Luke 12:32-40
People Get Ready!
Those of you who stayed abreast of
the pop music scene during the 60s probably remember the name Curtis Mayfield. It
was at the height of the Civil Rights struggle when Mayfield, the lead singer
of The Impressions, wrote his most
memorable lyrics.
Listen to the Chorus: People get ready. There's a train, a comin'.
You don't need no baggage. You just get on board. All you need is faith. To
hear the diesels hummin'. Don't need no ticket, You just thank the Lord
Mayfield’s call to a higher purpose came
during a time of great fear: from the Six-Day War between
But Mayfield, like many others,
understood that something great was on the horizon. He could hear it like the
distant hummin’ of a diesel engine. You
don’t need no baggage; all you need is faith; don’t need no ticket; you just
get on board.
There are ample opportunities for
fear here in this room. You might be fearful this morning because you just said
goodbye to Pastor Paul and are beginning ministry with a new pastor about whom
you know little. Or, your fear could result from the reality that a new school
year is on the horizon and you are a teacher, student, or administrator. Maybe you
are fearful because your business isn’t doing quite as well as you had hoped. Others
might be fearful because another new day has broken and you are still lonely or
still experiencing the pain of loss.
Whatever your fear, Luke tells us
that God dispels our fears. God
dispels our fears by giving us God’s Kingdom;
by calling us to kingdom life; and by assuring
us of our readiness for the return of
Jesus Christ.
I
God dispels our fears by giving us the Kingdom.
Listen to this story: Tom, a young
boy, built a new boat. He took it to the edge of the river where he placed it in
the water and let out the string. The boat sailed away. After a while, however,
a strong current caught the boat. Tom tried to pull it back to shore, but the
string broke. The little boat raced downstream. Tom ran along the shore as fast
as he could, but his boat soon slipped out of sight. He searched for the boat
until it was too dark to look any longer. Tom sadly went home. A few days later
he spotted a boat just like his in a store window. He hurried to the store
manager: "Sir, that's my boat in
your window! I made it!" "Sorry,
son, but someone else brought it in this morning. If you want it, you'll have
to buy it for one dollar." Tom ran home and counted his money. Exactly
one dollar! When he reached the store, he rushed to the counter. "Here's the money for my boat." As
he left the store, Tom hugged his boat and said, "Now you're twice mine. First, I made you and now I bought you."[1]
All who believe on Jesus Christ are
like that sail boat. God created us. Therefore, we were first God’s possessions. Then, we rebelled against God selling
ourselves into sin’s possession. But, through Jesus Christ, God reclaimed us as
God’s own through the gift of faith.
As those purchased by God, we are
often described in the scriptures as children of God. Paul uses such language
in Romans 8 where he talks about one of the great benefits of God’s claim upon
our life. He says, “16 ...we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs -
heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ...”[2]
Did you hear that? As people claimed
as God’s own through Jesus Christ, we are heirs of all that God has. That means
that no matter how bad life gets - no matter the divorces,
deaths, disillusionments, disappointments, disagreements or defeats - nothing
is going to change the truth that you are God’s possession and an heir of God’s
Kingdom.
Doesn’t that dispel your fears?
Doesn’t that take the edge off? God has given the Kingdom to you and to me. We
are possessions of God and heirs of God’s Kingdom. 32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your
Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
II
God also dispels our fears by calling us to kingdom life. As possessions of God and as heirs of the Kingdom,
God calls us to live as Kingdom people.
Donald Trump, the famous businessman,
has a net worth of over 2 billion dollars. Wouldn't it be nice to have him as a
personal friend? There is a story about Trump's generosity with a stranger.
Trump's limousine broke down on the
What a deal it would be to have
someone really rich taking care of you. If you knew that they had money and
that they would gladly help you, you could be free from many of your fears ---
right? Well, you would have financial
security.
But, can one ever be truly secure even with an endless supply
of money or power, prestige or possessions? Jesus is saying that Kingdom people
find their security in eternal matters. Provide
yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens
that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. Unlike
in Matthew, the word here for treasure is singular: a treasure. What
is this treasure that Jesus speaks of?
Notice that in verse 35, the servants are told to dress for
action. And in verse 37, the master dresses for service. Jesus says in Matthew
20, “26 ...whoever
would be great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever would be first among
you must be your slave,
28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve...”[3]
Servant-hood is a part of the nature of Jesus Christ and thus
the nature of Kingdom life. Servant-hood is
the unfailing heavenly treasure with which we are to fill our treasure bag. With
what are you filling your bag? What are you looking to for security? Will what
you gather pass the test of eternity or will it corrode and fade away?
Servant-hood is thinking about others. It is denying self and
taking up one’s cross. It is doing unto others as you would have them do unto
you. Above all, it is serving as our Savior serves. It’s what Kingdom people
do. It’s what frees you from fear.
God dispels our fears by giving us the Kingdom and calling us to Kingdom life.
III.
Last but not least is this: Kingdom
people live with great expectations as they await the return of Jesus Christ.
Farmers in a drought stricken area of
mid-America resolved to gather in the little prairie church to petition God for
rain. On the appointed day for prayer, the minister was astonished to see on
the way to church one of the smallest of his Sunday School scholars carrying a huge
umbrella. The morning was hot and blistering; there was no sign of rain. But
that little heart had heard the suggestion that prayer was to be made for rain,
and in the simplicity of her faith she came ready for the answer to that
prayer. The minister, however, had no umbrella. He was dressed in summer attire.
As he patted the little girl on the head, he thought that in her childish
innocence - though in reality it was her superior faith - she had made a
mistake. The service proceeded and prayer was offered. Soon, clouds gathered on
the horizon. Then, lightening flashes were everywhere and torrents of rain poured
down upon the roof of that prairie church. The minister was humbled but glad to
go home under the little girl's umbrella.[4]
Kingdom people can approach the return
of Jesus Christ with the confident expectations of that little girl because
Kingdom people are assured of their readiness for his return. God gives us that
assurance by giving us the Kingdom
and by calling us to Kingdom; a life
of servant-hood. It is only when we become recipients of the Kingdom and engage
Kingdom life that we can be ready for the return of Jesus Christ. Then, we can
be secure in heaven and free from fear on earth.
What fear
are you facing this morning? 32“Fear
not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.”
As Curtis Mayfield would said, “People get ready. There's a train, a comin'.
You don't need no baggage. You just get on board. All you need is faith. To
hear the diesels hummin'. Don't need no ticket, You just thank the Lord.”
AMEN.
[1]
This illustration, The Boy Who Lost His
Boat, is attributed to “Good News
Publishers,
[2]The Holy
Bible : English Standard Version., Ro 8:15-17.
[3]The Holy
Bible : English Standard Version., Mt 20:26-28.
[4] Attributed to “J. Wilbur Chapan,
Present Day Parables” at http://elbourne.org/
sermons/index.mv?illustration+3000