Bible Text: Luke 11:37-54 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the links to YouTube or audio recordings.

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June 16, 2024
“Woe to You Pharisees: Part One”
     

         Read Luke 11:37-41…. Jesus just finishes His instruction about Light and Darkness; God’s Children verses those belonging to the Evil One, Satan.  A Pharisee invites Jesus for lunch and Jesus accepts; but when the Pharisee notices Jesus has not performed the normal ceremonial washing prior to the meal, he is surprised that Jesus had not observed the cleansing according to the “tradition of the elders.”

Who were the “elders”?             The elders were the adult men, usually older, who were responsible for making decisions in a local family or village.  Although the term elder could refer to someone older, most often At referred to a man who was recognized as a leader in a local community.

We see an example of elders as leaders in Genesis 50:7, “So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt.”

In Exodus 3:16 Moses was instructed, “Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.”  Later, in Exodus 12:21, “Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb.”  I

In Numbers 11:16, God told Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, to take their stand there with you.”

Elders held a recognized place of leadership throughout the Old Testament era, including the Israel’s return to Jerusalem under Ezra and Nehemiah.

In the New Testament era, elders continued to lead in communities, and in many cases they served with pastors in local churches.  Qualifications for elders who teach, lead, and govern, in the church, are given in 1Timothy 3; Titus 1.

Back to Luke 11:38…  The “washing” spoken of here was as follows: someone pours water over your hands, with your fingers pointing up, allowing the water to drip off at the wrist; then, water is poured over your hands with the fingers pointing down; after which each hand is rubbed with the fist of the other hand.

The Law of Moses gives no instruction about washing hands or body prior to eating, except for priests who are washing before eating holy offerings at the Temple, if they had become unclean (cf. Leviticus 22:1-9).

The “elders” of Israel had added hundreds of “to-dos” that were not given by God; these additions given orally, were eventually written down in the Mishna (the book of Jewish religious law, which was considered to be supremely authoritative).  And so, man’s laws are added to those of God’s Word.

This is now and has always been a problem, as can be illustrated by the following religious groups who, although they use the Bible, they add additional teachings and requirements based on human instruction, not God’s; and so, it becomes the Bible plus something else that was not given by God.

Mormons use their Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price, which teach that Jesus was the older brother of Satan, and He became a god, and they teach that we also can become a god.  Jehovah’s Witnesses use their New World Translation of the Scriptures that teaches Jesus was not God, but instead was Michael the Archangel, in the flesh.  The Church of Christ, Scientist, uses their book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, in order to teach that Jesus is not eternal or sovereign, nor is He One with the Father. Seventh Day Adventists use their book, Conflict of the Ages by E.G. White, which teaches that Sabbath-keeping was not abolished or fulfilled when Jesus was nailed to the Cross, and therefore, those who don’t keep the Sabbath are condemned to hell.

         No wonder Paul exhorts us (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,” (16-17), “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.”

         Back to Luke 11:39…  Speaking of the spiritual uncleanness of the Pharisees, who took great confidence in their rituals and law keeping, so as to look like they were righteous before God, Jesus confronted their unbelief and their lack of justification before God; for their religious acts were nothing more than an external coverup of what was really inside their hearts.

See Mark 7:3-8, “(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ And he said to them,‘Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

The Pharisees ask why Jesus’ disciples aren’t keeping the “traditions of the elders,” not the Law of Moses, or the Commandments of God, but the traditions of men.  They accuse His disciples of eating with impure or unclean hands, implying that Jesus, as their Master, had taught them to disobey these traditions.

Jesus responds (verses 6-7) quoting Isaiah 29:13; saying that the actions and words of these hypocrite Pharisees reveals the true condition of their hearts.  Their worship was superficial and external, whereas, inside they are full of pride and self-condemnation.           The Pharisees and scribes (verse 8) had not only abandoned the teachings of God’s Word, but they had inserted the teachings and traditions of men in the place of God’s commands.

Look again (Luke 11:39), Jesus says they are corrupt and full of robbery [lit. plunder that they have pillaged from others, for they were damning people to hell with their false religion] and wickedness [lit. evil, depravity].

In Matthew 23:15, Jesus says,  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

In Matthew 23:27, Jesus says, “You are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.”

Look again at Luke 11:40…  Jesus is addressing His host and the other religious leaders as fools!

David defines what a fool is in Psalm 14:1-3, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good. The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

The Jewish Religious Leaders were more concerned about their external rituals and practices then they were about being cleansed of sin and made holy in the sight of God. They were indeed fools!

Paul was a Pharisee, a son of a Pharisee, a Hebrew who was zealous for the Law, and yet, even so, he said (Romans 2:28-29), “[A man] is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

See Philippians 3:1-11, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, [we] who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: [for I was] circumcised [on] the eighth day, [I am] of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” 

         Paul had credentials of the highest degree, for he had attained the epitome of human greatness, and yet he considered it all rubbish, next to his knowledge of Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

Back to Luke 11:40…. Jesus is saying that these orthodox religious elite, who play at being righteous and serving God, are actually Godless!  These men are ignorant, blinded by their hypocrisy, so that they can’t see the vile condition of their own hearts.

In Matthew 23:10-11, Jesus rebuked the false teaching of the Pharisees and scribes, and then (Matthew 23:12-14), “[His] disciples said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended [by what You said]?’ But He answered saying, ‘Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. 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.”

See again Luke 11:41…  Being charitable, merciful, and caring about others, these attributes and actions should be expressed in the lives of those who belong to the God, especially concerning those who are in desperate need, like the poor, the fatherless, and the lost (1Peter 4:8), “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

The religious extremism of the Pharisees blinded them to the reality that it was more important to God for your heart to be cleansed by God’s Spirit who indwells you, then to perform rituals by which you try to make yourself acceptable to God.

1John 4:7-11, “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.”

If a person is born of God, having been born-again by God’s Spirit, that person will love others; in fact, if we genuinely love God, and have the love of God in us, we will fulfill the supreme commandment of God, which is (Luke 10:27) to, “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 [to love] your neighbor as yourself.”

When a person is living to love God and love others, then all things are clean, acceptable, permissible, even beneficial, because (Romans 8:1-2), “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,” as Paul declared, the reality is (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,” and so (Philippians 4:8-9), “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
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Bible Text: Luke 11:33-36 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the link to YouTube or audio recordings.

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June 9, 2024
“Children of Light”
Luke 11:33-36
    

Read Luke 11:33-36…  We understand and have all experienced both light and darkness, in the physical realm; but here Jesus is using light as a metaphor for divine truth, and darkness as a metaphor for the absence of divine truth, i.e., light reveals, where as, darkness conceals.

Ephesians 4:17-18, “Walk no longer as the [unbelieving] walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.”

Ephesians 5:8-13, “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.”

Read Luke 11:33…  Light exposes things, it reveals all that is in the area on which the light is shining.  And so, light should be held up, put up on a stand, so that everything might be made visible by it.  Can you imagine someone covering the lamp in their room with a large box, or turning on a flashlight in a dark room, only to put the flashlight into a thick bag so that its light can’t be seen?

1John 1:5 declares, “God is light,” in Him there is no darkness.  “Light” is synonymous with God’s righteousness and truth; “darkness,” refers to all that is false, all that is void of the character and nature of God.

Hebrews 1:3 declares God’s Son to be the “radiance of God’s glory,” the very “Light” of God; so if Christ is in you, God’s light will shine through your life.

So what is the major deterrent keeping a person from receiving and being able to show God’s Light?

2Corinthians 4:4-6, “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.”

In Matthew 5:14-16, speaking of those who believe in Him, Jesus said, “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 lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” 

Individual believers are like lamps in each house, providing light to those who would otherwise be in darkness.  God’s Church is to be like a lighted city on a hill, serving as a beacon to travelers in the valley below or on hills far away.

