On the Sermon on the Mount, we'll look
at Matthew chapter 6.
If we chose, or if we had to
decide, which was normal and which was a
choice, and your three choices were worry or
anxiety, apathy or trust, do you have to
choose any of those?
You have to choose trust.
I think you have to choose to worry.
I don't think you have to choose to
be apathetic, but maybe you have to choose
that one also.
Sometimes people are apathetic and they think they're
trusting, when really they just don't care.
They're not in an anxiety mode, but they're
not in a trusting mode.
Here it doesn't include that, and so it
includes the other two, about the worry and
the trusting.
So I think those two are decisions that
you make.
But let's look at the text.
Matthew 6, 25.
Therefore I tell you, Matthew 6, 25.
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more important than food and
the body more important than clothes?
Look at the birds of the air, they
do not sow or reap or stow away
in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they?
Who of you, by worrying, can add a
single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes?
See how the lilies of the field grow,
they do not labor or spend, yet I
tell you that not even Solomon in all
his splendor was dressed like one of these.
If that is how God clothes the grass
of the field, which is here today and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he
not much more clothe you, O you of
little faith?
So do not worry, saying, what shall we
eat, or what shall we drink, or what
shall we wear?
For the pagans run after all these things,
and your heavenly Father knows that you need
them.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to
you as well.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will
worry about itself, each day has enough trouble
of its own.
I could probably take a couple of hours
just talking about each phrase here, because it
is loaded with a lot of questions and
answers that God seems to think are self
-evident.
But he still brings them to our attention.
One of the first things we notice is
that worry is a practice of little faith.
He keeps saying little faith.
He mentions three areas of worry, all having
to do with our life.
What we eat, what we drink, and how
we are going to wear clothes.
I think this will probably include houses.
He doesn't mention houses here, but a house
is another means of protection or survival.
I've included in the word clothes that all
of it has to do with how do
I take care of the necessities, the absolute
necessities of my life.
After we have the necessities of our life,
we have a lot of people still worrying
about clothes and food and drink, but they're
no longer necessities.
They are the luxuries of clothes and food
and drink, and people still are anxious about
them, because they think they need them and
what would they do without them.
He said first don't worry about it.
When we get an imperative, a command, and
we still worry, we have just disobeyed the
command that says don't worry.
So we have to say that not only
worry itself is a sin, but it's doubly
a sin because we are told not to
do it.
It's like do not commit murder.
We're told not to do it.
We commit murder.
It's sin.
We are told not to worry.
We do it.
It's sin.
It is not some sort of I can't
help it.
That's the way I'm made.
It's just not that way at all.
It's a direct disobedience to a clear command
of God.
Now he gives us reasons and how he
makes it easy not to worry, but first
he says don't do it.
So the first thing we recognize, when we
do do it, we've disobeyed God, it is
sin.
And again, it's worry connected to fear at
all.
Is it?
And all fear, all little phobias that we
have are related to the ultimate fear, death.
If somebody has claustrophobia, is it just claustrophobia?
What's he really worried about?
Suffocating.
Dying.
If he's afraid of heights, what's he afraid
about?
Falling.
What's going to happen when he lands?
He's going to die.
All these fears, fears of airplanes, fears of
crowds, agoraphobia, are all little fears of the
ultimate fear of death.
And worry is, maybe I'm stretching too much,
but worry is connected here because this is
worry has to do with life here.
Worry has to do, what will happen?
But when people are fearful or worrying, they
say, I cannot help it.
Now it may seem sort of callous to
say, yes, you can, you've just chosen to
disobey, but, and person may not, it may
not make sense at all, but that's what
has happened nevertheless.
They've chosen to disobey.
He gives us reasons why we should not
worry.
And the first reason is that we are
more valuable in God's eyes than birds.
And birds don't worry.
Birds don't worry.
And the reason they do not worry, because
they don't have to worry.
God has provided an ecological system that provides
food for them.
They don't have banks.
They don't save up.
And they don't need to save up.
God made them so they don't need to
save up.
He takes care of them.
And he says that we are more important
than birds.
