Angelic Conflict part 151: Human history (Sabbath) – Luk 12; 11:5-13; Pro 30:7-9; Mat 6:33; Psa 23:1.

Title: Angelic Conflict part 151: Human history (Sabbath) - Luk 12; 11:5-13; PRO 30:7-9; MAT 6:33; PSA 23:1.  

 

LUK 12:16 And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a certain rich man was very productive.

 

LUK 12:17 "And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?'

 

LUK 12:18 "And he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

 

LUK 12:19 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."'

 

LUK 12:20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?'

 

LUK 12:21 "So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

 

And now comes the very important application of this to us:

 

LUK 12:22 And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on.

 

The word translated anxious means to care about or to be concerned about. If my life is in God's hands then I don't have to be very concerned about it.

 

LUK 12:23 "For life is more than food, and the body than clothing.

 

There is more to life than just surviving. There is more to the body and the soul than existing - they have both been given for the privilege and opportunity to glorify God.

 

LUK 10:41-42

But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried [same word as in LUK 12:22] and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. "

 

And the implication is that all the stuff that Martha is worried and bothered about will be taken away, for none of it is she taking with her into eternity, but the doctrine in the soul of Mary, which will lead her to do one of the most sacrificial and special showings of love during the incarnation of Christ, will go with her into eternity and remain forever. He doesn't rebuke her for preparing dinner or being busy with details, but there is a time for that, and the time wasn't now. Choices aren't always between good and evil, but also between good, better, and best. Right now it is best to listen to the Lord teach. But what is wrong is the anxiety and bother in her heart.

 

Some people find peace in controlling the details of life as Martha did. Remember what she said to Him when He commanded that the stone be rolled away so He could resuscitate her brother? When pressure comes the weakness of this false peace is clearly revealed.

 

LUK 12:24 "Consider the ravens [crows], for they neither sow nor reap; and they have no storeroom nor barn; and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!

 

LUK 12:25 "And which of you by being anxious [same as vs. 22] can add a single cubit [about a foot and a half] to his life's span?

 

We have a unit of distance mixed with a unit of time or life span. I think the image is another 18 inches of walking or moving by your own accord, which is one casual step. Walking is used in the Bible for lifestyle, as in walking in darkness or in light or in a manner worthy of your calling. When you're dead you are not going to move another inch by your own power. Did all your worrying or concern add to that? God keeps us alive. We exist because of what He created and maintains. If He changes the laws of physics in nature then all would perish in a moment. You are alive courtesy of the grace of God and without that grace we would be unable to move but an inch. So if you can't even move an inch without Him then why are you worries or concerned about all remaining matters?

 

LUK 12:26 "If then you cannot do even a very little thing [superlative for small size - littlest thing], why are you anxious about other matters [literally the remaining matters]?

 

Some people think worry and anxiety are good things and that they accomplish things in their lives, and though it is true that worry can be a strong motivator, it is a sin.

 

He didn't say to ignore the remaining matters, but to not be anxious about them. No one can take care of every detail, not even the worry warts.

 

1PE 5:6-7

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.

 

This is the same word that our Lord used for anxiety in Luk 12.

 

By comparing scripture with scripture we find out how we cast our anxiety upon Him.

 

PHI 4:6

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

 

Anxiety comes with certain emotional signals and electrical impulses. The bundle of nerves in the diaphragm busy with electricity, restricting the diaphragm which causes shortness of breath, the heart beats faster, blood flushes the capillaries causing heat to dissipate over the skin causing sweating. Emotions run amuck in the soul, divine thought stops, fears explode upon the soul causing presumptive thoughts of destruction for the future, which replaces happy thoughts of future deliverance, which the Bible calls hope.

 

These are all signals which God has designed for the human body so that you may understand that you are thinking wrong and may go to God in prayer and cast all your burdens on His broad shoulders. [slide]

 

Anxiety comes with emotional and physical signals so that you may understand your wrong thinking and may go to God in prayer and cast all your burdens on His broad shoulders.

