Free To Fly: Look Up, Let Go, and Seek First (Matthew 6:25-34)

Well, if you brought your Bible, that's where we're going to go right now. I believe this is a weapon that the world needs more than ever right now. This is the the lamp for our feet, the light for our path. So, if you got a Bible, get it out right now. You can hold in the air like you care. This is our weapon. This is what we used to fight off the enemy. This is what we use for life. This is our sustenance. Taste and see today that the Lord is good. Even if you didn't bring your Bible, God's going to give you a word from this book. So, receive this today. I want all of us on the count of three to shout word. Everyone's going to shout word on the count of three. Here we go. 1 2 3. Word. We're getting into God's word. So God's word gets into us. And today I want to jump right into God's word. We find ourselves in Matthew chapter 6. Matthew 6. If you want to turn there, Matthew 6. We're going to start in verse 25. I have to

dive right in so we can get to the application for us today. Matthew chapter 6, starting with verse 25. We're going to read to the very end of the chapter. Jesus is the one speaking. I know you just sat down, so I'm going to just ask we do some aerobics for the reverence of God's word. If you're able, would you stand for God's word? I'll read you the word and then you'll understand the application for our lives. Therefore, Jesus says, therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. 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? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spend. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is alive, and tomorrow thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, oh you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows what you that you need them all. But seek first

the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. Amen. The context here in Matthew chapter 6 is Jesus is right in the middle of a sermon. He's sitting down on the mountain side surrounded by the crowds. This has famously been known as the sermon on the mount. And he's right in the middle of the sermon at a pivotal point when he's teaching about his kingdom. That he is the king and he has a way to this life that we can live. That's called the kingdom. Jesus is the king. He has a way that you can experience his ways. That's the kingdom.

There's only two kingdoms. The kingdom of this world and the kingdom of heaven. And as he's teaching us about the kingdom of heaven, he teaches us a principle that worry in this life will not help you. Anxiety is not the antidote from God that you would have a better life. But the kingdom life is one without worry. It's without anxiety. And Jesus is going to teach us something so simple most people miss it. But if you would open up the eyes of your heart and have a revelation of the way that God sees you and who God is, it can absolutely revolutionize everything in your life. I mean, no exaggeration about this. Jesus tells us that we ought to look to a creature to to learn from. And Jesus did not say, "Look at the lions or tigers or bears." Oh my.

But instead, he said, "Look to the birds." He said, 'Look to the birds. We live in such a beautiful place, Bend, Oregon. Anybody grateful to live here? I love the utopia that we get to live in. And the devil's a liar. He wants you to be so stressed out. You don't even get to enjoy the beauty and the bounty of God's creation here. But it's all over the place. We live on some land. We've got two little acres. And we call it our Disney place because there's bunnies and deer and birds. And every day we wake up, it's like, what are we in a Disney movie or something? This is just wild, this wonderful place we get to live in. There's so many birds that make their home on our property. I mean, we we've got osprey. I've even seen bald eagles and uh we even have an owl that visits us from time to time. And uh he he comes and perches and we get to

hear him. It's it's it's awesome. This past summer, we saw more birds nest on our property than ever before. They made nests in trees. They made nests in bushes. And there was one particular nest that was right by the door of our garage. So every time I went into the garage to get into my car, there was a mother bird who would fly away and it caused me to look into this nest. And as I I looked into this nest, I saw one day these beautiful blue little eggs. Let me just show you a picture cuz I had to take a picture of it. I I looked at this this nest and had these blue little eggs and I thought to myself, did someone leave me some chocolate? You know, I was like, "Those look like some yummy chocolate." Like, I could just pop that in my mouth and it was going to taste good. Don't worry, I didn't do it. Uh, instead, I just took pictures and I was like, "This is awesome." Here I am at my

house and I've got this little nest with these little eggs. And so, every day, I continued to look into this nest and and I realized that that that God was doing something at my own home. So, I look later and these little eggs started to actually hatch. There are birds inside those little eggs and they started to hatch. Check that out. These little eggs started to hatch and every single one of those little eggs turned into little chick or hatchling. They they turned into these cute little Well, they're not really cute actually. Uh they turned into these ugly little things. And it was wonderful. And I watched this day after day, week after week. And as I I looked in there, there was no one caring for them. I wasn't No, there was a Don't say ah. There was a mama bird. I'm sorry. I I'm what I meant by that. It was it wasn't the government. Uh nor was it me.