So if he has taken care of birds,
and he says, and you are more important
than they, he will take care of you.
There's a verse in Peter that says, cast
all your anxiety upon him, for he is
anxious for you.
If somebody's going to worry, it's going to
be God.
God, cast all your care upon him, for
he cares for you.
That's God's business to care.
And he says he's capable of caring, because
he's taking care of millions of birds and
millions of species all over this world.
And they didn't have to save up.
And because we're more important than birds, we
don't have to either.
We don't have to worry.
That's his business.
He will take care of us.
We'll try to get to some practical application.
I think this is practical application, but I
want to say it this way.
Unless you understand what the text says, you
cannot apply it.
You just don't jump from anxiety and worry
to no anxiety and no worry, without understanding
what God's way out is.
Okay, that has to do with food.
God provides food for birds.
Now he's talking about clothes.
Verse 28.
Why do you worry about clothes?
See how the lilies of the field grow.
They do not labor or spin.
They don't make clothes.
But they've got clothes.
And they've got pretty clothes.
They don't work.
They don't worry.
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon,
who was a king, a very wealthy king,
in all his splendor was dressed like one
of these.
The richest man in the world couldn't dress
himself as pretty as God dresses a flower.
If that is how God clothes the grass
of the field, which is here today and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he
not much more clothe you, O you of
little faith?
In other words, he said you're more important
to him than flowers are.
Flowers are very transient.
We're not transient.
We are more important to God than flowers.
Not only will he take care of our
basic needs of clothing, but he'll take care
of it in pretty clothes, nice clothes.
I know some people think that if you're
poor, poor trusting God, then you'll have the
bare minimum and it'll look awful.
Now, he's talking about pretty clothes here.
He's not talking about warm clothes.
The whole issue is how pretty it is,
not how warm it is.
He's talking about luxury in clothes here, because
he uses Solomon as an example.
He uses flowers as an example.
So, he's talking about looking nice, not just
keeping warm.
You do not have to worry about it,
because God thinks it's important to wear clothes
and to look nice.
Yes, Barbara.
Oh, no, he's talking now, because we're worrying
now.
Yes, he said the flowers die, but he's
talking about now, when we're alive, that God
is going to provide clothes, and I think
he's saying that look nice.
Now, it's pretty hard.
I wandered through one of the department stores
the other day and I thought God can
do better than this.
They didn't look very nice.
The colors are on there.
I thought they should go out and look
at the flowers and see how to design
clothes.
Not very pretty.
I remember a few years ago, all the
clothes on the rack were what they call
earth colors, off shades of purple and brown
and rust and just pretty bad.
And everybody thought they had to wear them
because that's what was in style, whether it
looked right or not.
God, though, is, we do not have to
worry about what we wear.
He said we are more important than flowers.
So, the first two cases of food and
clothing, he compares it with objects and nature
that he has created and provided for, and
what he is saying is that our position
in God's sight is a much higher position.
And God knows that.
Verse 31, so, and the so is a
conjunction based upon those two statements, so do
not worry.
And expressions of worry are sayings like what
shall we eat or what shall we drink
or what shall we wear.
Those are expressions of worry.
He said don't say them.
Now, he gives another reason not to worry.
The first two reasons he gave was our
relative value in relationship to birds and flowers
and our, and his capability of providing for
birds and flowers.
He has a much greater capability of providing
for us.
Now, he gives another reason.
Verse 32, it's a conjunction again, the word
for, for the pagans run after all these
things.
One of the reasons you should not worry
is that's what unbelievers do.
Do pagans run after food, drink and clothing?
A person who is not a Christian, what's
most important to him?
Well, these kinds of things.
He said one of the reasons we shouldn't
do it is that's what unbelievers do.
They run after them.
They are anxious about it all the time
and when we do the same thing, we
are just like pagans.
So, major reason not to do it is
that's what the unbelievers are doing.
Okay, the next reason is why not to
do it?
Your Heavenly Father knows that you need them.
God created us with stomachs.
God created us with a need for food
and drink.
So, he knows we need them.
God created us with a need for clothes,
where the wild animals have fur coats all
the time and we don't have any fur.
