WWUTT 2402 Do Not Be Anxious About Your Life (Luke 12:22-26)

Jesus told his disciples, do not be anxious about the things that you cannot control, but seek first the kingdom of God and all the things that you need will be added to you as well. Good lesson for us too, when we understand the text.

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Hey, once again, it's Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. In our study of the gospel of Luke, we come back to chapter 12. The lesson we're gonna be reading today is where Jesus teaches his disciples about not being anxious. So let's read it together.

Jesus Teaches His Disciples Not to Be Anxious

Verses 22 to 34, hear the word of the Lord. And he said to his disciples, therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing.

Consider the ravens, they neither sow nor reap. They have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you? Oh, you of little faith. And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.

For all the nations of the world seek after these things and your father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old. With a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Now you are surely familiar with this teaching. You have heard it before, but not as often in the context of Luke 12. Where do you hear this teaching come from the most often?

You most often hear it in the context of the Sermon on the Mount. Because this is the same kind of teaching that we read there right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter six. Here, it's not even in the context of the Sermon on the Plain, which we read much earlier in Luke's gospel.

Here, it's in this teaching that Jesus is giving to the crowds and to his disciples. Remember, we started in chapter 12 by reading, in the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first.

And then we had those lessons that he gave to his disciples. Then you also had someone in the crowd who spoke up and called out to him, "'Teacher, tell my brother "'to divide the inheritance with me.'".

That was in verse 13. That was the parable that we read yesterday, the parable of the rich fool. So Jesus is obviously teaching the crowds here. And like with the Sermon on the Mount, it's not to the crowd specifically that Jesus is teaching, but more specifically to his disciples.

Even when we go back to chapter 12, we read that opening statement again. There were many thousands of people. They had gathered together and were trampling one another. He began to say to his disciples first.

So that's not necessarily to mean that as the crowds are coming together, Jesus is like, oh, well, I gotta say something to my disciples real quick before all these people get here. It means that the priority in his teaching is to his disciples.

He is speaking to them first before he is speaking to anyone else in the crowd. The crowd is certainly there, but it's to his disciples that he is teaching because disciple means learner. Not everybody there in the crowd is there to learn.

A lot of them have showed up because they want a miracle or they've seen amazing things. Or in the case of the guy that we read about yesterday, he wants Jesus to exercise some kind of authority and tell his brother to divide up the inheritance with him.

So they're seeking him for other means rather than knowing that he is God and learning from the incarnate son of God who has come to man. They have other reasons that they are there. Whereas Jesus is teaching to his disciples for they are learning.

And it is to them that he will give the commission to go out into the world and share the gospel. So this lesson is first to those who would listen and learn. And that is why Jesus addresses his disciples first.

So we've got some other things that are coming up here, other things that Jesus will teach, interactions that he will have that continue over the course of chapters 12 and 13. And so here with his disciples saying to them, therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life.

So we have that statement, therefore, what came before it? Again, the parable that we read yesterday, the parable of the rich fool, to whom God said, fool, this night, your soul will be required of you.

And the things that you have prepared, whose will they be? And the last line that Jesus gave after telling that parable, so is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. So the person who is storing up treasure for himself on earth, his life will be taken from him in a moment.

And then all those things that he prepared, what's gonna happen to them? Where is he laid up that treasure? All of it is on earth. It will be divided among people that are still on earth. And the man's not gonna have any say in how that's gonna be divided up among people.

We must live our lives for God and not for ourselves. And living for God, what would that mean? Well, I kind of gave illustrations or some applications rather regarding this yesterday, but we would not cling too tightly to those things that we have, the money that we have earned.

All of these things are blessings that come from God because it all belongs to him anyway. So we need to be willing to be generous with what we have, benefit others, give it back to the Lord, even for the purpose of ministry.

The more that we cling to, the more anxious we will become to clamor after those things. And then those things are not even going to save us in the end anyway. Because as I said yesterday, you don't get to take it with you.

Nobody's dragging a U-Haul into the graveyard. All of that stuff is gonna remain here. It's gonna be dispersed among people. You won't even have any say over it. And what do we have to present before God?

Certainly not the things that we earned here, not the possessions that we had, but it's going to be rather the works that we did. Now, that's not to say that works save you, but works are still important.

If you are saved, if you have been justified by faith, by the grace of God, we've received those things by faith. If you've been justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, then you're saved. You are marked for eternity to live forever with God in his glorious kingdom.