It was a mama bird. And every day as I looked in there, they they would open up their mouths and they would look at me and they started to grow and they would they would look me in the eyes. I'm I'm not even kidding. They would have these beady little eyes. They would look at me with their mouths wide open. There were times that I thought they might think that I was the mom, but but I didn't have anything to feed them, nor did I want to feed them in the way that which they wanted to be fed. And I watched them literally days and weeks. And then weeks turned into months. And eventually these little ugly creatures that had no feathers eventually grew these feathers because they didn't have the feathers to fly. And as they grew, I I started to watch these little birds start to form into to the way that God created them to be. And their their feathers started to grow. And then they started to grow even bigger because their mama was feeding them. I mean, the these kids knew how to eat this mama out of house and home.

Look how big they actually started to get. This little teeny nest started to have these four uh birds that were like teenagers. They were taking over the nest. And one by one, week after week, as I started to watch, there was one less bird each week to eventually there there was not just a whole bunch of birds in there. Eventually, I think it was just one left. This guy uh well, actually, that's Can you see that one guy left in there? This guy was terrified to leave his home. He was 25. He still played video games. his mama was like, "It it's time to fly the nest." And eventually he flew the nest and and I looked in there one day and there was no birds. No birds at all. I looked in this nest and uh one day there was no

birds. And from that day forward, there were no more birds in that nest. They never came back. From that day forward, they went to wherever birds go after they leave the nest. I don't even know where they go. But Jesus says that we ought to look to the birds to learn. And today I want to teach you a principle. The title of the sermon today is free to fly. Free to fly. You, my friend, are free to fly. Say it with me. Free to fly. What I mean by that is God has destined you not to be stuck, not to stay back, not to be in the same place where you are right now. God wants you to soar. He wants you to see things that you've never seen before. He wants you to experience things you've never experienced before.

I know this is true for every one of us. Even when we're in a place where we're hurting, even in a place where we might feel weak. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 12, "When you're weak, he's strong." The prophet Isaiah says this in chapter 40 29. He God, he gives power to the faint and to him who has no might. He increases strength. So today, if you walked in here and you just feel empty, if you feel drained, if emotionally, spiritually, relationally, financially, wherever you are today, I need you to know God will meet you in that place. even youths. Verse 30, we we have the most anxious generation that's ever being raised in all of history right now. And even youth shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted.

But verse 31 says, "But this is the place in scripture why you should get into God's word that you might be weak right now, but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint." You see, when you get into God's word, there's a clear theme that God does not want you to think small of him. You do not believe in a God that barely gets you by in life. You do not believe in a God of scarcity, a God of poverty, a God that just wants you to suffer. You've

got a God of abundance. You got a God of great strength. You've got a God that's eternal in mind. You've got a God that when you wait in him at just the right time, you will go to places you didn't know you can go. You might be weak right now, but God's not going to keep you in that place. I'm so grateful that God didn't say, "If you would just trust in me, you're going to be like a chicken that stays on the ground, and you're going to scavenge for whatever's left on the ground, and you're just going to be stuck there. And maybe you'll fly five or 10 feet off the ground, but that's the greatest you're going to That's not what God's word says. God says you're going to be more like an eagle. And I need you to know that it's not going to take a lot. I need you to know that it's not you and your strength that's going to get you there. He's going to mount you up on wings like eagle. He's going to take you there and you're going to be free to fly. But the

one thing that will stop you from experiencing God's strength is anxiety. And we live in a very anxious nation. And Jesus, he proposes the question in Matthew 6:27. Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Dr. Phil would later coin the phrase, how's that working for you? In the New International Version, it puts it this way. Instead of anxious, it says worry. Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? We now know since the time Jesus proposed this question that worry does not add to your life. It actually takes off your life physiologically. It can cause diseases.

