LUKE 12:22-34 ADJUST YOUR FOCUS2012 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 12:22-34 Adjust Your Focus

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2012. Well, as we look at our portion this morning in Luke chapter 12, verses 22 through 34, I titled the message this morning, Adjust Your Focus. Adjust Your Focus.

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There's a term in photography. It's called shallow depth of field. I don't know if you're familiar with it. I wasn't very familiar with it before I was preparing for this message. I understood the concept, but I didn't know what it was called. Shallow depth of field. And I would suggest to you this morning, I don't know if you know this, but you as an individual have a shallow depth of field.

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And you're like, okay, well, what does that mean? Well, here, I called up Lester yesterday and I said, hey, can you give me an example of this so I can share it with the body? So here's a picture. Lester chose the object. So he picked a can of Pepsi with, you know, the throwback, the real sugar. So, you know, it's the good stuff. And then in the background, you can see it's fuzzy, right? It's blurry. It's not very clear. But in the background, you can see CC Lemon.

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Now, I know some of you don't know what CC lemon is. It's a drink that everybody loves in Japan. And so Lester had some on hand, and so he made sure to include that in the picture. So you can see Pepsi here. It's in the foreground. It's nice and clear. You can focus on it. But in the background, you can still see it's there, but it's not crisp. It's not clear. And that's because there's a shallow depth of field. If it was a deeper depth of field, then you could see both clearly.

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But because it's shallow, you have to focus on one or the other. And when you focus on one, the other one is blurry. And so to complete this, here's the same shot. Everything's identical except for the focus has changed. So instead of the focus being on the Pepsi can, now you can see the CC lemon bottle is clear and crisp and the Pepsi can is focused. This is

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shallow depth of field. That is, you can only focus on one or the other. It's the same shot, same exact picture, same details, but one thing is in focus versus another thing. And when one thing is in focus, the other part is not.

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Now, this captures the idea of what God has put upon my heart for this passage this morning. And that's why I titled the message, Adjust Your Focus. That you and I, we have a shallow depth of field. And I'm not talking about physically with our eyes. No, we could see both very clearly. But when we approach life and when we consider eternity, we have a shallow depth of field.

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And what we need to do is adjust our focus. What Jesus will be challenging us with is the focus on this life versus eternity. Now both are in the picture, but you can only really focus on one at a time. And Jesus will be challenging us on where is your focus?

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And calling us to adjust our focus. And so there's three points this morning that I'd like to highlight for you from the text. Three points to help us consider how to adjust our focus. And we see the first point in verses 22 through 28. And Jesus says there, do not worry about your life.

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Point number one is do not worry about your life. Check out verse 22. It says, Then he said to his disciples, Therefore I say to you, Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, nor about the body, what you will put on. So Jesus here is talking to his disciples and he tells them, Do not worry. He starts out saying, Therefore I say to you.

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Therefore, connects us to the previous thought. So this is not, you know, a passage all on its own. But what we studied last time, two weeks ago, in the preceding verses, is the subject of covetousness. Where we saw, as Jesus made it very clear, that covetousness is foolishness.

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And so we learned to be content, to beware of covetousness, and to make sure that we are rich towards God. Remember the parable that Jesus told about the rich guy, and he had an abundant crop, and so he decided, well, I'm going to tear down my barns and build bigger barns, and I'm going to say, soul, you know, rest. You've got many goods laid up for many years. And Jesus said, that guy's a fool.

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Covetousness is foolishness. And so we focus on that idea of the foolishness of always wanting more. Always wanting more. Never being satisfied. And that's a

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that's an issue that we can face whether we have a lot or whether we have little or nothing at all. We can always be consumed with getting more, having one more thing, one more object, one more of whatever it is that we're seeking after. That's the idea of covetousness.

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Now as we move into our verses for today, Jesus is flipping it around and he's saying, okay, don't be consumed with getting more, but also don't be concerned or don't be consumed with having nothing. Don't let the idea of getting more consume your life and fill your life and that's what your life is all about. But also don't let your life be consumed with the worry, the anxiety of having nothing, of not having enough.

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They're kind of on opposite sides of each other, but both are equally dangerous and equally wrong. And so Jesus says, therefore I say to you, this is a danger, this is a warning. It continues on, watch out for covetousness, but then also watch out for worry. Here in verse 22, Jesus goes on to say, do not worry about your life, what you will eat.