So, we need clothes to keep warm and
to look nice.
Two reasons not to.
This is what the pagans do and your
Heavenly Father knows that you need them.
Okay, now we have actually three reasons.
The birds and the flowers, one reason.
The pagans, another reason and your Father knows
you need them, the third reason.
He tells us not to worry and tells
us why we don't have to.
Verse 33, he gives us an alternative in
place of worry and this alternative doesn't seem
like an opposite.
It's like saying, don't be sad, be happy.
Those are opposites.
But he says don't worry and he says
something else that seems to be unrelated to
not worrying.
It's not a direct opposite.
It's his spot.
Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and
all these things will be given to you
as well.
If we are not worried about these physical
things we need but we seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, then these
other things will be added to us.
Our food, our clothing and our drink.
This is saying a lot of times when
you have a negative command it says that
don't do something and then we think okay
I won't do it.
I'll concentrate on not doing it.
What happens when you're concentrating on not doing
something?
That's all you think about.
Let's suppose something's bothered you from the past
whatever and you say I will forget it.
So you decide to forget it.
How do you go about forgetting something?
Think about it all the time.
Which means you say I'll concentrate on forgetting
it which means you just focus on it
and memorize it even more.
In order to carry out a negative command
without concentrating on a negative command you do
something positive and when I concentrate on seeking
first the kingdom and his righteousness I'm not
concentrating.
I'm not worrying.
I'm not thinking I won't worry, I won't
worry, I won't worry, I won't worry, I
won't worry.
It's wrong to worry, it's wrong to worry,
it's wrong to worry and just the nature
of it means what?
I'm worrying.
So this is the real way.
He gives us several reasons why we shouldn't
and don't have to because God knows that
we need and God takes care of but
the real way out is don't think about
not worrying.
The real way out is get your mind
set on something else.
In this case seeking first his kingdom and
his righteousness and verse 34.
Therefore do not worry.
Therefore is another conjunction.
Do not worry about tomorrow and this is
another key phrase.
None of us ever worry about right now.
It's impossible to worry about what's happening right
now.
Got that?
An impossibility to worry about what's happening in
this instant.
You following?
You cannot worry about right now.
You can only worry about what's going to
happen the next second.
People are never afraid about what's happening right
now.
It's always what's going to happen tomorrow or
the next day.
The nature of worry and the nature of
fear is always future and it is always
imaginary.
It's always future.
It's always imaginary and I don't know how
I saw this.
I wish I knew what it was.
I might even get somebody to make me
a similar copy but I saw this plaque.
Only time I ever saw it.
Where?
I don't know.
It was a picture of an old man
sitting in a rocking chair on the front
porch and the caption said, I have had
many troubles in my life most of which
never happened.
Because all of his troubles were anticipated worries
about what was going to happen and he
lived.
He ruined his present by worrying about tomorrow
and what he worried about tomorrow never happened.
Tomorrow he worried about what was going to
happen the next day and it never happened.
Worry is always future.
Worry is always imaginary.
I have to choose to do it but
the best way to choose not to do
it is not say I won't, I won't,
I won't but is to do this positive
thing what gets you involved with your time,
your energy, your focus, your prayer, everything is
seeking first the kingdom and when you do
that you find out you're eating and drinking
and you have progress.
Heather was talking about beggars and now some
cases just a situation the beggar cannot help
being a beggar.
He just cannot help doing anything else but
some of the beggars like this fellow shivering
since we don't know his background but my
guess he got into some worry and despair
and became immobilized so he couldn't do anything
positive.
But there are other people who have similar
bad situations and they focus on something positive
and it may not still be great but
they don't end up in this despair situation
and despair says there's no hope and people
get themselves that way by worry.
Now the Lord Jesus said I want you
to seek first the kingdom and God providing
for you is God's business.
Your business is to seek first the kingdom.
You say well can I pray?
Sure if you pray without anxiety because he
tells us when we pray with anxiety you're
wasting your time.
The double-minded man is unstable in his
ways let not that man think he should
receive anything of the Lord.
The person who is worrying when he tells
us to pray tells us to pray in
faith.
