Sermon The Human Life is Valuable to God
Luke 12:7
I. We (humans) are valuable because God knows us. Fear the Lord Not Man
there are things to fear in life, some very serious things. However, there is a vast difference between what men usually fear and what God says to fear. The things men fear are usually of their own making, and men would not have to fear them if they trusted God (war, deception, evil, stealing, bankruptcy, and other fears of men).
Jesus covered what men should fear. Note: He spoke first to the disciples (vv. 1–3), then to His friends (vv. 4–12). There was one thing in particular that His disciples needed to fear, and that one thing needs to be feared by everyone. That one thing is hypocrisy.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (1996). The Gospel according to Luke (p. 242). Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
Do not fear men, but God alone. The reason is logical: men can only kill the body. God can cast both body and soul “into hell.”
Fear with Respect not Fear out of being scared
b. Do not fear the lack of necessities. Note the word “forgotten.” The friend of the Lord is not forgotten, no matter the circumstance. There is something very precious here, yet there is a revelation of power as well.
⇒ There is a preciousness in the thought that every sparrow, no matter how common or forgotten or ignored, is very dear to God.
⇒ There is power in that God knows every single sparrow on the earth, and not a single one falls but what He knows about its injury. The idea is that injury to the sparrow causes pain and hurt which God feels. Suffering is due to the corruption and evil in the world, and corruption and evil always cause pain for God.
1) There is God’s providence. God sees, knows, cares, and oversees all the events and happenings on earth—even for the little sparrow that is so common and forgotten.
2) There is God’s knowledge (omniscience). God knows every little happening and all that is, even to the most minute detail. He knows when a single sparrow falls to the ground. He knows every hair of a person’s head, even the number of hairs.
3) There is God’s power (omnipotence). God is able to control the events that happen to the believer, no matter how detailed and minute. He can control and work them out for good to such an extent that there is no need for the believer to fear.
4) There is God’s love. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ and of God.
(Ro. 8:35, 38–39).
c. Fear the spirit of disloyalty, of denying Christ. Note three points.
1) Men shall be judged before the angels of God. Angels will witness either our acceptance or rejection by God.
2) The judgment will be executed by the Son of Man Himself. He alone is the One Man who lived and experienced all the temptations and trials of life, yet He never sinned. He alone has been through it all and conquered all. He alone is worthy to judge. He alone knows …
• what a man is
• what a man believes and does not believe
• what a man can and cannot do
• what a man does and fails to do
3) The basis of judgment is a man’s attitude toward the Son of Man (see note—Mt. 8:20).
⇒ The man who truly confesses (lives for) Christ before men, shall be confessed (given life) before the angels of God.
⇒ The man who denies (fails to live for) Christ before men shall be denied (not given life) before the angels of God.
d. Fear the unpardonable sin. Note two crucial points.
1) Blasphemy against Christ, the Son of Man, can be forgiven. If a person is guilty of cursing Christ and he really wants forgiveness, he can ask for forgiveness and God will forgive him if he repents.
2) Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not forgiven. This sin is not referring to just speaking words against the Spirit. It means setting one’s mind and heart and life against the Spirit. It means that the words spoken against
- Luke 12:7
- Psalms 139: 1 – 6
“But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:7 (KJV)
“To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” Psalm 139: 1 – 6
II. We (humans) are valuable even before we are born
- Jeremiah 1:4-5
a. God chose Jeremiah to be a prophet even before his birth (vv. 4–5). This is a striking statement, a statement intended to arouse confidence and assurance in Jeremiah. God informed the young man of three facts:
1) Before God formed Jeremiah in the womb, God knew him (v. 5). The word knew (yada) refers to God’s perfect, timeless, all-encompassing knowledge. Before Jeremiah was ever conceived in the womb of his mother, God knew all about him. God had a full and complete knowledge of him. God knew what Jeremiah would be like in all his weaknesses and strengths, flaws and virtues, failures and successes. God knew that Jeremiah would trust the Lord, that he would establish a close, personal relationship with the Lord. For all these reasons, the Lord accepted Jeremiah and chose him before his birth (Ge. 18:19; Ps. 1:6; Am. 3:2).
2) God set apart Jeremiah to be a prophet. He was not to commit his life to any other profession nor to spend his time on other affairs (2 Ti. 2:3–4). He was set apart for a specific task, to be a very special minister of the Lord.
3) Jeremiah was ordained, appointed to be a prophet to the nations of the world. God created the whole world; therefore, His love reaches out to all the nations of the earth. God wants everyone to be saved and to live with Him eternally. This is why He chose Abraham to be the father of Israel, a people who were to be a new race through whom He could send His Son and give His Word to the world. This is why God chose Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations of the world. Through Jeremiah, God warned the world and still warns us today: unless we repent of our sins and are saved, the hand of God’s judgment will fall on us.
b. When the Lord issued His call to Jeremiah, a deep sense of inadequacy surged through the young man’s body (v. 6). Hesitant, somewhat fearful due to the enormous task of reaching the nations with God’s Word, Jeremiah blurted out that he was not an eloquent speaker, not a public speaker at all. Moreover, he was only a child, a young man who had no experience. Considering the long ministry of Jeremiah (over 41 years), he was probably around 20 years old. Whatever the case, Jeremiah knew the awful wickedness of the people and the society in which he lived, as well as his own inadequacies and inexperience as a young man. He knew that a prophet must have the ability to speak publicly in order to preach God’s Word. Thus, it was only natural for him to shrink back from the awesome task of reaching the nations for the Lord.
When the Lord calls any person to serve Him, the person usually senses a deep inadequacy. More often than not, the person feels totally incapable and unqualified for the task being assigned him by God. Note the following examples of men who were called by God:
(1) Moses felt inadequate, incapable when God called him: Exodus 3:11
(2) Gideon felt inadequate, incapable when the Lord called him. Judges 6:15
(3) Solomon felt inadequate, incapable for the task assigned him by God. I Kings 3:7
(4) Paul the Apostle felt inadequate, incapable in carrying out the task assigned him by the Lord 2 Corth 2
“Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” Jeremiah 1: 4 – 5 (KJV)