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Do not worry. This idea of worry is to be anxious. There's a nervousness. There's an anxiety that you can't rest because you're concerned about, what am I going to eat? So Jesus here is talking about, he's talking to those who would be worried, anxious, nervous. Where's my next meal going to come from? Am I going to be able to have dinner tonight?

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Am I going to be able to have dinner tomorrow night? What are we going to do for groceries next week? How are we going to feed the kids next month? This idea of concern about what to eat, Jesus says, don't worry about it. This is...

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really challenging if we will take these things to heart this isn't like kind of easy light fluffy stuff you know okay yeah don't worry about what to eat it's not like the song or whatever you know the saying don't worry be happy you know just like you know put on a smiley face and i mean this this is really challenging stuff jesus says don't worry about your life what you will eat and i could very quickly say well if i don't worry about what i'm going to eat i'm

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Who's going to worry about what I'm going to eat? How am I going to have food? How am I going to be able to survive if I don't pay attention to what I'm going to eat? If I don't, you know, stock up food in the fridge or get the directions to Jack in the Box, how am I going to eat? How's that going to happen? Jesus says, don't worry about your life. Don't worry about what you will eat. But he goes on to say, nor about the body what you will put on.

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So don't worry about the food that you're going to eat, but also don't worry about the clothes that you're going to put on. The covering that you need. Food and clothing. These are two very basic necessities. And Jesus is saying these necessities, these essential needs that you have for your life, food and clothing, you are not to worry about those things.

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You are not to let those things consume you. You're not to be nervous about those things. You are not to be anxious and up late at night, wondering and trying to figure out how you will have food and clothing. Jesus says, do not worry about it. Going on in verse 23, it says, life is more than food and the body is more than clothing.

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Jesus says, don't worry about it because there's more to life than food and clothing. Life is more than food. It's not just about what you're going to eat. And life is more than clothing. It's not just about what you're going to wear. Food and clothing, these essentials. Now, we made reference to this, again, two weeks ago in the previous passage, talking about being content with

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Because the Apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 8, he says, and having food and clothing with these we shall be content. So as we talk about these essentials of food and clothing, you need to understand that Paul the Apostle says, the Bible is teaching that should be enough for you. That you should be content when God provides you food and clothing. That should be enough for you.

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And now Jesus is saying, and even those two things, you don't have to worry about it. You don't have to worry about those essentials. Be content with food and clothing and you don't have to worry about food and clothing. Do you worry about food? Do you worry about how you're going to feed yourself, your family? Is that something that concerns you? Is that something that makes you nervous sometimes? You get anxiety over how are we going to put food on the table?

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What do you worry about clothing? What are we going to do? How are we going to get shoes? How are we going to get clothes? How are we going to get the kids ready for school? What am I going to wear to this Christmas party? Is this something that brings you anxiety? Are you nervous about it? Paul says, you have food, you have clothing, that's enough. And you and I, this is a challenge for us. I mean, how many of us would be content with just food and clothing?

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If we're not content with just food and clothing, then it's revealing that there's an issue in our heart where we're grasping hold of this world with a stronger grasp than we should have. But Jesus says, look, you don't have to worry about food and clothing. Now, if he's talking about these basic necessities of food and clothing, then you can also understand he's also saying there's nothing to worry about.

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Your job? Do you worry about your job? Or do you worry about getting a job? Do you worry about the mortgage? The rent? What do you worry about? These essentials, food and clothing, these are kind of like the bare minimums that you need to survive. Jesus says you don't have to worry about that. So if you don't have to worry about that, you don't have to worry about anything else in your life either. Do not worry.

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Jesus says, life is more than food and the body is more than clothing. Be content with food and clothing and don't even worry about the food and clothing. God will provide it. Can you be worried and content at the same time? I challenge you to wrestle with that thought.

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Can you be worried and content at the same time? Now, Jesus will go on because this is a challenging thing for us. This isn't an easy thing. Okay, I'll just take that, swallow it. Okay, got it. Next lesson. No, no, no. He understands this is difficult. And so he gives us three illustrations to help us grasp this idea of not worrying about your life.

