From Worried to Generous

od is good, isn't he? He is good all the time. It's good to be able to sing and declare those truths together. Good morning to every campus here, grateful to be able to share God's word with you. My name is Edwin and we're gonna be in Matthew chapter six in just a few moments so you can find your places there. I'm gonna take a few extra minutes just to kind of introduce our topic to get going here this morning. But over the summer I became a dad of two children and yeah, we recently welcomed Ezra Scott Perez into our home. So I got a family photo, there he is. So four months old and yeah, Penelope's gonna be three. They're looking at the camera, the photographer, like who are we staring at right now? Like what is happening, right? But so grateful for them and really neat to be able to talk about that today. But it's hard to believe seeing how fast they grow up in certain ways. But upon being parents, I've heard many expressions of wisdom in many people share with my wife and I just their experience about being parents or just different quotes or ideas or statements along that line. And we've heard a number of them, some of which I'll just share here. The days are long, but the years are short. They grow up fast, be present, enjoy the season. All good and great things, no doubt. But we've also heard this one, which I'm sure many can relate to, and here it is, you'll never stop worrying about your kids. You know, it's a natural thing. As a parent, I've learned to worry about your kids, isn't it? And it starts right away too, by the way. It starts right away, especially with your first, from the time that they leave the hospital, you're wondering why are they crying? Like what is happening? And they just letting you leave the hospital. It's like, what do I do now with this human being that I'm responsible for, right? Why won't they sleep, if we leave them with a babysitter, is our kids gonna survive? Like, is that even possible, right? Or if mom leaves them with dad, is dad going to survive? Those are real questions, right? Let alone the children that I have to face sometimes. But since entering parenthood, I have realized that I have found more things to worry about than a list of things that I had before. It's easy to do, I'm sure many of you who are parents can relate to that. But for all of us, listen closely, worry and anxiety is something that we all deal with from time to time if we're being honest, we all deal with it. According to recent Gallup polls that were done in 2025, do you know what the top three worries of Americans being surveyed? Top three, number one, 60% were worried about the economy. Two, 59% worried about healthcare affordability and three 56% worried about inflation. In other words, the top concerns that involved people here that were surveyed all had to do with and centered around this idea of money, healthcare and the cost and affordability of the cost of living. So in starting this generosity series, you might be thinking, man, this is great and grateful to study this topic we're all in. But maybe you're going through real financial hardship even currently right now, and maybe you've experienced a job loss or a job change and maybe you are looking for work and trying to just make ends meet and trying to figure out or perhaps you have kids who need things and you're the sole provider for those kids. Or maybe you've had unexpected issues or things along that line and you have no idea how you're going to maybe pay for that treatment or those medical bills. You know, perhaps the desire to live a generous life is there within your heart, but the worries of daily life are overshadowing that a little bit. Maybe things that are going on, things we're wrestling with are just kind of overshadowing the idea of living a generous life in our world. Maybe we're stuck. Maybe I could say it this way. Maybe we're stuck in the worried life. Maybe we're stuck in the worried life and therefore not able to live out the generous life as God has called us to. But here's the good news, here's the good news for everyone, everywhere. We do not have to stay stuck in the worried life. We do not have to stay stuck in the worried life. There's a path forward, you see, with worry and anxiety. I realize, and I know that it can be a very complex topic to talk about. There's a lot to it, a lot more to explore with it than what I have time for and a lot more to explore with it than the scope of my message here this morning. But wherever we are on the continuum today from needing professional help, and by the way, no shame for that. No shame for that. So whether we're needing professional help or navigating just everyday worries and anxieties, Jesus invites us all to see that we can live, you and I, everyone under the sound of my voice, we can live a different kind of life in the kingdom of God, in his kingdom. Jesus invites us into that life, namely a generous one. So what I wanna do with all of that as the backdrop, I want us to turn to Matthew six beginning in verse 25. That'll be our main text for today. And I'm gonna read it aloud here for us as we turn our attention here to Jesus' words. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you'll eat or drink or about your body, what you'll 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 store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying at a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow, they do not labor or spin, yet I tell you, they not even Solomon in all of his splendor was dressed like one of these. That is how God clothed the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire. Will he not much more clothe you? You of little faith. So do not worry saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear, for the pagans run after all of these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them, but seek verse, his kingdom and his righteousness and all of these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Father, I pray that right now you would allow the words that I say as we talk about your words to penetrate deeply into the hearts of people. God, you know that I'm very much in process of what I'm talking about and I need this word just as much as every single hearer does today. So God, we rely on you, we depend on you, and we pray that by your spirit, that you would help us all look and reflect Jesus and heed to these words and apply them to our lives, to build our house upon the rock. God, I pray that you would do that in all of our hearts today, I ask in Jesus' name, amen. So what a powerful passage here as we look at Matthew six in verse 25 through 34, as we set our minds on this passage, it's powerful to rest our hearts, our minds, our souls in this as Jesus wants to lead us right from the worried life into the generous life. But as we look to this text, there's a word that we'll see beginning in verse 25 and what's that word that we see the very first word beginning in verse 25. It's therefore and as careful students of the scripture, right? We should all ask ourselves, what is it? Therefore, exactly, you guys are with me. Every campus is, I love it. So what has come before this that Jesus is connecting to, right? That's what we should ask. What has come before this that sets the context up for Jesus to say therefore, well, as we look at Matthew six, we must remember that we're in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus is teaching here. And what you'll notice throughout this sermon is that Jesus takes what they have heard in the Old Testament law and Jesus now raises the bar for what life in the kingdom is all about. In other words, he takes what they have heard, what they've grown accustomed to, what seems natural and ordinary at this point. And Jesus describes a better way, a way that is reflective of the heart and of the life of Jesus. For instance, it might be natural to hate your enemies, but in the kingdom that has come, we pray for them, we love them. You see time and time again, Jesus, the fulfillment of the law, he describes a new and better way. He takes what they were accustomed to. You've heard that it was said, but I tell you this and this way is a better way, is a new way is a life reflective of the inbreaking of the kingdom of God. And that's no different for our topic today as it is natural, right? It is no has to teach us how to worry. It's natural to do, it's natural to worry. But in the kingdom of God we can depend and we can trust upon him. So all of this is surrounding what Jesus is saying here in this text as we look at, therefore I tell you, right? All of that is leading up to that. But in Matthew six specifically, right? So the sermon on the Mount, Matthew five, six and seven, Matthew six specifically Jesus was just talking about not allowing pride to infiltrate prayer, fasting, giving some of the spiritual habits that we can give ourselves. Jesus is saying, don't allow pride to infiltrate those things, to not allow your righteousness to be seen by others. So you can just kind of get a pat on, you know, just a clap. Jesus is saying, avoid those things, right? Because we wanna seek God with our hearts and right in this context, Jesus then says right before verse 25, he talks about treasures in heaven. And I just want us to pay attention to that beginning in verse 19, here of Matthew six. Jesus says this, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on Earth. where moths and vermins destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy. And where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness? No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." So right before our text begins there in verse 25, right before this, Jesus instructs us not to worry about our lives. But what does he say right before verse 25? "No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and money." Therefore do not worry about your life, right? As Jesus then goes on say, so before we even talk about, before we even talk about moving from a life, moving from a life of worry to a life of generosity, we have to foundation, every single one of us on every campus, we have to foundationally ask this question, who are you serving? Who are you serving, who is your God? This is because if the God of money is ruling our lives, we will constantly be worried about the things of the world. If the God of money is ruling our lives, we will constantly be worried about the things of this world. This is because the God of money is a dead God and dead things cannot produce life in us. So take whatever it is, money or what have you. If we are serving anything or anyone outside of God, we will constantly be worried about the things and the cares of this world because Jesus just said here, you cannot serve both God and money. It's impossible to do. You'll either hate the one and love the other, or you'll be devoted to the one and despised to other. It's not both and, you see, this is the idea. We have to decide today, fundamentally, will we serve God? Is God the one that we're after? Are we committed to saying, God, we are serving you with our hearts, with our lives, with everything that we have because we realize you say Jesus. Jesus, these are your words. And you say that you cannot, we cannot serve both God and money. But if the answer to the question that we just asked saying yes, we will serve God, yes, we are committed. Yes we are to him, then I pray that we would find the beauty and the comfort, the encouragement that follows with words here that begin with therefore, because when we realize and when we are serving God, and if we say yes, God, we are serving you, here's what we'll find. Here's what we'll find, that there's really nothing to worry about. This is because your life is in his hands. We can go from worried to generous because Jesus is going to give us answers in our main text today, he's gonna give us answers to this question. Why not worry? Why not worry? Here's the first answer, because