Christians are to shine God’s light, for we were all, at one time, living in darkness, guilty of sin, separated from the Light and Life of God.

Believing in Christ brings you into the light, where you receive life from God.  Our purpose as Christians, is to let God’s light shine so that those living in darkness might find their way to God’s love and forgiveness.

From the very beginning God separated light from darkness.

Genesis 1:1-4, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.”

God will one day remove all darkness forever.

Revelation 21:3-5, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is among men, and He will live among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 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.’

And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’”

23, “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

22:3-5, “There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 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.”

      Jesus said (John 12:46), “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.”

      In 2Corinthians 6:14, Paul exhorts us, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? What fellowship can light have with darkness?”

1Peter 2:9, “But 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.”

Read Luke 11:34…  Light enters your brain [and your whole body] through your eyes, for the eye is the lamp of the body; if something is wrong with your eyes, you don’t see so well.  The same is true with spiritual light, knowledge of God’s revelation concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior.

Jesus spoke about those with hardened hearts [toward Him], as those who remain in darkness (Matthew 13:14), “You keep on hearing, but will not understand; You keep on seeing, but will not perceive.”

      The self-righteous religious leaders of Israel and all those who are unresponsive or indifferent toward Christ the Lord, remain in darkness.

John 3:16-20, “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. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”

Read Luke 11:35…  Jesus warns of the deception that causes a person to refuse to acknowledge and repent of sin and receive forgiveness; that person is deluded into thinking that they are good enough to go to heaven just as they are, perhaps because they are a Jew, or are very religious, or keep the Law, or have some how by their own merit become acceptable and pleasing to God.

We must plead with unbelievers (2Corinthians 5:20), for 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.”

The truth is, there is absolutely no one who is righteous, no one who is good, no one who is acceptable to God, based on any inherent human quality, characteristic, attribute, or acquisition (cf. Romans 3:10-12, 23-24; 6:23; 5:8; 8:1).

      Read Luke 11:36…  Jesus said (Mark 10:18), “No one is good except God alone.”  We are only Good if God is in us, we can only experience and be full of the Light of God if we have been born again by the Spirit of God, having been made righteous by God, having been justified in His presence [just if I’d never sinned], now and forever.

Romans 10:9-10, “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; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

13, “for, ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

To all those who will repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ for salvation, God has granted eternal life, having placed His own Spirit in us and marked us as His very own possession for all of eternity.

Ephesians 1:13-14, “In [Christ], 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.”

      Paul writes (2Corinthians 5:21), “ He [God the Father] made Him [God the Son, Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

      Jesus died for our sins, paying our penalty to God for all our sins [past, present, and future], so that all who believe in Him will not be condemned, but instead we share in the righteousness that belongs to God alone, having been born-again by God’s Spirit, becoming children of God!.

John 1:12-13, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God [meaning, born from above, born of the Holy Spirit, i.e., born again].”

      Jesus said John 3:3, “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

6-8, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. You must be born again, born of the Spirit.”

The aged Apostle John summed up the testimony of God’s Word concerning God’s Son, and what all those who believe in Him have received.

1John 1:1-5, “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”

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.”

John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

It is my deepest prayer that you will acknowledge, confess, believe in, and serve Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, so that the Love and Light of God will show in your life, where others will see it, experience it, and then perhaps ask you to tell them about the marvelous gift of forgiveness and eternal through God’s Son who was crucified, buried, resurrected, appeared to hundreds of His followers over a 40 day period, after which He ascended into heaven, from where He will return, to take all who believe in Him to be with Him in heaven, forever.

 
Pastor Mike Hale
 

Bible Text: Luke 11:29-32 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the links to our audio and YouTube recordings.

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June 2, 2024 (AM insert notes)
“This is a Wicked Generation!”
Luke 11:29-32
     
Read Luke 11:29-30…  Luke tells us that the crowds following Jesus were getting larger, and these crowds were made up of mostly common people, but also Religious Leaders (Chief Priests, Levites, Sadducees, Pharisees and Scribes) who were looking for a reason and an opportunity to arrest Jesus and remove Him from influencing the Israelites away from Orthodox Judaism’s sacrificial-ritualist system.

Jesus says those who reject Him are part of the “wicked generation” who seek a sign, but He tells them, “no sign will be given but the sign of Jonah. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”

The Jews expected miracles from every true prophet of God; but Jesus had already healed countless numbers of people from every illness and disease, casting out demons, calming the wind and the waves, even raising the dead back to life.

Jesus says His final sign will be the sign of Jonah, who was three days in the belly of a great fish, i.e., Jesus would die for our sins and be three days in a Tomb, only to come out alive, demonstrating, proclaiming, and providing eternal life.  As Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so is God’s Son to the wicked generation of the last days.

Read Luke 11:31…      Jesus says the Queen of the South will stand in judgement against the Jews who reject Him as Messiah.  Also known as the Queen of Sheba (1Kings 10:1-10; 2Chronicles 9:1-9), she came to hear God’s wisdom through Solomon and gave him countless riches.  This Arab woman came, “from the ends of the earth” (1200 miles SE of Israel, an area now called Yemen).  That would be like going from Portland to Tijuana.

Solomon was the wealthiest and wisest man on the earth that time, but Jesus says, in these last days, “One greater than Solomon is here.”  What did He mean?

There are many prophecies in the OT foretelling the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection, of God’s One and Only Son, who would come to save us from sin.

Isaiah 9:6a, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us…”  This speaks of God’s divine provision of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior.

Isaiah 9:6b, “And the government will rest on His shoulders…”  This speaks of God the Son’s Ultimate, Universal, and Unilateral Authority on earth.

Isaiah 9:6c, “And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor…”  This speaks of God the Son’s Supernatural and Eternal Wisdom.

Isaiah 9:6d, “And His name will be called Mighty God…”  This speaks of God the Son’s Sovereign, Eternal Power and Strength.

Isaiah 9:6e, “And His name will be called Eternal Father…”  This speaks of God the Son’s Eternal, Intrinsic Nature, as the Creator and Sustainer of Life.

Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23, “the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”  When Jesus was born, Luke 2:11 records, “today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  Joseph, at the time of Mary’s conception, was told by the angel Gabriel (Matthew 1:21), “[Mary] will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Jesus is not only greater than Solomon, He is the greatest person who will ever be born, being fully God and also fully man, He alone provides forgiveness for sins and eternal life.  His own people, the Jews, rejected Him, refusing to believe in and receive Him; and yet, God shows mercy to all who will receive and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, who is both Savior and Lord.

Read Luke 11:32…  Jonah lived in the late to mid 700’s B.C., during the reign of Jeroboam II (cf. 2Kings 14:25).  Israel was plagued by attacks from Syria and Assyria, whose capital was Nineveh, a very large and culturally advanced city located on the east bank of the Tigris River.  Archaeologists have estimated that it would take about three days to walk from one side of the city to the other.

Read Jonah 1:1-2… God called Jonah to go preach repentance to Nineveh.

Read Jonah 1:3…  Jonah, like the rest of Israel, hated all non-Hebrews and didn’t want them to repent and receive God’s blessings, so instead of heading for Nineveh (550 miles away), he set sail for Tarsus (2500 miles in the opposite direction.

Read Jonah 1:4-10…  God brought a great storm upon the ship Jonah was on, endangering all who were on it.  The captain and those on the ship realized it was because of Jonah that they were in danger, for Jonah was disobeying his God, running away from doing God’s will.