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And so the first illustration Jesus gives, he says, consider the ravens. Look at verse 24. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn, and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? Consider the ravens, Jesus says. Here's an illustration for you. Let me back up this point, Jesus says. Let me support this point by saying,

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asking you to consider the ravens. Now this word consider, it means to consider attentively, to fix your eyes or your mind upon so that you understand it well. It's an intense attention or focus. Pay attention to the ravens, Jesus is saying. Not just glance at them, not just take a quick look, but take some time to make sure that you understand what they're all about.

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consider the ravens. Now, there was probably some ravens right there that Jesus was pointing to. Jesus did this often, right? So he's saying, okay, consider the ravens. Think about the ravens. These birds, Jesus says, they neither sow nor reap. Have you ever seen a raven driving a tractor to sow a field? No, you haven't. They don't

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prepare land they don't you know plant seeds and then come back and no they let you do that work and then they come and take what you planted right they they don't worry about the next season well i need to sow seeds so that we can have a harvest the next season they're not paying attention to planting seeds sowing nor reaping and also jesus says they don't have storehouses or barns

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Now this again is in contrast to the parable Jesus just told about this rich man who had an abundant crop. He said, I'm going to tear down my barns and build bigger barns. Here he points out, ravens don't have barns at all. So what they gather, they eat. They don't store it up, prepare it for another time. They eat whatever's available without thinking about, well, what about tomorrow? What am I going to eat tomorrow?

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Let me just, you know, put some aside. Let me save some just in case there's nothing available tomorrow. Consider the ravens, Jesus said. They neither sow nor reap. They have neither storehouses nor barns. And what's his point? He says, and God feeds them. God feeds them. He gives them food. He goes on to ask the question of how much more value are you than the birds? So really, this is what Jesus is getting at.

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You are more valuable than the ravens. So you can rest assured, you can understand, you can trust. God will feed you, Jesus says. God will feed you. You're much more valuable than the ravens. We saw earlier in chapter 12, Luke chapter 12 verse 7. Remember Jesus said that the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

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Jesus says, look, God's paying attention to you. He knows so much detail about your life. He's so concerned about you. He's so intimately involved with you. He knows the exact number of hairs upon your heads. So you don't have to fear because you're much more valuable than many sparrows. Jesus kind of reiterates that thought here. You're much more valuable than ravens.

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Then birds, God will feed you. He will provide your needs. He will take care of you. So do not worry. So the first illustration he gives is the ravens. Next he goes on to say, consider your stature. There in verse 25. And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So consider the ravens.

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In this idea of not worrying about your life, life is more than your body. It's more than what you're going to eat. Think about the ravens. Consider the ravens, but also consider your stature. Now, this idea of adding a cubit to your stature, it could be, this word actually could be used in one of two ways. It could be talking about your height or your age, or in other words, your length of life. In Hebrews chapter 11, verse 11, it talks about Sarah and

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Having a child when she was past the age to bear children, it's the same word stature. So what Jesus is probably talking about is not adding 18 inches to your height, but adding 18 inches to the length of your life. So in other words, who of you by worrying can add one more step to your life? Can you by worrying add just one more step to the end of your days, to the length of your life?

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Can you, by worry, add inches to your height? Can you make yourself taller by worrying a lot? I think we'd have a lot more NBA players if we could do that. I heard one pastor talking about this. He said, you could probably worry yourself shorter, but not taller. But by worrying, the point is you can't add on to your height. You can't add on to your life. And Jesus says in verse 26, if you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? So here's the idea.

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You're not able to add one step to your life. You're not able by worrying to add one more step. You can't do that. That doesn't work. And so Jesus says, look, that's the least. If you're not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Why are you worried about the rest? You can't even do the littlest thing. Sometimes we forget how dependent upon God we really are. Because your every breath depends upon God. Every beat of your heart depends upon God.

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We forget that. And we think by worrying we can add one more step to our life. We forget how dependent we are, how much we need God. But Jesus here is reminding us, look, you're not able to do the very least thing for yourself. So why are you worried about these other things? Why are you worried? So consider the ravens. Consider your stature. And then finally, the third illustration, Jesus says, consider the lilies. Verse 27 says,

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Again, Jesus uses this word consider. Consider.