we are valuable to God, because we are valuable to God. Listen again, verse 25 through 27, Jesus saying, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life. What you will eat or 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 store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying, add a single hour to your life?" Now, as we read this passage of scripture, keep in mind the audience. Keep in mind who Jesus is talking to on this sermon on the mount, on this mountain side as as there's a crowd of people and disciples have come to him and people are listening to what it is that Jesus is saying. You see the audience here, there might be some in the audience that are wealthy, but the majority, the majority here are poor. It's an agricultural society, which means many are probably farmers, some may have their own land to work, others work on land that isn't their own. They hope likely those that Jesus is talking to, they hoped likely to gather enough food until the following from one harvest season to the next harvest season, trying to make ends meet. Not to mention the high taxation, they likely have to pay limited water, limited sanitation. It's not easy, it's not easy at all. The daily struggles are very real to these people. And they likely have worries along the lines like you and I do, providing, making enough money, setting up their kids well, the list goes on and on. And Jesus, even into that context, reminds his audience that life is more than food and the body is more than clothes. Are these things needed and should we help to provide these things for one another? Absolutely, yes, of course. However, what we must realize as well is that life is about way more than food and clothes. You see, this is a word for both those who are poor and those who are wealthy that Jesus is talking to. Again, remember majority poor, very few probably wealthy, for those who are poor, it's about not fixating and dwelling upon what you don't have. For the wealthy, it's about not fixating on what you do have and dwelling on trying to accumulate more and more and more. This is because life is about way more than food and clothes. You see, if we are governed, if we are governed by the temporary and the material, we will miss the eternal. If we're governed by the temporary and the material, we will miss the eternal. And that's not what Jesus wants for his hearers. And by extension, that's not what Jesus wants for us as well. However, the need for food and clothes is a real one and we don't wanna brush over that too quickly because Jesus doesn't. In fact, to illustrate this and to expound upon this, Jesus says to look at the birds in the air, to look at the birds, look at how they work, look at how they build nests, collect food, take care of their young, and they don't seem to be too worried about where their next meal is coming from. In fact, the birds, they operate in the created order in terms of how God has created them and God has provided for them. He provides for them. In fact, in Psalm 104, I want you to listen to this passage of scripture as it's a reminder of just how much God provides verse creation. Listen to it, beginning in verse 10. He makes springs pour water into the ravines. It flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the sky nest by the waters. They sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers. The land is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, plants for the people to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth. Wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine and bread that sustains their hearts. The trees of the Lord are well watered. The cedars of Lebanon that he planted there, the birds make their nest. The stork has its home. And the junipers, the high mountains belong to the wild goats. The crags are a refuge for the high racks. He makes the moon to mark the seasons and the sun knows when to go down. You bring darkness, it becomes night. And all the beast of the forest prowl the lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises and they steal away. They return and lie down in their dens. Then people go out to their work, to their labor until evening. How many are your works, Lord? In wisdom you made them all, the earth is full of your creatures. That's pretty powerful. You see, God provides for his creation. We just saw that in Psalm 104. And if that is so, if God provides for his creation, if that is so, how much more will he provide for human beings who are the crown of his creation? You see, God created the world and everything in it and said it was good. But when he made human beings, what did he say? It was very good, you're exactly right. And by pointing out the birds in Matthew six, Jesus then asked this question, are you not much more valuable than they? Are you not much more valuable than they beloved of God? Listen closely, you and I, valuable to God, you're valuable to God. He formed you, he made you, he knits you together in your mother's womb. And he will be faithful to provide for you 'cause you're valuable to him, valuable to him. But what we also must remember as we remember the birds, as we look at the birds and remember how God provides for his creation, the birds aren't lazy. So Jesus isn't advocating here for laziness because as it's been said, God provides for the birds, but he does not drop it in their beaks. See, that's good for us to remember, here's why. 