Therefore, Do Not Be Anxious

Matthew 6:19-34
December 29, 2019
Peter Yoo

Sermon Script

Beloved brothers and sisters, today’s passage comes from something we call the Sermon on the Mount. Sermon on the Mount. It’s a very special sermon, for a number of reasons.

One of the reasons is because our Lord Jesus Christ himself preached this sermon. This is his sermon. Our Lord Jesus went up on a mountain, sat down, and when his disciples came to him, Jesus opened his mouth, and then he taught them.

But the Sermon on the Mount is also special for a second reason. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is a sermon given to his kingdom citizens. And these are kingdom citizens.

First, kingdom citizens know, and they believe and they trust, that they are dead in their sins and that none of their good works, their deeds, their thoughts, their predispositions, can earn favor with God. But they also know and believe and trust that Jesus Christ came into the world to save them, earning perfect righteousness and placing it upon them, so that when the Father sees them, he sees his Son. And they also know that Jesus Christ has taken all of their sins upon himself and was crushed under the wrath of God so that we might be saved. Lastly, kingdom citizens believe in the resurrection and life everlasting with our Savior and our King. They know that this is what it’s always been about. Union and communion with God. This is only made possible through Jesus Christ.

So in other words, you are kingdom citizens. Believers, we are kingdom citizens. Unless one is born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. We are the kingdom citizens, and so the Lord Jesus Christ tells us how to live our lives in light of our identity as kingdom citizens. The words of Christ are clear for us this morning. Therefore, do not be anxious. Those are his words. And so why should Christians not be anxious?

Well the word “therefore” is a very important Bible word. You may have heard this quote before, but it’s a good quote. In the Bible, whenever you see or hear the word “therefore,” ask yourself, what is it there for? What is that word there for? Therefore. I’ll say it again. In the Bible, when you see the word “therefore,” ask yourself, what is that word there for?

It’s a very important word, because it links what comes before with what comes after. It bridges what comes before and what comes after. And so we need to know why he said don’t be anxious.

Jesus diagnoses one reason why we’re anxious. The first reason is because your treasure is in the wrong place. Your treasure is in the wrong place.

This almost goes with saying, but when Jesus says the word treasure, he’s talking about what you value most. The things that you dream about. The things that you work so hard for. The things that you long for. That nice job that you want. Or maybe the thought of making a lot of money. Or a certain career that can fulfill us in someway. A certain lifestyle perhaps. Your treasure can be anything that the deepest, most innermost parts of your soul would die for. Yes, you, even you, can have your treasure in the wrong place.

And so I ask you, what is your treasure? What do you value the most in this life? This is important because you can only have treasure, you can only have treasure, in one of two places: earth or heaven. That’s it. You can only have treasure in one of two places: earth or heaven.

That’s not to say that things of this earth are necessarily bad in and of themselves. But I would like to make a distinction between things and treasure. You can have things on this earth. But there’s a difference between having things and treasuring things. Having things versus treasuring things.

So sometime soon, I encourage you, sit down and reflect. Think about all the things that you have. All of your possessions. Think about your material things. All that you have. Think about the clothes, the food, your games, instruments, everything you have. But which of those things will last forever? And that’s the point that Jesus makes, isn’t it? That you can only have treasures in heaven, which lasts. Or on earth, which don’t last. Jesus reveals that treasure in earth will either fail by deterioration, by moth or rust, or by unforeseen circumstances, thieves breaking in and stealing. But dear brothers, dear sisters, saints, your treasure in heaven will last forever. Not on earth.

And so why would you live for things in this world when you know it fades away? It’s as if we spent $250 at Michael Jordan’s steakhouse on the finest wagyu beef that they have (I looked it up, that’s the real price). Meat that just melts in your mouth. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? That is melts, and then it’s gone. And then in a few hours, your stomach will scream at you, wanting more food. Of if you spend money on expensive clothing that’s trendy, but eventually get a hole in it, or it’s no longer trendy. Why squander on that which is temporary, when we can lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven which last forever?

So I encourage us, lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven, our true home, our true everlasting home. Jesus’ point is so simple. This world will pass away. The world will pass away. The things of this world will pass away with it. Your dreams on this earth can fail you. Your passions in this life can leave you empty. Soon, we will no longer be on this earth, but we work and we labor and we toil so hard, but for these things on earth. But don’t you know dear Christian that soon all this stuff will be gone. This world will be gone.

Here’s a little story about me. I was a prideful guy - still am. But back in the day I used to get away with a lot of stuff. I thought I could depend on myself to secure a future for myself. I thought that I could make my future my own.