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Consider attentively. Fix your eyes upon so that you fully understand the lilies. And like the ravens, I would suggest to you there's probably a field of lilies that Jesus is pointing to. And he says, look at the lilies. Consider the lilies. They're beautiful. But Jesus says, they don't toil nor spin. Now, it's interesting, this idea of considering, you know, paying attention to, fixing your eyes on,

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I would venture to suggest or guess that there were some people there amongst the crowd that Jesus was addressing that never even noticed that there were lilies right there. When I was younger going to Bible college in Murrieta, I would go back and forth down the 15 every day because I was living here but going to school out there. And my mom one day said, oh, I'm so jealous of you because you get to drive by all of the poppies while they're in bloom.

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And poppies are her favorite flower. And so she says, look, you're driving by and you get to see all these beautiful flowers there on the hillside next to the freeway. And I looked at her and I said, what in the world are you talking about? She said, all the poppies. You know, all the poppies. They're alongside of the freeway. I'm like, there's poppies alongside of the freeway? She's like, the whole hillsides are covered in them. It's not like there's one. They're covered. I never noticed.

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Because I'm just driving, you know. I'm just, is there a cop around, you know. That's what I'm looking for. I'm not, I wasn't looking for the poppies. There's probably people in the crowd. Maybe you've not stopped to consider the lilies. But Jesus says, hey, you have a condition of worry? Take a break and study the flowers. Think about the lilies. They don't toil nor spin.

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How many of you have seen a lily sitting at a sewing machine with a needle and thread? How many of you have seen them toil or spin? They don't. They don't toil. They don't spin. How do they grow? Well, it's God doing the work. It's God providing for them.

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Jesus says, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now, we've been studying Solomon. We got to see him a couple times over the past few months as we've been going through the Bible in three years. And Solomon was, well, he was wealthy beyond wealthy beyond wealthy. And you look at the temple that he built and the house that he built and just the incredible wealth. And he made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, the Bible says. And he made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, the Bible says.

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So we don't have an exact description of his apparel, but we can kind of surmise from the wealth that he brought in, he was arrayed gloriously. But Jesus says, not even Solomon compares to the lilies. In all his beauty and all his glory, the lilies hold more than Solomon did. Verse 28, If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven...

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How much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? Jesus says, okay, so think about this. These lilies, how long do they last? Well, they're just for a short time. They don't last very long. They bloom, they're beautiful, but in a short time, they're gone. Jesus says, look, if God does this great work amongst the grass, which it's here with us today, but tomorrow it's just gathered and thrown into the oven. It's burned, it's kindling, it's not...

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meant to last forever. It's not meant to be of great value. How much more will he clothe you, Jesus says, oh you of little faith. So earlier he says you're much more valuable than the ravens. Here he's saying you're much more valuable than the grass and flowers of the field. Yet God provides and so he can provide for you as well and you can rest in him and you can trust

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That God will clothe you as well. Ravens don't reap. They don't sow. They don't store. But God provides for them. Now, make sure to understand the point here. Jesus is not saying you should not sow and reap and store. He's not saying you shouldn't prepare for tomorrow or, you know, put stuff in the pantry for next week. That's not Jesus' point. Jesus is pointing these ravens out, these lilies out to say,

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God provides for them even though they don't do all of these things. So you can trust that God will provide for you too. The point is you're much more valuable than ravens and flowers. So trust him to provide. Lilies don't toil. They don't spin. That doesn't mean that you should not. But it means that you should trust God to provide you clothes. You see, we could take it too far and say, well, I'm just going to sit here then.

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God, you clothe me whenever you're ready. I'm just going to wait for you to clothe me. I got my mouth open. Just feed me whenever you're ready. Clothe me and feed me. No, no, no. That's not what Jesus is saying. No, he's giving you energy. He's giving you intellect. He's giving you resources to be able to work, to be able to provide for yourself. He's not saying don't try to do that. That's not what he's saying. In fact,

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If you take it too far, then I would suggest to you that God would say, Proverbs chapter 6 verse 6, Go to the ants, you sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise. So consider the ravens, consider the lilies, but also consider the ant. The ant stores up for the next season when they won't be above ground. The ant prepares. There is the need for us to be engaged. Like Paul said in the New Testament, if you don't work, you don't eat. That's the rule.

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So we need to be engaged in labor, but we need to separate from that our worry and anxiety over the provision that that will provide. Be engaged in the work, but don't be consumed with worry about how you will survive, how you will make ends meet, about what you will eat or about what you will wear. Jesus is not saying that we should not work. He's saying that we should not worry.

