10-09-2022 – “Part Six: Hear and Obey, the Eternal Way”

Bible Text: Luke 6:27-49 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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October 9, 2022 (AM INSERT)
“Part Six: Hear and Obey, the Eternal Way”
Luke 6:27-49

Read Luke 6:46-49…

46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

47 Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:

48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

49 But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

This parable at the end of the sermon on the mount is the culmination of Jesus’ message to the most religious people in the world (at that time), people who had been set apart by the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth in order to serve and honor Him; but their religion, Judaism, got in the way.

Look again (Luke 6:46),

Jesus says, “Why do you call Me Lord but do not do what I tell you.” Jesus isn’t just a good teacher, He is God and He is to be worshipped. He is not only to be believed, He is to be obeyed; in fact obeying Him is synonymous with loving Him.

Luke 14:15,

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

Luke 14:21,

“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”

Luke 14:23,

“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our [home] with him.”

See John 6:29…

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

The crowd who had been with Him the day before, when Jesus took five barley loaves and two fish and fed 5000 men, said to Him, ‘What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?’ [i.e., what is required to be made acceptable to God?] Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God [i.e., this is what is required], that you believe in Him whom He has sent.’”

Jesus said to His disciples

(John 16:8-9),

“When He [the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth] comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me.”

The conviction of God’s Spirit concerning God’s Son, causes us to recognize, acknowledge, and repent of our sin, for it is sin that separates us from God.

You must realize that you are a sinner and seek forgiveness, for only then can you be saved. This doesn’t mean you just admit your sin, or have a moment of silence about it; you must be convicted in your heart [your inner person, your spirit, the ID or EGO] to the point that you have genuine remorse and sorrow over your sin, seeking God’s mercy through Christ to save you.

Many say they are followers of Christ, but they don’t obey Him, so Jesus gives an illustration showing what an obedient person’s life is like

(Luke 6:47-48),

“Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.”

The first man in Luke’s parable builds his house (his life) on the foundation of God’s Word: God’s sovereign, authoritative, eternal, and irrevocable Word

(Romans 11:29),

“the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

God’s “gifts” [His promise that those who believe in Him receive forgiveness for sin and eternal life] is granted on behalf of God’s great love for us, His unmerited favor/grace.

The “calling” spoken of here, refers to God’s divine desire for you to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth; everyone, before believing in Jesus, is a condemned sinner, but after believing, you are a forgiven sinner, eternally saved by God’s Son..

Acts 2:21,

“And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Acts 4:12,

“There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

1Timothy 2:3-4,

“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men [women, children of age] to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Jesus is the Truth

(John 14:6),

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Jesus is the only way to heaven, the only truth of God, and the only eternal life from God. Through believing in Him, i.e, obeying His word, we our set free from sin’s curse and condemnation forever.

See Romans 3:10-12;

10 as it is written,

“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,

THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;

THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,

THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

Romans 3:23-24;

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Romans 6:23;

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 5:8;

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 10:9-10,

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Romans 10:13;

13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

1John 1:9.

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The angel Gabriel came to Joseph in a dream

(Matthew 1:20-21)

20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

concerning Mary’s pregnancy saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Jesus [Gk], Yeshua [Heb], speak of God’s Servant, our Deliverer/Rescuer, this is the name above all names, meaning God’s Salvation, the Savior.

A believer’s life is safe and secure

(Luke 6:48),

because of the “foundation” of a Christian’s life is Jesus..

1Corinthians 3:11,

“No man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

2Timothy 2:19,

“The firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His.’”

In Luke 6:48,

the word “rock” is a metaphor for God’s Son

(2Samuel 22:2),

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.”

Isaiah 26:4,

“In God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.”

In the NT “stone” [or rock] is a metaphor for Christ and all who believe in Him.

1Peter 2:5-6,

“You, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. [As the Scripture says]: [Isaiah 28:16] ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

In and through God’s Son, we are established and made steadfast; everyone who hears, believes, and obeys the gospel of Christ (that He died for our sins, was buried, rose from the dead on the third day, and is coming back to get us), that person is safe and eternally secure, and has been set free from sin’s curse.

James 1:22-25,

“prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”

Speaking of Jesus Christ,

Hebrews 5:9 says,

“Having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.”

Anyone who only hears but does not obey the Word of God concerning Jesus, is like the man

(Luke 6:49)

who builds his house [his life] without any foundation [i.e., without Christ]; and when the judgement comes, that man will be eternally condemned.

Hebrews 9:27,

“It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes [the] judgment.”

Many (so-called) Christians build their lives on false doctrine, instead of the solid foundation of God’s Word. This produces “converts” who may look like genuine believers, but they have not believed nor obeyed the message of Christ

(John 3:36),

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

True Christianity is not just knowing certain facts about God, or doing certain things that look good; true Christianity is a spiritual and eternal relationship with God based on having responded to, believed in, and acted upon the truth of God’s Word.

2Corinthians 13:5,

“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”

You can look like a Christian, talk like a Christian, walk like a Christian, but when times get hard, when the godless world and the storms of this life come against you, what will keep you standing? Participating in religious rituals and/or doing philanthropic works cannot produce righteousness, and therefore, cannot save you.

See Matthew 7:13-14…

13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

All people have a choice, there are two ways to live your life: there is a wide gate/door onto a broad path/road, and a small gate/door onto a narrow path/road. Jesus commands, “Enter through the narrow gate,” i.e., choose Me,” and yet, most of the people in this world will enter through the wide gate [religion, works, self] onto the broad road [the road to hell]; and only a few find the small gate [Jesus] and enter onto the narrow road [the way to heaven].

Only a few find it, because most people are unwilling to acknowledge their sin, let alone repent and believe in Jesus. They think they are good enough, as they are.

The Jews believe, as descendants of Abraham, they will enter into heaven. But entrance into heaven has nothing to do with human ancestry, ritualistic religion, or strict adherence to the law of God.

The two gates in this parable lead to two ways of life: one with God, and one without God; two different destinies: one in hell, and one in heaven.

The broad path is easy, indulgent, self-centered, with very few requirements or restrictions, where sin is tolerated and truth is continually modified, redefined, suppressed, or rejecterd. This path symbolizes the absence of all things God.

The narrow path can be difficult, there are restrictions, constraints, requirements, those who enter this path must give up everything in exchange for Christ, and there are only a few who are willing to do this. This path symbolizes the presence of all things God.

God’s way of salvation is simple, but it is not easy; those who follow the Lord will find trouble in this world.

2Timothy 3:12,

“Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,”

Jesus told His followers

(John 15:20),

“they persecuted Me, and they will also persecute you.”

The broad road leads to death [the absence of all things God]; the narrow road leads to life [the presence of all things God]. Every religious belief system in the world, apart from Christianity, leads to eternal condemnation and hell.

Islam rejects the idea of redemption, for Muslims believe and teach that salvation depends solely upon man’s actions and attitudes, not on the work of God.

Hinduism seeks escape from the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth through many reincarnations to final salvation, which is dependent upon and expedited by acquired knowledge, expressed by devotion through works or meditation.

Buddhism sees ignorance rather than sin as the roadblock to salvation. The way of salvation, the end to continual birth-death-rebirth cycles, is reached through levels of meditation, through which one is able to supposedly acquire their spiritual self.

Mormonism teaches that Jesus was a spirit-child of Elohim (the God of planet earth), and through obedience and devotion Jesus was able to attain Godhood. They believe in many gods, all of whom were once mortals, until they attained Godhood, like Jesus did.

Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus is not God; but instead He is Michael the archangel, a created being of God, like all the rest of mankind.

Christian Science teaches that Jesus is the human man, Christ the divine idea, Jesus is not eternal or sovereign, nor is He one with the Father.

Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ is God the Son, Lord and Savior: crucified, resurrected and coming again.

Both men in Lukes’s parable heard Jesus’ words: one man believed in and obeyed; the other man did not believe or obey.

There is a common way to live in this world: being religiously self-righteous, rejecting God’s authority, living apart from the knowledge of God, traveling on the path that leads to destruction and death in hell.

Proverbs 14:12,

“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

There is an uncommon way to live in this world: admitting you are a sinner, repenting of sin, believing in Jesus Christ for salvation; this path leads to eternal life in heaven.

John 10:9-10,

Jesus said, “I am the door [the only way to God]; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved… I came that they [those who believe in Me] may have life [eternal life], and have it abundantly” [beyond comprehension].

John 14:2-3,

“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

John 1:12,

“as many as received Him [Jesus], to those who believe in His name [Savior], He gave the right to become children of God,”

(1John 3:2),

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

Revelation 21:3-5

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

Revelation 21:3-5 says God will, at a future time, live among His people in the new heavens, on a new earth, where “there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain [or death]; [for] the first [order of] things have passed away” and God says, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

1Corinthians 2:9,

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, [things] God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Do you love God? Have you heard and obeyed God’s Word concerning Eternal Life? That Jesus Christ is God’s Son, Lord and Savior, and everyone who believes in Him will be saved!

