Seek the Kingdom of God
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
Frank Sinatra’s daughter, Tina Sinatra, recalls her father’s unceasing drive to succeed and make money, even when his health was at risk:
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His health was in tatters and his life mired in financial wrangles, but my father refused to stop giving concerts.
“I’ve just got to earn more money,” he said.
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His performances, sad to say, were becoming more and more uneven.
Uncertain of his memory, he became dependent on tele-prompters.
When I saw him at Desert Inn in Las Vegas, he struggled through the show and felt so sick at the end that he needed oxygen from a tank that he kept on hand.
At another show he forgot the lyrics to “Second Time Around,” a ballad he had sung a thousand times.
His adoring audience finished it for him.
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I couldn’t bear to see Dad struggle.
I remembered all the times he repeated the old boxing maxim,
“You gotta get out before you hit the mat.”
He wanted to retire at the top of his game, and I always thought he would know when his time came, but pushing 80 he lost track of when to quit.
After seeing one too many of these fiascos, I told him,
“Pop, you can stop now; you don’t have to stay on the road.”
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With a stricken expression he said,
“No, I’ve got to earn more money.
I have to make sure everyone is taken care of.”
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Since his death there have been constant family wrangles over his fortune.
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Beloved, Frank Sinatra was regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century...
And Sinatra is among the world’s best-selling music artists...
With an estimated 150 million record sales globally...
Yet, what did he really gain at the end?
What did he really leave behind for his family?
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Building an empire in this world is a vain pursuit and a fool’s errand...
Instead, we should build a lasting treasure...
A treasure that will never be taken away from us and will never lose it’s value.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 12 and focus on verses 22 through 34.
Our message this morning is titled, “Seek the Kingdom of God”
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As you are turning to our passage...
Keep this in mind...
The message today not only addresses where our treasures should be...
Jesus words also show us why our trust in God should result in the elimination of all our worries...
For we have a loving Father who has promised to take care of His children.
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So, this morning we will cover three main points:
1) The Anxiety
2) The Kingdom
And...
3) The Treasure
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
You are such a loving and patient Father...
Please keep Your promised always top of mind...
Reminding us that You will never abandon us...
That You love us...
And that You are ever faithful to keep You word!
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Help us walk in all your statutes...
Help us to meditate on Your commands every day...
Help us to meditate on Your commands every night...
For Your laws are beautiful...
And Your ways beyond our ways!
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.
23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?
27 Consider the lilies, 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.
28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.
30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Anxiety
1) The Anxiety
Verses 22-28: And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, 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, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
As we have previously seen in our study on the Gospel of Luke...
Jesus had been instructing his disciples...
That is until he was interrupted by a man from the crowd back in Luke 12:13...
This then led to the parable of the rich fool...
And now we find that Jesus returns His teaching to His disciples...
And this is were we will start our study today.
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In verse 22 of our opening line we come across the first word Jesus said which is “therefore” and before we can proceed any further we need to stop, Beloved.
Anytime one comes across a “therefore,” or a “for” or a “because,” then that is a signal to stop and look back at what was just said previously...
You see, the word “therefore” is used in reference of the truths taught in Luke 12:13-21 which says:
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully,
17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’
18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Now, that we know what Jesus is talking about in regards to the “therefore” that He used we can proceed with the proper context.
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Now Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.
For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
Consider the ravens:
They neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.
Of how much more value are you than the birds!”
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Beloved, Jesus’ point, that anxiety cannot make even a negligible positive change in our life.
In fact, anxiety accomplishes nothing...
Zero...
Zilch...
Nada...
All that anxiety brings is problems and as followers of Christ...
Anxiety has no place in our lives.
As the Pillar New Testament Commentary on Luke says:
“Angst is a common theme in ancient as well as modern literature, including Jewish Wisdom literature.
Hardships and difficulties are undeniably the common lot of humanity, but worry and distress over them result in sleeplessness, physical exhaustion, and bitterness...
Happiness is not a product of human striving, but of learning to surrender all of life into the faithful and caring hands of the Father.”
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Now, look again at Jesus first illustration He presents us with...
He talks about the ravens...
And He talks about how God the Father feeds them.
Well, in 1st century Israel that statement carried a lot of weight for the Torah deems ravens as unclean and worthless...
And on top of that in antiquity, ravens were among the least respected of birds...
Yet, even they...
Even these insignificant birds and their helpless young are graciously provided for by God...
