummy explained: 'There's
the first button, and then there's the first hole. Get the first one right and all
the restwill follow easily'. My friend: seek first, make you His service your
delight, and your wants shall be His cares. Where is your heart? Is it in
heaven, or is it on earth. My friend, listen to the words of the Lord: 'Don't
worry, your heavenly Father knows what you need'.
Let's bow our heads, and it may be the case that there's someone here who is
not savedand has never been convertedby the grace of God. My friend, this
messageapplies to you in a sense too:God loves you enoughto send His only
begottenSon to die for you, He has provided for you too - salvation- but what
you need is faith. You must take that gift, be savedtoday, and there need be
no more worry about sin, about guilt, about punishment, about even provision
and God looking after you. You have many problems, perhaps, but there need
be no more worries. Believer, I am prone to worry, and it must be tackled - it

140. is the devil's ground in our lives at times that robs us of blessing - be done
with it now, put it awayunder the blood and be free of worry today, and go
home with your heart in heavenand your trust in God.
Father, we thank Thee for the Lord Jesus, for His precious words, and we
pray for grace to implement them. We pray that sorrowing and sad and
downcasthearts in this building now will ask themselves:'Why art thou
downcast, O my soul? Hope thou in God, for thou shalt yet praise Him'. Give
faith, we pray, to believe, and help our unbelief. For Christ's sake, Amen.
Don't miss Part 18 of 'The Sermon On The Mount': "Misjudgement"
----------------------
Back to Top
Transcribedby:
PreachThe Word.
January 2002
www.preachtheword.com
This sermon was delivered at The Iron Hall Assembly in Belfast, Northern
Ireland, by PastorDavid Legge. It was transcribed from the seventeenthtape
in his 'Sermon On The Mount' series, titled "Don't Worry" - Transcribedby
PreachThe Word.
The GospelAccording to Matthew
By

141. G. Campbell Morgan, D.D.
Copyright © 1929
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
MATTHEW 6:25-34
IN this sectionof our Lord’s Manifesto;continuing His revelationof the
principles which are to governHis people in their relation to the things of this
life, He enjoins on them the necessityfor a super-earthly consciousnessin
touching earthly things. Towards super-abundance, as we have seen, they are
to be without covetousness. We will now considertheir attitude towards
necessarythings, which is, that they are to be without care.
In this connectionone injunction is thrice repeated. “Takeno thought.”
“Therefore I sayunto you, take no thought” (ver. 25). “Therefore take no
thought” (ver. 31). “Take therefore no thought” (ver. 34).
This is the all-inclusive word. It is illustrated, emphasized, argued, with
inimitable skillby the great Masterand TeacherHimself. It accuratelydefines
the whole attitude of mind which His disciples should maintain toward
necessarythings. All His argument as to our attitude being characterizedby
anxiety, is basedupon the factof our ability to take thought. He does not hint
for a single moment that we are to be careless orimprovident. That against
which He chargedHis disciples, and still charges us, is taking care, the care

142. which means fretting, worry, restlessness,feverishness;or perhaps, better
than all, in the most simple terms, “Anxiety;” “Be not anxious.”
There are things of this life which are necessary, which, so far as we know,
have no place in the larger life toward which we go. Food, drink, raiment, are
necessarythings, but are not provided for us by God apart from our own
thought, our own endeavor, our own activity. But none of these things is to
produce anxiety in the hearts of the subjects of the King.
“Take no thought.” The Lord argues for this injunction by three positions.
“Therefore I sayunto you, take no thought;” the first proposition occupying
verses 25-30. “Therefore takeno thought;” the secondpropositionfound in
verses 31-33. “Taketherefore no thought;” the third proposition of
illustration and enforcementfound in verse 34.
There are three movements and one message;three methods of emphasis and
illustration and enforcement;and one matter of importance. Our Lord not
only says, “Takeno thought;” but “Taketherefore no thought.” Thus, in each
new movement of emphasis and illustration He drives us back to something
preceding. This is the word of the King.
Let us see how He enforces it:
- First, He declares anxiety to be unnecessaryin the children of such a Father.
- In the secondmovement He declares anxietyto be unworthy in the subjects
of such a Kingdom. - In the third movement He declares anxiety to be
unfruitful.

143. First, then, our Lord teaches us that anxiety is unnecessary.
Look at the “therefore.” “Therefore Isay unto you.” We are compelled to ask
wherefore? Onwhat is Jesus basing this appeal? You will remember two
truths brought before us in the previous section.
In showing what our attitude ought to be toward superabundance, He first
made the truth about values perfectly clear. He insisted on the necessityfor
the single eye which sees things properly focused;sharp, clear, true; in
proportion and perspective. The point of view is everything.
- The evil eye is that which sees things obliquely; its vision is distorted, nothing
is sharp, nothing is true, everything is out of proportion and perspective. -
Christ emphasized the necessityfor the single eye, truly focused.
He told His disciples in effectthat they had that single eye when they lived for
the glory of God, and that the true view-point of life is that of seeing things in
their relation to the Infinite, to the Divine, to God Himself. The eye, single for
God’s glory, admits true light into the life.
Further, we noticed how Jesus declaredthe unification of life in worship to be
necessary. We cannotserve God and Mammon. Whomsoeverwe worship will
demand the whole of our service. Life is unified by the principle of worship
which governs it. He takes it for granted that these men have found the
unifying principle in the service of God; that because they are serving God
they cannot serve Mammon.

144. Now, He says, “Therefore,”upon the basis of the true vision of values, upon
the basis of the fact that your life has become unified in the service ofGod;
“Therefore . . . Take no thought.”
Thus He defends the word; charging His own to be free from fret and friction
and feverishness;upon the fact that, being in His Kingdom, they have found
the true viewpoint, they have found the true principle, unifying and making
life consistent.
From that He proceeds to work out in detail the truth of the love and the care
of God.
“Therefore I sayunto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or
what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life
more than meat, and the body than raiment?”
Declaring the care of the Fatherfor the birds, He asks, “And why take ye
thought for raiment? Considerthe lilies of the field, how they grow.”
The lilies to which Jesus pointed were not, of course, our lilies of the valley,
but the greathuleh lilies of Palestine, the most gorgeous andbeautiful of all
the flowers growing there. They grow in cultivated districts, or amongstthe
rankestverdure.
“As a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters.”

145. Of this gorgeous flowerthe Mastersaid, “Considerthe lilies of the field, how
they grow.” Mark this again: “they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet”
even though they do not toil or spin “yet I say unto you, that even Solomonin
all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
The King comes where the children can accompanyHim, and among the birds
and flowers, in sweetestandtenderest of illustrations, He teaches the
sublimest truths for the comfort of the heart of His people.
Let us ponder His teaching, first about the birds.
He says in effect:These birds of the air neither sow nor reap nor gatherinto
barns, but your Fatherfeedeth them; you can sow and reap and gather,
therefore much more does your Fathercare for you. The Lord’s argument
here is not that we are to ceaseour sowing and reaping and gathering, but
that if He takes care of those who cannotdo such things, much more will He
take care of those who can. These birds of the air are without rational
forethought. By comparisonwith men there can be no toiling, no sowing, no
reaping, no gathering. But Jesus says, Godhas given you the powerof rational
forethought, and much more will He take care of you.
It is not that we are to neglectthe use of reason, or forethought, or
preparation. It is not that we are to worry - but that we are to take thought
for the morrow without anxiety, knowing that, as God cares for the birds, He
will more perfectly take care of us.
So also with the flowers.

146. “Theytoil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you that even Solomonin
all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
Did you imagine that was figurative, an overstrainedmetaphor? Take that
flower, that huleh lily, gorgeous and beautiful in its coloring, and put it by the
side of Solomonin his magnificence, in his robes of gold and silver and jewels
and splendor the lily is more beautifully clothed than Solomon.
- Take the finest fabric that monarch ever wore, and submit it to microscopic
examination, and it is sackcloth. - Take the lily and submit its garment of
delicate velvet to microscopic examination and investigation, and the more
perfect your lens the more exquisite the weaving of the robe of the lily will be
seento be.
Christ is not indulging in hyperbole. He is stating cold fact No garment
loomed to the finest and softesttexture is anything but rough sackclothwhen
placed by the side of the drapery with which He clothes the lily. Christ says:
Open your eyes, My children, and look at the lilies lying scatteredoverthe
valleys and mountains, growing among thorns, and know that when God
makes the lily, kings desire and cannotobtain such a robing. Looking at the
flower, and seeing all its decking, know this:
“He Who clothes the lilies, Will clothe His children too.”
There is not a flower and not a petal which, in exquisite finish and delicate
perfection, would not put all the robes of a king to shame. But all this is true
not only of those flowers of Palestine. Considerthe daisy of the English fields,
the sweetand simplest flowerwhich you tread beneath your feet; and a king
in all his robes of state is not arrayed like one of these.

147. “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass ofthe field, which to-day is, and to-
morrow is castinto the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little
faith?”
The emphatic words are, “much more,” and it is important that we grasp
their true meaning.
The lily cannot toil, it cannot spin. You can do both; and if Godtakes care of
the flowers which He has not gifted with this power of reasonto toil and work
for self-preservation, how much more the creatures to whom He has given this
super abounding gift, and to whom He perpetually gives Himself in immediate
and living presence.
Let us now look at the other two arguments briefly.
He passes from this first statement, which shows how unnecessarycare is if we
are the children of such a Father, and He says “Therefore”once again.
“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we
drink? or, Wherewithalshall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the
Gentiles seek:)for your heavenly Father knoweththat ye have need of all
these things.”
Do not be anxious about these lowerthings, but there is something you ought
to be anxious about. Do not always be planning and scheming even to the
point of anxiety about foodand raiment; “but seek.”

148. No life is complete that does not feelupon it some greatcompulsion, driving it.
We want to learn to be loving and patient with all sorts of people, but it is
difficult to have patience with some men! Their eye never gleams, they have
no passion, no power; they drift. A man that is a realman has something that
drives, something that creates enthusiasm.
Now, says the Master, I have told you not to be anxious about these things.
But there is something you are to be anxious about, something to seek,
something to consume you. There is something that ought to drive you,
making every nerve tingle and throb, and every artery flow with force. What
is it?
“The Kingdom of God.”
So the Masterwould save us from the anxiety of a lowerlevel, which makes
force impossible on a higher, in order that He may develop force on the
higher. Do not be anxious about the lower things, “But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness.”Seekit in essence. Letit be the
underlying passion. Seek itin enterprise. Seek it everywhere.
But is there not an immediate application?
Food, drink, raiment. Do not be anxious about them, but seek the Kingdom in
them. Dress for the Kingdom of God. Eat for the Kingdom of God. Let the
greatunderlying passion, which is the greatprinciple of the life, find its
throbbing wayinto the extremities of the life. Things about which you are not
to be anxious in themselves, and for themselves;you are to be anxious about,

149. in order that through them also the Kingdom of God may come. Seek that in
essence, in enterprise, and in individual application.
With a touch of fine and beautiful disdain, which is not contempt if we may
make so fine a distinction the Lord says, “All these things shall be added unto
you.”
“Added unto you.”
Mark the conceptionfood, drink, raiment, added. That is, the necessary
luggage with which you travel, the added things which are nevertheless
impedimenta. Some people are always worrying, when travelling, about their
luggage, andthat is just what a greatmany are doing about food and raiment.
“These things shall be added.”
Trust them to your Father. Trust them after your toil is over, after your
planning is done. After you have sownand reaped and gathered, leave the
rest. And if you do not think by your calculationthat your doing, and reaping,
and gathering is enough for all, then let there be no anxiety. Your Father
knows, and here is your blank check for necessities“Thesethings shall be
added unto you.”
Once again, anxiety is always care about the future. To-morrow, that is it. It is
always tomorrow, and so Jesus sums the whole thing up finally, and says:
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take
thought for the things of itself.”

150. By which we do not understand the Lord to mean that it is a proper function
of to-morrow to be anxious about to-morrow, but by which we do understand
Him to mean, Do what you will, there will be something in to-morrow to be
anxious about.
You cannot kill to-morrow’s anxiety by being anxious about it to-day. And so
He says, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
Evil does not mean sin. It means adversity.
Every day that comes will have in it evil - adversity - things calculatedto make
us anxious. Tomorrow will be anxious. The evil will come whateveryou do.
All of which may be stated thus: Live, oh child of thy Father, subject of thy
King, live to-day.
“Lord, for to-morrow and its needs I do not pray. Keep me, O Lord, from
stain of sin just for to-day.”
There is no suspicionof asceticismin this section. Our Father knows that His
people will be here in the world, and will have to do with earthly things. He
does not even sayit is wrong to lay up treasure. He only advises us as to how
we shall make our investment of treasure. Do not lay it up on earth. Lay it up
in heaven.
There is nothing ascetic here. There is no warrant for improvidence here. The
man who will go out and say, Very well, I will be like the sparrow, I will not
sow, or reap, or gather - well, we know the issue, and neither we nor anyone
else will pity him. If a man shall say, I will go and be as the flower of the field,

151. I will not toil or spin - well, we see at once the unutterable folly of such an
argument.
Do not imagine that the King commands us not to think for the future. Do not
say, that because Godcares, youare not to provide for your wife, and your
bairns, in the case ofyour dying. Let us have no nonsense talkedabout the evil
of insurance. “If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his
house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel (unbeliever),”
says the apostle;and the whole teaching of Jesus is, not that we are not to
reap, sow, gather, toil, spin; but that through our toil and planning we are not
to be anxious; through reaping we are to trust; in our gathering we are to
sing; as we toil we are to rejoice;as we spin we are to be quiet. It is a callto
the life that is frictionless, because by the principle of faith man takes hold
upon God, and, submitting, knows whatit is to have His power operating
through his work, and His life providing for his need.
~ end of chapter 15 ~
http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/
PHIL NEWTON
The Cure for Anxiety
Matthew 6:25-34
November 17, 2002

152. The ancient Greeks thoughtof anxiety as worrying and tormenting cares that
belongedto human life, such as sorrow and suffering. They could rarely
conceive ofa life lived without such cares, robbing them of sleep, and driving
them to drown their cares in love or drink, hoping againsthope that they
would become numb to anxiety's blows. Yet the only way to be free from
anxiety in their thought was death [TDNT, IV, 589-590].
It seems that times have changedvery little. Anxiety has become as much a
part of life as inhaling and exhaling. Scoresofbooks have been written to help
people cope with worry. Seminars offer techniques to face the stress coming
from anxiety. An array of drugs is takenby the tons in the Westernworld in
hope of dulling anxiety's effects. Many advertisers prey upon anxieties to
increase their sales. Newscastersfoment anxiety by trying to find the most
fear-inspiring possibilities current in our world.
What is missing from all of this is a right view of God and his providential
governing overall his creation. If the omniscient and omnipotent Governor of
the universe is missing, then there is greatcause forworry!
But Jesus declaresthat it is different for kingdom citizens. Our heavenly
Father is not in absentia but faithfully exerting his might to demonstrate the
glory of his name in every detail of life. We need not be anxious if we known
God as Father. Anxiety's cure is found in the confident trust the believer
places in his heavenly Father. Can we really live differently than the world in
relationship to anxiety? Consider how Jesus Christassures us of the Father's
care.
I. A higher value

