God’s Pleasure to Give (5/5/19 Topical)

ATTN: Today is the first sunday of May and since May is usually designated as Family month, I want to take a break from the John series and look at passages regarding family as to edify you and give you more joy in your family. Today, I want to look at one verse that speaks of our heavenly Father and what He wants to do for us. He is the source of all good things, including our earthly family, and therefore, I thought it was appropriate to focus on Him first.

Let me start it off this way. Have you realized that most of our joy (or happiness) is future dependent? Our happiness does not depend so much on what’s going on currently but what we perceive will happen in the future. Here’s what I mean. Imagine you got a text on your phone right now that said, “You have been promoted. Your salary will double and you can start on your new position next month.” How would you feel? Happy. Now. It won’t happen for another month, but you are happy now on account of what will happen in the future! Now, imagine you got a text saying that you have been terminated from your job and your last day will be the last day of this month. How do you feel? Sad. But again, nothing will change until the end of the month, but you are sad now on account of the impending future. So, our present happiness depends much on what we perceive will happen in the future. For this reason, we can endure final exams, muscles pains for those who work out, or those who are nearing retirement, because in the near future, we know things will get better. Another word for this hope. Hope brings us joy.

A classic illustration of this is John Newton’s. He said suppose a man was going to New York to claim his inheritance worth million of dollars. But with a mile to go, his carriage breaks down and he has to walk the rest of the way. How foolish would he be to cry, “My carriage is broken! My carriage is broken!”

Our Heavenly Father who not only made us but gave us His Son says to us: [32] “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32

Context: Jesus said this to his disciples, a small group of followers, who probably had same concerns and worries about life like you and I do. Remember, most of them were poor fishermen who left their family to follow Jesus. “How am I going to make ends me? How is my family going to be provided for? Will my children be taken care of? (Peter) What about getting married and raising my own family? Will following Jesus really pay off in the end?” No doubt their lives were filled with worries about the uncertain future, after all, they were under Roman control and one of the reasons they followed Jesus was because they believed Him to be the Messiah who will give them the desires of their hearts. And knowing that He is about to go to His death to the disciples’ utter dismay, Jesus says “Do not be anxious.”Why? “For it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”That’s why.

1. “Fear not”

God knows that we fear things since we are not in control of all things like God is. What do we fear?

1) not having our daily necessities met. Food, shelter, clothes. And why do we worry about them? Because we will die without them. So, we fear death! But He says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?i And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. “ (Matt 10:29) In other words, something as small and trivial as a sparrow, I used to catch and eat those when I little in Korea (so small not even a bite!), God governs and cares for! So, fear not for God is in absolute control.

2) Young people, perhaps, fear not living up the expectations of their parents or the loved ones. Fear disappointing someone – maybe even their friends. Replace that with a healthy fear. “Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.”What matters in the end is what God thinks of us and we will see today that He thinks much of us!

3) Parents fear not being able to provide for the family.  Psalm 37:25 ”I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.” God cares about your children more than you do. After all, they were conceived in His mind long before they were conceived in you.

4) And those of us with type A personality fear not living up to our own expectations. We want to achieve and accomplish and make something great of our lives. We fear failure. But in Jesus, we are not called to success, but to obedience. Our only task is to abide in Jesus and do what pleases Him. That is the only thing that matters.

So, fear not for we have a good God who will give us good things.

 

2. “good pleasure”

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasureto give you the kingdom.”

– God is pleased to do things for us. He doesn’t do this begrudgingly just because he’s promised. He doesn’t say, “I guess I have to do it for you since I promised it although you really haven’t been good and you don’t deserve it at all! But you make one mistake, and I’m gonna zap you!” No! He loves doing things for us like a good and kind father loves doing things for his children.

ILL: 4 years ago, when we took our kids to Disneyland,  think Janet and I were more excited than our kids were. You see, we kept it a secret to them right up until the moment of arrival at Disneyland. We told them that we are going to California to see some family and just to throw them off, we went to Hollywood Walk of Fame the first day. The second day, our plan was to arrive at Disneyland entrance and turn to our children and say, “Tada! We are at Disneyland! Surprise!” And watch their reaction. But Serrie kind of ruined it because about 2 miles out, she saw a street sign that said, “Disneyland: 2 miles ahead” and she asked, “Daddy, are we going to Disneyland?”  I couldn’t lie (I’m a pastor!) “Yes, we are! Surprise!” And I looked at their expression through the rear-view mirror. I think they were more dazed than anything at the moment. But the point is that Janet and I were more giddy than the kids! Giddy with anticipation to make our children happy. We are evil parents (according to the bible) and yet we rejoice in giving good gifts to our children. How much more our loving Heavenly Father! Listen to God’s heart for us:

[4] You shall no more be termed Forsaken,

           and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,

but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,

           and your land Married;

for the LORD delights in you,

           and your land shall be married.