It can cause all kinds of bodily problems. Worry actually will create great strain on relationships. Marriages that start off great because of worry and anxiety end in divorce. parents that are excited to to have a child that starts so well until you see how much they cost and anxiety and worry comes and all of a sudden this great joy from one person causes you to be an entirely different person and Jesus when he says do not be anxious we want to hear him correctly Jesus isn't just saying come on get over it suck it up buttercup who do you think you are He He doesn't just leave you in

your hurt. In fact, the story of Jesus is Almighty God stepped into our story. And we see over and over, and we've witnessed this over the last few weeks, that psalm, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted. That Jesus is near you when you're hurting. We see it with Mary and Martha when their brother is buried at the the graveside. Jesus stepped into their grieving. So when Jesus tells us not to be anxious, he's actually showing us the ways of his kingdom. He doesn't leave us in our hurt. He actually joins us on the journey of healing, restoration. He wants you to experience who he is, redemption. I've got three applicational points today that I actually want you not only to memorize, I want us as a church to put them into practice. Because if we put

them into practice, this city will be forever changed. Because those who are anxious will look to you and say, "How in the world are you able to to live the life that you live?" When they see you soaring, mounted up on wings like eagles, they'll look to you. And you can give them these three points. Simply three things. Number one is look up, let go, and seek first. Look up, let go, and seek first. Look up, let go, and seek first. Would you say it with me? Look up. Let go. And seek first. We're going to see that in today's text. Let's start with look up. Everyone shout look up. Look up. The first thing Jesus says in Matthew 6:26 is he says look. He doesn't say look at the ground. He says look at the birds of the air. Look

up. Look at the birds. This word look is not just a quick glance. Did you see that bird? This is more like the hobby of birding of bird watching. This is I I want you to glance at this. I want you to look at this. I want you to consider this. The Greek word here is emblepo. It means to look with the mind. I want you to think about birds for just a moment. As Jesus was sitting on this mountain side. You can imagine that there were birds all around him. In Luke 12, Luke notes the same story, but he calls them ravens. Look at the ravens of the air. They neither work. They they don't have barns. They're they're not looking for the right property with a shop on it so they could put all their tools. They're they're just going from one place to another. And now I need you to really consider the birds for a moment.

Jesus says you can learn a lot from the birds. Because if you really think about birds for just a moment, they're not lazy. Birds do work hard, but they don't seem stressed out. They build nests. They get food. But there's never been a known case of a bird having to take Prozac or Valium or pop some pill to to feel better to get through the day. You don't see birds creating counseling appointments with the owl. It's got to be an owl because they're wise. Proposing one question. Who who caused all these problems in your life? Who's to blame for all these things?

Who who told you to be anxious? But they don't get counseling. They just seem to wake up every day and they still sing their songs. Have you ever had a bad day and you just told the birds, "Shut up." You know, like, "What are you singing about?" And Jesus says in verse 26, your heavenly father feeds them. The one that created the birds, he's more than just creator. He's your father. And your father, the creator, feeds the birds, not because they earned it, not because they deserve it, but because the creator takes care of his creation. So your father feeds the birds. And Jesus, he wants you to see who God is. He's the creator. He's the provider. And then he brings it to you.

Are you tell your neighbor you come on? You are you not of more value than they? So every time you see a bird, it ought to cause you to reflect on who God is and who's you are. Aren't you of more value than the birds? Amen. Jesus is teaching us a principle about creation that yes, God created the heavens and the earth, but birds are not created in the image of God. There's only one creature on the entire planet, and that is you. You are made in God's image. You are not a mistake. You're not a product of of your parents one night stand. You're you're not even a product of your parents' plan. Let me just tell you, every human being, even the human not yet born, was God's idea.

