Anxieties Begone!

Luke 12:22-40 and the Call to Trust God’s Provision

Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

And now.

Here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke.

The 12th chapter.

And Jesus 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. 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 could 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 of 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, O 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 they seek after these things, and your father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom and these things will be added to you. So fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

So sell your possessions. Give to the needy. Provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old, with treasure in heaven that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Faith, Anxiety, and the Value God Gives to Sinners

So stay dressed for action. Keep your lamps burning. Be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.

Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at the table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch or in the third and finds them awake, blessed are those servants.

But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

This is the.

Gospel of the Lord. Praise be to thee, O Christ.

In the name of Jesus. Amen. Alright, so if you have a copy of the ESV, this is an interesting text because in the front end of it, it has this title. In fact, let me pull this up in my ESV. It says, Do Not Be Anxious.

Do not be anxious. And I'm going to note something here. The last part of our gospel text today, when I was an evangelical, made me so anxiety-ridden, I feared that I wasn't even saved. I mean, after all, you'll hear Jesus says, don't be anxious, don't worry about anything and all this kind of stuff, but then you hear these words that you've got to stay dressed, ready for action, keep your lamps burning.

You need to stay awake. Indeed, we must stay awake, but the question is, what does it mean to stay awake? You see, I was told when I was a young lad that to stay awake means that you don't want, when Jesus shows up secretly, to rapture the church.

This is how they would speak. You don't want to be left behind. And of course, you would be left behind if, when Jesus showed up, you were playing a game of cards with your friends. That's a very dangerous thing.

You would be left behind if the Lord came back and He saw you watching a movie that was rated too high in the morality scale, you know, maybe R or something like that. If you were watching that one, well, He would think that you were asleep.

If you were having a beer when Jesus shows up, well, you definitely are asleep. You see, you have to keep yourself awake and to keep yourself awake means that you must apply yourself morally so that when Jesus returns, you are found to be worthy.

Now, wait a second here. Are we Christians found worthy of salvation by our works? So that's not what that text means. What does Jesus mean when He says to stay awake? It's an important question, one that we'll take a crack at to see if we can answer the question of.

But let's back up a little bit in the context. I'm getting ahead of myself. When I tend to do that, it says, do not be anxious. It says, Jesus says, therefore, I tell you, don't be anxious about your life, what you're going to eat, nor about your body, what you're going to put on, your clothing.

Life is more than food, the body more than clothing. And by the way, I think we all know this anxiety, right? We all know this one. Maybe younger kids don't have to worry about this so much. Because there was a time in my life when living in my father's home, my parents, they paid for everything.

They did. They paid for my food, they paid for my clothing, they paid for my schooling. If I wanted to participate in a sport, they paid for that too. If I wanted to go to the movies, I got to go to the movies.

If I wanted to go to Skate Junction, there was a roller skating thing in the 70s. It was a big deal. But they paid for that too. And I didn't have a worry in the world. And then they told me I had to get a job.

And the anxieties started arriving. And these were true anxieties. And then I moved out of the house. And anxiety levels escalated. Menu choices became fewer and fewer. I went from having great food to macaroni and cheese and things that you can cook in a cup.

I could afford that. Anxiety was high. And see, the thing is that then you get married. You have kids. You have bills to pay. There's a mortgage. You get the idea. And then there's times when you don't have a job.

And then there's times when your children are sick. And then there's all kinds of other times. Anger and arguments. The world just seems filled with anxiety. And the reality is that we somehow have had this bizarre notion that we can solve our own problems.

We can solve it. You lack a little bit of money? No problemo. Just apply yourself a little bit harder. Save a little bit more. And the person who seems to get X'd out in the equation, well, that would be God.

He's kind of the first thing to go in our anxious quadratic equations. We'll just X out God and we can solve it on our own. But Jesus, he's pointing out here that this is a form of idolatry. That when we think that we are to meet our own needs apart from the open hand of God, then we are, well, not having faith.

We are not trusting. What's the point of having a God if your God does not care for you and meet your needs? So Jesus says consider the ravens. I don't particularly like ravens. But consider them. They neither sow nor reap.

They have neither storehouse nor barn. Yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? Now it's an interesting question because when you read Romans chapter 3, the Apostle Paul quoting the Psalms says, all have sinned, all have fallen short.

Together they have become, and here's an important word, worthless. Because of our sin, because of our rebellion against God, all of humanity has become worthless. But Jesus says, how much more value are you than the birds?

In our sinful state, the birds are more valuable than we are. At least they're not sent to hell. So which of you then, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his lifespan? And I think that's a fun question that he asks because now here in the 21st century, we've seen the studies.

