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| SERMON #146 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? MAT 6:27. It is amazing how often we pass over a text like this so lightly when we read the Scriptures and never have any idea what Jesus is saying. Some passages of Scripture seem to be a connector between two other verses. In reality, that connector has a very deep meaning and a significant reason for being there. The Lord doesn't use by-words or idle words. Every word in the Word of God must be taken as having a meaning. It is in there for a purpose. Jesus has appealed to our reason and logic, directing our attention to His Father's care for those little birds who are of so much less value. V:26 says, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" Immediately after this reasoning with our logic, He comes with the words of our text. He now turns our attention to our own frailty. We see this frailty in our text, "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" MAT 6:27. He is pointing out how insignificant everything is which we do that is outside of the Lord's blessing. In other words, "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain," PSA 127:1. It is a most blessed thing when we are in business, or in an occupation, or making a provision for our family if we come to the realization that we need the Lord's blessing on every step we take and on every decision we make. The Lord Jesus brings our insignificance and frailty to our attention. "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" The word, thought, means an anxious thought, having anxiety or perplexity or worry, i.e., a grievous internal anxiety over things we cannot supply. This word cubit, which we find in our text is from the Greek word Pechus which means "The fore-arm, i.e., as a unit of measure." In other words 1/2 of a step. It means the distance between your elbow and wrist. Who can, by anxiety or worry, add one unit of measure, a half of a step, to his stature? Does that word, stature, mean how tall we are? No. The word stature as it is used in our text is taken from the Greek word Helikia, which means "maturity (in years or size):--age, stature." The root word also means "As big as, i.e., how much, how great." Jesus is saying that through anxiety we are not going to add a half a step to our stature, i.e., our maturity of years, or in other words, our life span, or who by anxiety can add one half a step to how big or great we are? This is a very important question for each of us to answer by examining our own heart and life and thinking. When we see our frailty with all our thought, planning, and everything we do, we can't add a half a step without the Lord's blessing and provision. As with so many English words, the only way to determine the meaning of this Greek word is looking at the context in which it is used. We can translate it many ways, depending on the context in which it is used. So it is important to get the context right. This Greek word Helikia is used to mean maturity in size in LUK 19:3, "And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature." This was the person who climbed the tree to see Jesus, but this is not the meaning in our text. So we must search further. However, this same Greek word was used to mean maturity in years, or age in JOH 9:21, "But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself." In this case, Helikia is translated as "age," meaning mature enough in years to speak for himself. When we start searching for the context, what the word means in that context, it helps us determine the meaning of Jesus' words in our text. This same Greek word means maturity in age in EPH 4:13, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." In this instance, Helikia speaks about spiritual maturity, age, or length of days, not height. This same Greek word was used to mean maturity in years, or age in LUK 2:52, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." In other words, He grew from a child to a person of mature age; He became a man and was no longer a child. Our text is in context with Christ's admonition against anxiety about our cares for this life. Now let us look at the context in which this word stature is used in our text, for that will determine the meaning of the word. Jesus is speaking about our cares and our desires after things of this life. When Jesus said, "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature," it could be rightly understood, who by anxious thought and grievous anxiety can add one cubit, i.e., a half a step or one moment to his life span? How are you going to add one minute to the length of your life by taking thought? We are talking about concerns over food, drink, clothing, and the necessities of life in the previous verse. He tells us to look at the birds, the Lord supplies them with all their needs. Are you afraid you will starve, or not have sufficient clothing to protect your body from freezing or dehydration? Filling your life with worry and anxiety over the things of this life will not add one moment to your life span. I think we can properly translate Helikia in this context. Measurements were commonly referred to as a cubit, i.e., the length of your fore-arm, or as a handbreadth. In Bible times parts of the body were commonly used as units of measure. They spoke of the forearm and the width of the hand. Some of this carries on in our lives today. A horse is measured by how many