Readiness

Luke 12:15-21, Luke 12:35-40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XlCcQMRM9E (4:00-7:30)

Aside from the fact that the video is cool, why did I decide to start the message with it?  Well, on Friday, I happened to read this verse (Psalm 10:6):

“… the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.”

I underlined it in my Bible because it just brought home to me again how precious the words of Jesus are.  God tells us that we will give an account for every idle word we’ve spoken (Matthew 12:36).  Now, if we are going to give account for our words and Jesus is our perfect example, it is reasonable to conclude that His words are perfect, none of them are spoken idly.

Here we are studying through the parables of Jesus.  Reflect for a moment that each word of Jesus and each word of His parables is flawless.  It is like silver refined in a furnace.

In the video, you saw silver refined once.  The words of the Lord are flawless like silver refined seven times.  We recognize that the number seven in the Bible represents completeness.  Silver refined seven times would then be completely pure.

A noble metal like silver can be melted out of an ore or another metal.  The organic materials turn to ash or char and other metals oxidize at high temperature, and the noble metal can separated.  The ancients had this process nailed down as evidenced by ancient artifacts of all sorts.  Even today, silver is commercially available at purities above 99.999%.  That does leave room for some impurity … 0.001% would be one part in 100,000.

We can treasure Jesus’ words as absolutely pure and 100% perfect.  They are flawless.  There are no impurities at any magnification, at any level.  We can have absolute confidence that He is guiding us true and not false when we listen to Him and study His words.  When I stop and think about that, I ask myself, “Why don’t you study it, meditate on it, treasure it, and apply it even more?!”

Let’s pray that God would speak to us now from His precious and perfect Word.

Lord Jesus, I do pray that you would speak to us now.  I know that my words can easily get in the way.  I pray that this morning’s time would direct us to You and Your truth.  Fix our minds on Your truth.  May we prize and treasure it more than any other thing in this world.  Teach us how to walk in it, day by day, moment by moment we pray.  Amen.

Before we dig into the parables for today, I have a little quiz for you.  So, get out a piece of paper.  Get a pen.  Now, there are a couple of things about this quiz that are a little different than normal.  First, I’m not going to collect your answers.  The answers you right down are your own (and maybe for your nosy neighbor), but I hope you’ll keep your eyes on your own paper and if someone decides to share, then it was their own decision.  Second, I’m only going to give you one question at a time.  You get to decide how much you write.  There is a practical limit to how much time we have available, so it will be half a minute to a minute per question.  When most folks look like they’re finished writing, we’ll go on.

Ready?  Pen and paper in hand?  Okay, here’s the first question:

1.       What would make you truly happy?

2.       What does life consist of?  What is life?

3.       How rich are you today toward God?

4.       What do you have in abundance? [Gifts even if they are unusual.  Something that is a resource, not the absence of something like no free time which could be stated as an abundance of busyness.]

5.       What are you doing with it?

6.       What significant task do you have this week, this month, this year?

7.       Are you ready?  What about it are you ready for?  What about it aren’t you ready for?

8.       Are you ready for the unexpected?

Okay, hang onto those.  Let’s go to the Word, and we’ll come back to these questions as we go.

Our first parable is Luke 12:15-21.  The scene is outdoors, and a large crowd has gathered around Jesus.  There are literally thousands, so many people that it says that the people were trampling on one another. 

Amidst this chaos, Jesus begins to teach the disciples.  Have you ever tried to talk to a room full of people where even only two or three people are talking?  It’s unnerving for the speaker and distracting for just about everyone else.

The topic is not especially a pleasant one.  First, He gives warning about the teaching of the Pharisees.  Then, He talks about fear.  Then, He talks about persecution saying they will face persecution before synagogues, rulers, and authorities.  Important stuff right?

Do you ever feel like it’s hard to hear Jesus?  Like it’s hard to focus on His Word?  I know I do, but then I read about a scene like this and suddenly, my challenges seem much smaller.  It may be tough to read the Bible when you’re tired.  It may be tough to listen to me for an hour.  But could you imagine trying to this message without any microphone, no power point, and two thousand of your neighbors standing around waiting for something amazing to happen, talking among themselves, and maybe even calling out to one another and even to Jesus.

That’s exactly what happens.  Someone in the crowd yells out, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

We don’t know whether or not that was the first person to yell something at Jesus that day.  Maybe it was and maybe not, but Jesus decides to answer this man.  I just take that as a signal that this has to be important stuff.

Jesus’ response is shocking to me.  He replies saying, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”  Now this is after Peter has confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (Luke 9:20) and even after the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36).  The answer that pops into my mind when Jesus says, “Who made me judge?” is “Your Dad.”

