Overcoming Anxiety (3) Pastor Jason Austin December 1, 2024

First Baptist Church Leominster

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Let's be seated and Dale is going to come and lead us in our church covenant back bullet or back cover of your either blue or red hymn license or both.

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Thank you Dale. Good morning so if you open the back cover we will say our church covenant together.

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Having been led by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our

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Savior and on the profession of our faith having been baptized in the name of the

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Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit we do now solemnly make this covenant with each other as one body in Christ.

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We will walk together in brotherly love. We will exercise a

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Christian care and watchfulness over each other. We'll faithfully admonish and help one another as the need may be.

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We will be slow to take offense but always ready for reconciliation without delay.

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If any stray from the path of truth we will endeavor to restore them in the spirit of meekness.

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We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together or neglect to pray for ourselves and for others.

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We will seek to educate our children in the scriptures. We will seek to win our kindred and acquaintances to Christ and to holiness.

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As stewards of the Lord we will aid in the support of a faithful evangelical ministry among us and in efforts to preach the gospel to the whole human family.

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We will live circumspectly in the world denying ungodliness and worldly lusts and according to our ability and opportunities we'll do good to all men.

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We will endeavor as long as we live to glorify him who has called us out of the darkness into his marvelous light.

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The Lord's supper is for the Lord's people, true disciples of Jesus Christ. There are blessings promised by the

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Lord for those in communion with the Lord Jesus and his people, for eating and drinking.

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We are to go through a work of self -analysis with view to the

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Lord's supper, considering our sins, acknowledging them, confessing them, repenting of them, looking to the

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Lord Jesus alone as beautifully portrayed by the bread and the cup for the forgiveness of our sins.

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And so if we judge ourselves we would not be judged, we are passing judgment upon ourselves as we humble ourselves.

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There are warnings of course in scripture not to eat or drink in an unworthy manner, therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the

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Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

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So rather than blessing it brings a curse. To eat or drink in another worthy manner is to be a non -disciple of Jesus Christ and participating in this as an unworthy manner.

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To eat or drink without due consideration of Jesus Christ and what he did for us is to eat and drink in an unworthy manner.

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And also a failure to acknowledge our vital connection with one another in the body of Christ is to eat and drink in an unworthy manner.

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The Lord's supper is not a private individual Christian thing but rather it's a church ordinance when the people of God gather together in communion with the

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Lord and with one another. And so may the Lord help us. Of course we have both wine and and grape juice offered in the tray.

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The wine is in the purple shaded cups around the perimeter of each tray depending upon your conviction.

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Let us pray and Puritan will help us in this. This is entitled

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Divine Mercies. Let's pray. O thou eternal

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God, thine is surpassing greatness, unspeakable goodness, superabundant grace.

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I can as soon count the sands of the beaches of the world as number thy favors toward us.

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We know but a part but that part exceeds all our praise. We thank thee for personal mercies, for a measure of health, preservation of body, comforts of house and home, sufficiency of food and clothing, continuance of mental powers, our family, their mutual help and support, the delights of domestic harmony and peace, the seats now filled that might have been vacant, our country, our church, our bible, our faith.

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But oh how we mourn our sin in gratitude, vileness, the days that add to our guilt, the scenes that witness our offending tongue, all things in heaven, earth and around within without condemn us, the sun which sees our misdeeds, the darkness which is light unto thee, the cruel accuser who justly charges us, the good angels who have been provoked to leave us, thy countenance which scans our secret sins, thy righteous law, thy holy word, and our sin -soiled consciences, our private and public lives, our neighbors, ourselves, all write dark things against us.

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We deny them not, frame no excuse, but confess, father, we have sinned, yet we still live and fly, repenting to thy outstretched arms.

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Thou will not cast us off, for Jesus brings us near. Thou will not condemn us, for he died in our place.

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Thou will not mark our mountains of sin, for he leveled them all, and his beauty covers our deformities.

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Oh our God, we bid farewell to sin by clinging to his cross, hiding in his wounds, and sheltering in his side.

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Thank you, God, for your kindness and mercy to us in your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen.

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The bread conveys the broken body of the Lord Jesus. We do have some gluten -free bread in here for those that require such.

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As we hold this bread, this physical bread, it is a reality, it shows the reality of the spiritual life we receive from Christ as we exercise faith in him.

