11.23.2025. Sunday Sermon by Rev. Jeungbok Lee
Text: Matthew 6:25–30
Title: Let Us Not Become People Who Worry

Matthew 6:25–30
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will 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 gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Which of you by worrying can add a single cubit to your stature? And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory 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 into the furnace, will he not much more clothe you? You of little faith!”

1. Around 1998, when the IMF crisis had deeply affected Korea, and not long after my first child was born, I was suddenly asked to resign from my job. At that time, I needed a lot of money, but I had no savings. And Suwon, where I was living then, was neither my hometown nor the place where I had gone to college, so I had no one to ask for help. As time passed, my worries and anxiety grew greater. The words “Do not worry about what you will eat or drink or wear” brought me no comfort at all. Yet I decided that I would seek His kingdom and His righteousness. So I spent more time praying and reading the Word. I continued to send out résumés, but nothing worked. At first, my doubts and worries grew even more: “Am I truly a child of God, the Lord of all creation?” Even so, as I continued reading the Word, I was led to praise God, and my heart found peace. Still, moments of anxiety came and went.

 

About two months later, I received a phone call from someone whose name I had almost forgotten. This was a person who had worked for about a month at the academy where I had previously worked before moving elsewhere. My only real interaction with him was listening to him briefly when he left the academy and I gave him a final farewell. Through this person’s help, I was able to return to work under better conditions than before. I believed that it was God who had sent him and gave thanks. I realized that God was caring for me as His beloved child. Since then, whenever financial worries arise, I have commanded and exhorted myself: “Jung-Bok, you are God’s beloved son. Do not worry—seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.”

2. Through today’s passage, let us examine what problem the disciples had that Jesus told them, “Do not worry.”

 

2.1) The disciples worried because they believed they themselves had to take responsibility for everything needed in their lives.
Matthew 6:25 says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about what you will eat or drink or wear.” The disciples traveled with Jesus from place to place and had to find their daily food. Their concerns about what to eat or drink were, in fact, very realistic. In the early church, believers suffered great persecution. They often did not know when they would have to pack up and flee. For believers who wandered away from home, concerns about food, drink, and clothing were real and constant.

But their worries did not arise only because they lacked bread or water. The real reason was that they misunderstood and felt that they themselves had to take responsibility for every part of their lives. Of course, we must take responsibility for our own daily living. But Scripture does not say that we must bear everything ourselves. Jesus promised the disciples that if they sought first the will of their heavenly Father, all their needs would be provided.

Those without parents or siblings must indeed take responsibility for all their needs, because they have no one to turn to for help. But those who have parents or siblings can ask for help when needed. The saying “Even an ox needs a hill to rub against” expresses this well. No matter how strong an ox is, it needs a place to lean. God has given those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior the right to become children of God. We can therefore call the Lord of all creation our Father. Not only that—our heavenly Father is generous and delights to give His children good things. We can always ask Him for what we need: food, drink, clothing, and so on.

But sadly, some believers forget this truth. They act as if they had no Father. They try to take responsibility on their own for everything they need—what to eat, drink, and wear. And so they worry day after day.

2.2) Believers who rely on themselves more than on God cannot help but worry.
Those who focus on food, drink, and clothing and seek to obtain them through their own efforts become easy prey for Satan’s attacks. Believers living in 21st-century America may no longer worry about basic food, drink, and clothing. Instead, the desire for better clothes, better cars, and better houses makes them far more vulnerable to Satan’s temptations. Those with such desires become good targets for the enemy. Consequently, their lives become filled with worry.

The Greek word for “worry” carries the meaning of “having a divided mind.” It describes one who “has two eyes or two minds”—one eye on the kingdom of God and the other on the things of this world. Though they are God’s children, their minds are divided because they focus on worldly things. Those whose minds are divided become people who worry.

If anyone here feels weighed down by worry, it may mean that you are looking at God and at the world at the same time. I hope you will escape your worries by trusting your heavenly Father with a single, undivided heart.

1 Peter 5:7–8 says, “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be sober-minded and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
Remember that the devil roams like a roaring lion, seeking to devour God’s children who are consumed by worry.

2.3) Believers worry because they do not know how precious they are to God.
Matthew 6:26 says, “Look at the birds of the air…” God feeds even the tiny sparrows that neither sow nor gather. How much more precious are God’s children than these birds? Those who worry do not know their worth before God. When financial needs arise, their first response is worry. This is natural in difficult situations. Yet instead of praying and seeking God’s help, they immediately look to see what they themselves can do. They do not turn to their compassionate heavenly Father. They forget that they are God’s beloved children, far more valuable than the smallest sparrow. And they forget that God feeds even the birds of the air. The result is that they worry.

The first thing believers must do is not search for a job to earn more money. The first step is to think deeply about who they are before God. It is essential to have a firm assurance that we are God’s beloved children—infinitely more precious than the little birds. Then, with faith, we must go to the Father and ask for His help. Our heavenly Father will surely provide for His beloved children.

Here are words that strengthen such assurance:

Romans 8:32
“He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?”

Philippians 4:6–7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

2.4) Those who desire what is impossible for them will inevitably worry.
Matthew 6:27: “Which of you by worrying can add even one cubit to his height?” Many of our worries concern things we cannot change. As verse 27 says, no amount of worrying can make us grow a cubit (about 30 cm) taller. We must clearly discern the problems we face. We must examine whether we are worrying about things we cannot control. Those who pursue unnecessary or impossible things will become people who worry. As a result, they will lose the joy of faith and be revealed as people of little faith.

2.5) People worry because they do not realize how much God is caring for them.
Matthew 6:28–30: Jesus compares the lilies of the field and Solomon’s clothing to show why God’s beloved children should not worry about what they wear. The lilies are clothed with greater splendor than the garments made with all of Solomon’s wealth and human skill. Even the grass of the field—here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow—is clothed by God. How much more will God clothe His children! Those who do not grasp this truth are called “you of little faith.”

Here, “you of little faith” refers to those who, though they are God’s children, are not growing to maturity in resembling Christ. They are God’s people, yet because they seek to store up treasures on earth, their hearts remain attached to worldly things. Instead of trusting God, they rely on their own efforts for food, drink, and clothing. In difficult moments, they worry first instead of seeking God. Their faith does not grow. Though they may be elders or deacons, they are no different from those who have just begun attending church. They have listened to the Word for many years, yet their faith has not matured at all since the day they first believed. These are the ones Jesus calls “people of little faith.” Their defining characteristic is worry.

3. At the end, when Jesus calls His disciples “you of little faith,” it is not so much a rebuke as an expression of sorrow.
God so loved the world that He sent Jesus. Jesus also loved the world and came to offer Himself as the atoning sacrifice. Jesus chose His disciples and revealed God to them. He walked on water, calmed storms with His word, and fed the hungry with the miracle of the five loaves and two fish. He healed the sick and cast out demons. All these things were done so that the disciples might know who God is and understand the purpose of salvation.

 

What they truly needed was not to worry about food, drink, and clothing. They needed to trust the heavenly Father who adds all these things and to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. They were not to become people of little faith because of worry. Jesus desired them to become bold warriors in God’s redemptive work.

The same applies to us. Therefore, we must not become people of little faith who worry about what to eat, drink, or wear. Each day, we must rejoice in the grace that God is our Father. We must give thanks that God values us highly. So we must grow in faith without giving place to worry. At every moment, we must be those who seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness.

Therefore, let us not worry about what we will eat or drink or wear for our lives, but let us seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Let us pray. (End)