Pastor Mike
>’(((><

10-02-2022 – “Part Five: Exposing False Teachers…”

Bible Text: Luke 6:27-49 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above is the
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October 2, 2022
“Part Five: Exposing False Teachers…”
Luke 6:27-49

Read Luke 6:41-42…

41 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Is this really about a “speck of sawdust” [small twig, splinter], or any other kind of foreign object in someone’s eye?

Last week we studied how Jesus repeatedly confronted the Pharisees and Scribes about their hypocrisy, e.g.,

Matthew 23:15

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte [convert, recruit, student]; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

Matthew 23:33,

“You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?”

The religious leaders of Israel were self-righteous and prideful, they held themselves in high esteem while looking down on others, judging them by a standard of their own choosing; pointing out the ineptitudes and failures of others, while remaining unwilling to admit to or do anything about their own sins.

As God’s child, a Christian, you are free of sin’s condemnation

(cf. Romans 10:9-10;

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Romans 6:23;

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:1).

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Jesus commands His followers

(Luke 6:36),

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

Jesus also commands us concerning how we should not behave

(Luke 6:37),

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

we are not to judge or condemn wrongly, as if we were sovereign and without sin ourselves; instead we are to seek forgiveness

(Luke 6:38),

“For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

The speck spoken of in

Luke 6:41-42,

41 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

seems to represent sin in someone else’s life that we may be quick to point out; while being unwilling to acknowledge our sin, in this case, our own pious self-righteousness.

The truth is, only God is Holy, Righteous, Perfect, and Sovereign; He is the standard of judgement, not us; in fact, the self-righteous critic in Luke’s narrative who points out the splinter [lesser sin] in his brother’s eye, has a log [large beam] in his own eye [unconfessed self-righteousness], making him blind, useless to help or guide anyone else.

The religious leaders considered themselves righteous because they had the Law of Moses, and so they don’t believe they need Jesus. Paul writes concerning them, that they see themselves to be

(Romans 2:19-20),

“a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth.”

To them Jesus says

(Luke 6:42),

“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye,” i.e., repent and confess your own self-righteousness so that you will be able to see clearly to help others.

Self-righteousness [the pride and arrogance self exaltation] is the worst of sins because it trusts in self rather than in God and assumes the position of determining what is right or wrong, and who it is that does right or wrong, with ourselves being the standard of judgement; but God’s Word is the only standard and God is the only judge.

Proverbs 16:18,

“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.”

We must take the log out of our own eye [confess our own sin] asking for God’s cleansing.

Only then will we be able to see clearly in order to humbly help our brother in grace and truth, not arrogance and pride.

Read Luke 6:43-45…

43 For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.

44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

The fruit of a tree gives evidence of the condition of the tree itself. Good tree, good fruit; bad tree, bad fruit. Jesus is saying that trees [here a metaphor for people] produce fruit that exemplifies their heart condition.

The bad trees producing bad fruit, are the false teachers of Israel, and of course the false teachers of today. Like who? You ask: Joel Osteen, Beth Moore, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, T.D. Jakes, Paula White, Kenneth Hagin, Christine Caine, Frederick Price, Sarah Young, Rob Bell, and many more.

Read Matthew 7:16-20…

16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?

17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.

18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 So then, you will know them by their fruits.

Jesus warned His disciples just before He returned to heaven

(Matthew 24:4-5

“Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”

Matthew 24:24),

“False Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.”

John warns us

(2John 7)

that “many deceivers have gone out into the world,”

and Paul urges us

(Romans 16:17-18),

“to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”

To avoid being fooled, we must know and apply the Word of God, the Word of Truth

(cf. Romans 12:2;

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

2Timothy 3:16-17).

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Colossians 2:8,

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

False teachers claim to speak for God

(Jeremiah 5:30-31)

“A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way,”

(Jeremiah 5:14:14)

they “are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.”

When Paul was departing for Jerusalem, not knowing what would happen there, he warned the elders from Ephesus

(Acts 20:29-31a),

“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard!”

(cf. 2Timothy 2:17,

17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,

Hymenaus and Philetus;

2Timothy 4:14,

14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

Alexander: be on guard against them.)

From prison, Paul warned the believers

(2Timothy 4:3-4)

“the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

False prophets disguise themselves as shepherds among the flock,

(Matthew 7:15)

15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

“coming to you in sheep’s clothing,” but they are “ravenous wolves,” i.e., deceitful, merciless, dangerous, murderers,

(2Corinthians 11:13-15),

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

The greatest enemy to sheep in Palestine was wolves; the shepherds kept watch, protecting their sheep, but what if a wolf dressed like a sheep?

False prophets don’t necessarily look or speak like demons, in fact, they might give the appearance of being a nice guy, friendly, nonjudgmental, all smiles and pleasantries.

False prophets may even speak kindly about Jesus, the Cross, the Church, and may even associate with genuine Christians and appear knowledgeable of God’s Word. Jesus declares

(Matthew 7:16-20)

16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?

17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.

18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 So then, you will know them by their fruits.

that we will know who the false teachers are by the fruit they bear [by their works].

Although a false prophet’s teaching may appear good, sound good, closer examination, exposure to the light of God, will reveal the truth,

Ephesians 5:8-14,

“for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, ‘Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’”

If you listen to or read popular false teachers of today, you will find that there is not an absence of godless chatter, popular culture, self-esteem building, and preoccupation with prosperity and happiness.

This should not surprise us, for most people are very content to listen to and be entertained by social platitudes, axioms, contemporary catch phrases, and colloquialisms that feed the human ego, elevating in us a sense of entitlement, expectation, and excitement.

You won’t hear false prophets exhort their followers to obey God’s Word, live sacrificially, persevere under trial, or be content in all situations.

What they do not speak about, affirm, or promote should cause us concern and our guard ought to be up: They talk about God’s love, but they will avoid talking about His holiness — They might say, ”come on, God understands, He doesn’t want you to be unhappy, after all, it is all relative and what really matters is that you just love God and enjoy this life, so be happy!”

They encourage their followers to help the poor and deprived, but they do not instruct them to confront the depraved – They might say, ”come on, I’m not my brother’s keeper, and it isn’t really any of my business what someone else does, who am I to judge them!”

They talk about the Fatherhood of God and the Oneness of the Humanity, but they do not comment on the destiny awaiting everyone who rejects Jesus Christ – They might say, ”we’re all God’s children, right? One world, one people?”

They would never teach that only those who come to God the Father through Christ the Son are God’s children and will enter into heaven for eternity with Him, while everyone else will be condemned to an eternal hell!

False teachers are condemned to the fires of hell unless they repent and follow Christ as Savior & Lord. These motivational manipulators are not ministers of the Gospel, and you will know that when you inspect their fruit

(Luke 6:45),

“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”

Matthew 12:34-35,

“For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.”

Matthew 12:37,

“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Jesus rebukes the Pharisees,

In Matthew 23:33,

“You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?”

John the Baptizer said the same thing

(Matthew 3:7-9),

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.” 10, “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”.

Both Jesus and John called it what it was: false teaching, false religion, heresy, damnable godlessness.

False teachers hide their heresies and falsehoods within religious practices and rituals; so when a person comes along searching for the truth, they instead are given some deadly doctrine of demons that are meant to subvert the Word of God.

The words we speak while on earth will testify, giving witness to either our own condemnation or our own justification, on the day of judgement.

Salvation is based on Jesus Christ alone, but all those who trust in Him are new creations

(2Corinthians 5:17),

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

for the purpose of doing good works

(Ephesians 2:10),

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them,”

(Romans 15:18),

18 For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,

by “word and deed,”

(James 2:26),

“just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

True Christians, God’s children, believers and followers of God’s Son, are not only to live in submission to the Word of God, while proclaiming the Message of Salvation; but we are also to expose false teachings, false religions, and false teachers, anything and anyone opposing Jesus Christ: crucified, resurrected, and coming again.

Amen?

Amen!

Pastor Mike
>’(((><

09-25-2022 – “Living for Christ – Part 4” (Discerning False Teachers)

Bible Text: Luke 6:29-49 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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September 25, 2022
“Living for Christ – Part 4”
“Discerning False Teachers”
Luke 6:27-49

Last week we studied

Luke 6:37,

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

where we are told not to judge and not to condemn, but instead, we are told to pardon. Forgiveness through repentance is what God desires;, we are to earnestly seek restoration and reconciliation between God and humanity.

Read Luke 6:38…

38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure–pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

This is Jesus’ final command in this section of Scripture and it is in the context of

Luke 6:37,

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

instead of judging and condemning, our focus would be on giving pardon, for this is reflective of what God the Father has done for us; He has pardoned us, acquitted us from the punishment we deserve because of our sin

(Romans 3:23;

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23;

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 5:8;

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:1;

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 10:13).

13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

This is the now the fourth command given by Jesus; as the first three, given in

Luke 6:37

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

do not judge, do not condemn, do pardon, is now followed by, “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” What does that mean?