hands high it is. The psalmist in PSA 39:5 is directing our attention to the brevity of our life as he compares our life with the span of one's hand. "Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah." Jesus is comparing the brevity of our life with a cubit in our text. He is cautioning us not to let this life be our great concern; we are to seek first the kingdom of heaven, and its righteousness, and all these necessities of life will be added to us. That is where the Lord Jesus is putting His emphasis. He is teaching us the frailty of man; He is pointing out the emptiness of this life in the above verse and our text. The Apostle Paul saw how his time was come when he said in 2TI 4:7, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." He is saying that the measure of his days has expired, and he has finished his work, and he has kept the faith. He is directing our attention to where our priorities should be placed in this life. They should not be centered on food and drink or meat and clothing; our priorities should be set on the things of the life to come. Many times when I was a child, I felt the Lord laid on my heart the necessity to be ready to die. I saw how easily a person, even a child, can die. Even as a child we must think about being ready, that our heart has the right priorities; then the heart is set on the world to come because this life is so empty in comparison to the one to come. The Apostle Paul spoke of his life in 2TI 4:7, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." His good fight and course are referring to his ministry, his way of salvation. He tells us he has kept the faith. How many people can give this account of their lives on their deathbed? Do they talk of how many acres they have, how many dollars they have accumulated, or what a tremendous inheritance they will leave to their children? What will be the important thing you will speak of on your deathbed? The Apostle Paul teaches us the preciousness of looking back on a life that was spent for the glory of God. Jesus is teaching us that anxiety cannot add one cubit, i.e., one unit of measure, one half step, or one moment, to our lives; the Lord has already set the bounds that we cannot pass. This teaching is not a license to be a fatalist. We must care for our body and its best health. A man once told me he began coughing up blood and was determined to quit smoking. He went to visit his pastor who said to be careful of unbelief. The pastor said, "The Lord has set the span of your life, and you will live until the day the Lord takes your life. If you quit smoking with such a thing in mind, that is unbelief." No, no, a thousand times no! That is fatalism. The Lord warns us against such fatalism; we are not to deliberately do things that are against our health just because the Lord has set the bounds of our time. We must take the best care of our bodies. Satan used such a scheme to tempt our Saviour in MAT 4:6, "And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." See how our Saviour answered him in MAT 4:7, "Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." We must not harm our bodies because they are the Lord's temple. We must reverence the Lord's temple and care for it as belonging to the Lord. We may not neglect our body. Consider the words of the Lord Jesus in JOH 2:19, "...Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." JOH 2:21 says, "But he spake of the temple of his body." His body is the temple of God because God is a Spirit, and He created man to reflect His image. Certainly we are not reflecting the image of God when we act carelessly about His temple. The body must not be defiled or harmed in any way for it is the Lord's. These are the things Jesus is teaching us when He says, "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" He is teaching us our frailty, but He is also teaching us our responsibility. A half a truth is a lie. If I teach you so much about taking care of your body that you believe you will prolong your life with it, I have taught you a lie. If I teach you the inability of extending your life by the care of your body to the extent that you neglect your body, I have also told you a lie. We also find this teaching of Jesus' in 1CO 6:18-20, "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." We can glorify God in our body by taking care of our health and by not over-working or doing anything to our body to the extent that it deteriorates our health. It is a sin to bring harm to our bodies; it is a sin of unbelief. Scripture tells us that our body is not our own, neither is our soul; they belong to the Lord, "...therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." God has formed our bodies to be used for His praise. PSA 139:13- 14 says, "Thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." The Psalmist was showing praise to the Lord for the wonder of the creation of his body. Therefore we must care for our bodies. The Lord Jesus Christ took on our human nature with a body of flesh and blood to be able to be our substitute. For what purpose? It was to be able to reflect the image of God in our human nature with perfection. You and I were created to reflect, as a mirror reflects, the perfect image or character of God with righteousness and true holiness. The Lord Jesus Christ was created in our human nature, with a body of flesh and blood, to come and perfectly make that reflection. In His human body He suffered as our