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May the Lord help us in this. Father, bless this bread to us as we hold it, as we ingest it, our

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God. We do affirm our faith in Christ, our reliance upon him, our

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God, and that life, spiritual life, Lord, is brought to us more clearly and fully and repeatedly our

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God, through faith in him. Bless this bread to us, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

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Well, it was after supper the Lord took the bread and gave it to his disciples and he said to them, take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of me.

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Thank you, our Father, for this cup that we have before us and its content so beautifully portrays the

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Lord Jesus. It's a celebration and yet a recognition, our

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God, of his suffering. The grapes trampled, as it were, to produce the wine, so the

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Lord Jesus, our God, was squeezed and suffered so terribly, shedding his blood upon the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.

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We thank you, our God, for what he accomplished, Lord, on our behalf and we lift up our this cup, our

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God, celebrating and acknowledging, confessing our faith in Jesus, and we thank you, our

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God, for the effectual nature of the blood of Jesus shed so long ago to cleanse us even now from our sin, to remove that which may be hindering our the enjoyment, realization of our relationship with you through him.

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Bless this cup to us, we pray, Father, in Jesus' name, amen. Well, our

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Lord then took the cup and gave it to his disciples, saying to them, this cup is the new covenant in my blood, this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

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And we may thank God that if you're a disciple of Jesus Christ, you ate and drank in faith, confessing your sins, your sins are forgiven you.

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And so with that thought, with a sense of joy and peace, let's listen to the word of God, let's pray.

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Father, help Pastor Jason now as he comes and opens your word before us, as he is dealing with this matter of anxiety.

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Our God, we know that some of your people are plagued with this issue. We pray for the comfort and the joy of the blessed

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Holy Spirit, our God. And so bless Pastor Jason, our God, bless your word to us, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

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This morning we conclude our study on Matthew 6, verses 25 through 34, overcoming worry and anxiety.

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By way of reminder, Matthew 6, 25 through 34, must be understood in light of its immediate and surrounding context, which is

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Matthew 6, verses 19 through 24. In these verses, the

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Lord Jesus Christ gave warning and instruction regarding the dangers of worldliness and the peril of holding on too tightly to the temporal and passing things of this world.

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A warning is given, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

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Instead, we are commanded to lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

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The great concern behind this command is not so much the treasures themselves, but our attitude towards our treasures.

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The Lord Jesus Christ's primary concern is the relationship that exists between our heart and our treasures.

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You see, it's not the treasure that follows after the heart, it is the heart that follows after the treasure.

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In other words, if you lay up treasures on earth for yourself, your heart will inevitably follow, pursue, and be preoccupied with those earthly treasures, with those temporal and passing earthly treasures.

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But if you lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, your heart will follow after, pursue, and be preoccupied with the heavenly and eternal treasures, treasures that are pleasing to the

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Lord God. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

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In the preceding verses, the Lord Jesus Christ illustrates this profound truth. Matthew 6, 22 through 23, the eye is the lamp of the body.

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So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

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Not only must our hearts be fixed and follow after the right things, but our eyes must do the same.

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Our eyes must be fixed and follow after the right things. Our eyes must be healthy and sound.

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Our eyes must be singularly focused on the Lord God and the eternal things of the

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Lord God, rather than the temporal things of this world, because the eye is the lamp of the body.

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A blind eye is a darkened eye, which is unable to see, and spiritual blindness plunges men into darkness and ruin.

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A blind and darkened eye will pursue the temporal. It will look to and lay up treasures on earth, and it will follow after those earthly treasures.

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In contrast, a seeing eye will give light to the entire body.

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A seeing eye pursues the Lord God. It pursues the eternal things of the Lord God and gives our lives purpose, direction, and significance.

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Beloved, do not let your eye become clouded with the earthly and transient things of this world.

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Do not allow your heart to chase after them. Do not allow your eye to look upon them and be fixed on them.

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Otherwise, you will lose sight of what truly matters—the eternal things of the

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Lord God, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Thus, you must set your minds, your eyes, and your heart on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

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In Matthew 624, we are further warned about whom we serve. We are warned about the object of our affection, our delight, and our service.

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

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You cannot serve the Lord God and mammon. You cannot serve the Lord God and money and possessions.

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In these verses, Matthew 619 -24, two choices are thrice given as options.

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Either pursue a temporary treasure or pursue an earthly treasure, eternal treasure.

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Either choose to look upon and focus on the temporal or choose to look upon and focus on the eternal.

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Either choose to pursue money and possessions or choose to pursue the

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Lord God. For you cannot serve two masters. Beloved, there is only one sensible choice to these options.

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The only master worth serving is the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, our eyes and our hearts must follow after and be fixed upon him and him alone.