Jesus uses an illustration from the culture of the day in which He lived, as

Jeremias writes:

The measuring of the corn is a process which is carried out according to an established pattern. The seller crouches on the ground with the measure between his legs. First of all he fills the measure 3/4’s full and gives it a ion to make the grains settle down. Then he fails the measure to the top and gives it another shake. Next he presses the corn together strongly with both hands. Finally he heaps it into a cone, tapping it carefully to press the grains together, from time to time he bores a hole into the corn and pours a few more grains into it, until there is literally no more room for a single grain. In this way, the purchaser is guaranteed an absolutely full measure; it cannot hold more (cited in Darrell L. Bock Luke 1:1-9:50, the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

[Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994], 607-8.

When God’s people love unbelievers the way God does, with kindness and mercy and forgiveness, it provides a divine illustration of the marvelous power of salvation that belongs to those who believe in and follow Jesus Christ.

Read Luke 6:39-40…

39 And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?

40 A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

Jesus uses a parable to illustrate the danger of following false teachers. The Lord is rebuking the religious leaders of His day; they are like blind guides leading other blind men across a treacherous landscape full of pits, crevices, quarries, and precipices that they cannot see.

In the very same way, if a student’s teacher knows nothing of the subject he is teaching, his students will remain ignorant just as he is, for he cannot teach them what he doesn’t know.

Blindness is used figuratively in both the Old and New Testaments, in order to illustrate a lack of spiritual truth and insight, a darkness in the heart and mind.

Jeremiah 5:21,

“‘Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see; who have ears but do not hear.”

Acts 26:15-18,

“And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’”

2Corinthians 4:3-6,

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.’”

1John 2:10-11,

“The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes”

So, what is Jesus saying in

Luke 6:39-40?

39 And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?

40 A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

If a so-called pastor or Bible teacher doesn’t know the truth of God concerning the way of salvation; he is unable to show anyone else the way to God’s kingdom, for he is blind of the truth.

Referring to the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law in His very first sermon, Jesus warned His followers to follow Him and not be led astray by false teachers.

Matthew 7:13-15,

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

In Matthew 15:14,

14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Jesus said to His own disciples, “Let them [the false teachers] alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Matthew chapter 23 is a scathing rebuke of the religious leaders of Israel, e.g.,

Matthew 23:15

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte [convert, new believer, recruit, student]; and when he becomes one [of your followers], you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

Matthew 23:33,

“You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?”

Look again at

Luke 6:40…

40 A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

A student doesn’t know as much as his teacher, but that teacher cannot give instruction concerning knowledge he does not have, and therefore, it can’t be passed on to the student.

The truth is that false teachers do not come from God, do not teach the Word of God, and do not know the way to God; therefore, any student or follower of such a one, once “fully trained, will be like his teacher,” not knowing or understanding the truth of God concerning way of salvation.

Only true believers and followers of Christ will be saved, because Jesus is

(John 14:6),

“the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through [Him].”

John 10:9-10,

“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life [eternal, spiritual], and have it abundantly.”

Everyone who believes in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, will be saved.

Romans 10:9-10,

“if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

1Corinthians 15:1-5,

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to [Peter], then to the twelve.”

Anyone who teaches anything else is a false teacher and an enemy of God

(Galatians 1:9), “As we [the Apostles] have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed [doomed, damned, condemned]!

So, we must be discerning, we are to make judgements in accordance with God’s Word, by the power of God’s Spirit in us.

See 1Corinthians 2:10-11…

10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

Only God’s Spirit living in us can reveal God to us in such a way for us to know God intimately, even the deep things, the very thoughts of God.

See 1Corinthians 2:12-13…

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,

13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

God’s Wisdom is revealed to us via the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, and this is “freely given” to us through the revelation of God’s Word.

Jesus said (Matthew 4:4),

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”

God’s Wisdom is revealed to us directly from God, it is sovereign in all the affairs of men

(Colossians 2:8-10),

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.”

People are “taken captive” [kidnapped, carried off, in their thinking] by godless “philosophies” (a compound of two Greek words [phileo] “love” and [sophia] “wisdom”), i.e., humanity’s pursuit of “hollow and deceptive” human wisdom, is antithetical to God’s wisdom. God’s children are equipped with wisdom from God, so that we will not be led astray and captivated by false teachings and doctrines of demons.

Those who are mature in their faith must guard those who are easily led astray or influenced by such worldly ignorance or doctrine of demons. Christians were deceived in Christ’s time, just as they are today, by false teachings that seduce unaware, ignorant, and immature people; teachings that have been widely accepted by the so-called Christian community; but, our source of truth and wisdom must be the Word of God, not someone masquerading as a teacher of truth.

2Corinthians 11:13-15,

We live in a society that doesn’t want to know or hear God’s wisdom; instead, it listens to the contemporary cultural-religious-academic gurus who seek to make them feel good, and the liberal media that regulates human-centered entertainment and popular thinking by flooding their ears and eyes and minds with worldly and godless dribble and psychobabble.

Many Americans are ignorant of God’s truth; in fact, many consider themselves to be Christians because they go to church, have a Bible, or give to the poor.

Many have believed the lie that by doing good deeds, or having knowledge about a historical Jesus Christ is enough to save them. Well, it isn’t! Going where Christians go, doing what Christians do, won’t make you a Christian any more than sitting in a chicken coop, eating grain and clucking will make you a chicken.

See 1Corinthians 2:14-16…

14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.

16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

A person can read the Bible, even study it for years, and yet totally miss what it says

(see 1Corinthians 1:18).

18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

God’s Word must be discerned spiritually, and it will always reveal God’s Son as Creator, Life-giver, Sustainer, Savior, Judge over all; therefore, natural man (unbelievers) cannot understand spiritual truth because they are spiritually dead.

John 3:6-8,

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

John 14:25-26,

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will

remind you of everything I have said to you.”

God’s Spirit reveals all we need to know in order to trust, believe in, and serve God. We are fully equipped to live productive and victorious lives in this present world while waiting to spend eternity in heaven with God .

The full essence, character, nature, and authority of God dwells in Christ; as Paul writes to the believers

(Colossians 1:15-18)

for, “He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, by Him all things were created and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn among the dead, that in everything He might have supremacy.”

Christ dwells in us through God’s Spirit, and He has imparted God’s Wisdom to us that we might serve God

(2Corinthians 13:5),

“Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course, you fail the test?”

Romans 8:9-10,

“And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.”

Jesus Christ is God’s Salvation, He is God in us, and He made it possible for all those who believe in Him to know the very mind and wisdom of God, so that we might apply God’s revealed, divine, and authoritative Word to all things, as we enjoy our life on this earth while serving God, waiting to be taken to the new heavens and new earth, to spend eternity with Him, where there will be no more crying, or mourning, or pain or death or darkness

(cf. Revelation 21:4;

4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Revelation 22:5).

5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

But on this side of heaven, we are to live for Christ right here, right now

(Galatians 2:20),

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Pastor Mike~
>’(((><

09-18-2022 – “Living for Christ – Part 3”

Bible Text: Luke 6:27-49 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the
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September 18, 2022
“Living for Christ – Part 3”
Luke 6:27-49

Luke records, a shortened version of what is called the Beatitudes, from the Latin beati (blessed), Greek makarios (happy, fortunate, to be envied).

Jesus is declaring a state of being, the heart attitude of those who have received eternal forgiveness for sins and eternal life with God through belief in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior.

Salvation brings genuine blessing; whereas, those who continue to reject Jesus Christ are cursed.

Last week we studied one verse,

Luke 6:31,

“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”

The action of treating others the way we want to be treated ourself, is central to the attitudes that we, as Christians, ought to have, if we are obeying the preeminent commandment in Scripture.

In Mark 12:28-31,

Jesus is asked, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” He answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Those who recognize their own hopelessness apart from Christ’s forgiveness, repenting of their sins and believing in God’s Son, have received the love of God and are therefore blessed; it is to them that Jesus says

(Luke 6:20-23),

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.”

The true believers and servants of God have always been despised and persecuted by those who reject God; but because we belong to God the Father by faith in God the Son, we have God the Spirit indwelling us and we are a new creation and are therefore not to be like those in the world who are without God’s Spirit

(Romans 5:1-5),

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

We have been justified by God through faith in Jesus Christ, having received the grace of God that allows us to persevere through hard times; even when we are insulted, mistreated, persecuted, and hated by those who reject God; unconditionally, we are

(cf. Luke 6:31)

to treat others the way we want to be treated, no matter how they treat us.

Look again at Christ’s command

(Luke 6:27-28),

“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

We can only do that

(Romans 5:5),

“because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

As Christians, we have been provided all we need so that we might express the love of God in and through our daily lives, as a testimony to this great salvation we have received through Jesus Christ

(Romans 5:6-10),

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

As born-again believers, our lives should be lived in a manner that gives evidence to the indwelling of God’s Spirit, i.e., we should be living as new creatures

(cf. 2Corinthians 5:17)

“the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

We are to be living for God, not for ourselves, as Paul so aptly declared

(Galatians 2:20),

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Read Luke 6:32-34…

32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.

