Wednesday 30th June 2010

Luke 12.27-31 cont

27 Look at the lilies, how they neither spin nor weave, but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these.

28 If then the grass in the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into an oven, how much more will God clothe you, ones of little faith.    

29 and you must not search for what you might eat or drink, don’t be anxious about it.

30 For all the nations of the world crave for these things, but your Father has known that you have need of them.

31 Moreover you must search out His Kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

As we have seen the main emphasis of what Jesus has said is that His hearers should not be anxious about anything, and that they should trust in God for their provisions.

Again, as we have seen this does not free us from our own obligation to work, because we all need to earn enough money to look after ourselves. Paul did this as he worked making tents. What he earned from his trade he used to keep himself. In Acts 18.3 we read: Paul lived and worked with them (Priscilla & Aquila), for they were tentmakers just as he was.

However, if earning money, following a career path or keeping up with worldly pursuits becomes our main focus, then we will become anxious, we will lose sight of Jesus and we will become faithless.

Jesus gives us the real way to live life when He tells us to search or seek for the Kingdom of God. It is His Kingdom and being citizens of His Kingdom that should be our main focus and objective, because as we do so, then we are obedient to the King of the Kingdom, and the King is Jesus.

Now it is the King who tells us to search for His Kingdom, and the implication is that we can find the Kingdom. One of the first things that Jesus said when He began preaching was to tell people that the Kingdom of God was near.

Wherever Jesus is, there is His Kingdom. Jesus also promised that He would be with us to the end of time – Matthew 28.20. Therefore, as we continue to submit every part of our life to Him so we seek and find His Kingdom. As we do this so we find that all the things that the world is anxious about will be added to us.

What a wonderful promise. As we seek His Kingdom there is no room for anxiety to get a foot hold in our life, as we seek His Kingdom we enter into the promise of Jesus of Him adding the necessities of life to us.

A verse that we have quoted before is:  For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit – Romans 14.17.

Tuesday 29 June 2010

Luke 12.27-31

27 Look at the lilies, how they neither spin nor weave, but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these.

28 If then the grass in the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into an oven, how much more will God clothe you, ones of little faith.    

29 and you must not search for what you might eat or drink, don’t be anxious about it.

30 For all the nations of the world crave for these things, but your Father has known that you have need of them.

31 Moreover you must search out His Kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Jesus asks His listeners to look and learn from what has been created, and in particular to look at the flowers. Most people like flowers, and we all have our favourite flowers. During the spring time it is lovely to see the grass verges covered in the beautiful yellow of the dandelion (although nobody likes them in their garden!).

Whatever flower we might like the best, it is its beauty that attracts us; the delicate way in which God has put it together; and the scent which He has made to be produced from it.

 There is a song written by David Mansel that begins with these words:

Jesus is Lord! creation’s voice proclaims it,
For by His power each tree and flower
Was planned and made.

David Mansell 1982.

The point Jesus makes is that since our Heavenly Father has created and clothed the flowers and grass, which last but a short while, will He not, therefore, make sure that we have food and drink.

King David knew this and wrote: [13] You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. [14] Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it – Psalm 139.13-14.

Jesus tells us to consider that if God has put His creative energies into making the short lived flowers look so beautiful, then He will certainly give provision for mankind, the pinnacle of His creation.

It is as we understand this that we can rest in the knowledge and faith that He will give us our provisions, because He loves us and He wants us to survive. Remember, Jesus said that He came to give us an abundant life. Lets trust Him for it.

Monday 28th June 2010

Luke 12.22-26

22 He said to His disciples: “For this reason I tell you not to be anxious in your soul as to what you might eat, similarly don’t worry about what clothes you might put on.

23 For the soul is more than food and the body more than clothing.

24 Think about the ravens, they neither sow or reap, or have a barn to store food, yet God feeds them. You are of more values than the birds.

25 Who of you by being anxious can add to his height a cubit (18” – 45cm)

26 If you are not able to do this why worry about anything else?

As we continue to look at these words we see that Jesus speaks them to a people who were relatively well off, this would include us in the western world, because by far the majority of people in the western world have food on their table and plenty of clothes to wear. We do not need to be anxious about such things.

Many of us have experienced times when it has not been known where our next penny would come from. However, it is still in those times that Jesus tells us not to be anxious, not to worry.

