Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34
This year I’m reading the Bible through using the Christian Standard Bible translation, the CSB. And I was impressed by the heading that its publishers chose for today’s scripture: “The Cure for Anxiety.” So I stole their heading and used it as the title of my sermon. This is Part 1 of that sermon, which I’ll conclude next week. But for the next couple of weeks we’ll be exploring the “cure for anxiety.”
Because let’s face it: If there is a cure for anxiety, I want it, don’t you? If there is a cure for anxiety, we need it. If there is a cure for anxiety, our world needs it!
But first a disclaimer: Once when I preached on the topic of anxiety, I made reference to a recent article in a popular magazine, which argued that doctors were over-prescribing drugs to treat anxiety. I was quoting from the article as a way of saying that we, as a society, have a serious problem with anxiety. And a fellow pastor berated me missed the point: Are you saying that people can’t benefit from anti-anxiety drugs?
No, I was not saying that at all. If someone’s trusted doctor believes that an anti-anxiety drug may help treat physiological symptoms of anxiety, by all means, that person should listen to their doctor. I am sure that these drugs can be helpful for many people. Just as I’m equally sure, whether we take medication for anxiety or not, that we human beings will still have an underlying spiritual problem related to anxiety—related to worry—that can never simply be cured by a pill. This spiritual problem was as prevalent in Jesus’ day as it is in ours.
So if there’s a cure for this underlying spiritual problem, we should all want to know what it is! Right?
And this cure is precisely what Jesus the Great Physician is prescribing in today’s scripture! I want to make three points in this sermon. Number One: The Two-Edged Sword. Number Two: Lessons from Nature. And Number Three: Fearless Faith.
For this first point, I want to share with you a couple of insights I’ve gleaned from my own personal Bible reading recently that I believe are relevant to this topic. The first is from Luke chapter 9, beginning with verse 23. These words should be familiar:
And he [Jesus] said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory… 1
I’m embarrassed to confess this, but for many years of my life as a Christian I read these words as applying mainly to that first generation of disciples—and to many disciples of the first few centuries of church history—who faced great suffering and persecution—and even martyrdom—because of their faith. And even now, Christians in many parts of the world still face persecution and death—in larger numbers than in the ancient world.
But I believed that Jesus was mostly speaking of them when he said, for instance, “whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”
I believed that if someone denied Jesus under the threat of this kind of intense persecution, well… It’s a sign, perhaps, that they didn’t have saving faith. And indeed, I thought this was the meaning of Jesus’ words, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory…”
But not so fast…
Of course these words apply to Christians who face intense persecution and martyrdom… But I now see that by interpreting these words so narrowly, I was letting myself off the hook. And God’s Word has a way of never letting me get away with that for very long! This is why we’re told that the word of God is “is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” 2
The thoughts and intentions of my own heart needed to be exposed to the daylight of God’s judgment so that they could be healed.
But this healing work that the word of God does—as it corrects us, rebukes us, reproves us, and holds us accountable—is often painful. It’s like when I was a young child and my mom would squirt Bactine on cuts and scrapes! Remember that? If it didn’t hurt like the dickens, it didn’t heal! This pain often brings healing and the grace to change.
In my case—as it relates to today’s scripture—God’s Word forces me to ask myself: Am I ashamed of Jesus’ words about trusting in our heavenly Father alone for all my daily needs and not worrying about anything and not being anxious about anything? Four times in today’s scripture, after all, Jesus tells us not to be anxious—in verses 25, 28, 31, and 34—and he gives three sermon illustrations to reinforce these words. Am I ashamed of his words: Do I think they’re “unrealistic,” or “overoptimistic,” or “naive.” Would I be a Pollyanna to believe I could live like this, in this relationship of total trust in my heavenly Father? Do I doubt that Jesus knows about life in the “real world,” or at least the world of 21st-century America? Because if not, why do I so often and so easily ignore Jesus’ words on this subject—disregard them, set them aside… without even giving it a second thought?
Yet Jesus says, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory…”
Ouch! I feel the sting of that sharp two-edge sword! Do you feel the sting?
Let me share a second scripture that has convicted me recently: Jesus’ words to Peter in Luke chapter 5. Remember Peter and his fellow fishermen had been up all night fishing, and they caught nothing. But Jesus’ borrows Peter’s boat, pushes away from the shore, and uses the boat as a platform from which to preach. Now listen to verses 4 and 5: “And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!’”