substitute for the cause for which He was sent. In HEB 2:14-15 we read, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Of necessity, the Lord Jesus had to be a human being with a body and a soul to be able to be our substitute. He came in His state of perfection to destroy the one who had the power of death. In other words, it was the power of sin that had to be broken. It was the power of death, hell, and the grave that was broken by the fact that Jesus took upon Himself our human nature so He could become our substitute. Therefore, when we see our body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, we must not do anything that puts our body, our health, or our life in jeopardy. Christ's sacrifice was to deliver us from our anxiety over death. Think of the anxiety there is over death! If we were brought into this life with eternal destruction as our only expectation, then think of the anxiety we would have over the evil day when our life would cease. See what we read in HEB 2:15, "And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Think of the bondage the fear of death would bring to you and me if we didn't have hope for eternity. Think of the anxiety we would suffer if we had no consolation in the Lord Jesus Christ, if we had no hope that He had taken upon Himself our human nature, our flesh and blood, and paid for our sins. You see why Scripture says, "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's," 1CO 6:20. He came not only to purchase our soul, but also our body, with His life, to break the power of death that we might have the fear of death broken. We no longer need to suffer a lifetime of bondage to the fear of death. The Lord has removed that for His people. Jesus said, "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" Then He points to the birds flying overhead and says, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" MAT 6:26. He preached His Sermon on the Mount out in the open fields, using the birds to reason with our logic. Jesus says, "Behold..." i.e., take notice of them that we might see the faithfulness of our heavenly Father who provides for all these little creatures. He tells us that if He has such care for them, we should recognize the obvious, "Are ye not much better than they?" Where does that value come from? It comes from the fact that you and I have a soul. We are created to reflect the image of God; that is why we are of more value than they are. It isn't a matter of that they are innocent and we are not, but we are better because we were created to be the image bearers of God. Our heavenly Father cares for the needs of our bodies, but He uses means; He has given you and me a reasonable understanding, and the means by which He provides for us is much different from the way He provides for the birds and other animals. He has given us the provisions we need; we must earn our bread by the sweat of our brow. Why? We have sinned, but in the way of providence, He provides the worm for the little bird and the prey for the lion. He also provides food for everyone in the human race. However, this does not mean that every person is given food in an equal proportion directly out of the hand of the Lord. When He comes in His kingdom, he will say, "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me," MAT 25:35-40. Do you see how the Lord uses His means? Are you and I a means in His hand to provide for those who are hungry, naked, destitute, or in prison? If we have the Spirit of Christ, we will care for the needs of others. If He has worked grace in our soul, one of the first true reflections of the image of God is our concern for our neighbour. We are to love our neighbour as ourselves. See what it says in JAM 2:15-17, "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." One of the means in the hand of the Lord is the generosity of the heart of His people. He also bestows in abundance to those who give that they might have more to give. An article in the daily paper really touched me when J.C. Penney died. He had been asked how much he had contributed to the Lord. He answered that he had never kept book with the Lord, but he found he could never outgive the Lord. In answer to a question of whether or not he profited by it, he replied that the more he gave, the more he had. Why? This is one of the means the Lord uses to help those who need help. When the Lord provides more than we need, where does the extra go? Do we indulge in luxuries? Do we seek out someone with a need? It is very important that we see this. That is one of our Heavenly Father's greatest means to provide for His poor. Jesus' teaching that we cannot add one moment to our life must not make us careless about taking harmful substances into our body, nor to act rashly as a pretense of faith as Satan tried to tempt Christ to do. We may not do things that put us in danger of our life thinking the Lord will spare us. Do you know why? We may not tempt the Lord. As I pointed out from MAT 4:5-7, Satan was trying to tempt Jesus to prove His faith in that same manner, but "Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Now picture the situation I illustrated for you; if I were to counsel someone who wanted to quit smoking for health reasons with words like, "Oh well, if you quit for that reason, that's unbelief; go ahead and keep smoking. If you quit, it shows you don't have faith." That kind of logic is fatalism; that is tempting the Lord. If you or I do anything