His word is for us in this day and age. His promise is that He will meet all our needs. Paul put it this way: And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus – Philippians 4.19.

Faith will be produced within us, in the knowledge that God will supply exactly what we need and when we need it. This is His promise, and He never goes back on His promise.

Anxiety over His supplying our need is seen in how worldly wealth becomes the sole focus of living. This in itself portrays a lack of faith.

Anxiety and worry can affect us in various areas of life, from food to fashion, from being in work to having no job, from being in a loving caring marriage to being alone and rejected. In all these things let us know and be persuaded that He is more than able to keep us secure and that nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

The words of Jesus are apt for our present generation, particularly in the area of how we look. Our shops sell vast quantities of products claiming to make us look better. There is money to be made from them. Their effectiveness may be more in the mind than in reality. Let us remember the words of Jesus in verses 25 and 26 above.

Sunday 27th June 2010

Luke 12.22-26

22 He said to His disciples: “For this reason I tell you not to be anxious in your soul as to what you might eat, similarly don’t worry about what clothes you might put on.

23 For the soul is more than food and the body more than clothing.

24 Think about the ravens, they neither sow or reap, or have a barn to store food, yet God feeds them. You are of more values than the birds.

25 Who of you by being anxious can add to his height a cubit (18” – 45cm)

26 If you are not able to do this why worry about anything else?

It is essential that we understand the context of these words of Jesus. We remember that He has just told a story about the unwise rich man whose concentration in life was to accumulate wealth, whilst neglecting His soul.

Perhaps it is safe to assume that Jesus was talking to people who had food to eat and clothes to wear, though, as in every society, there would have been vast differences in people’s living standards. Even so, the majority of people would be fed and clothed.

It is important that we realise this, otherwise these words of Jesus could appear to be uncaring and unloving towards the millions of people who do not have enough food or clothing.

We can be certain that Jesus would be aware of the Jewish laws that take account of those who are poor and unable to support themselves. An example of this is found in Leviticus 25.35: “If any of your Israelite relatives fall into poverty and cannot support themselves, support them as you would a resident foreigner and allow them to live with you”.

There are various other laws with instructions regarding the poor and how they are to be looked after and cared for. Since the law required the Jews not to disregard the poor, we can be certain that Jesus would uphold the law. We need to remember that He is the fulfilment of the law.

Jesus said many things about the poor, in which He emphasised the need for people to give to them. An example is: So give to the needy what you greedily possess, and you will be clean all over – Luke 11.41.

However, Jesus also emphasises that the poor should have the good news preached to them. In this He fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah 61.1: The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, because the LORD has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. In Matthew 11.5 Jesus tells John the Baptists disciples that: the Good news is being preached to the poor.

Looking after the poor requires that they have the Good News of Jesus preached to them and that we seek to alleviate their physical needs.

Saturday 26th June 2010

Luke 12.16-21 cont.

16 He told them a parable, saying that there was a certain rich man, whose land was fruitful.

17 He thought to himself: “what shall I do because I have nowhere to store my fruit?”

18 And he said: “This is what I will do; I will demolish my barns and build bigger ones, where I will gather all my wheat and goods”,

19 And I will say to my soul: “Soul you have many goods stored up for many years, take your rest, eat, drink and be happy”.

20 But God said to him: “You are a senseless one. Tonight your soul will be demanded of you. Then who will get what you have prepared?”

21 So it is with those who horde treasures for themselves and are not rich in the things of God.”

I have a habit of not wanting to throw anything away, always using the excuse that it will come in handy some day. Consequently we have many nails, screws, washer and the like. I believe that I am not alone in this kind of hording.

Strangely when I am looking for one of these objects I never seem to find one that is the right size. Therefore, often my horde of collections does not save me from having to go and buy a new one of whatever. Jesus said that the hording of worldly wealth is not the way in which to be rich in the things of God.

In Mark 8.36 Jesus said: For what advantage is it for a man to acquire the whole world and to lose his soul?

It doesn’t matter how many screws or washers I might have kept over the years, they are all useless, if when I need one I haven’t got one the right size for the job in hand.

So it is with our soul. If in this world we concentrate only on our wants and needs in this world, then we will be neglecting the salvation of our souls.