153. Our text is not disconnectedfrom the previous paragraphs. "Forthis reasonI
say to you," throws the focus of our interpretation upon the claims that Jesus
has alreadymade. Here he sets forth the most practicalapplication to daily
life basedupon the foundation of his explanations concerning single-
mindedness of kingdom citizens. If the eternaltreasures in heaven far
outweighs the temporal treasures of life (6:19-21), if the vision of the heart (or
"eye")will deceive one's understanding and moral direction unless
enlightened and purified by the gospelofthe kingdom (6:22-23), and if the
choice must be made to serve Godor wealth(6:24), then the values of the
kingdom must be the focus of your life. And since kingdom values are your
chief concern, you must not worry about the things that the world deems to be
most important. The previous contrasts betweenkingdom citizens and the
citizens of this world demonstrate that being a Christian calls for distinctly
different ambitions, values, and desires. The world worries about things for
which the Christian need not worry.
Having said that, we all know that life has plenty of worries. Severalnews
alerts just this week have pointed to possible terrorist attacks. Is it okayfor us
to worry about those possibilities? What if these attacks have an impact upon
the economyor the food supply or the price of fuel? Should we worry about
these things?
We canconveniently state that the first century did not have terrorist
organizations to threaten their way of life. And perhaps that is true on one
level. But they knew what it was to suffer under the hand of criminals, and to
experience famine due to crop failure and watershortages,and to have
unemployment with no governmental subsidy, and to face the ravages of
disease with no antibiotics or vaccines, orhealthcare, and to live as slaves with
no hope of deliverance. Theyhad no idyllic life but suffered greatly as a way
of life. It was in this setting that Jesus commandedkingdom citizens, "Forthis
reasonI sayto you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat

154. or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not
life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"
1. Life or things?
As Jesus has already explained, the basic problem facing all of us is how we
view life. Do we look at life in relationship to God as Father? Or do we look at
life in relationship to satisfying desires and craving material things? We've
already consideredthat the nature of humanity is that we do live in a material
world and we have the necessityof certainmaterial things for subsistence. But
what Christ has shown through the metaphors of treasures, lamps, and
masters is that kingdom citizens view life from a God-oriented point of view,
and consequentlythey live in a God-directed way. So Jesus commands, "Do
not be worried about your life, as to what you will eator what you will drink;
nor for your body, as to what you will put on."
Everyone has to eat, drink, and wearclothes. That's part of the human
existence. But that is not life. We are not to live for eating, drinking, and
wearing clothes. Jesus quizzes us, "Is not life more than food, and the body
more than clothing?" I canreally think of nothing that is more appropriate
for our day. Jesus distinguishes life and food, the body and clothes, not to
suggestthat we have no need for these things but to insist that things are to be
our servants not our masters.
Eating, drinking, and clothing drive our society. If you do not believe this just
take a quick look at the advertisements in any popular magazine. They
compel us to feel an intense need to eat and drink certain products, and dress
in certain ways. If Jesus coulduse eating, drinking, and clothing for people
that barely ekedout an existence, how much more so for us that stand in front
of the pantry agitating over what we'll have for dinner or in front of a closet

155. worrying about which outfit we will wear. Things control us far more than we
would like to admit.
Again, Jesus is not commanding us to refrain from eating, drinking, and
wearing clothes. Those are necessitiesoflife. But that is just the point. So
much of our worries involve the basic necessitiesoflife. Typically, we are not
interestedin necessities as much as we are comforts, compliments, and
compulsions. We want to feel well, attract attention, and satisfy desires. So we
worry about consuming certainthings or dressing in certain ways or owning
certain products or achieving a certainstatus. All the while we forgetour
relationship to God.
Life is more valuable than food and clothing. By "life" Jesus refers to the
whole of our existence - it is life in relationship to God through Christ. Even
the natural order has a better handle on this than does humanity. "Look at
the birds [that is, give them carefulthought, take the time to look and ponder]
of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?" It is
not that the birds are not actively involved in pecking seeds ordigging insects
or nibbling on the carcassofa dead animal. They must have food just like we
must. But it is our Father that cares forthem. He does not care for them as
their Father but as the God of providential rule. The value of a human far
exceeds the birds and other creatures. If God cares forthem that will perish
and go back to the dust of the earth, much more so he will care for you whom
he values enough to redeem you through the blood of his Son. So look at the
birds - considerhow God feeds them. Martin Luther makes the point in a
charming way.
You see ... he is making the birds our schoolmasters andteachers. It is a great
and abiding disgrace to us that in the Gospela helpless sparrow should
become a theologianand a preacher to the wisestof men... Wheneveryou
listen to a nightingale, therefore, you are listening to an excellentpreacher... It
is as if he were saying "I prefer to be in the Lord's kitchen. He has made

156. heaven and earth, and he himself is the cook and the host. Everyday he feeds
and nourishes innumerable little birds out of his hand" [quoted by John Stott,
Christian Counter-Culture, 164].
The same is true of the wild flowers instructing us. "And why are you worried
about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow;they do not toil nor
do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed
himself like one of these." In the late sixties I traveled with some relatives to
Europe. My cousin, George, and I hiked all day in the mountains around
Zermatt, Switzerland. I still remember the scene as we came down from one
mountain toward the valley, when suddenly we happened upon a field of
wildflowers. I gawkedin amazement at the beauty all around. Even for a
fourteen year old it was far too beautiful to ignore. Solomonhad nothing on
these wildflowers!But all of that God-givenbeauty clothing the flowers does
not last. In the ancient world they were gathered, dried, and used to ignite a
quick, hot blaze for the clay ovens that bakedtheir bread. "But if God so
clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into
the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?" Flowers do not live into
eternity yet God provides them with such beautiful clothes that
manufacturers are still trying to copy them to make silk and artificial flowers.
Will a God that gives so much attention to the detail of his creationfail to
clothe you? No wonder that our worry about the things of life brings the
rebuke, "You of little faith!"
2. God's care
The essenceofworry is two-fold: (1) we exert mental and emotional energy
for things outside our control. "And who of you by being worried canadd a
single hour to his life?" There's some question about whether the Greek
means adding a cubit (about 18 inches) to one's height or extending the length
of one's life. Worry cannot do either. The Lord can add an hour to one's life

157. or a week or years, and he certainly adds a cubit betweenchildhood and
adulthood [as Stott points out, 163]. But worry cannothelp you.
But worry also (2) acts as thought God will not provide - which is unbelief.
That is why Christ chides such folly as an example of little faith persons [Gk.,
oligopistoi]. Worry means that we do not trust the Fatherto care for us as his
children. We do not believe his promises or trust in his powerto provide or
rest in the abundance of his compassiontowardus. Jesus wants us to see that
worry is not merely about us - it is about God, and our deficient view of him
as heavenly Father.
The emphasis in the Sermon on the Mount is that God is "your Father" (5:16,
45, 48; 6:1, 4, 6, 9, 15, 18). He is not a distant, cosmic Being of some powerand
ability (as in Deism and some forms of modern liberalism). He is not a force
that operates within the universe (as in New Age theology). He is not a
disinteresteddeity that tolerates our existence while he humors himself (as in
the Greek pantheonof gods). He is "your Father" that feeds the birds and
clothes the wildflowers, and who cares infinitely more for you as his child. If
he cares for temporal things how much more for you that are made in his
image, and redeemedby the blood of his Son? As a child of God you have a
higher value than the temporal elements of creation, and therefore you have
the assurancethat the Father will "much more" care for you.
II. A nobler ambition
It is one thing to acknowledgeGod's care as Father, and the need to no longer
worry, but quite another thing to apply all of this to daily life. Jesus instructs
us on how to deal with worry in our lives so that we live like kingdom citizens.

158. 1. Recognizing misplacedpriorities
Why is worry such a problem anyway? Again our Lord repeats his command
to not engage in worry. "Do not worry then [i.e., in light of God's care for
creationand your higher value to him], saying, 'What will we eat?'or 'What
will we drink?' or 'What will we wearfor clothing?'" He uses a verb tense
that intensifies the sense ofanxiety. You canalmost hear someone running
around the room, repetitiously crying out, 'what will we eat? What will we
drink? What will we wearfor clothing?'Those that do not know God as
Father have a reasonto be frantic about these things. For the Gentiles eagerly
seek allthese things." That is the norm for the "Gentiles" or"peoples," a
term used to refer to the unbelieving world. They have no heavenly Father to
care for them so they must resortto the futility of worry. Worry characterizes
the unbelieving - but not the kingdom citizen. Worry in a Christian detracts
from the reliability of the gospel;it makes kingdomlife appear to be no
different from the way unbelievers live.
The unbeliever spends his time thinking about how to satisfy his desires. His
priorities revolve around himself. He may indeed do some worthwhile things
in life but ultimately he pursues life without submission to God's rule. He
prioritizes his comforts, compliments, and compulsions. But he has no heart
for the Kingship of Christ over his life, and no trust in God as his heavenly
Father. So he must go it alone - and that involves worrying about satisfying
every whim.
This is where the kingdom citizen stands in sharp contrast. His priorities are
seton heavenly things rather than earthly. The light of the gospeldirects his
heart - he views life in light of the cross of Christ. His loyalty is to one master -
the Lord. In a word, his priorities are seton living like a kingdom citizen
under the rule of his King and care of his Father. Where are your priorities
placed?

159. 2. Believing that the Father knows
The Christian turns from worry as he believes and understands that God is
his Father. "Foryour heavenly Father knows that you need all these things,"
Jesus assuresus. It is not just as the omniscient God that he knows - though he
does, but he knows our needs as "your heavenly Father." The Greek
constructionis emphatic, "ForHe knows - He that is your Father, the
heavenly One, that you have need of all these things." There is a double
implication here. On one hand, because he is our heavenly Father he is able to
know preciselywhat we need and through the normal means that he has set in
motion in life he provides those needs. So howeverthe provisions may come
your way - whether through work, investments, retirement, gifts - the
heavenly Father knowingly provides for you.
But on the other hand, because he is "your heavenly Father" you can ask for
provisions that you need. There are those times that God will order needs in
our lives so that we might seek his face, and be reminded afreshof the
abundance of his grace towardus. When we have a need either the heavenly
Father will provide through some means according to his goodpleasure or he
will show us by denying that provision that what we perceive to be a need is a
want, and unnecessaryfor us at that point in life.
Faith in the Father's knowledge and care for us does not mean that we are to
be passive in dealing with the issues oflife. The whole contextof the Sermon
on the Mount points againstthat. Nor does it mean that we are to equate not
worrying with being carefree andunconcerned about life's needs. As Don
Carsonhas expressed, that person "needs to hear something about discipline,
self-sacrifice,and hard work, and he needs to have illegitimate worry
differentiated from these" [The Sermon on the Mount, 84]. Trusting the
Father's care does not mean that we are unconcernedabout life. ForJesus has

160. already taught us that we are to pray about daily needs, "Give us this day our
daily bread."
We must also be careful that we do not construe not worrying with waiting for
God to provide without wise planning and diligent work on our part. Martin
Luther said it best, "Godwants nothing to do with the lazy, gluttonous bellies
who are neither concernednor busy; they actas if they just had to sit and wait
for him to drop a roastedgooseinto their mouth" [quoted by Stott, 165]. Not
worrying also does not mean that our physical needs are unimportant. They
are important but they are not most important. They are to serve us; not be
masters over us.
3. Applying the right focus
Instead of being like the unbelieving world that worries and carps about what
they do not have, the kingdom citizen has a different focus. "But seek firstHis
kingdom and His righteousness,and all these things will be added to you."
The way to what you need is not found by wrapping life around things, and
selfishambitions. It is found by applying your mind, energy, and priorities to
seeking the Lord and his righteousness.
There is a distinct contrastintended. "Forthe Gentiles eagerlyseek allthese
things," explained Christ. That is, the unbelieving world is consumed with
creature comforts, satisfying desires, building earthly treasures, and being
right in his own eyes. He just wants to be happy in life. So he eagerlyseeks
after temporal things. He believes that if he can accumulate enoughtemporal
things or attractenough temporal attention or satisfyenough temporal
desires, then he will be happy and enjoy life. But he never reaches thatpoint.
Though he may have points that he thinks he has reached the zenith of life, he
finds that he must continue to seek more things if he is to be satisfiedwith life.

161. He has no thought to seek afterthe Lord. His life is wrapped up in the
temporal. So when things do not go as planned or hoped for, he worries and
frets. His way of life is one of anxiety.
But the kingdom citizen has a different pursuit. Both Gentiles and kingdom
citizens are seeking something. One seeks the temporal for momentary
happiness. The other seeks the Lord and the kind of righteousness that leads
to a holier life. One lives for the moment; the other lives with eternity in view.
To "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness"demands that all of
life be focusedon the Lord. It begins with knowing the Lord and pursuing
Him through the Scriptures. If we desire to understand the Lord and what it
means for him to be King overall of life, and gracious Rulerover every
circumstance of life, then we must go to the Word of God. We know so little of
his kingdom when we neglecthis Word. Seeking firstthe kingdom of God also
has to do with your obedience to the Word of God. You cannotand will not
seek the Lord without obedience. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out that this
command means, "that we are to concentrate upon perfecting our
relationship to God as our heavenly Father" [The Sermon on the Mount, II,
142]. That relationship involves knowing and obeying Him.
"His righteousness"continues the use of the term that we've already seenin
the Sermonon the Mount. It is right living that flows out of being in right
relationship to the Lord through the redemptive work of Christ. "He is not
telling His hearers how to make themselves Christian," writes Lloyd-Jones,
"but He is telling them how to behave because they are Christians" [143].
"Righteousness" has to do with the way you practice the Christian life in
attitude, thought, tongue, and deed.

162. It is as though our Lord tells us, 'You concentrate onseeking the rule of God
over your life and the practice of his righteousness, and let him concentrate on
providing for you': "and all these things will be added to you."
III. A better way
Instead of worrying about the many details of life, Jesus tells us that we are to
concentrate onseeking to know more and more of his rule over our lives, and
the practice of his righteousness as we grow in holiness. He is to be our
priority and concern. Do you live like that? Or do you give an occasional
glance God' way, and then fret about life? There is a better way.
1. Leave tomorrow in God's hands
Anxiety is really fretfulness over what has not taken place. It is a concern
about tomorrow while living in the today. But Jesus commands us, "So do not
worry about tomorrow;for tomorrow will care for itself. Eachday has
enough trouble of its own." We canbe sure that troubles will come our way;
that's just part of life. But none of us know what they will be, how intense they
will come, or when they will come. To worry over what has not happened is a
total waste ofmental and emotionalenergy - and more than that, it is a
categoricaldenialof God as your heavenly Fatherand His wise, gracious,
purposeful rule over your life.
So leave tomorrow in God's hands. You will likely have to discipline your
thoughts to be able to do this. You will need to give yourself reminders along
the wayto trust the Lord with your thoughts. Tomorrow belongs to the Lord.
You concentrate onseeking the Lord's kingdom and righteousness today.

163. 2. Trust today to God's care
But what if troubles do come today? "Eachday has enough trouble [or
misfortune] of its own." You have a heavenly Fatherthat is caring for you. If
He cares enoughto feedthe birds and clothe the flowers, then surely He will
care much more for you that He calls His child. He rules over the minutest
detail confronting your life eachday. Trust Him. Meditate upon His Fatherly
care and provision for you. Believe his promises. Seek to learn all that you can
about him in the context of today with all of its troubles. And seek to practice
the kind of righteousness thatJesus has set forth in the Sermon on the Mount.
Conclusion
Worry is the undue concentrationof your thoughts and energies upon
yourself while disregarding the rule of Christ over your life. The cure for such
anxiety is found in knowing that through the grace of Godshown to you in
Jesus Christ, God is your heavenly Father. And since He is your heavenly
Father, you are to seek His kingdom as the priority of your life, and seek His
righteousness as the practice of life. Be so diligent in seeking the kingdom of
God and His righteousness that you do not have time for worry. And that's
really living like a kingdom citizen.
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The Cure for Anxiety
Matthew 6:25-34
November 17, 2002
The ancient Greeks thoughtof anxiety as worrying and tormenting cares that
belongedto human life, such as sorrow and suffering. They could rarely
conceive ofa life lived without such cares, robbing them of sleep, and driving
them to drown their cares in love or drink, hoping againsthope that they
would become numb to anxiety's blows. Yet the only way to be free from
anxiety in their thought was death [TDNT, IV, 589-590].
It seems that times have changedvery little. Anxiety has become as much a
part of life as inhaling and exhaling. Scoresofbooks have been written to help
people cope with worry. Seminars offer techniques to face the stress coming
from anxiety. An array of drugs is takenby the tons in the Westernworld in
hope of dulling anxiety's effects. Many advertisers prey upon anxieties to
increase their sales. Newscastersfoment anxiety by trying to find the most
fear-inspiring possibilities current in our world.
What is missing from all of this is a right view of God and his providential
governing overall his creation. If the omniscient and omnipotent Governor of
the universe is missing, then there is greatcause forworry!

