When Your Time is Up

Today we are going to be in Luke 12:13-21.

Our time is up for 2014 and 2015 is soon to begin.  We cannot go back and change what we said, did, or accomplished this previous year.  The New Year reminds us that we are mortal and we are now one year older.  How many years do I have left?  Am I living in such a way as to bring judgment or grace upon me when I stand before God?  These are some heavy questions that we may tend to avoid.  However, it is imperative that we deal with them now while we have time, rather than waiting and being caught off-guard.  The Bible tells us that “it is appointed to men to die and then the judgment.”  Instead of seeing these things as dark and foreboding, we can look at them as powerful understanding of what is to come.  When you know what is coming in advance, you can make preparations now that will help you be successful when they come.  That is the wonderful thing about the present.  Even though your past is “etched in stone,” the present allows you to affect the future that those past decisions are taking you towards.  We can make course corrections and thereby overcome things that we cannot change.

A Person’s Life Is Not In The Abundance of Possessions

In verses 12-15 Jesus is interrupted by a man who wants Jesus to do something for him.  Jesus then turns to his disciples and teaches them because the man is an illustration of an important principle.  Life cannot be found in the abundance of possessions.

Now this man addresses Jesus as “teacher.”  Thus he approaches Jesus as a disciple.  However, there is no sense of wanting to learn in his request.  He simply wants Jesus to do something for him.  So is he a disciple or is he only a manipulator trying to get something out of Jesus?  Jesus exposes his true motivation: covetousness.  This man wants what his brother has and is hoping Jesus will get it for him.  Now notice the response of Jesus.  He calls him “man.”  This is quite different then the “my friends” he used with his disciples back in vs. 4.  This is a more curt and formal address.  Jesus clarifies that he is not really the man’s teacher and the man is not really his disciple.  Jesus was merely a means to an end for this guy and do not be deceived, God will not be mocked and used by us for fleshly means.

Now the man’s issue has to do with an inheritance.  He wants Jesus to make his brother divide the inheritance with him.  Now it makes sense to come to Jesus to settle an issue of justice.  The Scriptures said that the Messiah would rule with perfect justice and would cause righteousness to shine.  He would be the ultimate arbiter of mankind.  Yet, we are not given enough information about this particular situation to judge the merits of this man’s appeal.  Was his brother being wicked and squeezing him out of his proper inheritance?  Or was this man wicked and trying to get more than his proper share?  Or were they both wicked and covetous?  Regardless, one thing is true, Jesus does care about justice.  He does not reject this man’s appeal because he doesn’t care.  Even if this man’s cause was just, Jesus recognizes that something deadly has happened in his heart.  He has been overcome with having what his brother has.  Much covetousness lies behind the talk of justice.  Christ cares too much about this man’s soul to prostitute justice for the sake of his flesh.  Is it possible that getting justice might be the last thing we need spiritually?  Jesus essentially tells the man that his problem is not his brother, but his own heart.  He has become greedy and is coveting.  To give him what he wants would only make his spiritual situation worse.

In verse 14 Jesus asks him, “who made me judge over your case?”  Legally no one had.  Thus Jesus points out that the man is only seeking leverage over his brother.  Had his case been heard by the authorities and denied?  We are not told.  But there is far more to this story then is made evident by the man’s appeal.  Why come to Jesus and not the proper authorities? 

Jesus may also be reminding those who are listening of the situation of Moses.  When Moses first decided to do something about the plight of his people, he ended up killing an Egyptian taskmaster who was harshly whipping an Israelite.  Later he sees too Hebrews fighting and tries to get them to quit quarreling.  One of the men responds, “who made you ruler and judge over us?”  As much as people want justice and cry out for it, when God does supply the man to get it for us, we complain.  Justice is a double edged sword.  It not only cuts those who have treated us unjustly, but it cuts us as well.  Thus as Messiah, God had made Jesus judge over all mankind.  In fact we see this in 2 Timothy 4:1, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His Kingdom…”

The real issue here is the man’s relationship to Jesus.  If Jesus really were his master and judge, then the man would have left everything in order to follow him and know true justice.  From the point of becoming his disciple and following, the only purposes and intention that would matter would be those of Jesus.  Thus we see the problem of my agenda versus the agenda of God.  God’s agenda is generally not the same as ours even when we claim to want the same thing as him.  Our understanding of justice is not always just.  We live in a world that loves to co-opt the person and message of Jesus for its own understanding and intention.  Yet, in the end they will not follow Jesus as Lord.  Check your own heart and see if there are desires and agenda items that are more important to you then having Jesus as your Lord because this will reveal your true relationship with Jesus.  He is either Lord of all or not Lord at all.

