Sermon Idea: "Insignificant But Valuable" (Lu. 12:4-7)

Don't confuse cost with value.  Contrast the low price of sparrows with the high cost of Jesus' sacrifice.  His high sacrifice makes you valuable!

Now, About The Sparrows (Mt. 10:29; Lu. 12:6) (Part 6)

Conclusion (Part 2):

Here are three relieving statements to encourage you, take away doubt and fear, and give you hope as you navigate within an impersonal, hostile world. Because of the message of Mt. 10:29 & Lu., 12:6 . . .

• You can live in security. Every detail of your life is known by God and His memory will never slip.
• You can live with joy. You don't have to fear or dread anything. You can live in the moment and relish every blessing and opportunity God brings your way.
• You can live with stability. All your needs have already been provided. Any lack right now is merely your opportunity in time to catch up with the provision God has already released.

Now, About The Sparrows (Mt. 10:29; Lu. 12:6) (Part 5)

Conclusion (Part 1)

ILLUSTRATION

“In 1904, a songwriter, Mrs. Civilla Martin, went to visit a bedridden friend in Elmira, New York. Mrs. Martin asked the woman if she ever got discouraged because of her physical condition. Her friend quickly responded: "Mrs. Martin, how can I be discouraged when my heavenly Father watches over each little sparrow and I know He loves and cares for me?" On her journey back home, Mrs. Martin completed the writing of her new text, which has since been a source of much encouragement to many of God's people:”¹

The song referred to – if you're over 35 you've probably heard it – no on sings it as Ethel Waters does.²  

Now that you watched the YouTube video, consider this biographical summary.

• Ethel Waters was born in Chester, Pennsylvania on October 31, 1896, as a result of her mother's rape at age 13. Ethel Waters was raised in a violent, impoverished home. She never lived in the same place for more than 15 months. She said of her difficult childhood, "I never was a child. I never was cuddled, or liked, or understood by my family."³ 

1 http://www.padfield.com/2001/sparrow.html (accessed 08-15-16)

2https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QbeNSatFFo (accessed 8-18-16)

3ibid

Now, About The Sparrows (Mt. 10:29; Lu. 12:6) (Part 4)

3. THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION

EXPLANATION

• The grammatical construction that begins with the words “are not” is written to invoke an affirmative answer.  The yes answer is obvious enough that it doesn't need to be stated.

ILLUSTRATION

• “You are going to the party, right?” What answer are you expecting? You are expecting the answer to be either “yes” or “right.”
• “Isn't two plus two still four?” What answer are you expecting? You are expecting the answer to be either “yes” or “no duh.”

APPLICATION

• What we have here is an a minori ad maius argument. (You didn't know you were going to brush up on your Latin today, did you?)
• A minori ad maius means that the writer or speaker crafts an argument in such a way that what is true about the smaller or lesser must be all the more true about the larger or greater.
• What is true about the Father's care for the birds must also be true about His care for you.
• Since God perfectly governs and cares for each small bird, you can trust Him to govern and provide for you.
• What can you conclude from today's verses, based upon this kind of argumentation?
• Yes, the Father is aware of every threat, shortage or need in your life.
• Yes, the Father is sovereign over every detail in your life (Rom. 8:28).
• Yes, the Father is attentive to every tear that you shed and every fall that you take.
• Yes, the Father is present in every circumstance of life.
• Yes, the Father is good and only gives good gifts (Mt. 7:9-11).
• Yes, the Father does care for you.

Now, About The Sparrows (Mt. 10:29; Lu. 12:6) (Part 3)

