The Father Provides

The Sermon on the Mount and the Father’s Provision

To love on one another, to care for one another, to think through these biblical times that we're in, Lord. These things that we need mercy and confidence through, Lord. So God, I would just ask you these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Amen. So I chose to do a topical message today, and let me just be forthright and say this. I didn't do a topical message for Mother's Day, so I apologize. I hope that's not, I hope that doesn't be, isn't seen as unfair or anything along those lines.

Today though, with this last week, I thought and saw it very, very needing to give a topical message on the Father's provision. And that's what we're going to be talking today about, is that the Father provides.

That's the whole topic of the message today, is how the Father provides for his children, his sons, his daughters. And so let us go ahead and read this text. It's also a little bit more lengthy of a text.

And if you know how I preach, if we are doing two or three verses, it usually is 45 minutes, and today we're doing nine. So you might have to do the math on that and think, well, we might be here for a little while.

I hope not. I hope that's not the case for today, unless we would so like so, and I would love to go through this at that pace, but we are going to be in those verses. So let's go ahead and read over these things and consider these things.

So verse 25 to 34 says this, for this reason, I say to 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?

Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more of worth than they? And who of you being worried can add a single cubit to his lifespan?

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.

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, you of little faith? Do not worry then, saying, what will we eat or what will we drink or what will we wear for clothing?

For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek, for that your heavenly Father knows that you need these things. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Let us pray over this text. Lord God, I would ask that everyone that is in this room today, Lord, is needing this sustenance that's in this text.

They are needing the confidence that lies here in your word, Lord. So God, I would ask that you would plant these things upon each one of our minds, that you would lay it upon our shoulders, that you would cover us so that we could sleep in the confidence that we have in what you promise for us in this text, Lord.

God, I would also ask that you would give myself the ability to adequately and accurately teach on what your word says here, Lord God. Let me not go an ounce further. Let us not go an ounce under, Lord, but let it be exactly the full of what you have here for us, Lord.

God, let us call sinners to repentance. Let us look to you for repentance. Let us have faith in you providing for us your household, God. As we read for our call to worship today, Lord, you are our Father.

And so, Lord, today we honor you as our Father, our Lord, and our God. And we say this in your son's name, Jesus, the merciful Christ. Amen. Matthew chapter six, verses 25 through 34. This text, I know that we're just jumping right in the middle of this book, and so it can somewhat seem chaotic when we just read this, especially out of context of what's going on.

What's taking place in this text is this is what's known as the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus. And so, in the beginning of this Sermon on the Mount, we have a multitude of crowds that have followed Jesus and his disciples are there with him.

And so, he's surrounded by a large group of people. And this Sermon on the Mount, this chapter, is something that these chapters that record for us the teachings of Jesus while he's on this mount is something that a lot of people are very familiar with.

It's something that church has preached through quite often. It's something that almost every Christian has read at least three times in their life. This is where we get the wonderful sayings, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the lowly, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, and so on and so forth. It's where we get those wonderful sayings.

It's where we'd also have the opportunity to hear Christ say, you have heard it said that you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

We'd also see in this Sermon on the Mount that we'd also have Christ say, why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own? How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, and behold, the log is in my own eye.

You hypocrite, take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. We'd also have the wonderful saying of enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it. The timeless truths that Jesus says on this Mount are something that each one of us read and are encouraged by continually.

It's something that in the time of different seasons of our life, whether it's in the valleys or on the mountaintops, that we look at this and we find encouragement, because guess what? God's word is truth, and that's where we should go to find encouragement.

It's where we should go to find aid in all these different times of our lives. And so when we look at this, these timeless truths, as all of God's word is a timeless truth, we're also told even the very words of Christ on how to pray.

This is something that should give us comfort when we're going through different things. And so today, you might say, well, why, Brayden, have you chosen to talk about fathers on a day of tremendous loss?

Let me be clear and say this, because today is Father's Day, and we do have a heavenly father that we have faith in. That's why we should talk about this. If anything, this should only comfort us in knowing that there's a father who has his arms open for us.

