Sunday 8th September 2024. Trinity 15.

Pastor Pete Myers explains Matthew 6:24-34.

What comforts you when you worry?

What comforts you when you worry?

What comforts you when you worry?

All of us here know what it feels like to be anxious. And Jesus is an amazing pastor, He’s so insightful—he understands how we feel; how we struggle.

And in this part of the sermon on the mount, it’s obvious he’s talking about worry.

Just look at how often he mentions it:

  • v. 25 do not be anxious about your life
  • v. 27 which of you by being anxious
  • v. 28 why are you anxious
  • v. 31 do not be anxious
  • and v. 34 again: do not be anxious

Look: you worry and I worry. First bit of good news here is: Jesus understands and so he has a lot to say to us about it.

But, notice the tone of what Jesus is saying… three times he repeats do not be anxious.

Jesus doesn’t want us to be anxious people. He wants something better for us than that.

And so that raises the question: What makes you feel better when you are anxious? What makes you feel assured and safer? What comforts you when you worry?

There are four things Jesus has to say to us about that here:

  1. You can only trust one thing at a time
  2. You can trust your heavenly father
  3. Because you are His child
  4. So trust your heavenly father alone

You can only trust one thing at a time

Let’s consider the first of those: You can only trust one thing at a time. Please look again at v. 24:

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

In the first commandment we are told:

You shall have no other gods before me.

And as Luther so helpfully says, to have something as “a god” means to have something in which the heart entirely trusts.

Whatever it is that we trust—this is our master.: It is the thing that gives us comfort when facing worry. It is the thing that makes us assured that someone is in control, when something is uncertain.

And the reason Jesus talks about money in this context is because money, wealth and possessions is the biggest alternative god that presses on our hearts to provide false assurance: Money gives you insurance. Money gives you a safety net. Money gives you options and choices.

Money itself is a good and wonderful gift from God. But… precisely because money has so many blessings, we are constantly tempted to treat it as an alternative god. And that’s why Jesus warns us:

No one can serve two masters,

Remember what God said to Cain:

sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is have you, but you must rule over it.

This is, of course, an impossible command. God requires you to purge from yourself every comforting thought that rests on anything except him.

Our hearts do this all the time.

During the uncertainty of diagnosis: “If only we had health insurance—then we would have been safe!”

During the anxiety of a house move: “If our family gift us a few hundred pounds to help—then I know we’ll be ok!”

During that period between jobs: “As long as I can avoid drawing on our savings—then we’ll be secure!”

Every time I think like that—every time my heart rests in anything other than God: I am an idolater. A heathen. A sinner. A rebel.

I cannot serve God and money, and as God says:

I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

You and I face challenges every day but in reply to those challenges: You can only trust one thing at a time. And so every time my heart rests in anything other than God, I prove again to be a sinner.

And Jesus warns me that this sin constantly fights for my loyalty. Because he is right:

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other

You can trust your heavenly Father

But while Jesus’ point here is a great challenge: You can only trust one thing at a time, He does not end his sermon there.

Jesus goes on to comfort us with this fact: You can trust your heavenly father.

Remember, Jesus is an amazing pastor. He understands people really well, and so he starts with these words in v. 25 that are so helpfully counter-intuitive:

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?

The first thing Jesus says is this: Look away from yourself and your problems.

Now, for me at least, this is massively counter-intuitive… …it’s not natural… …it’s almost crazy.

Because when I face problems the first thing I want to do is brainstorm solutions. And even if you’re not like that exactly—the natural human response to worry is to dwell on it, think about it, sit in it.

Jesus says: relax, you don’t need to do that.

And so while the Law points us to our inside and shows that every thought of our sinful nature is distrustful and idolatrous.

The Gospel points us to the outside and shows that there is something bigger than yourself and your problems.

Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

This is where the Gospel starts. And Jesus goes on to explain himself in v. 26,

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?

Jesus points us away from ourselves and our problems… …and tells us to look at our Father in heaven.

And Jesus doesn’t bother explaining God’s existence. He doesn’t bother explaining what God can do. He doesn’t bother explaining how God works.

