Luke 12:32
PRECIOUS WORDS TO A PRECIOUS PEOPLE
Intro: For several years a woman had been having
trouble getting to sleep at night because she feared
burglars. One night her husband heard a noise in the
house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he
got there, he did find a burglar. "Good evening," said
the man of the house. "I am pleased to see you. Come
upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting 10
years to meet you."
Many of us act as this woman did. We spend so
much time being anxious that we seem almost eager for
bad things to happen. But when we worry, our faith is
diminished. Solomon must have been speaking of the
uselessness of worry when he wrote, "Unless the Lord
builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless
the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in
vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to
eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved
sleep" (Psalm 127:1-2). People tend to worry! When
something occurs in our lives that we cannot control, we
worry. When something appears on the horizon of our
lives that looks bad, even though it may or may not
happen, we worry. We worry about big things, and we
worry about little things. The point is, we worry!
A lot of us are like the fellow who raised chickens,
and among them was a rooster that occasionally
crowed and greatly annoyed the next-door neighbor.
Early one morning, disturbed and angry, he called the
owner of the flock and made this complaint, "That
miserable bird of yours keeps me up all night!" "I
don't understand," was the reply. "He hardly ever
crows; but if he does, it's never more than two or
three times in a whole day." The man quickly retorted,
"That isn't my problem. It's not how OFTEN he does
it that irritated me! It's not knowing when he MIGHT
that keeps me awake!"
In the verse that preceded verse 32, Jesus had
spend some time telling His disciples that they did not
need to be eaten up with worries and fears. They were
children of the King and He would see to the needs that
arose in their lives. Jesus pointed out God's gracious
provision for the birds of the air, and then He reminded
His disciples that they were of more value than the
birds, v. 22-24. Then, He reminded them of the folly of
worry, v. 25-26. In verses 27-28 He compares them
with the flowers of the field, that are so lovely, and He
reminds them that they are more precious than the
flowers. Then, in verses 29-31 He tells them that the
secret to having their need met is to live for the Lord! If
they will only love God, then they can rest free from the
worries of life. God will see to the need of His people!
Jesus concludes His words of encouragement with
verse 32. In this little verse, He speaks some much
needed words of peace to a people who are prone to
worry. He open this verse with a command. Notice that
He tells us to "fear not". This is a commend for us not
to live in a state of continual worry. It is the same word
from which we get our word "phobia". We should not
allow ourselves to live in a worried state concerning the
affairs of life.
In this verse, Jesus gives His precious people three
precious words of encouragement as we face the trials
that will come in life. I would like to share them with you
this evening.
I. HE SPEAKS TO US AS HIS FLOCK
A. By using this term, Jesus pictures the people
of God as sheep and Himself as our
Shepherd. While there isn't enough time this
evening to discuss all the similarities between
us as His sheep and Him as our Shepherd,
there is time to say a word or two about how
good Jesus is to His children!
B. Like sheep, the people of God are often
dumb, they do not possess a good sense of
direction and they are utterly defenseless.
Like sheep, we must have a Shepherd to
provide for us and to lead us along.
(Ill. All the trouble we get ourselves into during
the course of our lives. Imagine how difficult
life would be without a shepherd to love us
and guide us along.)
C. One of the most precious passages in all the
Bible is the 23rd Psalm. In that great
passage, we are told about how Jesus, the
Good Shepherd, cares for His flock. Let's turn
there for a moment and notice some if these
blessed truths.
1. V. 1 We see that the Lord is the Shepherd.
2. V. 1 He takes care of every need!
3. V. 2 He allows His sheep to find rest and
contentment.
4. V. 2 He allows His sheep to be refreshed.
5. V. 3 By the things He provides. The sheep
are restored and they are healthy. He
sees that they have all they need in their
lives. They are cared for completely!
6. V. 3 He gives His sheep perfect leadership.
7. V. 4 His sheep have no fear, for their
Shepherd is ever with them as they
journey.
8. V. 4 With His rod and staff He fights off our
enemies and He helps us when we stray.
9. V. 5 Again, we are reminded that our
Shepherd provides all His sheep need!
10. V. 5 Our Shepherd binds up His wounded
and cares for them graciously.
11. V. 5 He gives His sheep more than could
ever wish for.
12. V. 6 His sheep can rest in the knowledge that as long as they journey, the blessings
of their Shepherd will follow close behind
them!
13. V. 6 His sheep are not just sheep for the
pasture of this world. But, like precious
pet lambs, they have access to His House
at the end of the day!
D. We are His flock! Therefore, we need not
fear anything life brings our way. He will see
to the afflictions that threaten His flock!
I. He Speaks To Us As His Flock
II. HE SPEAKS TO US AS HIS FAMILY
A. The use of the word "Father" tells us that we
are more than His sheep, we are also His
sons! That is a precious truth! It is made
even more precious because the Bible says
right here that God is "YOUR" Father! That
makes it personal! That makes it precious!
