28 And why are you worried about clothing?
We talked a couple of weeks ago about the fact that neither clothes nor the present extremes of climate that we experience in the world were originally part of God’s design. We need to remember why we’re wearing clothes in the first place—because of sin and shame, and so He is asking us not to ____________ the mistake of Adam and Eve of not trusting God. Worry is, at it’s heart, a _____________ to trust God.
Notice
Jesus asks us to carefully _______________ what He is going to say about the lilies.
Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth,
We don’t see flowers walking south, migrating for the winter into warmer climates, only to return again in the Spring. They do _________ of that kind of work at all. Instead, they simply grow. They don’t grow by their own ___________, but how they soak up the sunshine that God gives them.
Flowers bloom where God has planted them.
As we consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, Jesus is offering us some ______________ for our own life.
Be Fruitful
Indeed, God made the flowers to be beautiful and _______________, and indeed, after God created Adam and Eve, He blessed them and told them, in Gen 1:28 “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it”. We flourish, not by spending ourselves on our own efforts, but by ______________ in God. We are successful in the work that God has for us to do through His ___________, and we help others find Jesus or grow in Christ by His power, not ours.
Keep on the Sunny Side
Sometimes blooming where we are planted is about “looking to the good” in any situation (Remember Philippians 4:8). Even in less than wonderful situations, we have control over how we ______________ in terms of our thought life and in our actions.
Do What is Right
Doing what’s right when it’s hard. God’s timing and provision is perfect. You are here, now, in this service for a _____________. You are listening online ___________ for a reason. Grow means change, but it always means change for the _____________ in God’s eyes.
29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
It helps us to ________________ the life of Solomon for a moment. He didn’t come from the ________t of backgrounds. He was the son of David, but his mom was Bathsheba, and the beginning of their relationship included adultery, murder, and judgement. But, 2nd Samuel 12:24-25 The Lord loved the child 25 and sent word through Nathan the prophet that they should name him Jedidiah (which means “beloved of the Lord”), as the Lord had commanded. God made an inexplicable choice. He renamed Solomon, just as He had renamed Abraham, Sarah, and Jacob. It was a sign that when he decided Solomon should be the next king. Solomon’s birth is a vivid ____________ of God’s grace. God can take something that is horrible and ugly and turn it into something ______________. He did this with David and Bathsheba, and He can do the same thing in our lives, if we will serve Him.
Consider that one prayer changed Solomon’s life He prayed in 1st Kings 3:9-14 9 So give Your servant [e]an understanding heart to judge Your people, to discern between good and evil. For who is capable of judging this great people of Yours?” He was anointed King as a young man, and knew the great ____________ of responsibility that was on him, and he knew he couldn’t handle it. He asked God for help. And God responded (see 1st Kings 3:10-14). It would have been the easiest thing in the world for him to look to his __________ to handle the responsibility of being king, but instead he looked to God, and ___________ for help. And he was _______________.
It takes great ___________________ to handle success
Solomon’s kingdom was marked by unprecedented peace, wealth, and splendor. He was the wisest man who ever lived, yet because he started to lean on his own great wisdom, instead of God’s Greater wisdom, he saw his kingdom ________________. The greater our prosperity or success, the more likely we are to _____________ our need for God. Let us never forget the inherit danger that comes with material and other blessings. We don’t just pray for success—pray for the __________________ to handle success.
Bad Company Corrupts Good Character (1 Kings 11:4;11:7)
Solomon was not ___________________ from the influence of those he chose to spend his time with. Being supremely wise and God’s anointed did not _______________ him from this. We will become like those we chose to be close to. Let us choose _____________ those who will be our friends and confidants. There’s a term that’s thrown around a lot right now called influencers. I means those who influence a lot of people in our society. We need to watch out, who we let be our influencers. And our chief influencer, indeed our Lord, must always be God.
Solomon had everything, and he ___________ it all away. At the end of his life, this man Solomon, who had so much promise, wrote the book of Ecclesiastes as a form of __________________ and repentance about wasting his life with foolishness and sin. “I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.” Ecclesiastes 2:1 What Solomon is saying is this: “trust me. I had everything that you’re scratching and clawing for served up on a silver platter. I had all the money and influence and fame and power and privilege, and in the end it is meaningless and pointless and worthless.” Don’t make the ________________ of Solomon. Don’t let anyone or anything turn you away from God. Worldly pleasures and passions lead to a ________________ life. Anything worth having comes from God James 1:17; 2 Cor 9:8-10 Deut 28:1-5; Eph 1:3 reminds us.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
God makes sure that the flowers are adorned with beauty that even Solomon could not _____________ at the height of his power. And flowers exist for such a short _____________of time. They are here one day and gone the next. If God sees to it that they are blessed with beauty and wonder and splendor, then we can trust He who gave His one and only son for us, meeting our greatest need, for salvation, to take care of our other ______________ as well. We just have to have the faith to commit all our ways to _________________ God