Please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke Chapter 12…
The Gospel means good news and all 4 Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are about the good news of God and Savior Jesus Christ. Of course, the best news from Jesus Christ was He, who was holy and had no sin, died for every person’s sin.
From the Gospel of John, chapter 3 verse 16 we read…. Let’s say it together…..
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
What are the key words in John 3:16??
And so, only those who believe in Jesus Christ as God and Savior will not perish but have eternal life.
Now, John 3:16 is a fantastic verse, but there are 879 verses in the Gospel of John; 1071 verses in Matthew, 678 verses in Mark, and 1151 verses in Luke!!
Besides salvation, what else do you think the Gospels are trying to say???
The Gospels tell the story of Jesus Christ and salvation from sins. But what good does eternal life do for you if you are living a life on earth aimlessly?
In the Gospels, Jesus taught people how to live!
In our passage today, Jesus spoke to regular people but He taught His disciples directly about living!
Now, I believe a person can be saved but not a Disciple of Christ; but every Christian is called to be a Disciple of Christ!
According to Christian Researcher George Barna, most Christians today in America look and act just like ordinary people in society; it is very hard to tell who the Christians are.
Will we be just ordinary people or be a true Disciples of Christ by listening and obeying Jesus Christ?
Let us read and listen very carefully to what God is saying in Luke 12:13-34…..
Jesus spoke to a typical person in verses 13-21; what can we note about a typical person?
We can actually note a few things from v13:
- looking for answers; so he went to a “teacher”
- involved in “relationships” (had a brother and family inheritance) Did this person have a good relationship with his brother?
- family relationships were not good
Why do you think this man had troubles with his relationships??
- Obsessed with riches and possessions! (v15-19)
And what can we note from v16-19, the parable?
A parable is short story with a lesson.
What was the story?
- Rich man was blessed with more than he needed!
And what was the first thing he thought about??
- his first thought was hoarding!
The dilemma he had for his added blessings was “Where am I going to store all this stuff?” because he just wanted to keep it all for himself! He had selfish greed!
And did that greed helped him to think right? He tore down his barns to build bigger ones and assumed many years of life in merriment!
- greed led to a life of “fantasy” not reality!
- while planning his fantasy life, he died!
What was the lesson? – look again at v20-21 with me…..
In the end, all is lost with a life of selfishness and without God!
Yes, today we have all sorts of fancy gadgets and the Internet, the world’s knowledge in the palm of our hands! But are people really any different from the man described by Jesus in Luke 12:13-21?
What Jesus said 2000 years ago applies to people today! This is what Jesus says to all people He created, “In the end, all is lost with a life of selfishness and without God!”
A couple of quick application questions for us:
How selfish are we; always focused on pleasing self?
Is your life and mine with or without God?
In the end, all is lost with a life of selfishness and without God!
Now, many of us are Believers of God and Jesus Christ. Most of us would say we are disciples of Jesus Christ ready and willing to follow Him.
But look again at v22; Jesus spoke directly to those who were truly willing to follow Him.
The lesson to Jesus’ disciples was related to the general lesson of selfishness. Jesus spoke directly to His disciples because He knew that they too can easily fall into the trap of selfishness and greed. And so, what was Jesus teaching His disciples in v22-34?
The main point is this: Disciples of Christ may believe in God but they can be living in little faith, wasting life with much worrying!
Little faith = worrying
Worrying = little faith in God
Jesus said in v25, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?”
Does this mean Disciples of Christ should not care or plan about life? - that everything will just be given and everything will be a life like a “bowl of cherries” or as Forrest Gump would say, life is just like a box of chocolates!
How should we interpret Scriptures? We must always look at the context of a verse or a passage and refer to other Scriptures! We will look at the context of our passage today but if one comes to you and say, “I don’t have to look for work or even work because Jesus said in Luke 12 that I can be like a bird or a flower who does not have to labor; God will provide”, what would you say to them??
God tells us in other Scriptures, specifically in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
Christ’s Disciples are not to worry because the main point of what Jesus was saying in Luke 12 is not to be obsessed with material things of this world!
Jesus states in verse 23, “life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.” In other words, there is a need for food and clothes, just do not be obsessed that you worry!
Look again at v29-30, Jesus said……
In other words, God knows people need food and drink and He will provide; do not worry about food and drink as to be obsessed by them. Does this apply to us?
Many of us will say “I just gotta have it!” - “I gotta have my coffee! Or I gotta have my rice! Or I gotta have a smartphone or I gotta have my wine or beer!” What can be wrong with our “gotta haves”? Our “gotta haves” are wrong when God is not involved in them!
Basically in v28 Jesus is saying, If you worry about material things of this world, you lack faith in God!
And so for those who truly desire to be a disciple of Jesus Christ the main focus of life is stated in v31…….
The priority in life for a Christian is to seek God’s Kingdom! Our thought everyday as a Christian should be our involvement in god’s Kingdom!
What does seeking God’s kingdom mean?
v32 – do not be afraid of life for Christians are in the Kingdom of God.
This is similar to the command about putting on the helmet of salvation (if you’re a Christian, always have a mindset that you are a citizen of eternal heaven!)
v33a – is related to the parable in v16-19; do not hoard your extra blessings!
v33b-34 – God’s treasures is what we should treasure!
In other words, focus and work on what’s pleasing to God!
Let me close with these thoughts for us to think and pray about:
How do you measure your success in life?
All your efforts and treasures here on earth, will they matter in heaven?
If you die today, what good is all the “stuff” you have?
