(Click HERE for MP3 sermon audio.)
Text: Luke 12:13-34
Luke 12:31 reads, “Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things [food, clothing; i.e., material needs] will be added to you.”
For those of us in the developed nations, this isn’t a terribly difficult promise. We have not gone without basic needs. But what about Christians, not to mention nonChristians, in areas of the world where hunger and exposure are daily concerns? Did Jesus not really mean what he promised? Is God not powerful enough to keep his promises? Or perhaps, my understanding is deficient…
This sermon, given at the Presbyterian Church, explores this promise in the context of the passages that come before and after. The passage begins with a man coming to Jesus, asking that his inheritance be divided between him and his brother. Jesus, instead of doing that, tells about a parable of a rich, foolish, landowner. In that context Jesus exhorts his disciples to not worry about their basic, daily needs, and instead seek (or pursue) God’s kingdom. Jesus continues his exhortation by saying that his disciples ought to sell their possessions and give to the poor.
By understanding the surrounding context, I believe we can better understand how God has designed the fulfillment of his promise to provide for the basic needs of his children.
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