Seeking the Kingdom

Jesus says, “Don’t be anxious,” three times in this passage. Quick question that comes up: how does anybody have the audacity to command us to not be anxious? Nobody gets up in the morning and says, “I’m going to really be anxious today. I can’t wait.” It’s not a very voluntary thing.

So why would Jesus command us? If we look carefully, we’ll see that he’s not commanding us in a drill sergeant way. Instead, he gets underneath and he explains and he reasons with us. There’s a sense in which he does surgery. He’s saying, “If you let me do my surgery in you, if you listen to my instructions, I can get anxiety out of you. I can deal with your anxiety.”

Let’s look at what Jesus shows us about 1) what is anxiety? 2) where does it come from? and 3) what do we do about it?

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on June 3, 1990. Series: The Lord’s Prayer 1990. Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34.

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Tim Keller understands how we think

His explanation of our sins in light of scripture is deeper than most. Here, I learned how anxiety is related to my sinful desire to be in total control of things in my life that are simply not in my control. As usual, Tim brings the exposition back to God's amazing love and care for us. This understanding opens the door to my trusting God with even the things that make me anxious