Read Jonah 1:11-16…  Jonah admitted his wrong doing, and told them to throw him into the sea so that the storm would be calmed.  The ship’s crew prayed to Jonah’s God, for they feared for their own lives, but did not want to be guilty of Jonah’s death.  However, they threw Jonah overboard, then they offered a sacrifice and made vows to God, so as not to incur God’s wrath.

Read Jonah 1:17…  God brought a great fish to swallow Jonah, and he was three days and three nights in the belly of that fish.

Read Jonah 2:9-10…  Jonah called upon God to forgive him, vowing to complete his given task; so God caused the fish to vomit Jonah up on the land.

Read Jonah 3:1-3…  God again calls to Jonah, and this time, Jonah obeys.  It takes three days for Jonah to walk through the city of Nineveh proclaiming God’s message. Wow! Three days praying in the belly of a whale, three days preaching in the midst of Nineveh; that was, no doubt, the longest week of Jonah’s life!

Read Jonah 3:4-10… Jonah gives a simple message and the people of Nineveh repent; they call upon God to save them, and God has mercy on them.

Read Jonah 4:1-3…  Jonah’s Hebrew heart was so prejudiced against non-Jews, that he didn’t want these enemies of Israel to be saved; he’d rather die than have it known that he had part in the salvation of Israel’s enemies.

Read Jonah 4:5-8…  Jonah watches to see if God will really save these Gentiles?  God then provides a plant to protect Jonah from the scorching wind and heat, only to then cause the plant to shrivel up.  Again, Jonah asks to die!

Read Jonah 4:9-11…  Jonah was angry at the plant’s destruction, while not being concerned in the least with more than 120,000 people who would have been doomed to hell without a knowledge of God.  Jonah was more concerned about the death of a plant than he was about all those people dying in their sins.

In Luke 11:32, Jesus tells the self-righteous religious leaders of the Jews that, “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”

What does Jesus mean, “something greater than Jonah is here.”

Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:17-18, “I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.”

God’s greatest sign was the death and resurrection of His Son, yet the majority of the Jewish people did not believe in Him (and they still don’t).  Jesus said (Luke 16:31), “they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

As I taught last week, salvation is made effectual by believing in God’s Son as Savior and Lord (John 1:1-4), “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” (John 6:14), “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 6:18), “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” (6:29), “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” (40) “For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life,” (8:24) “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the One I claim to be,” (10:30), “I and the Father are One.” (14:6-7), “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him,” (10-11), “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” (14:20), “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you,” (20:30-31), “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name,” (1John 5:13), “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.”

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 Cephas, then to the twelve”

It is a wicked and corrupt generation that rejects God’s Son.  What does a generation like that look like?

2Timothy 3:2-5, “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.” 12-13, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly [lives] in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

We are living in the last days, in the midst of a wicked generation; but we must put away our prejudices and even give up our comforts, if necessary, in order for people to hear God’s message of hope, love, forgiveness, and salvation.

God has commanded us (Matthew 28:19-20) to take the message of Christ to all people; wherever we are, whatever we are doing, ready and willing to be used by God to share the message of Christ with anyone who will listen.

God is through sending prophets, apostles, and the divine revelation from God to all of humanity that they proclaimed in both written and spoken word.

Hebrews 1:1-3, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

Listen!  Salvation, the forgiveness for sin and eternal life, cannot be acquired, attained, purchased, or procured through miraculous signs, mystical experiences, ancestral heritage, religious rituals, animal sacrifices, good works, wealth, or power.  The only hope we have is Jesus Christ: crucified, resurrected, and coming again!

So that (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.” In fact (13), “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord [for the forgiveness of their sins] will be saved.”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
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Bible Text: Luke 11:27-28 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the links to YouTube and audio recordings.

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May 26, 2024  (AM insert)
“Hear, Believe, Receive”
Luke 11:27-28

      Read Luke 11:27-28…  “While Jesus was saying these things.”  What things? What is going on here?  Let’s back at a few verses and recap what was gong on.

See Luke 11:15-17… Some of those who opposed Jesus were saying about Him, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls.” 23, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.”

You either believe in Christ, or you reject Him; your either receive Christ or you oppose Him, you either serve the cause of Christ, or you hinder it; you either share the message of Christ, or you suppress it.   

      The reality is no one is neutral when it comes to Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior, Who was Crucified, Resurrected, and is Coming Back to take all those who believe in Him, to be with Him, in heaven, forever.

Jesus is a Greek name, Yeshua is the Hebrew rendering, both say He is the Rescuer, Deliverer, Redeemer, Savior.  He is the only way to God the Father, the only embodiment of truth from the Father, and the only eternal life with the Father; there is absolutely no other way to be saved and go to heaven.

Jesus came healing the sick and rescuing souls from the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13-14), “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins,” (Acts 2:21), “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [for the forgiveness of sin] 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.”

Jesus said (Matthew 11:28-30), “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Read again Luke 11:27-28…  A woman in the crowed said to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed,” i.e., Your mother is a blessed woman.  This is a marvelous commendation of Jesus by this woman, for there was a proverbial saying of the day, according to Darrell Block, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Baker Publishing, 1996), pg. 1094], that said, “a mother was valued [by] the accomplishments of her son.”

But notice Jesus’ response to the woman, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”  Interesting!

      Look at Luke 8:17-21…  Wow!  Jesus’ mother and brothers have come, and He is told that they are outside wanting to see Him.  He doesn’t say, go get them and bring them to Me; instead He says, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

James 1:22-25, “But 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.”

Mark 1:14-15, “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘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 commanded them, “repent and believe in the gospel,” what exactly is the gospel?

I’m glad you asked (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.”

1Peter 1:23, “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.”

John 1:12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13-14, “In [Christ], 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.”

Romans 8:9, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

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?”

When you hear and understand the message of Christ, you either believe in Him, at which time all your sins are forgiven (past, present, future), and you are granted eternal life, or, you continue to reject the message of Christ, remaining dead in your sins, separated from life with God.

Philippians 2:1-11, “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 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. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Ultimately everyone is going to bow and confess Jesus Christ as Lord; but only those who do so willingly, before they die, are saved from sin’s condemnation, and granted eternity in heaven with God. 

Your main purpose for living, as a child of God, is to be (Matthew 28:19-20), making disciples, identifying them with Christ in baptism, and teaching them to obey everything that is written in the Word of God about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, knowing that Jesus will never leave or forsake those who believe in Him (Romans 8:38-39), “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.”

God’s desire is for anyone, for everyone, to have a personal and eternal relationship with Him; therefore, God’s expressed will for everyone is to be saved (repenting of sin, believing in Jesus Christ’s death as full payment for our sins).

1Timothy 2:3-4, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

2Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

      Read Matthew 12:46-50…  To further illustrate the priority and the need for a person to come to God the Father by faith in God the Son, not through heritage, religious ritual, moral behavior, or good deeds, this great passage records Jesus’ mother and brothers and sisters coming to speak with Him on a certain occasion.

It would seem that Joseph (Jesus’ legal father) was dead, and Jesus family was made up of His mother, His brothers and His sisters (Matthew 12:50), “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother,” (cf. Mark 6:3), “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?”

Most likely Jesus’ family members were there to persuade Him to stop speaking against the Pharisees, and to go away to a safe place for a time, until things cooled down and He was no longer a target of the Religious Leaders.

But Jesus used this opportunity to teach a marvelous truth; anyone can come into an intimate relationship with God by simply hearing and obeying God’s Word.

Even Jesus’ mother, brothers and sisters had to repent and believe in Him to be saved (Acts 2:21; Acts 4:12); everyone who believes in Him will be included in God’s family, because believing in Jesus as Savior and Lord is exactly what the Bible says we must do: John 6:29, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One [the Father] has sent.” (John 6:40) “For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life,” (John 8:24) “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the One I claim to be,” (John 10:30), “I and the Father are One.” (John 14:6-7), “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him,” (John:20), “you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.”