165. But Jesus declaresthat it is different for kingdom citizens. Our heavenly
Father is not in absentia but faithfully exerting his might to demonstrate the
glory of his name in every detail of life. We need not be anxious if we known
God as Father. Anxiety's cure is found in the confident trust the believer
places in his heavenly Father. Can we really live differently than the world in
relationship to anxiety? Consider how Jesus Christassures us of the Father's
care.
I. A higher value
Our text is not disconnectedfrom the previous paragraphs. "Forthis reasonI
say to you," throws the focus of our interpretation upon the claims that Jesus
has alreadymade. Here he sets forth the most practicalapplication to daily
life basedupon the foundation of his explanations concerning single-
mindedness of kingdom citizens. If the eternaltreasures in heaven far
outweighs the temporal treasures of life (6:19-21), if the vision of the heart (or
"eye")will deceive one's understanding and moral direction unless
enlightened and purified by the gospelofthe kingdom (6:22-23), and if the
choice must be made to serve Godor wealth(6:24), then the values of the
kingdom must be the focus of your life. And since kingdom values are your
chief concern, you must not worry about the things that the world deems to be
most important. The previous contrasts betweenkingdom citizens and the
citizens of this world demonstrate that being a Christian calls for distinctly
different ambitions, values, and desires. The world worries about things for
which the Christian need not worry.
Having said that, we all know that life has plenty of worries. Severalnews
alerts just this week have pointed to possible terrorist attacks. Is it okayfor us
to worry about those possibilities? What if these attacks have an impact upon

166. the economyor the food supply or the price of fuel? Should we worry about
these things?
We canconveniently state that the first century did not have terrorist
organizations to threaten their way of life. And perhaps that is true on one
level. But they knew what it was to suffer under the hand of criminals, and to
experience famine due to crop failure and watershortages,and to have
unemployment with no governmental subsidy, and to face the ravages of
disease with no antibiotics or vaccines, orhealthcare, and to live as slaves with
no hope of deliverance. Theyhad no idyllic life but suffered greatly as a way
of life. It was in this setting that Jesus commandedkingdom citizens, "Forthis
reasonI sayto you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat
or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not
life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"
1. Life or things?
As Jesus has already explained, the basic problem facing all of us is how we
view life. Do we look at life in relationship to God as Father? Or do we look at
life in relationship to satisfying desires and craving material things? We've
already consideredthat the nature of humanity is that we do live in a material
world and we have the necessityof certainmaterial things for subsistence. But
what Christ has shown through the metaphors of treasures, lamps, and
masters is that kingdom citizens view life from a God-oriented point of view,
and consequentlythey live in a God-directed way. So Jesus commands, "Do
not be worried about your life, as to what you will eator what you will drink;
nor for your body, as to what you will put on."
Everyone has to eat, drink, and wearclothes. That's part of the human
existence. But that is not life. We are not to live for eating, drinking, and

167. wearing clothes. Jesus quizzes us, "Is not life more than food, and the body
more than clothing?" I canreally think of nothing that is more appropriate
for our day. Jesus distinguishes life and food, the body and clothes, not to
suggestthat we have no need for these things but to insist that things are to be
our servants not our masters.
Eating, drinking, and clothing drive our society. If you do not believe this just
take a quick look at the advertisements in any popular magazine. They
compel us to feel an intense need to eat and drink certain products, and dress
in certain ways. If Jesus coulduse eating, drinking, and clothing for people
that barely ekedout an existence, how much more so for us that stand in front
of the pantry agitating over what we'll have for dinner or in front of a closet
worrying about which outfit we will wear. Things control us far more than we
would like to admit.
Again, Jesus is not commanding us to refrain from eating, drinking, and
wearing clothes. Those are necessitiesoflife. But that is just the point. So
much of our worries involve the basic necessitiesoflife. Typically, we are not
interestedin necessities as much as we are comforts, compliments, and
compulsions. We want to feel well, attract attention, and satisfy desires. So we
worry about consuming certainthings or dressing in certain ways or owning
certain products or achieving a certainstatus. All the while we forgetour
relationship to God.
Life is more valuable than food and clothing. By "life" Jesus refers to the
whole of our existence - it is life in relationship to God through Christ. Even
the natural order has a better handle on this than does humanity. "Look at
the birds [that is, give them carefulthought, take the time to look and ponder]
of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?" It is
not that the birds are not actively involved in pecking seeds ordigging insects

168. or nibbling on the carcassofa dead animal. They must have food just like we
must. But it is our Father that cares forthem. He does not care for them as
their Father but as the God of providential rule. The value of a human far
exceeds the birds and other creatures. If God cares forthem that will perish
and go back to the dust of the earth, much more so he will care for you whom
he values enough to redeem you through the blood of his Son. So look at the
birds - considerhow God feeds them. Martin Luther makes the point in a
charming way.
You see ... he is making the birds our schoolmasters andteachers. It is a great
and abiding disgrace to us that in the Gospel a helpless sparrow should
become a theologianand a preacher to the wisestof men... Wheneveryou
listen to a nightingale, therefore, you are listening to an excellentpreacher... It
is as if he were saying "I prefer to be in the Lord's kitchen. He has made
heaven and earth, and he himself is the cook and the host. Everyday he feeds
and nourishes innumerable little birds out of his hand" [quoted by John Stott,
Christian Counter-Culture, 164].
The same is true of the wild flowers instructing us. "And why are you worried
about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow;they do not toil nor
do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed
himself like one of these." In the late sixties I traveled with some relatives to
Europe. My cousin, George, and I hiked all day in the mountains around
Zermatt, Switzerland. I still remember the scene as we came down from one
mountain toward the valley, when suddenly we happened upon a field of
wildflowers. I gawkedin amazement at the beauty all around. Even for a
fourteen year old it was far too beautiful to ignore. Solomonhad nothing on
these wildflowers!But all of that God-givenbeauty clothing the flowers does
not last. In the ancient world they were gathered, dried, and used to ignite a
quick, hot blaze for the clay ovens that bakedtheir bread. "But if God so
clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into
the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?" Flowers do not live into
eternity yet God provides them with such beautiful clothes that
manufacturers are still trying to copy them to make silk and artificial flowers.

169. Will a God that gives so much attention to the detail of his creationfail to
clothe you? No wonder that our worry about the things of life brings the
rebuke, "You of little faith!"
2. God's care
The essenceofworry is two-fold: (1) we exert mental and emotional energy
for things outside our control. "And who of you by being worried canadd a
single hour to his life?" There's some question about whether the Greek
means adding a cubit (about 18 inches) to one's height or extending the length
of one's life. Worry cannot do either. The Lord can add an hour to one's life
or a week or years, and he certainly adds a cubit betweenchildhood and
adulthood [as Stott points out, 163]. But worry cannothelp you.
But worry also (2) acts as thought God will not provide - which is unbelief.
That is why Christ chides such folly as an example of little faith persons [Gk.,
oligopistoi]. Worry means that we do not trust the Fatherto care for us as his
children. We do not believe his promises or trust in his powerto provide or
rest in the abundance of his compassiontowardus. Jesus wants us to see that
worry is not merely about us - it is about God, and our deficient view of him
as heavenly Father.
The emphasis in the Sermon on the Mount is that God is "your Father" (5:16,
45, 48; 6:1, 4, 6, 9, 15, 18). He is not a distant, cosmic Being of some powerand
ability (as in Deism and some forms of modern liberalism). He is not a force
that operates within the universe (as in New Age theology). He is not a
disinteresteddeity that tolerates our existence while he humors himself (as in
the Greek pantheonof gods). He is "your Father" that feeds the birds and
clothes the wildflowers, and who cares infinitely more for you as his child. If
he cares for temporal things how much more for you that are made in his

170. image, and redeemedby the blood of his Son? As a child of God you have a
higher value than the temporal elements of creation, and therefore you have
the assurancethat the Father will "much more" care for you.
II. A nobler ambition
It is one thing to acknowledgeGod's care as Father, and the need to no longer
worry, but quite another thing to apply all of this to daily life. Jesus instructs
us on how to deal with worry in our lives so that we live like kingdom citizens.
1. Recognizing misplacedpriorities
Why is worry such a problem anyway? Again our Lord repeats his command
to not engage in worry. "Do not worry then [i.e., in light of God's care for
creationand your higher value to him], saying, 'What will we eat?'or 'What
will we drink?' or 'What will we wearfor clothing?'" He uses a verb tense
that intensifies the sense ofanxiety. You canalmost hear someone running
around the room, repetitiously crying out, 'what will we eat? What will we
drink? What will we wearfor clothing?'Those that do not know God as
Father have a reasonto be frantic about these things. For the Gentiles eagerly
seek allthese things." That is the norm for the "Gentiles" or"peoples," a
term used to refer to the unbelieving world. They have no heavenly Father to
care for them so they must resortto the futility of worry. Worry characterizes
the unbelieving - but not the kingdom citizen. Worry in a Christian detracts
from the reliability of the gospel;it makes kingdomlife appear to be no
different from the way unbelievers live.
The unbeliever spends his time thinking about how to satisfy his desires. His
priorities revolve around himself. He may indeed do some worthwhile things

171. in life but ultimately he pursues life without submission to God's rule. He
prioritizes his comforts, compliments, and compulsions. But he has no heart
for the Kingship of Christ over his life, and no trust in God as his heavenly
Father. So he must go it alone - and that involves worrying about satisfying
every whim.
This is where the kingdom citizen stands in sharp contrast. His priorities are
seton heavenly things rather than earthly. The light of the gospeldirects his
heart - he views life in light of the cross of Christ. His loyalty is to one master -
the Lord. In a word, his priorities are seton living like a kingdom citizen
under the rule of his King and care of his Father. Where are your priorities
placed?
2. Believing that the Father knows
The Christian turns from worry as he believes and understands that God is
his Father. "Foryour heavenly Father knows that you need all these things,"
Jesus assuresus. It is not just as the omniscient God that he knows - though he
does, but he knows our needs as "your heavenly Father." The Greek
constructionis emphatic, "ForHe knows - He that is your Father, the
heavenly One, that you have need of all these things." There is a double
implication here. On one hand, because he is our heavenly Father he is able to
know preciselywhat we need and through the normal means that he has set in
motion in life he provides those needs. So howeverthe provisions may come
your way - whether through work, investments, retirement, gifts - the
heavenly Father knowingly provides for you.
But on the other hand, because he is "your heavenly Father" you can ask for
provisions that you need. There are those times that God will order needs in
our lives so that we might seek his face, and be reminded afreshof the

172. abundance of his grace towardus. When we have a need either the heavenly
Father will provide through some means according to his goodpleasure or he
will show us by denying that provision that what we perceive to be a need is a
want, and unnecessaryfor us at that point in life.
Faith in the Father's knowledge and care for us does not mean that we are to
be passive in dealing with the issues oflife. The whole contextof the Sermon
on the Mount points againstthat. Nor does it mean that we are to equate not
worrying with being carefree andunconcerned about life's needs. As Don
Carsonhas expressed, that person "needs to hear something about discipline,
self-sacrifice,and hard work, and he needs to have illegitimate worry
differentiated from these" [The Sermon on the Mount, 84]. Trusting the
Father's care does not mean that we are unconcernedabout life. ForJesus has
already taught us that we are to pray about daily needs, "Give us this day our
daily bread."
We must also be careful that we do not construe not worrying with waiting for
God to provide without wise planning and diligent work on our part. Martin
Luther said it best, "Godwants nothing to do with the lazy, gluttonous bellies
who are neither concernednor busy; they actas if they just had to sit and wait
for him to drop a roastedgooseinto their mouth" [quoted by Stott, 165]. Not
worrying also does not mean that our physical needs are unimportant. They
are important but they are not most important. They are to serve us; not be
masters over us.
3. Applying the right focus
Instead of being like the unbelieving world that worries and carps about what
they do not have, the kingdom citizen has a different focus. "But seek firstHis
kingdom and His righteousness,and all these things will be added to you."

173. The way to what you need is not found by wrapping life around things, and
selfishambitions. It is found by applying your mind, energy, and priorities to
seeking the Lord and his righteousness.
There is a distinct contrastintended. "Forthe Gentiles eagerlyseek allthese
things," explained Christ. That is, the unbelieving world is consumed with
creature comforts, satisfying desires, building earthly treasures, and being
right in his own eyes. He just wants to be happy in life. So he eagerlyseeks
after temporal things. He believes that if he can accumulate enoughtemporal
things or attractenough temporal attention or satisfyenough temporal
desires, then he will be happy and enjoy life. But he never reaches thatpoint.
Though he may have points that he thinks he has reached the zenith of life, he
finds that he must continue to seek more things if he is to be satisfiedwith life.
He has no thought to seek afterthe Lord. His life is wrapped up in the
temporal. So when things do not go as planned or hoped for, he worries and
frets. His way of life is one of anxiety.
But the kingdom citizen has a different pursuit. Both Gentiles and kingdom
citizens are seeking something. One seeks the temporal for momentary
happiness. The other seeks the Lord and the kind of righteousness that leads
to a holier life. One lives for the moment; the other lives with eternity in view.
To "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness"demands that all of
life be focusedon the Lord. It begins with knowing the Lord and pursuing
Him through the Scriptures. If we desire to understand the Lord and what it
means for him to be King overall of life, and gracious Rulerover every
circumstance of life, then we must go to the Word of God. We know so little of
his kingdom when we neglecthis Word. Seeking firstthe kingdom of God also
has to do with your obedience to the Word of God. You cannotand will not
seek the Lord without obedience. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out that this
command means, "that we are to concentrate upon perfecting our

174. relationship to God as our heavenly Father" [The Sermon on the Mount, II,
142]. That relationship involves knowing and obeying Him.
"His righteousness"continues the use of the term that we've already seenin
the Sermonon the Mount. It is right living that flows out of being in right
relationship to the Lord through the redemptive work of Christ. "He is not
telling His hearers how to make themselves Christian," writes Lloyd-Jones,
"but He is telling them how to behave because they are Christians" [143].
"Righteousness" has to do with the way you practice the Christian life in
attitude, thought, tongue, and deed.
It is as though our Lord tells us, 'You concentrate onseeking the rule of God
over your life and the practice of his righteousness, and let him concentrate on
providing for you': "and all these things will be added to you."
III. A better way
Instead of worrying about the many details of life, Jesus tells us that we are to
concentrate onseeking to know more and more of his rule over our lives, and
the practice of his righteousness as we grow in holiness. He is to be our
priority and concern. Do you live like that? Or do you give an occasional
glance God' way, and then fret about life? There is a better way.
1. Leave tomorrow in God's hands
Anxiety is really fretfulness over what has not taken place. It is a concern
about tomorrow while living in the today. But Jesus commands us, "So do not
worry about tomorrow;for tomorrow will care for itself. Eachday has