Anxiety shortens people's lives. Anxiety oftentimes will be the mitigating circumstance that will cause somebody's health to begin to fail, cancer to arise, things of this nature. And then he says, so if you're not able to do as small a thing as this, why are you anxious about the rest?

So consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these. I was back here in Swansea in May, and it was dark and rainy and kind of broody, kind of a Swansea thing.

But the day before the conference, the day before the conference, I mean, the flower boxes here in Swansea, I mean, I didn't, I've never seen those before. I never took notice of them, but they are so gorgeous and beautiful.

I took a photograph of Siloam across the street through the flowers because I loved the color, right? And so note then, these flowers that not even Solomon in all of his glory was arrayed like any of these, but if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today and tomorrow, well, it'll disappear until next summer and the warm weather returns.

It's thrown into the oven. How much more will he clothe you? And here's the kicker. O you of little faith. Let's consider our Old Testament text in this context. O you of little faith. Remember Abram.

Before his name was changed to Abraham, the father of many, Abram was promised by God that he would have a son, a descendant directly from him, and that promise sat unfulfilled for many years. And while it sat unfulfilled, he got older and older and older, and Sarah went through menopause.

She had the hot flashes and all the things that go along with that. Loads of fun, by the way, right? And she was well past the age, and while all of that's going on, well, God hadn't lied. Abram's still alive.

But now it says here, after these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. So now God is communicating to Abram. He says, Fear not, Abram. I am your shield. I am your reward, and your reward shall be great.

Now, Abram's not engaging in sour grapes here, but he is diplomatically reminding the Lord of his promises. Oh, Yahweh Elohim, what will you give me? For I continue childless. The heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus.

I don't even like the guy. And Abram said, Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir. This is how things are going right now. If you're checking in, I don't know if you paid attention to the state of affairs.

I'm writing my will. I might have to have it executed next week. But the word of the Lord came to him and said, This man shall not be your heir. Your very own son shall be your heir. And he brought him outside, and he said, Look toward the heaven.

Number the stars if you are able to number them. And then he said to him, So shall your offspring be. And then the most important words,. And Abram believed the Lord, and it was counted. It was credited to him as righteousness.

He believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Is that not exactly what the New Testament teaches in regards to us? We who believe the promises of the Lord, it now is credited to us as righteousness.

This is the great doctrine of the imputation of the perfect righteousness of Christ, which is given to us, not by our works, not by our sanctification, not by our good deeds, not by how much money we give to the poor, but is given freely as a gift, a gift from God, received by grace through faith.

And faith is a trust then that God will make good his promises. And this is what Hebrews says, our epistle text. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction or you can even say the certainty of things that are not seen.

Did you notice here that the divine service began with you confessing your sins? By the way, I'm never shocked when people show up to church and they confess that they are sinners. Notice I joined my voice to yours.

But you heard these words, and they were not my words because I wasn't speaking on my own authority. And the words were, I forgive you all of your sins. You all look exactly the same to me. None of you are glowing.

No, no glowing going on. Okay, none of you seem to be shinier or anything like that. In fact, you all look exactly the same. So how am I supposed to know whether your sins are forgiven or not? I can't look to you to figure that out.

I must look to the word of Christ. Has Christ ever lied? No. He never has and he never will. And he's the one who gave authority to the church to forgive sins. In the gospel of John he says to his disciples, the sins you forgive have already been forgiven.

The sins you retain are already retained. So note then that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction, the certainty of things not seen. I can't see that your sins are forgiven or that mine are forgiven.

But faith takes the promises of Christ and says yes. In fact, it's more than yes. It's you betcha, certainty. I'm forgiven. Right? That's the idea. I am certain that I am forgiven. How dare you? That's arrogant.

No. No. That's firm belief that Jesus never lies. That I truly am standing before him, not with my sin on me, but with his righteousness clothing me. You see, the people of old, our text says, the people of old, they receive their commendation.

By faith then, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of the things that are visible. Consider the implications as it relates then to the book of Genesis.

You know, I always love it when Christians sit there and struggle and go who do I believe? Mr. Moses or Mr. Darwin? I mean, after all, Darwin is buried in Westminster.

Right?

I'm going to go with Jesus. And the text here says by faith, we understand that the world was created by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of the things that are visible. And now we get a list, a short list of some of the patriarchs of the Old Testament.

By faith, Abel, he offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. Cain didn't offer his sacrifice in faith at all. But Abel did. By faith, he offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice through which he was commended as being righteous.

And you'll note then that it says in the text that God accepted Abel and then his sacrifice. Not the other way around. The order is important. You see, his, he was accepted because he had faith. And because of that, his sacrifice was accepted.