In Romans 14.17 Paul wrote: For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The man in the story that Jesus told was only interested in this world. These words are from Isaiah 40.6-8: “Shout that people are like the grass that dies away. Their beauty fades as quickly as the beauty of flowers in a field. [7] The grass withers, and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so it is with people. [8] The grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Therefore, for us to be rich in the things of God we must be soaked in the word of God, because He has the words of eternal life.

Friday 25th June 2010

Luke 12.16-21 cont.

16 He told them a parable, saying that there was a certain rich man, whose land was fruitful.

17 He thought to himself: “what shall I do because I have nowhere to store my fruit?”

18 And he said: “This is what I will do; I will demolish my barns and build bigger ones, where I will gather all my wheat and goods”,

19 And I will say to my soul: “Soul you have many goods stored up for many years, take your rest, eat, drink and be happy”.

20 But God said to him: “You are a senseless one. Tonight your soul will be demanded of you. Then who will get what you have prepared?”

21 So it is with those who horde treasures for themselves and are not rich in the things of God.”

As we have seen the man in this story had never grown out of his selfishness. His whole life was concerned with what he could get and how he could hang onto it and how he could provide for his future.

There is some merit in the attitude of making provisions for the future with the blessings that God has given to us. However, the problem with this man was that God did not figure in his thinking at all. All of his thought process was to do with how he could keep for himself what he had gained through his own work. His selfish thought process excluded God.

Perhaps we find ourselves in similar situations, where the cares and concerns of this world can weigh very heavily upon us so that our focus is on survival instead of God’s salvation. In the parable of the sower Jesus spoke about the thorny ground, which represents the cares, riches and pleasures of this world choking God’s word.

In the days of Haggai, the prophet, the Jews devoted their time to building their own houses and neglected to build the house of the Lord. Their focus did not consider God. All their work efforts went into building their own fine houses.

Clearly it is right and proper that we should work hard and earn a wage, so that we are able to provide for ourselves. In 2 Thessalonians 3.10 Pauls writes: “Even while we were with you, we gave you this rule: “Whoever does not work should not eat.”

Yet, we must realise that the desire to accumulate wealth and riches can easily strangle faith, and lead us into a life of drudgery. Then we are in danger of missing out on the abundant life of Jesus that He came to give us.

Thursday 24th June 2010

Luke 12.16-21

16 He told them a parable, saying that there was a certain rich man, whose land was fruitful.

17 He thought to himself: “what shall I do because I have nowhere to store my fruit?”

18 And he said: “This is what I will do; I will demolish my barns and build bigger ones, where I will gather all my wheat and goods”,

19 And I will say to my soul: “Soul you have many goods stored up for many years, take your rest, eat, drink and be happy”.

20 But God said to him: “You are a senseless one. Tonight your soul will be demanded of you. Then who will get what you have prepared?”

21 So it is with those who horde treasures for themselves and are not rich in the things of God.”

This parable is littered with references to ‘I’ and ‘my’. The man in the parable is very self centred, with everything revolving around himself and his circumstances.

In truth we all begin life in this way, and we all know this. During our early years good parents will deliver their children from being self centred, teaching them to think of others and sharing things with others. These are things which do not come naturally to us and children usually resist their parents attempts at redirecting them into thinking about others.

Perhaps we all recognise that selfishness is an ugly thing, it scares relationships and creates divisions. It maybe that most of us have been in times when we have been selfish, failing to see the needs of others. Instead placing our own wants and desires above that of someone else. Being self centred within a marriage is likely to cause tensions and rifts and can be the cause of marriage breakdown.

In 2 Peter 3.3 God’s word says: First, I want to remind you that in the last days there will be scoffers who will laugh at the truth and do every evil thing they desire.

Therefore, we can expect an increase in selfishness, since people do what THEY desire. As we know we can all become infected with selfishness and find ourselves in situations where we manipulate circumstances for our benefit. This is the knocking down of our barns to build bigger ones.

How do we combat such selfishness? We find the answer in something that Paul wrote to the Philippians in chapter 2 verse3 Writes: Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.

This becomes possible when we have been crucified with Christ and raised with Him., when we deliberately do as Jesus did: become nothing and seeking to serve instead of being served.

Wednesday 23rd June 2010

Luke 12.15

15 And He said to them: “Take notice; be on your guard against all greediness. A person’s wealth does not consist of the abundance of what he owns.

