"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom."
Good Morning my beloved,
We welcome you to worship today in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for joining us today, whether it's your first time or you are a faithful member of our family in Christ, your presence is appreciated.
We live in an age that is literally saturated with anxiety. People worry about everything: their health, their relationships, their financial stability and debt, job insecurity, their retirement future and the inevitability of getting older and death, often triggered by the loss of a parent or a personal health crisis. I believe in the digital age, all of this increasing worry is fueled by the constant exposure to global turmoil, world economic pressures, social media comparisons to others who, let's face it, are pretending to have their lives together. Despite the overwhelming nature of all these deep-seated anxieties, Jesus points to the simplest of God’s handiwork to call us back to reality, "Consider the lilies," using their effortless growth—neither toiling nor spinning—as a profound reminder of God’s grace, a daily provision and care.
That said, there are really only two categories in which you can direct your worry: either the physical realm or the spiritual realm, right? You’re either going to be concerned about something physical, something earthly, or you’re going to be concerned about something spiritual, something heavenly. However, what Jesus is saying is, for one who belongs to the kingdom of God, worry in either case is unnecessary. By telling us to stop worrying about our physical needs and calling us to consider the lilies, He's painting a beautiful picture using the lilies in the field to reveal something to us about who God is and how He cares for those who are His, redirecting our hearts from worrying to trust. I believe if we meditate on them for a moment, they also reveal something about us. The lilies does exactly what God designed them to do, without complaining or questioning—they grow exactly where God planted them, they blooms at precisely the right time, and declare His glory to all who see them.
Let's pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we humbly thank You for Your Word, such a poignant reminder to guard our hearts and to pause and reflect on what's truly important, especially as the glow of holiday lights can easily distract us, as so many tend to shift their focus from the sacred to the secular. Lord, renew our awe and reverence for Your Majesty this season as we are reminded that You came not only to dwell among us, but to sacrificially die for our sins as love was nailed to the cross, and grace and mercy flowed to secure our salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Father, I pray that our greatest joy this season would not be rooted in what we receive, but in what we generously give to others. Help us to understand just how certain Your promises are and how grateful we should be that You care for for us. Open up the eyes of our finite minds and our hearts, and help us to be able to comprehend this deep, profound message about trusting You regardless of hat our circumstances look like. We ask and pray these things for Christ's sake and for Your glory.
Amen.
Today's Message: Consider the Lilies –The Blueprint for Joyful, Anxiety-Free Living
Open your Bibles with me to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12, verses 27 through 31. I'd like to encourage you to follow along with me as I read these very profound verses to you on anxiety-free living. Luke 12:27-31.
"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom."
Let's look at verse 27, "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these."
Consider the lilies is not merely a casual suggestion, it's more like a divine rebuke, hurled at anxious hearts consumed by worry like a bolt of lightening, "Enough!
Look at the lilies, if God takes this much care of birds and flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, how much more will He care for you, His own children? Stop worrying about tomorrow, Your Father will provide you with whatever you need to sustain your life!" I am convinced that within this profound spiritual directive to trust God, contains a much broader teaching on materialism, most people need to learn the difference between needs and wants. Notice at the end of the verse, He says "But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these." Solomon, known for his enormous wealth, had thrones of ivory overlaid with gold, to enhance its beauty and majesty. He had robes made of fine linen from Egypt, renowned for its superior quality, was used for royal and priestly garments, yet, Jesus declares that not even Solomon, in all his magnificence, he didn't come close to matching the simple beauty of a single flower created by God.
While Jesus acknowledges the reality of our physical needs —food, water, clothing—He certainly implies that awareness of a need does not justify worrying about it, and it should never dominate our thoughts or drive our decisions. As I've said many times, one of the biggest problems with contemporary Christianity today is most Christians don't really understand Who God and they fail to recognize who they are in Christ. And, unfortunately, because they are willfully ignorant of Who God really is, they go through this life as if nothing has changed. So they continue to live in sin, they needlessly live every day in fear and worry, cheated out of the greatness of God. They do not understand that an authentic relationship with Christ changes everything and that they can rest in His promises! There is no place for worry, no place for fear, no place for habitual sin in the life of a true Christian.