So, if God is going to take care of something a disregarded as a raven...
How much more will He take care of His children who He loves so much that He sent His beloved Son to die for them!
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Now, keep this in mind...
Jesus is not prohibiting people from providing for their necessities...
He is not saying that God the Father will just like a genie give you everything you need...
A raven has to work to get its food...
What Jesus is saying is that we are not to worry for when we are hungry God has provided a means for us to get food.
The warning that Jesus is speaking against is surplus and hoarding as signs of distrust in God’s provision.
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You see Beloved, worry and anxiety are not simply unhealthy and unfaithful...
Worry and anxiety are futile, for as Jesus says, “Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”
Beloved, has anyone figured out how to get 25 hours out of a 24 hour day?
Yeah, me neither.
I believe a person who could do that would get a lifetime of noble peace prizes!
You see, even is one was overcome by the greatest degree anxiety possible it couldn’t produce a single extra minute to one’s life.
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Another potential literal translation of Jesus’ statement is, “Who of you by worrying can add a single cubit to your height?”
And as theologian James R. Edwards says:
“Jesus was no stranger to hyperbole, and in speaking of adding a cubit [about 18 inches] to one’s height, he was interjecting a note of humor as a way of underscoring the absurdity of worry.
If disciples cannot increase their own height, why should they worry about other things over which they have no control?”
So, as Proverbs 12:25 says:
25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.
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Then, Jesus says, “Consider the lilies, 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, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!”
So, the glory and pageantry of Solomon’s kingdom was famous worldwide and really had no equal in history....
Yet, God clothes the fields in even greater splendor...
Yet grass was one of those items that one day are canvasing a field and the next was gone...
For due to the scarcity of wood in ancient Isreal, dry grass was often used as fuel ovens to bake items like bread...
Yet, God provides for the grass...
And God’s meticulous and lavish care for mere perishing flowers assures us of his unfailing care for his own people.
So, how much more than grass will God the Father take care of His children that will live with Him in eternal life.
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To be filled with worry and anxiety is to display what Jesus says is a lack of faith...
In view of this, the disciples’ “little faith” is all the more shameful...
For we as His followers should now better.
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Now, the saying that Jesus often used, “O you of little faith!” implies a deficiency rather than an absence of faith.
So, Jesus is not talking to unbelievers who have no faith...
The audience here are believers...
However, fear and anxiety is a reflection of a faith that is small...
Yet, instead of the fear, anxiety, and worry, we should take to heart the words of Philippians 4:6 which says:
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Instead of anxiety, lean on God...
Instead of worry, pray to God...
Instead of fear, believe in the promises of God which He never ever fails to keep!
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As theologian Darrell L. Bock puts it:
“Jesus closes with a reminder and a rebuke.
He reminds the disciples that they are more important than grass and rebukes their little faith, which suggests that they are susceptible to forgetting this truth.
The reminder is also a rebuke, for anxiety shows that one believes that God is not in control; it reflects weak faith.
Some things are out of one’s control, and this reality should be accepted.
However, disciples can trust that God is aware of their plight and cares about it.”
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And that is the key...
Do not forget...
In the storm of anxiety and fear and worry...
Something greater is out there...
The love and care of God for His children!
As 1 Peter 5:7 says:
7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
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Next, Jesus tells His disciples what they are not to seek...
And what they are to seek instead...
And this takes us to our next point.
2) The Kingdom
2) The Kingdom
Verses 29-32: And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Right off the bat we are told by Christ, “do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.”
And the reason we are not to worry is that, “all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.”
So Beloved, we are called to be different than this broken world that is hostile towards our God...
For those who are of the flesh...
For those who are of the world...
They are filled with worry...
They worry about what they will eat...
They worry about what they will drink...
They worry about finances...
They worry about their jobs...
They worry about politics...
They worry about the future...
And the list goes on and on...
And all that worry has a physical impact on one’s health...
All that worry has an impact on one’s mental health...
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Yet, we are not to follow the world’s lead...
For our Father loves us!
He know what you need!
He knows what I need!
And He did not send His Son to die for us just to abandon us when we need Him!
He will never turn His back on His children!
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You see, the words “your Father” indicates that this teaching is for believers...
And Jesus is highlighting the the fatherly care of God.
So, the disciples should not act like the rest of the world when it comes to being anxious, because disciples know the Father who cares for them.
True and lasting security comes from the realization that God the Father actively cares for His children.