175. enough trouble of its own." We canbe sure that troubles will come our way;
that's just part of life. But none of us know what they will be, how intense they
will come, or when they will come. To worry over what has not happened is a
total waste ofmental and emotionalenergy - and more than that, it is a
categoricaldenialof God as your heavenly Fatherand His wise, gracious,
purposeful rule over your life.
So leave tomorrow in God's hands. You will likely have to discipline your
thoughts to be able to do this. You will need to give yourself reminders along
the wayto trust the Lord with your thoughts. Tomorrow belongs to the Lord.
You concentrate onseeking the Lord's kingdom and righteousness today.
2. Trust today to God's care
But what if troubles do come today? "Eachday has enough trouble [or
misfortune] of its own." You have a heavenly Fatherthat is caring for you. If
He cares enoughto feedthe birds and clothe the flowers, then surely He will
care much more for you that He calls His child. He rules over the minutest
detail confronting your life eachday. Trust Him. Meditate upon His Fatherly
care and provision for you. Believe his promises. Seek to learn all that you can
about him in the context of today with all of its troubles. And seek to practice
the kind of righteousness thatJesus has set forth in the Sermon on the Mount.
Conclusion
Worry is the undue concentrationof your thoughts and energies upon
yourself while disregarding the rule of Christ over your life. The cure for such
anxiety is found in knowing that through the grace of Godshown to you in
Jesus Christ, God is your heavenly Father. And since He is your heavenly

176. Father, you are to seek His kingdom as the priority of your life, and seek His
righteousness as the practice of life. Be so diligent in seeking the kingdom of
God and His righteousness that you do not have time for worry. And that's
really living like a kingdom citizen.
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God Is A Bird Watcher
By David J. Stewart| August 2011 | Updated March 2012
Luke 12:4-7, “And I sayunto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill
the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn
you whom ye shall fear: Fearhim, which after he hath killed hath power to
castinto hell; yea, I sayunto you, Fear him. Are not five sparrows soldfor two

177. farthings, and not one of them is forgottenbefore God? But even the very
hairs of your head are all numbered. Fearnot therefore: ye are of more value
than many sparrows.”
The Bible says that God cares and watches everybird. Jesus saidin Luke
12:6 that NOT ONE OF THEM IS FORGOTTEN. Jesus tells us this so that
we will realize the extent to which God cares, for even the number of hairs on
our head are numbered by God. Think about that!!! If God keeps track of the
number of hairs on your head, do you think He has missed the malicious
people who have hurt you, cheatedyou, lied about you, and done evil against
you? Not a chance!Hopefully you're not the abusive and evil one. Jesus said
in Matthew 12:36 that men will give accounton Judgment Day even for the
words they speak. Goddoesn't miss anything and nothing is a small matter to
God. The Bible tells us not to fearmankind; but rather, to FEAR God Whose
eyes are upon the evil and the good.
The Bible teaches respectforanimals and life. In the law of Moses, God
forbade anyone from harming birds in a nest if it was in their way. Isn't God
wonderful...
Deuteronomy 22:6-7, “If a bird's nestchance to be before thee in the way in
any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs,and the dam
[mother] sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs,thou shalt not take the dam
[mother] with the young. But thou shalt in any wise let the dam [mother] go,
and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest
prolong thy days.”
When I read this Scripture passage Iimmediately thought about pregnant
fish, and how they are often releasedto give birth to more fish. It very likely
could be that God wanted the mother bird to be able to reproduce again, and
demanded that she be releasedinto the wild. I think that makes the most
sense, but I am not sure. Whether that's what this passage means ornot, it is
certainly the ethical(right) thing to do to respectmotherhood, whether it be
human or animal. I do think that is what this Scripture is teaching, respectfor
reproduction in life. Look at all the endangeredspecies in the world today,
and how many birds and animals are extinct. It would certainly make sense

178. that God, who cared to preserve His creationthrough the flood of Genesis
Chapter 6, would be concernedaboutpreservation of the species.END
Little Things Matter To God
SPARROW
by Dr. Joe Temple
Bird watchers are usually presentedas people who don't have it all quite
togetherand can't do anything other than what they are doing.
In the light of that statement, I wonder how many of you would be willing to
say that you are bird watchers since you are supposed to be a little bit
different if you bird watch?
I am going to suggestthat we learn about scriptural bird watching. Four years
ago the Lord gave me a verse to rest on when I neededsome special
strengthening from Him. That verse was Isaiah, chapter40, verse 31:
Isaiah40
31
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall
mount up with wings as eagles;they shall run, and not be weary; and they
shall walk, and not faint.
After He gave me that verse and I beganto study what the Scriptures had to
say about eagles,my appetite was whettedto see what the Bible had to say
about birds. I was amazed at the number of men in the Bible who were bird
watchers. The thing that amazed me as I examined this in the Word of God is
the number of times birds are mentioned, not as factual information, but
presentedto us in the Word of God on the basis of lessons thatthese
individuals learned from their bird watching.

179. For example, the eagle is mentioned twenty-eight times in the Bible. Twenty-
six of those times, it is mentioned as teaching some lesson. To me, that is
significant, and that is the reasonI think we should do some bird watching.
To encourage you to do some bird watching in the Scripture, let me remind
you that Jobsaid we ought to do it. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Job,
chapter 12. As you turn to that portion of the Word of God, you will keepin
mind that Job had three friends who really loved him, but he felt that they
knew more about his situation than he did himself. When I read the book of
Job, I am impressedwith the fact that Job's friends were much harder to
endure than his boils. His friends were much harder to endure than his
suffering because they thought they had the solution to his problem, and he
had to listen to them spout off when he knew very well that they didn't know
what they were talking about.
Job answeredone of his friends in chapter 12, and I have always appreciated
the contempt or the disgust that was in these words:
Job 12
2
No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
That was about the most withering thing I think he could say after his friends
produced the eloquent speeches theypresented. In verse 3, Job says:
Job 12
3
But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who
knowethnot such things as these?
4
I am as one mockedof his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he
answerethhim: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
5

180. He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him
that is at ease.
6
The tabernacles ofrobbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure;
into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
All of these men are wise in their ownconceitis what Job is saying, and then
he said:
Job 12
7
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teachthee; and the fowls of the air, and
they shall tell thee:
8
Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall
declare unto thee.
9
Who knowethnot in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?
The chapter goes onto say what you will be taught if you observe these
creatures of nature; namely, God is in control of everything. He knows what is
going on.
ReasonforSpiritual Bird Watching
For the purposes of our discussion, the reasonwe can do some scriptural bird
watching, glance againat the lastpart of verse 7:
Job 12
7

181. …and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
The word tell here is a translationof a Hebrew word that involves the idea of
an explanation by way of illustration. He is saying, “Study the birds. They can
tell you a lot of things that you can't be told any other way,” obviously
spiritual lessons in the light of how the Word of God deals with birds.
Job, in the Old Testament, saidthat we ought to be bird watchers. The Lord
Jesus Christ, in the New Testament, saidthat we ought to be bird watchers.
Turn to the Gospelof Matthew, chapter 6, and notice a portion of the Word
that I am sure you have noticed many, many times; you probably have quoted
a portion of the paragraphat some time or other, but in doing so, missed the
real suggestionthat the Lord made. I know I did. For any number of years, I
have quoted some portion of this paragraphand yet have missedhow the
paragraph opened. Notice, Matthew, chapter6, verse 26:
Matthew 6
26
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather
into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeththem. Are ye not much better
than they?
The rest of the paragraph is what we usually think about, but I would like for
us to zero in on the statementof the Lord Jesus Christ: “Beholdthe fowls of
the air.” This word behold is from a Greek word that speaks ofdoing more
than taking a passing glance. It involves the idea of studying the fowls of the
air.
Becausemen in the Word of God were bird watchers, we wrote down a
number of lessons just in relation to fowls or birds in general, and I would like
for us to notice a few of those generallessons. Turn to Psalm11, and as we
look at these passages ofScripture, let me emphasize what I have suggested
any number of times when I am teaching the Word—that I believe you need
to learn to read the Word of God with what I calla sanctified imagination .
You need to be able to look behind the word and see actuallywhat was said.

182. The Lord is In Charge
Notice what David said in Psalm 11:
Psalm11
1
In the LORD put I my trust: how sayye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your
mountain?
2
For, lo, the wickedbend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the
string, that they may privily shootat the upright in heart.
What is David talking about? He said, “One day I was out watching the birds.
I saw some men with their bows and their arrows aimed at a little bird, and
that little bird flew awayto the mountain and escapedbeing killed by the
archers.”
No, it is not there just like I saidit, but it is there if you read the words with a
sanctifiedimagination. What lessondid David give us from that? You don't
need to flee like a helpless little bird to a mountain retreat to escape the arrow
of the enemy because you have the Lord. “Don't tell me to flee like the little
bird to the mountain. I have put my trust in the Lord. True, people are
shooting at me and making it difficult for me, but even if the foundations of
the earth are destroyed, the Lord is in His holy temple. He is still in charge of
things. I don't have to run.”
Turn, please, to Psalm 124, and these are just a few of the illustrations that
David has recordedin the Word concerning his bird watching experiences. In
Psalm124, you will notice he is talking about the difficult times he had with
his enemies. The Psalmbegins:
Psalm124
1

183. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israelsay;
2
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against
us:
3
Then they had swallowedus up quick, when their wrath was kindled against
us:
4
Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
5
Then the proud waters had gone overour soul.
6
Blessedbe the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
Then he remembered one time when he was watching the birds and he saw a
bird caught in a snare. He watchedthat bird flutter around, trying to getloose
from the snare, and he realized the bird was not going to getloose, so he went
and let the bird out of the snare and then he broke the snare. As he thought
back on that experience, he said, “You know, that is exactlywhat has
happened in our lives.” Look at verse 7:
Psalm124
7
Our soul is escapedas a bird out of the snare of the fowlers:the snare is
broken, and we are escaped.
Nobody could like that if they had not seena bird ensnared, helpless,
fluttering, trying to getloose and then released, soaring offup into the sky;
and because he was a lover of birds and it was unfair to snare them, he broke
the snare. He said, “You know, that is what has happened to us.”

184. Do you realize that is what has happened to every one of us who has been
redeemed? Every one of us who has found Jesus Christ as our Savior has
escapedfrom the snare of the fowler. To me, the wonderful thing about it is
that the snare is broken. I am glad that the Scriptures saythat sin shall not
have dominion over us. Of course, if you know the Word, you know that that
is not teaching us that you will never sin after you are born again;but it does
teachyou that the snare is broken. You do not have to be a slave to sin. You
do not have to let Satandirect your life.
It would be a sad thing, indeed, if we had escapedonly to fall prey to the
enemy again. I am grateful that the Word of God teaches us that the wicked
one cannottouch us because He Who is begottenof God keeps us. The One
Who is begottenof Godis the Lord Jesus Christ.
Solomon's Observation
David must have passedon to his son his interest in bird watching, because he
did it, too. If you will turn to Proverbs, chapter 27, you will notice an
observationthat Solomonmade concerning lessons he had learned in relation
to bird watching. Notice verse 8:
Proverbs 27
8
As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his
place.
You will want to compare that with what you find in Isaiah, chapter 16. The
best way to understand the Word of God is to compare Scripture with
Scripture, and in Isaiah, chapter 16, the prophet is speaking ofthe trouble
that is going to come upon Moabbecause she dared to oppose the people of
God. He said in Isaiah, chapter 16, verse 2:
Isaiah16
2

185. For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird…
You see, Solomonsaw a wandering bird. Isaiah saw a wandering bird. The
reasonthat I wanted you to turn to this passageofScripture is that Isaiah tells
us why that bird was wandering: “…a wandering bird castout of the nest.”
Literally, it was a wandering bird which had fallen out of the nest. There is
nothing quite so helpless as a little bird that has fallen out of the nest. Perhaps
the mother bird knew nothing about it, and there it was, on the ground,
absolutely helpless.
One day Solomonwas thinking about men who did not keeptheir place, about
men who did not remember their high and their holy calling, and he said, “Do
you know what that reminds me of? A little bird that has fallen out of its nest
and is absolutely helpless.” Whenhe saw the bird that had fallen out of its
nest and was helpless, he was reminded of men who forgetGod and leave the
place that God has given them and are wandering helplesslyabout.
The SpeckledBird
Turn with me, please, to the book of Jeremiah, chapter12, and notice another
man. We have notice severalof them, but even this is only a sampling,
actually. We see severalof them who were bird watchers and profited from
their watching of birds and wrote down the lessons thatthey learned. In
Jeremiah, chapter 12, verse 9:
Jeremiah12
9
Mine heritage is unto me as a speckledbird, the birds round about are against
her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.
We don't have time for an expositionof this chapter, but put very briefly, the
nation of Israelhad been in such constantdisobedience to God that the
enemies all around were turned againstthem at the hand of God. “Mine
heritage” here refers to the nation of Israel. This is God speaking. Godsays:
“Mine heritage is as a speckledbird.”

186. Jeremiahhad been bird watching, and he noticed how often when a speckled
bird was hatched and eventually the feathers came so they knew that it was a
speckledbird, all the other birds in the nest, even the mother, refused to
acceptit. They all pounced upon that bird from every corner and peckedit to
death. Jeremiahsays that is the way the nation of Israelis. BecauseofIsrael's
disobedience and willfulness, Godhas permitted all the nations of the world to
come and peck at her as a speckledbird.
Let's take that out of the national level and put it down to a personallevel and
let me ask you, “Has there been a time in your life when you felt like a
speckledbird, and you felt like everything and everyone was againstyou?
Have you felt like nobody caredanything about you, when you felt like every
turn that you made there was someone there to oppose you? That is a
speckledbird, and Godis interestedin speckledbirds.”
Do you know what God saidin the book of Deuteronomy? He said that if you
were walking down the road and you saw a bird's nest, you shouldn't disturb
it. If you need to plow around it, plow around it, but don't disturb it. Why do
you suppose He said that? Because He is interestedin birds and because if He
is interested in birds, He is interested in you.
The Sparrow and the Swallow
I would like for us to think specificallyabout a particular kind of bird. I want
us to think about the sparrow and the swallow. The reasonthat I am putting
these two togetheris that the Scripture often combines them and Scripture
often uses the two words interchangeably.
The sparrow is not the sparrow that we know about, though it could be
included in that. The Hebrew word for sparrow simply means “a very small
bird.” That is the main thrust of this particular lessonin bird watching. We
are going to talk about those small birds and the lessons that canbe learned
from them.
Let me begin by saying that the sparrow, the kind in the Word of God, is a
lonely bird. You never see the sparrow in groups;you see him alone. One day

187. David noticed that. Turn in your Bibles to Psalm102. David is speaking here
about the difficult situation in which he was. He beganthe Psalmby saying:
Psalm102
1
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.
2
Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble…
The Sparrow is Lonely
That indicates the theme of the Psalm. David was in trouble, and he felt like
even God had turned His back on him. He felt utterly alone. In verse 7, he
said:
Psalm102
7
I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
How often had he seena lonely sparrow sitting on the top of the house and
had said to himself, “My what a lonely looking bird that is.” Then he had this
deep, spiritual exercise ofsoul when he felt utterly alone, and he said, “I am
like that sparrow—alone onthe house top.”
Have you ever been lonely? Notice whatI say: Have you ever been lonely—not
alone, but lonely? You know, you can be in the midst of a whole crowdof
people and be lonely because you canbe impressedwith the fact that nobody
really cares about you; nobody is really interestedin you, and you are alone.
Some of us have been, in the wisdom of God, calledupon to live alone. I have
been living alone for four years. My wife went to be with the Lord four years
ago, in the wisdom of God, because Godnever makes a mistake. I know what
David is talking about here when he said, “I feel like a sparrow alone upon a
house top.” Not because I am not around people all of the time. I am doing

