Confident Trust Drives Away Worry :: Matthew 6:24-34
Therefore, do not worry into the morrow, for the morrow will worry for itself. Sufficient for the day is the difficulty itself (v 34).
For the past 10 weeks we have been seeing just how faithful our doctrine outlined in Luther’s Small Catechism really is ... particularly with respect to the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer, as well as the Sacraments of Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper, all in relation to our Gospel readings. We can never know our doctrine well enough. So we need to remind ourselves of it all the time.
CONFIDENT TRUST IN JESUS AND HIS GOSPEL DRIVES OUT WORRY FROM OUR HEARTS AND BECOMES THE SOURCE OF ENDLESS JOY.
This is our theme at the root of our Gospel reading.
I
Please now turn to Page 327 in your (Lutheran Service Book) and allow me to draw your attention to our faithful prayers. Like with the Lord’s Prayer, we should have confident trust that the prayers Luther gave us also will drive out worry from our hearts. We were reminded of the Morning Prayer last week. Today, let us turn to the Evening Prayer. The morning and evening prayers outline a pattern for our life that increases our confident trust in Jesus and his Gospel. They will help free you from worry, anxieties, and fear.
Page 327 ... Luther writes ...
“In the evening when you go to bed, make the sign of the holy cross and say: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
In other words, he is encouraging you to remember that in your baptism, the baptism God baptized you with, you died with Christ who took your burdens upon himself, and you were raised into the freedom of eternal life.
“Then kneeling or standing, repeat the Creed and the Prayer our Lord taught us. If you choose, you may also say this little prayer.”
Please say it with me ...
“I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
Then go to sleep at once and in good cheer.”
II.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, in the light of our Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Luther has given us an absolutely wonderful way to end our day, a wonderful way in which to set aside all our worries and anxieties about the future (v 34). The Lord knows our own sinful nature causes us to worry too much. He urges us to cast our worries upon the Lord. As Jesus taught us in his Sermon on the Mount, If God ... clothes the grass of the field ... how much more will he clothe you, O You of Little Faith? (v 30)
In the Old Testament, the children of Israel were often guilty of worrying ... just like we are. They worried about what they would eat and drink in the desert. They worried about their clothing and shoes that never wore out. They worried about their house and home, land, animals, children and all that they had.
And just like you, they could not by their own reason or strength believe that God actually cared about them or would come to them (SC II 3). They tried to convince themselves that he was real. But instead, they bowed to the god called mammon ... in their case, literally a golden calf. They did that because they were worried. They were worried about their next pay day. They were worried about themselves. They worried about their family. They made Mammon el numero uno in their life.
No one is able to serve two Lords, Jesus said, for either they will hate one and the other love, or they will be devoted to one and the other despise (v 24).
Many people today think that such idol worship is a thing of the past. We say things like ... well, you haven’t seen me bow to an actual idol, have you? But you need to know idolatry is even more prevalent today than it has ever been. Outside of me, myself, and I ... mammon is still the more prominent false god in the world today.
Mammon ... aka the god of money and riches and possession and reputation ... the god of worry ... has set up huge altars in our world. It rules over endless devotees. No one remains untouched by the allurements of mammon. Men and women in all walks of life serve this god, sacrificing anything and everything for health and joy and rest and convenience and friendships and family and honor and tradition. Mammon masks itself in all the trappings of our lives.
You are not able to serve God and mammon, Jesus said (v 24).
Mammon worship causes you to worry. Mammon worship will tell you that the Lord’s ways are foolish. Mammon worship will cause you to hoard. When clothing and food are one’s masters the inevitable slavery is to worry whether there will be enough. Mammon worship will then mock you for tithing. Mammon worship will cause your heart to envy those who are rich. Mammon worship will try and convince you that God does not love you. Mammon worship will use your own lack of resources as the proof of its lies. Your heavenly Father knows you need these things.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, hear the Word of the Lord again: Do not worry about tomorrow (v 34). Your heavenly Father has given us our bodies and souls, eyes, ears, and all our members, our reason and all our senses, and he still takes care of us. He gives us clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all that we have. He richly and daily provides all we need to support us. He defends ... He guards ... He protects.
And we want Mammon?
Our Old Testament reading illustrates that so well. The widow’s jar of flour was not spent, nor did the jug of oil become empty, according to the world of the Lord (1 Kgs 17:16).
III.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, have confident trust in our Lord ... and then repent in the name of Jesus. That is, mourn your sin and believe the Gospel: When you seek his kingdom and righteousness, all these things ... his kingdom and righteousness ... will be set before you (v 33). Faith ... which is confident trust in Jesus and his Gospel ... will set you free from Mammon and its worry because it apprehends all of the gifts of God. In that confident trust, you will discover that God provides the endless joy of life in his kingdom and his righteousness as he delivers to you the forgiveness of sins, as we share the forgiveness of sins, and as we celebrate the forgiveness of sins and the eternal life we have right now.
The kingdom of God has come to you in the person of Jesus, who in his Divine Service to you ... loved you in this way ... he took all of your burdens upon himself. The only thing you have ever HAD to worry about was your sin, and Jesus took that from you. Jesus, who was born without sin, and lived with sin, took your sin to the cross. He ensured that your sin was nailed with his body on a cross. He ensured that your sin was punished with him ... that your sin died with him. Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for you. Jesus shed his blood for you. Because of Jesus, there is no wrath of God left for you.
Then ... because he was indeed righteous ... on the third day God raised Jesus from the dead. He is now risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah! ... Death has no power over you. The resurrection awaits us all. Our eternal life has begun. You don't have to worry about tomorrow. You can have confident trust in Jesus today.
Therefore, Jesus says, do not worry, saying what might we eat, or what might we drink, or what might we wear (v 31). God has called and gathered you here. In his Divine Service, here, he enlightens you with his truth. He cleanses you here. God has brought you back to your baptism, where he dressed to the nines. I tell you that not even Solomon was dressed like this, Jesus says (v 29). He has given you his robes of righteousness to wear during the feast of forgiveness that has no end. ... Come, and enjoy the fruit of his salvation today ... while it is still day. This is where your Lord feeds you the bread of heaven. This is where Jesus gives you the cup of salvation. Your heavenly Father knows you need them. So seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be set before you (vv 32-33).
Because he has done this ... now you can receive God's grace today. Now you can pray every day, giving all your anxiety to him. Now you can grow in confidence through his Word and promise that he continues to come to you, to care for you, and to forgive you all of your sins.
Then we can embrace Paul’s exhortation from Philippians 4 to rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be made known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not worry, but in everything in prayer and petition 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 (Pp 4:4-8). Amen.