And it doesn't matter what age you are. It doesn't matter what season of life you're in. I've even got good news about how great God's grace is. You may have messed up your whole life. And that doesn't stop God from from loving you, of seeing great value in you. He doesn't look at your messed up life, whether it was something somebody did to you or the things that you've done, and says, "Well, that one's just a little less valuable." God actually looks at you and loves you so much and sees great value in you. You're valuable to God because you're his. He made you. He loves you. Now, let's just be really clear. Jesus is not saying in this world we won't have trials or tribulations or even trouble. In the book of John 16:33, Jesus said, "I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace." Don't try to find peace in the wrong

place. It's not another person. It's not things. It's not the government. He says, "I said these things so that you read my word and you see Jesus is the prince of peace." And in the prince of peace, you get shalom. Shalom, God's perfect peace. But in the world, Jesus said, "You will have tribulation." Did you see that? You will have tribulation. Jesus didn't say life with me is the absence of tribulation. But until you're in glory, you will have tribulation, but take heart. Jesus says, "I have overcome the world." I have overcome the world. I mentioned the birds on our property because we have so many birds. It's not uncommon for you to be going about your business and one day just hear a and I've become familiar with that sound. It's a bird that's flying freely who thought that it was a great day

until they realized that what was in front of them was actually not the horizon of the sky. It wasn't just freedom. It was a reflection on the window. Uh, it's not uncommon that birds hit the window thinking they're going to fly freely that day until something comes in their way. I wonder how many of us are like that bird some days. It just seems like it's going to be a good day until it's not. Even just this week, I saw a feather on the on the window in my kitchen, and I can see literally the imprint of the bird's wings and the head and the beak. And I looked out there to see if that little guy was still out there, and he must have gotten up and flown away, unless someone else took him away. [laughter] I know not what the end of that story was, but I do know this. Someone hit the window that day. And I I just look at that as a principle of look to the birds

and just understand God will provide for them but some days we will have some tribulation. Come on somebody look up. Look up. Look up. Look at the birds. I want you to make sure that you understand the context of what Jesus is teaching us about not being anxious. It's so important to read the Bible in context all the time. And the best way to understand the context of the Bible is with the Bible. You use scripture to teach you about scripture. And here here's what that looks like. Here's how you read the Bible. When you hear a verse, you can never just read that one verse. So when people try to refute the Bible, when they try to prove that the Bible's wrong, when they try to say some outlandish claim about the Bible, you never just take one verse. You've always got to take the pretext. So what are the verses before that and the postext?

What's after that? And that helps you understand the context. So when Jesus here is speaking about birds, if we look at the pretext, Jesus is actually talking about money. And he's not actually just talking about money. He's talking about worship. But one thing Jesus constantly connects is worship and money. And he talks about money often because money is one thing that will stop you from fully surrendering your life to God. And so Jesus, he doesn't hide this. He doesn't skirt around this. He's not worrying about offending you. He tells you the truth because he knows that if you care about money more than God, you will miss the fullness of God. You'll miss the kingdom of God. And so he says in Matthew 6:24, "No one, not a single person in this world can serve two masters. There's only one God you can

worship, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he'll be devoted to the one and despise the other." And Jesus cuts to the chase and says, "You cannot serve God and money." Amen. Now, we want to be really clear here as Jesus teaches often about money. He's not saying money is bad. He never says that. He never says being rich is bad. What Jesus is simply saying is if you think about money more than you think about God, that's bad. If you really believe that money will provide for you what God alone can provide for you, that's bad. Because in the Bible, we learn that this life is so short, it's so fragile, you're just a steward of what God's given you. That's it. You'll never take anything with you when you get to heaven. You could be a billionaire and when you die, you have to leave it all to the next generation.

