Bible Text: Luke 10:1-16 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale |
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November 12th, 2023
“Seventy Sent Out: Part Two”

Luke 10:1-16
 

       Last week we began a study in Luke 10:1-2, where we find Jesus sending out 70 true believers and followers ahead of Him, that they might go into the villages and towns where Jesus will visit, in order to prepare the way for Him, to proclaim the message of salvation through Jesus Christ the Lord.

We saw this before, when Jesus sent out the Twelve. Luke 9:1-2, “and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.”

Their God-given authority to heal diseases and cast out demons marked them as having come from God with God’s authority, to proclaim the message of the gospel, first given by Jesus at the beginning of His ministry.

Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”  Then He said to Simon and Andrew (17-20).”’Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and [followed] Him.”

What a drastic difference in response we see in those first four believers and followers of Christ (Simon, Andrew James, and John), in comparison to the three “tentative” disciples we studied about last week in Luke 9:57-61, where one declared, “I will follow yYou wherever You go,” another said, “Lord let me first go and bury my father,” (in reality this man’s father was most likely still alive and well), and still another said, “I will follow You Lord; but first permit me” to go say good bye [to my friends and family]”.

There is no confirmation that any of these three ever returned to follow Jesus.

In Luke 10:1 Jesus sends out the 70 in pairs, saying to them (verses 3-11), “Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’”

Jesus, just months away from the cross in Jerusalem; has compassion for the lost, the unbelieving, and so He sends the 70 ahead of Him to the villages and towns that He will come to, in order to prepare the people so they might believe and receive Him as Savior when He comes.

The 70 sent out are true believers, they belong to the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, along with all those who come to believe in Christ for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life. All those born of God, are equipped to proclaim the truth of God to those who have yet to believe.

Do you remember when we studied the story of the demoniac in the region of the Gerasenes (cf. Mark 5:1-7; Luke 8:26-39) who was indwelled by an unclean spirit that caused the man to live out among the tombs, naked and cutting himself with rocks, screaming uncontrollably?  Jesus freed him from his bondage, and the man was then sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.

When Jesus was getting ready to depart from that region, the man He had healed was begging Jesus to let him come also; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “‘Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.”  This healed demoniac had no knowledge of who Jesus was, but Jesus had healed Him; Jesus now sends the man home to tell his household and those in the city where he lived, what great things God had done for him though Christ.

       Back to Luke 10:3…. These disciples are to “Go!”  They aren’t to wait for unbelievers to come to them, but are to take the message of Christ to the world, “like lambs among wolves.”  The world hates Christ, it also hates those who bring the message of salvation through Christ alone.  Like lambs in a world of wolves, believers must trust in the Shepherd-Savior to protect and provide for them.

The 70 would face persecution, just as the Apostles, as far as we know, were martyred for the sake of Christ, all except John who was thought to have died on the island of Patmos, after receiving the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

See Luke 10:4….  The Lord did not want the 70 to take extra provisions, but instead to trust Him for supplying what they might need; just like Jesus had commanded the Twelve (Luke 9:3), “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece,” (Mark 6:8-9), “He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt— but to wear sandals; and He added, ‘Do not put on two tunics.’”

Clearly the Twelve, when they were sent out, as are the Seventy who are now being sent out, to trust the Lord completely for all of their provisions and protection and even lodging, as they go out to proclaim salvation through Jesus, while also healing all those with illnesses or unclean spirits.

After Jesus sent out the Twelve and then the  Seventy, the first time, He later reminded them of the protection and provision He had provided (Luke 22:35), “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and [extra] sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.”  But then Jesus added (verse 36), “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.”

Notice again in Luke 10:4, “and greet no one on the way.”  What is that about?  There is no explanation given in the text, but we recall that in Luke 10:2, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”

I don’t believe Jesus is telling them not to give a greeting to anyone, but that they are to get to the villages quickly and must not to be deterred.

Back in Luke 10:3, Jesus had told them they were like lambs among wolves, i.e., prey among predators. The majority of people then, as the majority of people now, are not neutral, let alone friendly, toward Christ’s message that they need to repent and believe in Him.  No doubt, some of those along the way may very well be adversaries of the Lord and of those who proclaim His message, so, Jesus is probably saying, get to where you will stay, and proclaim the message from there. There was no need to create opportunities for a confrontation leading to hostility or persecution from unbelievers because of unnecessary interactions with them.

See Luke 10:5-9…  Jesus tells them to seek out a house where they will be accepted and to stay there until they are ready to leave that town or village. In other words, a house that accepts the message of Christ is where they are to camp out for a time; and while there they are to accept the provisions of that house and they are not to keep moving from house to house for a better situation or finer provisions.  But there is more to it then that, Jesus is freeing the Seventy from the jewish dietary laws and customs, so that if they are staying in a Gentile’s home, they should eat and drink what is provided for them; for Jesus had already declared all foods to be clean and acceptable before God.

Mark 7:14-25, “He began saying to them, ‘Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. [If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.’]  When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. And He said to them, ‘Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.). And He was saying, ‘That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.’”

Back to Luke 10:5-9….  Again in verse 6 we read, “If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.”  Simply put, the disciples would know whether or not their message was genuinely accepted, if it was rejected, they should move on.

But in the village where their message is accepted, they should heal those who are sick, and say to them the kingdom of God has come near in Jesus the Messiah-Savior-King, who has come into the world to save sinners.

See Luke 10:10-11….  Clearly the seventy would not be accepted in every village and town, even Jesus was previously rejected by a whole Samaritan village (Luke 9:52-53), “[Jesus] sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But [that village] did not receive Him,” [they rejected Him].

Jesus then tells the Seventy that if any house or town will not receive them, they are to shake the dust off their feet as a “testimony against” those who rejected them and their message.