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The entirety of our heart, our whole heart, our undivided heart, and the entirety of our eyesight and our vision, our singular focus, and our attention must be on the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Devotion, commitment, and allegiance to the

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Lord Jesus Christ necessitates a rejection and a repudiation of all earthly, temporal, and worldly things.

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Please turn with me to the book of Matthew. This morning, we conclude our study of Matthew 6 verses 25 -34.

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Let's look at the text together. 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.

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Is life not more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air.

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They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly

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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?

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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

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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,

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O you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear?

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For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

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But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

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

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Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Thus far, we have examined verse 25, the command of the

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Lord Jesus Christ, do not be anxious. We have discussed verses 26 through 29, the case against succumbing to anxiety.

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We've considered the birds of the field. We've considered the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, as well as verse 30, the root cause of our anxiety, which is little faith.

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This morning, we conclude with verses 31 through 34, the cure for anxiety, and a summarizing conclusion to this entire passage.

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Let's look at each one of these in more detail. Matthew 6 31, therefore, do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear?

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In verse 31, we arrive at the second therefore of the passage, which is there to direct us back to verses 25 through 30.

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In this verse, the Lord Jesus Christ draws a conclusion based upon the preceding truth that the

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Lord God faithfully provides for the birds of the air, and the Lord God will faithfully provide for the lilies of the field.

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Thus, the Lord God will faithfully provide for you, because you are of vastly greater worth than the birds of the air.

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You are of vastly greater worth than the lilies of the field. Therefore, in light of these things, do not be anxious.

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Two additional reasons are given as to why we must obey this command, the Gentiles and the knowledge of God.

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For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

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The first reason we are not to be anxious is that anxiety and worry are characteristic of Gentiles.

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It's a characteristic of the unsaved, the unregenerate, of unbelievers, of those who do not know the

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Lord God nor belong to the family of the Lord God. The reason we are not to be anxious is because anxiety is not a characteristic of those who belong to and follow the

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Lord Jesus Christ. In the scriptures, the term Gentiles referred to anyone who did not belong to the family of God.

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It referred to those who had no understanding or knowledge of the Lord God or of his scriptures.

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We mentioned this last month in our study of Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians 2 verses 11 through 12.

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Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands, remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and being without God in the world.

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The Gentiles were separate from Christ. They did not know the

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Lord God. They had no knowledge or expectation of a coming savior or a coming deliverer.

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The Gentiles lived in spiritual darkness, alienated, estranged, and separated from the

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Lord God. The Gentiles were excluded from the commonwealth of Israel. Israel was the

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Lord God's chosen people and as such they were given special blessings, privileges, and protection.

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In speaking of these blessings, privileges, and protection, Paul wrote in Romans 9, they are

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Israelites and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.

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To them belong the patriarchs and from their race according to the flesh is the

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Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. In stark contrast to the chosen and favored

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Israelites, the Gentiles were not the Lord God's chosen people.

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The Gentiles were outside all of these blessings. They were outside of the Lord's care, his concern, and his protection.

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The Gentiles were strangers to the covenants of promise. The Lord God had made various covenants with Israel and these covenants gave

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Israel specific promises, promises to bless, to prosper, to protect, to multiply, to save, to redeem.

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These covenants gave Israel the promise of heaven and eternal life. The Gentiles were strangers to these covenants.

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They had no aware of them. They had no knowledge of them. Thus the Gentiles were without hope and they were without God in the world.

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The Gentiles walked alone in darkness without the Lord God, without purpose, and without understanding.

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Beloved, we Christians are not to be anxious because unlike the

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Gentiles, we lack none of these things. As citizens of the kingdom of heaven and as children of the

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Lord God, we are in Christ Jesus, not separated, but united with him.

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We have been included in the commonwealth of Israel, not excluded. We are familiar with the covenants of promise.

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We're not strangers and we have a great and living hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, for the

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Lord God is with us. Ephesians 2 .13, But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

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Verse 18, For through him, Christ Jesus, we both have access in one spirit to the

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Father. As citizens of the kingdom of heaven, as those who have been brought near to the

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Lord God by the blood of Christ, we are not ignorant of his purpose. We are not ignorant of his plan for our lives.

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For the child of God, Romans 8 .28, we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

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For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his

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Son. That is the purpose. In order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers, and those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified, and those whom he justified, he also glorified.

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What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

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No one. He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

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On the other hand, the Gentiles are without hope. The Gentiles live without God in the world, thus it is only natural that they seek to accumulate possessions for themselves, which is one of the few comforts and securities that they can possess.