Jesus then turns to his disciples and warns them to watch and guard against coveting.  Our sinful nature will seek to suck life out of material things instead of turning to God from whom all life flows.  Our life is in the words of Christ to us, not in what Christ says to our brother.  Even if the entire world turns against Jesus and you are left alone, his words to you can supply life to you, if you believe.  “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  All else is peripheral and often detrimental.  When we covet we want to have more, especially that which belongs to another.  In Colossians 3:5 we are told that coveting is idolatry.  This man looks to the inheritance that his brother has as more important than God.  He is not really interested in justice, but in satisfying a craving for more possessions and wealth.  Jesus says to watch and guard against such sins.  But what are we guarding?  We are guarding our hearts from being infected by such sin.  This man was being swallowed up in sin.

The Parable of The Rich Fool

In verses 16-21, Jesus tells a parable to his disciples to slam home the main issue here, this man’s soul is in jeopardy and he is being foolish.  When you look at the man in the parable you will notice that his thoughts are all centered on himself.  If you count the personal pronouns he uses you will get the picture.  Also note that there is no mention of God in all of his thinking.  It is irrelevant if he goes to synagogue every week and prays loudly in front of everyone.  We see here in the private counsels of his own heart that God has no place.

In the parable the man has bumper crops to the point that he has a “problem” of figuring out what to do with the excess or overflow.  Instead of asking why has God blessed him and figuring out what God’s purpose is, his solution is to build bigger barns and amass the increase for himself.  Even though he doesn’t need more, he heaps it up.  Today we would call this hoarding.  Now here is a problem.  It is one thing when Jesus calls us out on our hoarding.  We know that he has no ulterior motive.  But, often those who point out the sin of hoarding only want to have what they have.  We see a big pile of money or possessions and the wickedness of our heart covets it.  This reminds me of the movie that just came out, The Hobbit.  In it we see how the amassed gold and riches ate into the heart of all who saw it and obtained it.  So we will be judged on both accounts: a greedy amassing for self and a greed desire to take from others.

In verse 19 we notice that his soul is at ease.  Godly people in every generation have spoken of the need for a holy discomfort with our life and the world around us.  When Christ is our focus then this world causes us trouble and discomfort at least.  Too often Christians stop at being uneasy about the world, yet refuse to walk with the Lord seriously enough to become uncomfortable with their own sin.  Our rest is to be found in trusting Jesus and His teachings.  This man is trying to find rest in material abundance outside of Christ.  We need to refresh ourselves in Him and rest, but we should never rest in being vigilant over our soul against sin.

Similar to the handwriting on the wall before Belshazzar, a message from God comes to the man.  He is about to die and he has been judged as a fool by God.  He is a fool because he focused his life on what couldn't save him, nor could go with him.  He lived without a sense of accountability to God.  This life is a gift and how we go about living it determines our judgment.  Will you live for the Lord Jesus or will you continue as master?  His judgment comes without warning and the man will die that very night.  Although some of us are given fair warning that our time is coming, many will go into eternity without the ability to "make quick amends."  We need to live so that nothing is left undone between us and the Lord.  

In Matthew 19:21 Jesus says to the rich young man, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me."  This idea of putting treasure in heaven by helping others is explained there.  Here the phrase is called, "being rich toward God."  It is interesting that it clearly means to help people, but the emphasis is on God.  When we help others simply because it makes us feel good, we need to be careful.  This is not what saves us.  In fact such giving often cuts God out of the picture.  It is purely about bringing pleasure to one's self.  But, when God becomes the Lord of all our possessions and money, we will truly become a free person.  We are free to bless others as he enables and directs.  You are under no compulsion by the people who covet your money and hold the words of Jesus over your head.  Their greed will continue to destroy them unless they repent.  But you are free to give and help under the compulsion of the Spirit of God.  Lest this seem like a cop-out, know this: you will give account to God for all you have done or not done on this earth and He is not mocked.  James lays out a warning for those who either have riches or desire to get them.  James 5:1-7  , "Come now you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.  Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire.  You have heaped up treasure in the last days.  Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.  You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.  You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.  Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord."

Time is up audio

Parable of the Soils

Today we will be looking at Luke 8:1-15 where the question is asked.  What is the condition of my heart?  It is good for us to be in the audience when God’s Word is being spoken.  However, even more important than being able to hear the Word of God is to be ready to receive it.  Our heart is even more important than our ears.  If a person is deaf then we can work around that obstacle to help them know God’s Word.  But we are in trouble when our hearts do not want to hear what God is saying.