And the Bible says the reality is nothing is actually ours. It's all God's. Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world, even you and those who dwell therein." So when I consider this life, I'm a steward of what God's given me, what I have or even what I don't have. So when we are anxious, we're often worried about what hasn't happened yet. How am I going to pay the bills? How am I going to get through tomorrow? How am I going to cope with this relationship? How am I going to get through this health pro? anxiety and worry is is is actually concluding that something has happened that hasn't happened yet. So what do you do? You bring it before God. Prayer is always the solution. It sounds cliche in church, but the Bible even says as it sells that you ought to pray without

ceasing. You should be a person of prayer. That if there's a problem in your life, it's not God. It's we have to go to God. So we have to pray. We have to pray. You say, "Pastor, I don't even know how to pray. What do I pray?" pray. Well, I've been telling you the significance of this book. Pray the Bible. If you get into this book, the more you understand these promises are true and they teach us to pray. Psalm 56:3, it's a language of prayer. It says this, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." That's a great prayer. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. When I don't know how to parent, I go to you, God. When I'm not sure what's happening in my marriage, I go to you, God. When I'm not sure how to pay my bills, I go to you, God. When I'm uncertain of what's going to happen in our government, I go to you, God. When I have any fear, any doubt, any anxiety, any worry, I trust in God.

It begins with faith. And when we bring it back to Jesus, he makes it personal. Your father cares for you. I don't know what kind of earthly father you have, but Jesus is trying to point you to a divine heavenly father. So if your father was absent, Jesus is trying to restore that which is wrong in your brain about fathers and saying your heavenly father is nothing like your earthly father. If if your earthly father didn't provide for you, was absent, didn't give you what you thought you needed emotionally, physically, or whatever that is, your heavenly father is perfect and sees you and knows you. And so Jesus uses this principle. He says, "Just look, look up.

Look up." Matthew 6:25, "Therefore, I tell you, who you worship is going to determine what you do with your life. Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life." So, the pretext, you cannot serve God and money. One will give you anxiety and the other won't. Do not be anxious about your life. America is a very anxious place. Are you in agreement with that? Have you ever gone to your closet which is full of clothes? You've opened it up and you've looked at all your clothes and said, "I have nothing to wear." Come on, don't leave me hanging here.

Have you ever gone to your refrigerator or your pantry and you've opened it up and there's all kinds of food and you think, "Oh, there's nothing to eat." And what you're really saying is there's there's something in there that I could eat, but it's not what I want to eat. I feel like pizza or ice cream. I could use a double smash burger with bacon, but I don't feel like an apple right now or making my own food. You see, we're such an anxious people that we can't even be content with what we have. We're worried about what other people are going to think of us. We're worried that we've actually worn this outfit before. We're we're worried about this food won't actually feel good when I eat it. That's how anxious we are as a people. Do you see how valid God's word is even for today? That Jesus is teaching you a principle. Could you just look at the birds?

Because your your father takes care of them. Then verse 32, we're reminded your heavenly father knows that you need them all. God knows what you need. He's not going to guilt you, shame you, condemn you for being you, but he does want to set you free from anxiety. So what does Jesus teach us? Number one, look up. Everyone shout, "Look up." Look up. Look up. Next, he teaches us to let go. Let go. Let Let me go to Come on, say it again. Let go. Let go. Let go. Let go. Let go. When you learn this principle, it will change everything. Peter learned this the hard way. You ever learned about the life of Peter? He tried to do things on his own until eventually he said, "Oh, guys, how about you cast all your anxiety on him? Because he cares for you." These are the words of Peter because he learned this the hard way. He says in 1 Peter 5:7, "Casting all your anxieties on him." Why? Because he cares

for you. So when you look up and you see that God takes care of the birds and if God values me, my response then is to let go of my anxiety. Why do I let go of my anxiety? Not because I'm so special, but because I'm special in his eyes. He cares for me. In context here, Peter wants you to know who God is. If we go to the previous verse, pretext verse six, humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God. so that at the proper time he may exalt you. Here's the context now. Casting all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. So the way you see God will be a direct relationship to what you give God. If you don't think God is a mighty God that