Let's jump down to the seventh chapter for
just seven seven.
I'll probably get back to this verse 34
again but I knew you're thinking well what
about praying?
Here it says ask and it will be
given you given to you seek and you
will find knock and the door will be
open to you for everyone who receives everyone
who asks receives he who seeks finds and
to him who knocks the door will be
open.
What this is saying is God is very
responsive to knocking very responsive to seeking very
responsive to asking but asking and worry is
not asking the way.
What you're saying is God I don't trust
you.
I just do not trust you.
I'm going through the motions of saying the
words but I don't think you're going to
come across you're not going to open the
door you're not going to respond.
Worrying on your knees and calling it prayer.
We have been guilty of worrying and we
we go in and out of worrying and
there's absolutely zero reason in our life for
ever worrying again.
We have God coming through on these things
not only consistently daily for food but also
for the unusual and we just received yesterday
somebody two or three days ago I met
him once or twice I don't know him
called from another city some distance away and
and called he said do you have enough
money to go to your daughter's wedding.
I said yes we've got the tickets we
probably don't have enough to eat you know
but we'll get there and back and yesterday
a check for several hundred dollars came from
this fellow that I barely know.
Now we would be guilty of lying if
we said we hadn't worried what we were
going to do but that because we have
worried but God knows God knows these things.
Now we have asked and we have received
but we knock and the doors open and
I anticipate that as we keep on asking
in a trusting way God will keep providing
for what we need.
Now I also know this he won't provide
a dime extra or maybe maybe a dime
extra but he he doesn't overwhelm way beyond
our needs.
He might someday and then we say well
how come the extra and then we'll find
out how come the extra because he anticipated
a problem that happens the next day.
So well I've gone pretty much through the
text I wanted to go through you have
another portion in Philippians 4 where it says
be anxious for nothing Philippians 4 6 and
7.
Maybe I should comment on this this is
something from happened a long time ago but
I memorized it probably pretty close to 40
years ago this verse Philippians 4 6 and
7 and sometimes when you've memorized the verse
not only do you think you know it
mentally but you also think you know it
spiritually and you also think you've applied it
and sometimes people know so much Bible they
think they're living the Christian life just because
they know a lot of Bible and that
was my situation I knew a lot of
Bible at least in pieces and I thought
because I knew it I was more spiritual
than people who didn't know it which meant
just about everybody else because very few people
know the Bible and I remember it was
the 1st of January 1954 we were at
a conference up in at Mount Hermon and
it had rained the whole weekend and it
was Sunday morning and we had a combined
service with the inner varsity staff for this
conference Douglas was six months old
and I remember the preacher for that morning
at the worship service was a German seminary
student and I was turned off for two
reasons one I didn't like his accent and
two he said he was going to speak
on Philippians 4 6 and 7 and I
just mentally rejected oh that's too bad this
guy with his German accent is going to
teach him something I already know so well
because I've memorized it so I was just
sort of not paying much attention and I
remember he said let's look at the text
here hey do not be anxious about anything
but in everything by prayer and petition with
thanksgiving present your request to God and the
peace of God which transcends all understanding will
guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus and he asked these people were Christian
officers in the navy most mostly naval academy
graduates and inner varsity staff members and he
said how many of you make your request
known unto God and everybody raised their hand
and he said how many have your requests
answered by God everybody raised their hand and
he said how many thank God when he
answers your requests and everybody raised their hand
and he said how many do not thank
God until he answers and everybody sat there
sort of dumb like that he said he
said the text says you make your request
with thanksgiving you don't thank him when he
answers you make your request with thanksgiving when
you ask you thank him you don't wait
till he comes across and then thank him
and I said boy this is wonderful this
is how you're not anxious you thank God
when you make your request so I was
rather pleased by having learned something even though
I wasn't prepared to learn it and after
the service over everybody packed their gear and
went home well I was in charge of