Have you ever wondered why churches often worship in song before hearing the Word?  Music has a way of clearing our mind of everything but what is being sung about.  It is a way of preparing our heart to be in the right condition to receive God’s Word.  This is the issue in the parable we will see today.  Let’s look at these verses.

Jesus Ministered in Every City

When Jesus first began ministering, he was by himself.  But, he quickly drew together 12 disciples who would go with him wherever he went.  It was at this point that our text tells us Jesus purposefully set out to visit each city and village in Israel.  Whether in the synagogue or outside the city on its hills, Jesus went throughout all of Israel to share the good news that God’s Kingdom was at hand.  Jesus did heal people and cast out evil spirits.  But, his main objective was to call people to join the Kingdom of God that had arrived.  God had promised to send to Israel His Anointed King who would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed.

Luke points out that this group of disciples was more than just the Twelve.  There were some women who also followed Jesus and three of them are mentioned by name.  Mary Magdalene is the most famous person on the list due to the great amount of speculation about her.  Jesus had cast out 7 evil spirits from Mary.  Apparently she was a woman of means because it is mentioned that she and the other two ladies supported Jesus and the Twelve from their finances.  Thus these three women are apparently significant donors.  Now let me just point out that the money is not used to build Jesus a big house or a fancy, beautiful horse, or simply living like a king.  Jesus and the Twelve were able to travel throughout all the cities of Israel without working a job because of the thankful giving of people like these three women.  This money would be used to help feed and shelter them all.  We are told that Judas, who was the treasurer, was dipping into the money.  However, he did so at the expense of his own soul.  To misappropriate finances that are donated to the Lord’s work is to bring judgment upon your own head.  It is at this point that Luke introduces this parable.

Jesus Often Told Parables

The parable is sometimes called the Parable of the Sower, but it is really about the soils more.  Thus this Parable of the Soils is about a sower who is casting seed.  It falls on 4 different types of soil.  In the end it will only be fruitful in the good soil.

We are not told where exactly Jesus is.  However, it is likely that he taught this parable many times throughout Israel.  So it is less important where he is.  When Jesus would tell a parable it was not obvious to the disciples and those listening what he was talking about.  Thus we have the disciples asking for better understanding.  Notice that Jesus tells them that it had been given to them to understand the parables; given to them by God.  Those who had left all to follow Jesus and who fully believed that he was the Anointed One would be the ones who were given understanding.  However, those who stayed a part of the crowd and did not truly believe would not understand.  They are not truly learners of Jesus.  They may hear him, but their hearts are not in the right place.  Jesus even quotes from Isaiah 6 a passage in which God is asking for someone to go speak to Israel for Him.  Of course, Isaiah responds, “Here am I, send me.”  What was the message?  God was going to pour out judgment upon Israel, yet He would keep a remnant.  The Word of God is sent to help the remnant to remain faithful and enter into God’s blessing.  Yet at the same time it is sent to be a testimony against those who do not believe.  The fact that they don’t understand it testifies that their heart is not in the right place.  These are spiritual matters that are explained when Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice.”  He doesn’t mean literally, but rather spiritually. 

Jesus ends the parable with the phrase, “He who has ears to hear let him hear.”  The book of Revelation has a similar statement in chapters 2 and 3 that are also given by Jesus.  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  Notice in those chapters there are those who are to hear the message and be saved.  But there are also some who will hear it and continue on to judgment.  These were supposed to all be Christians.  It is good to be a part of God’s Church physically.  However, if your heart is not right, it still won’t do you any good.

The Spirit of God is always trying to teach us and open our understanding to what God is doing.  But I can be deaf and blind to it, not because I lack intelligence or the physical capabilities, but simply because I am not hungry for what God is trying to give me.

The Parable of the Soils Explained

Jesus first explains that the seed being sown is the Word of God.  1 Peter 1:23 says that we have been born again, “not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the Word of God, which abides forever.”  A seed contains the information to make something.  The thing made is directly related to the seed.  Thus God’s Word is the information and understanding to become a matured son of God.  Just as a seed is powerful and has life in it, so God’s Word is living and active.  It is the power of transforming a person.  Do I receive God’s Word like that?  Now, it is very common to critique speakers; and rightly so.  However, Jesus turns the tables on his hearers.  In critiquing speakers we fail to critique ourselves as hearers.  No matter how imperfect were those who spoke God’s Word to you, you will not have a valid excuse when you stand before God.  No matter how perfect the speaker, if your heart isn’t in the right place, you won’t receive what they have to say and most likely you will use all manner of excuses why you didn’t listen to them.  God’s Word is a seed.  The power is in the information rather than in the person giving it.