 

ISA 9:6

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

 

If He can bear God's eternal government then do you think that He can bear your life?

 

Anxiety is against the plan that God has for His children. Just because something motives doesn't make it right, or the best motivator. The desire to glorify God through knowledge of Him and love for Him is the greatest motivator.

 

LUK 12:27 "Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these.

 

LUK 12:28 "But if God so arrays the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O men of little faith!

 

Christ argues from lesser to greater. If God takes care of the little things will He not also take care of you? This a fortiori argument is simple but profound.

 

They are poor witnesses that teach faith in Christ who lack it in their own hearts.

 

ACT 1:8

but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses

 

LUK 12:29 "And do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and do not keep worrying.

 

Sounds like the Exodus generation.

 

LUK 12:30 "For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.

 

LUK 12:31 "But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you.

 

MAT 6:33

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.

 

ROM 8:32

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

 

Overcoming fear and worry is simple. We believe that God knows our needs and will fulfill them. I don't need a seminary degree to do that. God describes us as His flock, His sheep, His children, His slaves, Christ's brethren, royal family, royal priests, and Christ's bride. Is it even possible that God could not take care of such ones?

 

PSA 23:1

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

 

LUK 12:32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly [well pleased or good pleasure] to give you the kingdom.

 

What kingdom did He gladly give? He did not give an earthly one. My kingdom is not of this world, Christ said. This kingdom is in heaven and in it are unfailing treasures that cannot erode or fade away.

 

Men cannot build kingdoms of peace on this earth. They have tried and tried since the beginning and even those kingdoms that possess some form of peace they are temporary and fleeting.

 

In speaking of the Jacobins, the system of thought behind the French Revolution, Michael Burleigh writes:

 

They believed that once the burden of superstition and tyranny had been overthrown, the latent goodness of the people would become apparent, to the degree that the people would seem as if they had been reborn, disburdened of tyranny's corrupting weight - for the ancien regime, in the form of Louis-the-last, the pig-king, was literally overweight. Released from the burden of the past, lean and muscular new men would stand straight again. [end quote]

 

To the frail little flock, God had the good pleasure to give them the kingdom of heaven. If that then why not bread?

 

LUK 11:5 And He said to them, "Suppose one of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves;

 

LUK 11:6for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him';

 

LUK 11:7and from inside he shall answer and say,' Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.'

 

LUK 11:8"I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

 

When the Exodus had no water or food or were being attacked by other peoples or saw that there were formidable nations in the Promised Land all they needed to do was to keep soldiering on. They simply needed to keep walking, seeking, knocking, asking and hence in all of it we find the application of endurance.

 

Every time the people came to Moses with their complaining he would go to the Lord in prayer. He kept seeking, asking, knocking.

 

Yet this passage reveals why Christ informed us to keep going to God and persisting in prayer. It is not because God wants to hear it over and over, nor is it because God will finally get annoyed with you and cave in. The Lord uses this example, but leaves us through our own study to come to the conclusion that God is not a man and that God heard these requests in eternity past. So why keep asking for the same thing? It is here as it is with all statutes, commands, and instructions - it is for our benefit. When we ask and cast we receive rest. [ask, cast, and rest] Do you think we will get anxious about that very same thing again, maybe even in a few minutes? We will take these burdens back upon our own shoulders again and when we do, rather than condemning yourself for your immaturity or weakness, the Lord instructs us to go right back to the throne of grace and ask and cast again, and again, and again!

 

LUK 11:9 "And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.

 

LUK 11:10"For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened.

 

The negative believer simply misses the blessings that are under his nose. Doors are closed because he does not see them and even if he got a glimpse, he refuses to open them. The positive believer who keeps returning to the throne of grace keeps finding rest and in his rest he is able to see blessings and receives them with joy, he is able to see opportunity and is not in fear of walking through open doors, and he is able to seek out God's solutions that are in His word and so finds peace. All this in returning to God's throne over and over to hear doctrine, make requests, ask for instruction and listen to solutions, which practice over time gives him more time spent enjoying God's rest.