The Father's Good Pleasure

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. Greetings this morning in the name of Jesus one more time. I'd like to turn to Luke chapter 20, chapter 12. I was going to read verses 22 and following to 40 passage. It talks about life being more than meat and God taking care of ravens, God taking care of lilies and other natural things like this. [00:00:40] I'm led to this message by the invitation, perhaps a suggestion, of one of the members of the church that some time ago asked if we would talk about Luke chapter 12 in verse 32. One of the problems of preaching topical messages is that if you emphasize one aspect of something, you're probably missing the other at 99. [00:01:16] So, may I say at the outset that if we talk about this subject this morning, the things that we don't say does not mean that we're saying those aren't important. But simply you cannot address every aspect of a subject at one time in a given or a limited amount of time. But what we'd like to think about today is we titled the Father's Good Pleasure. Usually when we think of this passage we hear what we did this morning and it is right, it is good. [00:01:54] But in the context, we'd like to look at another aspect of this subject It is true that we need priorities straight It's imperative And this is again talking about priorities But from a little different angle Notice who Jesus said these words to In verse 22 it says And he said unto his disciples He said unto his disciples disciples therefore I say unto you take no thought for your life he had talked about the rich fool and he talked about other things just before that that had to do with life if you think about the disciples life lives you might well get this picture if we read a little farther ahead in Luke chapter 8 it says what [00:02:53] Jesus went from town to town and what he went preaching and it says the disciples were with him. So Jesus went from city to city preaching and his disciples went with Jesus to sit from city to city. Very likely the disciples when they responded to the call of God on their life put themselves into a situation where the demands of their call limited their resources. They were fishermen before, some of them, tax collectors. They had means of income. But how do you go out and provide for yourself when Jesus says, don't take anything with you, just go and fulfill my ministry and be faithful to me and it's a full-time ministry. [00:03:48] Basically, what I'm reading in this scripture is Jesus said, when you follow me, don't worry It's a matter of priority again Now there are many other cares in life that we face Other than just food and raiment He specifically talks about food and raiment here Don't take any thought for food and raiment Jesus was not saying in the light of other scriptures [00:04:18] that we shouldn't work and we just trust because scripture explains scripture and there are all kinds of scriptures Leon referred to one of those maybe from the other aspect it's not an excuse but neither can it be disregarded it's part of the whole So Jesus was not saying, you can be careless about life, things will just take care of themselves. [00:04:51] He did not release us from our responsibility. But there are other things in life that we face that we should not worry about as well. There are all kinds of pressures in life. There is our physical well-being. There are our circumstances. There are the duties of life. And when I was reading this scripture and thinking about this message, I remembered something that in another setting one time I heard a person say when he said, [00:05:26] We would be willing to do this, providing it doesn't cost us anything. I'll be willing to serve you if it doesn't cost me anything. Well, needless to say, that's not part of the Apostles' Creed. It is not part of the teachings of the Scripture. In fact, the Bible says it's going to cost us something. In fact, it's going to cost us everything to be a disciple of Jesus. [00:05:58] And we can let the peripheral things in the hands of God who will take care of those things. So there are trials, there is suffering. In fact, there is seemingly additional suffering to following Jesus. The Apostle Paul preached in the book of Acts and he said, we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of heaven. He was simply saying that if we follow the Lord's way, we're going to encounter some difficulties. Now, let's read in Luke chapter 12, in verse 31 and 32. [00:06:37] But rather seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Two times in those two verses you find the word kingdom. I had never noticed before in my entire life how much the scriptures talk about the kingdom. He says, seek first the kingdom of God. [00:07:08] And then he says, fear not little flock, it's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Let me say immediately that I'm not sure, I cannot tell you all that's included in that phrase This is when Jesus said it's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. But 157 times in the New Testament you read about the kingdom, give or take if I count it correctly. 