our conference so I was down at the
business office paying all the bills in fact
I'm 49 Roy Grayson I think he had
four children and this was the first of
January 54 and he graduated in 49 maybe
only had three I'm not sure but anyhow
there are only two of us there and
we were parked into the trees he was
parked in trees this way I was parked
in trees this way and the hill went
up like this it was very steep hill
it had been raining solid all weekend and
as I came up the hill from the
office I saw that he had the hood
up in his car and he had a
48 Studebaker and it was a straight six
engine with no cover over the spark plugs
and the spark plugs just stuck out of
the top and there's a little puddle of
water around each spark plug and his car
wouldn't go and he was drying out the
spark plugs and the car just never ever
started so he said well Jim if you
give me a push so the two of
us pushed the car backwards up the hill
and then he jumped in the car and
took off down the hill out of gear
very steep hill it was a whiny thing
like this I thought well I'm glad he's
an airplane pilot I didn't want to do
this so he disappeared out of sight and
I went over to our car which was
a 48 Nash I know you've never heard
of Nash's or Studebaker's but anyhow it wouldn't
start I couldn't see any puddle but it
just wouldn't start I had nobody to push
me it was Bessie and Douglas so I
just sat there and prayed and stepped on
the starter the starter on this was underneath
it didn't have a key the starter was
underneath the clutch so you put the clutch
in you hit the starter button and stepped
on the starter nothing happened and I kept
praying and stepping on the starter and finally
the battery wore down and it's gone what
I do I'm an 80 I'm gonna have
to get back to Monterey and I just
and so I sat there and I said
Lord what are you trying to teach me
Bessie was in the cabin with Douglas of
Lorraine what are you trying to teach me
and the voice almost a voice from so
what did you learn this morning well I
learned to make my request with thanksgiving instead
of with worry ah wonderful so thank you
God and I said thank God for starting
this starting the car and stepping on the
starter and nothing happened I said well God
I'm sorry I just was plugging the formula
saying the magic words but I really do
believe what I learned this morning that I'm
to make my request for Thanksgiving and I
thank God I thank you with all my
heart for starting this car I stepped on
the starter and just roared just took off
Bessie and Douglas got in the car and
we drove down the hill and got down
the bottom of the hill and Roy was
his car was parked down the road and
he was coming up to my car and
I said Roy I'll give you a push
he said you don't have to my my
car's going I said guess how I got
mine started it was sort of a superior
fashion and he said he said I know
you thanked the Lord it took me 30
minutes to think of it too now this
was teaching me the difference between praying in
faith and praying in anxiety and when I
pray in faith I thank God years later
this is in 49 I mean that was
in 54 and I think probably in 58
and 58 sometime maybe it was
57 I think that was the winter winter
of 58 we were in Christian work in
Washington DC and I was in trouble with
the chaplain at the naval academy and he
wanted to see me to chew on me
and and I think we had 55 cents
to our name at the time but there
was gas in the car and I left
Bessie with the 50 cents and and took
the nickel and drove the 30 miles to
the naval academy we lived in Washington DC
and I was driving in a snowstorm and
went down there and parked and went in
to see the chaplain and after I'd seen
the chaplain it was pretty rough I came
out and it turned out I'd left my
lights on I'd driven in a snowstorm and
the car was dead and I forgot all
about this never even occurred to me I
panicked I didn't have a dime for the
telephone I had a nickel so I went
over and went over to the math department
to look up a Christian math professor I
knew and he's home sick in bed I
used the math department phone to call him
and told him what the situation was he
said you stay right there by the telephone
and somebody will come in from another office
and give you ten dollars or something like
that so I hung up pretty soon another
fellow I think it's probably Mr. Hawkins gave
me ten dollars I called a tow truck
and got a push or a jump or
something like that went I went out to
see this friend who was sick in bed
and I explained to him that we were
we were broke and he said well I'll
loan you I think with 25 dollars counting
the 10 that was already so maybe another
15 so I drove home and got home
and Bessie told me that Joe Carroll had
called and was coming out for dinner and
Bessie said well you have to you know
the refrigerator was empty Bessie didn't know what
to feed Joe Carroll Joe Carroll was a
and is a very powerful teacher of the
word if you want to hear his tapes
we had them over at the store we'd