So this is a comforting text. Do not shy away from looking at the truths in the Bible in highlight or in light of what is going on in the day. We as a church should not stop doing what the church should do in hard times.

In fact, we should only do more so what the church ought to do in hard times. And so in light of this, we are going to be talking about fathers today. So let us look here at verse 25 of Matthew chapter six, at this timeless truth about our heavenly father.

Jesus starts out this text, this word of advice for the people that are there at his feet. He says, for this reason, I say to you, why does Jesus start out this proverb, this important teaching here by saying for this reason?

Prior to this text, just shortly before, Jesus has said to the people that you can only serve one master, you can't serve two, that you will either hate the one or love the other. And what he's getting at in here is that you either seek the treasures in heaven, or you're seeking the treasures in earth.

The treasures of earth can be stolen from you. They can fall away, they can be burned up. All these things is what the treasures of the earth provide for us. But we ought to be storing our treasures where?

In heaven. It's where no one can steal them. It's where no one can take them away from you. Why? Why is it that those treasures are secure in heaven? I think it's because the father holds them securely.

The father holds them in his hands. That's what this text is going to go into, is that we have a heavenly father who feeds us, who takes care of us. So that's where we should be focusing, is building treasures there, not building treasures here, not focused on what this life has to offer, but focused on the one to come.

And so Jesus says for this reason, so for what he has just said, he now tells us this, do not be worried. When you read this text, I hope you read it and you see it as a command from Jesus, because it is a command.

Do not be worried. And I'm always, brothers and sisters, I have to be so clear with you. You are looking at the biggest worry wart up here today. So please do not think I am a hypocrite when I'm saying this.

I'm preaching this truth to myself as I'm saying this to you. I worry constantly about what's going on. I worry about what next week we'll have. And this is what the text is teaching us, is not to be worried, to have trust in our God providing for us.

And so just please be aware of this. Do not be worried. Do not be worried. Think about how many times in life, if you were to take all your worry that you've had in all your life, even in this last week, even in the last month, all the worry, and you were to pour it into gallon jugs, right?

You would say, Brayden, I would be pretty weighed down with all the worry if I poured it all into cups, right? It would amount to a lot. I'd like you to consider remembering that as we progress through this text.

Think about how much that weighs you down. Think about how much you hold onto that. Think about all that it is collected there in your worry. Jesus says, do not be worried about your life as to what you will eat or what you will drink, not for your body as to what you will put on it.

Is life, is not life more than food? What Christ is doing in here is he's saying for us is that our life is meant to glorify our creator. It's not meant for us to worry about these things. It's to glorify the one that will provide for us.

Look, if we believe in Christ, our soul has been satisfied by participating and taking that eternal bread, Jesus Christ. We have an understanding that not only does he satisfy us in that way, but he has also clothed us with his own righteousness.

We ought to live life having that attitude that Christ has already satisfied me. Christ has already covered me. What else is there to worry about in life? Nothing in the weight of what Christ has done for us bodes any amount of time to worry.

Verse 26. Now, now, Christ, after saying this now, now think about what this significance is in this text. Look at the bird. So Christ says, where are our treasures supposed to be held out in heaven? That's where our treasures are supposed to be held at.

Where now does he tell the people to look? Look to the birds. He's continually pointing them up. Look, look to the birds. Do you not hear the bird chirping outside right now? Do you think that bird chirping out there right now is worried about what he's going to eat later today?

Do you think he's concerned about what he is going to wear tomorrow? No, he knows that when he flies, he's going to find a worm. He knows that he will be cared for the next day and the next and the next and the next.

He's not concerned about these kind of things. I wasn't. That's a true bird chirping right now. I did not plan on that to be taking place. Look to the birds. Look to the sky. Look, look to where your righteousness is.

Look to where your treasures are dwelling. Look to the birds. Now think about this bird that's even chirping out there right now. Is not my son Shepherd far more valuable than that bird outside right now?