can handle your anxiety, you won't give God your anxiety. If you don't think God cares for you, you won't give him your anxiety. But the moment you see that he cares for you, you cast it all on him. He's a big God. He can handle your burdens better than you can. He's a better God than you are. He knows more than you do. He can provide for you better than you can. He is a great God. So what you ought to do is let go. Jesus gives the greatest invitation of this in Matthew 11. He says, "Come to me. Come to me. Don't come to chat GPT. Don't come to your own conclusions. Don't come to some other person to meet your need. He says, "Come to me all." Somebody shout, "All." All who labor and heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you. This is this is the the the tool the animals would use to get greater work done together and learn from me, Jesus. Let's let's see what you would get when you learn from me. For I am gentle and lowly in heart. And you will here's the promise. You will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. My burden is light. Now, there's a great myth when you follow Jesus that life will be easy and there are no burdens. That happens when we're in glory. Revelation 21 and 22 says one day God will make all things new. There will never be a need for tears any longer. There'll be no sin. There'll be no sorrow. Everything will be made right. Anybody looking forward to that?

Me, too. But until you're there, Jesus says, you still will have some burden, but he says his burden is light. It's not that heavy. You're going to get through this. You got a burden, but it is what? Light. You've got to be careful, though, because in this world, you're surrounded by people. And one thing I've learned about people, wherever there are people, there are problems. You think you have problems, the people around you have even more problems. And if you're not careful, you'll take people's problems. If you're not careful, you're you're going to take on their burden. You're going to come across a woman who's going through some stuff. If there's a woman over here that's got some burdens, she she might bring it

before you. And she she might come to you and say, "Hey, I I've got some issues. Could you take my burdens? I see that burden. Let I've got such a problem that I've got to go to court and I've got a custody battle and I'm worried about my kids. I'm worried about my future. I'm worried about my past. And so, pastor or in your case, whoever you are, could you take that burden? Yes, I'll go to court that day. I'll make sure to make that a priority. Then somebody else comes to you and they say, "My my my car is broken down." And and and I've got a burden. and he he comes to you and he comes and says, "I don't know how I'm going to get to work. I don't know how I'm going to pay the bills." So, you you take on his burden, say, "We better get that guy a new car.

We got to figure this out." Then someone else comes to you and he he says he's got a burden because his past was so messed up and broken. And he comes to you and says, "My parents were not good parents and I don't even know if I believe in God. And I'm not even sure who I am. And next thing you know, there's no way for you to be free to fly because you've taken on other people's burdens." Did you know what Jesus said? My burden is what? You're not Jesus. He says, "Learn from me." So maybe it's time to start taking off other people's burdens and recognize you're not God.

I want to be really clear what the scriptures say. You should love one another. You should serve one another. You should pray for one another. It even says you should bear one another's burdens, but it doesn't say go ahead and take on somebody else's backpack where they don't have to carry it anymore, but you're going to carry it for them because if you're not careful, you're going to need a really good chiropractor. I've learned this the hard way. Your body is keeping score. And if you take on someone else's burden, and that that the symbol of the backpack is you're taking on their burden. And by the way, usually when you take on their burden, they're now set free and you're not. And I'll tell you where this can happen, just so you can be really clear to look out for the extra backpacks. It can happen everywhere.

Your work, your school, your home, and even at church. It can happen with your co-workers, your family. If you're not careful, you'll start taking on other people's backpacks. So, I want to just say today, when you look up, we're going to learn from the birds today. They don't go into debt for those nests. They don't use their debit card to get their food. And by the way, I'm not saying those things necessarily are are bad. But what I am saying is you don't need to take on someone else's burden. You don't see some birds coming up to another bird like, "You need to build my nest for me. I grew up in a dysfunctional home. I can't do this on my own. God's provided you the wood. It's time for you to take that burden. It's God's going to get you through it.