188. this sort of thing all of the time. I am around people, and I love to be around
people; but there is a loneliness that some people are called upon to go
through that makes you think about this sparrow upon the house top, and I
have felt that way many, many times.
We must recognize that sometimes when we feel alone, we don't need to. Turn
in your Bibles to Romans, chapter 11. Sometimes we feellike that sparrow—
alone upon the house top because we are more interestedin ourselves and in
our own sorrows than we are in fact. In chapter11 of the book of Romans,
Paul is emphasizing the fact that Godis not through with the nation of Israel,
that He still has another plan; but he says, “Sometimes youpeople feelthat
way.” Notice in verse 2:
Romans 11
2
God hath not castawayhis people which he foreknew. Wotye not what the
scripture saith of Elias [that is Elijah] ? how he maketh intercessionto God
againstIsraelsaying,
3
Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am
left alone, and they seek my life.
Sometimes, because we are lopsidedin our view of things, we can feel that we
are alone, that nobody else is interestedin the things of God or living for Him.
Of course, you know the rest of the story. Look at verse 4:
Romans 11
4
But what saith the answerof God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven
thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Let's recognize that it is possible for us to feellike we are alone when we are
not; but having stated that and eliminated that possibility, let me remind you
of a passageofScripture found in Hebrews, chapter 13. Just as certainly as I

189. am sharing the Word of Godwith you at this moment, I cansay that there will
come a time in your life when you will be like a sparrow—aloneupon the
house top. This is not to discourage anyone and it is not to frighten anyone; it
is simply to prepare you for that time that is going to come, because it will
come. You do not need to become pessimistic like Elijah and say, “I would
rather die than live.” Rather, as Hebrews, chapter 13, verse 5, says, “Letyour
life be without covetousness.”
Covetousnessis usually related to money and things, but in the light of the text
that is before us, I think it is referring here to a life situation that you would
like to be different. You covetwhat some other personhas as far as life
situations are concerned. Notice the verse again:
Hebrews 13
5
Let your conversationbe without covetousness;and be content with such
things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
If he had been talking about the accumulationof goods, it seems to me it
would have been better for the Scripture to have read, “…for he hath said I
will supply all of your needs,” but that isn't what it says, is it? It says, “I will
never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Noticeverse 6:
Hebrews 13
6
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what
man shall do unto me.
If God has permitted you to be in a situation that is comparable to that
sparrow alone on the house top, don't complain; reston the Word of God.
Sometimes when you have time, read verse 6 in the original text and notice
grammatically how the emphasis is placed. We do not have time to go into it
in detail, but let me paraphrase it for you rather roughly. It reads, “I will
never, never, never leave you nor let you down.” Did you ever have someone
let you down, somebody you trusted, somebodythat you counted on? I think

190. that we have all had an experience similar to that, and God has said in the
Word of God, “You can count on Me. I am never going to let you down.”
The Sparrow is Wise
Let me suggestsomething else to you about the sparrow. The sparrow is not
only a lonely bird, but the sparrow is a wise bird. Turn, please, to Psalm84. In
this Psalm, David is describing his longing to be with the people of God. At the
particular time that he wrote this, he was a wanderer; he was a fugitive. He
was not able to be in a place where he could have fellowship with God or other
people, and he wrote Psalm84. Notice verse 1:
Psalm84
1
How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
2
My soullongeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and
my flesh crieth out for the living God.
Have you ever felt that way for fellowshipwith the Lord? That is what it
meant to David. Then, he remembered one of his bird watching experiences.
He remembered how, at one time when he was in the house of God, he looked
up toward the altar and he noticed some movement. When he lookedcloser,
he found a sparrow building her nest, so he wrote in verse 3:
Psalm84
3
Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King,
and my God.
He said, “I wish I could be like that sparrow. I wish I could be like that
swallow that is able to build its nestat the very altar of God.”

191. What David is saying here is, “Canyou think of anything better than to have
your home in the altar of God in the sanctuary?”
Here is something, because I am always so vitally interested in the family, that
I cannot pass over. Did you notice this swallow chosethe altar of God to build
a nest for her family? She could have chosenany place to build a nest, but she
chose the altar of God.
Build Your NestIn the Sanctuary
I believe that things are put here for applicationand for instructions, so I am
going to suggestto you if you want your family to be all that God wants it to
be, build your nest, figuratively speaking, atthe altar. Build your nest in the
sanctuary because in the sanctuary is the answerto every question that you
have. Surely you understand that I am not talking about a church building.
Surely you understand that I am talking about your fellowshipwith God.
Let's go back to Psalm77 for just a moment to see why I say that the sparrow
is such a wise bird. In Psalm77, we have the story of Asaph. Asaph is very
much like us. He was in trouble, and he describes his trouble. He couldn't
sleepat night because ofhis trouble, and when he thought about God, he
didn't get any comfort; he felt more miserable. He reachedthe place where he
said, in verse 7:
Psalm77
7
Will the Lord castoff for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
8
Is his mercy cleangone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?
I hope you haven't had to go through experiences like this, but if you live very
long and live very deep, you will. There is nothing wrong with you when you
go through that phase of your life, when you wonder if God has forgotten to
be gracious. Thatis what Asaph was saying. If you haven't reacheda place

192. like that, you just haven't been tried enough. When you are tried enough, you
will say, “I wonder if God has forgottento be gracious.”
He answers his own question in verse 10:
Psalm77
10
And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right
hand of the most High.
11
I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders
of old.
12
I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
He is saying, “No, of course Godhas not forgotten to be gracious. Godhasn't
passedoff forevermore. That is my weakness. Thatis my lack of faith. I will
remember all of these answers to prayer that I have had in times past.” Then
notice verse 13. This is the reasonfor my drawing your attention to this
passageofScripture:
Psalm77
13
Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary…
It is when you are in unbroken communion with Him that you understand His
ways. Did you notice what he said? As soonas he said, “Thy way, O God, is in
the sanctuary,” he said, “…who is a greatGod like unto Thee?” A little bit
before he thought God didn't care;now he says, “Godis great. God is good.”
Where did he learn that? The same place the sparrow built her nest. It might
be wise to learn a lessonfrom the sparrow.

193. A Sparrow is Valuable
One last thing about the sparrow. The sparrow is a valuable bird. As I make
that statement, you have every right to question it. A valuable bird, yes, but
[listen closely]not to man, but to God. Turn, please, to Matthew, chapter 10,
and notice what the Lord Jesus Christ has to sayabout sparrows. Iam sure
the Lord Jesus Christdid bird watching out in the open, but this particular
incident that He records is in the temple. As He went into the temple one day,
He saw a whole pile of sparrows (keepin mind we are talking about a small
bird. It could have been turtledoves, pigeons, orwhatever) with their legs tied
together, and they were being sold for a sacrifice in the temple. As He looked
at those sparrows, He said, in verse 29:“Are not two sparrows soldfor a
farthing?” That was the leastexpensive offering that anybody could make.
If we were to stop there, we would say what we ordinarily say, “What is a
sparrow? They are not worth anything at all,” but the Lord Jesus Christ said,
in the lastpart of verse 29:
Matthew 10
29
…and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
That is how valuable they are. Not one sparrow falls to the ground without
God knowing about it.
What do you think when you see a dead sparrow? Do you just kick it out of
the wayand go on? That would be a fairly normal reaction, but evidently
when the Lord Jesus Christ saw the sparrow, He said, “My Fatherknows
about that sparrow, and My Father cares aboutit.” Then notice what He says:
Matthew 10
30
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31

194. Fearye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
A sparrow is so important to God that it doesn't fall to the ground without
God's knowing about it, and you are of more value than many sparrows.
Go back to Matthew, chapter 6. We glancedat it a bit earlier, and we
suggestedto you that the Lord Jesus Christ suggestedthat we do some bird
watching in the sense that in verse 26, He said:
Matthew 6
26
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather
into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeththem. Are ye not much better
than they?
The word fowls here is the Greek wordfor “sparrow.” Noticeverse 27:
Matthew 6
27
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28
And why take ye thought for raiment? Considerthe lilies of the field, how
they grow;they toil not, neither do they spin:
29
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these.
30
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass ofthe field, which to day is, and to
morrow is castinto the oven, shall he not much more [notice the emphasis
there] clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31

195. Therefore take no thought [no anxious thought] , saying, What shall we eat?
or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)for your heavenly Father
knoweththat ye have need of all these things.
33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;and all these
things shall be added unto you.
34
Take therefore no thought [no anxious thought] for the morrow: for the
morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof.
The next time that you see a sparrow, remember God is interested in that
sparrow. An eloquent preacher said one time that there is never a sparrow
dies but that God goes to its funeral. I am not that eloquent, so I don't usually
talk like that, but it impressedme—not a sparrow dies, but that Godgoes to
its funeral.
God is interested in you. The next time you see a sparrow, remember God
cares aboutyou so much more than about that sparrow.
SOURCE:Birds of the Bible #1: Sparrow
Matthew 10:28-30, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to
kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroyboth soul and body
in hell. Are not two sparrows soldfor a farthing? and one of them shall not
fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all
numbered.”

196. God Is A Bird Watcher, Too
Contributed by David Rigg on Aug 13, 2017
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Scripture: Matthew 10:29-31
Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Summary: This sermon deals with how much God loves us.
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God Is A Bird Watcher, Too
Matthew 10:29-31
29Are not two sparrows soldfor a copper coin? And not one of them falls to
the ground apart from your Father's will.
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30Butthe very hairs of your head are all numbered.

197. 31Do not fear therefore;you are of more value than many sparrows.
In the 10th Chapter of Matthew
Jesus is preparing to send the disciples out
to “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, castout demons.”
However, He warns them they won’t always be welcomed.
He refers to them as ‘sheep in the midst of wolves’.
He says they may be handed over to councils,
floggedin synagogues, anddraggedbefore governors and kings.
I think this scaredthe daylights out of His disciples.
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Why?
Well, Jesus begins to show them they won’t be alone.
He tries to calm their fears
by talking about the sparrows and the hairs on their heads.
While they are out there in the world, sent out in pairs,
Jesus will not abandon them.
God will keepclose tabs on them every moment of every day.
That doesn’t mean they won’t have trouble.
In fact, they will
but trouble doesn’t mean that they have been forsaken.
What Jesus told His disciples can also apply to us.
In verse 31, Jesus says, “do not fear”.
Why should we not be afraid?

198. Do not be afraid because Godtakes specialcare ofus.
He sees the sparrow when it falls.
He numbers the hairs on our heads.
We are worth more than many sparrows to the Lord.
So why be afraid of anything?
Verses 29-31 give us 3 reasons why we should not be afraid.
Reason# 1: God Cares About Things We Don’t Even Notice.
29Are not two sparrows soldfor a copper coin? And not one of them falls to
the ground apart from your Father's will.
There’s a goodreasonwhy Jesus mentions “sparrows”here.
When it was time for the Hebrew people to offer sacrifices,
lambs, goats, and bulls were usually offered.
However, poor people couldn’t afford to buy those animals.
So they would buy sparrows becausethey were so cheap.
They could buy 2 sparrows for just 1 coppercoin.
So to the Hebrew people, sparrows weren’t worth much.
I suppose the same could be said today.
We buy bird feed and put it out to attractbirds.
We like the cardinals, blue jays, blue birds, finches,
hummingbirds and other colorful birds.
We put up birdhouses for the wrens and purple martins to nestin.
Yet, sparrows are often consideredpeskybirds.
There usually are more sparrows around than other birds.

199. Like the Jews, we don’t think sparrows are worth much.
Jesus says Godnotices the sparrows when they fall.
That means Godcares about things we don’t even notice.
Note two implications of this truth:
#1) The sparrows do fall.
Even the little sparrows fall to the ground eventually.
Sooneror later troubles do come to all of God’s creation.
What happens to the unsaved people happens to us, too.
They get sick;we get sick.
They lose their jobs; we lose our jobs.
They get ripped off; we get ripped off.
They get cancer;we getcancer.
They die; we die.
We are not exempt from the trials and troubles of this world.
#2) The sparrows fall according to the Father’s will.
All things take place according to the plan of Almighty God.
Everything in the universe must fit into God’s ultimate plan.
Genesis tells us the beginning of God’s plan.
Revelationtells us the completion of God’s plan.
Deathis a curse that’s part of God’s will.
That applies to our pain, our suffering, and our loss.
It applies to the heartache ofwatching our loved ones suffer.
I watchedmy dear wife Pat suffer with cancerfor 7 years.

200. We prayed for her to be healed of cancer.
I believe Godansweredthose prayers.
God gave her 7 more years.
I’ve knownpeople to be diagnosedwith cancer
and then die within weeks.
Friends, everybody eventually dies.
Even the people Jesus healedthat we read about in the Bible
they eventually died.
Lazarus whom Jesus raisedfrom the dead eventually died again.
It is not God’s will for us to live foreverin the flesh.
So why should we not fear?
Reason# 2: God Cares About the SmallestDetails of Life.
30Butthe very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Have you ever tried to count the number of hairs on your head?
That’s probably impossible to do,
unless you shaved yourself bald
and then counted the hairs.
Scientists saythe average human head has 100,000 strands ofhair.
Interestingly, the amount of hair varies by color.
Blondes have an average of 140,000strands of hair.
Brunettes have about 105,000.
Redheads have about 90,000.
Some people are naturally bald headed.

201. Others shave their heads so they can be bald.
I never worry about the number of hairs on my head.
I do think about it when it gets too long?
I say to myself, “It’s time to get a haircut!”
I don’t number the hairs on my head, but God does.
Think about that for a moment.
In church here today, that would mean
100,000 forme
100,000 forEvalyn
100,000 forJoanne
100,000 forRonda
100,000 forRose
100,000 forLarry
100,000 forJohn
100,000 forSteve
100,000 forJanice
100,000 forChristian
100,000 forSharon
100,000 forBertie
I was going to say 100,000for Bill!
Maybe not!
Anyway, that's 1.2 million for our church family alone.
God counts all the hairs of all his children.