The disciples were sent out to bring God’s message of reconciliation and healing to the lost unbelieving of society.  For someone to reject them or their message, was the same as rejecting God.

The Jews had a practice, when returning to Israel from a Gentile country: they would shake the dust from their feet and sandals, so as not to bring pagan soil into Israel.  By this same gesture, the followers of Christ were saying that any house or village that rejected them also rejected God’s salvation and remained condemned.

Turn to 1Peter 2:11-12; 3:14-16; 2Peter 3:3-7, 10-13…  Until the Lord returns, we must urgently and compassionately share the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ; for all who reject Him are condemned to an eternal hell. 2Corinthians 5:17-21, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Like the Twelve and the Seventy, we too are to be going, telling unbelievers about God’s Son, so that they might believe in Him and be saved (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 [obey] all that I commanded you,” (John 3:36), “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, [for] the wrath of God [remains] on him,” (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,” (Matthew 11:28), “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest,” (Romans 10:13-15), “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord [for the forgiveness of sin] will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a [someone telling them]? How will they [tell them] unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!’” 17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
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Bible Text: Luke 10:1-16 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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November 5th, 2023
“Seventy Sent Out: Part One”

Luke 10:1-16
 

Last week, in Luke 9:57-62, we studied about three “tentative” disciples of Christ, who said they would follow Him, but it appears that none of them did.

Today we’ll begin our study about 70 true believers of Christ, who were sent out ahead of Jesus, in pairs, to prepare the towns and villages for His coming.

Read Luke 10:1…  Unlike the three men in last week’s text, who didn’t count the cost of following Christ, those in today’s reading were true disciples, willing to trust God alone for their needs, as they take the gospel message to the lost.

Jesus’ concentrated ministry in Galilee is over and He is now heading toward Jerusalem, where He will be put to death, buried, rise from the grave, appear to His followers, and then ascend back into heaven to be with the Father.

Jesus has appointed [cf. Acts 1:24, “chosen,” personally selected] these seventy messengers to prepare the way ahead of Him and the Twelve, much like John the Baptizer, at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry (John 1:23), “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah (40:3) the prophet said.”

Luke 10 is the only account of Jesus sending a specific 70 (or 72) disciples out. The discrepancy in number is because approximately half of the ancient scrolls used in translation record 70, the others 72. Scholars do not agree on whether the number should be 70 or 72, but it is interesting that the number 70 (not 72) is repeated other places in Scripture [70 elders: Exodus 24:1, 9; Numbers 11:16; 70 years: Jeremiah 25:12; 29:10; 2Chronicles 36:21].

Numbers 11:16, “The Lord therefore said to 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, and let them take their stand there with you.”

Seventy men take their stand with Moses (70+1= 71 men).  In the theocracy of Israel, the Sanhedrin was the supreme ruling court of ancient Israel, it was made up of 70 men and the high priest (71 men).  Coincidence, I don’t think so.

So, was 70 (or 72) who were sent out to preach the gospel and heal the sick, it is most likely 70, and the number 72 was an error made by an early scribe, whose subsequent copies contained the number 72.

In today’s text, Jesus selected and sent out seventy men, in pairs.  But why did He send them out in pairs?  I’m glad you asked.  Jesus had done this before (Mark 6:7), “He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.”

Solomon speaks to the wisdom of “two being better than one” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-11), “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?”

But there is yet another reason, more important (Deuteronomy 19:15), “On the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.”

The 70 men (Luke 10, in pairs) are going into villages to give testimony about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior; therefore it is important that their testimony conforms to the requirements of the Law, as written in the Prophets.

Read Luke 10:2b…  Here we find another phrase that needs some explanation in order to fully understand its meaning, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”  That phrase is often interpreted as if it means there are many who are coming to Christ, and so few going out to find them.  That however, is not the teaching here, as can be seen by comparing other texts; but first, consider the deep compassion Jesus had for the lost and unbelieving.

Matthew 9:13, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 36-37, “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.’”

Luke 13:34, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!”

Luke 19:41, “When [Jesus] approached [unbelieving Jerusalem], He saw the city and wept over it.”

Jesus had compassion on humanity, for He knows the fate of all who reject Him (John 16:8-9), “When He [Holy Spirit] comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me,” (Matthew 7:19-21), “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter,” (John 6:40), “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day,” (Matthew 25:41), “Then He [Jesus] will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels,” (Revelation 20:10), “the lake of fire and brimstone… and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Think about that phrase again, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”  Is there a bounty of people in the US coming to Christ? Are people flocking to Jesus as their Shepherd-Savior?  I don’t think so, in fact, most of humanity continues to reject salvation through Christ.

The Bible is clear that those who reject God’s Son will receive God’s divine judgement for their sin, and they will spend eternity in hell.  The only ones who get a pass on eternal condemnation, are those who believe in and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Romans 3:10-12, 23-24; 5:8; 6:23; 8:1; 10:9-10, 13, 17).

When Jesus says (Luke 10:2b), “The harvest is plentiful,” He is talking about the people who will be taken away in judgement, unless they come to Christ by faith.

Joel 3:12-13, “I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.”

Matthew 13:24-30, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’” 36-43, “Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.’ And He said, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.’”

See Matthew 24:36-39…  The people at the time of Noah paid no attention to Noah’s warning; they just went about each day like the day before, as if nothing different was going to happen – then judgement came, the flood (v. 39), “took them all away” (cf. Genesis 6:11-13, 17; 7:1).

See Matthew 24:40-41…  The man and the woman who are taken, are taken in judgment; the man and the woman who are left, belong to God.