God has given us everything we need to enjoy this life, to know Him, and to serve Him here on earth, while trusting Him to bring us to heaven for eternity.

Animal sacrifices, religious rituals, attempts at moral living, Jewish heritage, and/or doing good works, cannot provide forgiveness for sin and eternal life; we must seek forgiveness for our sins, trusting in Jesus Christ to save us, and to bring us into an intimate and eternal relationship with the Father, made effectual by the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit living in us, providing for and protecting us as we serve the God of Creation, the Sustainer, Ruler and Judge over all.

      Have you heard and believed the Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ, God’s Son?  If not, why not!  The Truth is, Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures; He then appeared to hundreds of His followers over a period of 40 days, after which He Ascended into heaven, from where He will return to get those who belong to Him.

John 14:1-3, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 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.”

What do you need to do to make sure you are going to heaven?

Romans 10:9-10, “Confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, [and] you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he [or she] confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Romans 10:13, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved”

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.”

Two weeks ago I taught from Ephesians 4:1-6, where Paul writes, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

Unity is God’s Standard for the Church, that we live in Unity with one another!

In John 17, praying to the Father, Jesus said 17-18, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” 20-26, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one…, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

 
Benediction
2Corinthians 13:14, “[May] the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

 
Pastor Mike Hale
 

Bible Text: Luke 11:24-26 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke |

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May 19, 2024
“Is God’s Spirit in You?”
Luke 11:24-26
      Read Luke 11:24-26…  We live in a time when a social gospel is being preached and promoted from many pulpits, a pseudo gospel that seems to bypass mankind’s need to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Instead, this false gospel attempts to make the focus about doing the right thing according to the popular psychologists, moralists, environmentalists, educationalists, and other social-cultural gurus and architects of the day.

1Timothy 4:1-8, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

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.”

There is more and more pressure in our world today to be on the so-called right side of what is considered popular, trendsetting, progressive; and yet, the polarizing positions of opposing beliefs remain constant, more deep seated, and farther apart, e.g., pro-life vs abortion, closing our border vs leaving it wide open, green energy vs coal and natural gas, vaccine vs no vaccine, electric cars vs gas vehicles, two genders: male and female vs LGBTQQIP2SAA+.

We should expect the godless world around us to act this way, because they are following “deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,” and have been taken “captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world,” but when this starts showing up in the church, like a cancer that begins to spread through the whole body, it must be diagnosed, treated, and/or removed.

The church is to proclaim that reconciliation between sinful humanity and the holy God of creation, has come through Jesus Christ, (2Corinthians 5:17-20), “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.”

Jesus said (Matthew 28:19-20), “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.”

We aren’t here to make moral converts or look for those who stand up for the right social pr political cause.  We are commanded to expose people to Christ in us, and to what God’s Word says about Him, so they can believe in Him for salvation and receive the Holy Spirit of God.

Ephesians 1:13, “In [Christ], 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.”

Romans 8:9, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

1Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

Only when we have been cleansed of our sins and indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God, will we be able to live in a manner that is pleasing to God.

1John 1:8-10, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

The sin that damns a soul to hell, is to reject God’s Son.  Jesus said (John 16:8), “When [the Holy Spirit] comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me.”

See again Luke 11:24-25…  Jesus is talking about an unclean, demon spirit, at some point it left its host, although we don’t know why or how this happened.  It may be that Jesus commanded the demon to come out, or it may be that the man did away with certain forms of sin, so that the demon no longer controlled him.

This demon went through waterless [arid or desert) places seeking rest, but didn’t find it. Demons like to indwell humans, but if that isn’t available, an animal will do (Matthew 8:29-32), “’What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?’ Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. The demons began to entreat Him, saying, ‘If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.’ And He said to them, ‘Go!’ And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.”

Satan and his demons seek to destroy the work of God; and the best place to do that is inside of a human being, who has been made in the image of God, but has not yet believed in Jesus Christ for salvation, i.e., an unbeliever.

This demon decides (verse  24) “to return to [the] house from which [he] came,” but the demon finds (verse 25) that the man he had originally indwelled has now been “swept and put in order”.

In Matthew’s narrative of this same event (Matthew 12:44), it says the demon returns and finds the man “unoccupied, swept, and put in order”.  This seems to indicate that there is no demon in the man, he is empty of any spirit; God’s Spirit is not in him, the man is empty, he is an unbeliever.

When Jesus casts out demons or heals people of their diseases, if the exorcism or healing doesn’t accompany saving faith in Jesus, the individual remains dead in sin, unoccupied and void of God’s Spirit.

But there were those who were healed of their illness and at the same time forgiven their sins; they were granted both physical and spiritual healing because they had faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.

See Luke 5:17-25, A paralytic healed and forgiven.

See Luke 8:43-48, A woman with 12 years of bleeding healed and forgiven.

Forgiveness comes when you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; at the moment of genuine belief, God’s Spirit takes up residence in us and marks us as God’s possession.

The question is, do you have God’s Spirit in you?

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?”

The context of Luke’s narrative seems to imply that the life of the man from whom the demon departed has been (Luke 11:25), “swept and put in order.”   Perhaps the man has given up certain sins and is working hard at doing good deeds, making new resolutions, re-organizing his priorities, but none of that is enough to make him “good,” for no one is good or acceptable to God in anything they might acquire or accomplish in their human nature.

Psalm 14:1-3, “They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;
There is no one who does good. The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

In Mark 10:18 Jesus said, “No one is good except God alone.”  Jesus at His birth was called Immanuel [God with us; God in the flesh].  Jesus said (John 10:30) “I and the Father are one,” (John 14:7), “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him,” (Colossians 1:15) says, “[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God,” (Colossians 2:9) explains, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”

In Hebrews 1:1-3 we are told that, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He [God’s Son, Jesus Christ] is the radiance [revelation] of [God’s] glory and the exact representation [exact image] of [God’s] nature.”

Look, no one is good according to their own merit, we are all sinners in need of forgiveness; we have no hope apart from Christ’s sacrificial death that paid our sin debt to God, and His sovereign resurrection from the dead that demonstrated and made effectual eternal life.

God’s Son, Jesus Christ, is both Lord and Savior; He came to save us from the penalty of SIN and grant us eternal life (cf. (cf. Romans 3:10-12, 23-24; 6:23; 8:1; 10:9-10, 13; 1Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans; Acts 4:12; John 14:6).

See again Luke 11:26…  The demon returns to its host who thought his moralism, perhaps his religious practice, or his social philanthropy made him good and therefore safe; but this demon brings seven other demons more vile than itself to indwell this man, and his condition is now much worse than it was previously.

Apart from the saving work of Christ’s death and resurrection, you remain a captive of the Devil, God’s arch enemy, for whom God made hell (Matthew 25:41), “the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”

The devil wants to bring as many people as he can to hell with him, for eternity.  Man’s moralism through social activism, religious activity, or philanthropic works, can blind a person to their real need, because they may see themselves as ‘good,’ they may even be recognized by others as such; but that is Satan’s ploy, to blind unbelievers, all those who are unoccupied by God’s Spirit, to keep them captive (2Corinthians 4:4), “The god of this world [Satan] 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.”

No one is acceptable to God apart from the forgiveness for their sins, that only Jesus Christ, God’s Son: crucified, resurrected and coming again, can provide.

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.”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><
 

Bible Text: Ephesians 4:1-6 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above is the link to the audio and YouTube recordings.

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May 12, 2024
“Walking In Unity”
Ephesians 4:1-6
 

Read Ephesians 4:1-6…  Paul urges us (Ephesians 4:1), to walk [live our life] in a manner worthy of the calling [as Christians, sons and daughters of God the Father through faith in God the Son] we have received.