202. Millions and billions of hairs.
He numbers them all.
Some people might say, “So what?”
The meaning is clear:
If God knows eachstrand of hair individually,
He knows eachof us individually as well.
He knows us through and through.
He knows us in the tiniest detail.
In fact, he knows us far better than we know ourselves.
There’s nothing that we experience in life
that escapesGod’s attention.
There’s nothing too trivial for us to pray about.
So why should we not be afraid?
Reason# 3: God Cares About Us Even When Trouble Comes.
31Do not fear therefore;you are of more value than many sparrows.
Tiny sparrows, worthso little to us,
and yet God cares for eachone of them.
However, you are worth more than a big tree full of sparrows.
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203. Jesus didn’t die for the sparrows.
He died for you and me.
His blood is the proof of His love for us.
What, then, should that truth do for us?
First, it should give us boldness in the time of trouble.
If God is for us, and He is,
why should we fear anything or anyone?
Second, it should give us confidence in moments of confusion.
Today many things are unclear, uncertain, and undecided.
This world seems to be getting further awayfrom God.
One day God will make all things right.
Third, it should give us hope in the time of sorrow.
All of us weep.
The tears flow in our private moments of life.
How can we not weepfor loved ones who have left us?
But be of goodcheer.
Even death is in God’s hands.
If you are a Christian,
you cannotdie before God’s appointed time.
A Christian is immortal until his work on earth is done.
CLOSING:
God is there always;fully aware of what is going on.
In times of peace and times of struggle…

204. In times of laughter and times of tears…
God loves us and is with us no matter what.
God never sleeps,
even when it may seemlike God is napping
because our prayers may not be answeredas quickly as expected.
The Holy Spirit is with us always, accompanying us,
advocating for us,
and helping us to see that eventhe worstof circumstances
can be transformed by blessings.
Do not be afraid!
You are of more value than many sparrows.
“Israelis a bird-watcher’s paradise, with some of the best bird-watching sites
in the world. Although it is one of the smallestcountries in the world, Israel’s
Checklistof Birds includes 494 species.Justfor comparison, the checklistsof
the world’s two largestcountries, Russia and Canada, have 697 and 625
species, respectively. The checklistfor the Lower 48 States of the US numbers
908 species – just under twice the size of Israel’s – but then we’re talking
about an area 386 times largerthan Israel!The bottom line is this: in just a
couple of hours, you canspot a wider variety of birds here than almost
anywhere in the world. The bird-watching seasonin Israelbegins in late
August and ends in early June. There are birds that spend the winter here,
birds that are only here for the summer, birds that pass through during the
spring and fall migration seasons,and birds that canbe found here all year
round.” (Sing Israel)

205. Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) by Daves BirdingPix
“Leaving the 2,000 meter-highand often snow-cappedpeak of Mount Hermon
and heading south along the volcanic plateau of the Golan, spectacularviews
of the Sea of Galilee provide a stunning backdrop to searchfor Black Vulture.
Also known as Lake Tiberias, the Sea of Galilee is a vast freshwaterlake
harboring impressive numbers of wintering Grebes, Pygmy Cormorant,
breeding Squacco Heron and a spectacularwinterconcentrationof
WhiskeredTern. The surrounding hillsides are full of birds, including Eagle
Owl, Little Swift and Long-billed Pipit throughout the year. Patient scanning
of the steep-sidedwadis in winter may wellproduce a major prize in the form
of a Wallcreeper.” (goisrael.com)
“Sea ofGalilee
Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)by Daves BirdingPix
South of the Hula Valley lies the famous Sea of Galilee (a.k.a. Lake Tiberias).
Owing to its size it has in the past been difficult to see offshore birds there.
How ever, it has become a regular site for Pygmy Cormorant, Great Black–
headed and Armenian Gulls. A marsh holds in the northern sectionof the lake
that has good numbers of Squacco Heron, a winter concentrationof
WhiskeredTern, and breeding Clamorous ReedWarbler. The tamarisk trees
harbour a colony of DeadSea Sparrows. The surrounding hills are goodfor
the elusive Long–billed Pipit. Wadi Amud, to the northwest of the lake, is one
of the best knownsites for this species and also for the endangeredLesser
Kestrel, as well as Eagle Owl, Little Swift, Syrian Woodpeckerandgood
numbers of RockSparrow. The cliff:” of Mt. Arbel, westof the lake, are also
goodfor Long–billed Pipit and a regularwinter haunt of Wallcreeper, where
severalindividuals may be seentogether. Alpine Accentoris an occasional
winter visitor and Radde’s Accentorhas been recordedconsorting with this
species, along with the more regular Dunnock.
https://leesbird.com/2010/02/11/bob-jesus-at-the-sea/

206. Bird Watching
Thru the Bible
Dr. J. Vernon McGee
And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noahopened the window of
the ark which he had made: and he sent forth a raven, which went forth to
and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a
dove from him, to see if the waters were abatedfrom off the face of the
ground; but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned
unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then
he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
And he stayed yet other seven days; and againhe sent forth the dove out of
the ark;and the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was
an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noahknew that the waters were abated from off
the earth. And he stayedyet other sevendays; and sent forth the dove; which
returned not againunto him any more. (Genesis 8:6-12)
There is a greatspiritual lessonhere. Noahis engagedin “bird watching.” He
sends out the raven, and the raven does not come back. Why didn’t that raven
come back? You must recognize whatthat raven eats — it feeds on carrion.
There was a whole lot of flesh of dead animals floating around after the Flood,
and that was the kind of thing this old crow ate. He did not return to the ark
because he was really going to a feast, and he was having a very wonderful
time.
The dove brought back information; it was a regular homing pigeon. With the
dove’s secondtrip, Noahwas now a confirmed bird watcher, and the dove
brought back evidence that the dry land was appearing. The third time, the
dove did not return, and Noahknew that the waters of judgment were gone.

207. All greattruths of the Bible are germane in Genesis. The Bible teaches that
the believerhas two natures, an old and a new: “Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passedaway;behold, all things are
become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). You and I as believers have these two
natures. And there is a struggle today betweenthe old nature and the new
nature of a believer.
The raven went out into a judged world, but he found a feastin the dead
carcassbecausethatis the thing he lived on. May I sayto you, that is the
picture of the old nature. The old nature loves the things of the world and
feasts on them. You do have an old nature, but that is no excuse because you
ought not to be living in the old nature.
The dove went out into a judged world, but she found no rest, no satisfaction,
and she returned to the ark. The dove represents the believer in the world.
You see, it is a matter of viewpoint. A professorsaid to me, “This matter of
what’s right and wrong is relative.” He’s right; it is. It is what God says is
right, and it is what the professorsays is wrong. What God says is wrong is
wrong. The believer is told, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in
the world…” (1 John 2:15). You and I are living in a judged world today. We
are in the world, but not of it. We are to use it, but not abuse it. We are not to
fall in love with it, but we are to attempt to win the lostin this world and get
out the Word of God. Our Lord told us, “…Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospelto every creature” (Mark 16:15). Let’s take care of our job
down here and getout the Word of God — that is the important thing. The
dove recognizedwhat kind of a world she was in, and she found no rest. She
found rest only in the ark, and that ark sets forth Christ, if you please.
Let me ask you this very personalquestion: What kind of bird are you? Are
you a raven or a dove? If you are a child of God, you have both natures — but
which one are you living in today? Do you love the things of God, or don’t
you?
—From Edited MessagesonGenesis by J. Vernon McGee

208. Jesus and Birdwatching
Why not start now?
By Bill and Savannah Krick
T
he stay-at-home orders in the context of the current pandemic have created
unexpected challenges:a sudden and rapid increase in distress hotline calls, a
dramatic rise in the use of alcoholand pornography, and a surge in domestic
violence.1 According to the Census Bureau, the pandemic has pushed the
number of Americans displaying symptoms of anxiety or depressionto 34
percent.2
But another activity has also grown—birdwatching. App downloads relatedto
birding (the modern term for birdwatching) have doubled, and visits to
crowd-sourcedbird observationwebsites have spiked.3 People trapped in a
small geographicalarea are looking out their windows and enjoying what they
see.4
Birding shines in simplicity; all one needs are a field guide and binoculars. It’s
remarkably diverse and adaptable, from simply watching the hummingbirds
at a backyard feederto searching for new birds we have never seen. People
can go birding in the city, in the countryside, on the ocean, oreven at night
(“owling”). Observing birds also provides enjoyment during Sabbath hours.
Whether chasing a black-backedwoodpeckerthrough the woods near a lake,
or simply recording what we see flying or perched outside our bedroom
windows, birding brings adventure. And it’s not just an activity for older
people—people ofall different stages in life are captivatedby birds!
Birding Benefits
Jesus usedbirds as illustrations, referring to their foraging behavior (Matt.
13:4), their roosting habits (Matt. 8:20), and their breeding activity (Matt.

209. 13:32). “Look at the birds of the air” (Matt. 6:26),5 He said (even though His
hearers did not have binoculars). Why would He encourage us to observe
birds?
Birds tell us something about God. In the classicSteps to Christ, Ellen White
tells us, “The lovely birds making the air vocal with their happy songs . . .
testify to the tender, fatherly care of our Godand to His desire to make His
children happy.”6 In other words, when we see the attractive plumage or hear
the pleasantvocalizationof a bird, we should think two things: (1) God cares
about me and will provide for me; and (2) God wants me to be happy. In
today’s troubled setting, personally hearing these messagesbrings relief and
peace.
Birds speak about our personalworth. Speaking ofwhat Smithsonian calls
“the most common bird in the world”7—sparrows—Jesus says,“Notone of
them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will” (Matt. 10:29). “Of
how much more value are you than the birds?” (Luke 12:24). When we
observe birds—appreciating their intricately designedcolorpatterns, listening
to their songs and calls, noticing their behaviors, standing or walking in their
habitat—we prepare ourselves to understand and experience these statements
by Jesus. Our personalworth, says Jesus, “much” exceeds the value of these
amazing creatures for which God cares so much.
Observing birds brings peace and serves as a welcome distraction. We find joy
and blessing outdoors when we take breaks from the busyness and stress of
life and appreciate natural things—the white fields of flowers nodding in the
breeze, the cheerful swallowsdarting by without a care. Even if only for a
short time, as people prone to the ups and downs of life, we notice a marked
mood improvement—just by allowing birds and the natural world to divert
us!8
Observing birds brings a sense of wonder and pleasure. Solomonwrote that
“the way of an eagle in the air” is “too wonderful for me” (Prov. 30:18, 19); he
attributed this mystery to God, and cherisheda sense of wonder that God was
biggerand smarter than he was. Eventhough today we understand the
Bernoulliprinciple (the science ofhow a wing flies), who sees only bland

210. physics when watching an enormous eagle soaring freely? “Let the songs of
the birds and the beauties of nature awakenholy and gratefulfeelings in your
hearts and lead you to adore your Creator.”9
Observing birds brings perspective. Stephen Shunk writes about an
earthquake he experiencedin SanFrancisco a few years ago. With the
building shaking, he and his terrified, anxious coworkers racedoutside. “The
first thing I saw was a gull, flying effortlesslythrough the parking lot and
alighting on a lamppost, just as it had done dozens of times before. It was
unfazed by this stretching of the Earth’s crust. For a moment, I escapedwith
the gull to a familiar world . . . where I am surrounded by nature.”10 Birds
are not aware of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are happily foraging,
migrating, and singing, just as they always have.
SocialConnections
Birding also provides an occasionfor family togetherness through shared
experiences. Outings are opportunities for us to spend time togetherand make
fantastic memories, especiallywhen we travel to places where many new birds
awaitus. These excursions are also opportunities to be Christian witnesses to
fellow birders by our polite, friendly, and cheerful demeanor. We often getthe
opportunity to share carefully selectedreligious tracts as well.
Benefits Available to All
Interestingly, we notice that many non-Christian birders with whom we
associate experienceand appreciate many of these same benefits—although
from an entirely different perspective. “It’s really goodfor the soul,” says
popular naturalist and TV host Phillip Torres.11
Some time ago the two of us took an all-day oceantrip to points beyond the
continental shelf, looking for unusual seabirds. The boat crew included a
number of expert experiencedguides, including a Harvard Ph.D. graduate. As
we shared many discoveries and a lot of beauty that day (including a whale

211. that breachedby our boat, and two types of albatrossesthatlanded near us), a
small bond grew betweenus. However, when we responded to a question
about occupationwith, “We work with a group of 800 churches,” an
immediate, awkwardsilence fell like a gavel. We sensedtheir discomfortwith
religion of any kind. Someone muttered a statement with political overtones,
and we felt like proverbial fish out of water, even with nothing but ocean
around us. (A short mention that the woman of our house would soonbe
teaching a plant-based cooking class—anobvious point of common ground—
brought an immediate return to cordiality and engagement.)
God has made available to anyone the peace, the sense of freedom and
wonder, the delight, and the perspective brought by spending time in nature
observing birds. However, we have realized that without a belief in and love
for God, these secularnature lovers stop short of the full experience. We wish
that they could understand the deepersignificance—thata personalGod
cares aboutus and wants us to be happy.
Go Outside and Enjoy
“Godhas given us these precious things as an expressionof His love,” “to
please and gratify us,” and “He means that we shall have pleasure in them.”12
Why not take Jesus’advice during the COVID-19 pandemic, and look at the
birds?
Recenthigh-schoolgraduate SavannahKrick and her father, Bill Krick, enjoy
God’s creationas seenin the varied ecosystems ofCalifornia, especiallythe
Sierra Nevada mountains. Bill currently serves as the literature ministries
director for the Pacific Union Conference. The family lives in Clovis,
California.
1See abcnews.go.com/Politics/calls-us-helpline-jump-891-white-house-
warned/story?id=70010113;medscape.com/viewarticle/930039;
insider.com/porn-views-have-increased-worldwide-since-onset-of-covid-19-

212. 2020-3;psychologytoday.com/us/blog/making-sense-chaos/202005/why-the-
increase-in-domestic-violence-during-covid-19.
2Compare washingtonpost.com/health/2020/05/26/americans-with-depression-
anxiety-pandemic/?arc404=true.
3Gillian Flaccus, “Bird-watching SoarsAmid COVID-19 as Americans Head
Outdoors,” online at apnews.com/94a1ea5938943d8a70fe794e9f629b13.
4Andy McGlashen, “Birding Is the PerfectActivity While Practicing Social
Distancing,” Audubon Magazine, online at audubon.org/news/birding-perfect-
activity-while-practicing-social-distancing.
5All Bible texts are from the New King James Version. Copyright ã 1979,
1980, 1982by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
6Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub.
Assn., 1892), p. 10.
7See https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-story-of-the-most-
common-bird-in-the-world-113046500/.
8In The Ministry of Healing (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn.,
1942), EllenWhite argues for spending time in nature and observing our
avian friends. “Unconsciouslythe mind becomes peaceful” (p. 264). “Roaming
through the fields and the woods, picking the flowers, listening to the songs of
the birds,” promotes mental health (p. 236).
9Ellen G. White, My Life Today(Washington, D.C.:Review and Herald Pub.
Assn., 1952), p. 177.
10StephenShunk in GoodBirders Don’t WearWhite, edited by Lisa White
(Boston, Mass.:Houghton Mifflin, 2007), p. 224.
11See in apnews.com/94a1ea5938943d8a70fe794e9f629b13.
12EllenG. White, This Day With God (Washington, D.C.:Review and Herald
Pub. Assn., 1979), p. 241, emphasis added.