What is Peter saying? He is voicing his objection to Jesus’ command. Reading between the lines, Peter is surely thinking something like this: “I’m the professional fisherman here, Jesus, not you. While I appreciate your trying to help me, I know from years of experience that if I didn’t catch fish in the middle of the night when it was dark, I’m certainly not going to catch fish now that the sun’s out. So how about this: I won’t give you advice about preaching; you don’t give me advice about fishing.” That’s the subtext of Peter’s words, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!” In other words, You’re wrong. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
But notice that Peter begins by calling Jesus “Master.” Yet he surely doesn’t mean it! Because if Peter meant it when he called Jesus his “Master,” then the only thing that would have followed that word is, “Yes, sir. Whatever you say, sir.” Because Peter would understand that he doesn’t know nearly as much as his Master, Jesus. And besides, he would also know that his Master has the power to intervene in a supernatural way. If Jesus his Master needs to work a miracle to put fish in Peter’s nets, he will do so! That’s what Peter would think… if Jesus were really his Master.
And what about us? We call Jesus our “Master,” too… but when it comes to Jesus’ words about not being anxious… not worrying… let’s ask ourselves this question:
Have we let ourselves be “mastered by” Jesus? Because if we have, then why do we so often and so easily feel anxious and worried?
That’s Point Number One, the two-edged sword. Number Two: Lessons from Nature…
Last Sunday afternoon, I took a nap, as as all pastors do on Sundays after church. And I woke up to the faint sound of squeaking… What was that sound? I opened the bedroom door and was greeted by Cash, one of our two cats. He led me down the hallway into Ian’s bedroom. Ian, of course, was away at school. Cash walked up to Ian’s closet door, as if beckoning me to open it. So I did. And there was Cash’s brother and litter-mate, Wally—our other cat! How long had Wally been locked in Ian’s closet? I checked with Lisa. The last time she remembered seeing Wally was the day before, when she had gone into Ian’s closet for something or other. Anyway, the cat had likely been locked in there since then. Maybe for 24 hours!
But he hadn’t been meowing for very long… We would have heard him earlier.
So what do you think was going through Wally’s mind when he first got locked in that closet? Was he panicking? Was his mind racing to various worst-case scenarios? Was he thinking, “Well, sure, I may be okay right now, but what happens—hours from now—when I get hungry or thirsty? What happens when I need to use the litter box? What if no one comes to let me out? What if I die of hunger or thirst?”
No. Wally wasn’t thinking of any of that… He was probably thinking, “Oh! Look at that box of hoodies and sweatshirts! I would love shed my fur all over those! Oh! Look at that hard plastic instrument case! I’d love to sharpen my claws on that! Oh! Look at that empty Amazon box! Perfect for napping!”
Whatever Wally was thinking, he wasn’t worried. Instead, he curled up and took a nap. And when he was ready to come out, he started meowing. So that his human father could hear him and let him out. Because he’s learned from experience that that’s what his human father, and mother, always does. We always take care of his needs!
Years ago, we had veterinarian named Dr. Reese, who was a deeply Christian man. And when we told Dr. Reese about some problem we were having with the behavior of our cat or dog—and what advice would he give us—Dr. Reese would always begin by saying, “Your cat is perfect… Your dog is perfect… They’re doing exactly what God created them to do.” And then he would suggest a way to redirect our animals to do something different.
But I like those words: “They’re doing exactly what God created them to do.”
He was right! Unlike us humans, who always kick against the goads of what our Father wants us to do—animals can’t help but do what God created them to do! They don’t sin against our heavenly Father… They don’t second-guess him… or rebel against him… or presume to know better than he knows!
I love that well-known verse that goes like this:
Said the Robin to the Sparrow,
“I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so!”Said the Sparrow to the Robin,
“Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me!”
And Jesus surely has this sentiment in mind in verse 26: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
This should remind us of our memory verses from January: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Sparrows were nearly worthless birds by people’s estimation in the first century. Two of them sold for a penny in the marketplace. You could get a small morsel of meat out of them, but no more. But our Father cares about the lives of each one of them immensely! So much so that not one of them falls to the ground apart from our Father’s knowledge, his providential care, and his will. But get this: Speaking of birds falling to the ground, our Father loves us humans so much that he cares about about each one of the hairs of our heads falling to the ground! He’s numbered each of one them! “There goes number 12,683.”
Since that’s the case, think how much more valuable we humans are to God than birds!
Therefore, since our Father values us so much more than the birds that he feeds, why do we worry about our food… or anything else we truly need?
And surely we won’t object by saying something foolish, “Our Father doesn’t provide food for me! I provide it for myself! I work hard for my food!”
Because that objection doesn’t work… First, because, as any ornithologist would tell you, none of us humans work as hard as the humblest sparrow when it comes to working hard for their food! These birds work round the clock to feed themselves and their families, yet—at the same time, Jesus says—our heavenly Father feeds them!
That’s the biblical perspective—it’s not either/or: either we do something or God does something. It’s both/and. By all means, like the birds of the air, we work hard to care for ourselves. But God enables and empowers our work and ensures that our work is productive.
After all, God gave us life in the first place. God gave us a mind and a body. God gave us a unique set of gifts and talents—to do things like get an education, find a well-paying career, work for money with which we can buy food and other necessities. God gave us parents and families to care for us—long before we could take care of ourselves. Without them, we would die of thirst, exposure, hunger.