Some of you here today, know nothing of what I'm talking, and if that's true, I can’t explain it to you. But, if you will only get into His Word every day, study it and obey what it says, you will no longer need an explanation.
People in the church today are consumed with this idea of personal experience based on emotions or feelings that are often described as ecstatic sensation or religious ecstasy, which is an intensified inner spiritual emotional experience believed to be a personal connection with God, a result of modern evangelical consumerist approach to preaching where spiritual experiences are often interpreted through a personal lens rather than a communal one for individuals seeking experiences that satisfy personal desires rather than engaging in transformative relationship with Christ. I believe the problem in the world today is that the church does not have a believable testimony, because Christians are not abiding by the righteous standards that God has set forth in His Word. Except by their profession, you can no longer tell church apart from the world. The church has adapted a "Do whatever you, just come and be useful to the church." The problem is, as I see it, many, if not most Christians, are no longer useful to the kingdom of God. Their testimonies are just empty words coming from untransformed hearts. It's really kind of sad, we proclaim the same God, the difference is, they don't know the God they proclaim. If they did, they couldn't do the things they openly do, knowing they're bringing reproach on the name of God, and they do it without shame. It's like the Apostle Paul says in Titus 1:16, "They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and unfit for any good work."
As my grandmother used to say, "You talk the talk, but you don't walk the walk." Jesus put it this way in Matthew 5,"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men."
And, since what the this is what world thinks of the church, we've lowered the standards for coming to Christ, even more, "You not only get to do what you want, you get to believe whatever you want! You can have Christ your way, just come!" Jesus said God hasn't changed His mind about His Word! "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished." I know believers who say, "Since Christ fulfilled the Law, we're not under the curse of the law anymore, we can live as we want!" So, they just keep dragging the standard down, lower and lower and lower until the only thing that stands between them and the unredeemed world, is they go to church to sin. They walk their sin and sexual immorality right through the door, waving it like banner, convincing themselves that they're serving God, standing firm in the world, rather than the Word.
Christ came to save you by fulfilling the penalty of the law, not so that you can "Do whatever you want," but so that when you fail, when you fall short, you're not under its curse, because you no longer walk after the flesh, you walk by the Spirit." You can now walk worthy.. because Christ lives in you and the Holy Spirit convicts you when you live in sin and you are being sanctified, going from one glory to another. The transformation isn't external, it's internal. It's a new heart, with new longings and desires.
Psalm 119:92, "If Your law had not been my delight, Then I would have perished in my affliction."
Christians need to be aware that God is not necessarily involved in everything that comes under His name. As I've stated many many times, not everyone who name the name of Christ represents Him, so you really need to pay close attention who and what you're listening to. Lately, I've started to notice that more and more people are beginning to question the authority and authenticity of Scripture. Not long ago, I had an very in depth but brief conversation with a woman I've known for several years, who said to me, "The Bible isn't really relevant anymore. It seems to me that you don’t realize times have changed. Church is more about the fellowship and community, rather than a book that was written by men." To which I responded, "No, I am completely aware that times have changed, the problem isn't the Bible, the problem is the people in the world. The Bible confronts people where they don’t want to be confronted, with the absolute Truth. People don't want to face reality, so they have created their version of the truth and they can't handle anything that disagrees with them." Needless to say, that abruptly ended the conversation. I have noticed this to be the case with modern Christians, particularly with portions of the Bible that they dislike and don’t agree with or they don’t want to abide by it. So, they want to reinterpret Scripture to make it say something it doesn't say because it accommodates their sin. And frankly, I grow very weary from dealing with people who are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel. Allow me to be very clear, the Bible isn't out of date or irrelevant. God's Word says exactly what God, through the Holy Spirit intended it to say, it doesn't need to be reinterpreted to fit your sin. Regardless of what society thinks, God's Word is unchanging because God Himself is unchanging! Hebrews 13:8-9, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited."
If God's Word confronts your sin, it's because your sin is creating a barrier between you from God, and He's wants to remove it. And, in John 15:5, Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing." Worrying is a sin, that's why Jesus commands us not to worry.
