Luke 12 (4)

Pray Psalm 49.16-20.
Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
Though while he lives he blesses himself
(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),
He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see light.
A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
Is like the beasts that perish.

Sing Psalm 49.16-20.
(Sagina: And Can it Be)
Let the redeemed of God take heart, though fools and all their wealth increase.
Death shall deprive him of all he owns, the grave shall make his glory cease.
Thus though he boasts, no light he sees;  his end in hell shall ever be.
Refrain, v. 15
My God redeems my soul from hell!
His grace and mercy let me tell!

Read Luke 12.1-34; meditate on verses 22-34.

Preparation
1. What does Jesus want us not to do?

2. How can we keep from doing this?

Meditation
Anxiousness, worry, uncertainty – these can stop your faith in its tracks. We’re not sure what to do, how to act, what to think, or where to turn, and we fear making a mistake, offending someone, or missing out on something if we do anything at all.

You can’t live that way and know the full and abundant life which is ours in Jesus. Jesus reminds us that all around are testimonies to the faithfulness of God for those He loves. Birds feed, flowers bloom, and even people who don’t know the Lord have homes and food and many other good things (vv. 24-30). But God especially cares for His own children, all who have come to believe in Jesus and are following Him (Jn. 1.12). He Who gave His own Son for our salvation, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Rom. 8.32)

The antidote to worry, therefore, is to give thanks for the many ways God is already caring for us, beginning in His having made, saved, and kept us to this day (Phil. 4.6, 7). God knows what we need, and He will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phil. 4.19). But over and above all our daily needs, our Father desires to give us His Kingdom (v. 32), to cause us to increase and abound in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14.17, 18). And this we can know regardless of any other outward circumstances or conditions. Thus, rather than worry and be anxious about what we think we need to get, let us give instead to everyone we meet whatever measure of grace and hope God supplies (v. 33).

When our true treasure and overarching desire are in God and His Kingdom, then our joy will increase day by day (vv. 31, 34). For though we should be deprived of every material necessity, nothing can take God’s Kingdom and joy away from us.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Nobody wants to be just like everybody else. How boring.

Jesus doesn’t want that for us either. He said, Don’t seek or worry about what you should eat or what you should drink. All these things everybody else is seeking after. Be different. Seek the Kingdom of God. When you do, all the details will be taken care of by God. After all, He knows that you need this stuff to survive. So don’t be afraid, dear ones, “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk. 12.32).

If this passage were a song, we would hear Jesus singing the refrain, “You are of great value to God.” Then this small aside, “O you of little faith”.

When compared to the ravens we are “of much more value than the birds” (Lk. 12.24). And when our care by God is likened to His care of the lilies, we hear that “even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Lk. 12.27).

Jesus then had a “Come on, you all” moment when He observed that we can worry and think and plan and connive to get taller all we want, but really? You can’t make that happen no matter how much time and effort you put into it. ‘If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?” (Lk. 12.26).

Indeed, why are we? O, we of little faith.

If we spent half as much time seeking the Kingdom of God as we do in worrying about stuff we can’t do anything about, we would have our treasures and our hearts in order.

God’s word of warning to King Nebuchadnezzar about getting his priorities straight applies to us as well:

“…to you it is spoken: the kingdom of heaven has departed from you…until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Dan. 4.32).

Or we have God’s words that He commanded Moses to speak to the children of Israel as guidance: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine” (Ex. 19.4, 5).

And then we have God’s words through the psalmist who wrote: “The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy” (Ps. 147.11).

God chose us to be His beloved children—dependent upon Him, trusting Him for our every need, seeking and serving Him as King in His Kingdom—treasuring Him above all else.

“He chose us” to “be holy and without blame before Him in love…according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1.4-6).

Not to worry, but to trust Him with great faith!

For reflection
1. According to Philippians 4.6, 7, what should we do when worry, anxiousness, or fear begin to paralyze our faith?

2. Seeking the Kingdom will mark you off as different from most of the people in your Personal Mission Field. How?

3. How would you explain “seeking the Kingdom” to a new believer?

Through the birds and the flowers of the field, he produces in you a firm and unwavering faith. Nor does he permit us at all to doubt, but rather he gives us the certainty that he will grant us his mercy and stretch out his comforting hand, that we may have sufficiency in all things. Cyril of Alexandria 9375-444), Commentary on Luke, Homily 90

Pray Psalm 49.1-9.
Pray for lost people, especially those in your Personal Mission Field. Pray that God will remove from you all fear of people and all worry and anxiousness, that you might show the hope of the Gospel to everyone you encounter today..

Sing Psalm 49.1-9, 15.
(Sagina: And Can it Be)
Hear this, you peoples, low and high; give ear as wisdom I proclaim:
My heart with understanding fills to hear and sing my Savior’s fame.
Why should I fear when foes arise, who trust in wealth and boast in lies?
Refrain v. 15
My God redeems my soul from hell!
His grace and mercy let me tell!

No man his brother can redeem, or give a ransom for his soul.
Let him leave off the vain attempt to gather redemption’s priceless toll.
Vainly he longs for eternal day, that he may not endure decay.
Refrain

T. M. and Susie Moore

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.