'Cause work can be a blessing, work is a good thing, to be able to keep busy, to engage in the work that God has for us to do because his provision also may come from doing so. If we're able to work, we should. Joining God in what he's doing, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. So Jesus isn't advocating for laziness, but he's saying look at the birds and just how God provides for them, and they don't even seem to care where their next meal is coming from. They just trust the created order and that food will come. Then Jesus says in verse 27, as we look at it, "Can any of you by worrying, add a single hour to your life?" You know, I've come to this crazy life altering, revolutionary, unbelievable conclusion about worry. And I'm so excited to share it with you. I'm sure you're all eager for me to share it with you. I'm building up the suspense, you're waiting for me to share it. And here is that observation. Worry does absolutely nothing for me. Worry does nothing for me. It's humorous also in verse 27, what Jesus could be saying here about worry. You might notice a footnote in your Bible that says, or single qubit to your height, a single cubit would be about a forearms length, so about 18 inches or so. And here's why this is a bit of a humorous expression that Jesus may be employing, that Jesus might be saying here, he might be employing hyperbole here to say this, worrying cannot make you any taller by a single cubit, by a forearms length, by 18 inches. And in other words, worrying doesn't make you taller, worry does nothing for you. That's actually how some of the Greek words can literally be rendered here in terms of worrying can't add to your height. It can't make you taller. But the point is this, worrying cannot add any duration to our lives. It cannot make us any taller because it does nothing for us. You know, I liken it to riding on my exercise bike. How many of you spin at all? I'm just curious. Show of hands, are a few of you. Yeah, it's intense. It's hard sometimes, right? I do it occasionally. All right, occasionally I do, I liken this because to an exercise bike, and let's pretend I'm sitting here and I'm gonna go spinning because what the heck, right? And by the way, pet peeve, not really a pet peeve, but observation, as soon as I get on the exercise bike and you hit a program, it's like these instructors have had five red bulls by the time they're talking to you. We're like, what's up? Are we ready to spin? Let's go, right? And you're just like, whoa, I'm ready to get off. Like I actually don't, I don't wanna do this, but I just, I have to like, why not, right? I don't know why I'm doing this, I just am. And then they tell you, you know, keep that resistance up and you're like, you know, I need water. So, but anyway, as I'm going and I'm going and I get off my bike and I'm done with that workout, what I realize is, man, I have done a whole lot of work and I get off my bike and I'm like, I didn't actually go anywhere. I stayed put the whole time. Like if you're actually about like tracking your progress and wanting to look, like exercise bikes, man, that's not helpful for actually tracking your, and that's of course they have data that records it, but I actually want to see it, right? Here's why this re this this reminds me of worry is because when I'm exercise on the exercise bike, but there's a lot of movement. But I don't go anywhere. I actually stay put. You see, that's kinda like how worry is, isn't it? It causes a lot of movement, but we actually don't go anywhere. We remain stationary, we're just moving a lot. And that's kind of how worry is. It can't add anything to our lives. Doesn't make our lives longer. It doesn't make us taller, it does nothing for us. We cannot add a single hour to our lives by doing so. And as I say all of this, this is all anchored in our trust and faith that God will provide because we are valuable to him. So that's the first reason, gives as to why not worry, but also secondly, because our father knows what we need, 'cause our father knows what we need. Take a look at verse 28. Jesus says, and why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all of his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God closed the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith. So do not worry saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear, for the pagans run after all of these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. You see in this context, Jesus then points to the beauty and the magnificence of flowers. It's another illustration in addition to the birds that Jesus is giving here. You know, I've never been to Israel, I know many have, but in reading about the area, there are still flowers that grow on hillsides throughout the Sea of Galilee region and some of these may include anemones, which you can see here. Here are some of those flowers there. I'm not a florist, but there you go. It just came up as I was preparing for this, anemone flowers here and then also secondly, blue irises. And these actually still grow today common in that area. Of course, I'm not exactly sure what kinds of flowers were there when Jesus was talking, but at least today, you know, we can at least conclude that these are some of the flowers that do still grow in some of that area, the Sea of Galilee region. And even as we're thinking about Jesus giving this instruction on this mountain side, even around that area, can you just imagine looking at this blue iris flower and just taking in the words of Jesus, as Jesus says, "Not even Solomon in all of his splendor was dressed like one of these." You see, because even in this you see the artistry, the design, the beauty in this, not made with human hands. And Jesus is saying, why do you, look at the flowers of the field and not even Solomon dressed like this, dressed in the beauty of what this flower portrays, and all of them perhaps that they might be looking at as they're instructed by Jesus to look at these flowers. You see when we think of how Solomon was dressed, he had splendor, wealth and riches that was greater than anyone back in his day. But the splendor he was dressed in was made with human hands. But who made the flowers? God did. And look at the beauty and artistry of this kind of flower. It just creates a bit of awe in us. And Jesus says, if that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is so short-lived here today, gone tomorrow, will he not much more clothe you? If God takes such interest in care in the grass of the field, don't you