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So how do you stop worrying? How do you not worry about your life? Well, let me take you back to this photo. And I would suggest to you, you need to adjust your focus. If you're worried about your food, if you're worried about your clothing, if you're worried about your rent, if you're worried about your kids after this week's tragedy, what are you worried about? Whatever it is you're worried about, I would suggest you need to adjust your focus.

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When we're worried about the things of this life, we're focused here on the foreground. Well, if you think heaven is CC lemon, then you can do it that way. If you think heaven is Pepsi, then you can switch it, okay? But CC lemon is heaven for us, okay? So you're worried about Pepsi. You're focused on Pepsi. How am I going to get more Pepsi? And that's what you're consumed with. You're not focusing on eternity. You're not focusing on what's next. You're just consumed by the Pepsi, by this life.

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And so you're not content. You're worried. Jesus is saying, you don't need to do that. Stop doing that. You're not trusting God. But if you focus on the next life, that's what we're going to get to in the next couple of verses, then notice the picture is the same. So what I'm suggesting to you is adjust your focus. It doesn't change the picture all that much. The same components are still there. So you're worried about what am I going to eat today?

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Man, what am I going to eat? What am I going to eat? What am I going to eat? Now when you adjust your focus, the need to eat is still there, but you have eternity in view. And this is what Jesus is calling us to do. He's not saying you won't have problems, you won't have situations, you won't have lack, you won't have need. He's not saying, look, if you trust God, you'll never ever be hungry or you'll never ever need clothing. He's saying your focus is in the wrong place if you're worried about this life.

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Because life is more than this life. Life extends on into eternity. And he's going to be telling us, look, God knows what you need. He's going to be taking care of you. You can trust and rest in him. What you need to be focused on is eternity. And that moves us now to our second point, verses 29 through 32, which is to seek the kingdom of God. Seek the kingdom of God. Verse 29 says, and do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink,

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So as Jesus goes on here, he says, don't seek, don't worry, don't seek what you're going to eat or what you're going to drink. And don't have an anxious mind. Again, don't be caught up and consumed with that your life is only about, all about. What am I going to do?

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about this situation. What am I going to do about this life? What am I going to do about providing food? What am I going to do about providing drink? Don't be consumed with what you eat or drink. Don't be anxious and worried about food and drink. And Jesus is pointing out, look, you are not the first one to have those needs.

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It's not like, you know, nobody ever needed food and drink until you came on the scene. And God's surprised like, whoa, this person needs something I've never seen before. Food and drink. How weird that they need food and drink. That's so unusual. It's so uncommon. No. He says, all these things the nations of the world seek after. The focus and the attention of nations are on food and drink. This is not rare. It's not uncommon. It's not uncommon.

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You're not the only one who has needs. It's not unusual that you have needs. Of course you do. He goes on to say, and your father knows that you need these things. Your father. Remember who you are. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you've given your life to him, you've been born again by believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Jesus said, as many as believed, he gave the right to be children of God.

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As a believer in Jesus Christ, you're a child of God. He's your father. And your father knows that you need food and drink. He knows that you need clothing. He knows the very number of hairs on your head. He's very interested in your life. He knows what's going on. And he knows what you need. All the nations seek after those physical things and the things of this life, those resources. But your father knows

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Now again, he's not saying don't work. And he's also not saying don't ask God to provide. He's saying don't worry. Because your Father knows. So yes, do your best. Yeah, work. Look for opportunity. And ask. Present your needs before the Lord. Certainly we need to do those things. But what we must not do is worry.

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Because God says, I'm your father. And I love you. And you are more valuable to me than many birds. You're my child. And God is saying, trust me to provide for you. Don't worry. Don't be anxious. Instead, verse 31. But seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. So do not seek food and drink, Jesus says. Instead,

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Seek all these things. I'm sorry. Seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. Here's the adjusting of focus. If you're focused on this life, eternity is a little bit blurry. It's there. You know it's there. But it's not your focus. You're not paying much attention to it. And so you're worried. You're anxious. You're nervous. You're stressed. Concerned with this life. With this thing right in front of you.