127 of those times is found in the four gospels. [00:07:40] Only a few in the book of John. Matthew, I don't know how many times in Jesus' ministry, which is portrayed here as a ministry to the Jewish people, talks about the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom. Now of necessity, or let me say this first I read these words of Jesus in verse 32 when he says Don't be afraid little flock [00:08:11] I understand by the original that when he said little flock he was saying very little flock This was before the church was established This is when Jesus' flock consisted of 12 disciples and perhaps some more who later it says all forsook him and fled. So in reality Jesus said, don't be afraid, very small flock. Don't be afraid to follow me regardless of what it costs you. [00:08:46] And it costs them reputation, it costs them ease of life, it costs them physical comforts, It costs them money. It costs them even the necessities of life. Nobody said that we know we will do it if it doesn't cost us anything. They just did it. But very likely they sometimes raise the question, at least in their thoughts, how is this going to work out? And Jesus said, don't be afraid, little flock, [00:09:18] because it's your father's good pleasure to give you much more than you already have. The kingdom, he said. So the New Testament emphasis is on the kingdom over and over and over again. And what I see in this scripture is that Jesus was giving not only consolation, but the solution to this problem. When we seek first the kingdom, what are you going to seek if you seek the kingdom? [00:09:53] What is it that Jesus really wants to give us? I can only see the tip of the iceberg, I'm sure. It would be perhaps another study for our Wednesday evening meetings if we would sit together and discover from the scripture what Jesus meant When he said, it's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom, what is included there? Well, a kingdom of necessity has a king, it has subjects, it has boundaries, it has responsibilities, accountability. [00:10:31] There are many things that go with a kingdom. In short, it seems to me that a kingdom is another word for lordship. And another word that will appear later is, it's the word church. The church is the kingdom of God on earth, is it not? It's the place where God reigns, where God is in control, where he is the Lord and we are his subjects. [00:11:03] And he has given to us the kingdom as the solution to this life that we live here on the earth. Jesus preached about the kingdom. The Bible says he, over and over it says, I couldn't believe that I hadn't noticed it before. How many times Jesus, the Bible says Jesus preached the kingdom. The disciples preached the kingdom. they talked about the kingdom [00:11:34] as we said 157 times in the New Testament Jesus said it is at hand then he said it's within you and then he also said it doesn't come with outward observation it doesn't come with sensationalism or with a demonstration of outward things so much Glenn referred to that when he said People were looking for an earthly kingdom, but Jesus didn't have that in mind. [00:12:06] When he said, it's his good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Chapter 8, verse 1, it came to pass afterward that he went throughout every city and village preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom. The message of the kingdom is glad good news. It's a heartwarming message that Jesus was preaching. The Bible says he talked about the kingdom. These things that we read in the Gospels that Jesus taught, they are kingdom messages. [00:12:42] They are the things that pertain to God's plan for our life. I wonder sometimes, there's a setting in which it seems like, maybe I should just leave that. Matthew Henry said, it is wisdom to take it as it is and make the best of it, for fretting and worry will not mend it. In other words, he is saying, it is good to accept life as God gives it to us. [00:13:21] Accept it. Because fretting and worry will not mend it. That's what Jesus was saying there in chapter 12. He said, which of you by taking thought can change his circumstances, make himself a little bit taller? Or, which of you, if we go through what we have to some measure here in the recent past, don't have a job, if we sit down and we really start worrying about where we're going to get our next morsel and pay our next bill, how much is the debt going to be reduced when we stop worrying? [00:13:54] be right where it was or maybe worse because often when we worry and fret and live life on that level it seems we make other unwise decisions as well so it is wisdom to take it as it is and another thing that he says when inordinate care prevails over us we should think what am I A Christian or a heathen? [00:14:26] Let me say it again. When inordinate or undue care prevails over us. Care by care he means undue pressures, undue stresses. If undue stresses prevail over us, we should think. How are we going to cope with this stress? He says it's good to ask us a question. Am I a Christian? Am I a heathen? Because he is simply implying that Christians and heathens respond differently to situations. [00:15:00] And then we should act accordingly after we remember where we are. I'm blessed this morning by the promises of God. That's what it seems to me Jesus was wanting us to notice when he said, I'm promising you something. It's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. We sometimes are so focused on needs and pressures and things that we have to go through that we forget that what