We should be living everyday for Christ, who has granted us forgiveness and eternal life.  At any moment He could return, and what should He find us doing at His return?  We ought to be proclaiming salvation through Christ, while also warning unbelievers about God’s coming judgement.who We are to be living in a manner that expresses our trust in and obedience to Jesus Christ, as we seek to warn unbelievers about God’s coming judgment.

Revelation 14:14-19, “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.’ So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.”

Clearly, the harvesting in Matthew 13, Matthew 24, and Revelation 14, is the taking away of the ungodly, those who reject Christ, i.e., there will always be plenty who are in need of being saved, but as our text today declares (cf. Luke 10:2), it would seem that only a few are going out to proclaim to them the message of salvation through Jesus!

     See again Luke 10:2c, “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.  Because of the impending judgement coming upon unbelievers, we are to pray [beseech = implore, petition, plead with the Lord] for more Christians to be about the ministry of seeking to save the lost.  We are to have compassion for those who have not yet come to Christ for salvation; our concern should be for the unsaved.

As we await the time when all true believers will be caught up to meet Christ in the air, we are to be reaching out to the world with the message of Jesus Christ (2Corinthians 5:20-21), “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

May we each live out and proclaim the life-saving and life-giving Gospel of Christ, to every person who will listen, for whatever time we may have left.  We must urgently, boldly and yet humbly, with compassion, share the Good News, that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, then rose from the grave to demonstrate eternal life, before ascending back into haven from where He had come; and He will return to take all those who believe in Him, to live together in heaven, where there will be no more mourning or crying or pain or death, but only perfect peace and harmony, for all of eternity.

 
And all God’s people said, Amen!
 

 
Pastor Mike Hale
 

Bible Text: Luke 9:57-62 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the
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October 29th, 2023
“The Cost of Following Jesus”
Luke 9:57-62
     See Mark 1:14-15….  After John the Baptizer was put into prison by Herod, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven had indeed come to earth.  The Son of God had come from the Father in heaven in order to proclaim the good news of salvation, calling people to repent of their sin and believe in God’s Son for salvation.

See Mark 1:16-17…. Jesus then told Simon and his brother Andrew (fishermen) to follow Him and He would make them become fishers of men; they would become the first of Twelve Disciples who would spend three years with Jesus, watching, listening, learning, and then taking the message of forgiveness and eternal life to the Jews first and then to everybody else.

See Luke 9:57-58….  The title “Son of Man” was first used in Daniel 7:13, where Daniel has a vision,“One like a Son of Man was coming [in the clouds],” (cf. Revelation 1:7), “Behold, He [Jesus Christ] is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.”

See Matthew 8:19-20, “Then a scribe came and said to Him, ‘Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.’ Jesus said to him, ‘The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’  This is a parallel passage of the same event, and so, we know that the man in Luke 9:57, who is a tentative “disciple” or “follower” of Christ, is a scribe, a teacher of the law who came to Jesus, calling Him Teacher, declaring that he would follow Jesus wherever He went.

Scribes and Pharisees were authorities on Jewish law and typically were highly educated and prideful of their position; they were normally teachers, not followers or students of “other” teachers.  So, for this guy to call Jesus “Teacher” was a big deal; but Jesus gives him a reality check saying to him, “foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

The phrase Son of Man is used more times in the New Testament than the phrase Son of God.  Jesus loved the title Son of Man, for it spoke of His relationship with humankind, which He had created.  Jesus is God, the Creator, Sustainer, and Judge over all.

John 1:3, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

Colossians 1:15-16, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.”
 
Hebrews 1:1-3b, “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 is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

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.”.  And even though the “Son of Man” has divine authority and power to heal and to perform miracles, He doesn’t have the simple comforts that most people and many animals have; He has no house, no place of safety or comfort, not even a tent to call home; but then, He was born in a stable and laid in an animal feeding trough for His bed as newborn baby.

Interestingly, the scribe who said he would follow Jesus anywhere seems to disappear and nothing more is heard about him.  This scribe may have been impressed by Jesus’ miracles or His teachings, or he may just be identifying with Jesus for some personal benefit, some imposed recognition; but he clearly has not counted the cost of associating with, let alone following Christ, which may include religious excommunication, suffering, sacrifice, even death.

See Luke 9:59-60…. Jesus says to another tentative disciple, “follow Me,” but the man asks if he can first go and “bury” his father; not at all implying that his father had died, I mean, why would the man be there conversing with Jesus if his dad had died?  Much more likely this man is speaking of his obligation to assist his father in business or in working their land, etc., until such a time as his father dies and the inheritance is distributed among the heirs, i.e., ”Lord, first let me go fulfill my obligations to my father until he dies, then with my inheritance, I will come back and follow you.”

Like the first tentative disciple, in verse 57, the teacher of the law who disappeared, it would seem that this second guy also wants others to think he is ready to follow Jesus, but more likely he just wants some imposed recognition for having an association with Jesus, when actually he has other priorities in his life that override any real commitment.

Jesus’ response to this man is “Follow Me! Let the dead take care of themselves; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”  Jesus knows this man’s heart, he was not ready to commit himself to Jesus as Lord.  This man’s spirit was not regenerated, for he had rejected the gospel of the kingdom of God, and therefore he could not tell anyone else about it either.

Remember in Mark 1:15, Jesus declared that the kingdom of heaven (which is holy, where no sin can exist) had come near to [sinful] mankind in and through God’s Son, Who is Perfect; therefore mankind needs to repent of their sin and believe the good news that Jesus came to save us, and He is the only Way to God, the only Life with God, and the only Truth of God.

See Luke 9:61-62….  Jesus has an encounter with another “tentative disciple,” who says, “I will follow You, Lord, but first, let me go home and say good bye to my family and friends.”  Jesus knows this man’s heart, he is not ready to commit to the Lord, he is still looking for fulfillment from the things of the world.  So Jesus says, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Jesus is talking about a farmer using a plow to make straight rows for planting, keeping his eyes on a distant object, never looking back to where he came from.