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Given their hopeless estate, it is understandable why the Gentiles pursue, follow, accumulate, store up, and are anxious about their daily provision and their earthly treasures.

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But what is fitting for the Gentile is not fitting for the child of God. Charles Spurgeon remarked, we are to excel those who are aliens and foreigners.

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Things which Gentiles seek are not good enough for the Israel of God. The men of the world seek after earthly things and have no mind for anything beyond.

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In contrast, we have a heavenly father, and therefore we have higher aims and higher aspirations.

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Moreover, as our father knows all about our necessities, we need not be anxious, for he is quite sure to supply all our needs.

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Let the Gentiles hunt after their many carnal objects, but let the children of the

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Lord leave their temporal wants with the Lord of infinite grace, and then let them follow after the one thing needful.

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Beloved, to pursue money and possessions and to be anxious and worry and fret over money and possessions puts us on the same level as the

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Gentiles, as those who have no hope, of those who are without God in the world, as those who are ignorant of the

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Lord God and his goodness. Therefore, do not be anxious.

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The second reason we're not to be anxious is because of the knowledge of God. Matthew 6 32, for the

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Gentiles seek after all these things and your heavenly father knows that you need them all.

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The Lord God, our heavenly father, knows our needs. He knows all of our most essential and most profound needs.

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The term knows speaks of knowledge that comes from one's state of being. In other words, since this is referring to the

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Lord God, it is synonymous with his omniscience. The Lord God, our father, is all -knowing.

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He possesses all knowledge. On the omniscience of the Lord God, A.

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W. Tozer remarked, God knows instantly and effortlessly all matter and all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirit and all spirits, all being and every being, all creaturehood and all creatures, every plurality and all pluralities, all law and every law, all relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, all enigmas, all feeling, all desires, every unuttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and in earth, motion, space, time, life, death, good, evil, heaven, and hell.

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Because God knows all things perfectly, he knows no thing better than any other thing, but all things equally well.

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He never discovers anything. He's never surprised, never amazed. He never wonders about anything, nor except when drawing men out for their own good, does he seek information or ask questions.

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The knowledge of the Lord, our God, is infinite. It is perfect.

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It is eternal. The knowledge of the Lord, our God, is without bounds. It is without flaws.

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It is without end. The infinite knowledge of the Lord God will endure forever.

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Beloved, you need not be anxious because your heavenly Father is omniscient.

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The Lord God sees you. The Lord God sees your need. He does not slumber.

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He does not sleep. He is your keeper, your sustainer, your provider.

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He intimately knows all of your needs, and he has promised to provide for all of your needs.

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We're reminded of this in Matthew 7. Ask and it will be given to you.

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Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks it will be opened.

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Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?

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If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your

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Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? Beloved, our heavenly

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Father is good. He is very good, and he knows our needs.

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He knows all our needs. He always knows all our needs, and he will meet all our needs.

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Psalm 34 8. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

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Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack.

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The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

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The Lord God, our heavenly Father, knows what you need, when you need it, why you need it, and for how long you will need it.

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And there will never come a time when the Lord God will abandon you, leaving you alone, leaving you lacking.

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Therefore, do not be anxious. Well, what if I am still anxious?

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What if I acknowledge that all these things are true, but I still struggle with anxiety? Well, thus far we've looked at the command, the case, and the cause, and now we will examine the cure.

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What is the cure for anxiety? What remedy does the Lord Jesus Christ put forward that will defeat and eradicate our anxious and our worrying thoughts?

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Matthew 6 33. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

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Beloved, the remedy for anxiety is to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

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It is to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Well, what does this mean?

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What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? Well, the term seeks means to investigate carefully in an attempt to learn something.

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It means to pursue by diligent searching, to impart maximum effort, to be constantly seeking.

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In the present context, it speaks of a single -minded focus, as when one's eye is clear and it is single and it is devoted to one solitary thing.

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To truly seek demands fervent intensity, it demands perseverance, and a zeal that will not stop only when the desired objective has been achieved.

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The importance of this term, seek, is further strengthened by the word first.

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As Christians, we must seek first the kingdom of God. Above anyone else, above anything else, we must make the kingdom of God and his righteousness our top and our highest priority.

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Beloved, the kingdom of God and his righteousness must always come first. It must take the highest precedence, the highest priority in your life.

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The kingdom of heaven is to be the sum and substance of our entire lives. Matthew Henry remarked, we must mind heaven as our end and holiness as our way.