Jesus gives a strict command that His hearer must understand what He is about to say. His following words are not just advice they are essential for true wealth and a genuinely fulfilled life style.

In Proverbs 10.13 we read: Wise words come from the lips of people with understanding.

There is no one with more wisdom and understanding than Jesus. In Revelation 1.8 Jesus describes Himself in this way: “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come, the Almighty One.”

On the mountain top where Jesus was transfigured in front of Peter, James and John, God spoke through the clouds and said: “This is my dearly loved son, listen to him.” – Mark 9.7.

Therefore, since God commands us to listen to Him, listen to Him we must.

The words of Jesus are that we must guard ourselves against the attacks of greediness, and protect ourselves from believing that the accumulation of earthly wealth is our true wealth.

Obviously Jesus was replying to the man in the crowd who had asked Jesus to tell his brother to divide his inheritance with him. The man may have had a just cause, and he may have thought that he had been given a rough deal.

Part of the reply of Jesus is to try and get the man (and us) to re focus on what real wealth is. At this point Jesus said that true wealth is not wrapped up in the possessions that we have, whether that be money or worldly goods.

It is important for us to realise that Jesus is not against the wealth of this world, after all He created all things, and it is He who blesses us in everyway. Paul writes in Romans 10.12: Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They all have the same Lord, who generously gives his riches to all who ask for them. Therefore, He does bless His people with the riches of this world, but they are not the source of real wealth.

Tuesday 22nd June 2010

Luke 12.13-14

13 But someone in the crowd said to Him: “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me”.

14 But He said to him: “Who appointed me as judge or divider over you?”

It was not unusual for people to seek the advice of a Rabbi in matters where there was a disagreement. The local Rabbi would often become the person who would mediate between people, seeking to bring opposing people together, and laying down guidelines to settle disputes.

All of us at times need help in reaching agreements, and perhaps all of us have been grateful to someone whose advice has brought us to be reconciled with someone with whom we may have had a disagreement. We can be thankful to Jesus for their help and advice.

Jesus faced a situation where someone in the crowd wanted Jesus to give a ruling on a family inheritance.

We do not know who the man was, but it would seem from the wording, that he was someone who did not know Jesus personally, but who knew about Him from a distance.

Perhaps he had heard the wisdom and authority of the teaching of Jesus, and it was this that prompted him to ask Jesus to give a ruling on his personal dispute with his brother.

It is a sad fact that many hear about Jesus from a distance. They are a part of the crowd that is close by but always removed from Jesus. They want answers, but do not wish to get close to Him. Is this why Jesus did not do what the man wanted Him to do?

As we draw closer to Jesus we discover that He is the answer to all our questions; He is the supplier of all our needs; He is the one who fills our life with the abundance that we need for Godly living.

Therefore, let us draw near to Him in the knowledge that He draws near to us as the Shepherd who supplies all our wants.

Monday 21st June 2010

Luke 12.11-12

11 Whenever you might be brought before councils, rulers and authorities don’t be anxious as to how to defend yourself or what you should say.

12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that hour what you must say.

Here Jesus is prophesying that the time would come when His followers would be arrested and brought before the authorities. He uses the word ‘whenever’ which suggests that it will definitely happen.

We are blessed (at the moment) to live in a country where we have a certain amount of freedom to meet together for worship, witness and fellowship.

It has not always been so. In the 1600’s non-conformists (Baptists, Catholics and Congregationalists etc) were not allowed to meet in numbers larger than five. Persecution was widespread, with pastors being imprisoned.

As we know, this is still happening in other parts of the world, and even in our own country Christians are being taken to court for various reasons.

It was not long before it happened to Peter and John. We read in Acts 4 how they were arrested, imprisoned and brought before the Sanhedrin (council). When Peter was told to explain what they had been saying and doing, Luke says that He was filled with the Holy Spirit when gave his reply.

This is in line with what Jesus said would happen: the Holy Spirit will teach you in that hour what you must say.

Luke records the council saw that Peter and John were not educated men, not trained in the ways of the Rabbi’s. They were ordinary, common men. Yet the council could see that they had been with Jesus. Also they could see the man who had been healed standing in front of them. So after more threats they let them go, ordering them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. Again they replied, full of the Holy Spirit, saying: [19] “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? [20] We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard.” – Acts 4.19-20.