think he will also take interest in you? The crown of his creation. So again, we hear the instruction to not run after the material, such as what shall we eat, drink or wear? Because our father knows what we need. Those who do not trust in God. Pagans, the pagans, those who don't trust in God, they they run after all of these things. The world, they run after all of these things, but not so with us because we trust, we depend upon God's provision. Because just as the Father takes care of the flowers and the grass of the field, he will also take care of us. He knows what you need before you even ask him. Jesus actually said that in the Sermon on the Mount, do not be like them. Matthew six, verse eight, "For your father knows what you need before you ask him." He'll take care of us, what a comfort that that is. But Jesus also gives us another reason as to why we don't need to worry and here it is, because tomorrow we'll worry about itself, because tomorrow we'll worry about itself. Let's continue here in verse 33. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all of these things will be given to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow. For tomorrow will worry about itself, each day has enough trouble of its own. You know, we can oftentimes give ourselves to worrying about the future. So much so that it robs us of our joy and of our peace today, does it not? But in this we learn something really powerful, really important, very vital here. Here's what we learn as Jesus is saying here in these verses about how tomorrow will worry about itself. What we learn in this is daily bread, daily dependence even in terms of how Jesus taught us to pray. What did he say? Even in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew six, "Give us today our daily bread." He doesn't say, give us tomorrow our bread. Give us in 10 days from now our bread. Jesus says, give us today our daily bread. It doesn't mean that we can't plan or have vision or any of those things. We need direction, we need to be wise stewards of our time, our resources, right? We need to do that, but we must not forsake that God has called us to daily the dependency. Give us our bread today. You know, when God's people were in the wilderness after they were delivered from Egypt, God would provide manna in the morning, manna from heaven in the morning and quail in the evening. And do you realize that the people of God, they couldn't store it for the next day or else it would go bad. They had to trust that God would give them what they needed for the day for today. And that's no different for us. We have to trust God that God is going to give us what we need for today. I recently came across a quote from Max Lucado and he ended up talking and writing about, he's a author, pastor and he ended up writing this in a devotional. Listen to this quote. He said the key is this, meet today's problems with today's strength. Don't start tackling tomorrow's problems until tomorrow. You do not have tomorrow's strength yet, you simply have enough for today. You see, sometimes what we can do is we can try to face tomorrow's problems with today's strength. You don't have tomorrow's strength yet you have today's strength, that God has given you for today. You have the daily bread that God has given you for the day. This is what God wants. Daily dependency upon him, trusting him with our lives, living in light of the strength, the grace, the mercy that he's given us for today. God will be faithful to give you what you need for today, tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough problems of its own. You see, we must not miss something in this text. We've been talking about how God wants to lead us from a worried life to a generous life. We have learned why we don't have to worry. We're valuable to God. Our father knows what we need tomorrow will worry about itself. But what do we do with this message? How do we apply this, how do we live this out? Well, let me, let me answer that by giving you one main idea, one statement that we can wrap our minds around in our hearts around and it's this, the worry life can become the generous life by seeking first the kingdom of God. Lemme say it again. The worried life can become the generous life by seeking first the kingdom of God. Did you catch it in Matthew 6:33? Listen to it, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. You see, the call is to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness in everything. This is the priority of a disciple. You see, Jesus, he came into this world. He taught all about the kingdom of God and what it actually looks like to be made righteous before him. It was not our good works. Nothing that we did or can ever do can make us right with God as Jesus even said within the Sermon on the Mount. Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus knowing this though went to a cross and he endured all of our sin, all of our shame, so that all who had put their faith and their trust in Jesus and his finished work on the cross could have His kingdom, his righteousness and his power guiding every part of our lives as we have received a new passport now that says kingdom citizen, the call therefore that we have now is to seek the king of the kingdom. This is because if you seek God, if we seek God with all of our hearts, here's what I know. He will not only be found, but he is also faithful to provide. He is Jehovah Jireh, is he not? And how do I know that? Because Jesus said, right? All of these things, all of these material needs that we have been talking about, the Lord will provide because he cares for you. He loves you, you are valuable to him. But over all of these material needs, we get Jesus. And if we have Jesus, we have everything. Therefore, seek first His kingdom. Seek first is righteousness. And over all of these, and all of these things will be given to you as well. You see what that looks like in terms of how God provides, I don't exactly know. I don't know what