Jesus then explains that that the different types of soil are representative of the hearts of men.  It is not just about ear and brain, but also heart condition.  I can look fine on the outside, but inside I may not be as good of soil as I need to be.  Now the truth is not that 25% of us are good soil, but that our heart can be any one of these soils and probably has been all of them at sometime in our life.  But what am I right now?  Let’s look at these heart conditions.

The Soil by the Road-  This soil by the road has two problems.  One is that people keep trampling it so that it cannot grow and then the birds eat it.  Thus our two enemies in life are our negative interactions with people and the devil himself.  The actions of people can stomp out our ability to keep holding on to God’s Word.  It sounds nice until somebody stomps on your heart and then it is impractical.  The spiritual side is that the devil and his spirits are working to get that seed out of your life.  He may not remove it completely from your brain, but he can remove it from your heart.  He can even get you to so insulate your heart that it will never access the Word of God in faith ever again.  Such seed never grows because it is never given opportunity or time to grow.

Rocky Soil-  This is not just about rocks on the surface.  Many places have a thin layer of dirt but is mainly rocks and boulders underneath.  Thus Jesus says these hearts have enough dirt to cause quick growth but the ground cannot hold enough moisture to keep it growing.  The hot sun and lack of water will eventually kill the little growth.  It cannot grow enough roots to keep itself alive.  These are people who are not completely hard hearted.  But yet, they are not soft enough and the Word of God will never grow to maturity.  Instead it will die and never produce fruit.

The Thorny Soil- Here the problem is not depth of soil.  But there are other things growing in the soil.  To our thinking, God’s Word should be the strongest of all plants and choke out everything else.  But that is not how it is.  Jesus warns that the cares of this life can choke out what God cares about.  These cares are literally distractions whether trivial (entertainments) or serious (my job, finances, feeding the family).  My life purpose can be so fixated on the things of the flesh that spiritual concerns are choked out.  I never have any time for them.  Or, they aren’t as fun to do.  Either way, there may be some growth, but the cares of this world keep God’s Word from bringing forth fruit in our life.  We never become what God wants for us to become and do what He has for us to do.

The Good Soil-  Though it doesn’t need much explanation, by definition the good soil doesn’t have the problems of the other three.  We have fenced off the field so people don’t travel through it anymore.  We have removed the rocks and increased the soil depth.  We have taken the time to weed out those things that keep the good seed from growing.  Thus good soil is such because of the purposeful work of the owner of that soil.  What am I doing to prepare my heart to be good soil for the Word of God?  There are many pitfalls in this.  Notice that we often protect ourselves from people by walling ourselves off from them.  But the truth is we need to guard the Word of God in our heart, not our hurt and anger against them.  We need to actively resist the work of the enemy to steal God’s Word out of our heart.  Thus the good soil is the heart that is honest (about my own failings) and good (wanting to have God’s Word grow to maturity).  We remove the thorn bushes by actively letting go of the cares of this world and making God’s work the main pursuit of my life.  It is not easy to go from being all about what I want to do and experience in this life, to being about asking God, “What do you want me to do, Lord?”

Jesus said, “The ones that fell on the good ground are those who having heard the Word with an honest and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”  Notice that he points out 3 things.  The condition of the heart is that it is honest and good.  But then we must “keep it.”  Keeping the Word is to literally “hold it down.”  How tightly do you hold to the Word of God?  The enemy wants to knock it out of your heart.  He does so in many schemes that involve other people, bad circumstances, and difficulty of life.  But, through it all we have to hold tightly to God’s Word.  Lastly, Jesus uses the word “patiently.”  We have to let God’s Word do its work over the long period of our life.  The human crop takes longer to grow than the plants of this world.  But if we trust God’s Word and hold it firmly, it will accomplish that for which it was sent.  So what soil are you today?  Take time to seriously work through these things.  Our lives depend upon it.

Parable of the Soils mp3

Malachi: A Treacherous Heart

We pick up today in Malachi 2:8.  The Lord has been challenging the priests of Israel about their sins.  Now the message begins to transition into a problem that was riddled throughout all of Israel: Treachery.  Starting with the priests, verses 8-9 use the word treachery to speak of the favoritism that the priests were showing.

Showing Favoritism In God’s Things

In the 1990’s several articles were written speaking of polls that showed the fall of the reputation of ministers.  A high percentage of the population held a low esteem of pastors.  Part of the reason for this is that people kept running into leaders and churches that showed favoritism in God’s things.  Recently a similar article came out only this time the profession on the hot-seat was journalism.  Journalists have now found themselves at the bottom of professional esteem along with ministers and lawyers.  Why?  Mostly because they have showed favoritism in how they have reported the Truth.  Now whenever a person purports to speak on behalf of truth, they are dealing with God’s territory.  Even though journalists are not operating in an official religious capacity, their insistence that they are speaking the truth puts them in an area that God not only takes seriously, but He will also defend.  Many journalists today have departed from the righteous reason to report news and have corrupted the proper ways of reporting in order to shape the opinion of the public.  This is called a treachery in verse 10.  Treachery is when we work under the cover of something good in order to do something bad.  We use the good to get people to trust us but in the end we are only interested in how it can help us, which is not good.

The priests were using the good things of God for their own purposes and God will not suffer such wickedness.  They were not walking on the path that God’s Law had prescribed to them.  They had reasoned themselves away from God Way.  Now we need to remember that God’s Way is the The Good Way.  It is the way that leads to life.  But, there is a way that seems right in the eyes of a man but the end of it is death.  These priests had left the path to life and were now on a path that led to destruction.  It didn’t look like that to them.  In fact somehow they had convinced themselves that what they were doing was the thing that would bring them what they wanted.  Ultimately we are all responsible for our own path.  But God will deal with those who are an “accessory to the crime.”  It is not an excuse, but it is inexcusable.  Thus these priests and any who do such things need to confess it and repent of it.

When it says that they had shown partiality in the law, this is a reference to Leviticus 19:15.  “You shall do no injustice in judgment.  You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty.  In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.”  Here God is warning Israel against perverting justice whether for the poor or for the mighty.  Notice how He points out the reasons why we might do either one.  Those who pervert justice for the sake of the poor might think they are doing a good thing.  The poor are in a pitiable situation and don’t have anything in life.  So to pervert justice for them might seem almost spiritual: “fighting for the little guy.”  However, God condemns this.  No society can prosper that rewards wickedness whether from a poor person or a rich one.  Now on the other side we can be tempted to pervert justice for the mighty.  Notice here the word “honor” is used.  These mighty people are heavy weights and can do a lot for us.  Thus we are tempted to esteem them as of greater weight than the poor.  God says not to do it.  Thus we have the cultural image of the “Lady Justice” being blindfolded.  Justice is based on the facts in evidence rather than on who is standing before it.

Now we today have been shown the way by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of His Apostles.  How much more important is it for us to pay attention to God’s heart in these matters?  If we pervert justice within the Church of Christ then we not only bring shame on God’s reputation but we also cause ourselves to be contemptible in the sight of the world.

When we adopt a “pick-and-choose” mentality with the things of God we will find that God will not accept such activity.  It is an abomination to Him.  In respect to people, we cannot allow ourselves to pick and choose who we are going to be hard on and who we are going to be easy on.  God will not stand such wicked actions.  We should uphold justice with grace with all people.  In respect to duties or teachings of Christ, we cannot allow ourselves to be partial either.  When we choose which teachings we will follow and which we will disregard, we only bring discipline and judgment from God down on our own heads.  This is a problem that is riddled throughout our society, both in the Church and outside of it.  It is abhorrent to God and is destroying us as a people.  Unless we confess that it is sin and turn away from it back towards the Good Path, then we will continue to slide towards the destruction that awaits such stiff-necked people.  May God give us the grace to see our sin and repent.

Treacherous Heart Audio

The Holy Spirit in Salvation

Over the next several weeks we are going to be looking at what the Bible tells us about the Holy Spirit.  Today our focus will be on the Holy Spirit’s work to bring people to salvation.

Before we go into that, however, I would first point out that the Holy Spirit should not be something that is scary to us.  The phrase itself is intended to get across the point that “this” Spirit is different from other spirits.  It is holy in that it is unique and set apart.  But it is also pure, clean and good in its motives and activity.  Thus, of all spirits that exist both human and otherwise, this Spirit is the pure clean and good one.  Thus we can trust the Holy Spirit to have pure motives and to only be working on God’s behalf.

Next, the Holy Spirit is not a force.  Scripture uses personal pronouns of the Holy Spirit and clearly depicts Him as being a person.  I am using that word not as a human being, but rather as something that has conscious being and conscious activity. 

Now let’s begin in John 16:5-11 to get a feel for the Spirit’s work in bringing people to salvation.

Click to read more ...