may really be happening is God is wanting to show himself strong on our behalf. [00:15:38] The Apostle Paul had learned that secret and he said that I glory in necessities. Because I have learned when I am weak, He is strong. How are we going to learn that God is strong if we don't sense a need? And so Paul learned to glory, that I could learn that lesson better. To glory in weakness, things that we just can't do. Because in that weakness I reach out to God and He reveals things that He would not reveal otherwise. [00:16:14] So when Jesus said it's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom One of the things he wanted to show us is who he really is Who God is Instead of focusing Now that's not to say this morning that we should overlook wrong Or that we shouldn't address wrong issues We'll come to that maybe just a bit later When there's a kingdom, you find a place where there is protection. [00:16:48] I tend to think about the bad things of the United States. I think of a lot of things that just aren't the way they should be. I'm probably correct in a lot of those areas. There are real issues. But it helps me every time when I go away and come back when I'm in a third world country so to speak I have a new appreciation for the United States We are losing out very likely in more ways than we realize [00:17:21] But there is a certain protection here There are still laws There is much that we are benefiting from that we take for granted in the midst of all this need Roads are one thing. Provisions. We are provided for in a way that we would not be if we did not have an organized kingdom. In the kingdom of heaven, it's much the same way. [00:17:52] There's a lot to be desired in what is called the church today. But have you ever stopped to think what it would be like, let's say, tomorrow morning, the church here is dissolved we no longer have a church brotherhood to relate to what would we be missing that we have today we all know that none of us are perfect we all know that we all could improve that we have needs and we ought to work on that [00:18:23] but at the same time if we are focused on those and forget to build up the positive that we have, we probably won't improve. How many times do we thank God for our brothers? We were at a meeting the other night, several brethren. We didn't do much at our meeting, but I was blessed in my heart because I sensed a connection with brethren that care for each other. And that's something to thank God for, that many people, [00:18:55] the people in the other kingdom don't know what that is. They don't have it. They have companionship, but when there is difference, there is conflict. And in the kingdom of God, you find a people that learn how to profit from their differences instead of fight over their differences. How to improve, how to change, if we have that mentality. In Ephesians, the first chapter, in the last several verses, we find this kingdom specifically addressed as the church. [00:19:36] It doesn't use the word kingdom here, but it says in verse 20 of chapter 1, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him on his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion. every name that is named not only in this world but also in the world that which is to come and has put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things that's a kingdom the king is over all [00:20:07] that's the place where he reigns I didn't read all that verse when it says he's put him as the head over all things it says the church the church which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. The kingdom of heaven today is the church as I understand. How would it be if there was no church? Maybe we should have, I have already but for many years not preached the message on what is right with the church. [00:20:43] The church, as needy as it is, if we would take the church out of northern Indiana, what do you think our community would become like in a very short time? We haven't seen anything yet, compared to what we would see if an imperfect church even is taken out of this world. You can find places where there are no churches. [00:21:16] And the environment there is not what we're used to. But be that as it may, it's the Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Just, there's yet a future aspect to this kingdom, which we know, which is being with the Father forever and eternity. I'd like to read one more verse. As a bit of a description of this kingdom, like we said, we can only look at the tip of the iceberg. [00:21:50] Chapter 14, verse 17 in Romans. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink. He's talking here about relationships in the church, respecting each other's convictions, each other's concerns, and considering our own rights. Why should I be limited in my rights by somebody else's conscience? One place he says we shouldn't do certain things for conscience sakes. Not for our conscience, but for our brother's conscience. [00:22:24] That's an interesting idea in today's world, today's thinking. But here he says, the kingdom of God is not meat and drink. So the kingdom of God is not. This is not the standard. The kingdom of God is not getting my rights, my freedom, but the kingdom of God, he says, is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. [00:22:55] That's just a brief description of this kingdom of God. As we think about it just quickly, the kingdom of God, this kingdom of God that Jesus said he'd like to give to us, is righteousness. It's a place wherein dwelleth righteousness, like in the new heaven and the new earth that he speaks about in Revelation. there are three of mankind's basic needs met here in this scripture when he says that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink [00:23:26] but it's righteousness that is one of man's basic needs to live a life that harmonizes with God's will whenever God and man are not in harmony what happens? Man is outside of rest. Man has no peace. Man is just unsettled. Whenever God's will and my life do not harmonize. [00:24:00] But when I'm in a place where my life harmonizes with God's will, that's righteousness, doing the will of God, living a right life, then I am at peace with my maker and when my life is in harmony with my maker I have a free conscience man has a basic need to have a free conscience when our conscience is not free life is like the troubled sea when it cannot rest [00:24:30] whose waters cast up mire and dirt as Isaiah says it's the power to live victoriously over sin outside this kingdom Man can attempt to do the right things, but to fail again and again. But in this kingdom, there is the Spirit of God. Christ is the head of the body. There is the power to live victoriously. It's the opposite from sin. He says it's peace. There's peace with God in this kingdom. [00:25:02] There is peace with our fellow man in this kingdom. and also important is we can be at peace with ourselves in this kingdom. The Father wants us to be where we are at peace with Him, where we are at peace with each other and peace with ourselves. And then He says as well, it is with joy. The kingdom, it's a place where there is joy. The kingdom of God, He doesn't say has joy, but He says it is joy. It is righteousness. It is peace. It is joy. [00:25:35] It's a kingdom where there is glory, where there is thankfulness, where there is hope, where there is something to look forward to. It's very obviously absent, the word boredom here, or stress. No, life carries a price tag. Jesus is not saying here that the kingdom that I'd like to give to you that the Father wants to give you is going to be an easy life [00:26:06] but he's going to say it's the life that really matters the life that counts that's the kingdom as I look back in life in our home there were lots of things that that really cost something It cost us family life. It cost us money. My parents, that is. It cost us a lot of other things. Inconveniences. [00:26:39] I think it would be right to say that literally thousands of people went through our home. Unexpected, unannounced. It was not always fun. But I can say today, I don't, I've searched my heart to try to understand Was there ever any, is there any resentment left over from that experience About those intrusions About the many times that we had to do things [00:27:11] Not just because of visitors But because of responsibilities That upset plans, change plans Is there any of that that calls for, that calls resentment or stirs it up? Either the Lord has taken it away or it wasn't there, I don't know which. But I do not have regrets for those things. The price tag sometimes seemed high. But the real values in life are not measured with dollars and cents. [00:27:44] They're not measured with ease and comfort. They're not measured just with good health. they are not measured with free time they are measured with righteousness, peace, and joy may we all know that it is the Lord's good pleasure to give us the kingdom we don't have a reluctant or a stingy God but one who loves and cares for us in Hebrews it says [00:28:14] for he has said I will never leave you nor forsake you How long is never? The promise is there. Psalm 27, the psalmist said, When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. We can't conceive of the idea of a parent just dumping their children. But it happens. But God will never do it. I will take him up, the Bible says. [00:28:46] Somewhere I read a thought. That is an encouragement to me when it says we will never be without a friend as long as God is. You can count on it. God is always longing to give us more than what we already have. So when it comes to life, let's remember today, God has a lot that he'd like to give us that we may not quite understand yet even today. We may not have experienced. [00:29:18] He has much more to give us He said in the Old Testament I know the thoughts that I have thought about you Not quite correct But I know the thoughts They were in captivity when He said that He said thoughts of peace That's what God is thinking for His people I wonder if when we face struggles in life Or I'm thinking of a people that seems to have a common malady In this other setting that I referred to, this common malady they have, it seems like one after the other after the other is succumbing to this malady. [00:30:00] But as I've been watching that scene over the last number of years, they've been talking about the malady so much that I wonder sometimes if it doesn't create more malady. Instead of talking about the Father's good pleasure, what he'd really like to give us. Let us not ignore the needs that we have, but let's look to the solution for the needs in God. Let's kneel and pray.