30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 17 20-37 Be occupied with the work of His kingdom, till He returns 18 The seed falls into the ground and dies
📖 Luke 17:20-37
25Aug2020 - *The seed falls into the ground and dies* - _Luke 17:20-37_ - BE OCCUPIED WITH THE WORK OF HIS KINGDOM, TILL HE RETURNS 18 – Bible reading: _John 12:24-25_
_Luke 17:31-32 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. (32) Remember Lot's wife._
The parallel passage is _Matthew 24:17-22 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. (18) And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. (19) But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! (20) And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. (21) For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (22) And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened._
The tendency is to look at these passages as signs of our Lord’s return. In the passage in Matthew, the Lord refers to the great tribulation and mentions that for the sake of the elect, the church, the days of the great tribulation will be shortened. This infers that the elect will go through some part of the great tribulation.
Our concern here is to consider as to what should be our occupation as we await the return of our Lord. The message for us is not to be worried and anxious about our survival, our day to day affairs, our future, our security and so forth. The warning given to us is to remember Lot’s wife.
If we look at many Christians today, we are a worried lot. The Lord said, _Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?_
Look at our prayer life and our prayer requests. We can see immediately that the majority of our prayer requests revolve around our worries, which is about ourselves, our families, our children and our survival. Our worries have become our prayer list.
God is showing us how we need to go about our daily lives. _Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble._
What is the secret for us to live without worries? _John 12:24-25 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. (25) He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life._
God wants us to consider our lives as a seed that is sown in the ground. The seed is sown into the ground is in one form and substance but when the seed germinates, takes root and grows into a plant, its form and substance changes completely. We too must consider ourselves dead to the old man and rise with Christ as the new. Are you dead to your old man and risen with Christ in the new?
_II Corinthians 5:15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again._ We here on earth, no more to live for ourselves but for the one who died for us and rose again.
_Romans 14:7-9 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. (8) For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. (9) For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living._ It is for this cause that Jesus died for us and rose again that we be totally the Lord’s and no more for ourselves.
_Mark 8:35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it._ It is only in losing our lives for Jesus and the gospel that we can save it. It is only then will we learn to cast our cares on Him.
*Thought to ponder*
```We are the Lord’s, our concerns are His too.```