The Best Survival Tip of All Luke 12.31-34

The Best Survival Tip of All

Luke 12.31-34

 

Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 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. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 

     Dear Friends in Christ Jesus and Those Who Will become So…

 

Introduction

     There is a growing interest these days in survival. There are television shows and many books and videos showing how to survive in difficult situations. This probably stems from the uneasy feeling people have when they wonder how they would survive if all their technology, utilities, and police protection were taken away from them. This is exacerbated by the low-level fear, but an increasing fear, that some kind of terrorist attack or natural disaster could occur leaving people to survive on their own. Some people are stock-piling food, learning how to use firearms, or preparing bug-out bags. In addition to all this there is still the constant fear that people have about finding a decent job or surviving a job loss; facing illness; or battling depression or addiction. People are afraid of the changing religious climate and the possibility of losing the freedom to practice their faith without persecution. They fear the pressure that an increasingly immoral culture puts upon their children and whether they will remain faithful to Christ. There are many different reasons why people might feel anxious today. Regarding these things Jesus warns us against anxiety and total reliance on earthly efforts to control it. He commends us to faith in Him as our King who will save us and to a generous spirit that helps to save others. 

 

Anxiety

     The first thing that Jesus warns against is anxiety and worry. “Concern” is good. We should be concerned about the dangers and difficulties around us. It causes us to plan, prepare, and work to avoid unnecessary loss. When concern is coupled with faith, it causes us to turn to God in prayer and to seek His help. Anxiety and worry, on the other hand, paralyze us. They can cause us to stop doing anything – either praying or working to overcome our difficulties. This is what happened to the disciples when Jesus was arrested, and they hid in fear. Worrying is putting all our attention on the problems of life, and giving no thought to the solutions and especially to God, who has promised to help us. One of the important keys to relieving anxiety is to know God and His promises so that when you cry out to Him you really have something to hold, something to help. Sometimes people expect God to perform a miracle for them to make their problems go away. God can certainly do this, and sometimes He does. But at other times God helps us to endure our problems in faith. Here is a great promise: "No temptation/test has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted/tested beyond what you are able, but with the temptation/test will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10.13).  Either way, God helps us with our anxiety.

 

 

Total Reliance on Earthly Solutions

     The second thing that Jesus warns against is total reliance upon earthly solutions to protect ourselves and to survive. Physical preparation and protection are important, but they are not the primary way to survive the things that can go wrong in this world. If a tornado is coming, you can't just sit in your living room and pray. You better go to the basement and pray! But when it comes to the things of this earth, Jesus assures us that there will always be thieves that steal and moths that destroy. There is no way to completely and thoroughly protect ourselves from the physical dangers of this world through our own physical efforts.  Jesus says, “Instead…” Instead of all these things to which people naturally gravitate in a difficult situation, Jesus calls us to “seek His (that is God’s) kingdom.” That is what I want to explain and what I want to encourage you to do. This is the greatest survival tip of all. 

 

What Does It Mean?

     What does it mean to seek God’s kingdom? First, we need to think about what a “king” is? In our country we are used to leaders who have limited power. They work together with other leaders. For example, the president has to work with the congress.  But a king is a “monarch.” “Mon” means “alone,” and “arch” means “rules.” A king is a person who rules alone and is not limited or balanced by other rulers. The founding fathers of our country did not like monarchies because they knew that all human beings are sinful, and they hoped that spreading out the rule among different people would prevent the rise of evil rulers. But this does not prevent the whole group of leaders from being evil. When Jesus says that we should seek God’s kingdom, He is saying that we should seek God’s complete and perfect leadership of our life. God doesn’t need to be one of a group of leaders. He is good and just, and He can be trusted to direct us in our all our ways. 

 

     What does God, our King, lead us to do? The first and foremost thing is that He leads us to repent of our sins and to receive His gift of forgiveness and love. This is what He means when He says that He will give us the kingdom. Sin is a huge problem for us, and it is the ultimate destroyer. It is really what we are all trying to survive against. Yet Jesus did not survive. He allowed Himself to be destroyed on the cross so that sin itself could be destroyed. Jesus died as the King on the cross. Luke records the request of the repentant thief who died next to Jesus on his own cross. “Remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23.42).  Jesus gave him the kingdom when He said, “Today, you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23.43).  That exchange was all about repentance and forgiveness. Consider how different God is from the leaders and kings of this world. Everyone blames, blames, blames, but no one confesses their faults. This is one reason why the world is always in the trouble that it is in. The most broken marriage can be healed if the two spouses can honestly say to each other: “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you.” The walls that sometimes rise up between parents and children and brothers and sisters can be taken down by “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you.” Estranged friends can also be united by these simple words, “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you.” But I can’t just tell you to do this, nor will you be able to do it on your own. The power to destroy sin by confession and forgiveness begins with God’s forgiveness of our sins. So, as our King stresses the importance of practicing forgiveness, above all He leads us in it by constantly showing His forgiveness to us through the cross and teaching us to pray: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." 

 

     Is there something else that God, our King, would lead us to do? There is. In Satan’s world survival is always about selfishness. Satan’s logic is a this: Only a limited number of people can escape disaster. Take care of yourself and your own, and if you’re lucky, you’ll survive. What he really knows and is actually lying about is that in his kingdom no one survives, but he thoroughly enjoys watching everyone destroy each other in their selfish pursuit of survival. This is his game. One of his names in the Book of Revelation is simply “Destroyer.” He is the author of sin, and he leads us to destroy ourselves through selfishness. In God’s kingdom there is true and real escape from disaster because there is true and real escape from sin in Jesus. Since we have this sure and certain promise, we don’t have to worry about being destroyed. For this reason we can show compassion on those around us and can help them in their physical and spiritual needs. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2.8-10). Jesus is so forceful about this that uses an exaggeration: “Sell your possessions and give to the needy.” This doesn’t mean that we have to sell everything and become so poor ourselves that we can’t help anyone else. But it does mean that helping those in need should be a big priority for us. We teach the love of Jesus in this world with words and deeds. Satan teaches us selfishness so we will destroy ourselves. Jesus teaches generosity so we will save others. I said before that God doesn’t always bestow miracles to make life better for us. He often wants to work through His word and other Christians. So just as we look to God to help us when we’re in trouble, we also are being called to help others when we are blessed and living prosperously.  Your offerings each Sunday are part of this, but so is your whole life as you make personal sacrifices to help others in need. 

 

Conclusion

 

     So how are we going to survive the sin-caused destruction of this world? Not by becoming anxious. Not by focusing exclusively on our physical assets. We will survive by receiving the kingdom that God is giving to us in Jesus. This kingdom gives us a new treasure and a new kind of wealth that will endure all disasters. Jesus assures us: “Have no fear little flock, for it is Your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom…”  That is, forgiveness, salvation, and every other good thing that we need.  Again, the Bible says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8.32). 

 

Pastor Michael P. Walther, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Greenville, Illinois

Ninth Sunday After Pentecost, August 10, 2025