What Jesus Said about

God’s ProvisionAdapted from the series, “Jesus Said” by Michael

Wileyhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/what-jesus-said-about-gods-provision-michael-wiley-

sermon-on-jesus-christ-131036.asp

Matthew 6:19 NET "Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is,

there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If then your eye is

healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

23 But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light

in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 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.

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about

your body, what you will wear. Isn't there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the

sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds

them. Aren't you more valuable than they are?

27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? 28 Why do you

worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work

or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 30 And if this is how God

clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won't he clothe you even more,

you people of little faith?

31 So then, don't worry saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What

will we wear?' 32 For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly

Father knows that you need them. 33 But above all pursue his kingdom and

righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will

worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

A great philosopher once said:

Here is a little song I wrote You might want to sing it note for note

Don’t worry be happy In every life we have some trouble

When you worry you make it double Don’t worry, be happy

Ain’t got no place to lay your head Somebody came and took your bed

Don’t worry, be happy

The land lord say your rent is late He may have to litigate Don’t worry, be happy Look at me I am happy Don’t worry, be happy

Here I give you my phone number When you worry call me

I make you happy Don’t worry, be happy

Ain’t got no cash, ain’t got no style Ain’t got not girl to make you smile

But don’t worry be happy Cause when you worry

Your face will frown And that will bring everybody down

So don’t worry, be happyDon’t worry, be happy

Don’t worry,Don’t worry, don’t do it, be happy

Put a smile on your face Don’t bring everybody down like this

Don’t worry, it will soon past Whatever it is

Don’t worry, be happy I’m not worried…

Of course Bobby McFerrin was really no philosopher, but he was very correct in his

summation of a happy life.

Happiness is not based on the condition of your life, but the condition of your heart.

Sermon on the MountI can’t jump into the middle of what we know

as, “The Sermon on the Mount” without making some comment.

The Sermon on the Mount includes the most in-depth and challenging teaching of Jesus. Thousands of books have been written on

this one sermon alone.

John Stott said, “It is the nearest thing to a manifesto he ever uttered.”

Today we are going to look at what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-34.

Matthew 6:19 NET "Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in

and steal.

There are several ways to identify a message. This message of Jesus contains

a “build” and a “wrap.”A build is when the speaker opens up with a statement and then builds on it. He ends his

message with the same statement but phrased in a clearer and more forceful way.

A wrap is when the speaker opens and closes with the same statement or

illustration even if worded differently.

19 "Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But accumulate for yourselves

treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is,

there your heart will be also.

In verses 19-21 the key word is Treasure.Dictionary.com defines treasure:

wealth or riches stored or accumulated -- something highly prized or valued.

The context here is saying to gather up treasure, what is really valuable, where it will last forever in heaven because it is so much more valuable than earthly treasures

which will not last but will deteriorate.

22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If then your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great

is the darkness!

If you take this teaching too literal it makes sense but not in the sense it needs to in this story. We believe Jesus is simply pointing

out here, that when you have an eye focused on greed and lust of things, what

the Hebrews and The Near Easterners called an “Evil eye,” then your heart will be

full of darkness.

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 verse 24 Jesus reminds us that he is still

talking about our Life’s focus.

In verse 25 “Therefore” is the beginning of the build.

25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about

your body, what you will wear. Isn't there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the

sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds

them. Aren't you more valuable than they are? 27 And which of you by worrying can

add even one hour to his life?

28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not

even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won't he clothe you even more,

you people of little faith?

31 So then, don't worry saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What

will we wear?' 32 For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly

Father knows that you need them.

33 But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will

worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

Focus on God and what He wants – His kingdom – Let Him worry about your needs

What He is not sayingJesus is not saying,

“Don’t plan for tomorrow.”In our effort to read Proverbs every month you should have read this 3 times so far.

Proverbs 6:6 NIV Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! 7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, 8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and

gathers its food at harvest.

Jesus is not saying,“You can’t be wealthy.”

It’s not the amount of money you have but the contentment of your heart and whether or not you are using your wealth for God’s

kingdom or your own.

Have you heard of Truett Cathy and the rest of the Cathy family who founded and own the over 1,600 Chick-fil-A® restaurants?

Truett is credited of introducing the chicken sandwich concept to the fast-food

restaurant. The company's current trademarked slogan,

"We Didn't Invent the Chicken, Just the Chicken Sandwich,"

Here is Chick-fil-A’s® Corporate Purpose: “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive

influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A. ®”

Truett established the WinShape Foundation, Inc., with the goal: to help

“shape winners.”

The Foundation supports a variety of programs, including a long-term foster care program, a summer camp for nearly 1,800 kids each year, a scholarship program, and

marriage enrichment retreats.

Since day one the Cathy family has refused to allow their restaurants to be open on

Sundays.

Here is what Jimmy Carter had to say about Truett Cathy.

“I hope that people will learn from Truett Cathy the virtues that have brought him

remarkable success in life. He has dedicated himself to service in the broadest

sense, following Christian principles, not only in his personal life, but in his relations

with his customers and employees.”

Let’s bring this test home.In his book “The Power Zone” Larry Calvin says, “Jesus is giving us five questions we can ask ourselves in order to deal with our

worries appropriately.” Let’s ask ourselves these questions:

1. What is really important?Much of what we get bogged down with in

life is not really important if you really look at it closely. We get involved with things that at

the time seem important, but are time wasters. Our life gets out of focus. Jesus

asks us to focus on what is really important in life.

2. How much control do I have over those things that worry me?

When you look really close at what you typically worry about, you find that you worry

about two primary things:1. What you can’t do anything about.

2. What you can do something about. Let’s look at the second one first. If you look up

worry at Dictionary.com the first definition is, “To torment oneself with or suffer from

disturbing thoughts; fret ”

WORRY is very unproductive. If you can’t do anything about it—why worry about it?

AND,If you can do something about it, don’t

worry. Role your sleeves up and change things.

3. How are others fairing in worse circumstances than mine?

When you look at the poor little birds picking up food to eat on the ground, or you see the grass and flowers in the scorching sun, don’t

worry about them – God will take care of them and he will take care of you too. When

you’re in the midst of worry, turn on the news, just look around, you’ll find a lot of people much more worse off than you.

4. Isn’t it best to live in day-tight compartments?

Much of our worries are about things that happened yesterday that can’t be undone or things that might happen in the future that might not come to be. Jesus says, “We will be far better off if we take it one day at a

time.

5. Isn’t our God big enough to handle the toughest situations anyway?

The big answer? YESPhilippians 4:6 NET Do not be anxious

about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with

thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and

minds in Christ Jesus.

I know there are people that suffer from anxiety disorders. They have a more difficult

time with this passage than others. But it does not mean that this passage does not

apply to them or that Christ lets them off the hook. It means they have to work harder

and pray more to get the junk off their plate and get it over to God.

Jesus Said, But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these

things will be given to you as well. So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:33-34 NET