[5] For as a young man marries a young woman,

           so shall your sons marry you,

and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,

           so shall your God rejoice over you.

(Isaiah 62:4-5 ESV)

3. “Your Father”

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’sgood pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

So often those of us who grew up in cultures where the fathers were disciplinarians, harsh, or absent all together, we can’t shake the feeling that God the Father is like that too. ILL: When I was a youth pastor, I especially had a heart for the youth who grew up without a dad – absent either physically or emotionally. Boys usually had anger issues and they didn’t know why. And girls usually became sexually active early to compensate. I just wanted to come around them, with other adults, and be their adult-confidante, and guardian,  and model the good and gentle Father to them so that they won’t think God is like their earthly father who abandoned them. What is the Father like?

           Who better tell us about the Father than His very own Son? How does Jesus describe His Father? The prodigal son story is the most elaborate and detailed parable Jesus has ever told. And the father in that story which represents God, upon learning his son’s return, forgets all decorum, embarrasses himself before his servants – baring his legs and all – runs toward his son, lunges and hugs him and kisses him all over. He was so overjoyed and overcome with emotions, he spared no money in killing the fattened calf and throwing the party of the century! All for what? For the idiot of a son coming home! It’s not like he has won the war and came home a hero! No. He went off, squandered all of his father’s money and now that he has nothing left, he came home! What a loser! My Asian culture dictates that he shouldn’t have even thought about coming home. And yet, most amazingly, not only the father receives him, but fully restores his sonship, and on top of that throws the biggest party to celebrate! That is the most accurate picture of God the Father!

           Ironically, the Pharisees (religious leaders of the day) rejected Jesus because the Father Jesus portrayed was too generous, too loving, and too forgiving. Their minds couldn’t fathom a God that full of grace

           When you think of God, what’s He like? Does he smile at you? Is he pleased with you? Does he want you near by? Does he put you on his lap, laughing, giggling, or is it more businesslike? Distant? Awkward. Oh, how our view of God must change through the scripture!

4. “to give”

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

God is more delighted in giving us things than receiving things from us. We often think of God as “What-have-you-done-for-me-lately type of God.” He’s looking at us and constantly asking, “how are you serving me? What are you doing for me?” But rather what he truly delights to do is, “What can I do for you? Ask me to do things for you. I love to do for you. How can I serve you?”

           We are not His slaves. We are His children! We are not there to serve him primarily. We are there to delight in Him mainly. God didn’t create us to serve Him. God created angels for that. But God created us out of delight and to share with us His delight. And our main role as God’s children is to receive. My children do not give me nearly as much as I give them! And whatever they give me, I have given them it anyway!

           Does that mean that we do not serve God? Of course we do.Gal 4:1, “… the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, [2] but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.” So we serve God not as servants but as heirs who are learning the ropes to take over the estate! God has given us the heaven and earth as our inheritance and we will rule over them. And so we serve God out of delight and pleasure because God has given us all things, none of which we deserved!

5. “The kingdom.”

What will God give to us? Not money. Not safety and comfort till death. Not success. No! Much better! The kingdom! “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”God our Father will give us the kingdom! But what is the kingdom? Why is it desirable? The kingdom represents God’s reign. It’s God’s rule. God is the king and his desired will will be carried out perfectly and we will be rulers with Him of all that God has created! It’s “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9

           No man has seen it, but God has seen it. Jesus has seen it. It is something so wonderful and so great that our Lord Jesus Christ has endured the horrors of the cross in anticipation of it – Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, (Hebrews 12:2)

           It’s our home that we’ve been wanting all our lives. It’s our permanent rest place. It is where joyful love lives forever. John 14:2-3, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

           This is future oriented, but that future joy seeps through and affects the present. That is what our good and kind Father takes pleasure in giving us, His children. In this age and the age to come forevermore.

God is not really the kind of God to give us good things – the things that will make us happy. We fear missing out on all the fun in life if we were to commit fully to God. We fear that we won’t really be happy in God because we don’t really trust that God will or can give us what we really want. Isn’t that why so many of us cannot quite commit to God? We straddle the fence between the kingdom of God and kingdom of this world – trying to have best of both worlds in case the other fails? We want to hold onto God just in case there is heaven and hell after all. We don’t want to go to hell forever. But then, we don’t want to fully commit to living God’s way because the world seems to offer something far more than what God has to offer. This fear of God not being able or willing to give us what we want prevents us from fully committing to Him and His body, the church. But look at the rest of the sentence. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”He wants to give you more than your heart’s desire! He knows what will make you happy better than you do. He made you! You just want a little cake, but God wants to give you the cake factory! Do not fear God’s intentions or abilities. Trust Him!