2. THE CARE BY THE FATHER

EXPLANATION

• Matthew – the care by the Father's knowledge and will
• Providence – Definition -- “That unceasing and efficient government which is carried on by” [the Creator] “ throughout the universe, by which the creatures are preserved, their wants supplied, and the purposes of the vast creation are accomplished.” (W. J. Townsend)¹ (Jam. 1:17)
• Positive providence – The Father preserves or provides by releasing a desired outcome.
• Feeding of birds (to keep them alive) (Mt. 6:26)
• Sending of rain (Job 5:10; Jer. 5:24)
• Negative providence – The Father preserves or provides by withholding a desired outcome (Job 1:21; 2:9-10).
• Falling of birds (to bring them to death)
• Quote: “ . . . God does not promise His followers deliverance from death, but permits them to die, granting them more than if He had not allowed them to suffer it.”² (H. F. Stander's paraphrasing Chrysostom)
• Withholding of rain (Amos 4:7)
• Luke – the care by the Father's memory and presence
• Translation: “Not one out of them is forgotten (neglected, overlooked) in the presence of God.”
• The Creator attends to His Creation (Heb. 4:13). You might not be a standout before men, and might not always get picked early or at all by people, but God cannot and will not let you fade into the woodwork.
• The Father exercises His omniscience. God knows everything – literally, every thing – past, present and future. That is why He cannot forget you! (Isa. 49:15)
• The Father exercises His omnipresence. God is everywhere at the same time. There is no place that He is not (Psa. 139:7-10).

ILLUSTRATION

• Baby monitor.  This is how a parent knows how to respond and care when he or she isn't in the same room as the infant. When it comes to God, however, He is always in the room and is always aware of you. He is aware of what you want and what you need. He knows you better than you know yourself (Psa. 139:6, 15-18). God's monitor is always turned on and His ear is always sensitive to your heart's cry.

APPLICATION

• Lyrics: “And although there were times I've been out of His will, I've never been out of His care.”³ (Dallas Holm)
• Psa. 55:22; 1 Pet. 5:7 > casting onto the Lord
• Heb. 4:16 > coming unto the Lord

1Lockyer, Herbert. All The Doctrines Of The Bible: A Study And Analysis Of Major Bible Doctrines. “All” Series. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1964. p. 35.

2http://www.dspace.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/13563/Stander_Sparrows(2005).pdf?sequence=3 (accessed 8-15-16)

3http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/dallas_holm/ive_never_been_out_of_his_care-lyrics-1195506.html (accessed 8-18-16)

Now, About The Sparrows (Mt. 10:29; Lu. 12:6) (Part 2)

1. THE PRICE FOR THE SPARROWS

EXPLANATION

• Sparrows – any small birds, found in abundance, that were used for sacrifice or food.
• Assarion / assaria (pl.) – 1/16 denarius (1 denarius = a day's wage for a laborer). What is an assarion worth today? Take your annual gross pay, not including benefits, and divide it by 4,000.¹  If you make $16,640 per year ($8/hr., 40 hrs./wk., 52 wks./yr.), then one assarion is worth $4.11.
• Deal
• Matthew > Two sparrows – one assarion.  If that is true, then you should be able to get four sparrows for two assaria.
• Luke > five sparrows – two assaria.  The small birds were so numerous, so invasive and so easily attainable that they were cheap. Two assaria could buy four sparrows, but a fifth sparrow was thrown into the mix for free.

ILLUSTRATION

• Estate auction.  People come to an estate auction to bid on expensive items. Cheap items are either donated or are not auctioned. In the event the auctioneer takes a chance and attempts to auction a cheap item, usually it doesn't sell. The item fails to bring in even a low bid. When no one bites on a low starting bid, that is the ultimate statement of worthlessness.

APPLICATION

• Many people today struggle with a sense of worth. They ask questions similar to the following:
• Do I matter?
• If I dropped dead right now, would anyone care?
• Would anyone, other than my pastor, even attend the funeral?
• With over 7 billion people on planet Earth, am I reduced only to a Social Security number and a digital SKU code?
• If I matter to God, let alone anyone else, and I truly am worth something, why do I struggle to agree? There is so much “stuff” that keeps happening to me! I must be a disappointment to God, since I am in weeds this deep.

1 http://www.lectionary.org/EXEG_Engl_WEB/NT/01-Matt-WEB/Matt%2010.24-39.htm (accessed 08-15-16)

2Www.datagenetics.com/blog/april112011/ (accessed 08-15-16)

Now, About The Sparrows (Mt. 10:29; Lu. 12:6) (Part 1)

Bible Verses:

New American Standard

• Mt. 10:29 > “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.”
• Lu. 12:6 > “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.”

My Greek Translation

• Mt. 10:29 > “Are not two small birds sold for an assarion, and not one out of them will fall down (to destruction) to the ground apart from the knowledge and will of your Father?”
•  Lu. 12:6 > “Are not five small birds sold for two assaria, and not one out of them is forgotten (neglected, overlooked) in the presence of God?”