Is not my son Owen that is laying on Cherish's chest right now not more valuable in my eyes than that bird outside right now? Is he not more valuable in each one of our eyes? Yet our God provides for the birds outside.

Do you think he's not going to provide for my sons? Do you think that he will not provide for us? That's what Christ is saying in here. Look, look to this bird. He's not concerned about what he reaps or what he sows because he does not do these things.

Yet who feeds the birds? Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? The value of each one of us far surpasses the bird. Why? Because we're created in the very image of God. If we are this unique, unique creation of God that bears his image, do you not think that he will not provide for us?

He will, he does, he has, he's going to. Are you not worth much more than they? Speaking of these birds and of you, of you. So he's speaking to this crowd and of you being worried, can it add a single cubit to your lifespan?

Think about all those gallons of worry that you have poured into these jugs and you start stacking them up. I can only imagine how much worry I would have stacked up there, how much worry each one of us would have stacked up there.

Think about how much that weighs you down. Do you know how much a cubit is? It roughly is estimated to be 18 inches. All that worry will not add a single 18 inches to our life. Why? Why would we want to be bared down with this worry?

Why would we want to think that by worrying that we can somehow manipulate or stop this sovereign hand of God from taking place? Why do we do this? I think this, again, comes from a prideful nature of thinking that we should worry about these things, that we can stop these things.

You can almost think of Adam and Eve in the garden, a text that I dearly love. When do they start to hide themselves? When do they start to cover themselves? When they hear the Lord coming. They're worried.

I've got to provide for myself. Don't worry. Know that the Lord will provide. Now, if we were to take this understanding of knowing that our life is fully in the hand of God, that he will provide for us truly and fully and thoroughly, that none of my worry could ever add even 18 inches to our lifespan, what should this kind of thinking produce?

Well, I think very clearly it would produce a biblical type of thinking that would be like Job 1, 20 through 21. Then Job arose. This is after he's lost his whole family and bad things have happened. Job arose.

He tore his robe and shaved his head, which in that day was the way that they mourned. And he fell on the ground. And what does he do? And he worshiped God. Our mourning can be used to worship God. In fact, our mourning, it would be sinful if our mourning wasn't used to worship God.

And he said, naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall return there. Yahweh gave and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be the name of Yahweh. James 4, 15. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.

What kind of living would this produce if we had faith in a God that provides? I think it would produce the type of missionaries like this gentleman named Henry Martin. He was a missionary in the late 1700s and the early 1800s.

And he did a lot of his work in India and Persia. And he had a wonderful saying that he wrote in his journal. I almost called it a diary. He wrote it in his journal in the January of 1812. He wrote this, I am immortal until God's work for me is done.

Nothing can befall me unless it's from the Lord. Nothing can harm me unless it's from the Lord. Nothing can stop God's work from taking place unless it is from the Lord. He died 10 months later after writing that very statement while doing missionary work.

The Father Provides for the Lilies, the Grass, and His Children

Verse 28. And why are you worried about clothing? Why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow. I pause here. I would look to our dear brother, Jason, in the back. You've seen a lot of lilies and grass in the fields, have you not?

Have you ever seen one sitting there? They're bowing down out of fear and worry about what tomorrow is bringing. No, they sprout with the sun, they see these things and they rejoice. And look at what this text has to say for us.

They do not toil, nor do they spin, meaning that they're not anxious, they're not worried, they know that God will provide. And look at verse 29. And yet not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself as one of these.

I know that Jason loves the country that he runs cattle in, he knows that it is beautiful out there. God has announced the fields that bear these lilies are far more beautiful than King Solomon. And if we know who King Solomon is, he's the son of David, he's the one that erected the temple, he was the richest man in the day is what it really paints for us, that he had cups of gold that he drank out of, he wore fine linens, he was the man of wealth.

And what does this text say? That the lilies, that Jason doesn't even maybe think about that as he's walking around and he tramples underfoot, those are more beautiful than the man that is worried like King Solomon to cover himself.