that is rash, that could harm our health, or put us in danger of our life, we are tempting God. We must use preventative measures to protect our own lives and those of our neighbours. Some people do not believe in going to doctors; they say they believe in the Lord and their health is in His hands. The Lord has provided physicians, and we must use the means the Lord gives us to preserve our lives. We may not use fatalistic reasoning saying He will preserve us because we have a set time to live. DEU 22:8 gives us an example of the preventive measures against harm to ourselves and our neighbours, "When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence." We may not do things which would harm our neighbours any more than we may harm ourselves. We must use the means He has provided for the restoration of our health, including medications for ailments we may have. We see that principle in ISA 38:21, "For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover." The Lord had told Isaiah to tell Hezekiah to set his house in order for he would die and not live. Then the Lord sent Isaiah back to tell Hezekiah He had heard his prayers; fifteen years would be added to his life. The Lord could have healed him with a word as Jesus often did. However, there is a lesson here; we are to use the means He gives us. We are not to tempt the Lord by behaving in a fatalistic manner. The Lord forbids the lack of proper care of the body, even for religious purposes. This goes a lot further than you may think. 1TI 4:1-5 says, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly [He draws our special attention!], that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils [We are to take notice that we may have a religion that is outside of the Bible and do things harmful to our body as a religious ritual.]; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry [forsaking God's ordained way], and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. [Some will come in the name of religion saying we should not eat meat or other foods.] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." We give thanks before we eat, and it is sanctified by the Word of God and with prayer. The Word of God and prayer may not be separated from our eating and drinking. It is very important that we have the Word of God and prayer together. Jesus is not teaching us to neglect the body, He is forbidding anxiety about our life, as though our life depends upon ourselves. We must be responsible in our decision and what we do, but we do not follow Scriptural principles as if we merit life by doing so. We have another issue to cover. The other meaning of the Greek word Helikia which is translated as stature in our text also means "As big as, i.e., how much:--how great." When we really see the context in which this word is used, it is one of the main issues with which Christ was dealing. Let's follow this meaning out. It also means our stature in the community. Are we going to be perplexed about what people think, have anxious thoughts about our stature in the community? Are we concerned about respect, honor, or being seen of men? Jesus' first warning in this context to the Pharisees' desires to be seen as great among men is in MAT 6:1-8. "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven," MAT 6:1. Do you see that this warning is dealing with our stature before men? It is being concerned with how one measures up before other men. Do they look up to me and praise me? Jesus is telling us not to be anxious about this. We should consider our text in this light because the Greek word is also translated to mean "how great, how much, or how big" one is. The Pharisees were concerned about others knowing what they did. They blew trumpets when they gave alms getting many together so it would be known how much they gave. They stood on the street corner to offer prayers. They wanted to measure well in the eyes of man. Jesus is speaking about this in our text; we may not have a concern about our stature in the community. The measurement of a cubit denotes measuring ourselves by others, i.e., "As big as, i.e., how much; how great." We are not to be filled with anxiety about our comparison with others in the community because "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" We are not to be anxious over what people think about us. God's Word says in 2CO 10:12, "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." Even God's dear children ask, "Oh, but what will people think? How do I dare to walk in the ways of the Lord, denying myself in this, and this, because of what people will think?" Jesus is dealing with peer pressure; He is telling us not to let that be our uppermost concern. This message was not just for the world; Jesus' own disciples were caught in that sin. MAT 18:1-3 tells us, "At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." The disciples were not just concerned about which of them would be seen as the greatest disciple in the world, they wanted to know who would be the greatest in heaven. Who would be the best Christian? They were measuring and comparing themselves against each other. So when Jesus found them with these questions, He called a small child unto Him. He told them if they didn't become as that little child, they couldn't even enter His kingdom. He was telling them not to worry about who would be the greatest in His kingdom; their first concern should be if they would even enter the