Jesus’ message is “follow Me” and don’t look back. There is an old story about a farmer’s son who wanted to plow his father’s field. The father eventually agreed to let him try one day and told his son to look straight ahead at a far away object while he was plowing. This would result in straight rows. His son said he understood, so the father left. After awhile the father came back to see how his son was doing, only to find that the rows were uneven and crooked, for son had continually been looking back at a cow in the field, that was distracting him.

True followers of Jesus must constantly, continually, fix their eyes on Him (Hebrews 12:2), “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

This may surprise you, but Jesus said (Matthew 10:34-38), “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

If you’re going to follow Christ, you must count the cost and be willing to give up everything else if necessary.

Luke 14:25, “Multitudes were coming along. Jesus turned and said, ‘If anyone comes to Me and doesn’t hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brother, sisters, yea and hate his own life, he can’t be My disciple.'”

It doesn’t mean that you hate the people in your family, it simply means that your love for the kingdom of God [salvation in Christ] is your deepest desire.

Again Luke 9:62, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God,” i.e., ”You can’t plow a furrow looking backwards.”  You can’t follow Jesus looking if you are back at the things of the world: comforts, possessions, relationships.

The issue here is salvation, coming into the kingdom of God.  Jesus is simply saying, “if you’re holding back anything, you can’t come in.”  The Lord may not take away your comforts, possessions, or relationships, but the value of belonging to Christ is so great that if He asked, you would gladly give it all up for Him.

It is not some superficial interest in Jesus, or a matter of just saying, “I will follow.”  It is a matter of self-denial, a willingness to give up everything because the value of Christ is so overwhelming.  When a sinner has reached that level of desperation by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, he will take up his cross and follow Jesus is not worthy of Him, Jesus said (Luke 9:24), “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

We are told Luke 9:57-62 how these men responded to Jesus’ command to follow Him, they turned away, remaining in unbelief, separated from life with God.

When the Holy Spirit comes to convict us of sin we must respond or remain unsaved (John 16:8-9), “And when He [The Holy Spirit] comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me.”

True believers must follow Jesus (1John 2:6), “The one who says he [lives] in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked,” following Christ.

The world hated and killed Jesus. His Disciples were martyred because they believed in and followed Him.  Obedient Christians today will be in conflict with the worldly beliefs and behaviors all around them.  Living as a Christian is tough!  In 2Timothy 3:12 Paul writes, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Christianity is not for wimps!  We must count the cost to follow Jesus.  There are many who make a “profession” of faith and even show up for Sunday Morning Services, but when they are instructed about holy living and realize they are going to be held accountable to the Word God for how they live, they leave the fellowship of believers.

Serving God must include knowing and doing that which pleases God, just as it must also include knowing and not doing that which displeases God (Romans 12:9), “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”  “Good” is whatever pleases God.  How do we know what pleases God?  It is in the Bible, and the Holy Spirit encourages us, enables us, to obey the Word of God (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.”

You must love God and hate the world (all that opposes God), or you’ll hate God and love the world, there is no third option.

Unbelievers are devoted to serving self; God’s people are to serve God by knowing, living out, and proclaiming God’s Word (as revealed in the 66 Books of the Bible).

The Bible is all about Jesus, so that we might personally and eternally know Him, the One who healed the multitudes of every illness and disease, taught with divine wisdom and authority, and commanded the wind and the waves and they obeyed Him.  This is God’s Son, who is both Lord and Savior, for He was crucified, resurrected, and is coming again, to take all those who believe in Him, to be with Him forever, in heaven.

Jesus is Lord and Judge over all and Savior to those who call on Him by faith (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13), “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sin], will be saved,” becoming a brother or sister to all those who believe in Jesus Christ for salvation.

The question you must answer is this: Have you asked Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and are you willing to follow Him?  If you have not done this, I pray you will do it right here, right now, and that you will tell me or someone else that you have committed yourself to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior for (1Peter 2:9-10), “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

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

Don’t delay, follow Jesus today!  If you aren’t clear about this, please talk to me, let me hello you understand how much God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, now and forever, in Jesus Christ the Lord.

 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 9:51-56 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above are the
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October 23rd, 2023
(full sermon notes)
“A Mission of Mercy”
Luke 9:51-56
       Last week we gave attention to the highest virtue off Christianity, humility.  Jesus is our example, for although He was fully God, He humbled Himself by putting on flesh in order to go to the cross, as the Lamb of God, making the once for all payment for all sin, by the perfect sacrifice of Himself (Philippians 2:5-8), “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Jesus was the supreme embodiment of God, yet He came as the Humble Servant of God, and therefore, we also are to exemplify humility in and through our lives, for this honors and pleases God.

Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth,” (Luke 14:11), “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted,” (1Peter 5:6), “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”

James 4:6, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 10, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Jesus gave an example of greatness (Matthew 18:3-4) by taking up a child in His arms and saying, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Today we are going to look at the true mission of the Messiah, God’s Son, Who came to earth on a mission of mercy.

Read Luke 9:51-56…  I think it is interesting and somewhat disheartening that humility is a dying attribute in our culture, and because of that, mercy is also an endangered virtue.  We see this played out every day in every way, and it isn’t getting better.  But as Christians, children of God, witnesses of Christ crucified, resurrected, and coming again, we must earnestly display mercy in a world where mercy is desperately needed.

Both the Old and New Testaments praise the worthiness of mercy.  Mercy is lovingkindness, it is unmerited kindness given to one who is in need of generosity, compassion, grace, forgiveness, charity, sympathy, etc.

