Angelic Conflict part 150: Human history (Sabbath) – Luk 12; 11:5-13; Pro 30:7-9; Mat 6:33; Psa 23:1.Title: Angelic Conflict part 150: 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 [and the Father];
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].
This is repeated by John in Rev 3:5 as a reward for the overcomer: 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 [rejection of the gospel], it shall not be forgiven him.
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?
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 the slavery that can result 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. 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.
A rich life is one that has found the life that God has planned and which is hidden with Christ in the heavens and is not found in any earthly elements.
In fact, many Christians are infected with covetousness and do not know it. They don't realize how blessed and rich they are compared to the world. Yet there is the crux of the matter. Worldly riches are relative. One is not actually rich, but rather richer or poorer than another. God's riches, like His rest, are absolute, unchangeable, and when one has them, he doesn't compare with others, but desires that others have even more than he possesses - hence they are riches of the soul, as in rest, peace, tranquility, love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Yet how many Christians do compare and compete with one another. The "I'm more spiritual than so and so" attitude. "God has blessed me more than my neighbors" or "less than my neighbors." And that is usually measured in materialism.
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?
Eph 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
Eph 3:8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,
How much rope are you willing to lower into the bottomless sea of Christ's riches? You will know for yourself by the amount of time that your soul rests in God's unchangeable peace.
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.
This is contentment. There will be no divine rest without contentment with who you are, what you are, and what you have in your life right at this moment.
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."
Col 1:26 to whom [CA saints] God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Heb 11:26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.
Wealth can choke the word of God:
Mat 13:22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
People who are satisfied only with the things that money can buy are in great danger of losing the things that money cannot buy, i.e. God's virtues.
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.
Yet this time in history, among common men and women, the quality of food and clothing or even the possession of it would make the difference between rich and poor. They did not have the amount of materialism that our time churns out by the truckload, not even close.
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. |