Ephesians 4:7-16; the faithful steward fears the Lord (Luk 12).

Tuesday July 27, 2021

In a very short summery of Luk 12:1-21, we were told:

Don’t be a hypocrite. God sees all your heart. Fear Him and never men. Guard yourself against all greed. Be rich in good works.

In his 1983 Templeton Prize address, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn offered this summary explanation for why all the horrors of Soviet communism came to pass: “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.”

Rod Dreher in his forward to Carl Trueman’s latest book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, adds: “This answer is also a valid explanation for the crises enveloping the West today, including the widespread falling away from faith, the disintegration of the family, a loss of communal purpose, erotomania, erasing the boundaries between male and female, and a general spirit of demonic destruction that denies sacredness of human life. Because men have forgotten God, they have also forgotten man; that’s why all this has happened.”

In that same speech, Solzhenitsyn also said, “Today’s world has reached a state which, if it had been described to preceding centuries, would have called forth the cry: “This is the Apocalypse!” Yet we have grown used to this world; we even feel at home in it.”

“Tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me” (vs. 13). Remember also that civil and criminal matters are not going to be arbitrated by Christ. We will experience injustice. “Do not be surprised by the fiery ordeal among you.” In the end Jesus will judge all men, but in the meantime He does what He wills on earth and allows sin and evil and injustice for His own reasons, some of which is our testing. Not fearing man would not be a difficult command if God intervened immediately in every persecution, or threat, or violence.

Earthly treasures will not be counted at the judgment seat of Christ. Remember how temporary they are compared to eternity.

Jesus has us then conclude that we should never worry about earthly materials.

Luk 12:22-34

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. 23 "For life is more than food, and the body than clothing [we must discover the life that is more than the earth]. 24 [Again He comforts and encourages] "Consider the ravens, 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! 25 "And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit [one extra step] to his life's span [you do not know when]? 26 "If then you cannot do even a very little thing [take an extra step. Only God can extend life], why are you anxious about other matters? 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 [God makes beautiful and provides and Jesus keeps turning our heads towards God’s creation that obeys Him]. 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! [there is the issue] 29 "And do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 "For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 "But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you [Not necessarily a cause-and-effect clause. God supplies all, so seek His kingdom]. 32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom [grace! You don’t earn it. It is a gift]. 33 "Sell your possessions and give to charity [be exceedingly gracious with material]; make yourselves purses which do not wear out [seeking first His kingdom], an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys. 34 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Jesus desires to put the understanding of His treasure in our hearts.

The giving command is also not specifically a cause and effect, i.e. you give and you will get. People could just give away like an investment with a guaranteed return. Still, Jesus knows that He has to command us to give, because He knows our hearts. It is not until we do it that we will see that it is freedom and joy to be released from the world’s and the flesh’s obsession with materials. Jesus desires to put the understanding of His treasure in our hearts.

“little faith” – they have faith in Him and in the Father and heaven, but it is not matured to the point where there is unconcern for earthly treasures.

Luk 12:35

"Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps alight. 36 "And be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. 37 "Blessed are those slaves whom the master shall find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 38 "Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39 "And be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 "You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect."

After writing that “we have as our ambition (we strive to bring to pass) whether home or absent to be pleasing to Him, and then stating the judgment seat of Christ, Paul states in 2Co 5:11, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are manifest to the Lord. Manifest means that Paul knows that he is judged every day by the Lord who sees all (“by this I am not acquitted” 1Co 4:4).

God sees our good and bad perfectly every day, while to us it is somewhat opaque. We will only know for sure at the JSOC. Live as a faithful steward knowing you cannot examine it all.