Angelic Conflict part 149: Human history (Sabbath) – Luk 12; 11:5-13; Pro 30:7-9; Mat 6:33; Psa 23:1.Title: Angelic Conflict part 149: Human history (Sabbath) – Luk 12; 11:5-13; Pro 30:7-9; Mat 6:33; Psa 23:1.
In Luke 12, Luke recorded five warnings from our Lord. Four of these warnings must be heeded by Gods people today if we are to be faithful disciples; and the fifth warning should be heeded by a lost world.
Luk 12:1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy is a word that means play acting, or pretending to be something that you are not.
Luk 12:2 "But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
Luk 12:3 "Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
Hypocrisy is foolish and futile for eventually everyone and everything gets found out. God speeds up this uncovering by allowing pressure in the believer’s life.
Luk 12:4 "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Luk 12:5 "But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!
Reverent fear of God removes the fear of man which can only lead to hypocrisy, pretending, acting.
Reverent fear causes caution, respect, alertness, and motivation to apply doctrine to life and life’s circumstances, and it removes fear of men and circumstances.
Luk 12:6 "Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten before God.
Luk 12:7 "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear [those who kill the body]; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Luk 12:8 "And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man shall confess him also before the angels of God;
Luk 12:9 but he who denies Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God [denied the rewards of reigning with Him].
Matthew’s account: Mat 10:32 "Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
Mat 10:33 "But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
This is repeated by John in Rev: Rev 3:5 'He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.
The Lord now offers a plea to Israel.
Luk 12:10 "And everyone who will speak a word against the Son of Man [crucify Him], it shall be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him.
"Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" - rejection of the gospel that is brought to every person under the common grace ministry of the HS.
Note that this statement is connected with the ministry of the Spirit in and through the Apostles (Luk 12:11-12).
Luk 12:11 "And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not become anxious about how or what you should speak in your defense, or what you should say;
Luk 12:12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
This is especially poignant to Peter who will address the crowds at Pentecost and in the temple soon after. What happened to Peter who went from denying he even knew the Lord at the high priest's palace the night before Christ's death to confessing Christ before thousands of people?
And now comes the astute listener who has entered God's rest... (sarcasm)
Luk 12:13 And someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."
Now, rabbis were expected to help settle legal matters. But for this to be on the mind of this man after what he's just heard reveals his hard heartedness and that his priority is money and greed and earthly matters.
“Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts” is mentioned three times in this passage; Heb 3:8, 15; 4:7.
Luk 12:14 But He said to him, "Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbiter over you?"
Did the Son of God come all the way down to earth, become a man, and begin this ministry at 30 years old so that He could decide the allotment of the inheritance between these two brothers?
People want Christ to serve them what they want and do not want Him to deliver them from those wants.
In other words, what would you prefer, to either get your half of the inheritance or for Christ to remove all greed from your heart? They are completely different solutions. One is a temporary solution and one is an eternal one. Do you trust that the surgical removal of all greed by means of doctrine and the Spirit will be a step towards entering His rest and that His rest is the most profitable comfort for both your soul and your body and are you willing to put in the time to hear the doctrine and mix it with faith so that this rest becomes a permanent fixture in the house that is your soul, or would you rather take the money now?! Do you want the cash or what's behind door number one?
The Exodus wanted everything to go easy and right, in their own definition of what was right, but they did not chose to allow God to deliver them from the slavery in their own souls.
Luk 12:15 And He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."
Covetousness is an unquenchable thirst for getting more and more of something we think we need in order to be truly satisfied. It may be a thirst for money or the things that money can buy, or even a thirst for position and power. Jesus made it clear that true life does not depend on an abundance of possessions. He did not deny that we have certain basic needs (Mat 6:32; 1Ti 6:17). He only affirmed that we will not make life richer by acquiring more of these things.
We will not make life richer by acquiring more of what we need.
Mark Twain once defined "civilization" as "a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities," and he was right.
In fact, many Christians are infected with covetousness and do not know it. They think that Paul's admonition in 1Ti 6 applies only to the "rich and famous."
1Ti 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.
Are you enjoying logistical grace or are you waiting for more?
Measured by the living standards of the rest of the world, most believers in America are indeed wealthy people. And so now He gives a parable to teach this principle.
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?'
His problem is too much money. Do you wish you had this problem? If you do, it may reveal a covetous heart.
Written by Agur:
Pro 30:7-9 Two things I asked of Thee, Do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, Lest I be full and deny Thee and say, "Who is the Lord?" Or lest I be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.
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."'
Instead of giving it away he decides to store it and gets to work on how best to tuck it all away for himself. In three verses he used a personal pronoun 15 times. And then it seems that he has rest. You have plenty for many years. You don't have to work another day in your life. Take your ease and do whatever you want. However, do you really have God's rest or do you have the world's rest? It is obvious that the man in this parable only has the world's rest because when his life is soon at an end, God says that he is a fool.
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?'
The gracious person at least knows the person that he gave his earnings to.
Luk 12:21 "So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
Christ Saves Ministries; : Luk 12:21 "So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." isa 26:3 "The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. 7: Isa 26:4 "Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock. |