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Jesus says you need to adjust your focus. Pay attention to eternity. Seek the kingdom of God. If you and I were to think, well, I got to stop worrying. Okay, stop worrying. Make sure you stop worrying. Pretty soon I'm going to be worried about whether or not I'm worried. Worrying about if I'm worrying or not. You can't just stop something that God said you're not supposed to do that. No, you got to replace it.

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And so you replace worry with seeking the kingdom of God. Instead of seeking after food and drink, Jesus says, seek after the kingdom of God. You got to redirect yourself, redirect your heart, redirect your mind. No, I'm not going to worry. I'm going to trust God to provide those things. And so what I'm going to do instead is I'm going to pay attention to the kingdom of God. Lord, what are you saying regarding your kingdom in this situation? Remember, it's the same picture.

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The details, the needs, they've not changed. But your focus is what needs to change. Instead of using all your time and energy to pursue food and drink, Jesus says, seek the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is, well, it is eternity, but it includes right now as well.

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Jesus came to announce the kingdom of God that we can partake in the kingdom of God right now by believing in Jesus. And so as a believer in Jesus, we get to be part of God's kingdom and his work and his eternal plan and his eternal work. We get to be part of the things of God. We get to know God, to walk with him. We get to serve God.

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And be part of His work. These are all things that are included in this idea of the kingdom of God. And so instead of focusing on and being consumed with, what am I going to eat? What am I going to wear? He says, set your eyes, set your focus on who God is. Get to know Him. God, how can I serve you? God, how do you want to work in this situation? Lord, what do you want to do in the midst of this? How can I serve you? How can I glorify and honor your name?

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Jesus says, take your eyes off of the now, those needs that are there, and set them on the things of God. David Guzik puts it this way, God wants us to be more focused on him than on these necessities of daily life. Again, I would suggest to you, these things are not, you know, you don't just read this and go, okay, yeah, got that down, next lesson.

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Now, if we take these things to heart, these are seriously challenging things. Are you more focused on God than on the necessities of daily life? Wow. Consider that. Because that's what Jesus is asking us to do. To seek the kingdom of God. This same account, this same teaching is also recorded in Matthew chapter 6.

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And there, Matthew chapter 6, verse 33, it says, seek first the kingdom of God. That is, first in priority. First in order that we're to put God and His kingdom first before anything else. That He is to be the most important part of our life. Is God the most important part of your life? So you could say, hey God, you know, if I don't eat today, that's okay because I have you.

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If I don't have clothing for the event next week, that's okay, God, because I have you. You're most important. You're what I need. You're what I'm focused on. But here's what Jesus says. When you seek the kingdom of God, he says, all these things shall be added to you. So if you're consumed and focused on what am I going to eat? What am I going to drink? What am I going to wear?

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You're worried. You're anxious. You're nervous. It's going to consume you and you're not going to be paying attention to eternity. But if you will pay attention to eternity in the kingdom of God, Jesus says, God will add those things to you. He'll take care of your food. He'll take care of your drink. He'll take care of your clothing. He's going to provide for you. He's going to meet your needs. We think that we have to focus on those things because if we don't, well, who else is going to? Well, Jesus says, I'll tell you who. God will.

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Focus on those things. If you will seek him first. If you will put him first. Verse 32. Do not fear, little flock. For it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Jesus tells us to not fear. Again, don't worry. Don't be nervous. Don't be anxious. What am I going to eat? What am I going to drink? What am I going to wear? No, no. Don't fear.

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And he refers to us as a little flock. He refers to us as sheep. It's interesting how the Bible pretty consistently refers to God's children, God's people as sheep. You know, sheep don't hunt. They're flocks, not packs, you know. They're sheep pack, you know, running around attacking wolves. No, they don't hunt. They even really cannot find food on their own. They don't, well, they don't sow, they don't,

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store and barns either. In fact, sheep really only exist because since the very beginning, you have, remember Cain and Abel, and Abel was a shepherd. And since that time, there's been shepherds to care for sheep. And sheep exist today because shepherds have existed throughout history. They don't live on their own. They don't survive on their own. They die when they're on their own. And Jesus refers to us as sheep. In the book of John, he says, I am the good shepherd.

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Do we get the picture? We can't survive on our own. We're desperate for God. We forget that sometimes. We forget how much we need Him. But we're desperate for God. We can't provide for ourselves. We have nothing apart from God. We have nothing apart from what God provides. You think you earned that money? Take God out of the equation. You got nothing. No breath, no heartbeat, no life.

