PROPER
14
August
6-8, 2022
Pastor
Timothy J. Spaude
Text:
Luke 12:22-34 (EHV)
“GOD’S LOVING CARE
FREES US!”
1.
From
the daily distraction of doubt and worry.
2.
So
we can get really rich!
Luke
12:22-34 (EHV)
“Jesus
said to his disciples, “For that reason I tell you, stop worrying about your
life, about what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23Certainly
life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24Consider
the ravens: They do not sow or reap; they have no warehouse or barn; and yet
God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds! 25And
who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan? 26Since
you are not able to do this little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27Consider
how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. But I tell you, not even
Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. 28If
this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and
tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will he clothe you, you of
little faith? 29Do not constantly
chase after what you will eat or what you will drink. Do not be worried about
it. 30To be sure, the nations of the world chase
after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead,
continue to seek the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.
32Do not be afraid, little flock, because
your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell
your possessions and give to the needy. Provide money bags for yourselves that
do not become old, a treasure in the heavens that will not fail, where no thief
comes near and no moth destroys. 34For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Squirrel! Have you notice how easy it
is to get distracted and lose your focus. It happens when you get up from the
couch to get something and your phone buzzes and all of the sudden you are
wondering “Now what was I going to get?” Think of how hard it is to pray
without your mind wandering! So many things vie for our attention. But keeping
your focus is so very important. It saves you from wasted time and trips. It
helps with communication to God and others and it is vitally important for our
eternity. What has our Lord told us? Set your mind on things above, not on
earthly things. Seek first the kingdom of God. But our citizenship is in
heaven. That’s to be our focus. Yet we all know how easy it is to get
distracted with those earthly things. Thankfully our Lord Jesus comes to us in
His word to help. He points us to God’s loving care that frees us.
It frees us first of all from the
daily distractions of doubt and worry. What is it that keeps you up at night? A
major financial issue? Relationships? Worrying about the kids? China? Ukraine?
Personal safety. I’m guessing you don’t lose sleep over whether you will have
food to eat tomorrow or clothes to wear. That has not always been so. “Jesus said to his disciples, “For that
reason I tell you, stop worrying about your life, about what you will eat, or
about your body, what you will wear. 23Certainly
life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.” Jesus is speaking
to his disciples. At that time many people’s daily hope was that they could
earn enough to have food and clothing for the day. Jesus had already sent his
disciples out once with the instructions not to take anything with them but
live on the kindness of the people they served. Can you imagine? Think of how
your life would be different today if you were wearing your only set of clothes
and shoes and there was no food in the house. And Jesus dares to say to them,
“Don’t worry!?” Why not?
He points to God’s loving care. “Consider
the ravens: They do not sow or reap; they have no warehouse or barn; and yet God
feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds! 25And
who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan? 26Since
you are not able to do this little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27Consider
how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. But I tell you, not even
Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. 28If
this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and
tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will he clothe you, you of little
faith? 29Do not constantly
chase after what you will eat or what you will drink. Do not be worried about
it. 30To be sure, the nations of the world chase
after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead,
continue to seek the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.
32Do not be afraid, little flock, because
your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” How different our
Lord Jesus is! If you have gotten stuck watching political commercials, have
you noticed what is often used as a motivating force? Fear. Worry. Inflation.
Recession. How does Jesus motivate? Love. Provision. Look at how God takes care
of the plants and animals. They have their food. They have their beauty to
wear. They have no bank accounts! No paychecks? How is this happening? God
provides. Sometimes through my birdfeeder or yours. Sometimes in other ways.
Always what is needed.
And he loves you more. I want you now
to think back in your life to something you spent time worrying about. Did not
God provide and take care of things in some way? Maybe not the way you thought
but he did provide. And if you can find something that He did not provide an
honest look will reveal it was a want, not a need. God’s loving care frees you,
brothers and sisters. You may worry and doubt if you want. It won’t accomplish
anything good. And you don’t have to. God will provide. That is His promise.
And that promise frees us to get
really rich. Do you know anyone who truly doesn’t want to be rich? A couple of
things. There is nothing wrong with earthly wealth in and of itself. Money is
simply a tool, a thing. It helps you get things done just like spoons and
shovels and saws. What’s wrong is when we value money the wrong way. People are
what really matters. So, you treasure people and use money. You don’t use
people and treasure money. The problem with money is it does not last. At the
beginning of this Gospel text Jesus said, “For that reason I tell you…” That
reason is what you heard last week in church. The parable of the rich fool who
died and could not take his money with him. It was a vapor. Did you hear about
the person from Illinois who won the 1.2 billion dollar lottery? Do you know
how much of that they will receive? Forbes magazine crunched the numbers and if
they take the upfront payout, after federal and state income tax, they will
receive about 434 million. That’s still a lot of money but it started out as
1.2 billion. Where is the rest of it? Vapor.
And yet we want to get rich. But brothers
and sisters, we already are and we will be really rich. Jesus went on to say, “Do
not be afraid, little flock, because your Father is pleased to give you the
kingdom. 33Sell your
possessions and give to the needy. Provide money bags for yourselves that do
not become old, a treasure in the heavens that will not fail, where no thief
comes near and no moth destroys. 34For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Gas prices, taxes
and recessions, Oh my! Do not fear, says Jesus. You are rich. The Father will
give you the kingdom. He’s talking about our life in heaven and he’s urging us
to get rich with everlasting money bags and treasures that don’t evaporate. Do
you know what he’s talking about? People. People are the only space takers on
earth that will take up space in heaven. Everything else will turn to vapor
when the Lord comes to judge. But not all people go to heaven. Only those who
believe in Jesus.
I was talking with a member recently
and they described an interaction they had with their neighbor. This neighbor
has a lot of money. But when he stopped over and saw our member’s family he
remarked how wealthy our member was. He was talking about family. And he had
none. Now maybe you have lots of immediate family, maybe you have none. Maybe
yours are all dead or because of you or because of them they don’t want to be
with you. Lots of messes in this sin ruined world. But you are all rich and you
have the chance yet to get really rich. Because the blood tie that matters most
for eternity is not what flows through these veins but the blood of Jesus
Christ, God’s Son, that cleanses us from every sin. Everyone who believes that
is saved for eternity. And so every person that I have some part in proclaiming
God’s salvation plan becomes my treasure. Same for you. Of all the disciples
who first heard these words from Jesus we only know the Apostle Peter got
married. We hear nothing of any children, but Jesus said they would have many treasures.
Makes me think of how the oldest living Apostle John wrote in his epistles, “My
dear children.” His family of faith was his family and he is rich, really rich.
And so are you and more and more can
be added. The more witnessing we do for Jesus with those we have built
relationships with, the more lambs we teach in our schools, the more we get the
message out, the more we support mission work, the more opportunities we have
to be a part of building a lasting family of faith in heaven where no sin will
divide, no hurt separate, no longing go unfulfilled, the more treasures we will
have in heaven. Why can we do this? God’s loving provision frees us. My work,
my retirement account is simply a mask for God to wear. He provides. Don’t worry,
be happy. Keep your focus. It’s about people. Pray for people. Personally and
together, get the Good News of Jesus to people, lots of people. They are your
treasure. Who knows? One of us might win the 1.2 billion people lottery of
people in heaven. That would make you really rich. And no government could take
a cut of that. So watch out for those “squirrels” and keep your focus on what
will last. Everything else, the Father will provide. Amen.
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