When you believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, you become a Christian, a citizen of God’s kingdom and a member of God’s family.  God expects Christians to serve Him in the Body of Christ, the Church, as we are conformed to the character of Christ.

Our spiritual birth into God’s family occurs when we believe in and receive Jesus Christ as Savior, confessing Him as Lord (see John 1:12-13; Romans 10:9-10, 13).  This birth takes place in our inner being, our eternal spiritual self where we become God’s child, born again by the Spirit of God, into the Family of God.

We cannot apply to our life what we do not know; we cannot live a life pleasing to God without knowing what God wants us to do, and then trying to do it, as we are (Romans 12:2), “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind, so that [we] may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” 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.”

Is serving God easy? No! But we have all that we need (Philippians 4:12-13), “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” 19, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Paul exhorts us to live as God’s children, serving God on earth while bringing glory to God in heaven.  Yes, God is sovereign, but we have free will, and we can choose to obey or disobey, to honor or dishonor.

I am convinced that many Christians believe ignorance is bliss, and they would rather not know all they have been given in Christ if it means that they are expected to actually apply these things to their life.

As Christians, our calling is secure, our calling is eternal, our calling is from God; if you belong to God the Father through God the Son, made effectual through God the Holy Spirit, you have been given everything you need to know God, trust God, and serve God.

We are to walk worthy of the forgiveness and eternal life that we have received, to live in a manner that brings glory and honor to the Father and the Son, through the indwelling Spirit of God, Who serves to strengthen and grow the Body of Christ [the Church, the Fellowship of Believers] — so that we might live as His witnesses, proclaiming through our actions and our words, the message of salvation by grace, through faith, in Christ, to everyone who will listen; and we are to do this (Ephesians 4:2-3), “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

The phrase “with all humility” is a compound Greek word meaning, “to think or judge with lowliness,” i.e., to live in a manner that expresses complete humility.

Humility is to be exemplified in our lives, although the world we live in exalts pride, arrogance, and boasting (2Timothy 3:1-4), “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.”

No one can please God without humility.  We must see ourselves in relationship to and in comparison with the Holy God of Creation, for He is the standard by which everyone will be judged.

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.”

Philippians 2:3-11, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 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. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

True humility forces us to see ourselves as God sees us, as sinners in need of forgiveness through Jesus Christ, leading us to repent and be saved.

1John 1:8-10, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

Scripture never insinuates that gentleness has anything to do with being wimpy or timid; in fact, the Greek word for gentleness was often used of a wild animal, like a powerful horse, that had been trained to be under control.  The animal still had its strength and its spirit, but it yielded its will to its master.

Scripture describes gentleness as power under control, meaning that we willfully place ourselves under God’s authority, in order to live and act in a way that expresses our love for Him, i.e., we are to submit our heart, soul, mind and strength to our Master, the Lord Himself.

The repeated teaching in the Gospels that fulfills all the Law and the Prophets is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ And ‘to love your neighbor as yourself.’

Paul exhorts us (Ephesians 4:2) to be completely humble and gentle, we are commanded to “with patience, show tolerance for one another in love.”  The Greek word here translated patience means, “long-tempered” [long suffering], for it is often through the endurance of trials and suffering, that our character is matured.

True Christian character brings glory and honor to God, especially as we live out humble, gentle, and patient lives, expressing God’s love to those around us, [bearing with] one another in love (relating to one another out of Christian love [agapao, this is a verb meaning willful, sacrificial, doing the right thing at the right time for the right reason, even if it costs us, even if we have to suffer].

Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” 17, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” 23-24, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

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

See again Ephesians 4:3, we are to be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  Unity is not something added to our fellowship, it is the standard by which God’s presence and power is displayed in our individual lives, and in our corporate fellowship in God’s Church.

True Christian unity cannot be created by an individual, or mandated by the church, it is empowered and made effectual by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

Those who belong to Christ are part of one body of believers; we are members of the same spiritual body, the church.  We are not independent of the other parts of this body, and as members we should promote and preserve unity by not allowing our own feelings and wants to be preeminent.  We must allow the Word of God, by the Holy Spirit’s presence, to rule our hearts and minds, our words and deeds, through the bond of peace. Colossians 3:15-16, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.  Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.”

Everything that relates to salvation, the church, and the kingdom of God, is based on the concept of unity.

Read Ephesians 4:4-6…  There is only (verse 4) one body of believers; composed of every person who has or will ever trust in Christ as Savior and Lord (1Corinthians 12:12-13), “ For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” 27, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”

There is no disqualifying attribute among brothers and sisters in Christ, i.e., ethnicity, gender, education, occupation, no matter if your are a Gentile or a Jew, male or female, employee or employer, there is only one body of believers.

There is only (verse 4) one Spirit, the Holy Spirit who lives in every believer, He is the unifying force in the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:13-14), “In [Christ], 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.”

When believers walk in obedience to God’s Word, in the power of the Holy Spirit, our beliefs and behaviors will be purified as we are unified in the one hope of our calling, to be like Christ.

We have different gifts, attributes, and service (1Corinthians 12:4-7), “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

See again Ephesians 4:5…  There is only one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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.”  Jesus’ name means Savior.

There is only one faith in true Christianity, and this faith is based upon the body of doctrine revealed in the New Testament, expressing the very character of God and the principles and precepts by which we are to live out our lives in order to bring glory to Him (Hebrews 11:1-3), “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” 6, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

There is only one baptism among believers, spiritual baptism, placing us into the Body of Christ by God’s Spirit (1Corinthians 12:13), “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”                                                              It is true that Christians identify with Christ through water baptism, for this is the means by which a believer publicly confesses Jesus as Savior and Lord; but water baptism doesn’t save us, it is a testimony of identification with and unity in Jesus Christ.

See again Ephesians 4:6, “There is One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”  God’s oneness is foundational to Christianity (Deuteronomy 6:4), “The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” 1Corinthians 8:6, “for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.”

Christians are one body of people, unified by one Spirit, in one hope, under one Lord, with one faith, one baptism, and One God who is over all, and through all, and in all.

If you have never asked God to save you, repenting of your sins and believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, why haven’t you?

You are either a saved sinner or an unsaved sinner.  What reason could you possibly have to continue rejecting God’s forgiveness for your sins (past, present, and future)?  And why would you not want to receive the gift of eternal life that is given to all who believe in God’s Son?

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.”

Benediction

2Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God [the Father], and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

 
Pastor Mike Hale
 

Bible Text: Luke 11:14-23 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the link to YouTube or audio recordings.

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May 5, 2024
“With Him or Against Him? ”
     

     Read Luke 11:14-16…  Jesus casts out a demon, and those who continue to oppose Him use this as an opportunity to challenge His authority for doing miracles.

During the Lord’s ministry it was fairly common for demons to indwell people.

Luke 4:33-35, “In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet and come out of him!’ And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm.” 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.”

Luke 9:37-39, “On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, ‘Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy, and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth.” 41-42, “‘Bring your son here.’ While he was still approaching, the demon slammed [the boy] to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.”

When Jesus sent out the Twelve (Luke 9:1), “He gave them power and authority over all demons and to heal diseases,” and the seventy, completing their mission (Luke 10:17), “returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’”

In Luke 11:14 a demon made a man mute, but after being cast out, the man spoke and people who witnessed it we’re amazed (Mark 1:27), “They were all amazed, [and] debated among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.’”

See Luke 11:15, although the crowds were amazed, some alleged that Jesus was doing this by the power of Beelzebub, the ruler of demons!

Matthew 9:32-34, “A mute, demon-possessed man was brought to [Jesus]. After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’ But the Pharisees were saying, ‘He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons [Beelzebub].’”