213. Jesus And Birds – His Dedication
March5, 2020 by Lee
2
European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) ©WikiC
The first time, listed in the Gospels, whenJesus, in His Humanity, is near a
bird, was at His dedication. According to the Jewishlaw, the first born son
was to be dedicated at the temple. This was to take place 40 days after he was
born. This was so that Mary, his earthly mother, to be purified and Jesus
could be dedicated..
“Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were
completed, they brought Him to Jerusalemto present Him to the Lord (as it is
written in the law of the Lord, “EVERYMALE WHO OPENS THE WOMB
SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD” ), and to offer a sacrifice
according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A PAIR OF
TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS.”(Luke 2:22-24 NKJV)
Bible Gateway’s – MacArthur Study Bible (NKJV) note
“2:22 her purification. A woman who bore a son was ceremoniallyunclean for
40 days (twice that if she bore a daughter—Lev. 12:2–5). After that she was to
offer a yearling lamb and a dove or pigeon (Lev. 12:6). If poor, she could offer
two doves or pigeons (Lev. 12:8). Mary’s offering indicates that she and
Josephwere poor (v. 24). to Jerusalem. A journey of about 6 mi. from
Bethlehem. to presentHim to the Lord. The dedicationof the firstborn son
was also required by Moses’law (v. 23, cf. Ex. 13:2, 12–15).
At forty days old, we could assume that Jesus was not really aware of the
doves or pigeons that were used for this offering. Assumptions are not always
100%correct. We are not going to delve into that discussionhere. Nor will we

214. try to assume whether other birds were near Jesus atthe manger. We are just
going to use what the Word says.
Common Rock PigeonPair©ARKive
The reasonthe turtledove or pigeons were used, was because ofthe finances of
his mother and Joseph, his step-father.
“2:24 turtledoves. See Leviticus 12:8. Joseph, despite his royal lineage, was
only a young carpenter, too poor to bring a lamb for his offering.” (Defender’s
Bible)
“The fact that they offeredtwo pigeons instead of a lamb and a pigeonis an
indication that Josephand Mary were not wealthy. Levitical law required a
woman, after the birth of a son, to purify herself for 40 days before going to
the temple to offer a sacrifice for her purification. The law statedthat she was
to offer a lamb and a dove, but if she could not afford these, she could offer
two pigeons or doves” (Leviticus 12:2–8). (Halley’s Bible Handbook Notes)
As we journey on with Jesus and Birds, He will be telling about them by way
of parables and others means. Stay tuned!
For notes and helps, I am using severalresources beside God’s Word, the
Bible. I use Bible Gatewayas a source for many different Bible versions and
study helps. Many are free, but a paid option is also available. [That is what I
use – $3.99 month)
I also have many different Bibles I ownand use, of which my favorite is the
Defender’s Bible by Henry Morris. (older version) This canalso be used
online at Defender’s Bible from I.C.R.
https://leesbird.com/2020/03/05/jesus-and-birds-his-dedication/

215. Common Kingfisher by Phil Kwong
Birds in Hymns
“His eye is on the sparrow”
“Eachlittle bird that sings,”
“And every bird and every tree,”
“Birds with gladdersongs o’erflow, flowers with deeper beauties shine”
Birds
Matthew 6:26 ESV / 387 helpful votes
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Fatherfeeds them. Are you not of more value than
they?
Matthew 6:25-34 ESV / 338 helpful votes
“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 of more value 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? Considerthe lilies of the field, how they grow:they

216. neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomonin all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these. ...
Psalm104:12 ESV / 333 helpful votes
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches.
Genesis 1:20 ESV / 178 helpful votes
And God said, “Let the waters swarmwith swarms of living creatures, and let
birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”
Isaiah40:31 ESV / 172 helpful votes
But they who waitfor the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount
up with wings like eagles;they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk
and not faint.
Psalm50:11 ESV / 172 helpful votes
I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.
Matthew 10:29 ESV / 151 helpful votes
Are not two sparrows soldfor a penny? And not one of them will fall to the
ground apart from your Father.
Matthew 13:32 ESV / 147 helpful votes
It is the smallestof all seeds, but when it has grownit is largerthan all the
garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make
nests in its branches.”
Luke 12:24 ESV / 133 helpful votes
Considerthe ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse
nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the
birds!
Job 38:41 ESV / 122 helpful votes

217. Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help,
and wander about for lack of food?
Proverbs 27:8 ESV / 118 helpful votes
Like a bird that strays from its nestis a man who strays from his home.
Matthew 10:16 ESV / 115 helpful votes
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheepin the midst of wolves, so be wise as
serpents and innocent as doves.
Psalm147:9 ESV / 110 helpful votes
He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry.
Leviticus 11:13-20 ESV/ 109 helpful votes
“And these you shall detestamong the birds; they shall not be eaten;they are
detestable:the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, the kite, the
falconof any kind, every raven of any kind, the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea
gull, the hawk of any kind, the little owl, the cormorant, the short-earedowl,
...
Genesis 1:21 ESV / 106 helpful votes
So God createdthe greatsea creatures andevery living creature that moves,
with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird
according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Matthew 8:20 ESV / 103 helpful votes
And Jesus saidto him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but
the Sonof Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
Song of Solomon 2:12 ESV / 99 helpful votes
The flowers appearon the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of
the turtledove is heard in our land.
Genesis 1:26 ESV / 97 helpful votes

218. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens
and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth.”
Jeremiah5:27 ESV / 93 helpful votes
Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit;therefore they have
become greatand rich;
Psalm104:17 ESV / 93 helpful votes
In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees.
Psalm91:1-16 ESV / 91 helpful votes
He who dwells in the shelterof the MostHigh will abide in the shadow of the
Almighty. I will sayto the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in
whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from
the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings
you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear
the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, ...
Genesis 9:2 ESV / 91 helpful votes
The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beastof the earth
and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the
ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.
Jeremiah8:7 ESV / 86 helpful votes
Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow,
and crane keepthe time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of
the Lord.
Genesis 1:30 ESV / 83 helpful votes
And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to
everything that creeps onthe earth, everything that has the breath of life, I
have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

219. Matthew 3:16 ESV / 82 helpful votes
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and
behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
Psalm84:3 ESV / 79 helpful votes
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she
may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
James 3:7 ESV / 78 helpful votes
For every kind of beastand bird, of reptile and sea creature, canbe tamed
and has been tamed by mankind,
Ezekiel31:6 ESV / 75 helpful votes
All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs; under its branches
all the beasts of the field gave birth to their young, and under its shadow lived
all great nations.
Genesis 1:28 ESV / 71 helpful votes
And God blessedthem. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and
fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and
over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the
earth.”
Matthew 10:29-31 ESV/ 70 helpful votes
Are not two sparrows soldfor a penny? And not one of them will fall to the
ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all
numbered. Fearnot, therefore;you are of more value than many sparrows.
1 Corinthians 15:39 ESV / 68 helpful votes
For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for
animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
Proverbs 1:17 ESV / 68 helpful votes

220. For in vain is a net spreadin the sight of any bird,
Genesis 2:19 ESV / 68 helpful votes
Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beastof the field and
every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see whathe would
call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its
name.
Psalm84:1-4 ESV / 66 helpful votes
To the choirmaster:according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she
may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Blessedare those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!Selah
1 Kings 4:33 ESV / 66 helpful votes
He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows
out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of
fish.
Job 28:7 ESV / 65 helpful votes
“Thatpath no bird of prey knows, and the falcon's eye has not seenit.
Luke 12:6 ESV / 64 helpful votes
Are not five sparrows soldfor two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten
before God.
Leviticus 14:4 ESV / 63 helpful votes
The priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansedtwo live
cleanbirds and cedarwoodand scarletyarn and hyssop.
Job 35:11 ESV / 60 helpful votes

221. Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiserthan the
birds of the heavens?’
Genesis 8:8 ESV / 59 helpful votes
Then he sentforth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the
face of the ground.
Isaiah31:5 ESV / 58 helpful votes
Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem;he will
protect and deliver it; he will spare and rescue it.”
Genesis 8:20 ESV / 58 helpful votes
Then Noahbuilt an altar to the Lord and took some of every cleananimal and
some of every cleanbird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Matthew 13:4 ESV / 57 helpful votes
And as he sowed, some seedsfell along the path, and the birds came and
devoured them.
Psalm124:7 ESV / 57 helpful votes
We have escapedlike a bird from the snare of the fowlers;the snare is
broken, and we have escaped!
Leviticus 11:13 ESV / 57 helpful votes
“And these you shall detestamong the birds; they shall not be eaten;they are
detestable:the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,
Leviticus 11:16 ESV / 56 helpful votes
The ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind,
Isaiah38:14 ESV / 55 helpful votes
Like a swallow ora crane I chirp; I moan like a dove. My eyes are wearywith
looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed;be my pledge of safety!

222. Deuteronomy 22:6 ESV / 55 helpful votes
“If you come across a bird's nest in any tree or on the ground, with young
ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not
take the mother with the young.
Genesis 40:19 ESV/ 55 helpful votes
In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a
tree. And the birds will eatthe flesh from you.”
Psalm68:13 ESV / 54 helpful votes
Though you men lie among the sheepfolds— the wings of a dove coveredwith
silver, its pinions with shimmering gold.
Job 12:7 ESV / 54 helpful votes
“But ask the beasts, and they will teachyou; the birds of the heavens, and they
will tell you;
Hosea 9:11 ESV / 53 helpful votes
Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird— no birth, no pregnancy, no
conception!
Ecclesiastes12:4 ESV / 52 helpful votes
And the doors on the streetare shut—when the sound of the grinding is low,
and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are
brought low—
Ecclesiastes9:12 ESV / 52 helpful votes
For man does not know his time. Like fish that are takenin an evil net, and
like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snaredat an
evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
Romans 1:23 ESV / 51 helpful votes
And exchangedthe glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal
man and birds and animals and creeping things.

223. Jeremiah12:9 ESV / 50 helpful votes
Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair? Are the birds of prey againsther all
around? Go, assemble all the wild beasts;bring them to devour.
Genesis 15:11 ESV/ 50 helpful votes
And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses,Abram drove them
away.
Isaiah34:11 ESV / 49 helpful votes
But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owland the raven shall
dwell in it. He shall stretchthe line of confusionover it, and the plumb line of
emptiness.
Psalm148:10 ESV / 49 helpful votes
Beasts andall livestock, creeping things and flying birds!
Psalm8:8 ESV / 48 helpful votes
The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whateverpasses along the
paths of the seas.
Job 39:27 ESV / 48 helpful votes
Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his neston high?
Deuteronomy 22:6-7 ESV / 48 helpful votes
“If you come across a bird's nest in any tree or on the ground, with young
ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not
take the mother with the young. You shall let the mother go, but the young
you may take for yourself, that it may go well with you, and that you may live
long.
Leviticus 1:14 ESV / 48 helpful votes
“If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his
offering of turtledoves or pigeons.

224. Isaiah46:11 ESV / 47 helpful votes
Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counselfrom a far
country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;I have purposed, and I will
do it.
Job 39:26 ESV / 47 helpful votes
“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings
toward the south?
Leviticus 11:19 ESV / 47 helpful votes
The stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.
Leviticus 11:17 ESV / 47 helpful votes
The little owl, the cormorant, the short-earedowl,
Matthew 23:37 ESV / 46 helpful votes
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who
are sentto it! How often would I have gathered your children togetheras a
hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
Daniel 4:33 ESV / 46 helpful votes
Immediately the word was fulfilled againstNebuchadnezzar. He was driven
from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wetwith the dew
of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles'feathers, andhis nails were like
birds' claws.
Leviticus 11:15 ESV / 46 helpful votes
Every raven of any kind,
Job 39:13 ESV / 45 helpful votes
“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage
of love?
Jeremiah17:11 ESV / 44 helpful votes

225. Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch, so is he who
gets riches but not by justice; in the midst of his days they will leave him, and
at his end he will be a fool.
Revelation18:2 ESV / 43 helpful votes
And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallenis Babylon the great!
She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable
beast.
Ezekiel39:4 ESV / 43 helpful votes
You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the
peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to
the beasts ofthe field to be devoured.
Genesis 6:7 ESV / 42 helpful votes
So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have createdfrom the face of
the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I
am sorry that I have made them.”
Genesis 1:20-30 ESV/ 42 helpful votes
And God said, “Let the waters swarmwith swarms of living creatures, and let
birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created
the greatsea creatures andevery living creature that moves, with which the
waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every wingedbird according to
its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessedthem, saying, “Be
fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, andlet birds multiply on
the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. And
God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their
kinds—livestock andcreeping things and beasts ofthe earth according to
their kinds.” And it was so. ...
Jeremiah12:4 ESV / 41 helpful votes

226. How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? Forthe evil
of those who dwell in it the beasts and the birds are sweptaway, because they
said, “He will not see our latter end.”
Matthew 13:19 ESV / 39 helpful votes
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the
evil one comes and snatches awaywhathas been sownin his heart. This is
what was sownalong the path.
Jeremiah4:25 ESV / 39 helpful votes
I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled.
Matthew 26:34 ESV / 38 helpful votes
Jesus saidto him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the roostercrows,
you will deny me three times.”
Psalm102:6 ESV / 38 helpful votes
I am like a desert owlof the wilderness, like an owlof the waste places;
Genesis 8:7 ESV / 38 helpful votes
And sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from
the earth.
Isaiah34:15 ESV / 37 helpful votes
There the owl nests and lays and hatches and gathers her young in her
shadow;indeed, there the hawks are gathered, eachone with her mate.
Isaiah16:2 ESV / 37 helpful votes
Like fleeing birds, like a scatterednest, so are the daughters of Moabat the
fords of the Arnon.
Job 30:29 ESV / 37 helpful votes
I am a brother of jackals anda companion of ostriches.

227. 1 Samuel 26:20 ESV / 37 helpful votes
Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of
the Lord, for the king of Israelhas come out to seek a single flea like one who
hunts a partridge in the mountains.”
Genesis 2:19-20 ESV/ 37 helpful votes
Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beastof the field and
every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see whathe would
call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its
name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and
to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for
him.
Job 39:18 ESV / 36 helpful votes
When she rouses herselfto flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider.
Leviticus 14:22 ESV / 36 helpful votes
Also two turtledoves or two pigeons, whicheverhe can afford. The one shall be
a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.
Leviticus 12:6 ESV / 36 helpful votes
“‘And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for
a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a
lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeonor a turtledove for a sin
offering,
Leviticus 11:14 ESV / 36 helpful votes
The kite, the falconof any kind,
Genesis 8:9 ESV / 36 helpful votes
But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the
ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his
hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him.

228. Jeremiah48:28 ESV / 35 helpful votes
“Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, O inhabitants of Moab!Be like the
dove that nests in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
Deuteronomy 14:11 ESV / 34 helpful votes
“You may eat all cleanbirds.
Genesis 9:1-29 ESV/ 34 helpful votes
And God blessedNoahand his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and
multiply and fill the earth. The fearof you and the dread of you shall be upon
every beastof the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything
that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are
delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be foodfor you. And as I gave
you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its
life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning:from
every beastI will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require
a reckoning for the life of man. ...
Daniel 2:38 ESV / 32 helpful votes
And into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man,
the beasts ofthe field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over
them all—you are the head of gold.
Psalm55:6 ESV / 32 helpful votes
And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;
Job 39:26-30 ESV/ 32 helpful votes
“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings
toward the south? Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes
his neston high? On the rock he dwells and makes his home, on the rocky
crag and stronghold. From there he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it from
far away. His young ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is he.”
Deuteronomy 14:13 ESV / 32 helpful votes

229. The kite, the falconof any kind;
Numbers 11:31-32 ESV/ 31 helpful votes
Then a wind from the Lord sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and
let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's
journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the
ground. And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day,
and gatheredthe quail. Those who gatheredleastgatheredten homers. And
they spread them out for themselves all around the camp.
Paul Harvey’s.... Jesus And The Birdcage
Viewed: 2718
Postedby: Steve Hardwick
Date:Apr 21 2019 8:57 AM
Jesus and the Bird Cage
Paul Harvey
BostonpreacherDr. S.D. Gordon, placed a beat up, bent, rusted old bird cage
beside his pulpit when he told this story.

230. An unkempt, unwashed, little lad about 10 years old was coming up the alley
swinging this old cavedin bird cage with severaltiny birds shivering on the
floor of it.
The compassionate Dr. Gordon askedthe boy where he got the birds.
He said he trapped them.
Dr. Gordon askedwhathe was going to do with them.
The boy saidhe was going to play with them and have fun with them.
The preachersaid, “Soonerorlater you’ll get tired of them. Then what are
you going to do with them?”
The lad said, “I have some cats at home. They like birds. I’ll feed them to my
cats.”
Dr. Gordon said, “Son, how much do you want for the birds?”
The boy, surprised, hesitated and said, “Mister, you don’t want these birds.
There just plain old field birds. They can’t even sing. They’re ugly.”
The preachersaid, “Justtell me. How much do you want?”

231. The grubby little lad thought about it. He squinted up one eye. He calculated
and hesitatedand said, “Two dollars?”
To his surprise Dr. Gordon reachedinto his pocketand handed the boy two,
one dollar bills.
The preachertook the cage.
The boy, in a wink, hurried up the alley.
In a sheltered crevice betweenbuildings, Dr. Gordon opened the door of the
cage and tapping on the rusty exterior he encouragedthe little birds, one at a
time, to find their way out through the narrow door and fly away.
Thus having accountedfor the empty cage beside his pulpit, the preacher
went on to tell what seemed, at first, like a separate story.
About how once upon a time, Jesus and the Devil had engagedin a
negotiation.
Satanhad boastedhow he’d baited a trap in Eden’s garden and caught
himself a world full of people.