Let's move on to verse 28, "But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You of little faith!" This closely parallels Jesus' teaching on worry, trust, and uses the same beautiful imagery of the birds of the air and lilies of the field to describe God's divine provision in His most famous and remarkable discourse, the Sermon on the Mount, which includes the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, and the Golden Rule, found in Matthew chapters 5 through 7. Here, He uses the beautiful yet fleeting imagery of grass, or "chortos" in the Greek, which occurs fifteen times in the New Testament, both literally and figuratively, to denote the green vegetation that springs up quickly, as well as the brevity of human glory, the certainty of divine care, and the solemnity of final judgment. "How much more will He clothe you?" This is piercing question for ab anxious soul, using a Jewish qal va-homer argument of the lesser to the greater: If God graciously lavishes His provision on temporary, non-human creation, how much more will He provide for His own people, created in His image? Jesus words are poetic, but like a loving parent, He quickly pivots to chiding personalized words filled with fire, "You of little faith!" A phrase Jesus frequently uses elsewhere in Scripture to diagnose the root of worry, the smallness of our faith. This is not a harsh rebuke or condemnation, but a loving invitation to grow. He’s directing this to His disciples and those who are true believers. In essence, He's saying "I've take care of you up to this point, what about Me do you not trust now? Grow in your faith!" In a world compels us to define ourselves by our possessions, prosperity, and power, Jesus calls us to a life defined by faith, trust, and worship. If you're struggling to trust God with your problems, the underlying issue is not God’s unfailing provision, it's a much deeper problem. You're failing of understand God's character and paternity. Don’t you understand that God is your heavenly Father? By the way, it's a huge misconception that faith in God will make all your troubles disappear. There are many faithful Christians who still face illness, struggle with financial hardship, and deep emotional pain, even while completely trusting God. Believe me, I know first hand. But, with every struggle God's provision, priority and paternity not only proved the validity of my faith, but strengthened it all the more. That's why James 1:2-8 says to "Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance. And let perseverance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
Verse 29, "And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying." Now we come to the heart of this passage, the daily worries that so often consume the human heart—what to eat, what to wear, what to drink, in other words how to survive. Jesus isn't dismissing our daily needs, He's saying "Stop making survival your idol!" The word seek is the Greek verb "zēteite" which implies a frantic, ongoing on an exhaustive hunt, like chasing after something elusive. Your life was created for more than just physical needs! Instead, replace fear and worry with faith and trust, and do not keep worrying about it every day. For the record, He is not saying don’t work to earn a living to feed yourself and your family, just "Let go, and let God." He's simply saying don't make that the pursuit of your life, trusting that if after doing everything you can, if you fail to provide, God knows you needs these things and He will find a way to provide them. Let go of your anxiety over your daily provision and trust God, pursue God’s purposes.
That brings us to verses 30-31, "For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek, but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you." I love that Jesus' words are rooted in His awareness of our human physical needs, yet He is commanding His followers not to be preoccupied with their physical needs; food, shelter and clothing, et cetera. Notice He uses the Greek verb "epizēteō" by adding the preposition epi to the verb zēteō, He's compounds the intensity of their seeking, their eagerly, desperately seeking, frantically pursuing to fulfill their needs, you see? He's reminding us that unbelievers have no promises of provision, so their hearts are literally consumed with seeking to meet their needs. So, they're always and forever striving for more, you see? And sadly, no matter how much acquire, its never enough to satisfy their perceived need.
"But your Father," I love that. Notice He's making it personal and intimate, in contrast to the godless pagans, "But your Father knows that you need these things," you can shift your priorities on His kingdom, trusting these things will be provided to you. We could say it this way, since your Father cares for you, since you have the promise of His provision, since you don't need to worry about food, shelter and clothing, you're free to shift your priorities, seeking His kingdom above all else, trusting these things will be provided to you. What loving parent doesn't provide the needs of their children? How much more will you Father, make provision for your needs. Here, He uses the Greek verb "zēteō," for the word seek, it's in the imperative, present tense, meaning to keep seeking His kingdom, in an ongoing, diligent pursuit, it's not merely a one-time effort. It's the same verb He used back in Matthew 7:7, where He encourages believers to continually keep asking, and it will be given to you, continually seek, as if you're trying to get to the bottom of a matter and you shall find.
So stop worrying, reorder your priorities, and trust your loving heavenly Father! What a beautiful and precious promise we have, for those of us who belong to Christ!
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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