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No abilities, no talents, no intelligence. Take God out of the equation. We have nothing. We're sheep. And everything that we need is provided for by God. So do not fear, he says. For it is your father's good pleasure. Now again, he refers to us as sheep and he reminds us God is our father. God is our father. We're children. Children do not hunt.

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Children aren't expected to provide food for themselves. Now in some cases around the world, of course, yes, children are thrust into that situation. But that's not the normal expectation that you look at your nine-year-old and you say, well, you're going to go to work today or how are you going to eat? No, you, the parent, you provide. And Jesus says, you're God's child. He doesn't expect you.

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To come up with your own resources. Do not fear. You're a sheep. You're a child. And notice what Jesus says. It is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. It's his good pleasure to give. He's not bummed out. Man, I gotta give her the kingdom. It's terrible. I didn't want them to be saved. What a bummer. No, no, no. It's your God. It's God's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

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He wants to. He's excited to. I want to bless you. I want to give you good things. I want to give you blessings. I have great things in store for you for eternity. It's his pleasure. He looks forward to. He's excited about. He rejoices that he gets to give you stuff. He rejoices that he gets to provide for you. It's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

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It's not that you seek the kingdom of God because, oh no, I'm not going to make it. Maybe, perhaps, I got to really seek it hard because I might not make it into the kingdom of God. No, no. Seek the kingdom of God knowing He wants to provide you the kingdom. Put God first. Live for God.

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Look for opportunities to serve him, to glorify him, to honor him. Don't look at the situation and be focused on, what am I going to do? Look at the situation and focus on, God, what do you want to do? What do you want me to do in this situation? How can I trust you? How can I honor you in this? Seek the kingdom of God, knowing that God desires greatly with rejoicing to provide you the kingdom of God. You see, we have to adjust our focus.

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You can get consumed with Pepsi and just be focused on that. Worried and stressed out and anxious all the time. God says, look back here. There's a kingdom here. I want to provide for you. I want to meet your needs. I want to give you an eternity that exceeds your every imagination. Why are you paying attention on this temporary thing which I've promised to provide? Which birds and lilies don't even worry about? Why are you focused on these little details that birds don't even worry about?

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The bird brain is smarter than you are because you're focused on these things. Maybe God wouldn't be that rude. But you're focused on these things that I've promised to provide. No, no, adjust your focus. Look to eternity. Look to the kingdom of God. And all these things will be added. You see, it's still the same picture. When you adjust your focus, you're still faced with the same situation. You still have the same problems at home.

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or at work, or in the refrigerator. You still have the same problems, but when you focus on eternity, you can be part of the kingdom of God and God's work and what He wants to do. And then He promises to provide what you need for all of those things. Adjust your focus. Seek the kingdom of God. And finally, the third point we see in verse 33 and 34, and that is provide for yourself treasure in heaven.

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Provide yourself treasure in heaven. Verse 33. Sell what you have and give alms. Provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old. A treasure in the heavens that does not fail. Where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. Jesus says, so you're seeking the kingdom of God. Now you're not worried. You're not fearing. So how do we seek the kingdom of God? How do we store up treasure in heaven? Jesus says, sell what you have and give alms. Isn't this amazing?

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Jesus is talking to people who are worried about what they're going to eat or drink or wear. That's who he's talking to. He's saying, okay, don't worry. I know you're focused on, you got a lot of anxiety about what you're going to eat, what you're going to drink. So here's what you got to do. Sell what you have and give alms. Alms are generous gifts to the poor. Jesus says, stop worrying and start giving. Now you and I in the situation where it's like, I don't know how ends are going to meet. I don't know what I'm going to eat. I don't know what I'm going to drink.

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We see the need of the poor around us and we say, well, I already got my own problems. I mean, there's some other rich people. Let them provide. They should provide. But we learned last time, you know, they can't because they're too busy coveting more. We always think, ah, somebody else with more resources than I. But Jesus says, no, you're worried about food and drink? Here's what you need to do.

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Sell what you have and give alms. Now this is not a command for every person to sell all of their possessions. You know, take a vow of poverty. No, we can look ahead at the book of Acts. We can look ahead at the epistles to the churches and the rest of the New Testament. That is not God's direct command for every believer. It may be God's direct command for some believers, but it's not God's direct command for every believer. But here's the point. Give.

