Luke 12:22-34

1. I still remember several songs I sang when I attended a Bible camp for the first time at around the age of 10. One of the songs was a prayer song sung before meals. I translated it into English when I was in Pelly. The second song was "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness." My daughter loves this song as well.

I give thanks to the Lord Who gives me daily bread, who gives me grace, faith, hope, and love, I bless your holy name. 

Seek Ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you, Hallelu, Hallelujah

2. Through the songs, I reflected on how every Christian desires to seek God's kingdom and His righteousness in their lives. However, Matthew 6:33 has often been misunderstood. For instance, when I was young, many Korean churches taught that attending worship services, participating in discipleship courses, and joining mission outreach through the church were equivalent to seeking God first.

3. Is that the right understanding? If we focus solely on church-related activities, does that truly mean we are seeking God’s righteousness? Through today’s  sermon, I want to explore this question in greater depth. Let us read Luke 12:29-32. 

Luke 12:29–32 NASB 2020

And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things are what the nations of the world eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

4. Before today’s reflection, Jesus shared a parable about a rich man. The man did not want to share his wealth but instead planned to build a bigger barn to store his crops. Jesus used this parable to teach that everything is ultimately under God’s providence. At this point, we see that even the rich man worries about what might happen if he cannot store his crops.

5. Although it varies in degree, a common problem among people today is anxiety, which is synonymous with worry. Anxiety, like the kind the rich man experienced, is a common driving force in the modern world because it often promotes development. When the rich man started worrying about how to store all his crops, he decided to enlarge his barn instead of sharing with those in need. Similarly, people today strive for bigger homes and better financial stability because they are concerned about their future.

6. Whenever I read this part, I always remember the churches in South Korea. There are a lot of mega churches in South Korea. When they realize their space is not enough for the congregation, they decide to enlarge their worship halls. For example, I attended one of the mega churches in Seoul, and there are around 25,000 people attending Sunday services. They have five services on Sunday. I thought that if the space is not enough, they could spread out the church attendees instead of enlarging the building. How can the senior pastor take care of the church members? He didn’t even recognize a youth pastor when he met him on the street because there are over 30 youth pastors at the church.

7. We should examine our thoughts through this part. What was Jesus’ intention when he started his ministry? We often misunderstand and think that God will be pleased if we give a large amount of offering. However, God honestly does not care about the amount of our offering. Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, talks about offerings. But the offerings given by humans were not acceptable before God because of their wickedness. Honestly, their hearts were not in the offering. They gave it simply by following outward instructions. Without the heart, the offering will surely become a wicked offering. They were not reasonable offerings to God. We often hear messages claiming, ‘God will be pleased with your offering, so you should make a pledge to give an offering of about $100,000 per year.” But God said He dislikes this kind of offering.

Malachi 1:9–10 NASB 2020

“But now, do indeed plead for God’s favor, so that He will be gracious to us. With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the Lord of armies. “If only there were one among you who would shut the gates, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar for nothing! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of armies, “nor will I accept an offering from your hand.

8. The offering that God will be pleased with is not based on its amount or shape but on their heart and life following God’s instructions. The amount of the offering does not wholly reflect their heart and life. It is just a human thought. God wants us to follow His way and covenant.

Malachi 2:5–7 ESV

My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

9. Therefore, giving our life to the Lord should be the first thing we do once we have faith in Jesus Christ. We should reflect on God’s promises and apply them to our lives. Once we set our minds on God, we can give our offering next. When Israel was in Egypt, they could not give any offerings to the Lord. After God’s redeeming work in Egypt, God taught them how to give offerings to the Lord once they entered the Promised Land.

10. So, the antonym of faith is not disbelief but the fear of our next step. If we are afraid of something, we cannot even start a small, tiny thing. We will hesitate and eventually fail. Because of this fear, people want to preserve their possessions more and more. They are afraid of a life where they cannot accomplish anything, so they seek to acquire even more. But Jesus says that those who believe in Him should not be afraid of their life. God, their Father, has been looking after even the ravens in the sky, even though they do not work. In this regard, if we look at the ravens, they are not interested in storing food in barns. They eat when they find food. On highways, we see them eating carcasses from roadkill. If there is no roadkill, they don’t eat. It is a really simple life. However, people are always anxious because of their property and wealth.

11. We always want to be happy. When we read some research on the happiest countries in the world, a certain country like Bangladesh is ranked high. Curious about this, I asked my friend who lives in Bangladesh. He said that they don’t have enough facilities. Even their housing system is very cheap. He explained that because they don’t have much, they don’t feel stress about keeping or maintaining things. I realized this is why they feel happier than we do. We have too many things in our lives. Because of this, we are always stressed about keeping and maintaining them. Last week, before Sunday service, my furnace stopped working. It has already been a week. Without a furnace, I survived the cold weather of -35°C and below for two days. But because I have a furnace, I had to think about how to fix it. Last year, I spent over $1,000 just on the worker’s fee. Should I spend this amount again? It was so stressful. However, I diagnosed the issue myself, ordered a small part, and it is arriving today.

12. It reminded me that I can feel stressed because I have many things to care for. About this, Jesus says that I do not need to have many things. The grace for today is sufficient for the day alone. God says that I do not need to enlarge my barn like the farmer Jesus mentions. Instead, I can meditate on God’s way and instructions. As I have already mentioned, Luke 4:18-19 is the central theme of Jesus’ ministry. If this is the central theme of Jesus’ ministry, it is also important for us.

Luke 4:18–19 (CEB)

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

13. Jesus did not come to the earth to build a powerful kingdom. He did not intend to build a bigger barn for the sake of God’s kingdom. Instead, Jesus wanted to declare God’s total freedom. He wanted to release the oppressed, the slaves, and those who have been struggling with their lives. 

14. Jesus does not want to have a big church that focuses on making their church bigger. Instead, Jesus wants the church to share their portion with the poor, help one another, and take care of the community. Our church has been supporting Soup Haven for a long time. We have also been partnering with several organizations. If we focus only on our church building and internal church matters, it is not a church but merely a religious organization. With this in mind, we felt that some pastors around the world need God’s encouragement, so we decided to start a small support program for the Logos Bible App. From now on, we will look for other ways to help and support one another as Jesus commanded us.

15. We are Christians. This means that we are people who follow the way of Jesus. If we understand the meaning of the Bible, the next step is to follow it. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This does not mean you should give offerings to the church simply because it is the body of Christ. Rather, it means that because Jesus is my treasure, my heart is there—with Jesus Christ, my Lord. Because my heart is in Jesus Christ, I will follow Him with my whole heart and life. I want to share a song that I translated when I was in Pelly. It is a song about giving my life to the Lord, who is my King and Savior.

I offer my praise to you Lord, you are my King my Saviour

I exalt your name, oh Lord, with all my heart and soul

16. Do not be anxious. We don’t need to fret, not because of our wealth or storage, but because of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus is our King and Savior, so we will not be afraid. As Jesus looks after the lilies and sparrows, He will look after us. Therefore, the thing we should pursue is His kingdom and righteousness that means aligning our lives with His will—pursuing justice, love, and mercy in our daily lives. What we must do is look after one another for the sake of God’s kingdom.

John 13:34–35 NIV

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

17. Let us commit ourselves to this commandment—to love and care for one another, sharing God’s mercy and grace with a world in need. These things are our primary work as followers of Christ.