Blessed People
Good Morning,
Luke 12:22-33
The Lord makes a simple statement in Luke 12:32: "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom...”
As Christians, we fear far too often: we worry about bills, jobs, or a layoff; we worry about the President, the economy, the weather, or any number of other things that affect our children and grandchildren.
The Lord reminds us of a few principles:
1. We have a Father Who is powerful, loving, good, and faithful. A Father Who is trustworthy. A Father Who knows better than us and has our best interests, as well as, His glory in mind.
2. Our Father looks at us with “good pleasure.” He delights in caring for us eternally, as well as, physically in this temporal world. To think that it is my Heavenly Father’s “good pleasure” to do anything involving me is unfathomable. The fact that it pleases the Father to care for me is incredible. I do not have a wicked step-mother as Cinderella did, but I have a Father Who looks with pleasure on my life and my destiny.
3. It is the Father’s pleasure to give me the Kingdom. The day will come when the King will reign, and I will have a part in that Kingdom. God's plan to allow me to reign and to be entrusted with a portion of His Kingdom pleases Him.
Many years ago, my first-born son expressed His desire to work for me one day. I assured him that he would have to sit back and wait on the will of God. When he graduated from college, I asked him if he would consider further education, but he responded, “No, I have always wanted to work for you. I have graduated and that is what I want to do.” It was a delight to me that my son wanted to work with me, but even more so it was a delight to me that my son wanted to work for God. What a pleasure to have my son's office down the hallway from mine.
The Eternal Father’s pleasure is to provide a kingdom in which I can live with no tears, no sorrow, no hurt, no suffering, and no pain. It is a kingdom of purpose and a kingdom that glorifies Himself; this gives the Heavenly Father ten thousand times more joy than any earthly father can enjoy.
Because of all these promises, God wants us not to panic over earthly trials. In Luke 12:30, God makes a statement about food, clothing, and earthly possessions: “For all these do the nations of the world seek after...” The earthly desires of my unsaved neighbor should be completely different from my aspirations. Why? Because it is my Father’s good pleasure to give me the Kingdom.
The goals of the kings of the world should be far different from the goals of leaders in a nation like America. Why? Because our nation is founded on the Word of God and Bible preachers. Although not every one of our founders or leaders of today is a Christian, our roots are certainly based on a Judeo-Christian mentality. We have a different beginning, and we have a different end. Our goals are different.
The righteous and the unrighteous should have a different set of values. In an old western story, the bad guy might shoot the good guy in the back, but no good guy would shoot the bad guy in the back. Good guys have different values.
We are different. The reason we are different is that our Father’s good pleasure is to give us the Kingdom. Our lives are built upon a different set of values, and our futures are built upon a different destiny; hence, these simple statements in Luke 12:23, 32: “The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.”
vs. 32 “Fear not, little flock..” we need not worry or fret because it is our Father's good pleasure to give us the Kingdom.
Pastor