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Be part of the kingdom of God. Seek the kingdom of God. One way to do that is look around you at someone else who is in need and help meet that need. Look around. Find someone else who also has need and minister to them. Now, it might not be a financial need that they have. Maybe it's another kind of need or maybe it's something that you can do. Maybe, you know, you can fix the car or fix the cabinet or whatever and it's something that you can do to help meet that need and

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Even when you have your own need as well. But Jesus says that's the point. You're there and you're like, I've got nothing. I just, I have great need. That's all I've got. I've just got great need. Jesus says, there's others around you in need too. Don't be worried. Don't be anxious. But seek the kingdom of God. And look for an opportunity to minister to somebody else's need. He says, provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old. How do you do that?

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Picture the old sack of money that you see in the Donald Duck cartoons or whatever. How do you get those money bags that don't grow old? Well, money bags don't grow old when they're not holding money. So if you're storing up lots of money, Jesus is saying your money bags are growing old. Essentially, he's saying be generous and give. Be generous and give. Give to those who have need. He says you will provide for yourself a treasure in the heavens that does not fail. Where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.

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As you look around and you meet the needs of others, you minister to people around you. You're storing up treasure in heaven. It's like that saying, you can't take it with you, but you can send it ahead. You're storing up treasure in heaven by serving others and ministering to those who have need around you. Verse 34, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. I think this works two ways.

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First of all, Jesus is saying, you can tell where your heart is by what you treasure. And if what you focus on and what you pay a lot of attention to, what you're spending all your time and energy and thoughts on is things of this life, then you know your heart is bound up in this life. So it's an indication, where's your heart at? What's important to you? What's valuable to you? But then also we can learn from this, look, you can direct your heart towards heaven by storing treasures there.

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So it's an indication of where our heart's at, but it's also a way to redirect our heart to where it needs to be by storing up treasure in heaven, by placing value in the things of eternity instead of the things of this life. Paul the Apostle said, the things that we can see, the things of this life, they're temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal. Don't be consumed with getting more covetousness.

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But don't be consumed with having nothing either. Don't let that be the thing that fills your mind, that fills your heart. Don't be caught up in worry and anxiety. Instead, adjust your focus. We have a shallow depth of field. You cannot focus on this life and eternity at the same time. But if you focus on eternity, Jesus says, God will provide for this life. He'll meet your needs. So put your focus there. Let God provide.

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For this life. Now one last thing before we close. That promise for God to provide. All of the things that we dealt with today. These are promises for God's children. These are promises for those who have believed in Jesus Christ. Who have been born again by the Holy Spirit. And received what he did for us upon the cross. So I just want to say. If you have not believed in Jesus Christ. If you have not received his gift of forgiveness. Amen.

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You're not his child. This doesn't apply to you. You worry about what you're going to eat and what you're going to drink. Or receive the forgiveness, the eternal life that Jesus offers and let God take care of those things. Let's pray. Lord, it's so easy for us to be focused on this life because it's right in front of us. And so Lord, we quickly return to that. We get caught up in that. We begin to worry about stress. We begin to worry about the workplace. We begin to worry about

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How we're going to live. How we're going to survive. Where we're going to live. What we're going to eat. What we're going to wear. We get worried and consumed by all these things. And distracted from what really matters. Distracted from your kingdom. Lord, forgive us. Help us to adjust our focus. To look to your kingdom. To look to eternity. Help us to trust you enough to rest and not worry.

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Help us to trust you enough to minister and serve and meet the needs of others, knowing that you'll provide for our needs. Help us, God, to adjust our focus. Worry and stress, it destroys us, it distracts us, it keeps us from the incredible blessings that you want to bestow upon us. And so, Lord, help us to identify those issues of worry, those areas of anxiety.

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Lord, that we could learn to not seek after those things, but to seek your kingdom, to look for opportunity, to serve you, to honor you in the same situation that we face. And Lord, if there's any that they're not your children, they've not believed in you, God, I pray that you would help them to see how much you love them, so much that you sent your only begotten Son to die upon the cross for our sin. You loved us so much. You desire us.

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to give us the kingdom. Help us, God, to receive what you've offered by faith, to believe what you accomplished for us at the cross, and to turn our lives to you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.