It was impossible for these enemies of God, the religious rulers of Israel, to deny that Jesus was doing miracles, for many witnessed them; so instead, they alleged that Jesus was doing this by the power of the Satan.  Beelzebub means “lord of flies,” and was a Jewish name for the ruler of demons, Satan himself.

So in Luke 11:15 some in the crowd are attributing Jesus’ power and ministry to Satan, others (verse 16) are asking for another sign, a miracle that will attest to Him genuinely being the Son of God.  Jesus doesn’t offer another sign, for He has already given conclusive evidence that He is the Messiah, Immanuel; He has healed every kind of disease, illness, blindness, the mute, the deaf, even raising the dead.  Jesus won’t offer more signs to the enemies of the gospel, for they have hardened their hearts toward Him (see John 10:22-42).

     Read Luke 11:17-19…  Jesus’ authority and the origin of His power has been challenged; Jesus, being omniscient, knew their thoughts (Luke 5:22), “Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, ‘Why are you reasoning in your hearts?’” Luke 6:8, “He knew what they were thinking.”

Jesus’ states in Luke 11 that if a kingdom or family fights against itself [is divided] it won’t succeed.

Look at Luke 11:18, “If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.”

How ridiculous to say that Satan empowers Jesus to cast out demons.  Why in the world would Satan do that, even if he could, which he can’t, because he is only a creation of God, not God himself; but Jesus is God, and therefore omnipotent, and even though the demons know He is God, they are shaking in fear of what is yet to come, when they are sent to the deepest hell.

James 2:19 says, “You believe that [there is only one] God. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”  Why do they shudder?  I’m glad you asked (Matthew 25:41), “Then He will say, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Satan and his minions often disguise themselves as workers of righteousness, as Paul writes (2Corinthians 11:14-15), “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.”

1John 3:7-8, “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

What is the greatest work of the devil?

2Corinthians 4:3-6, “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.”

Satan wants to keep people from hearing and believing the message of Salvation through Christ.  Satan “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.”

1John 1:9-10, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

For a person to die in a state of being guilty for sin, apart from the saving grace of God (which is made effectual by believing in God’s Son, Jesus Christ), is to die and be condemned to an eternal hell with Satan and all his demons. Yikes!

Look at Luke 11:19 again, “And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges.”  Wow!  The word “sons” here, is no doubt referring to the rabbis, scribes, Pharisees, and Chief Priests of Judaism, who appeared, so it was thought, to be casting out demons.

See Acts 19:11-17…  God was performing mighty works through Paul in Ephesus: handkerchiefs [headbands] and aprons used by Paul in his tent making labors were taken to the sick who were then healed, and to the demon possessed, forcing the evil spirits to leave them.  These miracles were given to convince the people in Ephesus that Paul was sent from God, so that they would listen to and believe his message about Christ, and be saved.

There were some so-called Jewish exorcists who weren’t having any luck casting out demons by their own or maybe their father Sheva’s name, or their list of other incantations, so they thought they would try out, “in the name of the Lord Jesus, whom Paul preaches, come out!”  But the evil spirit in the man said, “I know Jesus and I know Paul, but who in the heck are you guys.”

The demon only submitted to the authority of Jesus and those like Paul, who had been granted this authority; but the sons of Sceva, didn’t belong to God, therefore they had no authority to cast out demons.  The demoniac jumped on all seven of these guys, beat them up, tore their clothes off and sent them running out of the house, naked and wounded.

Read Luke 11:20…  Jesus says that He cast out demons by the finger of God, and that He is from the kingdom of God, in fact, He is God!  This is awesome!

The phrase used by Jesus, “the finger of God,” goes back to the time when Israel was captive in Egypt and God, sent Moses and Aaron to do miracles, in order to force Pharaoh to free the Hebrews. The Egyptian magicians were able to do several of the same miracles, but when Moses struck the dust and it became gnats covering the land, Pharaoh’s magicians couldn’t duplicate it said to Pharaoh (Exodus 8:19), “This is the finger of God,” i.e., this is by their God’s power.  Also, when Moses was on the Mount Sinai (Exodus 31:18), God “gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone (10 Commandments), written by the finger of God.”

Jesus is the Messiah, sent from heaven by God, to save us; He should be worshipped, not ridiculed; but those who reject Him and His authority, commit the severest form of blasphemy, remaining dead in their sins and separated from life with God.

John 8:44-47, “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He 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. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

Read Luke 11:21-22…  Jesus presents an analogy affirming that He is from God, and He has come to do God’s Will.  Satan is referenced here as a [Lit. the] “strong man,” who is “fully armed,” and is guarding “his own house”

Satan is not going to allow anyone who is less powerful than he (like the son’s of Sceva), to break into his house (or enter his kingdom) and take any of his possessions (the souls of those who are possessed by his demons).

But someone stronger (God’s Son) overpowered Satan, defeating all his armor, and has taken back that which belongs to God (a believing soul will not be lost).

John 13:2, “During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him,” 18, “I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me,’” [Psalm 41:9, “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against Me.’”

John 13:22-27, “When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.’ The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. There was reclining on Jesus’ chest one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, ‘Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.’ He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ chest, said, ‘Lord, who is it?’ Jesus then answered, “The one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, ‘What you do, do quickly.’” 30, “So after receiving the morsel [Judas] went out immediately; and it was night.”

John 17:12, “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”

John 18:1-3, “ When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.” 7-9, “Jesus said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’ And they said, ‘Jesus the Nazarene.’ He answered, ‘I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,’ to fulfill the word which He spoke, ‘Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.’”

Jesus came healing the sick and rescuing souls from the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13-14), “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins,” (Acts 2:21), “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [for the forgiveness of sin] 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.”

1John 3:8, “The devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

Hebrews 2:14, “Through death He [Jesus Christ] rendered powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

Read Luke 11:23…  You either believe in Christ, or you reject Him; you either serve the cause of Christ, or you hinder it; you either share the message of Christ, or you suppress it.  The reality is no one is neutral when it comes to Jesus Christ.

And just so we are clear, I’m speaking of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior, Crucified, Resurrected, and Coming Back to take all those who believe in Him, to be with Him, in heaven, forever.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord for the forgiveness of sin will be saved.  Just in case you missed it, His name is Jesus [God’s Salvation] and He turns no one away!  He is the only way to God, and the only truth from God, and the only life with God; there is absolutely no other way to be saved and to go to heaven.

Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><
 

Bible Text: Luke 11:11-13 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the links to YouTube and audio recordings.

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April 28, 2024
“Snakes, Scorpions or SPIRIT?”
    

Read Luke 11:11-13….  Fathers are to care for their children. If your son is asking for food, would you give him something that could hurt him?  Of course not!

Jesus said something similar (Matthew 7:9), “What man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf [of bread], will give him a stone?”  That’s the principle Jesus is teaching in Luke 11, that a man takes care of his children, i.e., when his children come to him with needs, he seeks to provide for them.

This is clearly not about snakes verses fish, or scorpions verses eggs.  So what is Jesus getting at?  Look again at verse 13, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Jesus has been teaching His followers, in Luke 11, that they can pray at any time, anywhere, no matter how simple or complicated their needs might be.  We are taught (cf. Luke 11:1-4) how to pray in accordance with what is pleasing to God; and (Luke 11:5-10) that we should be persistent in bringing our needs to God the Father, for He desires to provide for us what we require.

In Luke 11:11-13, Jesus teaches us that even sinful humanity, i.e., earthly fathers, give their children what they need; and so how much more will God the Father, who is not evil but in fact is holy, provide perfectly and completely for His children, all true believers and followers of Jesus Christ.