And it's going to be light when you learn from Jesus. Number one, look up. Number two, let go. And when you do, the Bible promises Isaiah 26:3, you keep him, God. You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. So, the greatest thing you could do for others is to point them to Jesus. Look to him. I I can't fix it, but he can. I've been here before. If he did it for me, he could do it for you. Therefore, Matthew 6:34, "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow be anxious for for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

It's as if Jesus is saying, "Do not hold on to things that you can't hold on to. Let go of tomorrow." Corrie ten Boom, the most courageous, bold woman during World War II who hid Jews from the Nazis, she said, "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. Instead, it empties today of its strength." So, so let's not try to figure out tomorrow's problem. Let's just start with today. worry starts getting ahead of ourselves where now we're wearing backpacks for tomorrow that we don't even need to carry. So, number one, look up. Number two, let go. And the final one will be super simple, but most of us don't do this daily. It will change everything if we do. Seek first. Look up. Let go. And seek first. Jesus says in Matthew 6:33,

"Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall all all these things will be added to you. Some of you may not know this, but we start Pursuit Night at 6:33 on Thursdays. For Kingdom Con coming up Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, we will start at 6:33. And it's not because we're always late to journey. It's because of this principle. Matthew 6:33. We want to spiritually seek first the kingdom. Why do we pray? Why do we worship? We seek first the kingdom. We want the right way, righteousness. And that's where everything in this world gets aligned. And Jesus teaches us that when something's off, it's not God. We need to seek first the kingdom. And these things refer to absolutely everything because you need to know this today. God cares for you. It doesn't

matter what age you are. You are never too late for God to do something great in your life. And you are never too young to be fully surrendered to trust God with absolutely everything. When Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:33 to seek first, it's the principle that changes everything. If you look up, look at the birds, and you let go of your anxieties, you will experience the kingdom of God. And this is what will change our community. When we put into practice the kingdom, when the world sees that we don't just live like the world, we don't just worry. We don't just live in fear. We don't just live in our anxiety. We look up, let go, and seek first. Let me say it again. We look up. We let go. And we seek first. Let me just summarize the three applications today. We look up because you matter to the father. You matter. You are loved.

You let go because you can place whatever you're going through in the weight of the father's hands. He's God. And you seek first. You can follow him today. Not another day or a better day. The kingdom is yours today. Jesus taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." I want you to put yourself in a posture to receive this today. And part of that is going to be letting go. So, could you take both of your palms and just open them up to the Lord and put them in your lap right now, just like this. And then I want you to close your eyes. I'm just going to ask you in the depth of your heart right now if something comes to your mind you've been carrying. [music] Maybe it's in a strange relationship with your child. Maybe it's a broken marriage. Maybe it's the guilt of a divorce. Maybe it's an addiction that you just can't [music] be set free from.

Maybe it's a financial burden that's ahead of you that you're uncertain how it's going to be provided for. Maybe it's a health problem you've been chronically dealing with. I'm just going to ask right [music] now. I'm going to have 10 seconds of silence. And I want you to release that to the Lord right now. I want you to let go of it right now. And I want it to be by [music] name, but I want this is between you and God. You don't even need to say anything out loud, but you do need to give it to God. Your your hand posture is metaphoric right now of what's taking [music] place in your soul. You're releasing a burden. You're releasing anxiety. You're letting it go right now.

Today I declare in the name of Jesus Christ [music] of Nazareth who came in the flesh, we have a God that paid it all on the cross. Jesus [music] declared with his own words, "It is finished." He's not asking [music] you to figure it out. He's asking you to put your faith in him today. He's asking you to learn from the very creation that he created so that [music] you would no longer keep living the same way. You are valued. You are loved more than you could [music] ever imagine. And if your father in heaven values you, just imagine the purpose and plan he has for your life to release that [music] anxiety so that you would be a multiplying [music] miracle work of God and share with others. You don't have to keep living this way.