Those who genuinely belong to God in Christ are to live in direct contrast to those who don’t belong to God in Christ.

Look again at Luke 6:32-33,

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.”

The word “sinners” here is not talking about sinners in general, for Christians are sinners (saved by grace); Jesus is referring here to unbelievers, unrepentant sinners, people of the world who do not belong to the kingdom of God.

People of the world do good to those who do good to them; and they return bad to those who do bad to them. Believers and followers of Christ are to exhibit a different kind of love from the rest of the world; we are to do good even to those who insult, mistreat, and persecute us. Again, apart from God’s Spirit living in us, we are incapable of such behavior.

People of the world [unrepentant sinners] use a self-serving model of how they treat one another, reciprocating kind for kind, good for good, bad for bad.

Jesus says (Luke 6:34),

“If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same

We are not to love, do good, or lend to someone in order to create an obligation for them to do the same in return; for that is the way the people of the world operate. If believers and followers of Christ act the same way as those who reject Christ, we will have no witness in our lives for Christ.

Matthew 5:14-17,

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light [witness for Christ] shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

1Peter 2:12,

“Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Read Luke 6:35-36…

35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Jesus commands us to live in a manner that is antithetical to the carnal, self-serving, unregenerate quid pro quo way in which the people of the world operate, i.e., you do for me, I do for you in return. We are to have no ulterior motives in the way we treat others, and in so doing, Jesus says, “your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.”

The context of the “reward” spoken of here is not the eternal reward that was spoken of in

Luke 6:23,

23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

The context of Luke 6:35, is in relationship to our witness here on earth, our influence on others for Christ; for when we love even those who don’t love us, we show that we belong to God and are in fact able to love others unconditionally, just as God loves us. This reveals that we are indeed sons and daughters of the Most High [50 times this title is used in the Scriptures as the name for God, emphasizing His Sovereignty].

We are servants of God here on this earth; and just as Jesus came from the Father to show us the Father

(cf. John 1:1-5,

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:14,

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:18;

18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

John 14:6-7),

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

we also are to show Christ to the world and tell the world about Him, while showing God’s mercy to those who reject Him, even those who do evil to us.

2Timothy 3:1-5,

“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

2Timothy 3:12-13,

“Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

When we show mercy to others who do not deserve it, we testify that we belong to our Father in heaven, who has also shown mercy to evil men; in fact, we were once at enmity with God, and were by nature objects of wrath, but God showed mercy to us; and therefore we are to show mercy to others.

Ephesians 2:1-10,

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

1Peter 2:9-10,

“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Titus 3:3-7,

“For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

When we, as Christians, God’s children, love others the way that God loves us; we give the greatest demonstration to the world that God is indeed our Father and that we are very different from all the rest of humanity, because of Jesus Christ.

Read Luke 6:37…

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

What Jesus doesn’t mean here is that Christians should not make observations and discern a person’s spiritual condition, for we must be alert and sober minded to make sound biblical judgements in order to lovingly come alongside and confront a brother or sister in Christ, concerning their sin. But we must not set ourselves up as someone’s ultimate judge and executioner, for that is for God, and God alone.

In Matthew’s narrative

(Matthew 7:1-2a),

1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.

2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

it is recorded that Jesus said, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged.”

We are not to judge harshly, void of compassion, in a critical sense, as if we were the ultimate judge and jury over humanity.

Luke 6:37

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

We are not to wrongly judge, nor to eternally condemn; but instead (notice again the last part of Luke 6:37), we are to “pardon, and [we] will be pardoned.”

The first part of

Luke 6:37;

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

Matthew 7:1-2

1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.

2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

are often misinterpreted to say you should not judge anyone’s behavior or lifestyle; but it is the standard of judgment, “the way you judge,” that Jesus is criticizing, not the act of reproving and correcting a believer who is walking in disobedience to God’s Word; where as, an unbeliever can do nothing to please God, for he/she is living according to the flesh and the ways of the godless world around them.

The authority and standard of judgment is always God, not man. When we pass judgment on someone using ourselves as the standard, it is wrong and it is SIN! This passage is sometimes used to try and prove that we should never confront anyone about anything, but that is not what the Bible teaches; in fact, to refuse to warn a person about his/her sin, is unloving, and in fact, it is antithetical to what is taught in the Scriptures.

Leviticus 19:17,

“You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.”

Galatians 6:1,

“Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass [sin], you who are spiritual [mature in the faith], [should] restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself [i.e., treat others the way you want to be treated] so that you too will not be tempted” [i.e., becoming prideful, self-righteous, as if there is no sin in you].

Matthew 5:9,

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

God’s children are to be peacemakers, and as humble servants of God, we should be willing and able to come alongside those who are caught in sin, encouraging them to repent and reconcile with God.

We are to show mercy to other sinners, just like our Father in heaven has shown mercy to us

(Luke 6:36),

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

2Corinthians 5:20,

“We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Luke 6:37;

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

Matthew 7:1-2

1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.

2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

are written to those in the Church, for we are accountable to walk in a manner that is obedient to God’s Word; although, we cannot hold unbelievers accountable to God’s Word, for that would be impossible.

Jonathon Edwards was a powerful preacher of the 1700’s, he said:

“I should never act as if nobody else has been as vile as me, but as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion for me to confess my own sins and misery to God.”

Christians are to be instruments of God’s love, not agents of God’s punishment. The truth is, we are either sinners who have been saved by God’s grace, or we are sinners who remain guilty of sin, unforgiven, because we have not repented and believed in God’s One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, who is both Lord and Savior.

Forgiveness through repentance is what God desires; and we are therefore, as peacemakers, to earnestly seek restoration and reconciliation between God and humanity.

Jude 1:22-25,

“Have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Pastor Mike
>’(((><

09-11-2022 – “Demonstrating God’s Love”

Bible Text: Luke 6:31 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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September 11, 2022
“Demonstrating God’s Love”
Luke 6:31

Read Luke 6:31…

31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

This is often called the Golden Rule, and is referred to in different ways, several places in the Old and New Testaments:

Leviticus 19:18,

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 6:4-5,

““Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Matthew 22:34-40,

“When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked [Jesus] a question, testing Him, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Mark 12:28-31,

“One of the scribes came… and asked [Jesus], ‘What commandment is the foremost of all?’ He answered, The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Luke 10:25-37,

“A lawyer stood up and put [Jesus] to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?’ And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And He said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.’ But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied and said, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you. Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?’ And he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’”

James 2:8-13,

“If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not commit murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”

The greatest, the foremost, the preeminent command from God, if obeyed, brings forgiveness for sins and eternal life. For if you truly love God, you will also love others and have mercy on them just as God has had mercy on you. That is at the heart of Jesus’ teaching about who His true disciples are, those who have repented and believed in Jesus Christ; those who have been born-again by God’s Spirit; those who have overcome this godless world and the corruption caused by sin that leads to eternal condemnation?

1John 5:4-5,

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

1John 5:11-13,

“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

1John 4:7-16,

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

1John 4:19,

“We love, because He first loved us.”

Micah 6:8,

“And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Let’s look again at Luke 6:20-21, where we were 3 weeks ago,

Luke 6:20

“Blessed are you who are poor”

[Matthew 5:3,

“Blessed are you who are poor in spirit,” i.e., those who realize their spiritual poverty apart from the saving grace of God in Christ], for yours is the kingdom of God [heaven].

Luke 6:21a

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied”

[Matthew 5:6,

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied,” lit, satiated, completely filled with God’s righteousness].

Luke 6:21b

Blessed are you who weep now for you shall laugh”

[Matthew 5:4,

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”].

We have been given everything we need now and forever, in and through Jesus Christ the Lord

(Philippians 4:13,

13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:19),

19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

2Peter 1:1

“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

2Peter 1:2

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;

2Peter 1:3

seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

2Peter 1:4

For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

2Peter 1:1a…

“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

Peter identifies himself as a bondservant [doulos, lit. slave] and an apostle [apostolos, lit. one sent, i.e., one divinely commissioned as a witness of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ].

2Peter 1:1b…

“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

Peter directs this letter to those “have received a faith of the same kind as [his].” True faith, bring true salvation made possible, “by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ”

(Romans 3:10-12,

10 as it is written,

“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,

THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;

THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,

THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

Romans 3:23-24;

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Romans 5:8;

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23;

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:1;

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 10:13;

13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

2Corinthians 5:21).

21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

See 2Peter 1:2…

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;

Peter encourages the believers concerning the “Grace and peace” we have received through Christ; for only those who belong to God, only true Christians have received God’s Grace and Peace. Amazing, the New Testament Books of Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, 1&2 Peter, 2John, and Revelation, all begin with the words, “Grace and Peace.”