If you are a Christian, a born-again son or daughter of Almighty God, who is holy and righteous, you have been justified through the death and resurrection of God’s Son (Romans 3:10-12, 23-24; 5:8; 6:23; 8:1; 10:9-10, 13).

2Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 21, “He [God the Father] made Him [God the Son] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

When a Christian prays to God, asking for his or her needs to be met, Luke 11:13 says God gives them the Holy Spirit.  This is very interesting, because in a parallel passage (Matthew 7:11), we read, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

The most awesome gift God can give us and magnify in us, is the Holy Spirit, also called the Comforter, the Helper, the Teacher, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of Power, the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Christ.

When you go to God in prayer He reminds you that He has provided you with the Holy Spirit, the Giver and the Source of all of God’s Gifts!

God’s children are indwelled by and filled with the Spirit of God, through Whom, we have received, “The fruit of the [Holy] Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23), “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

When you become a child of God, you are given everything you need, i.e., God places in you the source of every good thing, as Paul says (1Corinthians 6:19-20) “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

At spiritual birth, God puts His Spirit in us, the Giver and Source of all good things. The Holy Spirit, God the Spirit, is the third member of the God-Head, and He marks us as God’s possession (Ephesians 1:13-14), “In [Christ], 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.”

God fills us with His Spirit, then He places us in the Body of Christ, His Church (1Corinthians 12:12-14), “Even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” 18, “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired,” 20, “There are many members, but one body,” 27, “You are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”

Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

“According to the power that works within us” (Ephesians 3:20), is speaking of the Holy Spirit (Romans 1:1), “Christ Jesus,” 4, “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness.”

Let’s talk about the The Trinity, the Triunity of God, for a moment.  God’s Word is very clear that there is but one living and true God (see Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5-7; 1Corinthians 8:4), eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.  Each Person is equally deserving of honor and worship, for each Member of the God-Head is eternal, and equal in essence, power, and glory.

No wonder Paul ends the Book of 2Corinthians with this verse (13:14), “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God [the Father], and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”

The Divine Title of God is applied to the three persons of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (see Exodus 20:2; John 20:28; Acts 5:3-4).

The Doctrine of the Triunity of God is comprehensively taught in Scripture (see Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; Romans 8:9; 1Corinthians 12:3-6; 2Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6; 1Peter 1:2; Jude 1:20-21).

Each Person of the Trinity is described as: Eternal (Romans 16:26; Revelation 22:13; Hebrews 9:14); Holy (Revelation 4:8; 15:4; Acts 3:14; 1John 2:20).

Omnipresent (Jeremiah 23:24; Ephesians 1:23; Psalms 139:7); Omnipotent (Genesis 17:1; Revelation 1:8; Romans 15:19; Jeremiah 32:17; Hebrews 1:3; Luke 1:35); Omniscient (Acts 15:18; John 21:17; 1Corinthians 2:10-11).        Each Person of the Trinity is described as: Creator (Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16; Job 26:14; 33:4; Psalms 148:5; John 1:3); Sanctifier (Jude 1:1; Hebrews 2:11; 1Peter 1:2); Source of eternal life (Romans 6:23; John 10:28; Galatians 6:8); Teacher (Isaiah 48:17; 54:13; Luke 21:15; John 14:26; Galatians 1:12; 1John 2:20).

Salvation is the work of each Person of the Trinity (see 2Thessalonians 2:13-14; Titus 3:4-6; 1Peter 1:2), and Baptism is administered in the name of each Person of the Trinity (see Matthew 28:19).

God puts His Spirit in us to empower, equip, and encourage us, to do the works of God (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.”

Two months ago we studied the teaching of Jesus in Luke 11:1-4, where we are taught how to pray, who to pray to, and what to pray for?  Last week we studied the teaching of Jesus in Luke 11:5-8, where Jesus gives us a parable about coming to God in prayer for what we need, and being persistent in our prayers to God, as Paul writes (1Thessalonians 5:17), “pray without ceasing!”

In Luke 11:9-10, Jesus reiterates a very important truth about prayer, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”

God wants intimate relationship with His children, we can talk with Him anytime, anywhere, and we can ask Him for anything that aligns with His will, anything that is pleasing to Him, and He will provide it.

We are told to pray to the Father, through (or in the name of) the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit; for all three are active participants in the prayers of Christians.

    Jesus said (Matthew 6:9), “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.’”

    Jesus said (John 16:23), “Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.”

    Stephen, while being stoned to death (Acts 7:59) prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60, “Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!’ Having said this, he [died].”

    Paul says (Ephesians 5:20) we are to be “always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father,” (1Thessalonians 5:16-18), “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:26, “We do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

Jude 21, “Praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God.”

Prayer is, at its very core, worship. We praise God for Who He is: Creator, Sustainer, Lord, Savior, Judge over all.  When we offer up prayers of thanksgiving, we are worshiping His goodness, mercy, and faithfulness to us, for God is Love.

Worship gives glory to God, and He (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is the only One who deserves worship, for He alone is to be praised, He alone is to receive glory.

Revelation 4:11, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

Revelation 5:12-13, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”

Revelation 7:12, “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

We are to pray to the Father, through (or in the name of) the Son, Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.  To pray in someone’s name means to pray for what they would want, to pray for what would please them.

We are to pray all the time, everywhere, for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, thankful for God’s provision of our daily needs, for God’s Spirit to guide us into all truth and to strengthen us, so we will live in a manner that honors God, as we reach out with the Message of Salvation to the lost, while edifying and encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ, as we serve together in the Church, the Body of Christ, the Family of God.

2Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God [the

Father], and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 11:5-13 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the link to YouTube and audio recordings.

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April 21, 2024
“God Loves to Hear and Answer Our Prayers”
     Luke 11:5-13
 

It has been two months since I taught from Luke, therefore we need a short refresher from where I left off.

Please turn to Luke 11:1-4.  This is a shortened version of what Jesus taught several years earlier, at the beginning of His ministry.  He teaches us how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13), “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]”

Jesus teaches His followers to focus on God as Father, Creator, Sustainer, Savior and Judge over all.  Prayer is between God the Father and His children, for although God is the Creator of all He is the Father only of those who are born-again by God’s Spirit, in response to believing in God’s Son for salvation.

      God’s children (Christians) are to pray for God’s kingdom to come. How does God’s kingdom come?  Every time a person repents of their sin and believes in Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God expands; and so we pray for people to be saved, we tell them about Jesus Christ.

God desires intimate relationship with His children through His Word, His Spirit, and through prayerful and unceasing communion with Him.

God is a loving Father who provides for us not weekly or monthly, but “daily,” for He wants to hear from us every day.

As Christians, we have received God’s unconditional love and forgiveness for all our sin through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross; therefore we ought to love others and forgive them for any offenses they have committed against us.

We are told to pray for God’s wisdom and strength so that, wherever we go, whatever we do, we will not give in and do that which is sinful.  We need God’s help to avoid the influence of world, the devil, and our own flesh, and so we confess our need for God’s protection and deliverance from sin.

We must recognize and acknowledge that God has granted us everything we need for life on earth and life in heaven, we are given everything we need to know Him, love Him, serve Him, trust Him, and proclaim Him to those who will listen.

2Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof [rebuke], for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Romans 12:2, “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.”

2Peter 1:3-4, “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. 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 are to pray to God joyfully, continually, and thankfully (1Thessalonians 5:16-18), “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Please turn to Luke 11:5–13…  So, in Luke 11:1-4 Jesus teaches us who to pray to, how to pray, and what to pray for; in today’s text (Luke 11:5-13), Jesus teaches us how much the Father loves to hear from us and to answer our prayers.

      What starts out as a parable about persistent prayer, ends up being a rather confusing story about fathers who thankfully give their children fish rather than snakes, and eggs rather than scorpions, or is there something else more important?

