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Luke Chapter 12
- Luke 12:1 In the mean time,
when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of
people, insomuch that they trod one upon another, he began to
say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of
the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
The leaven of hypocrisy. It doesn't matter
if our pastors, our teachers, our neighbors, and our friends think
we are moral upright holy Christians; what matters is that God sees
us that way. We can look the part, act the part but God sees the
depth of our hearts. We need to strive to be honest before God and
man.
The Pharisees were religious, pious, and
appeared to be righteous. They made a big show of keeping the law
without fault. If you could see in the depths of their hearts
though, you would see that they were full of jealousy, hatred,
pretense and lacked mercy. Outward religion is vain if the inner man
is full of evil. So much evil has been done throughout the centuries
because of outward religion that those claiming to live godly had
long ago lost the love for God and for their neighbor as Jesus told
us to have. Love (what God calls love, not the love the world
adheres to), and compassion for the sufferings of others is vital in
a true child of God.
We must remember that Jesus came to save the
lost, the unloved, the scum, and the prisoner. That poor child in
the slums is just as important to God as the rich man's child. When
any congregation of people forget this, they are doomed to be only an outward
religious institution that is dead, boring and dry as dust.
In saying this however, I must emphasis that
yes, we should have compassion and much mercy but that should not
cause us to agree with sin, compromise with sin and forsake the word
of God. The old devil tries to get us one way or the other. We can
have so much love and compassion on people that we forget to bring
them to repentance and a changed life. In reality, that is agreeing
with their sin or enabling them in their sin which is not true
compassion. On the other hand we can be so strict, religious and
strait-laced that we despise sinners instead of helping them find
Jesus Christ. We need to have balance and not forsake one for the
other.
- Luke 12:2 For there is nothing
covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not
be known.
- 3 Therefore whatsoever
ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that
which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed
upon the housetops.
If we remember that God sees and hears
everything we say and do, perhaps our behavior would improve. In
fact, a place that has much sin and lawlessness is a place that has
lost its fear of God. If a groups of godly, praying, full of faith
in Jesus Christ people would all move away from a neighborhood, you
would see that neighborhood become a cesspool of drugs, alcoholism
and violence. Believing, praying people restrain lawlessness.
- Luke 12:4 And I say unto you my
friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after
that have no more that they can do.
- 5 But I will forewarn
you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed
hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
We are to fear God not man.
- Luke 12:6 Are not five sparrows
sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before
God?
- 7 But even the very
hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are
of more value than many sparrows.
If we are right with God, we are not to fear
the things in this life that pop up to harm us but to only fear
God.
- Luke 12:8 Also I say unto you,
Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man
also confess before the angels of God:
- 9 But he that denieth me
before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
This is very important to understand. When
we pray, give and do religious works, we are not to do it to be seen
of men for our own glory. However, when it comes to sharing the
gospel or confessing that we know Jesus Christ, it must be openly
before all and without shame. If we want God to acknowledge us, we
must publicly acknowledge Him. While we are to pray in secret we are
to confess Him before all.
- Luke 12:10 And whosoever shall
speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him:
but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall
not be forgiven.
This may be a continuation of the message in
the previous chapter, Luke 11, where the Pharisees accused Jesus of
doing works for the devil. This is a very dangerous thing to do and
in this we must be careful not to accuse people who seem to be doing
mighty things for God. If they are for God, leave them alone and let
God decide whether they are good or evil. We must warn against false
doctrines and make sure we teach truth but we must be careful not to
get into false accusations. The parable of the tares and the
wheat is a good one to read on this subject. We are to leave some
things alone until the harvest of at the return of Jesus Christ.
This parable is found in Matthew chapter 13.
- Luke 12:11 And when they bring
you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take
ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye
shall say:
- 12 For the Holy Ghost
shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.
If we are walking in the Spirit, we don't
have to worry about what to speak because God is there with us to
help in all things.
- Luke 12:13 And one of the
company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he
divide the inheritance with me.
- 14 And he said unto him,
Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
- 15 And he said unto
them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth.
We sometimes worry about this type of thing
but when we live and walk in Jesus Christ, we are not to be
concerned about material things and inheritances. Our treasure is to
be in heaven and our love in God. Things in this life are to be used
as necessary but we are not to set our hearts upon them. When we
come to Christ our priorities should be different and our trust
should be in Him completely.
Suppose a rich father died and his children
were fighting over the inheritance. One who trusts God completely
walks away with the attitude that if God thinks I need any of the
things my father left, He will see that I get them. He then thinks
no more on it but gets back to the matters that counts while leaving
his siblings to fight. I know this is hard and most of us could not
do this but this is the attitude we should have. I remember
hearing a from my mom that her mom was cheated out of her mom's
inheritance. Grandma's attitude was "Well maybe they needed it."