known him in Japan and in the Philippines
and he was used of God to get
missionaries back in fellowship was gone I said
well Bessie don't worry I have money so
I went out to the store safely and
bought certain items both we bought something for
dinner but I also remember buying the items
that you need for little children the things
they put in the refrigerator we had I
got some cheese and some eggs and some
milk I remember it's five half gallons of
milk I bought and cheese and eggs those
are things I remember and something for dinner
well Joe Carroll arrived with Sam Obetz and
he had cashed in an airplane ticket and
they'd gone to a supermarket and they came
to the house filled with groceries and he
had they duplicated everything I bought everything I
bought well I mean at least the things
that were in the refrigerator I remember it's
five half gallons of milk in the refrigerator
he had five half gallons of milk whatever
cheese he had the cheese whatever eggs it
was a snowstorm so we put it out
in the snow but but it was duplicated
exactly number and what I'd gotten and this
was a gift and the other had been
borrowed and the other had been done out
of anxiety and this had been done out
of the provision of God in other words
I had done the one out of anxiety
and God knew I had needed these things
all the time and duplicated it I was
miserable Joe could see I was miserable so
he asked me what the problem was after
dinner I told him what the problem was
he said does God always provide I said
always but he wasted a very last minute
and he always provides but it's generally so
anti-climactic I'm not up to rejoicing when
he does and like and he said Jim
you got it all wrong you don't know
Philippians 4 6 and 7 he said that's
your problem he said we start he said
what you're doing you are worrying on your
knees first calling it prayer and you're doing
everything backwards here it says be anxious for
nothing first well it says something earlier than
up in verse 4 it says rejoice in
the Lord always then it says do not
be anxious three it says let your crest
be made known with thanksgiving and next is
the peace of God he said you're doing
everything backwards he said you start out with
rejoicing in the Lord always I said well
it sounds good how do I rejoice in
the Lord always and these circumstances he said
well you read you'd read scripture on joy
I said give me tell me some scripture
on joy he said Philippians is a chapter
on joy a book on joy and 2nd
Corinthians is on joy so he went on
his way he went on his way and
I thought well when I spent that borrowed
money it was duplicated stick for stick I'm
not going to spend any more of this
borrowed money but the next day I had
to leave for West Point I had some
leftover money I had a rail travel car
to catch the train I was just on
the way to West Point I was to
speak at a businessman's luncheon in Newark New
Jersey and the train would go to Newark
and I had a travel car to get
catch the train I used the 50 cent
to get to the train I got to
the train with 50 cents I used the
travel card to get to Newark I had
no idea how I was going to get
to West Point after I got to Newark
because now I was dead broke and I
was not going to touch that borrowed money
I know boy I hope that hotel I'm
speaking at is not on the other side
of Newark I'm going to get there so
I walked out of the train station and
there was a hotel across the way so
I walked over and oh what I did
what did I do in the train I
read 2nd Corinthians and by the time I
reached Newark I was filled with joy now
the circumstances hadn't changed a bit but I
was filled with joy I went into the
hotel and spoke with real power to the
businessman okay and they were paying my lunch
but I had no expectation of an honorarium
or anything they bought my lunch but afterwards
I shaked hands I shake your hands with
this fellow and there's a $20 bill in
my hand and that's how I got to
West Point but the $20 bill was from
this fellow back in the summer of 49
and this was this had been 58 57
58 back in the summer of 49 I
asked Jack Wurtzen if he knew any missionaries
I could pray for he said yes you
pray for Dick Hightower he's in East Africa
I did not have any letters on him
I didn't know what he did I had
no idea what Dick Hightower did I just
had this name I knew one missionary Dick
Hightower so when I was at my last
year's academy I prayed for Dick Hightower when
I was praying for missionaries when I went
to the Korean War when I was praying
for missionaries I got to know some more
out there but in the meantime I always
included Dick Hightower never got his prayer letter
never knew what he's doing didn't know anything
and did that off and on for years
the man who gave me the $20 was
Dick Hightower and I and later on from
Joe Bailey I told Joe Bailey this story
and Joe said to Jim he said Dick
Hightower was home from the mission field because
all of his family had polio and he
didn't have a dime and he gave you
a $20.
