God is my Sufficiency – Dr. K O John
Study on The Gospel according to Luke, Chapter 12:
Vs.1 : Though Jesus was followed by a multitude, He was speaking to His disciples about hypocrisy, fear of man and anxiety.The Word of God focuses more on individuals than on groups.
Vs 1(b) -3: He began to say to His disciples, first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy”. “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” Hypocrisy (double-standards, trying to hide one’s true identity) is out of fear of being revealed. Jesus declares that there cannot be any secret as it would be revealed, as sin will find us out or the Holy Spirit would convict us to declare it openly or else, it would be made public on the Day of Judgment.
Vs.4 & 5: “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” Vs.4 is about man (not Satan as we usually interpret) who can only kill / hurt the body. When asked who is great, God or man, our immediate response is ‘God’ of course. But whom do we fear? We hide our intensions & our true identity….for the fear of man, fear of rejection or for being accepted. Then whom are we giving importance to?
To fear God we need to know Him, not by our own means but through Jesus who reveals the Father to us (Matt 11:27- All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.) And only through this revelation could we worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Again the spirit mentioned here is one’s own (human) spirit with the revelation of who God is (not the Holy Spirit as is usually understood).
Vs. 6 & 7: “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Sparrows were the cheapest amongst the birds sold those days and if God could care for them, how much more should He do for us. For instance, we may not know the intricate details of a huge bridge but the engineer who designed it, would. He would know precisely every detail of even the sizes of the nuts & bolts because he made it. So, God our Creator is so personal that He knows every detail of His creation.Since we know our worth, we should not be anxious.
Vs.14 & 15 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” And He said to them,“Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” We usually make a wrong prayer request of asking for the treasures of the earth to the Provider of eternal treasures (of heaven)!
Vs.8, 9 & 12“Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God..…For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
- Declare that God is your sufficiency
- Confess that God knows, sees and cares for you
- Declare your faith openly so that salvation becomes a reality in your life (Rom 10:9)
- Do not seek men for counsel & be confused, but seek God. Return to Him, your first love!