Prayer is the means by which God’s infinite wisdom, unconditional love, sovereign power, and eternal purpose are brought together to accomplish His will.  And so, we are to pray to (Matthew 6:9-13), “Our Father who is in heaven,” our Father who is Holy and Loving and Faithful and desiring to save sinners like you and me, and to bring us to heaven to be with Him for eternity; for that is what He wants (cf. 1Timothy 2:3-4), “God our Savior, desires all men [women and children, all of humanity] to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” Jesus says (John 14:6), “[He is] the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through [Him].”

We are to read God’s Word and talk to Him through prayer, we are His children and He cares for us.  We are to pray for our daily provisions, and be thankful for the forgiveness that comes through Jesus Christ the Lord.

We are to be forgiving people, not holding offenses against others, but instead forgiving them when they sin against us, because we have been forgiven all our sins (past, present, future) through the once for all, for all time, sacrificial death and sovereign resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who is both Judge and Savior.

Read Luke 11:5-8…  God wants us to come to Him with our needs, He is a loving Father who provides for His children (Hebrews 4:16), “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in Luke 11:1-4, and now He tells them a story, in verses 5-8, about one neighbor going to another neighbor to borrow some bread for an unexpected traveler who has arrived in the middle of the night.

These neighbors are friends, and it was not uncommon for neighbors to borrow from one another, as most likely they didn’t have markets or convenience or hardware stores near by, so when they needed something immediately that they didn’t have, they would ask a neighbor, with the intentions of returning it when they were finished using it, or if it was food like in Jesus’ story they would pay back the three loaves the next time they baked bread.

Jesus now makes it personal saying, “Suppose one of you has a neighbor and goes to him at midnight to borrow bread,” because a friend of yours has arrived in the middle of the night after making a long journey; he is hungry, but you have nothing to give him, so you go to your neighbor’s house to try and get some food.

Perhaps you call to your neighbor from outside his door, asking if you can barrow three loaves of bread [flatbread, like large thick tortillas].

Normally a family would make enough bread for the day (keeping flour, oil and salt on hand).  We aren’t told why your neighbor would have extra loaves of bread, but it is clear from the rest of the story that he does have extra loaves and he finally gives you what you are asking for, even though it is inconvenient. Your neighbor and his children, and no doubt his wife, were in bed, probably asleep for hours, because it is midnight.

The houses in Israel were normally one large room, with a small cooking and kitchen area, and an open area where a large mat would be placed as a bed, and commonly the children slept with their parents.

So in this parable, you go to your neighbor and begin calling to him from outside his door, “hey John, its Mike, sorry to wake you, but I need some bread for a friend who has arrived unexpectedly, I know it is very late, but he is hungry, and even if I could get to a store, it would be closed.  Can you help me out?”

John says he is not getting up, that door is already shut and the kids are asleep.  The doors were made out of wood and metal and were heavy, and commonly were secured to the wall structure using large iron rings and rods.

John tells me to go away, quit bothering him, but I persist because my visitor hasn’t eaton for many hours, is hungry, and I have nothing to give him.  I remain persistent in asking John for help until he finally gets up, opens the door, and gives you bread.

As a side note: most Hebrews didn’t keep much food on hand, as they didn’t have fridges or other means of keeping foods from spoiling.

Also, it is important to understand that hospitality was expected among the Jewish people, for it was a big part of their social duty and cultural practice, but also part of their religious duty (Luke 10:27), “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.”  Be a Good neighbor!

Read Luke 11:9-10…. Clearly this parable is teaching us about prayer, about being resolute and persistent in our prayer life.  We are to ask, seek, and knock!

If you are a Believer and Follower of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, then God is your Father and you can pray to Him, anytime, anyplace, in any situation. God wants you to talk with Him all the time, and you do that through prayer.

God never sleeps, you don’t have to worry about waking Him up from a nap to hear your prayers (Psalm 121:1-4), “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Why does Jesus say we must ask, seek, find, because (Luke 11:10), “everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”  God wants us to come to Him continually and with expectation.

Can you pray for anything and expect to receive it?  No!  We read in James 4:2-3, “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives.”

Can you pray in Christ’s Name, according to God’s Will and expect to receive it? Yes!  We read earlier, in Matthew 6:9-13, that we are to pray according to God’s Holy Name, and for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

John 14:12-14, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
 
John 15:7, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” 16, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”

To pray in Christ’s name, is to pray as God Himself would pray, for things that God is pleased to provide for His children.

Read Luke 11:11-13…. For the most part, fathers care for their children. Some of the disciples Jesus is talking to are fathers, so Jesus says, “suppose one of your sons is hungry and he asks you for a fish. Would you give him a snake instead of a fish?  Your son is asking for food, would you give him something that could kill him, like a poisonous snake?  Of course not!

Jesus then says, “If your son asks for an egg, would you give him a scorpion?” What a strange question, of course you wouldn’t do that to your child!

But you know, your going to have to come back next week in order to find out why Jesus posed these weird analogies about snakes and scorpions, and what, if anything, they have to do with prayer!

 
Pastor Mike Hale
>’(((><

Bible Text: Isaiah 40:27-31 | Speaker: Jake Presley | Above are the links to YouTube and the audio recordings

Links from Our Website:
 
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April 14, 2024
“How Great Is Our God ”
    

Three truths about God’s greatness: 

_________________ we are  ________________ ( Isaiah 40:27 )

_________________ God is ( Isaiah 40:28 )

_______________ God  ________________ ( Isaiah 40:29-31 )

Jake Presley

For the week of April 14, 2024

(Questions and Scriptures for further study)

How good are you at waiting?

Would you say that your ability to wait is getting better or worse?

What makes waiting so hard?

Does it make it any easier when you are waiting for God?

Consider how waiting implies “longing for God.”

Read Psalm 62:1.

David is in distress. David has some industrial-strength problems, and he’s saying, “O God, I need You. You are my hope, my salvation.” Do you believe that, or do you believe that you are your salvation?

Do you long for God to do a great work in your life or do you long for a solution?

What is the difference?

Consider how waiting implies “listening to God.”

Read Proverbs 8:34.

He’s there at the gate when the Lord comes out, like a servant.

The reason that many of us are stressed is we’re doing things God’s never assigned us to do. And the reason we’re doing things God never assigned us to do is we haven’t been listening to God. We have not been waiting upon the Lord.

Do you have a daily quiet time?

Do you have a time when you listen?

Do you “report for duty,” or are you doing things that you’ve assigned yourself, or others have assigned you, but you’re not doing what God wants you to do?

Consider how waiting implies “looking to the Lord.”

Read Psalm 104:27.

The little animals, they look to the Lord by instinct. They all wait upon God.

Do you look to the Lord?

Do you look to the Lord first for your source of supply?

What does that look like in your life?

Consider how waiting implies “living for the Lord.”

Read Proverbs 27:18.

Now what does it mean to wait on your master?

It means to serve him. Do you live to serve the LORD or self?

Again, what does or should that look like?

Read Isaiah 40:27-28.

What situation were the people facing?

How did they get in that situation?

Were they just in their complaint against God?

Read Isaiah 40:28.

What does God reveal about himself in this passage?

How does that relate to their situation?

Sometimes we feel far from God. In those situations, who moved?

Should we rely on our feelings?

What do we need to know about God in times that we feel distant?

Read Isaiah 40:29:-31.

What are some things that make you tired?

What makes you spiritually tired?

How does God renew our strength?

Can you share a time when God has taken you from fainting to soaring?

What personal needs has the Holy Spirit exposed during this study?

How can we pray with you about those needs?

Consider memorizing Isaiah 40:28.

Jake Presley