kingdom of heaven. You see, the Pharisee that is in the heart of every true disciple must be converted and become as a little child. The Lord's teaching never sorted out two classes of people--the Pharisee here and the Christian there or these words are for the unconverted and these words for God's people. I object to preaching from the pulpit directed to the unconverted and then to God's people. We are to do the sowing and let God make the application. He knows the hearts, and the ones we may take to be the most sincere Christians, he may see as the greatest hypocrites. On the other side of this principle the ones whom we least esteem maybe God's choice. Jesus is teaching us to find the Pharisee in our own heart. He tells His own disciples, "Verily I say unto you [He is saying this to them personally], Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Jesus is warning them to get off this idea about who is going to be the greatest in public stature; they must be converted to be as a little child or they won't even enter the kingdom. Jesus is telling them and us not to measure ourselves by others; we are not to be so concerned about our stature that we measure ourselves against others and think we can add just a cubit to be a bit better than they are. Anxiety about our stature as measured among ourselves is not wise. As we just read from 2CO 10:12, "...but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." If we are going to do any measuring or comparing among ourselves, we should measure every person above us, preferring others above ourselves. It is not the Lord's will that we try to be seen as higher than another person. In measuring ourselves with others we lose the Godly principle of condescending to men of low estate. ROM 12:15-16 says, "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits." Pride and self-exaltation only bring contentions. The contentions we see among the church are caused by not understanding what Jesus is teaching in our text. We are to take no thought of adding a cubit to our stature. In PRO 13:10 we see, "Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom." Trying to exalt oneself above others causes friction and contention. After Baruch had written all the words of Jeremiah in a book, setting forth all the woes of Judah and Jerusalem, Jeremiah said to Baruch in JER 45:5, "And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest." The Lord is saying in essence that Baruch had just written down all the humility God brought upon His people, and now he was seeking great things for himself just because God used him as His pen man. Jeremiah had used him to write down those things he dictated, and now Baruch would become great. "...behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD," not just the ones you wrote about. It is his life that the Lord will give Baruch as a prey wherever he goes. We are to seek first the kingdom of heaven, not great things for ourselves. This is the context Jesus is setting forth in our text. Jesus tells us in MAT 6:31-32, "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." Let your primary concern be the kingdom of heaven. We are not to give our thoughts, i.e., our primary concerns, to these things, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you," MAT 6:33. These words of Jeremiah to Baruch, "Seekest...for thy self," may be our clue as to what we think are great things. The things the Gentiles seek after are for themselves, i.e., "What shall we eat, drink, wear, and suchlike?" What are the great things for you and me? If our values are centered on the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, then seek great things, such as walking in the Spirit of Christ. Don't seek great things for yourself. This is the clue to our priorities when we determine what is of value to us. There is such a drive today for freedom, but why do we want to be free? For some being free means freedom of choice to have an abortion, to promote pornography, etc. Where does true freedom lie? True freedom lies in being redeemed from the power of sin as we see in TIT 2:14, "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." If we have come to what I call Christian liberty, meaning the power of sin has been broken and we are set free from its power, then our values are concentrated on things of righteousness and true Godliness. If the power of sin has not been broken, we are in bondage whether we have all the freedom of democracy or not. 1CO 7:21-22 says, "Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. [But don't let it be a source of anxiety.] For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God." If we are called to be a servant, we shouldn't be anxious to be free to build a big business or estate to leave to our children. Be content with whatever you are called to do. Our freedom is in being Christ's servant and being delivered from the power of sin. If in our calling in this life we have the necessities of life, be content with that. The Pharisee in every man strives to be great as Jesus warned in MAT 6:1-8. When the Lord Jesus teaches us about the scribes and Pharisees, he asks us to walk up to the mirror and see the Pharisee that is within us. Often there is much of the Pharisee in us that wants to be seen as great. "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven," MAT 6:1. He is not saying this just to condemn the Pharisee; it is an admonition for all of us. Beware of the attitudes and