And so I wanted to be a math teacher. I wanted to get married by the age of 28. I wanted to have a dog (who didn’t shed or make a mess around the house). I thought that if I just graduated from college, I’d have my whole future set.

But when I got to college, I was in for a big surprise. Because after my second semester, I didn’t study as much as I should have. And because of that, I got a letter from the university saying that I was put on academic probation.

This was shocking because in high school, I always got away with things. I never studied and I still graduated.

And so in my mind, I thought that I could still graduate college. I just needed to pull myself up from my bootstraps, work harder, and then I could get off academic probation and continue to graduate.

But then my heart dropped and I was so fragile and unsafe and weak because semester after semester they kept telling me that I was on academic probation. I received a third warning, and then a fourth warning, and then finally, on December 23, 2013, I received an academic dismissal letter, not a probation letter, a dismissal letter. They say my GPA was 1.67. And I flunked out of college and they kicked me out. This was one of the hardest moments of my life.

Isn’t it odd that we seek security in stuff? We live in a time and place that treasures things. We buy more things to make us feel more secure, feel safer. We’ll do whatever it takes to secure our future. We try to work hard, buy our future, as if it was something purchased. Buying more stuff on this earth seems to give us more comfort and happiness.

But the Lord Jesus Christ tells us that these things actually produce anxiety, not cure it. In other words, treasuring this world, the things of this world, causes anxiety, not cures it. Treasuring this world and the things of this world causes anxiety, not cures it.

And so listen to the words of your King once more. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And so I ask you, sheep of Christ, where is your heart? Where is your treasure? Where do your priorities lie? What do you dream about? What do you count in this life as so important? Your answer to this question is the litmus test of where your treasure is and where your heart is.

So if you’re anxious for things, Jesus Christ tells us that your treasures, your values, your heart might just be in the wrong place. Your heart may be set on this world, this place. Beloved, look at where your treasures are, because there your heart will be also.

Therefore, treasure things that are eternal. When you treasure things in heaven, there your heart will be also.

And Jesus gives us a second reason why you might be anxious: as a Christian, your eye is unhealthy. Your eye is unhealthy.

He doesn’t mean that you need corrective lenses. What is he talking about? Our Master and Savior Jesus Christ is talking about your heart. He’s talking about your heart. Fixing your eye on something and fixing you heart on something mean the same thing.

And if you’re anxious, Jesus is saying that your eye may be unhealthy. Just as your eye brings light to the body, so does your spiritual vision affect your whole body. If your spiritual vision is set on heavenly things, things that are eternal, things that last, then your whole body will be full of light, he says. But if your spiritual vision is set on earthly things, things that don’t last, things that are temporary, things that fail you, then your body will be full of darkest.

Think about the things that you see, things that you hear, things that you are exposed to, things that you watch. Because some of us might watch things on the internet that we know that we shouldn’t watch. Some of us might even listen to certain things or certain people that we know we shouldn’t listen to. Some of us watch TV shows on Netflix or Hulu or other platforms that we know we shouldn’t see.

And so what happens when we watch these things and listen to certain people, we consume it. It affects our body, our whole body. Your mind thinks about such things. Even to pattern our thoughts after them. We try to become aligned with such things. And it’s no wonder that our hearts become so anxious over such worldly things. It’s because we set our sights on such fading things.

And what is your spiritual vision set on, so to speak? What is your heart set on? Because what our spiritual vision is set on affects our whole body. And so that’s why the psalmist writes in Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

That’s the one who is blessed. The one whose spiritual vision is not set on the world, but rather fills himself with the ways of God and is set on the ways of God. He meditates on it day and night.

And so until the Lord Jesus Christ returns in glory and righteousness, set your spiritual vision on the Lord and his ways. I ask that he would help us in this and that we might fill ourselves with the law of God and set our sights on that which is good.

Dear Christian, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. And it might be the case that we worry for many things because our hearts are set on the wrong things.

Jesus’ third diagnosis for why you might suffer from anxiety is because you have two masters. Christ tells you that you cannot have two masters. This is literally impossible. You cannot be a kingdom citizen of God and be a citizen of the world. How can you be both light and darkness? How can you be both salt and not salt? How can you be a friend of the world and yet at the same time be an enemy of God?

God created us to be worshipping creatures. Therefore, we will always worship something. But you will either worship the Lord, or you will worship something else. Because of this, you will either hate one master and love the other, or cherish the one and hate the other.