They're more beautiful than even that. But if God so clothed the grass of the field which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown in the furnace, will he not much more clothe you? What does that mean? What is the lifespan of a lily?

One week? What is the lifespan of grass? It's a short life. It's gathered and it's used to fuel what? A fire. But the Lord has provided. Did you know in this text that Jesus is even saying that the Lord even has provided for the fire itself to burn by producing the grass that he has provided for?

The Lord provides, our Father provides is what this text says in this way. Think about this for a moment. First let's compare that. So Kelly you say a lily is one week, grass is maybe a little bit longer.

God has provided for them. How long are our lives? In some cases one year, in some cases 80, some cases 30. Does not our Father love us so much more than the lilies and the grass? Does he not love us more than the birds?

We are not like that. Our souls are eternal. Store our riches in heaven because even though 80, even though a year, even though 30, it seems like that can be a short or long time because that's our perspective.

It's all short in the comparison of eternity. God will provide. He has, he will, he does. He's going to be faithful in this. I know that next year lilies will sprout again. I know the year after that the lilies will sprout again.

I know the year after that the lilies will sprout again. And why? Because the Lord provides. He closed the hills. He's covered them. Did my son Shepherd go to sleep last night concerned about what he was going to be wearing today?

Lydia's like no. Did Owen go to bed last night worried about what mom would have for him in the morning for breakfast? No. This is a text that's not teaching us. I know many of us might meal prep in here.

Emily sends me to the grocery store to get a week's worth of groceries because she plans these things out for us. This is not me. Emily even knows this. I'm concerned about what I'll wear in the morning.

Emily, I don't know what I'm going to wear in the morning. Can you please get the laundry done? Like I don't know where this shirt is that I was hoping to wear tomorrow. I worry about this stuff. It's not teaching us to not necessarily worry about these things, but it's teaching us a principle in this text.

It's not a bad idea to prep food and to have a meal ready for yourself and have a plan on what you're going to eat for the week. That's not what this text is teaching us. Just as Shepherd and Owen wouldn't be concerned about these things tomorrow, what do you think that they're concerned about?

Who do you think rocked them to sleep last night? Who do you think Shepherd slept with and laid with this morning? They're only wanting to be around their father and their mother. They only want to be cared for and loved on because guess who they know will provide for them in the morning?

Their father. Guess who they know will make sure that they sleep well that night? Their mother. What is this teaching us? To have that kind of faith in God. To know God you will provide. That you do take, you do give, but you will provide in all these things.

I might not like it. It might not be great, but I want your love. I want you to hold me in your arms tonight. I don't care what I'm going to be clothed in tomorrow because I'm clothed in your righteousness.

That's the type of life that this is teaching us to live. So then Jesus says, you of little faith, again he's around this large group of people and brothers and sisters this is something we go through seasons of our lives of where we can be what seems like giants of the faith and there can be times where we go on our lives and it seems like we're just the smallest of the small in our faith.

If you have come here today small and I mean smaller than a pebble outside in your faith. It doesn't matter the amount of faith that you have. It matters the faith that you place where you place your faith in and if it's in God that faith will be rewarded with righteousness because it is Christ who will cover you.

But this is this. This is the truth of this. If you want to have big faith, if you want to be encouraged in your little faith today, what is the teaching of this text? To know your Lord will provide. It's to trust in his provision in all things.

That is how you are encouraged and strengthened in your faith. Jesus then says, do not worry then saying what will we eat or what will we drink or what will we wear. For all these things the Gentiles, this is speaking about a group of people in Jesus's time.

They're on the mount of all they're on the mount as he's teaching these things. This this is speaking about a people that don't recognize God. They the ones that don't recognize God don't have an assurity that they will be provided for tomorrow.

They don't know that but you know God so therefore you of little faith have faith that the Lord will provide. They eagerly seek your heavenly father knows that you need all these things. Our father knows this.

Brothers and sisters, if you've placed your faith in Christ, you have been covered by his only son's death. You have been covered by his only son's righteousness. You have been adopted as heirs in the kingdom of God.