- Luke 12:16 And he spake a
parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man
brought forth plentifully:
- 17 And he thought within
himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where
to bestow my fruits?
- 18 And he said, This
will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and
there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
- 19 And I will say to my
soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
- 20 But God said unto
him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee:
then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
- 21 So is he that layeth
up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Does this sound like Jesus preached the
modern day prosperity doctrine? We are not to let these things
consume our minds but to trust in God.
- Luke 12:22 And he said unto his
disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your
life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put
on.
- 23 The life is more than
meat, and the body is more than raiment.
- 24 Consider the ravens:
for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor
barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the
fowls?
- 25 And which of you with
taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
- 26 If ye then be not
able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for
the rest?
- 27 Consider the lilies
how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto
you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of
these.
- 28 If then God so clothe
the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast
into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little
faith?
- 29 And seek not ye what
ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful
mind.
- 30 For all these things
do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth
that ye have need of these things.
- 31 But rather seek ye
the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto
you.
This should be a chapter of comfort if ever
there was one. Seek first the kingdom of God and all we need shall
be added to us. Some in this life and some in the next but we shall
not suffer loss of anything that was worth having.
- Luke 12:32 Fear not, little
flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.
We see here that Jesus may be talking of
what we receive in the kingdom to come and we are not to be seeking
treasure in this life but trust Him for necessary things. This
teaching is crucial to us as Christians that we don't take this
message too far one way or another. Some have thought that Jesus
meant that if we seek Him first, we can get rich now. Some have
taken it to mean that our pastors should live like hermits and not
have anything nice. Let's try to take the word of God for what it
says and not add to or take away the true meaning. If any of us lack
understanding, God will show us.
- Luke 12:33 Sell that ye have,
and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a
treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief
approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
- 34 For where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also.
I can't say this better than the Lord said
it. Where our treasure is, our heart will be. This is the very
opposite of the prosperity doctrine.
- Luke 12:35 Let your loins be
girded about, and your lights burning;
- 36 And ye yourselves
like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from
the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open
unto him immediately.
- 37 Blessed are those
servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching:
verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them
to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
- 38 And if he shall come
in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them
so, blessed are those servants.
- 39 And this know, that
if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would
come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to
be broken through.
- 40 Be ye therefore ready
also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Live every day just as if the Lord were
coming today.
- Luke 12:41 Then Peter said unto
him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?
42 And the Lord
said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord
shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion
of meat in due season?
43 Blessed is that
servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
44 Of a truth I say
unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.
45 But and if that
servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall
begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink,
and to be drunken;
46 The lord of that
servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at
an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and
will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
The Lord will come when we think He is not
coming.
- Luke 12:47 And that servant,
which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither
did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
We can live everyday in the Lord's will.
- Luke 12:48 But he that knew
not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten
with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him
shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of
him they will ask the more.
- 49 I am come to send
fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
- 50 But I have a baptism
to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be
accomplished!
- 51 Suppose ye that I am
come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather
division:
They that choose to live godly and obey God
in all things will be at odds against those that do not want to live
that way. It does cause division. I know Jesus wants us to have love
and unity but that doesn't mean that we compromise His word in any
way. At times our stand for truth will cause division because the
world does not see things as one who believes sees it.
- Luke 12:52 For from henceforth
there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and
two against three.
- 53 The father shall be
divided against the son, and the son against the father; the
mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the
mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the
daughter in law against her mother in law.
God requires us to choose to follow Him
instead of following the will of our friends and family. If we put
family first, we are not worthy of Him. If we care about what
our friends think and we hold back our obedience to God, we are not
worthy of Him.
- Luke 12:54 And he said also to
the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west,
straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.
- 55 And when ye see the
south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to
pass.
- 56 Ye hypocrites, ye can
discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that
ye do not discern this time?
- 57 Yea, and why even of
yourselves judge ye not what is right?
- 58 When thou goest with
thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give
diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale
thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer,
and the officer cast thee into prison.
- 59 I tell thee, thou
shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last
mite.
God will show us the right way to do things
if we seek Him, ask Him and believe that He will give us wisdom. We
don't have to grope about in darkness and not know what is right. We
are to judge righteously. Try to make friends and treat people
fairly being a good example of holiness, however when it comes to
choosing to fear God or fear the opinions of man, we must fear God.
God must come first because He alone cares more about our eternal
souls than anyone else. - DC
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