Christ unto you. That's my hope,
that's my desire. Luke chapter 12, and we will...
Luke chapter 12, we will begin in
verse 22. And this is Christ speaking,
and Christ said unto his disciples, therefore I say unto you, take
no thought for your life, what you shall eat, neither for the
body what you shall put on. The life is more than meat, and
the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens. For they
neither sow nor reap, which neither have storehouse nor barn, and
God feeds them. How much more are you better
than the fowls? And which of you with taking
thought can add to his stature one cubit? If you then be not
able to do that thing which is least, Why take you thought for
the rest? Consider the lilies, how they
grow. They toil not, they spin not,
and yet I say unto you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these. If then God so clothed the grass,
which is today in the field and tomorrow is cast into the oven,
how much more Will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And that's our rebuke because
we were concerned about all these things. This passage always steps
on my toes. And seek ye not what you shall
eat or what you shall drink, neither be of a doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations
of the world seek after, and that they do. And your Father
knows that you have need of these things. But rather, seek ye the
kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Here's my text. Fear not. little flock, for it is your father's good
pleasure to give you the kingdom." Wow, what a statement, what a
cap, what a, it's just like it flows, it gets, you know, get
rebuked and you can say he's working towards a thought and
there it is. Fear not, little flock. And so
I thought about this for a couple of weeks and I just, the little
flock, the little flock kept hitting me and I thought, well,
this is what we are. We're a little flock. But fear not, fear not,
fear not. The specific text which I want
to dwell on is verse 32. But I ask myself, why did Christ
say what he did with these first two verses when he says, fear
not? Well, you got to go back to the passages of scripture
that I read. Look at them in verse 24, consider the ravens
for they don't sow or reap and neither have storehouse nor barn
and God feeds them. How much more are you better
than the fowls? We feed birds at the house. And
we get magazines that talk about bird feeding. And you would think
by reading these articles and these scientists, if we weren't
there, the birds would starve to death. Now, again, they're
putting man, just like this climate change stuff, they're putting
man way higher than he is. God's in control of all this. So he gives that first statement
and look in verse 28. If then God so clothed the grass,
which is today in the field and tomorrow cast in the oven, how
much more will he clothe you? How much more would he clothe
you? We have trouble and I'm just like you, we go into our
closet and we have trouble deciding what we're gonna wear. Because
we have, I'll say so much, maybe too much. How many shoes? How many shoes
do I need? How many brown outfits? How many
ties? This is just, how much more will
our father clothe his people? And verse 30, for all these things
do the nations of the world seek after, but, and your father knows
that you have needed these things. Your parents know you have needed
these things. We all know we have needed these things. And verse 31, but rather seek
ye the kingdom of God and all these things, shall be added
unto you. Godliness with contentment, I
think is what he's saying, is great gain. Do we really need
this? Do we really need that to function? Well, we can appreciate Christ's
words to his disciples, and we claim to be his disciples as
well. So I say to you, and I say to myself, as I said last week
or so, Fear not. Fear not. Whatever apprehensions
we have, 95 or 98, I don't know if it's close to 100, maybe even
be 100, of the apprehensions that we have never come to fruition. Henry wrote an article and I
asked Tom Harding if he would try to find it. He knew what
I was talking about. He never could find it because they got
a book of Henry's bulletins. and he had an article in there,
it was called Homemade Stew. Homemade Stew. Everybody here
has mixed stew differently, and we sure do. We add a little doubt,
we add a little, you know, this situation may happen, and this
situation may happen, and I gotta spice it and season it with this
may happen, so I gotta buy all this stuff to be prepared, and
it doesn't happen. That's what this passage perhaps
is referring to. But I, under authority of the
word of God, not me, fear not, little flock, fear not, fear
not. God in Christ, manifested by
his Holy Spirit, will not forsake, leave, or disregard his children
whom he foreknew. Now let's look at Verse 32 properly. Let's look at it. Fear not. Fear not. I have three arguments to this
end. In our text, fear not. First
of all, do not fear because it is our Heavenly Father's good,
better, and best pleasure to give, that is freely by His reigning
grace, the kingdom or heaven. Just simply put, do not fear.
Why? Because in our text, it is the
Father's good pleasure. And I know that enough about
God and the Father that His will will be done. And what He pleases
to do he will accomplish. Secondly, in regards an argument
previous text noted fear not regarding clothes, food, protection,
or care. We have all these things and
more we have everlasting life. We have everlasting. If he has
given us the greater, he will give us, he has given us the
lesser. And thirdly, Fears arise from
within and from without, or enduring with Him until our appointed
end. We wonder if we'll make it to the end. We struggle daily
with this flesh, this doubt within, this constant questioning God's
goodness to usward. I say again, fear not, is the
Holy Spirit's language to all His hampered and tried sheep. We look around us like David
did. He looked around at his neighbors.
