Where Are You Investing

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This Week's Devotion Was Inspired By:

Luke 12:32-33

^{^{“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches, and no moth destroys."}}

FROM HEAD KNOWLEDGE TO HEART KNOWLEDGE:

1. Evaluate in prayer: What areas of life do you spend too much time worrying?

2. Apply to now & the future: Thank the Lord for all the ways He has provided for you and then consider how you can invest your time, resources, and mental energy into God's kingdom. Pray about it, journal about it, and ask the Lord to make His Kingdom known in your life!

KEY POINT: The more we focus on & invest in the coming heavenly Kingdom, the better we can weather challenges to our earthly kingdoms.

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Transcript

I was struck by a really incredible truth in Luke 12 that I want to share with you. But first, a little bit of context.

So, this is coming right after the passage where Jesus talks to his disciples about not being anxious. The part about considering the lilies of the field and the fowls of the air and how, if God takes care of these things, he's going to take care of you. So, don't worry about what you're going to eat or drink. Seek first the kingdom. It's that passage that this comes right after.

So, in verses 32 and 33 he says, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Did you hear the stark contrast between those two verses? The first one says, "It is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." It's like, "Oh, wow. I'm going to inherit a kingdom." Next verse, "Sell what you have. Give it away." What this? I don't understand, right?

Because this is the truth: God's kingdom is eternal. What we have here is temporary.

And the way God's kingdom operates is so different than how earthly kingdoms operate. Earthly kingdoms are about, "What can I get? Let me accumulate." God says, "Give away because I have something better for you in eternity." And when you give of your time, your talent, your money, your resources, you are building treasure in the eternal kingdom.

And there's so many applications to this to- finances and various things. But what I want to talk to you teachers about is just that idea that there is a way to think earthly of what's happening now—temporary. All the things I'm worried about in my little kingdom, my little classroom, right? My little family, my little life.

And then there's eternity. And God promises, "It is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." He has a kingdom to give us in eternity. And so we just need to—we have to keep that in mind.

The more we are focused on my little kingdoms and what I need and all my fears and anxieties around it, I'm going to be fearful. I'm going to be anxious. But the more I'm looking at, "Hey, God, the God of it all, has a kingdom and it's my inheritance."

And he knows everything I need right now. He knows what I need for this student and for my own life and for my car that broke down and all these things, right? He knows, and he's promising to take care of me. But I have a kingdom. I have an eternal kingdom.

I don't know if I'm making sense, but just that perspective change of: I shouldn't just be looking at what's happening now. I shouldn't just be all about my own earthly kingdom. I need to keep my eyes on what God is doing and the truth that he is taking care of me. And I think the more we focus on that coming kingdom, the more we can weather the day-to-day challenges that appear in our own earthly kingdoms.

So, I want you to consider: where might you need to stop worrying so much about your earthly kingdom and invest your time and your resources and your mental energy and your thinking into God's kingdom instead?

FROM HEAD KNOWLEDGE TO HEART KNOWLEDGE:

1. Evaluate in prayer: What areas of life do you spend too much time worrying?