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Seek the comforts of the kingdom of grace and glory as your felicity. Aim at the kingdom of heaven, press towards it, give diligence to make it sure, and resolve not to take up short of it.

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Seek for this glory, honor, and immortality. Prefer heaven and heavenly blessings far above earth and earthly delights.

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Let your care for your soul and other and another world take the place of all other cares, and let all the concerns of this life be made subordinate to those of the life to come.

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We must seek the things of Christ more than our own things, and if ever they come in competition, we must remember to which we are to give the preference.

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Seek these things first, first in thy days. Let the morning of thy youth be dedicated to God.

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Wisdom must be sought early. It is good beginning but times to be religious. Seek the first every day.

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Let waking thoughts be of God. Let this be our principle to do that which is most needful, and let him that is first have the first.

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To seek the kingdom is to seek the reign of the Lord God. It is to seek first the rule of the

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Lord God. This all -consuming pursuit reflects our allegiance to the sovereign rule of the king of kings and lord of lords.

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To seek his kingdom first reflects not only desire to bend my knee before the king, but also a desire to see all men bend their knee before the king.

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It reflects a desire to see all men bend their knees in humble surrender and submission to the

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Lord God the king. In all of the known universe, in all of the unknown universe, where is it that the name of the

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Lord God is not honored and not hallowed? Where is the name of the Lord not glorified?

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The name of the Lord God is not glorified in the sinful heart of man. The Lord God is not honored, hallowed, or glorified in the heart of sinful man.

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For a man to honor and hallow and glorify the name of the Lord God, the kingdom of God must first be set up in his heart.

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The spirit of God must first breathe life into him and enable him to voluntarily surrender and submit to his sovereign rule, which will in turn increase the kingdom.

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This command refers not only to the internal kingdom in the heart of man, but to the kingdom of God in its future glory.

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And this future kingdom is the kingdom of which we are citizens, and its fulfillment should be the longing of our hearts.

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To seek first the kingdom of God also means to desire that great and glorious day when the

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Lord Jesus Christ will triumphantly return as king of kings and lord of lords, when every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is

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Lord to the glory of God the Father. The early church anxiously awaited the return of the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Among the early church, there was an earnest expectation and a sincere hope that the

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Lord Jesus Christ must suddenly return to gather up his elect to himself at any moment.

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Beloved, does seeking the kingdom of God reflect the highest priority in your life?

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Does seeking the kingdom of God first reflect the highest priority of your life?

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In the midst of difficulty, lack, or suffering, is your primary focus on the

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Lord God and his kingdom, or is it on you and your kingdom?

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In the midst of difficulty, lack, and suffering, is your eye firmly fixed on the kingdom of heaven, or is it fixed upon the kingdom of self?

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Is your primary concern your kingdom and your will be done, or is it

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God's kingdom and God's will be done? The sad reality is that among many professing believers, our own personal kingdoms take precedence over the kingdom of God, and in the midst of difficulty, lack, and suffering, our primary focus is more often on deliverance from our current circumstances and nothing more.

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The kingdom of heaven is sought, but it's not sought first. Even though the world and the things in this world are all passing away, we still foolishly choose to pursue the lesser of two kingdoms, which results in all sorts of problems, including anxiety and worry.

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Well, what does it mean to seek his righteousness? But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

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The term righteousness refers to being right or proper or living in accordance with the requirements of God's law.

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Righteousness is the quality of being right or upright. This term conveys the idea of conforming to a standard or norm, a norm that was set by the

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Lord God in his law, a norm that was exemplified in the life of Christ Jesus.

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If sin is defined as missing the mark of perfection, then righteousness is defined as hitting that mark.

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Righteousness is the bullseye. In seeking his righteousness, we seek the righteousness found in the

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Lord Jesus Christ and the righteousness that the Lord Jesus Christ commands. In other words, in seeking his righteousness, we are also seeking our righteousness, a righteousness in Christ that is manifest through our personal pursuit of godliness and holiness.

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First Peter 114, as obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.

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Since it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy. The Greek word translated holy is used throughout the

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New Testament to speak of anyone or anything that represents the Lord God's holiness.

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Christ as the Holy One of God, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Father, the

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Holy Scriptures, the Holy Angels, the Holy Brethren, and so on. To be holy means to be pure.

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It means to be clean and righteous. To be holy means to be without sin, to be free from the contamination and defilement of sin and the world, and to be free from the conforming influence of sin and the world.