values of the Pharisee in yourself! When Jesus said in MAT 6:1, "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men...," He is not talking about the Pharisees, but about the Pharisee in the heart. It is also part of our fallen nature to like to be great in the sense of earthly possessions. That is what the Lord Jesus is talking about when He speaks of adding one cubit to our stature. It is wanting to be one of the fathers of the community, or pillars, or cornerstones of our community. It is born in every heart to want a part of this. May God grant us the grace to become as a little child. LUK 12:15-20 warns us, "And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. [He built a big empire, but it was for his ruin.] And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" God was not in the rich man's thinking; God wasn't in his measurement of success. "But God said," his soul was required of him. Had his soul entered the kingdom of heaven? No! "Thou fool." The central message of our text is to have no anxious thoughts about our greatness in the eyes of the flesh but to seek first those things which have great spiritual value. Our real desire must not be for stature in the community, but for that which will be pleasing to the Lord. HOS 10:12 says, "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." We read in Scripture about Godliness and righteousness, and I have commented on this before. We see that the Lord distinguishes between the two as in ROM 1:18, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." Godliness is the adherence to the first table of the law, i.e., we are to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. Righteousness deals with the second table of the law which is our right attitude and actions towards our neighbours. Now with that in mind, let's see what this says. "Sow to yourselves in righteousness [Be the means in His hand to provide for those who have less stature than He has given you.], reap in mercy [If I lend to you, I don't come when the note is due with my hand at your throat demanding my money plus usury. We lend hoping not to receive again. We don't lend with a covetous spirit that seeks to gain by loaning. If the person is able to repay, they should, but we must have a merciful heart.]; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." Fallow ground is that which needs a seed bed preparation, which most often includes watering. ACT 17:27 says, "That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us." Seeking the Lord should be the top priority of our lives. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you," MAT 6:33. How do we seek the Lord? We come before Him to ask what is His will. So many people have a problem in prayer because they are telling the Lord what to do. In effect they are saying to the Lord, "Help me do this, prosper this, or help me establish this big empire, and make this work." That isn't the way the Lord works. The Lord is not pleased with such a prayer. When the Lord removes some of our empire, we need to come before Him saying, "What is Thy will?" We must come before Him like Job who said, "...Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD," JOB 1:21. If the Lord sees us building on a bad foundation, He removes it. We must seek His will to build our lives on those things of which we read in 1PE 3:11, "Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it." We should not be seeking to add even one cubit to our stature in the community or add one moment to the days of our life. We should be seeking the Lord's will that we might eschew (reject, shun) evil and do good; seek peace. This thing called seeking peace is done by confessing our own guilt rather than pointing a finger at our brother. 1JO 1:8-9 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I have said it before, but I like the reality of it. If I come to you saying, "I'm guilty, guilty, guilty; will you forgive me?", it is very difficult to pick a fight. However, if I come pointing a finger saying, "You did this, or that," I have picked a fight. Less than a year ago a very close friend came to me. We were searching the Scripture to find a way to deal with a man who had offended him. It says in LUK 17:3, "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him." The contentions were great, and my friend planned to present that Scripture before the church body as an admonition to them that they must repent before he could forgive. The Lord laid on his heart that he must first repent. He came with all the intentions of saying he would forgive if the other person repented. However, when he got up to speak, he read that Scripture and said, "I came to repent. I was wrong." He explained where he had been wrong, and he asked for forgiveness. When he took his seat, they all took their turn and confessed each their own sin and asked forgiveness. The Lord says in JER 3:13, "Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God...Turn [and repent], O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you..." Seeking to add one cubit to our own stature only seeds contention, but repentance sows peace. Repent is the first word of the gospel; "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," MAT 4:17. We also see how Jesus closed His ministry by commanding His disciples to preach repentance in LUK 24:47, "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Amen. |
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