They had more than him. Everybody has more than us. It
seems like jobs are better, whatever. Why does that even matter to
us? Doesn't the Lord promise to take care of us? Well, David's just like you and
I. This is what he said in Psalms.
You don't have to turn there. Psalms 73, truly God is good
to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for
me, my feet were almost gone. My steps had well and I slipped,
for I was envious. There's the problem. Envious
of what your neighbor had. Envious that your neighbor has
a better job than you. Envious that your neighbor has
a better house than you. Why are you seeking that for?
Why are you worried for? For our children? No, our children,
they do pretty well. They do pretty well. I was envious
at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Toys,
things, that's how they measure prosperity. There are no bands
in their death and their strength is firm. They are not in trouble
as other men, neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore,
pride compasses them about as a chain. Violence covers them
as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than heart could
wish. They are corrupt. They speak
wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily. These are
your neighbors and your friends. They set their mouth against
the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore,
his people return hither, and waters of a full cup are wrung
out to them. And they say, how does God know? And is there knowledge in the
Most High? Behold, these are the ungodly,
who prosper in the world, they increase in riches. So be careful
if that's what you desire. Verily, I have cleansed my heart
in vain, that's what we say, and washed my hands in innocency.
For all the day long have I been plagued and chastened every morning.
If I say I will speak thus, behold, I should offend against the generation
of thy children. When I thought to know this,
it was too painful for me, until, until I went into the sanctuary
of God. Then I understood their end.
Why is gathering together so important? It causes you to see
what God has done for you through Christ. If we're talking about
Christ constantly, that's why it's good to gather together.
That's why it's good to hear one another's troubles and you
know how to pray for one another. Until I went into the sanctuary
of God, then I understood their end. Surely thou didst set them
in slippery places, thou cast them down into destruction."
That's their end. Share with them, talk with them, be compassionate to them, but
be careful. Be careful. Fear not, little flock. Instead of what we're doing,
which is what David did, which is what we do, instead of looking
about, let us look upward, heavenward, churchward. I have no problem
with that. If God is in this place, let
us gather together, let us be here. And consider him whose
faith follow. Fear not, once again, is his
own personal word to us. Fear not. Little flock. Little flock. Yes, right here,
right now, in Jackson, Missouri, this little flock. Perhaps this
is what he's saying, little flock, as in Matthew chapter 7. Maybe this is what he means by
little flock. Matthew 7 and verse 14. Because
straight is the gate and narrow is the way, which leads unto
life, and few there be that find it." You know, Bruce made a comment
in Bible class. We want people, our neighbors,
our friends, we want them to believe. We want them to be here
among us. And that's the end for which
we should be speaking with them. We don't need to be rude. We're
not saying that. Speak to them. They can't make it, we have a
call-in line, which is being worked on. We're getting to it.
We're getting it. So maybe he means little flock
as in the straight and narrow way, and few have found it. Or
perhaps like he speaks in Songs of Solomon, this place is his
garden. The church is his garden. And
unless you're, I don't know, unless you come from a different
country or something, gardens are usually manageable. They're
small plots. I'm not talking farm, I'm not
talking acres. Little flock, this garden spot,
this small when compared to the wilderness of the world. Maybe
that's what he means when he says little flock. Or perhaps
thirdly, maybe he means a vineyard. a vineyard that gets pruned and
shaped and fed and nourished by the master, meat for the master's
use. Or perhaps little flock may mean
we're little in our own estimation. And this is good. This would
be good. We're little in our own eyes because self is larger
than life. Look at me. I'm doing this. I'm
a big fish in a little pond type sort of thing. No, perhaps fear
not little flock is in their own estimation, they're not heady,
we're not high minded, but lowly and made humble and contrite
and broken by the free favor and love of our near kinsmen.
That's a good thing, fear not little flock. But I will say something about
this little flock, and I hadn't seen this before, But our Lord
dignifies this place. I want you to look with these
at me. He describes flock. Look at this passage. Turn to
Jeremiah 13. Jeremiah 13 and verse 20. Jeremiah 13 verse 20, lift up
your eyes and behold them that come from the north. Where is
the flock that was given thee? Thy beautiful flock. He calls
this place beautiful. Now, where's our beauty come
from? Oh, it's not our own. Dressed in beauty, not our own.
We have a righteousness. We are clothed in and out. by the pure holy garments of
the substitutionary work and accomplishments of Christ. So
we're beautiful in God's eyes because of another. Because of
another. He calls a descriptive, these
are descriptive titles. These are dignified titles in
terms of the name flock. And it tells a nearness of him. He calls us a beautiful flock.