We have a God that loves us and is for us. And as [music] we let go of these things today, God, we come before you right now and we look forward because we have hope in you. Our hope is not that we have it figured out, but we have a God that does. We trust in you. We expect [music] that many will be healed. We expect that many will be delivered. We expect that many will be saved, Lord. And we thank you for being a God [music] that takes care of us. We thank you for taking our burdens. And we want to learn from you, Jesus. [snorts] You delivered people from demons. You healed the sick. And you [music] preached the gospel, the good news. Let us learn from you, Jesus. Let

us not make this so complicated. Let us learn from you, Jesus. This world [music] is more than eating or drinking. The kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Let us learn from you, Jesus. Let [music] us seek first the kingdom. Let us seek first the kingdom today. And then this last moment [music] of prayer, I I want to just with eyes still closed, whatever posture [music] you want with your hands right now, I want to say today, if you walked in here uncertain of your salvation, if [music] you walked in here uncertain, if you're a Christian, if you walked in here and you you don't know what tomorrow holds, but you want to trust in [music] Jesus, the Bible doesn't make it complicated. It says, "All who call on the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved." If you believe Jesus [music] died for your sins, that means you're forgiven of those sins.

On the third day, Jesus rose from the grave by the power of the Holy Spirit. And that same [music] power that rose Jesus is the same power you receive by believing in him. today. If you would like to be forgiven, if [music] you would like the free gift of eternal life, that's salvation in Jesus, and you want the power of God [music] himself, the Holy Spirit in your life, all it takes is believing in him. I'm going to count to [music] three. And if that's you, I want you to throw your hand up after I say three. If you want to trust in Jesus [music] for the first time, you came in here and you're seeking God and you heard clearly today that the Lord loves you. He wants to have a relationship with you. And [music] if that's you, from this day forward, you will be forgiven. You will be saved. You will have the hope of eternal life. Doesn't mean everything's going to get easier, but you got a God who's going to go through it with you

and give you everything you need. So, if you want to be saved, on the count of three, I just want you to raise your hand up high and we're going to give you a booklet of your next steps. [music] And with eyes closed, this is between you and the Lord. But you're going to be set free today. You're going to be forgiven today. You're going to be born again today. A new life, a child of God today. On the count [music] of three, you're going to raise your hands. 1 2 3. Raise your hand nice and high. Praise be to God. Yes. Praise be to God. It's not too [music] late. Raise your hand if you want to be saved. You want to be forgiven. Be unashamed of Jesus from [music] this day forward. Praise be to God. Praise God. Yes. Praise God. He sees you and he loves you. Keep your hand up until you get a booklet because this [music] is the best decision that you can ever make. I want you to know

that you're seen by God. You're loved by [music] God. If you haven't raised your hand right now and you you know that you want to be saved, you want to be a Christian. You want to follow Jesus, just raise your hand up. If you haven't raised it up yet, say yes, [music] that's me. Praise God. Yes. You were never too young to say yes to Jesus. God is looking for hearts surrendered [music] to him. Some of you have so much guilt from your past. God wants to set you free from your past and give you a hope of a future. If you're ready to [music] be released of your past and have hope, raise your hand. Say, "Yes, that's me. Praise be to God. Yes. Yes. I want to [music] pray a short prayer with you today. The Bible says, "Pray without ceasing." Which means pray all the time.

Everywhere you go, [music] pray. It just means talking to God, listening to God. You say, "Pastor, I don't know how to pray." Well, get in the Bible and just get real with God. That's it. God will answer every one of your prayers. [music] He's not a vending machine, but he's a God that can do anything. So I want you to pray with me. Lord Jesus, I trust in you. You died on the cross. You rose from the grave. Be my Lord. [music] Be my savior. Be my king. Your kingdom come. Your will be done in my life as it is in heaven. Teach me [music] to follow you and trust in you. Today I let go. in Jesus [music] name.

Lord, today as [music] we get ready to be released from here, I I pray that your word would not just be something we hear, but something we put into practice. God, may [music] people leave here mounted on wings like eagles. May they fry fly freely this week. [music] Let us be released of the burdens of this world. Let us let go of addictions. Let us let go of of that which is holding us back, sin that entangles [music] us. Let us let go of bitterness and unforgiveness. Let us let go of the things that hold us back from you. Let us be a kingdom people that put this into practice today. I [music] ask in the mighty name of Jesus. So be it. An amen and amen and amen.