Cain had no faith. Therefore, he was rejected along with his sacrifice. So God commended Abel by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. His blood speaks to us today.

His blood speaks to us. And I would tell you that there is blood even more precious than Abel's that speaks to us today. The blood of Christ shed for us so that we can be forgiven. By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death.

And he was not found because God had taken him. Now, before he was taken, he was commended. Commended as having pleased God. And how do you do that? The text says without faith, it's impossible to please Him.

Notice it doesn't say without firm commitment to give up card playing. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. You see, whoever would draw near to God, he must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

And then by faith, Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear, he constructed an ark for the saving of his household. And by this, by his faith, he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that what?

That comes by faith. Noah, in the Old Testament, was not saved by his works. Neither was Abram. Neither was David. Neither was Samuel. All of these men, they were saved by grace through faith. You see, by faith then, Abram obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.

And you'll note then that obedience and faith have a lot in common. I always keep telling people, the reason why Christians do what they do is because they are what they are. In the same way that the reason why cows moo is because they're cows.

The reason why cats meow and scratch up your carpet and mess up your couch is because they're cats. Right? Yeah. And we won't even get going on the dogs as lovable as they are, the messes they make. Right?

But they do those doggy things. Why? Because they're dogs. So the reason why we do our good works and we strive to obey, why we daily put to death the old self and put on the new that has been given to us in our baptisms, is because we are Christians.

Not in order to be Christians. If you're using your good works as currency in order to become a Christian so that God will finally say, good girl, good boy, oh yes, I'm so proud of you, yes, you can finally come in, you're going to hell.

Because you can't do it. But see, even Noah, he was one who by faith became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. And the righteousness that comes by faith is not yours, it's not mine, it's Christ's.

His righteousness is given to us. You remember, Abram believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness in the same way that we believe the promises of Christ. That he has bled and died for us and because of that it is now credited to us as if we are righteous.

Now we being clothed in the righteousness that comes from God, the righteousness of God that comes by faith. So Abram obeyed when he was called to go to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.

He went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land living in tents with Isaac and Jacob heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations and whose designer and builder is God.

You see, as he was sojourning, the thing he was really looking for was not some small postage stamp piece of property out there in the Mediterranean. He was looking for the city whose designer and builder is God.

And did he receive this promise? Well, the text goes on to say by faith then Sarah herself received the power to conceive even when she was past the age since she considered God to be faithful who had made the promise.

Therefore for one man and him as good as dead were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. All of these died. But listen to the words, in faith.

You know, in the New Testament, over and again, and Pastor Charmley did a great job of kind of teasing this little fact out. Throughout the New Testament, you see these amazing words, en Christos, in Christ.

We are described as Christians as being in Christ. When you were baptized, you were united with Christ in his death and his resurrection. Your heart was circumcised. You were placed in Christ. To be in Christ is to be in faith.

See, it's like this. Faith is like eyesight. Right? Faith is like eyesight. It always has something that it's looking to. In whom are you trusting or what are you trusting? Faith is kind of a passive thing.

So the question is on what is your eyesight focusing? On what or on whom is your faith focusing? On your good works? Your hope that your party will finally win parliament? Are you hoping that your ideological people will finally eradicate poverty and bring heaven to earth?

Or is your faith in Christ? So you know, many times in the scripture, you can take faith and if you replace the word faith with Jesus, it means exactly the same thing. It's fascinating, right? All of these then, they died in Christ.

In faith. Not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar. Having acknowledged that they were strangers and that they were exiles on the earth. Are we any different? Are we any different?

Have any of you seen the streets of the New Jerusalem? Can any of you name what the names of the streets are? Where are its parks, its gardens, its squares, its piazzas if it has such a thing, right? Can any of you name the details of this place?

In what quarter is the temple? Where is your mansion? How many miles from the center of town is it? But the thing is we know all of these details exist regarding this city that Christ is building. The carpenter of Nazareth is busy at work right now.

The carpenter of Nazareth is so busy, he's building a city with his bare hands. It takes a little while to do that. Makes you wonder if that's the reason why he's delayed in coming, right? But see the thing is that we all know that these are the promises and even though we are heading to our graves and should Christ continue to stay busy with his hammer and his nails building this city, that we have assurance that we too, like them, have seen this promise from afar and we acknowledge then that we too, like them, are strangers.

We are exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus, they make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. I'm not going to step on toes, but our homeland isn't here. One of the things I've enjoyed about my travels in Europe over the past year is that I've been able to visit the cities of my forefathers, Wiesbaden, here in the UK in London.