It is said that God is both loving and just.  If we only received His justice, we would have no hope, for only eternal condemnation would await us (cf. Romans 3:10-12. 23; 6:23a).  But God is merciful, sending His Son to proclaim the message of forgiveness and eternal life, and then to make full payment on the cross for all sin, be buried, and then to rise on the third day to demonstrate His sovereign authority over sin, death, and judgement.

God is indeed a merciful and loving God, having forgiven us for our sins and granted us eternal life with Him, all this made effectual through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s Son (cf. Romans 3:24; 5:8; 6:23b; 8:1).

God is the God of Truth, but He is also the God of Love, and so He is Merciful.

1John 4:7-8, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

Psalm 86:15, “But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.”

2Corinthians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.”

And so, as Christians we should exemplify God in us (Luke 6:36), “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”  We are to show lovingkindness toward those who are in need; we are not to withhold loving compassion and care, but are to give it freely and generously.

1Peter 4:8, “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

James 2:13, “For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Back to our text, Luke 9:51…  As I mentioned last week, Jesus’ Galilean ministry is about over, and he will soon be heading for Jerusalem, for the last time, where He will be put to death in about six months.  Jesus’ personal ministry to the people was coming to an end, the focus now is the cross and resurrection (Luke 9:51a), “when the days were approaching for His ascension [lit. lifting or taking up].  Luke goes on to say (Luke 9:51b), “He was determined [lit. set His face] to go to Jerusalem,” this expresses Jesus resolve and single-mindedness of purpose to complete His mission in Jerusalem: bringing forgiveness for sins and eternal life through the sacrificial death of Himself; for although none of us are deserving of God’s mercy, God is merciful to those who believe in Him (cf. Hebrews 11:6).

See again Luke 9:52-53…  This is rather surprising that Jesus would choose to go through Samaria, for most Jews would go out of their way to bypass traveling through that land.  In fact, most Jews traveling south from Galilee to Judea would go east and cross the Jordan River, then head south to Perea, and then again west across the Jordan at Jericho.  Most Jews didn’t want to defile themselves by going through the land of the despised and ceremonially unclean Samaritans.

Hatred between Jews and Samaritans was fierce and long-standing dating back to the days of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob).  Jacob had twelve sons, whose descendants became twelve tribes of Israel.

The tribes of Israel divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom, called Israel, established its capital first at Shechem, a revered site in Jewish history, but later established its capital at the hilltop city of Samaria.

In 722 B.C. Assyria conquered Israel and took most of its people into captivity. The invaders then brought in Gentile colonists from Babylon and surrounding areas (cf. 2Kings 17:24) to resettle the land. The Gentiles brought with them their pagan gods and idols, which the remaining Jews began to worship alongside the God of Israel (cf. 2Kings 17:29-41), many of the Jews intermarried with these Gentiles (Ezra 9:1-10:44;Nehemiah 13:23-28).

Meanwhile, the southern kingdom of Judah fell to Babylon in 600 B.C. and its people, too, were carried off into captivity. But 70 years later, a remnant of 43,000 was permitted to return and rebuild Jerusalem.

The Samaritans who now inhabited the former northern kingdom opposed the repatriation and reestablishment of the nation of Israel.

The orthodox, full-blooded, monotheistic Jews detested the mixed marriages and worship of their northern half-breed cousins.  So walls of animosity and bitterness grew for the next 550 years, with the end result being a deep hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans.

The Jewish leaders during the time of Christ retained a hatred for the Samaritans, just as the Samaritans did for the Jews.  In John 8:8 the religious leaders called Jesus a Samaritan, expressing their scorn and disdain for Him.

In Luke 9:53, Jesus sent some messengers ahead to find a place for Him and the Twelve to rest on their journey to Judea; but notice their request for food and lodging was rejected, “because they were traveling toward Jerusalem” no doubt, to worship at the temple.

The Samaritans had no place to worship, as their temple had been torn down by John Hyrcanus, a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, a priestly family that ruled Judea from 152 to 63 BC.  He became high priest in 135 BC and between 111-105 BC, he enlarged Judea’s borders through a series of military campaigns, destroying the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim and imposing Jewish laws and circumcision upon the inhabitants.

The Samaritans of Jesus time refused to recognize the Jerusalem temple as a proper place of worship, and therefore they refused to provide food and lodging to Jesus and His followers.

See again Luke 9:54-56…  James and John consider the Samaritan refusal to provide food and lodging an insult to the Lord, so they ask Jesus if they should call down fire upon these Samaritans and destroy them.

Interestingly, Elijah had used this method of destruction in that very same region, when King Ahaziah (8th century BC) of the northern kingdom of Israel had sent a company of men to arrest Elijah and Elijah called down fire from heaven that incinerated the soldiers (cf. 2Kings 1:9-16).

Jesus rebukes James and John, and no doubt the others who didn’t understand the ministry of mercy that the Son of God had come to fulfill; and the message they would proclaim long after Jesus was gone (John 3:16-17), “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.”

Jesus came to save lost sinners, even those who were hostile toward God and God’s people, of which the Apostle Paul was one of the worse (1Corinthians 15:1-7), “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. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8-10, “and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

1Timothy 1:12-17, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Prior to Paul’s “come to Jesus meeting” on the road to Damascus, when he was converted to Christ, if he had died he would have gone to hell; but God is all-knowing, fully aware of all those who will come to Him.

I believe there were Samaritans at that time, living in the village that refused food and lodging to Christ and the Twelve, who would one day believe and receive Christ as Lord; and so, Jesus rebuked the Twelve (Luke 9:55-56), “‘You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’ And they went on to another village.”

