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Luke 12 "Consider the Lilies"

In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. "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. 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. And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blaphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven. Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." (Luke 12:1-12)

When I was in college I got the chance to be in a Shakespearean play, "Twelfth Night" It is a comedy in which I played an old servant in charge of all the other servants. The problem is that he is very proud and all the other servants hate him. The comedy comes in when one of the other servants starts to write false love letters back and forth between him and the lady of the house. While the other servants are laughing behind his back he is tricked into doing all kinds of foolish things. It was fun to put on the make-up to make me look old, and pretend to be someone that I am not. This is the meaning of the word Jesus uses in this passage, "hypocrite". The word in Greek really means an actor. Someone who pretends to be someone that he is not. The Pharisees loved to pretend that they were spiritual, when really they were much more concerned with the things of the world.
Of course an actor does it to entertain his audience, but what is the reason for hypocrisy in our lives? Why do we pretend to be one thing in public when we do something else again in private? Jesus says, "My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body". The reason for hypocrisy is fear. We are afraid of people. What they will think if they find out. We always try to show people what we think they want to see. We act out the part so that people will approve of us. But Jesus says that instead of fearing men, we should fear God. After all the worst that anyone can do to you is kill you. But God sees everything and He is the one who will be your final judge.
But if you are clear before God, then there really is nothing to fear at all, because no matter how men might treat you, God will not forget you. The hairs of your head are numbered by Him. And even if you are in the position where your testimony for Christ might mean life or death, do not worry because the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. And the promise to us is that whoever confesses Christ before men, Christ will also confess before the angels of God. If Christ is in your heart then you need to speak out Christ. You don't need to be an actor putting the mask over your face when you need to avoid criticism. You might find yourself in a spot where it would be foolish to speak out boldly for Christ, but even then the Holy Spirit will show you the right amount to speak. Follow the leading of the Spirit! But if you know you should speak out, and choose to hide behind a mask instead, if you know the truth about Jesus, and yet are too scared to follow the leading of the Spirit, then really you are blaspheming the Spirit and that is worse than any word that you might have said against Christ.

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." Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yeilded 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." (Luke 12:13-21)

Jesus was asked by a man with a financial claim against his brother to settle their dispute, but Jesus backed out of it saying, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" Now most likely the man probably was in the right. He probably had a good claim to receive a share of the inheritance. But Jesus pointed the way to what was more important. He said, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." Folks, the economies of the world today are based on covetousness. If people started to buy only the things that they really needed, we would be in the worst financial depression ever. Most of the advertisements on tv, appeal to our covetous natures. They show someone who is beautiful and successful with a product and we naturally start to want to have it too. If I covet, I want to have something not for its own value but simply because somebody else has it. Babies show this very clearly. We were up playing at my wife's cousins house a few years ago when their baby was small. Keita was playing with a toy train and soon the baby would come over and start to pull it away from him. Keita would start playing with something else and sure enough the baby would lose interest in the train and want the toy that Keita had in his hands. It is human nature, it is the basis of our economies, and it also is the last of the ten commandments that God gave us, "thou shalt not covet". Why not? Everybody is doing it. Because your life does not consist of the abundance of the things you possess. This is the error that we fall into so consistently, the error that the advertising people want us to believe; that if we don't have it, we just aren't living. If we don't have it, somehow our lives aren't as good as other people's. But this is totally wrong. Like the rich man who thought that if he built a bigger barn to store all of his wealth in that he would be happy. But what happens if he dies tomorrow? All of his wealth cannot add a day to his life. If he had only had a bit more, it still would not have made a difference. Life is more than food, more than clothing, more than the body.

Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field 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 should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves moneybags that do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:21-34)

The nations of the world are still seeking after security in wealth and still are feeling the ground shake under their feet. I have been checking the currency rates recently as I have to pay my son's school tuition. It seems that every day the yen rate jumps and falls so that I find that my savings account is worth hundreds of dollars more or less depending on the day. It would be easy to have an anxious mind. It would be easy to worry whether or not we will be able to pay the bills on time. But the promise from God to me is that He knows that I need these things. Whenever I get too upset about the storms of the world economies, God reminds me to consider the lilies, how they grow. you see now matter how rough the storm gets, I know that God loves me and will provide for my needs.
A couple of years ago now, God showed me personally this truth. I was taking a morning walk with God, enjoying the nature path through the hills behind where we used to live. As I walked along singing praises to God I noticed a lily blooming beside a little footbridge. It was so beautiful that I stopped and the verse came into my mind, "consider the lilies". I sat for a while considering the lily and thanking God that He loves me more than this beautiful flower and that I can trust Him to supply all my needs. And then as I was thinking what a lovely thing to preach to everyone on Sunday the Lord spoke very clearly to me, "Turn around". So I turned around and as I did I saw that the whole hillside was covered with hundreds of these beautiful lilies. Tears came to my eyes as I realized that God was not teaching me a general truth to be shared with the congregation but was making a promise to me. About a month later, the day before leaving for our mission trip to Cambodia, my contract was suddenly cancelled by the company that I had been working for. At that time we were tentmaking and didn't receive any money from the church or overseas. The ground instantly slipped out from under our feet, and we had to hold onto that promise that God had made to us with the lilies.
Seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. It really is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. He is not stingy. He is not cheap. Do what you need to do to escape from the sin of covetousness, this perpetual wanting more and more. Jesus told the disciples to sell what they have and give to the poor. It is time to take a look at your moneybags. Are they old? Do they have holes in the bottom? Someone once asked one of the famous oil barons in the U.S. how much money was enough. He replied, "Just a little bit more". Anyone could tell you that his problem was that he had a hole in the bottom of his moneybag. Now matter how hard he tried to fill that bag there was never enough. What Jesus wants to give you is a new moneybag that does not fail. He wants to teach you how to be content, how to be satisfied. Nothing is more miserable that to always be unsatisfied, always be hungry, always want more but never have enough. Jesus says seek the kingdom and then you will be satisfied, you will be full, you will have enough, and no thief will be able to steal it from you, no moth can destroy it.
Is there a hole in the bottom of your heart? Do you find that whatever you try to fill it with, you still feel empty? Are you tired of trying to fill it? Would you like a new heart that will stay full? Would you like to have a new life that is not based on things to own but on peace and joy and love. If so, then give your heart to Jesus. Give that old heart with the hole in the bottom to Jesus and let Him give you a new heart filled with life. It is easy to do. Just ask Him. Say to Jesus in prayer. "Jesus I am tired of being empty, I cannot be satisfied on my own. Please give me a new heart that is full, come into my heart and be my Lord."