But then after that justification occurs, there's going to be evidence of the fact that we belong to God, that we are now citizens of that heavenly kingdom. And so there will be works to match the claim that we have made, that we are justified by faith, that I believe in Jesus, I am his follower, then we're gonna show it with our lives.

By doing what it is that Jesus had told us to do. So our works are going to be what we present at the judgment as here's the evidence that I belonged to the Lord Jesus Christ. So Jesus says to his disciples, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life.

Don't be chasing after those material things, thinking that all of those things are what's gonna make up your life. Don't be thinking about what you will eat or anxious about it, right? And we always think about what we're gonna eat, even as I'm sitting here recording this, I'm thinking about the meals that I've got to make the next day.

When I go pick up my kids from school and they get into the vehicle at Christian school, by the way, just to clarify. But when I pick them up from school and they get in the vehicle, the first thing my son asked me, he's 13 years old at the time of this recording.

The first thing he asks me is, what's for supper? Every time, without fail. It's the first thing he says. Every time he gets into the car, he's already thinking about his next meal. So I've gotta be thinking of an answer before he gets in the vehicle, because I know that that's the question that he's going to ask.

Either I'm making it or Becky's making it, but I've thought about what's for supper. And now I'm gonna tell my son, here's what we're gonna eat tonight. So we do think about what to eat. You always gotta think about what to eat.

It's important. Even when Jesus taught us how to pray, give us this day our daily bread. We are asking God to provide for us those material needs that we have. So the point here is really that you would not worry about what you would eat, that you don't make it your whole life.

Like you're not anxious for that constantly. All that I have to think about and everything for which I labor is what I'm gonna eat today. Do not be anxious about what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.

So you're not, your whole life is therefore not about going after those garments that are gonna look fantastic. It's usually when a person's thinking about what they're gonna put on. It's pretty incredible clothing.

It's not, I need some rags to wear today. It's being anxious for those things that are gonna make me look impressive to other people. For life is more than food, Jesus says. And the body is more than clothing.

Recently, I had a discussion online with a group of people. They were Christian nationalists. Are you familiar with the Christian nationalist movement? It's basically the idea that we should be a Christian nation and they're gonna be laboring and working for whatever thing they need to do to make this nation Christian.

And the word Christian is not in the sense saved. It's more of a label. We wanna be able to be the kind of nation that could be labeled Christian, but not actually be Christian. That's really the problem behind Christian nationalism.

Even the Christian nationalists will admit that. It's not about making the nation Christian. It's making the nation into something that could be labeled Christian. And so I've made the comment regarding this, that if you really wanna see your nation become a Christian nation, then preach the gospel.

What's most important is preaching the gospel. You could try to Christianize this nation and whatever label you would be slapping on it, and it's still full of people that are going to hell just wearing a Christian T-shirt, but their hearts have not actually been changed.

They're not actually seeking God. They don't know the Lord Jesus Christ. They just pay lip service to it. We've made a bunch of Pharisees. These people acknowledge me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me as Jesus rebuked them in Mark 7.

Another comment that I made on social media, America's most critical need is not less debt, better laws, fewer taxes, higher taxes, quality schools, larger churches, social programs, stronger families, safer communities, affordable healthcare, competent leadership.

America needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is our most critical need. And Stephen Wolf, the author of The Case for Christian Nationalism, which is like the textbook on the whole Christian nationalism movement.

And incidentally, I don't think this book has had nearly the impact that some people say that it has. It's more like people pay lip service to the book more than they've actually read it. But nonetheless, Wolf has written what's essentially the textbook for Christian nationalism.

So the author of The Case of Christian Nationalism responded to me and said this, man's most critical need is not food, water, or shelter. Man needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. He's making fun of me when he makes that statement.

Now, frankly, I could not believe that Wolf said that when I read it. I mean, this is a man with a doctorate. This is a man who claims that he has higher knowledge in Christendom than the average Joe.

And yet, has he not read that Jesus spoke directly to this concern? For here, Jesus is saying, don't be anxious about what you will eat. Do not be anxious about what you will put on. For life is more than food and the body is more than clothing.

So yeah, Jesus responded to exactly that quip that Stephen Wolf said of me, that man's most critical need is not food, water, or shelter. Man needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's actually exactly right.

Wolf said it as mockery, but it's the truth. Man's most critical need is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The only way that you will be saved and have eternity with God and will not perish in judgment is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the grave.

