Luke 12:4-7

February 16, 2020

Series: Gospel of Luke

Luke 12:4-7
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Learning on The Way

Sermon Text: Luke 12:4-7

“The desire to have good relationships is strong. It is not this desire that constitutes the fear of people. It is when desires are elevated to demands that there are detectable people-idols in our lives. It is when desires become demands that we are more concerned about our desires than the glory of God.” -Welch

List some people in your life that their rejection is the most difficult. Why are you susceptible to fear of rejection from them?

“There is a ‘foolishness’ inherent in the message of the cross. The clear proclamation of the gospel does not make us look good. It doesn’t make us popular.” -Welch

What specific areas of your life do you find it easy to take your eyes off Christ and dwell on the opinions of other people? When is the last time you had an opportunity to share the gospel? Do you find yourself not sharing the gospel because of a fear of how you will be perceived by others?

“When you spend time in the throne room of God, it puts things in perspective. The opinions of others are less important, and even our opinions of ourselves seem less important. Maybe that is all we need. Daily stops in the court of the Lord cure the fear of man.” -Welch

What spiritual disciplines would be helpful (need to be cultivated more) in your life to keep you focused on the glory and fear of the Lord? (Spiritual disciplines include the following: Bible Intake, Prayer, Worship, Evangelism, Serving, Stewardship, Fasting, Silence and Solitude, Journaling, and Learning)

When being an image-bearer of God becomes our primary identity the trappings of the fear of man begin to decrease. We begin to see ourselves as beings created to reflect the glory of God (the image is that of Moses literally reflecting the glory of God) rather than empty cups waiting to be filled with our “needs.” We will then see that our greatest need is to be known by God. This leads to the worship of God, which drowns out the fear of man. -Welch

How does the concept of being an image-bearer enable you to be able to overcome the fear of man? What does it mean to be created to reflect the glory of God in your life? Where does reflecting his glory come naturally and where do you struggle?

For deeper study pick Ed Welch’s book When People are Big and God is Small