Jesus cuts immediately to the heart of the issue and says this: God cares about you.

Because that is the real root of distrust of God: that our troubles in life, our anxieties, our inner sin and doubt… …lead us to constantly doubt God’s goodness toward us.

And everything else flows from there.

I once heard it said “Before we doubt God’s existence, we doubt his goodness.”

An incredibly insightful statement—an incredibly Lutheran statement.

Because our sin and everything about us is predisposed to disbelieve he loves us.

This is why we come to church every week. This is why we distinguish between Law and Gospel. This is why we recite the Apostles’ Creed every day in our homes.

Because, to Him, You are of more value than the birds. But all of us need constant help believing it.

Jesus goes on, vv. 27-30:

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Our anxiety achieves nothing. Our Father in heaven has achieved everything. He loves you. He cares for you.

Why are we even here, today? John 3:16 says:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.

We’re here not for any theory, or philosophy, or idea or thought that perhaps God might love us and with enough counselling and convincing we might factor that possibility in to our thinking.

We’re here because God has loved you really, in history, objectively, substantially, sacrificially.

This is not about what God is capable of—he’s capable of everything.

It’s about this amazing, incredible, simple, impossibly good news: You can trust your heavenly father

News I need to receive every day. News I need to be reminded of every moment.

Because you are His child

So, Jesus has said two things: You can only trust one thing at a time and You can trust your heavenly father And the reason you can trust him is very simply: Because you are His child.

Please look again at vv. 31-32:

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Do you see the distinction Jesus draws between us and the Gentiles?

It’s a distinction between those who have God as their Father, and those who do not acknowledge God as Father. Between those who are united to God’s Son, and those who are enemies of His Son. Between those who by faith received the Spirit in their hearts crying “Abba Father” and those who have become callous to the Spirit’s work.

This is why earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus taught his disciples to pray, He taught us to begin by saying “Our Father”. A prayer he clearly expected us to say every day since he tells us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Every day Jesus wants us to remember that God is our Father.

This the right and proper meaning of Jesus’ words, can you hear that as you read it?

Therefore do not be anxious,

Because you are God’s child

saying, ‘What shall we eat?’

Because you are God’s child

or ‘What shall we drink?’

Because you are God’s child

or ‘What shall we wear?’

Because you are God’s child

For the Gentiles seek after all these things,

But they are not God’s children

and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

And you… in Christ… are His child

This is the privilege given to you at your Baptism:

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

You belong to Him. You have his name attached to you. You are his child. And as his child, 1 John 2:1-2 tells us this:

…if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

So trust your heavenly Father alone

You can only trust one thing at a time. You can trust your heavenly father. Because you are His child. and So trust your heavenly father alone.

This is what Jesus says to us about our worries, vv. 33-34:

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Everyone here has worries. Everyone here has anxieties.

Jesus has warned us that we cannot “hedge our bets” with God. The Law tells us very clearly: We shall have no other gods. And our hearts are a factory of idols… …constantly building false gods to trust instead.

Money is the easiest false god …it’s there, it’s obvious, …you can see your bank account …you can touch your debit card.

But these false gods lie to us. These false gods do not control all things. These false gods have not given their beloved Son to die for you.. There is no other comfort as sweet, there is no other safety as sure, as trusting alone in your heavenly Father.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

When you worry this week: what Gospel message will you remember?

We began with this question: What comforts you when you worry?

But the reality is we know that our hearts are fickle; we know they will be tempted by false gods every day. So, if I were to ask that question again, then the best that could happen is we just spend the week feeling guilty, beating ourselves up.

So instead, let’s end with this:

When you worry this week: what Gospel message will you remember?

Might it be pausing on those words as we pray them each morning?

Our Father… who art in heaven?

Some of us may find crossing ourselves physically a quick and easy reminder of our baptism and the objective truth that we are God’s child.

Or could it be we are helped by reciting those words from v. 32 every time we realized we’re worrying?

your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Because those words of the Law Jesus preached are true:

You can only trust one thing at a time

But even more so are those words of the Gospel:

You can trust your heavenly father

Because you are His child

So trust your heavenly father alone

Amen.