Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they?Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they?
6 sermons cite this verse
… chapter 6, verses 19 through 21. And here Jesus says this, stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven where moth and rust don't eat them and where thieves don't break in and steal them. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. That's interesting. In this passage, if you look to the Greek, and I'm guessing the Aramaic behind it, which Jesus spoke Aramaic or Hebrew Aramaic. Aramaic's a variant of that. But it sounds like this in Greek, five times the word treasure shows up. So he says, don't treasure up treasures for yourself on earth. Instead, treasure up treasures in heaven where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So he's challenging us to treasure the right things, to treasure up the right things. He's talking about our heart. What do you treasure? What do you really love? What do you spend your time thinking about and focused on, right? And so in this case, treasuring the right things and not the wrong things. Now, I don't know what treasures you have and what things you have focused on in your life that maybe you realize later. I spent a lot of time, way too much time thinking about that thing. And this is sometimes true when it comes to things we collect. So when I was nine, I think it was nine years old. I think I was in fourth grade. I might have even been eight …
… do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body. What you will wear is not life more than food and the body more than clothes. Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin, yet I tell you, not even Solomon, straight out of Zara in all of 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 in the fire, will he not much more clothe you of little faith? So do not worry saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear? …
… is saying express thanksgiving to God, which is the same thing Jesus said back in Matthew chapter 6, verse 26. We looked at this last week when Jesus said, look at the birds of the air that neither sow nor reap nor gather in the barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And the answer is, yes, you are more valuable than the birds of the air. So as you begin to worry or be anxious, like stop, seek God in prayer about everything that's on your mind and trust that God loves you and God will help you. Trust that God will give you everything you need. We're gonna see this even more starting next week. So Philippians 4 is only gonna get better. So stop and thank God for all of the ways. He loves you, he cares for you, he promises to help you as you lift up your needs to God going into this week, going into this fall. …
… Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 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? Do you see this? How do you not be anxious? Here's how, Jesus says, look at the birds. Like, think about the birds. Think, wait a minute. God feeds the birds, and I'm more valuable to God than birds. So God will provide for me. which means I don't have to worry. According to God's word, the antidote to worry in this world is filling your mind with truth from his word. Philippians 4 says the exact same thing. Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things. …
Now, what he's saying is, and verse 26, Behold the fowls of the air, they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. What our Lord is saying, put it down, number one, worry is needless. but then if, if worry is needless, then it is senseless. Verse 26, if God takes care of the birds and the flowers, isn't he going to take care of you? But not only is it needless and senseless, in verse 27, it is useless. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to a stature? That means his lifespan. You can worry yourself to death, but you can't worry yourself alive. IT IS FAITHLESS. LOOK, IF YOU WILL, IN VERSE 30, WHEREFORE IF GOD SO CLOTHED THE GRASS OF THE FIELD WHICH TODAY IS AND TOMORROW IS CAST INTO THE OVEN, SHALL I NOT MUCH MORE CLOTHE YOU, O YE OF LITTLE FAITH? IT IS FAITHLESS, AND THEREFORE IT IS EXCUSELESS. VERSE 31 AND 32, THEREFORE TAKE NO THOUGHTS, SAYING, WHAT SHALL WE EAT, OR WHAT SHALL WE DRINK, OR WHEREWITHAL SHALL WE BE CLOTHED? FOR AFTER ALL THESE THINGS DO THE GENTILES SEEK. YOU KNOW WHAT THE GENTILES WERE? THEY WERE THE PAGANS. …
… BODY WHAT YE SHALL PUT ON. IS NOT THE LIFE MORE THAN MEAT, AND THE BODY MORE THAN RAIMENT OR CLOTHING? BEHOLD THE FOWLS OF the air. For they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I SAYING TO YOU THAT EVEN SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY WAS NOT ARRAYED LIKE ONE OF THESE. WHEREFORE, IF GOD SO CLOTHED THE GRASS OF THE FIELD, WHICH TODAY IS, AND TOMORROW IS CAST INTO THE OVEN, SHALL HE NOT MUCH MORE CLOTHE YOU? O YE OF LITTLE FAITH, THEREFORE TAKE NO THOUGHT, SAYING, WHAT SHALL WE EAT? OR WHAT SHALL WE DRINK? OR WHEREWITHAL SHALL WE BE CLOTHED? FOR AFTER ALL THESE THINGS DO THE GENTILES SEEK. FOR YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWETH THAT YE HAVE NEED OF ALL THESE THINGS. BUT SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU. TAKE THEREFORE NO THOUGHT FOR THE MORROW, FOR THE MORROW SHALL TAKE THOUGHT FOR THE THINGS OF ITSELF. SUFFICIENT UNTO THE DAY IS THE EVIL THEREOF. NOW, WORRY IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. THE IGNORANT WORRY BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW ENOUGH. THE SMART WORRY BECAUSE THEY KNOW TOO MUCH. THE, THE RICH WORRY BECAUSE, UH, THEY'RE AFRAID OF …