Luke 12:22-40 NIV
22 Then Jesus said to his
disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what
you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food,
and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow
or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much
more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a
single hour to your life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little
thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow.
They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his
splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes
the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the
fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on
what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs
after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his
kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock,
for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and
give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a
treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no
moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also.
35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep
your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master
to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can
immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants
whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will
dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and
wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants
whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or
toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of
the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have
let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because
the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Kingdom Given
We’re back to the “stuff”
stuff again this week. Jesus teaches us about “stuff.”
When we focus on “stuff”
– And I mean “stuff” in not only material things, but many other things as
well, like power, riches, wants and perceived needs… you know, “stuff.” When we
focus on this kind of “stuff”, it drags us away from trust IN God. That doesn’t
need to happen. God knows what we need, AND God gives us the Kingdom. God is
anxious to give us the Kingdom. If you look back at the reading, you will see
that God is pleased to give us the Kingdom.
But, face it, we all
worry about “stuff.” And this worry, honestly, displays a lack of trust in God.
When we hear about
the worry of birds, well, birds aren’t lazy and idle, rather they are free from
worry.
But, most birds die
of starvation. Seems like a need to worry maybe.
Likewise, if we don’t
feed or clothe one another, people starve or freeze. So, what’s the deal?
The deal Jesus is
teaching here is about worry. Worry defeats trust in God. Worry IS NOT what TRUE
LIFE IN God is about. TRUE LIFE IN God… think about Adam and Eve in paradise, HAS
NO NEED of worry. Adam and Eve had all they needed. They didn’t need to worry
about anything!
Worry serves no
useful purpose.
Since the beginning,
God takes care of ALL life. AND God WILL NOT overlook your needs. God knows
what we need and gives us, this day, our daily bread.
Recall the Fourth
Petition of the Lord’s Prayer…
Give us this day our
daily bread…
In Luther’s Small
Catechism we learn what this means…
God gives daily bread,
even without our prayer, to all people, though sinful, but we ask in this
prayer that he will help us realize this and receive our daily bread with
thanks.
What is meant by “daily
bread”?
Daily bread includes
everything needed for this life, such as food and clothing, home and property,
work and income, a devoted family, an orderly community, good government,
favorable weather, peace and health, a good name, and true friends and neighbors.
Well, hold on a
minute. I didn’t receive all of that! Or did I? If I look through the eyes of
God, OH YES, I DID! That’s what God gave and that’s what God intended from the
get go!
We lost focus on God
and started to focus on ourselves. We wanted to BE LIKE God so much that we gave
ourselves over to the temptation to KNOW what God knows. Our focus changed from
God to self. And it happens today all the time. Admit it. Recall it. Confess it
to God and turn that focus back to Him and His Kingdom.
When we turn our
focus from self to God, we can put that “worry” behind. We can give ourselves
to God and neighbor. We can freely give, because we know, that God provides for
ALL we need and we can be a part of God’s Kingdom, here and now, and give away food
and clothing, home and property, work and income, create an orderly community
with good government. The weather will be the weather and peace and health will
occur with true friends and neighbors. ALL because God gives us His Kingdom and
gives us ALL we need.
God’s will of LIFE
is eternal. God’s will of LIFE is FREE. Yet…
To NOT worry does
NOT replace our response to God to pray and work IN God’s Kingdom, here and
now.
Our response to NOT
WORRY frees us TO BE courageous, active and accepting of God’s will in our
lives to live each day trusting God and to work IN the Kingdom of God. THEN, worry
seems silly.
You see, God’s
Kingdom IS already breaking into human history to become FULLFILLED in the resurrection…
Back to the Second
Petition of the Lord’s Prayer…
Thy kingdom come.
From Luther’s Small
Catechism we learn….
What does this mean?
God’s kingdom comes
indeed without our praying for it, but we ask in this prayer that it may come
also to us.
When does this
happen?
God’s kingdom comes
when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we
believe His holy Word and live a godly life on earth now and in heaven forever.
So, I once again
stress. Find a church or a disciple of Christ and get baptized! That’s when you
receive the gift God gives of Spirit and Word, call and Kingdom. Even take
someone along to be baptized so that they will receive this gift and then help
them in their life with God as both of you live in His Kingdom into eternity.
Don’t be afraid! God
gives you the Kingdom AND you belong to the Kingdom. God gives it to you. This Kingdom
is SO MUCH MORE than human togetherness. LIKE the Church IS SO MUCH MORE. The
Church is NOT only here and now, BUT ALSO in the age to come. Why?
God has already
given us the Kingdom.
So, we learn from
this Gift that “stuff” doesn’t make us safe.
Our self-suffering
won’t help or eliminate worry or desire.
We are ONLY rich,
when we are rich towards God.
God has transferred
us from this world to the Kingdom of Jesus… listen to the words of Paul from
Colossians 1:13-14
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and
brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins.
In Jesus, we become eternally free of decay… YET…
We own this world we live in. How?
Let’s turn back to the words of Paul in 1
Corinthians 3:21-22
21 So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All
things are yours, 22 whether Paul or
Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the
future—all are yours,
There it is… ALL things through Christ are ours… listen
a bit more to Paul… Corinthians 3:23
23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
We are in the Kingdom as a gift of God through Jesus.
So, now we become aware, how, “stuff” will possess you…
UNLESS… you are possessed by God. THEN, nothing else can possess or own us.
Listen to the words of Jesus about “stuff” from Matthew
6:19-21…
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on
earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and
steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We need this heavenly
view. We need to look beyond our life here to see what God has in store. Here
and now, we will sin, we will get hungry and cold and suffer and die. Yet,
there is more… so much more… God gives us all we ever need. It’s true! Our real
treasure is in heaven.
Now, let’s look to what Jesus warns us about in the final
coming and fulfillment of God’s Kingdom in Jesus’ words from Matthew 25:13…
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the
hour.
We live on the edge of heaven, hell
and eternity. BE faithful in the small things. Why?
Because there are NO small things.
BE faithful while God is away. Why?
Because God is always here.
Live ready. Why?
Because God gives you ALL Faith, Hope,
Love, Forgiveness and Salvation.
Because He GAVE YOU, His Kingdom!
Accept the Gift!
This IS a “Kingdom Given” AT a great
price!
TRUST, WAIT AND HAVE FAITH… faith
given to You to be in His Kingdom.
God’s Kingdom IS yours to live in…
today… tomorrow… and forever… thanks be to God!
I leave you with this YouTube Music
Video that speaks to this passage of Scripture…
“Seek Ye First”
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