2Peter 1:3…

3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

God’s divine power has granted us everything we need for life [bio = biological life], as we serve Him on earth; also providing everything we need for godliness [zoe = spiritual life], in order to live with Him in heaven for eternity. And God did this for His own glory and for our eternal joy.

Ephesians 1:13-14,

“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

Ephesians 2:8-10,

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

2Peter 1:4a…

4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Jesus Christ accomplished everything concerning our salvation, and He provided all we need, now and forever, to have a personal, intimate, and eternal relationship with God. We have received God’s forgiveness for all our sins (past, present, future) at the cross; we have received eternal life (through the indwelling of God’s Spirit), demonstrated by Jesus when He came out of the tomb alive; we have received the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, patience, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), and the wisdom of God, the mind of Christ, the power and presence of God in our lives now and forever, while also the joy of living with God in the new heavens and new earth.

2Peter 1:4b…

4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Through Christ we “become partners of the divine nature,” Wow! We are able to enjoy deep fellowship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, because of Christ.

2Peter 1:4c…

4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

We won’t share in the corruption [decay and death] that is in this world because of the curse of sin, caused by the lust of evil desires; for we have escaped all judgement and condemnation through Jesus Christ

(Romans 8:1-2),

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

Luke 6:31,

“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”

God is so gracious, loving and kind to us, even though we do not deserve it; and therefore we, as God’s children, are to treat others the way God treats us; we are to love them just as God has loved us.

1John 4:7-8,

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1John 4:19,

“We love, because He first loved us.”

Pastor Mike
>’(((><

09-04-2022 – “Living for Christ: Part Two”

Bible Text: Luke 6:27-49 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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September 4, 2022
“Living for Christ: Part Two”
Luke 6:27-49

Read Luke 6:27-28…

27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Jesus gives four commands to His true followers and believers; those who able to “hear” [understand and obey] what Jesus is saying.

#1. Love your enemies…

Proverbs 25:21,

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.”

#2. Do good to those who hate you…

Romans 12:21,

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

#3. Bless those who curse you…

To bless them is to tell them the truth about God’s expressed love toward them

(John 3:16),

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

(John 3:36),

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

#4. Pray for those who mistreat you…

The first recorded words of Jesus, while on cross were

(Luke 23:34),

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Like Jesus, we should pray for those who mistreat us, showing them kindness, blessing them. When we do that, we may very well turn one who is an enemy of God, into a brother or sister in the Lord.

We were all enemies of God before coming to Christ for salvation.

Romans 5:8-10,

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Read Luke 6:29…

29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

Last week we studied the first part of this verse, “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also.” I showed you Matthew’s recorded words of this same section of the Sermon on the Mount

(Matthew 5:39),

“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person [unbeliever]; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

Most Hebrew-speakers and people of Jewish descent are right handed. For a right-handed person to hit another person on the right side of their face, would most likely be a slap, with the back of the hand, an act of contempt. This is not speaking about a physical attack, but instead this is a form of humiliation.

To turn the other cheek isn’t about being a pacifist, as God’s children we should expect to be despised and ridiculed, because of our relationship with the Lord; but when that happens, we are to seek reconciliation not retaliation.

1Peter 2:15,

“For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.” 21-23, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.”

1Peter 3:13-17,

“Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”

As a Christian, it is not about my rights, or the injustices done to me, nor is it about getting even; it is about Him who died for me, that I might live for Him

(Hebrews 12:3),

“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Let’s look at the second part of

Luke 6:29,

“and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.”

What is this talking about?

Matthew 5:40,

“If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.”

During the time of Christ, most people didn’t have large wardrobes, or storage units where they kept their overflow of possessions; and so, if someone had a legitimate claim against you, your clothes could be used to pay your debt to them, or to serve as a pledge that you would pay your debt.

The shirt [lit. tunic] was what you wore next to your skin (of which you might have several); the coat [lit. cloak] was your outer garment (of which most people only had one), it often doubled as your blanket during the cold season.

Exodus 22:26-27;

26 If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets,

27 for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious.

Deuteronomy 24:13,

13 When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.

give us more information about what Jesus was referring to, “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in?”

So in Luke 6:29;

29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

Matthew 5:40,

40 If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.

Jesus is saying that even if someone keeps your coat you are not to retaliate, even if that means you lose your shirt also.

Read Luke 6:30…

30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

Jesus now says, “Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.” The first part of that illustration “Give to everyone who asks of you,” seems to be in the context of someone having a need and asking you to help him.

Let’s look at the parallel passage in

Matthew 5:42,

42 Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

to gain a better understanding of what Jesus is saying, “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.”

When someone has a genuine need and they come to you for help, and you have the means to help them, you ought to do so; this is not talking about enabling someone or helping them when they are unwilling to help themselves or work themselves, as Paul wrote

(2Thessalonians 3:10),

“For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.”

On the other hand, if we are aware of a genuine need and we know we can provide what is necessary, we should offer do so, and not wait to be asked. God’s people, above all people, ought to be generous and gracious to others, just as our Father in heaven is to us. If we are living for Christ, it will show for we will

(Ephesians. 4:32),

“Be kind and compassionate toward one another,”

and we will

(James 2:8),

“love [our] neighbor as [ourself].”

The second part of

Luke 6:30 presents a different scenario,

“whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.”

What does this mean? I believe this is speaking about believer being robbed.

Theft or stealing is sin. Number 8 of the 10 Commandments

(Exodus 20:15) says,

“You shall not steal.”

and in

1Corinthians 6:9-11 we read,

9 Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,

10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

I don’t believe Jesus is saying (in Luke 6:30), that we should let thieves get away with robbery. Jesus Himself drove the money changers and those selling animals out of the temple

(Matthew 21:13) saying,

“My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

But clearly it may not be a good idea for you to go and confront the thief who robbed you and demand back what was stolen; instead, you should go to the authorities God has instituted, we have a system of Law and Order, so that we might legally and lawfully retrieve what is ours.

1Peter 2:13-16,

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.”

Romans 13:1,

“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God,.”

Romans 13:4-10,

“But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Love is the fulfillment of the law, not retribution or retaliation. That may be hard for us to accept in our brain; but honestly, it is in our heart that this teaching must be understood and responded to.

The most important thing in this life is not personal property; the most important thing is the love of God in you, and the most important thing you can do is to share that love with others, even those you don’t like, those who mistreat you, curse you, persecute you, and even those who steal from you.

1Peter 2:11-12,

“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Our purpose on this earth is to be a witness of Jesus Christ: crucified, resurrected, and coming again. And as we have studied these past few weeks, it is clear that we should expect the world to hate us, just as it hates our Lord and put Him to death on a cross, although He was not guilty of any crime.

Hebrews 12:2-3,

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of [our] faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. …Consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

1Peter 3:14-17,

“But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”

Next week we take a deep look at

Luke 6:31,

“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”

This section in Luke 6, from the Sermon on the Mount, is indeed difficult to accept and understand, and quite impossible to obey, apart from the love of God in us, through Christ.

But for today, I would like for you to turn to

1John 5:3-5,

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

1John 5:11-12,

“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”

Pastor Mike
>’(((><

08-28-2022 – “Living for Christ: Part One”

Bible Text: Luke 6:27-38 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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August 28, 2022
“Living for Christ: Part One”
Luke 6:27-49

See Luke 6:20-23…

20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

As Jesus begins to preach, He directs His attention to His true disciples who are among this large crowd of mostly Jews, both the uneducated and religious scholars, the poor and the wealthy, the religious elite and the irreligious, all those who need healing of their mind, body, and soul.

And what a sermon He preached. Blessed or happy are those who are spiritually poor, hungry, and mournful, for they will be made spiritually rich, filled up, and joyful; and although true believers, God’s children, will be hated, ostracized, insulted, and scorned, because of Christ, they should be glad, for this world is not our home; we are citizens of God’s kingdom

(1Corinthians 2:9),

“which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Whatever pain or sorrow or trouble we experience on this earth does not even begin to compare to the eternal joy that is ours. Jesus was preaching the good news, that the loving kindness of God has been poured out on mankind, so that those who confess their need to be made right with God will be received in the kingdom of heaven, immediately

(Romans 8:17)

“as heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,”

(cf. 2Corinthians 5:17),

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

for it is clear that we belong to Him, and have received forgiveness for sins and eternal life.

We have been given everything we need for our life on earth and for our eternity with God in heaven, where

(cf. Revelation 21:3-4;

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Revelation 22:5)

5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

there will be no sorrow, or crying or pain or death or darkness, for those things are gone forever!

2Peter 1:3,

“His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

Philippians 4:13,

“I can do all things through Him [Christ] who strengthens me,”

Philippians 419,

“And God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Jesus is saying

(Luke 6:23a),

23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

that because all of that is true, we should be glad when those who oppose Christ also oppose us, for the truth is, we are sovereignly and eternally blessed above all who reject God’s Son as Savior and Lord; therefore, we should live in a victorious manner that brings honor and glory to God, while at the same time giving testimony to the love of God in Christ.