Faithfulness of God.
Doing it God's way now I've done it
I've done it my way and God answered
anyhow I did it God's way with joy
and God but to do it with joy
is the way to do it.
One of the things that I've learned over
the years not just from these passages but
from other passages that do not seem to
make sense to Christians because Christians say let's
be realistic let's be real this uh this
isn't real and then they'll wonder why I
have such wonderful experiences and I've had the
bad ones too but I mean how they
have that wonderful experience it's because I will
act on the text even though I don't
know that it's ever worked it'll seem unreal
and I'll do what it says and God
honors his promise.
I wish
that I
acted based upon the text more often when
I do it always comes out like this.
If I say no let's do it the
humanistic way it I suppose consequently just in
those provisions two of our favorite verses are
Matthew 6.33 and Philippians 4.67 that
they are they are God's guarantee of how
he does things.
Here in Philippians 4.67 he doesn't say
he'll give us our request he says he'll
give us the peace of God and the
other he says he'll give us our necessities.
Here he says he gives peace there he
gives necessities.
Questions?
It's always
imaginary.
Yeah but sometimes your imagination is accurate.
Could be.
I mean like something happens and you know
your father or your father or somebody's going
to blow up and you're worried about the
blow up and it just blows up and
you're worried about it at any time or
especially if you're non-christian you know them
well and you're worried about it and it's
not it's an answer it's based on knowledge
of the person.
Well the major thing is that but it
also governs your reaction later to the blow
up when it happens because you go into
it with this worry and fear and then
you don't take it well when it happens.
If you go on okay I know it's
going to happen but it's nothing to be
anxious to worry about it's just going to
happen.
It's an event that will happen and consequently
when he blows up I can take it
with some sort of equilibrium where if I
go on worried I'm not going to take
it with any equilibrium I just I just
guaranteed my reaction to this anticipated blow up.
So the major thing there we got two
solutions one is the peace of God and
the other is the actual provision so we
can go in we can go in with
peace even though you say well we know
something like this will happen but sometimes we
are surprised and it doesn't happen what is
the whole history is that it would happen.
There are some other funny little things that
uh this is I think funny.
Bethy sent me off for some bare necessities
and we had three dollars and three cents
and I went off to Safeway store with
the three dollars and three cents and I
took Heather with me who was preschool and
she was at that time rather round and
jolly and she uh we got off there
and I liked some dumb I said I
wasn't counting up but I was off the
shelf I wasn't adding up my head to
see if it came within three dollars you
know until I got into the chute yeah
until I got in the chute and while
I was there waiting to get waited on
Heather asked me for a penny for some
gum so I gave her reached in and
got one my three cents and she ran
off to the gum machine and got some
gum and about that time I realized that
I hadn't been figuring up in my head
whether this little amount of money was going
to come over three dollars and I turned
around to count and maybe take some of
it back I and I was just about
to the cashier and the lady behind me
had a great great big basket just heaped
full of all kinds of expensive stuff and
her name was Huddy Shields and she was
in Bessie's Bible class and she was a
wife of a very wealthy man who ran
several super giant stores and I said oh
here I am I haven't got time to
figure it out the lady's going to count
it up and say that's four dollars and
six cents and I've got three dollars and
two cents and I'm going to have to
take this little bit back to the shelf
in front of Mrs. Shields who was in
this Bible study and count all this stuff
and I thought Lord I can't do this
it'd just be too embarrassing and I was
just praying desperately what to do when she
was clicking it up and she said that'll
be three dollars and two cents took the
three dollars out and got my other two
pennies and gave it to her and thank
you very much and went home now you
know that stands out but there have been
a lot of those kinds of things of
God's goodness providing just
about quitting time so any other questions I
do not want to point to our experience
I want to point to the text we
acted on the text and God honored the
text these a lot of these things in
scripture are in one sense conditional promises some
are just promises and some are conditional promises
that is they are promises if you believe
him God provides let's
thank God father we thank you very much
for this time together we pray that it
will help each one of us trust you
more both for necessities and for peace