It was not time for judgement to come upon those in that village, Jesus showed mercy on them, and He clearly demands that His followers also show mercy on those who have not yet believed.  We must be purveyors of the Good News, that Jesus Saves Sinners!

Mercy is at the very heart of the Message off Christ, and may you never forget that you, as a child of God, are a recipient of God’s marvelous, merciful, lovingkindness that has come to you through Jesus Christ the Lord, and your main purpose for being alive is to tell others about God’s Son who came to save them, so that they can live for Him, now and forever, as Paul so clearly expresses, (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.”

God’s people are to be humble people, because apart from Christ we have nothing to boast about; and for that reason, we ought to be merciful toward others, just as God in Christ has been merciful to us.

Ephesians 2:1-10, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

 
Pastor Mike Hale
 

Bible Text: Luke 9:46-50 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the
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October 15th, 2023 – (AM outline)
“The True Mark of Greatness”
Luke 9:46-50
Read Luke 9:46-50… 

This section of scripture begins the end of Jesus’ ministry in the area of Galilee.

Turn to Genesis 1:31; 3:5; 2:16-17; 3:17-19…

Turn to Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 28:11-15, 17…

Turn to Revelation 12:9; 20:1-3, 7-10…

Pride is the prime characteristic of the unbelieving, and throughout history it has been applauded as a virtue in the godless world that rejects the existence and holiness of God.  Pride is the soil in which all other sins sprout, damning those who are characterized by what is rebellion against God, who alone is worthy off worship.

Of all the human authors in the New Testament, Paul had reason to brag (Philippians 3:3-6), “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: circumcised the eighth day, 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.”

Paul after meeting Christ, renounced all human virtues (Philippians 3:7-11), “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.”

Turn to Romans 7:18-25…

       Turn to 2Corinthians 12:9-10…

Godly humility (Matthew 5:5), “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth,” (Luke 14:11), “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted,” (1Peter 5:6), “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”

Pride belongs to the unbelieving (Proverbs 11:2), “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom,” (16:18), “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling,” (29:30), “A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor,” (Philippians 2:3-4), “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.”

       Read Luke 9:46…  See again Luke 9:22-23, 44.  Jesus is telling them about His suffering on their behalf, and they want to know who is will be the greatest among them.  They really don’t get it, they are hearing but not understanding.

Read Luke 9:47-48…  All the disciples were thinking about their own self-importance and individual glorification.

Jesus teaches them the error of their thinking. In Judaism, children under the age of 12 couldn’t be taught the Torah, so spending time with them was considered a waste.

In Mark 9:36, Jesus picks up a child in His arms, in Matthew 18:3-4 saying, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

There is no spiritual ranking of greatness in heaven. In Luke 9:48a, Jesus says we are equals in the kingdom of heaven (Luke 48b), “for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

Humility is the greatest characteristic of true and genuine salvation.

Matthew 23:11-12, Jesus said, “But the greatest among you shall be your servant.     Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” James 4:10, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

John 13:33-35, Jesus said, “Little children, I am with you a little while longer… A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1John 2:1, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” 12, “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.” 15-17, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

       Read Luke 9:49-50…  John, seems to be having second thoughts about a previous encounter with someone was casting out demons in Christ’s name.  The apostles tried to prevent him from doing so, because he wasn’t one of them.

Jesus again teaches the priority of humility and the danger of pride, Jesus said “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.”

Godly humility promotes unity among those who belong to God’s Son, no matter what denomination or group they they represent; whereas, godless pride promotes disunity among those who reject Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 16:5, “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; assuredly, he will not be unpunished.”

James 4:6, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

1John 3:18, “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” 23-24, “This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Ephesians 1:13-14, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 9:37-45 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above are the
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October 8th, 2023
“Genuine Believing Faith”
Luke 9:37-45
Jesus said (Luke 9:27, “There are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God,” i.e., some of those present, at that time, will not die before they see (cf Matthew 16:28) ”the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” [lit. royal splendor, glory], at the Transfiguration (cf Luke 9:28-36).

Matthew, Mark, and Luke record the Transfiguration of Christ taking place eight days after Jesus’ made the statement recorded in Luke 9:27.

Read Luke 9:37-42…  Matthew and Mark tell us, when Jesus, Peter, John, and James came down from the mountain, the other nine Disciples were arguing with some scribes.  We don’t know what they were arguing about; but it probably had something to do with the religious leaders’ rejection of Jesus as the Son of God.

      In Luke 9:38-39, we are told that the father of a boy, being tormented by a demon, comes to Jesus, “falling on his knees,” begging Jesus to help, for this evil spirit causes the boy to scream, go into convulsions, and foam at the mouth.

In Matthew 17:15 the father asks Jesus to have mercy on his only son, who is throwing himself into fire and bodies of water (as if trying to kill himself).

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us that Jesus’ disciples could not help the boy, they were powerless against this demon.  The father told Jesus (Luke 9:40), “I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not,” (Matthew 17:16; Mark 9:18), “they could not cure [the boy].”

This is alarming, because these Disciples had previously been given authority by Jesus to cast out demons (Matthew 10:1), “Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.”

      See again Luke 9:41-42…  Jesus expresses His weariness with the widespread unbelief in His own disciples, the teachers of the law, and all of Israel, “‘You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.’ While he [the boy] was still approaching, the demon slammed him 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.”

The man pleads with Jesus (Mark 9:22), “if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”  Jesus exclaims (verses 23-24), “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, ‘I do believe; help my unbelief.’”

This is not about Christ’s lack of power to heal, it is about man’s lack of faith and belief in Jesus as the Messiah.  Jesus healed multitudes of people, but very few expressed saving faith i.e., genuine belief that Jesus was both Lord and Savior!.