And whoever believes in him will not perish under the judgment of God, but have everlasting life. This is what's most important, not what we can possess here on this earth, but what we possess in heaven with God through Christ, our Lord.

That's our most critical need. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It really is very astonishing to see the number of people among Christians within Christianity. I want to call them professing Christians, but I don't mean to say that in a way that's disparaging of them.

They are professing Christians. They claim to be followers of Christ.

I'm not saying that.

Sometimes we use that label to say that they're not really Christians. They're just professing Christians. That's not what I mean. But a number of professing Christians here in the United States in particular, there's this growing interest in thinking that we're going to take back over the country.

We are going to make this a Christian nation. It's going to be ours because God has mandated for us to possess it. And they're reading their eschatology even into the gospel, that the gospel means that we're going to take this thing over again and that Christ is going to reign over all.

He does reign over all. There's not a square inch of the world that he doesn't own. There's not a square inch of the universe that doesn't belong to Christ, to which he has said, this is mine. But that doesn't mean that we get to possess it having attained some sort of power or political advantage.

We have Christ. We have everything. We don't need the stuff of this earth. It is all going to be burned up with fire at the judgment. So there is nothing of this earth that we would therefore need to possess to affirm somehow that we belong to Christ.

That's not the teaching of scripture here. Jesus is plainly saying, don't be anxious about this stuff. Even the regular everyday things that we all need, he's saying, don't be anxious about. And then gives examples.

Consider the ravens. They neither sow nor reap. They have neither storehouse nor barn. And yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? God's going to provide for you just as he has provided for the rest of creation that we can observe as being taken care of.

He's going to take care of us as well. And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Have you ever worried so much that you added days to your years? No, of course not. As a matter of fact, science even tells us when you look at the data that the more anxious you are, the more worried you are.

You're actually subtracting years off of your life. I don't know if you've seen that guy who's trying to. He's trying to achieve some sort of, I don't know, fountain of youth or something by having like blood transfusions and certain daily regimen that he has.

He's in.

He's in his 40s now. He's a rich guy. Of course, he can invest all these millions and doing all this stuff and trying to maintain a youthful appearance. I think he's late 40s, might be 50, something like that.

But anyway, when I read all the stuff that he's doing to try to maintain youthfulness, and then someone showed me a picture of him, I was like, he looks like an American white dude in his mid 40s. So for all of the millions of dollars that he spent, he looks like he's my age.

I don't know what that.

Was supposed to buy for him.

Exactly.

You will not be able to add one more hour to your life than God intends for you to have. As said in Job 14, God has set his limits upon every person that he cannot pass. No one can add one hour to his span of life.

God has already written this in his book before the foundation of the world. So you worrying about it is not going to add a single hour to your span of life. Trust God. Put everything into the hands of God.

Quit clamoring after those things that are not going to last even time. For you can't add more time to yourself than God is already going to give you. If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, Jesus said.

Why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. There's more beauty in the flowers of the field than there was Solomon in his palace in the greatness of Israel in those days.

But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you? Oh, you of little faith. We'll come back to that tomorrow. So we'll continue this section that Jesus is teaching on not being anxious.

We'll come back to that tomorrow and consider once again exactly what Jesus is getting at in verse 34, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. So if there's anything that I can encourage you in as we read in those lessons between today and tomorrow, it would be to set your heart upon Christ.

And if that's your desire, if that's what you're longing for, if that's what you want, great will be your reward in the kingdom of heaven. As Jesus put it in Matthew 6 33, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all the things that you need will be added to you as well.

Prayer and Closing Exhortation

Heavenly father, we thank you for what we've read here. Good reminders for us, especially how easy it is for us, how prone we are to be clamoring after those things that do not last, to be anxious over them, to be worried about them.

You are going to provide for us and you have shown yourself faithful time and time again. So may we trust in the hand that feeds us, the hand that sustains us, upholds us and gives us all good things in Christ Jesus.

Forgive us our sins and lead us in paths of righteousness for your name's sake. It's in Jesus name we pray.

Amen.

Blog and Sign-Off

Pastor Gabe keeps a regular blog sharing personal thoughts, alerting readers to false teachers and offering commentary on the church and social issues. You can find a link to the blog through our website, www .utt .com.

Thank you for listening and join us again tomorrow as we continue our study in God's word when we understand the text.