B. It is interesting to note that the Jews had
dozens of names for God. What they needed
at any given time usually dictated the name
that they used to call on God. For instance:
1. If they had a need in their life, they would
call on "Jehovah-jireh", Gen. 22:14, which
means, "The Lord will provide."
2. If they were anxious, they would call on
"Jehovah-shalom", Judges 6:24, which
means "The Lord our peace."
3. If they were lonely, or afraid, they might
call on "Jehovah-shammah", Eze. 48:35,
which means "The Lord is there."
4. If they need leadership, they would call on
"Jehovah-rohi", Psalm 23:1, which
means "The Lord our Shepherd."
5. If they were sick, they would call on
"Jehovah-rapha", Exodus 15:26, which
means "The Lord our healer."
There are literally dozens more, but you get
the picture. When these people needed to
get a hold of God, they referred to Him by
these various names. However, for those who
are in Jesus, there is a different name that we
can use to speak to God. This name was
revealed to the Disciples in Luke 11:1-4 in
what is known as "The Lord's Prayer", but is
more correctly "The Disciple's Prayer."
Here, the disciples, who have witnessed the
amazing prayer life of Jesus and who want the
same access to God what to know how to
pray. I can imagine them waiting to hear
which name He would give them to use in
their prayers. Imagine their surprise when
Jesus spoke the word "Father." Which, in this
passage, is the Aramaic word "abba", which
translates to the English word "daddy."
Jesus is telling these men that when they
pray they are to call on God as their Father!
He is not some far away God Who is removed
from their difficulties, but He is an adoring
Father Who is more concerned about what
His children are facing than they can ever
imagine!
C. Here is the point! If you are saved, you are a
child of God, 1 John 3:2. Your Heavenly
Father loves you and He is concerned about
what you face in life, Heb. 4:15. Therefore,
He has opened the door of access into His
heavenly throne room and He invites you to
come to Him and make your requests known,
Heb. 4:16. He will not turn you away!
(Ill. I don't know how it is with you, but when
my children have a need, I want to make sure
that need is met. There may be times when I
have to say no to their wants, but if I can
provide even that I will. Every parent in this
room is the same way! We love our children
and we want to take care of them. If we, as
human parents, can love our children to the
point that we will give them anything, within
reason, why should we believe that Jesus
would do any less for His children? In fact,
the Bible tells us that God is even more likely
to be good to His children that any earthly
parent, Matt. 7:7-11.)
III. HE SPEAKS TO US AS HIS FAVORITES
A. The last part of verse 32 tells us that God
delights in giving His children the kingdom.
You see, we are His sheep and we are His
sons, but this portion of Scripture leads me to
believe that we are spoiled too. God will
meet the needs of His children, Phil. 4:19. He
will see to it that His sheep are properly
pastured and that Hid sons are well taken
care of.
B. Notice verse 31. This verse teaches us thatseeing our needs met hinges around this
business of seeking first "the kingdom of
God.", Matt. 6:33. That is, when we place the
Lord and His business ahead of our own, He
will see to it that our business is taken care of.
In the simplest of terms, this means that if I
want God to meet my needs, then I need to
put Him first in my life and attend to the
business He has called me to. Primarily, I am
to seek His kingdom! I am to place His work
and will ahead of my work and will. He must
come first!
When this happens, I have the promise
and the assurance that He will meet the
needs that arise in my life. Now, here is the
blessed truth of verse 32. We may wonder
how we can seek His kingdom. We may feel
that it is a hard thing that the Lord requires.
However, verse 32 promises us just the
opposite! This verse teaches us that "It is
our Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom." That is, God places His kingdom
within our reach! He doesn't make it a hard
thing, but He hands us the kingdom and gives
us the opportunity to join Him in His work here
below. When we join Him in what He is doing,
we are on God's payroll, so we do not have to
worry, for every need will be met by our
Father!
C. God, like a loving Father, places everything
we need right at our feet. He makes it easy
for His children to serve Him and, as a result,
to get their needs met. When this really
dawns on us, we will finally realize that we do
not have any needs as long as we are where
the Father wants us to be. It may appear
that needs exist, but they are mere
opportunities for the Father to manifest His
love and grace toward His children!
Conc: It is a medical fact that over 51 diseases can be
traced directly to worry! Don't let worry eat you alive!
Instead of worry, learn to look around and see what
opportunities God is giving you to serve Him. Seek His
kingdom and He will see to your needs.
I will close with the great words of wisdom from
Mickey Rivers, former New York Yankees outfielder,
"Ain't no sense worrying about things you got
control over, 'cause if you got control over them,
ain't no sense worrying. And there ain't no sense
worrying about things you got no control over,
'cause if you got no control over them, ain't no
sense worrying about them."
That's good advice! I would challenge you to
remember this evening that you are a precious people
in the eyes of God! Let these precious words help you
in the day of your worry and fear!