Anxiety might be causes by trying to have both. Trying to love both and reconciling them. Christians would like to have it both ways. It’s as if we were saying, “Christ has redeemed me! And I’m a follower of Jesus Christ and I’m dead to the world. And yet I can still love the things of this world and treasure them. I am a new creation in Christ! Jesus lives in me. I’m alive in him. But I can still live like those, just like those, who hate Jesus.”

And in this context, the Lord Jesus Christ is telling us that we cannot serve both God and money. This is true, isn’t it? Because God gives us so many good things. But all these things are not ours. They’re gifts. They’re gifts that God has given us.

Earlier I asked us to think about the things that we have, and hopefully we’ll do this later as well. But notice I didn’t say think about the things, all the things that you own. Because ultimately, you don’t own them. All these things - your home, your clothes, the food that you eat - are gifts from God. These things that God has given you, they’re supposed to help you and they’re supposed to serve you. However, we make these things our master. Instagram accounts are saturated with pictures of clothes, food, and lifestyles and so on.

These things are not necessarily bad things. But let’s not get our priorities mixed up. Because clothes are meant to serve the body, not the body clothes. And food is supposed to serve the body, not the body for food. Beloved, remember that these things are to help you, not lord over you. Dear Christian, don’t be mastered by these things. These things do not last.

And so I ask you this morning, who is your master? Is it the world and the things in the world which are fading away? Or is it your Lord, your heavenly Father, who gave you those things to help you? Who is your master? You can only serve and love one. You’ll either love the gifts, or the gift-giver. But which ever one your love, which ever one you’re devoted to, you’ll hate and despise the other.

And if you’re not a citizen of God’s kingdom, you’ll continue to live a life of wholehearted, unadulterated, passionate pursuit after these things of the world and in hatred to God. If you are not a citizen of God’s kingdom, you will still hate your heavenly Father. And if you are not a citizen of God’s kingdom, you would still be subservient to your old king, the devil, the father of lies.

But we praise God together, don’t we. Because the Holy Spirit changed our hearts. He made you born again. And he has given you new hearts, new affections, new desires. And that you might serve the Lord with a new allegiance. You have been adopted into God’s royal family, prepared by Jesus himself, this magnificent inheritance. You can now call him father.

Actually, I was very encouraged by the Heidelberg Catechism this morning. It says that the the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is, for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father. In him I trust so completely as to have no doubt that he will provide me with all things necessary for body and soul, and will also turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this life of sorrow.

Your Creator is your Redeemer. And you can call him Father.

And so I encourage us, this high and holy exalted calling that God has called us to, to live as citizens of his kingdom, is one that is set apart from this world. God calls you to be in focused submission to him and not to the world.

So I ask you, dear saints, where is your treasure? What is your spiritual vision focused on? Who is your master?

We worry about the treasures on this earth. And we want to keep them. We want to preserve them. And our spiritual vision is set on this world. And we seek other masters but the one true master himself. And we suffer from anxiety and worry. And we’re tired all the time because of it.

But hear the words of Jesus Christ here. “Therefore, because of all these things, I tell you, do not be anxious.”

If your doctor told you that you had a sever disease, but then he told you, “But don’t worry.” The only thing that you make you feel better was if he had a cure. And the Lord Jesus Christ has such a cure. Therefore, he says, don’t be anxious. So what is the cure for anxiety? What does Jesus tell us is the cure for our worry in this life?

If we’re anxious, and worry about food, Jesus points us to the birds of the air. They don’t work. They don’t labor, they don’t toil. They don’t think about life’s basic necessities - food, clothes and shelter. And yet your heavenly Father, your Father in heaven, he feeds them. He cares for them. He nurtures them. He gives them a fatherlike tender care. But if he even loves them, the birds of the air who don’t do any of these things to please him, and sustains them, then how much more, how much more, will he redeem and love you, images bearers of God, sons and daughters of the Most High?

The Apostle Paul writes, “ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 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?” Romans 8. The Father gave us his beautiful, eternally begotten Son to purchase you. And so what makes you think that he will not graciously give you all things and care for your needs? Therefore, do not be anxious about food or outer matters.

And if we’re anxious or worry about clothes, Jesus points us to the lilies of the field. They don’t work, they don’t labor, they don’t toil, they don’t spin. They don’t think about life’s basic necessities - food, clothes and shelter. But your Father in heaven dresses the lilies of the field with greater splendor and majesty than king Solomon in all of his finest robes. But consider how much more valuable you are that lilies and flowers. These lilies are easily perishable in the Father’s eyes. And yet he clothes them and loves them.

And so how much more valuable are you, beloved child of God. God so graciously cares for you in our inner matters and outer matters. As food is an inner matter and clothing an outer matter, your heavenly Father will meet both of those needs.