And there's something about something very strong and compelling about being somewhere where you knew your grandfather was. And I was brought to tears when I saw the Mark the Kirke the market church in Wiesbaden the church of my grandparents, my great grandparents.

And the altar is beautiful. The altar is gorgeous. Inside the Mark the Kirke, they have Peter and Paul and John and Mark. And in the center of the altar, Christ on the cross and all of the evangelists are pointing to him in the statues.

This is my family's church, right? And so I, seeing this and experiencing this, just... But is Germany my homeland? I'm just sojourning here. You are too. Our homeland is the new earth, the world without end, whose capital will come from heaven on the last day.

And God will make his dwelling place among men, among us. We will see Jesus face to face, his nail-scarred and now calloused hands. I can only imagine building a city causes your skin to get a little rough, right?

And all of this he is building because of his great love for us. All we like sheep have gone astray. And yet he's laid down his life to bring us back, to call us back and to finally call us home. So all of these, they died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles in the earth.

For people who speak thus, they make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country that is a heavenly one.

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. So Jesus here in this sermon, in our gospel text, is calling out idolatry. Calling out this idea of going out there and being the rugged individual as I'll take on the world by myself.

I will be completely autonomous. I don't need God's help. And of course, there's a lot of anxiety that goes along with that. I'll make sure to put the food on the table. I'll make sure to put the clothes on my back.

And in the end, I'll die a little bit younger than most would. But hey, I did it my way. And Christ says, O you of little faith. O you of little faith. So he says, fear not, little flock. Fear not. It is your Father's good pleasure and listen to the words, to give you.

The kingdom. Give.

It's a gift. And so because of this, now we are free. Having received already this gift, the promise has been given. God never lies. It's a 100 guarantee. You can bet all the blue chips on Jesus when the ball drops.

And this is a terrible analogy, but when the ball drops on the roulette table, it's coming up Jesus. Right? Lord, forgive me. So because we have this freedom, listen to what Jesus says. Sell your possessions.

Travel light. Give to the needy. Provide yourselves with money bags that don't grow old. With a treasure that is in heaven that does not fail. Where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. You see where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Is your treasure here in your retirement account? In your cars? In your house? In your family? Well, that will all pass away. But is Christ your treasure? The one who looked upon you and said, I will have mercy.

The one for whom he said, I will leave heaven and my throne and be found in the form of a servant and lay down my life so that you can live rather than die. The opening hymn, Jesus, priceless treasure.

You see where your treasure is, then your heart will be also. If Christ is your treasure, then your heart and your mind are set on things that are above, not on the things of the earth. And so now we come to those words, those stress, anxiety causing words.

So stray, dress for action. Keep your lamps burning. Be like men who are waiting for their master to come. Get busy, Jesus is coming. No, to be awake means to stay in faith. Or as the great prophet from the band Journey used to sing, don't stop believing, right?

That's the idea. To stay awake is to continue believing. To know that the one who has assured you of forgiveness and eternal life, he will make good his promise. And though we see it from afar, and though the devil, the world, our sinful nature and everything around us try to knock that faith out of us, we know that he is coming.

And the one who believes that will stay awake, will continue to hope, will stand in confidence in defiance of the devil and all the circumstances he throws his way to assure us and to kind of convince us that it's not all as good as Christ made it out to be.

But the devil, our sinful nature and the world, they are liars. That is the unholy trinity. Christ says, fear not little fox. It is God's, the Father's pleasure to give to you the kingdom. So relax. Breathe.

You have a God that loves you. Who cares for you. Who bled and died for you. Put away your anxiety. That's to trust in yourself. Make yourself your own God. Repent of that evil. And relax. And rest in the promises of God.

He has never made a promise that he will not keep. His word does not return to him void. And he wants you to know today that he loves you. And that he has died for you. And that he forgives you. And that you are in him.

And that you need not worry. He is caring for you even now. So Lord help our unbelief. And forgive us for all those times when we have not trusted as we ought. And strengthen our faith. And embolden our confidence.

And help us Lord then to travel light. Knowing that as sojourners we don't need big expensive cars and homes. Even Abram lived in only a tent. So travel light. Give to the poor and the needy. Your salvation is coming.

It's almost here. It's at the door. He's at the door. Your great powerful savior and treasure. Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

470th Avenue Northwest Oslo Minnesota 567 -44. And again that address is Kungsvinger Lutheran Church 15950 470th Avenue Northwest Oslo Minnesota 567 -44. We thank you for your support. All of our teaching messages may be freely distributed as long as you do not edit or change the content of the message.

And again, thank you for listening.