10-18-26| Who Will You Trust?| Senior Pastor Doug Page

Jesus moves from the question of who will be Lord to the question of who can be trusted. Matthew 6 will not let serving God stay a big-picture statement disconnected from everyday decisions. Generosity over greed, kindness over criticism, and truth over compromise all bring that choice down to where the rubber hits the road. The question is simple: If following Jesus means going all in, will he take care of his people?

Jesus answers by pointing to the birds, the lilies, and the grass. The Father feeds birds that never gather into barns and clothes flowers more beautifully than Solomon dressed himself. His care reaches even those small things. His children matter much more. Anxiety cannot add a single hour to life, but the Father already knows the needs that keep his people worried.

God’s provision in the wilderness puts history behind that promise. God gave Israel bread from heaven, meat to eat, and water from a rock. His care reached down to clothes that did not wear out and feet that did not swell for forty years. Nehemiah looks back generations later and remembers those same details. God had sustained his people where life was not sustainable on their own.

That provision comes with an important distinction: God provides what his people need, not necessarily everything they want. Daily manna taught dependence rather than the security of having tomorrow already stored away. God’s faithfulness did not remove every hard circumstance. His care sustained Israel through circumstances beyond their control.

Deuteronomy also explains why provision sometimes seems delayed. God allowed hunger to humble his people and teach them that life depends on every word from his mouth. His purpose was not angry withholding but a deeper trust. Christ, the bread of life, brings that provision into its fullest expression, meeting sinners in their helplessness.

Stewardship puts this trust into practice. Everything already belongs to God, so generosity is not handing over something he lacked. The picture is a child asking a father for money to buy that father a birthday present. Open-handed giving recognizes the real owner and makes room for an investment that reaches another generation.

Jesus brings the argument home with a clear order: choose the Lord, trust the Father, and seek his kingdom first. God’s care establishes a value that possessions and accomplishments cannot supply. His faithfulness makes open-handed obedience possible, even when the circumstances remain difficult.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God’s ownership changes the giving question. Stewardship begins with recognizing that everything already belongs to God. Generosity then becomes a question of faithfulness with what has been entrusted, not simply how much can be spared. The child buying a father’s present with the father’s money leaves little room for pride, but plenty of room for joy. [34:24]
• 2. Daily bread teaches daily dependence. God’s provision of manna met a real need without removing the need to trust him tomorrow. That daily provision challenges the assumption that security requires having every future circumstance settled. The Father’s faithfulness supplies what obedience requires, though his provision may look different from the comfort or abundance someone hoped for. [52:47]
• 3. God’s delays can deepen real trust. Deuteronomy joins hunger and provision within the same account of God’s care. His testing exposed the heart and taught dependence on his word, rather than proving that he had stopped paying attention. The wilderness therefore challenges the conclusion that an uncomfortable season must mean an unfaithful Father. [56:04]
• 4. God’s care reaches the smallest details. Jesus connects the Father’s attention to sparrows with his knowledge of every hair on a human head. God’s greatness includes care for what seems too small to matter, not only power over what seems too large to handle. That God-given value loosens the grip of possessions, because identity no longer has to rest on what someone owns or accomplishes. [1:00:48]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [25:28] - Going All In for Jesus
• [27:08] - Jesus’ Answer to Anxiety
• [28:33] - Generosity and God’s Ownership
• [35:17] - Giving Toward a Generational Legacy
• [39:53] - The Father Cares for Birds and Lilies
• [44:23] - God’s Provision in the Wilderness
• [49:24] - Nehemiah Remembers God’s Faithfulness
• [52:27] - Daily Needs and Difficult Circumstances
• [55:29] - When God Seems to Hold Back
• [58:55] - The Father Knows What Is Needed
• [1:02:47] - Choose the Lord and Seek His Kingdom

Bible Reading

Matthew 6:25-33
“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 spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O 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 that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” [27:16]

Deuteronomy 8:2-3
“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” [55:55]

Exodus 16:4, 12-15
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.” [44:53]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 6:25–33, how do the birds, lilies, and grass each help Jesus make his point about the Father’s care? [40:16]
2. In Exodus 16:4, 12–15, what did God provide, how often were the people to gather their portion, and what did God say this would test? [44:53]
3. According to Deuteronomy 8:2–3, what purposes did God have in allowing Israel to experience both hunger and provision in the wilderness? [56:04]
4. What distinction is made between God providing for his people and God removing difficult circumstances from their lives? [53:45]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Jesus connect the Father’s care for birds and flowers with the value of his children? How might that connection challenge someone who measures personal worth by possessions or accomplishments? [01:01:04]
2. How did receiving manna one day at a time teach Israel something that having a large supply already stored away would not? What does this suggest about the difference between trusting God and trusting a sense of control? [52:56]
3. How does Deuteronomy 8:2–3 challenge the conclusion that an unmet need or a difficult season necessarily means God has stopped caring? [57:10]
4. In Matthew 6:33, how does seeking God’s kingdom first change the way a person approaches material needs? Why is this different from expecting God to provide every desired comfort? [53:21]

Application questions

1. Think of an everyday decision where following Jesus feels costly—perhaps choosing generosity over greed, kindness over criticism, or truth over compromise. What are you afraid might happen if you obey, and what would trusting the Father look like in that situation? [26:31]
2. What future need keeps pulling your attention away from today? How might you prepare responsibly while also practicing daily dependence on God? [52:56]
3. Everything you have already belongs to God. Is there a possession, part of your budget, or use of your time that you find especially hard to hold with open hands? What small step toward faithful stewardship could you consider this week? [35:03]
4. Can you recall a time when God sustained you without changing the circumstances as quickly as you wanted? How could remembering that experience help you face a current uncertainty? [53:45]
5. When you feel overlooked or unsuccessful, where do you tend to look for reassurance about your worth? How might the Father’s care for you change one habit of comparison, spending, or striving? [01:01:04]
6. What is one practical way you could put God’s kingdom first this week through your schedule, money, or relationships? How could this group encourage you as you take that step? [01:02:59]