Turn to Ezekiel 36. Ezekiel 36 and look with me at
verse 37 and 38 Thus saith the Lord God I will
yet for this be inquired by the house of Israel his elect To
do it for them. I will increase them with men
like a flock as a holy flock and As flock of Jerusalem enter
solemn feasts, so shall the way cities be filled with flocks
of men, and they shall know that I am the Lord." He calls this
place a holy flock, a holy flock. And we know that without holiness,
none shall see the Lord. But if we have His holiness given
to us, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, we shall
be with Him. We're clean every wit through
the Holy One of Israel. And lastly, turn a couple pages
back in Ezekiel 34. This one blesses me no end. Ezekiel 34 and verse 17. As for you, this is God speaking,
O my flock, not only are we beautiful, because our beauty is borrowed,
Not only are we holy, because we will see him in that day,
but he calls us my flock, my flock. This, thus, showing his people
are both dear and peculiar to him. And you don't have to turn
to 1 Peter, he says we're a peculiar people. That word peculiar in
the Greek is purchased, purchased. We are a purchased beautiful
flock, little, yes, A holy flock, Lil, yes, and we're His flock. He can do with us as He will.
May He increase this. May our children see Him with
whom they have to do. And enlarge, you know, He says
in the Old Testament, enlarge the border of our tents. That's
been a prayer of mine for years. This is a tent. Enlarge the border. He talks about expanding the
seashore, the shoreline, in another place. I just say, Lord, your
will be done, save sinners, make us more like you, and may you
get all the honor and the praise and the glory. So I repeat, little
flock, fear not. So I ask, and thirdly, and kind
of closing up here, let us see, let us view ourselves safe as
in these prior verses 22 to 31. Let us see ourselves safe heading
to a kingdom that's already prepared for us by the sovereign free
and good pleasure of Jehovah God. God in Christ has for every
elect sinner Having, once they've repented and confessed Jesus
as Christ, every elect sinner, we have a crown of glory. You
can look at this up when you get home, 1 Peter 5, verse 14. We have a crown of glory. We
have a throne of power, Revelations 3.21. And we have unsearchable
riches, which far exceeds anything kings or princes possess here,
Ephesians 3. So why do we fear? Why are we
worried about what to wear? Why do we worry about what to
dress? Or why about to eat? Oh, I wonder if something happens,
war happens, and they go after our grid, you know, electricity,
they're going to be kind of tough. Okay, we'll go back to the Scriptures. The lilies, they didn't toil.
The birds, they didn't prepare anything. They don't have barns.
They don't have electricity. They don't, the Lord took care
of them. The time of the year, the chronological
time, 2024, it doesn't make any difference with God. If you're
His people, He's going to take care of. If things may change,
but then we'll just get closer. We'll just keep drawing in and
drawing in. And there's enough smart people
here that we'll figure it out by His grace. We can borrow trouble,
I'm already borrowing trouble. No, we fear not, little flock. This clear view, this grace bestowed,
this God purchased, this Christ slain, this Holy Spirit enabled
view is not owing to anything in us. Our works are our self-induced
arrangements to try to be better. But it's all owing to the Father's
gift, the Son's accomplishments, and the Spirit's indwelling.
It's adopting grace, it's seeking grace, it's fetching grace, it's
keeping grace. And he delights in his children. He keeps saying, these birds,
yes, they're important. These birds, these flowers. When
we come into church, we see flowers in the side of the road. Well,
there was no home. A lot of times there's a home
there, it's gone. There's no home there. You know, some of
these, why are they there? Well, maybe just for our enjoyment
to come in. But I know this, nobody's fertilizing
it, nobody's taking care of those flowers, but they're still there
every year. We've been out here 30 something
years, every year, they're blooming. These flowers, these birds, they
rebuke us because we need to be more like them,
like little children, like little children. He delights in his
children. He makes sure we have all we
need here and hereafter. And all this, fear not little
flock, why? For it is your father's good
pleasure to give you, give, there's sovereign free grace, not merited,
not earned, give you the kingdom, kingdom, heaven. It's his good
pleasure of him who is our, A tender, loving, holy Father. Oh, to be
among the flock of God, be it ever so little. There's at least
two groups I know of. Two groups that are a lot smaller
than this. And they're meeting right now.
One in Missouri and one in Jersey. When Melinda and I, when we see
these folks, we get so encouraged. We're like, wow, that's, they're
just like, they're just hungry. And they're thankful. And they don't really talk about,
they talk about fear, but they don't really talk about being
little. Because, isn't there a couple passages, I mean more
passages in Scripture about greater is He that is with us than they
that are with them. You bet, you bet. Let us glorify
him. Let us be sure we're in that,
this fold, the fold of God. There's nothing like the salvation
found only in Christ. Seek him, search him, trust him.
I'm not saying you're ever and ever going to fear, but I'm saying
we've got the backing of the word of God and God himself to
help us. Bruce, would you close this please? But that will be a part of that
swap. There's a number that can't be
numbered. And you compare it to every one that you have created
for yourself.