Are we developing the mind of
Christ? Are we putting into practice the attributes which He showed
on earth? Our goal is to become more like Him every day of our
lives. Let’s do our best to bring that about!
Text:
Luke 12
Body:
I.
Having the Right Kind of Fear to Overcome Bad Traits
Luke
12:4-7
“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill
the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will
show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed,
has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! Are not
five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is
forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all
numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many
sparrows.”
NKJV All
of us have different fears – of people, of events… The background
of this passage is the instruction He gave His apostles as they went
out into the world to teach and preach the gospel. Don’t be afraid
of men who have no power but to take life from your mortal bodies.
(Matthew
10:16-22)
22“And
you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to
the end will be saved.”
Your soul is beyond their reach. The only way your soul can be
punished eternally is if you allow it. Your physical body will
cease to exist one day, anyhow. Now He tells us who to fear.
Fear God Himself for He has made and designed a place we call hell,
the everlasting torment for those who know not God and do not obey
the gospel. (II
Thessalonians 1:7-9)
“and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus
is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire
taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do
not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of His power,”
(II
Corinthians 5:11)
“Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we
are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your
consciences.”
(Psalm
119:120)
“My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your
judgments.”
NKJV
Those who are outside Christ and do not know Him have much to fear.
They need “to quake, to tremble,” to be frightened. This type of
fear can be appealed to in order to induce obedience. (Hebrews
10:31)
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
NKJV For
those who are in Christ, who are faithful to Him and the Word, they
need not tremble at the thought of hell and its torments, for they
are secure and safe. (I
John 2:24-25)
“Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the
beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you
also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the
promise that He has promised us – eternal life.” (I
John 4:18) “There
is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear
involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in
love.”
NKJV
We still need to show a great reverence for God. (Hebrews
12:28)
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken,
let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with
reverence and godly fear.”
NKJV We
must give Him the honor due to the One Who has such awesome power.
II.
Having the Willingness to Confess Christ to Overcome Bad Traits
Luke
12:8-9
“Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of
Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies
Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.”
NKJV
Confess means literally to say the same thing, to say the same thing
as Christ. We must agree with His teachings. When we say, “Jesus
Christ is the Son of God,” we must accept the fact that He now has
“all authority in heaven and on earth.” We must continue to live
every day having Him as our Lord and King. We must yield to Him
and the Word and do only those things He has authorized. (Colossians
3:17)
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
NKJV
To confess Christ means we make a strong commitment to our promise
that we will do all in our power to uphold the greatest cause the
world has ever seen.
“Many in and out of the Lord’s church have tried to accept Jesus as
Saviour without accepting Him as Lord.” T. Pierce Brown
Recall the words of Matthew 7:23.
“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me,
you who practice lawlessness!’ ” NKJV
It
is not sufficient to merely say the words, “Lord, Lord.” But the
rewards of truly confessing Christ are unequaled. (Revelation
3:5)
“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not
blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name
before My Father and before His angels.” NKJV
III.
Using Fear and Confession to Rid Oneself of Covetousness
Luke 12:13-15
“Then one from the crowd said to Him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to
divide the inheritance with me.’ But He said to him, ‘Man, who made
Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?’ And He said to them, ‘Take
heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in
the abundance of the things he possesses.’ ” NKJV
What is it? Covetousness is greedily desiring something or
someone. The thing that is wrong with it is that it is idolatry.
(Colossians
3:5)
“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth:
fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness,
which is idolatry.”
NKJV
“Subjection to an alien power.” Paul did not even want it to be
named among the saints at Ephesus. (Ephesians
5:3)
“But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not
even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;”
NKJV
He also told the church at Corinth not to even eat with a brother
who is covetous. (I
Corinthians 5:11)
“But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named
a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or
a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner – not even to eat with
such a person.”
NKJV
Covetousness is such a serious matter that Jesus gave a parable
about it so His followers would always be reminded of its
consequences.
Read
Luke 12:16-21.
“Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: ‘The ground of a certain
rich man yielded plentifully.’ And he thought within himself,
saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’
So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build
greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.’ And I
will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many
years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said to
him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then
whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who
lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” NKJV
Can we be covetous today? Certainly! How?
A.
By removing God from our heart and replacing Him with something else
It could be anything: money, power, influence, a job, society, TV.
The rich young ruler is an example. (Luke
18:22-23)
“So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, ‘You still lack
one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when he
heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.”
NKJV
He had not totally placed God first.
B.
By believing our material possessions are a measure of our
spirituality Example: Putting someone in as an elder just
because he is wealthy or influential, that is very wrong. Some
of the most spiritually-minded people I know have few material
possessions. However, financial poverty is no indication that
someone is bound for heaven. Our possessions are not a gauge.
C.
By putting physical above spiritual Our priority should be on
providing food for the soul, not food for the body. (John
6:27)
“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which
endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you,
because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” NKJV
Both are necessary. One is much more important. Place more
emphasis and put forth more effort for development of the spirit.
(II
Peter 1:5-11)
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your
faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to
self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to
godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For
if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who
lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has
forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore,
brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure,
for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an
entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
NKJV Application
– most of us would sell our possessions to provide for our families’
physical need. Would we do the same for their spiritual needs? How
much effort do we expend in insuring that they are fed a strong
spiritual diet? It is a serious matter!
D.
By pursuing what the world calls “the good life” Many of us
find the money necessary to buy what we really want: “new car, new
home, recreation. . .” These are not bad things. There is
nothing wrong with them. But have we reached the point where we
desire the “easy” life more than the Christian life?
That’s the real question.
Invitation:
Are you in Christ so that you
need not fear the judgment? Are you calling Jesus Lord but not
obeying His voice? Have you been guilty of covetousness so that you
need to publicly confess?
Bobby Stafford
November 22, 2015 [Evening]
The
church of Christ