True Believers and Followers of Christ repent of their sins, seeking to live for God humbly, yet boldly, hungering and thirsting for God’s Word and applying it to their lives for others to witness, so that they might ask us to give the reason for the hope that we have, now and forever, through Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord & Savior: crucified, resurrected, and coming again.

1John 5:5,

“Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

1John 5:11-13,

Today we pick up in

Luke 6:27-28…

27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Jesus gives four commands to His followers who are true believers; for only Christians can “hear” [understand and respond to] what Jesus is saying

(see Matthew 13:9-16).

9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

12 For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

14 In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;

YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,

WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,

AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES,

OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES,

HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,

AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,

AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’

16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.Only born-again believers can understand and obey the commands given here by Jesus: to love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.

Love your enemies…

Matthew 5:43-44,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Judaism is very narrow minded and intolerant, even expressing hatred toward its enemies, especially Gentiles; although God commanded

(Leviticus 19:18)

18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.

to, ”love your neighbor as yourself,” the Teachers of the Law had added “hate your enemy” to the Talmud [The comprehensive written version of Jewish oral law supplementing scriptural laws with rabbinic discussions, including commentaries on civil and ceremonial law].

However some of the Talmud is in conflict with the OT

(Proverbs 25:21),

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.”

To love your neighbor, even if he is your enemy, is to show mercy on him in reference to his need. In the parable recorded in

Luke 10:25-37,

25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”

27 And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”

29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.

31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

33 But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,

34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’

36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”

37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Jesus illustrates this love to a Pharisee, by explaining three responses to a man who was in need: two of those who didn’t help the man were Jews, like the injured man; but the one who helped him was a Samaritan, an enemy of the Jews. Jesus concluded His teaching by asking

(Luke 10:36-37),

“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’”

Do good to those who hate you…

Romans 12:9,

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor [hate] what is evil; cling to what is good,”

Romans 12:20-21,

“But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

How is heaping burning coals on someone’s head a good thing? What exactly does that mean? St. Augustine said, “We should incite those who have hurt us to repentance by doing them good.” Perhaps, when you show kindness to an enemy, you maybe even shame him into having remorse, because his hostility toward you has been repaid by a kind act, and it is really hard to keep hurting someone who is doing nice things for you.

This passage provides a dramatic picture of how God deals with sinners like us. He does good to us, to lead us to repentance

(Romans 3:10-12,

10 as it is written,

“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,

THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;

THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,

THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

Romans 3:23;

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23;

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:1).

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

1John 4:19,

19 “We love because He first loved us.”

Bless those who curse you…

This does not mean we are not to suppose to warn unbelievers of the eternal consequences of rejecting God’s Son. To bless them is to tell them the truth; to truly express God’s love toward them, they must be told that Jesus alone can save them.

Read John 16:7-11…

7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;

9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;

10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;

11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

Jesus speaks of Supernatural Comforter

[Isaiah 9:6,

6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Wonderful Counselor] the Holy Spirit, who will come to them, but only after Christ ascends back into heaven to be at the right hand of the Father

(see John 14:16-17;

16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

John 14:25-26;

25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

John 15:26-27).

26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,

27 and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

The Holy Spirit seeks to convict the hearts of those who do not believe in Jesus Christ; for rejecting Jesus as the Son of God is the unpardonable sin that condemns a person to an eternal hell

(see John 3:14-16,

14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;

15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:36;

36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

John 6:28-29;

28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

John 8:24-25;

24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

25 So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?

John 10:30;

30 I and the Father are one.”

John 14:6).

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

In John 12:31-32 Jesus says,

“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

In John 14:30 Jesus says,

“the ruler of the world is coming,”

and now (John 16:11) Jesus says,

“the ruler of this world has been judged.”

Satan is defeated, judged and condemned by Jesus Christ, who is the Truth. Satan is the father of lies

(John 8:44),

“He [Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

1Peter 3:8-9a,

“To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead.”

Pray for those who mistreat you…

Martin Luther once said,

“God converts those whom He does convert by showing them goodness. It is only in this way that we can convert a person, namely, by showing him kindness and love.”

Romans 5:8-10,

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Jesus went through the most horrible pain and suffering at the hands of evil men, even though He was innocent of any crime; He did this because of His love for us. Do you remember His first recorded words, while on cross

(Luke 23:34),

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

We all have enemies. How should we respond to them? Pray for them, show them kindness, bless them. When we do that, we may very well turn one who is our enemy, and perhaps an enemy of God, into a friend, or perhaps even a brother or sister in the Lord.

Proverbs 18:24,

“A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

John 15:14,

“You are My friends if you do what I command you.”

See Luke 6:29a…

29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

Jesus is not teaching that we should not defend or protect ourselves. In fact, as Jesus and the Apostles on the night He was betrayed, went out from the Passover meal to go to Gethsemane

(Luke 22:36) Jesus said,

“whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one,”

so that they might be able to defend themselves if they were attacked.

Matthew 5:39,

“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

This is one of those verses that is misinterpreted more than it is properly interpreted; but what does it mean? Are we to give in to evil?

Remember when Jesus

(cf. Matthew 21:12)

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.

turned over tables and drove evil men out of the Temple, and another time

(John 2:15)

15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;

He made a whip and used it to drive out of His Father’s House, those who were doing evil there.

I do not believe God calls us to be pacifists when it comes to restraining evil, for to do nothing may fail to protect the innocent, or make a stand for justice, or treat others the way we want to be treated ourselves.

But, what about being hit or slapped on the right side of your face? Interestingly enough, most Hebrew-speakers and people of Jewish descent are right handed.

So, for a right-handed person to hit another person on the right side of their face, would mostly like entail the back (or top) of the right hand being used by the aggressor to make contact with the right-side of the victim’s face. This is a slap, not an assault, an act of contempt and disgrace. Even a slave during Bible times would have preferred to be whipped on the back rather than slapped in the face by their master.

While we are on this sub jet let me say to parents and caregivers, please, don’t ever slap your children, it is a very demeaning and demoralizing injury that causes a wound to form in the heart of the one being slapped; if you have done this, you need to ask forgiveness from them.

I don’t believe this teaching in

Luke 6:29;

29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

Matthew 5:39

39 But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

is advocating that we let some bully beat us up, this is not a physical attack — the back of the right hand across the right cheek of a person’s face, is clearly an act of contempt, this is about humiliating and degrading someone.

As God’s children, we can expect to be ridiculed, even maliciously attacked, because of our relationship with the Lord; but we are never to retaliate when that happens, we are not to seek vengeance, but reconciliation

(Romans 12:21),

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

1Peter 2:21-24,

“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

Jesus went through five different insulting, degrading and injurious trials: He was spat on, beaten about the head and face with fists and sticks; all before He was handed over to be flogged, almost to death, and then He was mocked even more, prior to being made to walk to the site of His own execution; where He was nailed to a cross, after which He was continually insulted by those yelling up at Him to come down if He truly was the Son of God; and how did He respond? “Father, forgive them,” and six hours later, He said, “It is finished!”

As a Christian, it is not about my rights, or the injustices done to me, nor is it about getting even; instead, it is about Him who died for me, that I might live for Him

(Hebrews 12:3),

“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

We are redeemed by God through Jesus Christ for the ministry of reconciliation not retaliation; we are to be evangelists not executioners.

2Corinthians 5:14-21,

“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Galatians 2:20,

And all God’s people said, Amen!

Pastor Mike

>’(((><

08-21-2021 – Are You Blessed or Cursed?

Bible Text: Luke 6:17-26 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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August 21, 2022
“Are You Blessed or Cursed?”
Luke 6:17-26

Last week we finished Luke’s narrative that closed with Jesus having gone up on the mountain to spend the night praying to the Father. Jesus then called the Twelve to Himself, and afterward brought them down to a plateau on the side of the mountain. This is where we pick up our study today.

Read Luke 6:17-19…

17 Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,

18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.

19 And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.

By this time in Jesus’ ministry, He is very popular, and wherever He went the crowds would follow Him, to listen to His marvelous words, and witness His healing of every kind of illness, disease, infirmity, and oppression.

Jesus finds a level place on the side of the mountain where He begins to preach and teach what is known as, the Sermon on the Mount. Luke gives a shortened version in

29 verses (Luke 6:17-49), of what Matthew records in 3 full chapters (Matthew 5-7).

Luke mentions three separate groups of people: the Twelve Apostles; a large crowd of people who were regular followers of Jesus, some genuine, some not; and a great congregation of people from all Judea (all the people of Israel), Jerusalem (some of the religious leaders), along with people from Tyre and Sidon (prominent Gentile seaport cities, NW of Galilee) where some Jews lived.

Jesus is standing and hasn’t started teaching (rabbis normally sat down to teach). He is healing those who are physically ill,

and (Luke 6:18)

18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.

casting out demons. Jesus is performing miracles among the people

(Luke 6:19),

“for power was coming from Him and healing them all”

(pp. Luke 5:17;

17 One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.

Luke 8:46)

46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.”