So, why wouldn’t Jesus be judge or arbiter in the case of this man’s inheritance?  The answer comes in the first verse of our first parable.

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” -- Luke 12:15

Does Jesus have the authority to be the judge in this case?  In any case?  Yes, Jesus has all authority.  So why doesn’t He judge?  Certainly, He could.

It appears that He does not judge because it is not relevant, not significant.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that Jesus doesn’t care.  He cares immensely, and Scripture is clear that God cares deeply for the poor and the cause of the poor.  What I want to communicate is that Jesus chose not to judge this case because “man’s life does not consist of, is not made up of, the abundance of his possessions.”

Let that sink in for a minute.

There are things in our lives (I know there are things in my own life) where we get caught up with the things of this world.  We are so sure that our cause is just and are needs are immediate, but if the focus of those things is for material pleasure and even material security, Jesus says, “Watch out!  That’s not what life is!”

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”--Luke 12:16-21

What is the focus?  What should our treasure be?  Riches with God.  What are those riches?  How do you get rich toward God?  The simplest answer is, “Give.”  In Luke 12:33 Jesus says specifically, “Do not be afraid, your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom.  Sell your possessions and give to the poor.”  If you come back and say, I don’t have much, now what?  I’d say God gives generously.  (James 1:5, Titus 3:6, Ecclesiastes 2:6)  You have something whether possessions, abilities, giftedness, and whatever God has given you in abundance, you should strive to give that away.

One place where I’ve seen this over and over has been at our kids’ homeschool co-op.  There are so many people there who give of themselves.  Sometimes it is adults, but many times it is younger people.  There are students from Anderson University who come over to teach art or drama. 

The last couple of years, Christina, our youngest daughter, has been helping with the youngest girls’  ballet class.  When I say youngest, I mean the really little ones, like 3-4 years old.

I have to say that Tina never struck me as a likely teacher.  She has kind of maybe just a teensy weensy bit of performance, “hey look at me,” kind of personality.  I don’t see being a teacher as scratching the itch of a “look at me” heart.  And yet, Tina has enjoyed teaching in some ways more than dancing herself.  She mentioned that to Melissa just a couple of weeks ago.

We all have ways that we can give.  In the absence of talent, we can give our love.  In the absence of knowledge, we can give our strength.  In the absence of eloquence, we can simply listen.  We all have something that we can give to others.

And, I’m convinced that you can’t out give God.  We have limitless resources in Christ.  When we give of ourselves, we are storing up treasure.

Did you ever hear of a run on the bank?  That’s where people panic and run and try to withdraw all their money at once.  I’m not saying we need to act in haste or in panic, but we should be trying to withdraw as much as we can from what God has given to us and then give that away.  Think about the widow’s coins worth only a penny.

Whether you feel like God has given you little or much, seek to give as much as you can back to Him by giving to others.  In this way, you store up treasure with God.

Our second parable comes not long after the first.  It is the same crowd, the same time.  In between the two parables, Jesus continues to talk about where our hope needs to be.  It is a message that begins, “Do not worry.”  Jesus concludes saying, “Your Father knows your needs.  Seek Him and His kingdom, and the things you need will be given to you.”  (Luke 12:30-31)  And, “… where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Luke 12:34)

And that leads into the second parable:

“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. --Luke 12:35-38

What this passage is saying is that we should never go to sleep, ever.  No more naps, no more bedtime, just stay awake forever.  Right?  For some of you, that might sound exciting.  For others, it might sound like a nightmare.  For those who might find it exciting, eventually, you’d be begging for a nap even if it wasn’t the first night.

So, this is not the right understanding.  It can’t be.  God can’t contradict Himself, and elsewhere in Scripture He clearly describes sleep as a blessing.  In particular, I think about Psalm 127:2, “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for He grants sleep to those he loves.”  If God is the one granting sleep, then He won’t prohibit it.

Seriously, what is Jesus talking about?  Or more importantly, Who is He talking about?  Let’s go on to the last couple of verses.

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.”  --Luke 12:39-40

The Who is … Jesus Himself, the Son of Man.  He’s given two strongly contrasting images.  He’s talking about His return.  After Jesus died on the cross, He rose from the dead.  After He rose from the dead, He appeared to many witnesses.  Then, He ascended into heaven with the promise that He would come back.  He’s talking about His return. 

Either our own lives on this earth will end (and we don’t know when that will be), or Jesus will come back to the earth (and we don’t know when that will be either).  He’s telling us to live our lives in the expectation that He will come back to the earth at any time.

First, He says think about my return from the point of view of servants waiting for their master.  He’s saying regardless of the time, day or night, be ready. 