According to Mark’s narrative, the father of the boy declares his own lack of understanding, calling out for Jesus to help him overcome his unbelief!  Have you ever felt that way?  “Please God, help me to trust You completely in this situation!”

Romans 10:17, “Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 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.”

      After healing the boy (cf. Mark 9:28) Jesus takes His disciples into a house where they ask Him, why couldn’t we drive out the demon, i.e. “Why couldn’t we do what we’ve done before?”  They had been commissioned (Mark 3:15), “to have authority to cast out demons,” (Mark 6:13), “they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.”

Evidently, the Disciples had forgotten that the source and object of their faith is God, apart from Whom they could do nothing; but with God, all things are possible.

When things are going well, we may find it easy to trust the Lord; but when things get tough or uncertain, our faith can waver.  Repeatedly Jesus rebuked His disciples: “Don’t you understand?” “Don’t you see?” “Are you still so dull?”

Their faith, like that of most Christians, fluctuated, i.e., when we are healthy and our needs are being met, our faith is strong; but when we are in need and must trust in God alone to provide, our faith can become weak, giving way to doubt and confusion, disabling our ability to be a living witness of Christ!

Christ-like, genuine believing faith, trusts God when there is nothing to eat and no money to buy bread; it trusts God when our health, income, reputation, or loved one is taken from us; when things are bad, getting worse, and there is no end in sight: That is God-given, God-powered, Faith!

The first thing we should do when suffering and/or trouble comes upon us or those we love, is to go directly to God in prayer.

Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

1Peter 5:10-11, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
 
      Read Luke 9:43-45…  All the people were astonished at the greatness of God revealed and exemplified in and through Jesus Christ, God’s Son.  The same word translated “greatness” here, is translated “majesty” in 2Peter 1:16, “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”

Peter is recalling his experience with John and James on the mountain, when the radiant Glory of God shone through Christ in the presence of Moses and Elijah.

A similar greatness had now been displayed by Christ’s removal of this powerful and obstinate demon from a young boy.  The people marveled at this miracle, yet, Jesus had done many other miracles (cf. Luke 6:17-19; 7:21; 9:11): He healed all diseases, cast out demons, gave sight to the blind and speech to the mute, curing all who came to His for healing, as He proclaimed the kingdom of God.

Jesus displayed power over sin, death, disease, demons, and nature; even though His authority was somewhat limited during His incarnation, to the area of Israel.  However, after His resurrection and ascension, He had unlimited authority over all that had been created (Matthew 28:18), “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

See again Luke 9:43-44…  Jesus told His Disciples to pay attention and understand what He was about to say, for even though the people were praising Him, marveling at what He was doing; they would soon reject Him, mock Him, and cry out for His crucifixion (it was about 6 months until the Cross).

It is hard for us to comprehend the sovereign plan of God to send His own Son to die on our behalf; as Peter would proclaim in the streets of Jerusalem (Acts 2:22-24), “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.” And later (Acts 3:13), “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him,” (Romans 8:32), “[God] did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all.”

Read Luke 9:45…  It was absolutely necessary for the Messiah to go to Jerusalem, suffer death on a cross, be buried, and be raised up on the third day.  Jesus had repeatedly told His Disciples this, but they had not understood.

Prior to entering Jerusalem for the last time, when He would be arrested, condemned, and then put to death, Jesus told the Twelve (Luke 18:31-34), “‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.’ But the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.”

Jesus loved these guys, He knew the truth of what was coming would devastate them; and to some degree, it would seem they didn’t really want to know (Luke 9:45c), “they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.”

I believe all of them (except for Judas) had faith in Jesus to accomplish the will of God the Father, even though they didn’t really understand how or when that was going to happen.

The Disciples had communion with God the Father through God the Son, who was now with them, but would soon be taken away.  For them to be alone in this world without God’s presence and power was more than they could handle.

Jesus would encourage them, before His departure (John 14:16-20), “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 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.”

John 15:14-16, “You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 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.”

      In John 16 Jesus tells them, on that last night before His arrest, that He is going back to the Father, but they will not be alone, for He (through the presence of the Holy Spirit) will be with them and in them.

John 16:31-33, “Do you now believe? Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Our faith, belief, trust, and assurance must rest upon Who the God of the Bible is and what the Bible teaches about Him.  In fact, the Great Commission reinforces that truth (Matthew 28:18-20), “Jesus spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples [believers and followers] of all the nations, baptizing [immersing] them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit [i.e., everything the Bible teaches about God the Father, God the Son, and God the holy Spirit], teaching them to observe all that I commanded you [read, understand, and obey, all that has been revealed to in the 66 Books of Scripture]; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. [be of courage, for My presence and power will be with you until I came back to take you to be with Me forever]!”

Hebrews 4:12-16, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 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.”

1John 5:14-15, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”

 
 
Pastor Mike
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Speaker: Jim Shepherd | Above are the
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October 1, 2023
“Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector”

Reversal of fortune
 
 Who is this prable meant for?
 
 Pharisee
Good man
Fasts
Tithes
Not like the tax collector
Faithful
Prayer
Tax Collector
Truely bad
Robs
Harmed others
Hated
Prayer
Four Principles
Tremendous danger of religions
God looks at things differently then we do
Worst sinners are good candiddates for salvation
Your only hope is to cry out for mercy
Jim Shepherd

Bible Text: Galations 6:9-10 | Speaker: Dave Williams | Above are the
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September 24, 2023
“Do Not Grow Weary of Doing Good”
Galations 6:9-10

GALATIANS 6:9-10

9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

Background of book of Galatians

“Not to grow weary”

What is “doing good?”

“In due season”

“Let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of faith.”

What makes us grow weary?

Is it easy?

Reminders and encouragement from God’s word.