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Next, Jesus says, “Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”
The present tense of “seek” in Koine Greek, which is “zēteite,” indicates that this is to be the disciple’s habit and way of life...
That is, we are to “keep seeking His kingdom.”
So, disciples are to be engaged in the pursuit of representing God on earth.
We are to seek God’s rule...
And as Matthew 5:6 says:
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
God’s followers are to respond to His call to walk as He desires.
We are to trade our desires for His desires!
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Followers also share in the spiritual benefits that come from such a walk with God.
So, God’s commitment to disciples is to offer care and to provide fundamental things such as food and shelter.
Jesus was urging His followers to continue seeking the Kingdom of God—and with it would come the full care and provision of God.
If one seeks riches they will be left spiritually bankrupt...
But to seek God’s Kingdom first and foremost is to be rich in God’s eyes...
And God’s opinion is the only one that matters at the end of the day.
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So, the antidote to anxiety is strong relationship with God...
For Christ stressed that the Father’s tender care will always be over His “little flock.”
As Jesus said in Matthew 6:33-34:
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
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When disciples make God’s way in this world their primary goal...
All other things like food, clothing, shelter that the world clamors for...
All of it will be given to them as well.
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Remember that parable that Jesus shared?
The one we read at the start of this message and the one we covered in depth last week?
The rich man in the parable vainly imagined that all his wealth was due to his effort and his merit.
He absolutely wasted his life.
Yet, Jesus teaches that all that the disciples need will be given to them by God if only they seek God above all things.
As 1 Peter 3:12 says:
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Indeed, God will give something far greater than just material things to His disciples...
He will give the Kingdom itself!
As Jesus says, “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
If God gives the greatest of all things to His followers...
Then, can they not trust God for lesser things as well?
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Let me fast forward to what it looks like to follow the Lord in the end times...
Just take a look at Revelation 7:16–17 which says:
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
That Beloved, is what we have to look forward to after all these old things pass away and we have an eternity with the Lord.
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Finally, Jesus provides us with instruction on how to build our treasure in a place that is more secure than Fort Knox...
And this take us to our third and final point.
3) The Treasure
3) The Treasure
Verses 33-34: Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
So, does this mean we are to sell all our possessions and live like monks and nuns?
Absolutely not!
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So, what does this mean?
Well, let’s start by considering that the word “all” is neither present nor implied before the word “possessions.”
Therefore, to interpret this to mean we have to sell everything we own is to read into the text a meaning that is not there.
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In actuality, the stress is not on literally selling all, but on making use of one’s resources in a way that benefits others.
As we have seen, the point of Jesus’ teaching on treasures is that they are not to be hoarding material and worldly things for one’s own selfish pleasure.
We are instead to show concern for others rather than for oneself which is at the heart of Jesus’ teaching...
Love for others has a high place in Christ’s teachings.
So, what we are actually supposed to due is to give up the possessions we have in abundance to aid the poor...
To do this shows the highest degree of love for others and it displays trust that God will continue to provide for us.
Therefore, it is not the extent but the place of one’s possessions that is emphasized...
Because it is the direction of one’s “heart,” heavenward or earthward, that is all important.
Are we thinking about ourselves?
Or are we thinking of others?
Do we trust that God will provide and therefore we help those in need?
Or do we worry about tomorrow and just hoard our earthly treasures?
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I like what missionary and martyr Jim Elliot once wrote:
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
That right there needs to be our mentality as believers.
For true life is not to be found in the selfish hoarding of earthly treasures...
And the real wealth of the faithful is in God...
So, we must inwardly be quite free from the love of worldly possessions...
We must regard and use our abundant possessions as gifts of God’s love to those in much greater need and for the promotion of the work of the Lord in general.
When a man or woman acts in this manner...
When then freely give up there possessions for others in greater need...
Then they display the right spirit...
And their spiritual life will grow and will accumulate indestructible treasures in Heaven!
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Beloved, it is not the possession of material things that makes one worldly-minded...
But the attitude adopted towards them...
Nor does the lack of earthly things make one heavenly-minded...
But the inward freedom from selfishness and covetousness, and the seeking of the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 6:19-24 couldn’t be any more clearer:
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
It is not only wrong, but also foolish, unnecessary and useless to be vexed and anxious regarding the things of this world.
We are not, in the highest sense, dependent on earthly possessions, and God as our perfect heavenly Father knows, and is able and willing to give to us (on the strength of Jesus’ merit), what we really need and what is really best for us.