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Beloved, to be holy means to be like the one whose image we bear. It means to be like the

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Lord God, to be like Christ Jesus, to be Christ -like, to be without sin, without spot, and without blemish.

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In seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness, we must seek to cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit.

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We must abstain from the passions of the flesh. We must abstain from the corrupting influence of the world.

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We must abstain from wickedness and depart from iniquity. We must abstain from anxiety and worry.

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In seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness, we must no longer present our members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but we must present ourselves to the

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Lord God as those who have been brought from death to life, and our members to the

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Lord God as instruments for righteousness. It takes great effort and diligence to resist the evil of our own flesh.

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It takes great and strenuous effort to put to death that which is earthly in us, but even this effort is not accomplished in our own strength, but in the strength that the

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Lord God provides. As kingdom Christians, the remedy for anxiety is to put the

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Lord God first. It is to put his kingdom first. It is to put his righteousness first, and if we do this, all of these things will be added to you.

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Well, what things? Food, water, clothing, every necessity of life, and every earthly need.

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Beloved, our priority in life must be the Lord God. Our priority in life must be the things of the

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Lord God. Our ambition and our priority is to focus on the things above, where the

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Lord Jesus Christ is, and as such, we must redirect our focus from ourselves and from the world's temporal things to the

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Lord God and to his kingdom and to his righteousness. Psalm 84, for the

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Lord God is a son and a shield. The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

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O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you. Beloved, the

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Lord Jesus Christ has offered us many gracious promises as a remedy against anxiety.

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Our faithful, good, and sovereign God will provide us with everything we need as we wholeheartedly trust in him.

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In all things, the Lord God works for the good of those who love him, to those who are called according to his purpose.

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Thus, in light of all this, Matthew 6 34, therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

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Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. In verse 34, we arrive at our third and final therefore of the passage, which is there to direct us back to the previous therefore, which directs us back to the first therefore.

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This verse is the conclusion derived from the truth that the Lord God will most assuredly provide for us all we need, as long as we seek his kingdom and his righteousness first.

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J .C. Ryle remarked, last of all, Christ seals up all his instruction on this subject by laying down one of the wisest maxims.

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Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. We are not to carry cares before they come.

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We are to attend to today's business and leave tomorrow's anxieties till tomorrow dawns.

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We may die tomorrow. We know not what may happen tomorrow. We may only be sure of this one thing, that if tomorrow brings a cross, he who sends it can and will send grace to bear it.

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Beloved, anxiety will not help you in your present circumstances. Anxiety is useless, fruitless, and a hopeless endeavor.

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You cannot add a single hour to your life by being anxious. You cannot add a single cubit to your stature by being anxious.

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Anxiety lowers you to the level of those who are ignorant of the Lord God, ignorant of his character, ignorant of his will, his word, ignorant of his law.

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There is absolutely no need for you to be anxious about anything. If the

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Lord God is for us, then who can be against us? If the Lord God did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

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Beloved, he will. Our focus and our resolve must be firmly fixed upon today, not tomorrow.

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Our focus and resolve must be firmly fixed on the kingdom of heaven, not the kingdom of self.

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Our focus and resolve must firmly be fixed on the eternal, not the temporal.

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Charles Spurgeon remarked, our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength.

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To import the possible sorrows of tomorrow into the thoughts of today is the overflow of an unbelieving heart.

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Beloved, do not be unbelieving, but believing. Do not let anxiety gain any ground in your life.

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Do not let anxiety steal your joy, rob you of your contentment, and drain you of your peace.

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Instead, take those anxious thoughts and hold them captive to the word of God, to the will of God, to the character of God.

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The Lord our God is infinitely and eternally good, infinitely and eternally faithful, and powerful, and sovereign.

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He cares for the birds of the air, he cares for the lilies of the field, and he will care for you, for you are much greater value than they.

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You are of much greater worth than they. Therefore, do not be anxious.

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Do not be anxious. Do not be anxious. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

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Do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

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Let's pray. Our Father God, we confess our little faith.

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We confess our lack of trust in you. Lord, you are faithful, you are good, you are omniscient, you are omnipotent, you are sovereign.

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Your hand of providence guides us and leads us, and yet when difficulty comes, we focus on everything but you.

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Lord, I pray that you would increase our view of who you are. Give us an accurate picture of your character.

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Help us to see your faithfulness for all that it is, your goodness for all that it is. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, who was never anxious, who never worried, but kept entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

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Lord, help us to be more like Christ. Convict us, Lord, change us, and guide us by your spirit.