Jesus was able to minister to the whole person, mind, body and soul; he taught God’s sovereign Truth, healed diseases, and cast demons out of the possessed. But His main purpose was to preach the good news of salvation; to offer forgiveness for sins and eternal life

(see Luke 4:40-43).

40 While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.

41 Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.

42 When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.

43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

Everywhere Jesus went He preached how God would forgive and save those who were spiritually deaf, blind, and captive, to sin; if they would repent and believe the good news, and follow Him

(Mark 1:15),

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

(Mark 1:17),

“Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

Jesus spoke with supernatural wisdom, with complete and sovereign authority.

Jesus claimed absolute equality with the Father

(cf. John 10:30),

30 I and the Father are one.”

using the covenant name of God “I AM” for Himself

(John 8:24),

“unless you believe that I am He [Savior and Lord], you will die in your sins” [unforgiven, condemned to hell] to .”

(John 8:58),

“before Abraham was born, I am.”

Matthew 7:28-29,

“When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

John 7:32,

“The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.”

John 7:45-46,

“The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, [who] said to them, ‘Why did you not [arrest and] bring Him?’ The officers answered, ‘Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.’”

Jesus’ teaching is in opposition to that of the world system that rejects God’s Son, Lord and Savior, Crucified, Resurrected, Coming Again. Jesus taught that He had “come from God” the Father

(cf. John 8:42),

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.

was “going back to God”

(John 13:3),

3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,

that He is

(cf. John 4:7-14)

“the living water,”

(John 6:35)

“the bread of life,”

(John 10:11)

“the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep,”

(John 11:25)

“the resurrection and the life,”

(John 12:46)

“the light of the world,”

and

(cf. John 14:6)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

He is the only Way to the Father, only Truth from the Father, and only Life with the Father.

Colossians 2:8-10,

Luke records, a shortened version of what is called the Beatitudes, from the Latin beati (blessed), Greek makarios (happy, fortunate, to be envied). Jesus is declaring a state of being and heart attitude in the life of those who have received eternal forgiveness for sins and eternal life with God through belief in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior. Saving belief brings genuine happiness and blessing; whereas, those who continue to reject Jesus Christ are unhappy and cursed.

Read Luke 6:20-23…

20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

What a way to start a sermon: happy are those who are poor, hungry, mournful, those who are hated, ostracized, insulted, and scorned because of Christ. Wow!

Jesus

(Luke 6:20)

20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

is not teaching that those who are economically poor or physically hungry are blessed. Matthew’s recording of this event gives us more clarity

(Matthew 5:3),

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Those who understand their spiritual poverty, realizing their greatest need, that apart from the merciful saving grace of God through Christ we cannot obtain God’s favor, nor be considered acceptable to the Holy and Righteous God of Creation, by anything we might personally acquire, obtain, or do

(see Luke 18:9-14).

9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’

13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’

14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In His very first sermon, Jesus described the human condition apart from the saving knowledge and presence of God

(see Luke 4:14-21).

14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.

15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,

BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.

HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,

AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,

TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,

19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus is bringing the good news, the loving kindness of God poured out on mankind, so that those who confess their need to be made right with God will be received in the kingdom of heaven, immediately

(Romans 8:17)

“as heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,”

(Romans 14:17)

“the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

2Peter 1:3,

“His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

Philippians 4:19,

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Jesus (Luke 6:21a)

21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

speaks of a hunger that has nothing to do with physical food

(Matthew 5:6),

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied”

[satisfied = unable to eat anymore, completely satiated], this is speaking of spiritual hunger that can only be satisfied with God’s provision.

Psalm 107:1,

a“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,”

Jeremiah 31:14,

“I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance,
and My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.

Jesus goes on to say

(Luke 6:21b),

“blessed are those who weep now.”

This is speaking of deep sorrow of repentance, the realization that we have sinned against God

(Matthew 5:4),

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

James 4:9-10,

“Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Isaiah 61:2,

“To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.”

Isaiah 35:10,

“And the ransomed of the Lord will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

The first three Beatitudes are from the perspective of the repentant sinner, whereas the final Beatitude in Luke’s narrative

(Luke 6:22),

22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

is from the perspective of how the world views a believer and follower of Christ.

Jesus uses four strong verbs (hate, ostracize, insult, scorn) to describe the way the unbelieving world views and responds to believers and followers of Christ.

When a person genuinely repents of sin and believes in God’s Son to save him, that person becomes a member of God’s family, a Christian, who will demonstrate a changed life that seeks to obey God’s Word, while bringing honor and glory to God.

Jesus told the Twelve

(cf. John 15:18-19),

18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.

19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.

that the world would hate them and persecute them, just as it did Him. But we have what we need to be victorious in this world

(1John 4:4),

“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

How should we respond to a godless world when we are persecuted?

Jesus says

(Luke 6:23)

“be glad in that day, leap for joy, for [our] reward is great win heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.”

As children of God, the world we see is not our home; we are citizens of God’s kingdom, a world we can’t yet see

(1Corinthians 2:9),

“which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Whatever pain or sorrow or trouble we experience on this earth does not even begin to compare to the eternal joy that is ours

(2Corinthians 4:17-18),

“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Read Luke 6:24-26…

24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

Jesus now shifts from the blessings belonging to God’s children, to the “woes” or curses that belong to those who reject God’s salvation.

Jesus (Luke 6:24)

24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

is not speaking of those who are materially rich; but of those who presume they are rich in a spiritual sense, through their works, rituals, or ancestry, through which they have obtained a righteousness that can save them from sin’s condemnation.

Jesus says they have received their reward in full, the comfort in which they have lived their life on earth; whereas, their eternity will be spent in a place of torment, and gnashing of teeth, where they will receive absolutely no comfort at.

Next (Luke 6:25a)

25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

Jesus speaks to the curse that belongs to those “who are well-fed now,” i.e., those who are full of themselves, totally satiated with their own self-imposed righteousness. This is in contrast to those

(Luke 6:21a)

21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

who hunger for the righteousness and are blessed; these so-called “well-fed” hypocrites believe they lack nothing and have attained righteousness based on their own merits.

Jesus says to those who are cursed

(Luke 6:25b),

25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

those who are laughing now, actually thinking they have “made it,” maybe even contemplating what it is going to be like in heaven, perhaps even better than they are experiencing on earth.

In Matthew 8 Jesus gives a reality check to those righteous Jews who think they are going to heaven just because they belong to Israel…

Matthew 8 11-12,

“I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the [earthly] kingdom will be cast into the outer darkness; [and] in that place [the Lake of Fire] there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” forever and ever.

The final “woe”

(Luke 6:26),

26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

speaks to the self-centeredness of the wicked unbelieving.

Back in Luke 6:23,

23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

Jesus spoke of how those who believe in and live for Him will be mistreated and scorned, just like people treated God’s prophets.

Those who reject God’s Word, God’s Son, gladly receive others of the same mindset, i.e., those who are dead in their sins, unwilling to acknowledge their need to repent and believe in Christ; therefore, there is no hope for them, only an expectation of judgement

(Hebrews 10:26-27),

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries” [of God].

There are only two types of people on this planet:

The Blessed – True followers of Christ who have repented of their sins and believed in Jesus alone for salvation.
The Cursed, Unbelievers who reject Christ, trusting in their self-righteous works and/or other human acquisitions, or attributes to save them.

Whether you are blessed or cursed for eternity, depends solely upon what you do with Jesus Christ while you are alive.

Matthew 16:13-16,

“When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”

The question is, Who do you believe Jesus to be?

1John 5:4-5,

1John 5:11-13,

Everyone who repents of their sins, believing in Jesus Christ for salvation, will be saved.

Pastor Mike
>’(((><

08-14-2021 – Jesus Calls the Twelve: Part Three

Bible Text: Luke 6:12-16 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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August 14, 2022
“Jesus Calls the Twelve: Part Three”
Luke 6:12-16

Today we come to the final name in the list of the Disciples, Judas Iscariot, who is always recorded last among the Twelve: (Luke 6:16b) “Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor,” (Matthew 10:4) “Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed [Jesus],” (Mark 3:19), “Judas Iscariot, who betrayed [Jesus].”

Judas’ surname Iscariot, “is most likely the Greek translation of a Hebrew phrase meaning, “man of Kerioth,” telling us that Judas came from Kerioth, a group of villages about 20 miles south of Jerusalem [John MacArthur Commentary (Luke 6-10), pg. 75].

Judas was not a Galilean like the rest of the disciples, but instead a Judaean, and so, he probably never really fit in with the other eleven, and was seen as an outsider.

Judas’s call by Jesus is not recorded in the Scriptures; but Jesus clearly knew Judas would betray Him, and that is why he was chosen (John 6:70-71), speaking to the twelve Jesus says, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.”

The OT predicted this betrayal (Psalm 41:9), “Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared My bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” God chose Judas to help fulfill God’s plan, that the Son of God would die for our sins; but He wouldn’t stay dead, because, as God, He has power over sin and death.