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As the ESV Study Bible says:
“This concluding proverb emphasizes the importance of the disposition of one’s heart, which throughout Scripture represents the center of one’s being and one’s deepest desires, including one’s reason, convictions, emotions, and will.
The nature of one’s heart is reflected in the things that one values most.”
Those who amassed earthly possessions, falsely thinking their security lay in material resources, needed to lay up treasure in heaven instead.
Believers in the early church did sell their goods to meet the basic needs of poorer brethren.
Just take a look at what Acts 2:44-45 says:
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
But this commandment is not to be twisted into an absolute prohibition of all earthly possessions as we said before.
In fact, Peter’s words to Ananias show this in Acts 5:4 which says:
4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”
Here Ananias sold some property and lied about home much he sold it for in order to make it look like he was giving all the proceeds to those in need.
Yet, Ananias kept a portion for himself.
Peter told him that to keep a portion for himself was fine for it is his own property...
Yet, the sin was in lying in order to make oneself seem like one was more generous one really was.
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So, that makes it clear that the selling of one’s possessions was never meant to be a command to just sell everything.
We just want to make sure that if God blesses us with more than we need that we share that blessing with those who do not have anything or who have very little.
Within a genuine Christian community, we should not leave the needy to fend for themselves...
Instead, the one’s who are able should help those who are unable.
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Theologian Robert H. Stein said it this way:
“The concluding proverb teaches that if one’s treasure is invested in the kingdom, especially through helping the poor, one’s heart will be focused on God’s kingdom as well.
On the other hand, if one concentrates on the accumulation of earthly wealth, one cannot focus attention upon God.
These are mutually exclusive concerns.
One cannot serve God and money, but one can serve God by the correct use of money.”
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Jesus then closes this section teaching by saying, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
So, one is loyal to the things one values most.
The references to the heart and to treasure are figurative for “priorities” and “that which is valued.”
If one values people, then one will work to meet their needs.
If one values self, then one will collect possessions that perish.
As Proverbs 11:28 says:
28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
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We as believers should model ourselves after the early Christians as recorded in Scripture in passages like Acts 4:32–37 which says:
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold
35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,
37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Isn’t that a beautiful picture!
Beloved, I am positive we can do better...
I am positive we can be more Christ-like by thinking of others above ourselves.
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I love this summary of our whole passage from the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on Luke which says:
“Anxiety is useless; in fact, it reveals lack of faith.
God knows one’s needs.
So seek his kingdom and one’s daily needs will be met.
God gives the kingdom to his children.
Seeking his kingdom includes caring for others, so there is a call to sell possessions and be generous.
In short, look at priorities:
Where one’s treasure is, there is one’s heart.”
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like you to consider this:
Horatio Gates Spafford, a 43-year-old Chicago Businessman, suffered financial disaster in the great Chicago fire of 1871.
He and his wife were still grieving over the death of their son shortly before the fire, and he realized they needed to get away for a vacation.
Knowing that their friend Dwight L. Moody was going to preach in evangelistic campaigns in England that fall, Spafford decided to take his entire family to England.
His wife and four daughters went ahead on the SS Ville du Havre, and he planned to follow in a few days.
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But on the Atlantic Ocean the ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel and sank within 12 minutes. 226 lives were lost – including the Spafford’s four daughters.
When the survivors were brought to shore at Cardiff, Wales, Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband two words:
“Saved alone.”
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Spafford booked passage on the next ship.
As they were crossing the Atlantic, the captain pointed out the place where he thought the ship had gone down.
That night, Spafford penned the following words:
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When peace like a river attendeth my way
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When sorrows like sea billows roll
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Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
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It is well; it is well with my soul.
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Beloved, we may lose a lot in this world...
We may lose possessions...
And we may even lose loved one’s...
But if Christ is our center...
We can say...
It is well...
It is well with my soul.
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So, let me leave you with this...
1 John 2:15–17 says:
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray...
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Heavenly Father...
If anyone hearing this message right now does not know You in a saving way...
Then I beg you to reveal to them their idols and shatter them...
May they turn from the material...
May they turn from the wordly...
May they turn from the thing created...
To the One who is the Creator!
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I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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For those hearing this message who already know You...
Help us to love like You Lord...
Free us of our worldly anxieties and give us a love for others...
A love for others above a love for ourselves...
May the world recognize us by the way we love each other!
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Again, I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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It is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
To God be all the glory.
Amen.