You have direct access to the father. You can call out to him as Abba father. He cares for you. He provides for you. I know and I've seen it from every father in this room. Every father that's not even in this room in our church they provide for their family.

Do not think that our Lord in heaven, our father in heaven will not provide for us. But what about what does this look like for us? That it's so easy to say these things. What does this look like for us?

Well what about in the midst of heartbreak in life? Loss. The Lord will provide. Well Brayden what about what about our bank account? Our church has less money in it than it did last last month. Well what about that?

The Lord will provide. What about the roof? It rained today. I don't see any spots in the gym today but the roof it's going bad on our on our church. The Lord will provide. All the worrying that we could ever place in anything other than the Lord will always weigh us down.

We have to have faith and entrust our entire being that the Lord will provide. Do not worry. Your heavenly father knows that you need these things. 33 but this is okay this is so important to see this.

But seek first. So this is where our heart, our intention, our direction, everything about us ought to be going towards. It says seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.

If we keep our mind focused and looking to Jesus. If we keep on focusing and knowing that his provision will be had. That we've been covered by his righteousness. All these things will be added to us.

We don't have to worry about them and that's what Christ says. So do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble on its own. Can I I think that gets an amen in that right?

Amen yeah thank you. So every day has enough trouble of its own. Rests in the fact that our Lord will provide. Don't let your mind be burdened by these things. I I this is a wonderful book that I absolutely love.

I would encourage everybody in this church to eventually buy a copy of it. If you need to see how thick it is it's right there and it's all about how the Lord will provide. The pastor who went through the bible and he and he wrote down every time that it said that the Lord would provide.

The Lord would provide and how does he provide and how is he how is he sovereign in these things and and he wrote these all down and it's a beautiful book. But in there he talks about the provision of the Lord and what providence means for us as Christians.

I'd ask you keep these things in your mind of Matthew chapter 6. Turn with me to Genesis chapter 22 though. This is so utterly important for us and this is where we'll end for the day. Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis chapter 22. If you know anything about this chapter this is the chapter where Abraham is commanded by Yahweh to go and sacrifice his son Isaac. Verses 7 through 14 is what we'll just look at today as I'm sure we're all familiar to a certain degree with the story.

Then Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said my father and he said here I am my son and he said behold the fire and the wood but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham said God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering my son.

So the two of them walked on together a father and his son walked on together. Then they came to a place of which God had told them him and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood bound his son Isaac and put him on the altar on top of the wood and Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son but the angel of Yahweh called out to him from heaven and said Abraham Abraham and he said here I am and he said do not stretch out your hand against the boy and do nothing to him for I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son your only son from me.

Then Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw and behold there was a ram it had been caught in the thicket by his horns and Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering in the place of his son and Abraham called the name of that place Yahweh will provide the Lord will provide as it is said to this day in the mount of Yahweh it will be provided.

There's a lot of speculation and thinking on this type of a text from Genesis chapter 22 but without getting into all the minutiae and theological depth that is this chapter which it is there take note that Abraham was commanded to do something and he had faith in it and what ultimately happened Yahweh provided.

Today when you look at Matthew chapter 6 we talked about who spoke in that text who was it Jesus a ram caught in the thicket by his horns when we talk about the Lord providing we often skip and overlook when Jesus is saying don't worry for tomorrow the Lord will provide what is the provision that the Lord has given us Jesus the son of the father dying in our place and rising again I confidently say to each one of us Yahweh will provide.

We have to have faith in this. We must look to this be strengthened in your faith today if you've come here with little faith or even no faith at all have faith in Yahweh that will provide. We're going to be doing communion here in a moment but Ron is going to bless these things for us.

I would ask you today if you don't have faith to withhold or if today is not the greatest day to do these things I would ask that you withhold but if the Lord has provided Jesus in your place in your life death burial and resurrection I'd ask you to please participate in joy and knowing Yahweh has provided let us pray over this text.