1. Food (See verses 25-26)

1. (Verse 25) The words, "take no thought" means do not worry, do not be overly concerned about the necessities of life.
2. Jesus is not advocating a shiftless, reckless, lazy attitude toward life, but He is forbidding a fearful worried attitude about it that sucks the joy out of living it.
3. Jesus is not saying not to work. What the Lord is saying is don't worry.
4. Food, clothing and shelter are necessities of life. It is not wrong to work for them, nor to make them secure for our future. What is wrong is threefold.

• ignoring and neglecting God while we work.
• Working day and night and then worrying over how to keep what we have
• Never being satisfied with the necessities without coveting to have more and bigger and better as the next person.

5. Jesus is not saying we are not to think and plan for the necessities of life, but He is saying not to be dominated by worry that we'll lack them.
6. A Christian who worries is saying, "I cannot trust God to take care of my needs, so I'll take matters into my own hands. Worry says, "I've got to help God out."
7. Jesus reminded His disciples in verse 26 that if God takes care of the needs of the birds, He would also take care of the disciples. They could count on it.

• Why? Because God is the creator of birds, but He is the Father of believers.
• God wants to take the word "worry" out of the Christian's vocabulary.

"Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily Thou shalt be fed" (Psalms 37:3).

"Blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation" (Psalms 68:19).

2. Fashion (See Verses 25, 28-29)

1. Jesus is saying in these verses; don't spend more time and energy building your wardrobe then you do building your relationship with God.

• Your spiritual life is more important than the food you eat and the clothes you put on.
• A person should not allow these secondary things to consume and dominate their life.

2.  A person can eat and wear only so much at one time. Enough is enough. More than enough is too much. Too much means a person is consuming it upon unhealthy lust.
3.  Jesus is telling His disciples that being overly concerned  about what they'll wear may be a           constant worry to others, but it wasn't to be so with the children of the Father.
4.  Jesus drove this point home with the illustration of the lily of the field. Lilies grow from a deep root.

•  The roots are where they belong in the soil to receive nourishment.
• The roots of believers are not to be in the material things of this earth. In order to receive their nourishment and fulfill their purpose on earth, believers are to put their roots where they belong  - in  God and His Righteousness.

5. Lilies do not toil or spin at spinning wheels to adorn themselves with beauty

• Their beauty comes naturally as they go about their purpose in the world.
• Believers are not to be consumed with toiling after material things in order to adorn themselves with the artificial and superficial coverings of appearance.
• Believers are to be laboring after God and His righteousness, trusting God to provide all these things (Verse 33).

6. Lilies die from the weather.

• They drop to the ground - decay - and pass out of existence, gone forever.
• Clothing fades - wears out - goes out of fashion  - and is laid down. Clothing styles may cease to exist, but not man. Unlike the lily and it's clothing, man is immortal. He exists forever.
• Therefore, man is to center his life on God and His righteousness, not on material clothing and physical beauty..
• God will provide necessities of life to the person who diligently goes about life putting his priorities in order and seeking God and His righteousness first.