1Corinthians 15:1-4, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Notice that Paul says, “of first importance” is the simple yet sovereign truth that Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, was buried, and on the third day He came out of the grave alive [demonstrating eternal life], and all of this was according to the Scriptures (2Timothy 3:16-17), “All Scripture is inspired by God [God-breathed, originating from God] and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Repeatedly in the OT (Micah 5:2; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; 52:13-53:12) the birth, ministry, death, burial and resurrection of God’s Son, the Messiah is foretold. No orthodox Jew should be unaware that the Messiah was Immanuel [God in the flesh], named Yeshua [Hebrew], Jesus [Greek], meaning God’s Salvation, or Savior, just as the OT declares.

In the NT, Jesus, Paul, and Peter, quote from the OT passages foretelling the birth, ministry, betrayal, death, burial and resurrection of God’s Son; but the specific event of Jesus’ betrayal is recorded in Matthew 26:23-24; Mark 14:1-2, 10-11, 17-21; Luke 22:20-22; and John 13:12-30.

Let’s take a look at the narrative in John’s Gospel account.

See John 13:12-20… Jesus provides an example of humble service for the Twelve. Jesus the Lord and Savior, washed the feet of His disciples [foot washing was the menial work of a slave]. Jesus even washed the feet of His betrayer, Judas Iscariot; if God in the flesh was willing to do this humble service to His disciples, one of whom was a traitor, should they not also be willing to serve others in this way, with the same attitude?

What attitude is he talking about?

Philippians 2:5-8, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Jesus is telling His disciples that Judas is going to betray Him, and He is going to be taken from them; He tells them now so that when it happens they will know that Jesus is God, for He divinely knows what will happen in the future.

Jesus is reassuring the apostles that He is going to send them out as His messengers in this world, and neither Judas’ betrayal or even His own death will alter that.

See John 13:21-25… Jesus becomes troubled in His spirit, thinking about Judas’ treachery, the cross on which He will bear our sin, being separated from the Father.

The disciples look around at one another, trying to figure out who Jesus is talking about, who would dare betray the Lord? Which one of them could do such a thing?

They all want to know who the betrayer is, but it is Peter who finally acts, he gets John’s attention, since John is sitting up against Jesus at the table; and Peter asks John to find out who the betrayer is, and so, John asks Him, “Lord, who is it?”

See John 13:26-27… From the context, it seems that Jesus quietly told John, “the one whom I give the morsel [the dipped bread], is the betrayer.” The unleavened bread would have been dipped into a mixture of bitter herbs, vinegar, salt, water, along with crushed dates, figs, and raisins. Note: For the host [Jesus] to single out anyone at the table by offering them drink or food from His own hand, was a special honor.

Even here, near the end of Passion Week, Jesus is showing loving kindness toward Judas, His betrayer, by washing his feet, then honoring him at the table.

It would seem that John didn’t have time to tell Peter who the betrayer was, for Jesus immediately dipped the bread and gave it to Judas. As soon as Judas took the bread (verse 27), “Satan then entered into him.”

It would seem Judas’ heart was now hardened and there was no turning back; He had crossed the line and was willfully going to serve the Devil; so Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”

See John 13:28-30… John wrote this account of the Last Supper, some 50 years after Christ’s death and resurrection; in verses 28-29, John is looking back, giving an account of what the disciples thought at the time. They didn’t know what was meant by Jesus saying, “What you do, do quickly.” Perhaps Judas, as the money keeper, was going out to get something else for the dinner, or to give money to the poor (which would traditionally happen at Passover; like we often do at Thanksgiving and Christmas).

John 13:30 tells us that after receiving the dipped bread, Judas “went out immediately, and it was night,” darkness had definitely come into Judas’ heart.

Acts 1:18, “Now this man [Judas Iscariot] acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.

See Matthew 27:1-10… Judas betrayed Jesus, knowing He was innocent, and so, Judas’ felt guilty for handing over an innocent man to be executed; but his remorse (verse 3) was not repentance; the word used here means to regret something you have done, but this is far from being repentant for sins against God..

Judas never sought Christ’s forgiveness, nor did he come to Jesus’s defense, but instead, Judas served his master, Satan himself; and in the end Judas killed himself and was buried in a field bought with the 30 pieces of silver he was paid for betraying Jesus.

The chief priests knew the money paid to Judas was “blood” money (money used to wrongly convict an innocent man); it was unlawful to put this in the Temple treasury, so they used it to purchase a plot of land that was to be used for burying the indigent, i.e., those without family, friends, or the resources necessary for a proper burial.

Could Judas have repented of his sins, believed in Christ like the other disciples, and been saved, yes! But he didn’t! Like many orthodox Jews, he believed the Messiah was going to set Israel free from Roman oppression and set His Kingdom up on earth; but when that didn’t happen, Judas chose to get out of it what he could.

Matthew 26:16; Mark 14:11; Luke 22:6, tell us Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver ($10-20).

Judas lived for three years with Jesus, the Son of God; traveling with Him, listening, watching, being trained to be a witness of Christ to the rest of the world; but instead, Judas sold out His own master, the Savior of the world, for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave; and for that reason he is the most notorious traitor in all of history.

Judas is also an example of God’s gracious and unending love; for Christ knew all along that Judas would betray Him, yet He loved him; at the very end, Christ washed Judas’ feet along with the feet of those who would believe in Him. And at the Last Supper Jesus offered him the honor of the dipped bread; and the next morning even called him “friend,” in the garden when Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.

Judas’ hardened his heart toward God’s Son and he died apart from the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, who loved Him deeply and was heavily burdened in His heart that Judas chose to serve God’s enemy, the devil.

It is said, the same sun that melts the wax, hardens the clay; and while the other disciples were being softened toward the Lord, Judas was clearly being hardened.

No wonder Hebrews 4:7 declares, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden

your hearts.” The truth is, Christ only reveals Himself to those who will believe in and follow Him, for He knows who they are. It is by God’s plan, purpose, and power that we are eternally saved.

Romans 8:28-30, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” 35, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” No! 37-39, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

If you love the Lord, you will seek to obey His commands (John 14:15), “If you love me, you will obey what I command,” 21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” 23-24, “If anyone loves me, he will obey My teaching. He who does not love Me will not obey my teaching.”

Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

In the church we celebrate the Lord’s victory over sin and death, not just on Good Friday or Easter Sunday, but every time someone receives salvation through Jesus Christ; every time a believer is baptized, every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper; every time we come together to pray, study God’s Word, and to worship and praise the Lord.

We are saved by faith and we live out our faith, by obeying God’s Word.

James 2:14-18, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’” 26, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

Our faith is based in our belief that Jesus not only died as full payment to God for all our sins, but He also rose from the grave to demonstrate eternal life (Romans 3:10-12, 23-24; 6:23; 5:8; 8:1; 10:9-10, 13; John 14:6).

God turns no one away, He accepts everyone who repents of their sins and believes that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is both Lord and Savior: Crucified, Resurrected, and Coming again, to take all those who belong to Him to live with Him in heaven, forever.

It just doesn’t get any better than the Good News of the Gospel of Christ. Amen?

Pastor Mike

>’(((><

08-07-2021 – “Forgiveness”

Bible Text: Luke 8:40-48 | Speaker: Jim Shepherd | Above is the
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August 7, 2022
“Forgiveness”
Luke 8:40-48

1. Conditional Nature of Forgiveness

Luke 8:40-48
40 And as Jesus returned, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.
41 And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell
at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house;
42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went,
the crowds were pressing against Him.
43 And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone,
44 came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage
stopped.
45 And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it,
Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.”
47 When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down
before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him,
and how she had been immediately healed.
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

2. Biblical Support for God’s Forgiveness of Our Sins.

Psalms 130:3-4
3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.

Luke 1:77
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,

Matthew 26:28
28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness
of sins.

Luke 24:47
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the
nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

3. Biblical Support for God’s Forgiveness of Others.

Matthew 6:12
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Matthew 6:14-15
14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your
transgressions.

Mark 11:25
25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your
Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.

Ephesians 4:32
32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also
has forgiven you.

4. Major Points

a) Forgiveness is a Christian Virtue.
b) God has only one solution to the problem of human sin.
c) God has shown how we are to forgive.
d) Connection between spiritual health and willingness to forgive.

5. Parable of Unforgiving Servant

Matt. 18:21-35
21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and
I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle
accounts with his slaves.
24 When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought
to him.
25 But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along
with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.
26 So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience
with me and I will repay you everything.’
27 And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.
28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii;
and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’
29 So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with
me and I will repay you.’
30 But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.
31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported
to their lord all that had happened.
32 Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because
you pleaded with me.
33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’
34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that
was owed him.
35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from
your heart.”

6. Five Truths from Parable

a) The greatness of God’s forgiveness.
b) The enormity of out own sin debt.
c) The relative lightness of the sins of others against us.
d) The simplicity of forgiveness.
e)The danger of an unforgiving spirit.

Jim Shepherd