that will fully look like in your world, but I do know this is that it's oftentimes through his people, through the generosity of his people, loving and caring and blessing and being there for one another. And what I do know is that this isn't some prosperity gospel idea either, where if you seek God, then he'll give you the American dream with health and wealth and nothing is ever wrong. Listen, that is far from what we are talking about and is a false gospel. That's not it, Jesus isn't teaching us that God will give us everything we want like he is some genie to help us be comfortable and avoid suffering with our three wishes. That's not how this goes. Jesus instead is teaching us that if we live and as we live completely dependent upon him, God will take care of you. He will take care of what you need both now and forevermore, because you are of great value to him. He is not empty handed, but he loves to give good gifts to his children. There might be suffering and hardship, but Jesus has overcome the world. And because of that, we know too we will be overcomers as well. And we can trust and depend on the victory that Christ has given us, knowing that as we look to him, it's all worth it. Because we get Jesus, we get the king. And he rules and reigns not over everything. Not only that, but hopefully over our hearts and over our lives as well. So brothers and sisters, God will take care of you. He's there with you. He loves you, no matter who you are, God wants to free you from a life of worry and anxiety. He sees you, he knows the suffering and pain that this can cause. He knows the hardship. He knows what you're walking through. And he wants to remind you today that he cares for you. He loves you, he's with you. He's with me, he sees your suffering. He sees your need and he will provide, he will be faithful to provide for you. And from what God has given you, you are free to now give to others, for where you can be generous with your time, your finances, your energy, your treasures, with whatever it is that God has provided. Because you know that he will supply whatever he has asked of you. That's the generous life. But maybe we haven't fully embraced this because our hearts are seeking a different kingdom. Maybe we're after the kingdom of the world or the kingdom of ourselves, the kingdom of possessions, the kingdom of money, the kingdom of relationships, the kingdom of social media or the kingdom of fill in the blank. What this really boils down to is pretty simple actually. Is God your greatest pursuit? Is God my greatest pursuit? If not, what other kingdom is competing in your heart? 'Cause you cannot serve both God and money. You cannot have any other gods before him. He's the one true God. He's the one that we serve. Would you take that before the Lord today? Let him work in and through your heart, allowing the Lord to help you rid other gods, other idols in our lives. But there's a simple prayer that I want us to continually pray this week and whatever that's going on around us, I don't know what exactly you're walking through, I'm not sure, but would you commit to praying this? Would we commit to praying this this week? God, I seek your kingdom first. God, I seek your kingdom first. Whenever worries and anxieties about the future come up. God, I seek your kingdom first. Whenever the pain of regret comes up, God, I seek your kingdom first. Whenever we are doubting the Lord's provision. God, I seek your kingdom first. Whenever we are tempted to pursue another kingdom. God, I seek your kingdom first. Whenever the Lord has asked us to take bold steps of obedience, maybe perhaps along the lines of generosity, God, I seek your kingdom first. Whenever the Lord has asked us to boldly obey him, God, I seek your kingdom first. This is because as we do, all of these things will be given to you as well. You see the worried life can become the generous life by seeking first the kingdom of God and may his peace which surpasses all understanding, guide and guard our hearts in Christ Jesus. The worried life can become the generous life by seeking first the kingdom of God. What I wanna do is I wanna have us respond and worship together and on every campus, our worship teams are coming out now. They're going to get in place at this moment. And there's something powerful, right? When we can declare and when we can respond in worship to our king, the one who has come into our hearts, the one that we receive, we get Jesus. That's the beauty, that's the power, He supplies us to live the kind of life that he's calling us into and so on every campus right now I'm just gonna invite us to stand to our feet. And I just wanna close us in prayer as we declare together that we are seeking first the kingdom of God because we know that he's our provider. We know that He's with us. We know he's good, we know he's faithful. So let's take a moment. Let's go before him in prayer. Father, we pause right now and we just say, how good, how faithful that you are. Jesus. I pray that in this moment that as we declare and sing whatever it is, maybe that's causing worry, anxiety, that we would cast all of our cares upon you because you care for us. You care for us, God, you walk with us, you love us. You wanna rid us of other competing kingdoms in our lives. May we cooperate with your spirit as you do so, I thank you that your word says that even when anxiety is great within me, your consolation brings me great joy. So Father, I pray that you would console those comfort, encourage, correct, meet with us, continue to do that so that your presence would defining in our lives, that we would seek you with all of our hearts, that we would seek first the kingdom of God and your righteousness and all of these things will be given to you as well God, may that be true in our lives as we seek you, as we trust in you, as we depend on you for our daily bread. We love you, we bless you, we sing to you and worship now in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.