The Jews split the night in three 4 hour watches, the Romans used four 3 hour watches.  The second and third watch by the Jewish reckoning would be any time from 10 pm until sunrise.  Even in deep night, you should be prepared.

He then gives the perspective of a homeowner securing his house from the threat of robbers.  If the homeowner knew a robber would come, what sorts of things would he do?  Well, he’d secure the house, right?  He’d lock the door.  What else?  He probably wouldn’t leave any valuables outside.  He’d put away his tools and other items.  He may take even have taken more measures, but even those simple things would reduce the risk.

There is another type of preparedness.  It is a longer term preparation.  It has to do with how a house is built.  We’re all familiar with the three little pigs, right?  The straw and the sticks and the brick and the huffing and puffing wolf.  If a house is built with straw and sticks, you can easily break into it just by going through the walls.  It’s much more difficult to secure a poorly built house than it would be to secure a soundly built one.

In both cases, servants or homeowners, Jesus is talking about preparation and readiness.  Make things secure.  Don’t leave things undone.  Be ready to receive Him.

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about building.  We talked about digging deep to build on a sure foundation.  We also talked about I Corinthians 3:11-15 where it says, our “work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.  If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.”

How do we get ready?  We need to prepare our hearts to meet Jesus.  We need to be like those servants.  We need to be ready to open the door to Jesus whenever He comes whether we come to Him through death or He comes to us through His promised return.

We also need to be like the homeowner who builds soundly.  We need to be built on the foundation of Jesus.  We need to follow His example.  We need to do the things He says are important to do.  We need to use our abundance wisely, primarily trying to give it away to those who are in need.  We need to be ready to welcome Jesus whenever He appears, and He is very clear in saying no one will know when that will be.

I’ve got an NIV study Bible that I’ve had for years.  It is my constant companion when I’m preparing messages.  However, I rarely quote out of it.  It’s more of a guide for connecting passages with one another and getting some general history or backstory.  But, in this parable, I found a simple but profound thought.

“A map of the future would be a hindrance, not a help, to faith.”  -NIV Study Bible

It has been foreordained that we should live our lives with this kind of tension, the tension of not knowing when.  If you knew exactly when Jesus was coming, you’d have the chance to be less prepared during the time when he would not yet arrive.

Even knowing that there aren’t any guarantees regarding our lives in these bodies, we often behave that way, don’t we?  If we’re young or in good health, and sometimes even if we’re not, we act as though we’ve got time before we repent, turn to God, and trust in Him as our all in all.

Why would Jesus establish a persistent tension?  It seems almost stressful, and perhaps a little bit unkind.

We’ve already talked many times about how the only way to God is by faith.  Well, if you know when something is going to happen, that pretty much negates faith doesn’t it.  So that’s one reason.  Jesus leaves us in tension so that we have the opportunity to exercise faith continually.

Another important reason is so that other people have an example to follow.  They get the chance to see us living by faith all the time.  If you only had to exercise faith one time and it was over, then it would be difficult for unsaved people to see what faith real faith is.

Taryn gave a testimony last week about how even if we mess up when we try to share our faith, God can use that.  Why is that?  Well, being willing to mess up is a huge testimony to true faith.  If I climb out on a limb for God, then I must be trusting Him because I know I can’t fly, right.

I could keep right on talking about this stuff.  We’ve really only scratched the surface.  We never even really came back to the questions we answered in the beginning.  I guess that will have to be homework.  I encourage you to think over what you answered in light of these parables, and discuss them with one another.

Or, it could be lab work.  After the meal time, we’ll pull together in the family room, if there are ones interested, and discuss the things in the message as well as have a time of prayer.

I’ll close with a picture.  I saw this bumper sticker recently.  I didn’t take this picture.  I found it on the internet.  But I loved it when I saw it, and I wanted to share it.  It’s on two lines, so you do have to be quite close to the car in front to read it.  It says, “Are you following Jesus this closely?”

 We all have things in life that we are following after.  Multiple things for multiple reasons.  The question that the bumper sticker asks is simple but critical.  What is your priority?  How close are you to Jesus?  Do you follow other things more closely, whatever they might be?

We have the most precious promise in the second parable there in Luke 12:37.  It says,

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.  --Luke 12:37

When Jesus finds us ready upon his return, He will wait on us Himself.  What a joy, what a privilege.  Let’s be prepared.  Let’s be ready.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, regardless of how we think about these things, it is possible that this very night, our lives could come to an end or You could return.  Please help us to live in a state of readiness before You.  May we be ready to continue the work and ready to see You return.  Enable us to diligently and closely follow You, we pray.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.