God gave us teachers, coaches, and pastors to shape us into who we are, and to shape our characters. God gave us this land with its wealth of natural resources. God gave us this nation with its laws, its infrastructure, its peace and protection. God gives us a plan and a purpose—and God is working with us to fulfill it. And God continues, at this moment, to give us every breath and every heartbeat. We can do nothing apart from God’s Spirit. And for us, his children… God is working out a nearly infinite number of events in the universe right now to provide for each our needs.
It’s astonishing what our Father does for us every second of our lives!
Surely this is why the apostle Paul can say, “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?”3 This is why the Proverbs can say, “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.” 4
So by using the illustration of the “birds of the air,” Jesus isn’t teaching us to be lazy—to kick back and relax because, after all, our Father will feed us. Hardly! Birds of the air work hard using all the gifts our Father gave them!
But please notice… by using the illustration of lilies of the field, Jesus also isn’t teaching us that it’s okay to be workaholics. After all, the lilies of the field “neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” In this illustration, these objects of God’s care, the lilies of the field—unlike the birds of the air—do nothing but receive and receive and receive from our heavenly Father.
So yes, there’s a time for work, but there’s a time for resting and receiving from God. Isn’t that what God intended to teach us, in the Old Testament, with the Sabbath and the Fourth Commandment?
Sabbath was not a “vacation” God’s people earned for working hard and getting all the work done that they needed to complete the first six days of the week.
Because when you read the Old Testament, as so many of you did last year, you noticed that the Sabbath was strictly enforced onto literally everyone,whether they finished their work, or left work undone… Whether they were hard-working or lazy… Whether they managed their time well or wasted their time. No, God’s people Israel rested every seventh day whether they finished their work or not. Sabbath rest was a gift of God’s grace.
For ancient Israel, the Sabbath was a weekly lesson about trust. It forced God’s people to trust that God could run the universe, and their lives within it, just fine without them!
These images of birds and lilies communicate this truth: When we work, we work without fear—like the birds of the air. And when we rest, by taking time away from work, we do so without fear.
And since we’re always either working or not working, that means, according to Jesus,we are to live every moment of life without fear. Without worry. Without anxiousness.
Jesus gives us permission not to be afraid. More than permission, of course… He commands it!
So… Is this command crazy? Is it “unrealistic” in our world? Is it wishful thinking on Jesus’ part?
What if it’s not? What if it’s possible live without anxiety and worry and fear?
Jesus says it is!
And this brings us to Point Number Three… Fearless Faith…
At the first of the year, I listened to a wonderful new podcast called Talking Pictures. Each week the interviewer—a movie buff—interviews an actor about his or her experience with movies. A couple of weeks ago the great Henry Winkler, the Fonz, was interviewed—a hero of mine growing up.
Anyway, at the first of the year, the actress and comedian Carol Burnett—who is now a youthful 91 years old—talked about her life and her love of the movies.
She describes moving from San Antonio to Hollywood—literally a block away from Hollywood Boulevard—when she was just a child. Her dad was an alcoholic, and he wasn’t around—her mother lived and worked away from their home. She was raised by her grandmother. And her grandmother loved the movies… and taught Carol Burnett to love the movies. She described going to the movies with her grandmother multiple times a week. And she said the following:
So I would go to the movies—and that would be, I think, in the 1940s, especially. There was no cynicism [in the movies that we saw].
In everything [we saw], the good guys won, the bad guys didn’t. There was no gray area. So I had this feeling that everything would turn out all right.
And it did! 5
So Carol Burnett said that this conviction that movies instilled within her—“that everything would turn out all right”—gave her the courage to pursue her dream of acting on stage, especially being funny on stage… and later on screen. She was bold to talk to powerful movie moguls, to not take “no” for an answer… She wasn’t scared. She took risky steps of faith—including becoming the first woman to create and host a prime-time variety show—her name was even in the title! That was unheard of in 1967!
And she took all these bold, fearless, risky, courageous steps, she said, because of what she learned from the movies growing up: Everything would turn out all right.
If we have that same conviction, what difference would that make in our lives? How might that conviction enable us to live with boldness, fearlessness, courage… to be willing to take even risky steps of faith… indeed, to live without anxiety?
Now… I would love go deeper in this conversation with Carol Burnett and explore her belief that “everything turns out all right” with her. Does it only come from movies… or is based on something more substantial? Because surely she doesn’t believe that everything turned out all right by accident… by dumb luck. Was there something or Someone ensuring that everything turned out all right?
Because Jesus wants us—God’s children through faith in Christ—to know that, ultimately, “everything will turn out all right.”
Even though—as we’ll see next week when we conclude our series in Matthew chapter 6… even though things don’t turn out all right without trouble—a lot of trouble. We’ll talk how much our Father loves us, even in the midst of trouble, next week…