You fellow Christian, kingdom citizen, you know that food, clothes, shelter - they are necessary for life. And God knows that too. You know that they are not necessarily bad things. And you know that they should never be your masters. These things are life’s servants. They’re not masters or lords. So let us not be like the rest of the world who almost idolize food, clothes or shelter. People think about what they eat, what they wear, and so on, but your heavenly Father knows these things. And because he knows them, he knows that you need these things, I encourage you, be reminded that you belong to him, and that he is your heavenly Father, and that he meets your needs.

Of course, the most important need that he has met is our need of salvation given through Jesus Christ as a gift. You belong to him because Jesus has purchased you with his very blood. And so he will care for you. You are his. Therefore, do not be anxious.

So what does this mean? That we can’t eat at the nicest restaurants? No, you can eat at nice restaurants. You can go to Michael Jordan’s steakhouse. But I remind you that you don’t need to eat at the nicest restaurants. Does this mean that we can’t travel? No, you can travel the world. But you don’t need to travel the world, to live a life to the fullest. You don’t need the latest and greatest device or a sense of comfort or security or a sense of career. Because Jesus teaches you something very simple. Your life, your life is more valuable than food. And your life is more valuable than clothes.

So tell me, why do you worry? Why are you anxious? Do you know, beloved child, who is your heavenly Father? Do you know who he is? He knows all your needs. Do you know that he will supply you all of your needs?

And so any worries or anxieties, any future plans that we might have that might cause us anxieties, I remind you that Scripture tells us to cast all our anxieties on him. Because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5. You can pray to him. He listens. You can have confidence that he loves you and that he keeps your life in his hands.

And some of us might superimpose our understand of fathers, because of our earthly fathers, and project that onto our heavenly Father. And some of us may not have very good relationships with our fathers. Your earthly father might seem distant to you. your earthly father might not have been there for you when you needed him most. He might seem cold and not loving toward you. And it’s very easy to interpret our heavenly Father through the lens of our earthly fathers.

But I want to encourage you this morning about who your heavenly Father truly is. Because want to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth. But our Father in heaven has already blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We want to set our spiritual vision on the world, rather than our heavenly Father who already knows what you need before you even ask.

And Scripture tells us, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Your father has given you grace and peace. He is known as the Father of mercies, the God of eternal comfort. And we know that he gives you eternal and good hope through grace. 2 Thessalonians 2:16. Every gift, and every perfect gift, is from above. Coming down from the Father of lights. You are adopted into his family. Your Father in heaven would spare Abraham’s son in Genesis 22, and that he would not spare his only Son, whom he loved, to purchase you. This is who he is and that is what he has done. And we praise God as his children.

So what is this cure for anxiety in the world? What does Jesus tell us is the cure? Know who your Father in heaven is. It’s your Father in heaven. What’s the cure for worry in this world? Your Father in heaven. Know who he is and what he’s done for you. Your Father in heaven is the cure. Therefore, lay up for yourselves treasure where your heavenly Father is. Set your spiritual vision first on the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of these things that we worry about and we have anxiety over will be added and provided for you. Serve your Father in heaven, who is your Lord and Master, and who is Lord over all creation.

And so why worry about inner matters such as food, which help us? Or clothes, outer matters, when our heavenly Father cares for us and nurtures our inside and cares for our outer as well?

If we worry about food, your Father in heaven prepares a banquet table for you, where you will feast with joy in your hearts. Christ Jesus will be the one who recline you at his table. And he will ready himself for you. He will serve you. And those who were at the winter retreat, King David, as King David restored Mephibosheth, even with his crippled feet exposed, reclined at the table, so will King Jesus restore you and recline you at his table with all of our sins dealt with. No more curse continuing.

And so if we’re worried about clothing, I encourage us to be reminded that we have the best clothing of all, which is the robe, the garb, of Christ’s righteousness over us. And so that when your Father in heaven sees you, he sees his Son, whom he loves and with whom he is well pleased.

So we are feed and clothed and protected and warmed by the King. He is our Father. Any other anxieties, any other worries, stresses that we might have, any burdens that we might carry, I encourage us of the big picture that one day you will no longer have these worries or burdens, stresses. And that’s the big picture. God himself will dwell with you, and you will be his people. God himself will be with you as your God. He will wipe away ever tear from your eyes. And death shall be no more. There will be no more mourning, crying or pain anymore, because the former things have passed away. And all these things will come to pass because the Lord Jesus Christ has loved you.

So cast all your anxieties onto him, who is in heaven, because he so deeply cares for you. Therefore, do not be anxious.

Soli Deo Gloria