232. “What are you going to do with all those people in your cage” Jesus wantedto
know.
The Devil said, “I’m going to play with em’, tease em’. Make them marry and
divorce and fight and kill one another. I’m going to teach them to throw
bombs on one another. I’m going to have fun with them!”
Jesus said, “You can’t have fun with them forever. When you get tired of
playing, what are you going to do with them?”
Satansaid, “Damn them! They’re no goodanyway! Damn them! Kill them!”
Jesus said, “How much do you want for them?”
Satansaid, “You can’t be serious!If I sellthem to you, they’ll just spit on you.
They’ll hate you. They’ll hit you and beat you. They’ll hammer nails into you!
They’re no good.”
Jesus said, “How much?”
Satansaid, “All of your tears and all of your blood. That’s the price.”
Jesus took the cage, andpaid the price, and opened the door
And That’s The RestOf The Story ;)

233. Lessons Fromthe Birds of the Heavens
“Ask, please, . . . the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you. Who among
all these does not know that the hand of Jehovahhas done this?”—Job12:7, 9.
OVER 3,000 years ago,the ancient patriarch Jobrealized that the birds of the
heavens have much to tell us about the handiwork of God. But their
characteristic behavioralso makes them ideal subjects for illustrations and
metaphors. In the Bible, many of the references to the birds of the heavens
teachus important lessons aboutlife and our relationship with God. Let us
look at a few examples.
WHERE THE SWALLOWS NEST
Swallow
Inhabitants of Jerusalemwere familiar with swallows, whichcustomarily
build their nests under the eaves of buildings. Some made their nests in
Solomon’s temple. Likely, swallows thatnested in the temple area eachyear
found it a place of safety, where they could rear their young undisturbed.
The composerofPsalm 84—one ofthe sons of Korah, who servedat the
temple for one week everysix months—noticedthose nests in the temple area.
Longing to be like the swallow that had a permanent home in Jehovah’s
house, he exclaimed: “How lovely your grand tabernacle is, O Jehovahof
armies! My whole being yearns, yes, I am faint with longing, for the
courtyards of Jehovah. . . Even the bird finds a home there and the swallow a
nest for herself, where she cares forher young near your grand altar, O
Jehovahof armies, my King and my God!” (Psalm 84:1-3)Do we, along with
our young ones, show a similar longing and appreciation for regularly being
with the congregationofGod’s people?—Psalm26:8, 12.
THE STORKKNOWS ITS TIME

234. “The stork in the sky knows its seasons,” wrote the prophet Jeremiah. He was
doubtless well aware of the migration of storks through the Promised Land.
In the spring, over 300,000 white storks have been counted migrating from
Africa to Northern Europe by way of the Jordan Valley. Their internal clock
triggers the urge to return to their summer breeding grounds. Like other
migratory birds, they “keepto the time of their return.”—Jeremiah8:7.
“The true wonder of migration is that it is instinctive,” says Collins Atlas of
Bird Migration. JehovahGod gave migratory birds instinctive wisdom
regarding the seasons, but he gave man the ability to discern the times and the
seasons. (Luke 12:54-56)Unlike the instinctive wisdom of the stork,
knowledge ofGod is the keyto man’s discerning the significance ofthe events
of
the time we live in. The Israelites of Jeremiah’s day were oblivious to such
signs. God explained the underlying problem, stating: “They have rejectedthe
word of Jehovah, and what wisdom do they have?”—Jeremiah8:9.
Today we have ample evidence that we are living in what the Bible calls “the
last days.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Will you imitate the stork and take notice of ‘the
season’?
THE EAGLE LOOKS FAR INTO THE DISTANCE
Eagle
The eagle is mentioned many times in the Bible, and its striking silhouette is a
familiar feature of the Promised Land. From its nest high up on a cliff, the
eagle “searchesforfood; its eyes look far into the distance.” (Job39:27-29)Its
sight is so powerful that the eagle canreportedly spota rabbit half a mile (1
km) away.
Just as the eagle can“look farinto the distance,” Jehovahis able to look far
into the future. Thus, JehovahGod declared: “Fromthe beginning I foretell
the outcome, and from long ago the things that have not yet been done.”

235. (Isaiah 46:10)By heeding Jehovah’s counsel, we canbenefit from his
matchless wisdomand foresight.—Isaiah48:17, 18.
The Bible also compares those who trust in Godto eagles:“Those hoping in
Jehovahwill regainpower. They will soaron wings like eagles.”(Isaiah40:31)
An eagle soarsby using thermals, or columns of rising warm air. Once the
eagle locatesa thermal, it spreads out its wings and circles around within the
column of air, rising higher and higher. The eagle does not depend on its own
strength to soarand glide long distances. Likewise, those who trust in Jehovah
can look to him as the one who promises them “the power beyond what is
normal.”—2 Corinthians 4:7, 8.
“THE WAY A HEN GATHERS HER CHICKS”
Hen and chicks
Shortly before his death, Jesus pausedto look at the Jewishcapitalcity.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the killer of the prophets and stoner of those sent to
her,” he sighed. “How often I wantedto gatheryour children togetherthe way
a hen gathers her chicks under her wings!But you did not want it.”—
Matthew 23:37.
One of the strongestinstincts among birds is their desire to protecttheir
young. Birds that nest on the ground, such as domestic hens, must keepa
sharp lookoutfor danger. If the hen spots a hawk circling overhead, she emits
a loud warning call, at which the chicks quickly run to safetybeneath her
wings. There the fledgling chicks canalso find shelter from the hot sun and
heavy rain. Jesus likewisewantedto offer the inhabitants of Jerusalem
spiritual shelter and protection. Today, Jesus invites us to come to him for
refreshment and protection from the burdens and anxieties of our daily life.—
Matthew 11:28, 29.
Truly, there is much that we can learn from these winged creatures. As you
observe their behavior, try to recallthe Scriptural metaphors that speak of
them. May the swallow help you to appreciate Jehovah’s house of worship.
May you look to God for hope that can enable you to soarlike an eagle. May

236. you come to Jesus for spiritual truth that safeguards youthe way a mother
hen does her chicks. And may the stork remind you to stay alert to the
significance ofworld events that mark our time.
https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/watchtower-no6-2016-
november/birds-in-the-bible/
The Jesus Bird
Share This Pin This TweetThis
Theme:
Following Jesus'example
Object:
None
Scripture:
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you
must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if
you love one another." John 13:34-35
Have you noticed how we can recognize whatthings are by just simply
watching and listening carefully?
One day, as I was driving along the highway, I lookedto my left and saw a
bird flying. Can you tell me what kind of a bird it was? Well, what if it told
you it was brown? Now can you identify it? Still not enoughinformation?
Let’s see, it was a big brown bird with a white head. That’s right, it was a bald
eagle.
Why, there’s another bird, this one is a robin I think. How could you tell it’s a
robin just by seeing it?

237. Listen - did you hear that? It sounded like a crow to me. I believe it’s sitting
up at the top of that tree acrossthe street. How does a crow sound?
There is a beautiful bird that sings a joyous song. Do you know what kind of
bird it is? I think it is a Jesus Bird. That is kind of silly isn’t it? But, if there
was a Jesus Bird, how could we recognize it do you think? What song would it
sing?
In the Bible, there is a verse where Jesus says, “Love one another, even as I
have loved you … so that all men will know that you are My disciples.”
Can we tell by observing people’s behavior if they are Jesus’followers?I
think we can, if we live the way Jesus wants us to live our lives.
DearLord, we thank you for our eyes and ears that help us know how Jesus
wants us to live our lives and that we are able to recognize other Christians.
Thank you for our hearts that help us feel love for one another. Amen.
Note:After this was written I decidedto do a Google searchfor a Jesus Bird.
To my surprise there is such a bird. It lives in Australia and its real name is
comb-crestedJacana.It is calleda Jesus Bird because it appears to walk on
water.
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Birds are used as Christian symbols
Oct30, 2004 Catholicism.org
Brother Andre MarieTrending on Catholicism·org (perhaps because ofall the
anger-provoking madness?):"Meekness is Strength"
https://t.co/WMnzHQghe2 via @SBC_Catholic18 hours ago 9 23

238. Brother Andre MarieHere here! https://t.co/7cF58RvTcZ39 mins ago 0 0
Brother Andre MarieThese Romanguards-turned-martyrs were convertedby
St Peterand baptized by waterfrom a miraculous spring: Saint Processus and
Saint Martinian (67) https://t.co/wyn1DsIDyM via @SBC_Catholic44 mins
ago 4 5
Brother Andre MarieMary’s visit to Elizabeth was the greatestvisit paid by
anyone to anyone in the history of the world: "The Visitation of Our Lady" (1
B.C.)https://t.co/Ewsg9xab8Q via @SBC_Catholic50mins ago 1 12
Brother Andre MarieIt is SO pleasantto hear sanity spokenin a Southern
accent!https://t.co/i2Ia0csWGc18 hours ago 5 24
Birds are used as Christian symbols. In a previous “Did You Know?” we
mentioned the use of the pelicanin Christian art. In general, birds have long
symbolized the soul’s ascentto God above material things. Some birds are
used as examples of specific virtues or attributes of the Christian soul (or their
opposite:the vices), while others represent Our Lord (i.e., the pelican), Our
Lady, and the saints.
There is a legendthat the robin receivedhis red breastas a rewardfor
protecting the Christ Child from the sparks ofa fire, which he caughton his
breast, while the Holy Family restedon their flight into Egypt.
The peacockis used to symbolize immortality – this from an ancient
legendary belief that the flesh of the peacockdid not decay. The Roman
Catacombof San Callisto contains a vault, in which Mass couldbe celebrated,
with representations ofthe peacockdecorating it. The thought of spiritual

239. immortality would have been a greatconsolationto Catholics during the early
persecution.
The blackbird represents the darkness ofsin (black feathers)and the
temptations of the flesh (its beautiful song). Once, while Saint Benedictwas
praying, the devil tried to distract him, appearing as a blackbird. St. Benedict,
however, was not fooled, and sent him on his waywith the Sign of the Cross.
The dove is well knownas the symbol of the Holy Ghost, as well as
representing peace and purity. It is also used in connectionwith St. Benedict,
St. Scholastica, andSt. Gregorythe Great.
The eagle, like the phoenix (which also stands for faith and constancy), is a
symbol of the Resurrectionbasedon an ancient belief that the eagle would
renew its youth and plumage by flying near the sun and then plunging into
water. (See Psalm102:5.) Since St. John the Evangelistbegins his Gospelby
soaring to the Divinity of Our Lord, the eagle, whichflies higher than other
birds, also represents him. (See Ezech. 1: 5-10;Apoc. 4:7)
Phoenix Rising from the Ashes: Detailfrom the Aberdeen Bestiary
The falconhas two different uses in art. The wild falconsymbolizes evil
thoughts or actions, while the domestic falconrepresents the gentile converted
to Catholicism. In this last sense, it is often shownin pictures of the Three
Magi.
The goldfinch frequently appears in pictures of the Christ Child. Because of
this small bird’s fondness for thistles and thorns, it has come to representthe
PassionofOur Lord. When depicted with Our Lord as a child, the goldfinch
associatesthe Incarnation with the Passion.
Saint Peteris easily spotted whenportrayed with a cock;but, especiallyin
Maronite art, the roosteris the symbol of the soul’s awakening and response
to God’s grace.

240. The gooserepresents providence and vigilance. It is sometimes used in images
of St. Martin of Tours, because one of them showedthe people of Tours where
he was hiding when they wanted to make him bishop.
The lark is a symbol of the humility of the priesthood, because this bird flies
high and sings only when in flight towards Heaven.
The owl, in one sense represents Satan, the Prince of Darkness;and in another
sense, it is an attribute of Our Lord, Who came to “give light to them that sit
in darkness…” (Luke 1: 79).
The partridge likewise has two meanings. One is for the Church and truth;
but it more commonly represents deceit, theft, and the devil.
The raven, because ofhis dark plumage, coarse cry, and supposedtastes,
sometimes represents the devil; but God seems to have a fondness for them.
One was sentto guard the body of St. Vincent Ferrer; and ravens are known
to have fed at leastthree different saints (St. Benedict, St. Anthony the Abbot,
and St. Paul the Hermit) while they were in the desert. Because ofthis, the
raven also represents solitude.
The sparrow, consideredthe lowliestof birds, represents the leastamong
people.
The swallow represents the Incarnation.
The stork is a symbol of prudence, vigilance, piety, and chastity. It is also
associatedwith the Incarnation; for, as the stork announces the coming of
spring, the Annunciation told of the coming of Our Lord.
The woodpeckerusually symbolizes the Devil, or heresy, which undermines
the Faith and leads man to destruction.
Christianity

241. Saint Francis of Assisi and His Sermon to Birds
By Whitney Hopler
Updated September 03, 2018
The patron saint of animals, St. Francis of Assisi, built bonds of love with all
of the kinds of creatures in the animal kingdom. However, Saint Francis had a
specialrelationship with birds, who often followedhim around and restedon
his shoulders, arms, or hands as he prayed or walkedaround outside. Birds
often symbolize spiritual freedom and growth, so some believers think that the
miracle of the birds listening intently to Francis'messagewas sentby God to
encourage Francis andhis fellow monks to continue their work preaching the
GospelmessageofJesus Christ, which focuses onhow people can become
spiritually free and grow closerto God. Here's the story of the famous bird
sermon that Francis preachedone day:
A Flock of Birds Gathers
As Francis and some companions were traveling through the Spoleto Valley in
Italy, Francis noticedthat a huge flock of birds had gathered in some trees
beside a field. Francis noticed that the birds were watching him as if they were
expecting something. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he decided to preach a
sermon about God's love for them.
Francis Speaks to the Birds About God's Love
Francis walkedover to a spot beside the trees and began an impromptu
sermon, reported the monks who were traveling with Francis and wrote down
what Francis said. Their report was later published in the ancient book The
Little Flowers ofSt. Francis.

242. "My sweetlittle sisters, birds of the sky," Francis said, "you are bound to
heaven, to God, your Creator. In every beat of your wings and every note of
your songs, praise him. He has given you the greatestofgifts, the freedom of
the air. You neither sow, nor reap, yet God provides for you the most delicious
food, rivers, and lakes to quench your thirst, mountains, and valleys for your
home, tall trees to build your nests, and the most beautiful clothing: a change
of feathers with every season. Youand your kind were preserved in Noah's
Ark. Clearly, our Creatorloves you dearly, since he gives you gifts so
abundantly. So please beware, my little sisters, of the sin of ingratitude, and
always sing praise to God."
The monks who recorded Francis'sermonto the birds wrote that the birds
listened intently to everything Francis had to say:
"While Francis saidthese words, all those birds began to open their beaks,
and stretchout their necks, and spreadtheir wings, and bend their heads
reverently towardthe earth, and with acts and songs, they showedthat the
holy father [Francis] gave them greatpleasure."
Francis Blessesthe Birds
Francis "rejoiced" atthe birds' response, the monks wrote, and
"wonderedmuch at such a multitude of birds and at their beauty and at their
attention and tameness, and he devoutly thanked God for them."
The birds remained attentively gatheredaround Francis, the story goes, until
he blessedthem and they flew away—someheading north, some south, some
east, and some west—going outin all directions as if on their way to pass
along the goodnews of God's love that they had just heard to other creatures.

244. PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES