Dan Herold | Luke 12:32-40 | July 31, 2016
(Sermon begins at 22:45)
It is amazing what fear can force someone to do. Fear is a great motivator. It can make you jump right out of your seat and spring into action. It can make a carefree person become very aware of and interested in every little detail of a matter. Fear can make us do all sorts of things that we wouldn’t normally do. But, while fear can force us into action, it doesn’t always help us produce our best work. When we are forced into action by fear we often act irrationally. Fear makes us make bad decisions. When we are afraid we usually are willing try the first option we can find to make whatever has scared us go away, and that isn’t always the best option.
If you happened to be hiking out in the woods or wilderness and you happened to come upon a bear or a mountain lion I think my first reaction would probably be to run away. I’ve heard experts say, though, that running away is one of the worst things you can do because it makes you seem even more like prey to a bear or mountain lion. The best thing to do is to face them, make a lot of noise, and try to scare them off—but I very much doubt that standing up to one of those animals would be my natural response. In that situation acting in fear could end up being very bad for you. Statistics show that situation ends better for the person who is well informed and keeps their cool than the person that immediately responds in fear.
We know that a day is coming when Jesus is going to return to judge the world. We know that a lot of frightening things are going to happen on that day and leading up to it. We just talked about some of them in our Wednesday night Bible class this week. We read about the four horsemen that will be sent out and how the sun will go dark, the moon will turn blood red, the mountains will disappear, and the stars will fall from the sky in Revelation 6. But, God told us what was going to happen for a reason. He told us about those events that would take place so that when they happened we would be ready. He told us how to prepare so that we wouldn’t respond in fear. So, today let’s look at Jesus’ advice for how we should prepare for the Last Day in Luke 12. He tells us Don’t be afraid! But be aware and be ready.
Fear is an infectious thing and by nature fear is our master. By nature it is only that fear of punishment from God’s Law that keeps us in check. You can see examples of that everywhere. Fear of punishment gets people to follow laws, fear of embarrassment gets people to conform to the norms of society, and fear of the unknown drives people to come up with their own theories and ideas to calm their fears. That is exactly what most of those doomsday theories that you hear about on TV are. They are ways for people to cope with the fear of the unknown. But what they don’t realize is that they haven’t calmed their fear at all, but only given it a new face. So, instead of being afraid of the unknown they now are afraid of war, economic collapse, or disease.
This isn’t anything new though. Even in Jesus’ time there were people spreading fear about the last day. There were groups of Jews who were convinced that the Roman Empire would cause the destruction of the world so these groups of Jews went out into the wilderness and made their own little self-sufficient communities in hopes that the Romans would forget about them. One of those most famous settlements was at a place called Masada. That’s why Jesus’ words are just as fitting today as they were 2000 years ago when he spoke them. He lived among those who were fearful about the end of the world. If anything his words can be more impactful now that we have the context of 2000+ years of world history. But even now, 2000 years later Jesus still speaks to us calmly and tells us,
“Don’t be afraid.”
Jesus knew just what fear could drive people to do. He also knew that on our own we are powerless to do anything about that fear so instead of letting us flop around like a fish out of water trying to calm our fears he speaks to us. He speaks to us gently and directly and says,
“Don’t be afraid.”
Instead of being afraid he tells us to be aware.
Scholl’s canadian viagra sales Massaging Gel Insoles and Dr. Many sildenafil online no prescription users have discovered that they can obtain levitra of the same quality as the brand name by buying generic levitra online, as unica-web.com is very costly. This results in common side effects such as hair falling out purchase cialis Continue to unica-web.com and blood counts dropping. So, it is effective at increasing levels of cGMP levitra in uk for combating cardiac disease. One of the things that we can be most fearful about is our money and our possessions. When trouble comes we tend to get very scared about having enough money, food, water, and gas for our vehicles. Jesus tells us, though,
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus isn’t demanding that we get rid of all our possessions. He is telling us that rather than living in constant fear we should get our priorities in order and be aware of where our real treasure is–in heaven.
The only thing that we have that will be of any value on the Last Day is our faith—our faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. That is our only true and lasting treasure. You could spend all the time in the world storing up wealth and thinking of ways to protect it, but in the end you can’t take it with you. Everything on this earth will wear out, break, or fall apart—but your faith is forever. Your Savior will never leave you and will never stop working. He is your true treasure, so focusing your energy on him is infinitely more productive than focusing on things that don’t last.
Once we realize that our true treasure is in heaven, everything else falls into place. We are no longer consumed with fear and the feeling that we need to store up wealth. We realize that Jesus is worth more than anything we could ever buy because he loves us, he died for us, and he saved us. You can’t put a price on that and no one can take it away from you.
However, Jesus isn’t like a stock certificate you lock up in a safe and never look at until it’s time to cash it in. Jesus also tells us to be ready. If the time comes that you were really in a pinch and needed some money and all you had was a stock certificate locked away in a bank vault somewhere would that do you any good? So then what good would your faith be if on the last day you have left it locked up in the dark and neglected it? That’s what Jesus is getting at when he tells us to be ready. Being aware of where your treasure is is only half of the equation. We also need to be ready to use that treasure when the time comes.
In order to paint a picture of why readiness is so important for a Christian Jesus told this parable to his disciples. Just listen to Jesus’ words,
“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
This could be another way to put it–If you have a bullet proof vest, but you aren’t wearing it when you get shot it doesn’t do you a whole lot of good does it? That’s why Jesus stresses the importance of being “dressed ready for service.” He knows that you have something that can save you–your faith– but if you don’t keep it near where you can make use of it, it can’t help you. Jesus is urging us here to make our faith part of our identity. Just like a police officer, or fire fighter, or soldier can be recognized by his uniform our faith should be such a part of our identity that it defines who we are. That is how we can keep ourselves dressed and ready to serve.
There’s a fine line, but still a line, between being vigilant and being afraid. Some people try to make fun of Christians for being in church all the time. The sinful world calls Christians fear mongers for being concerned about sin and the moral direction of the world. If you ever encounter such an attack, or if someone ever accuses you of being afraid and hiding behind your religion don’t get defensive, but rather talk with them. You might find out that they are really the ones who are afraid because they don’t know the comforting truth of the gospel. Fear takes many different shapes, but no matter which one you encounter remember what Jesus has to say to you. Don’t be afraid–be aware and be ready. That is the message your Savior speaks to his sheep. The message with which he quiets your fears, assures you that your sins are forgiven, and empowers you to continue living a life of faith until he brings your eternal home in heaven.
Amen.