 
Dave Williams

Bible Text: Luke 15:1-7 | Speaker: Jim Shepherd | Above are the
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September 17, 2023
“Lost and Found”
Luke 15:1-7

Why did Jesus speak in Parables?

Matthew 13:10-15

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

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

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

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

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

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

YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT
PERCEIVE;

15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS
BECOME DULL,

WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,

AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES,

OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR
EYES,

HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,

AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART
AND RETURN,

AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’

What was the unpardonable sin?

Matthew 12:22-24

22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and
mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so
that the mute man spoke and saw.

23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying,
“This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”

24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said,
“This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the
ruler of the demons.”

The parable of the lost sheep:

Luke 15:1-7

1 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were
coming near Him to listen to Him.

2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to
grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and
eats with them.”

3 So He told them this parable, saying,

4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep
and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-
nine in the open pasture and go after the one which
is lost until he finds it?

5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders,
rejoicing.

6 And when he comes home, he calls together his
friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice
with me, for I have found my sheep which was
lost!’

7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more
joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over
ninety-nine righteous persons who need no
repentance.

Three Lessons:

Some of God’s sheep are lost.

God wants his lost sheep found.

Someone must go after God’s lost sheep.

A focus on rejoicing.

                   Jim Shepherd

Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: Spiritual Gifts from God | Above are the
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September 10, 2023
“Spiritual Gifts from God: Part Five”

1Corinthians 12:1, “Concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.” 4-5, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.” 7, “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” 18, “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” 27, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”

Every believer is gifted to serve in the body of Christ, the church of God: (cf. Romans 12:6-8) prophecy [proclaiming God’s Word], serving [ministering to the basic needs of believers], teaching [interpreting and explaining God’s Word], exhorting [encouraging obedience to God’s Word], giving [generously and freely to those in need], leading [guiding or governing by example, with diligence],  showing mercy [expressing compassion and empathy, in order to lesson another’s burdens and comfort their sorrows].

Last we we studied about one of ordained offices in the Church, that of Elders [who the man is within the Church] or Overseers [what the mans does in serving the Church] , also called Pastors or Shepherds [how the man.

Acts 20:17, “From Miletus [Paul] sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.” 28, “ Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

1Peter 5:1-3, “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.

The men who lead the church as Elders, are provided with a blend of the gifts recorded in Romans 12:6-8, as prophecy, teaching, exhorting, and leading; for their main work is to manage and care for the flock of God, as Paul writes (Ephesians 2:12-14), “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

Today we will study what the Bible tells us about the other ordained office given to the Church as a gift from God, the office of Deacon [Greek diakonos = servant].  The men and women who care for the church as Deacons, are provided with a blend of the gifts recorded in Romans 12:6-8, as serving, giving, showing mercy.

There is only one place in the New Testament where we find the qualifications given for the office of Deacon; these qualifications are listed after, and yet include some of the same qualifications given to the office of Elder/Overseer.                          1Timothy 3:8 says, “Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain.”  “Likewise” refers back to 1Timothy 3:1, which states, “If any man aspires to the office of overseer…”                    That indicates deacons occupy an ordained office, as overseers do.  So in the church there is to be a plurality of godly men (overseers in 1Timothy 3:1; elders in Titus 1:5) who are responsible to lead and care for God’s church, and they are assisted in caring for the flock by the deacons.

The biblical emphasis is not on the organization or the office; but instead on the servant-leader’s spiritual qualifications in 1Timothy 3; Titus 1, and his or her responsibility and duty to serve the Church of God.

The qualifications for Deacon are about personal and spiritual character.

Personal character…  First, deacons must be dignified (1Timothy 3:8).  This means that they must be worthy of respect and do not treat serious things lightly.

The Greek word for “dignity” is semnos, which means “venerable, honorable, reputable, grave, serious, and stately.”  The same Greek word appears in Titus 2:2, which says that older men “are to be dignified, temperate, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.”

A deacon must not be “double-tongued,” i.e., not one who says one thing to one person and something else to another; but instead, they are always consistent and truthful in what they say.  Next, deacons are not to be addicted to wine; but instead are to be know for their sober-mindedness and self-control.  Finally, Paul says that deacons should not be fond of dishonest gain (deacons sometimes handle church funds), we know that desires for financial gain can corrupt a person and have brought many to ruin.

Spiritual character…  Deacon’s must hold (1Timothy 3:9), “to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.”  In other words, deacons must have convictions based on sound biblical doctrine, leading to a clear conscience, based on faith in the Lord the application of God’s truth in their life.

Deacons must first be tested (1Timothy 3:10), “then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.”  Before a person is officially appointed as a deacon, he or she must have proved themself to be faithful in serving the Lord, so as to be above reproach or any accusation for sinful living.  Those who are not above reproach are disqualified from serving as deacons.

1Timothy 3:11 begins, “Women must likewise be dignified.”  Again, “likewise” relates back to an office of the church.  Contrary to the King James Version’s translation of that verse, “Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things,” we know Paul was not talking about the wives of deacons, there is no pronoun used to refer to wives; in fact, the word for wives is not in the text, but instead it is the Greek word for women.  Also, since there are no comments about the wives of elders, why would there be any comments about the wives of deacons?

The Greek word for “women” in 1Timothy 3:11 is gunaikas.  Apparently Paul used that term to be specific since there is no feminine form of diakonos, and otherwise it would be assumed that deacons could only be male, since the very same form of the word diakonos is neutered, being both masculine and feminine; it would have been unclear for Paul to use just the term diakonos if he wanted to refer to female servers, so he identified them as women.

Are there any references to female deacons in the Bible?  In Romans 16:1 we read, “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant [diakonos] of the church which is at Cenchrea.”  Phoebe was recognized by the church for her service.  It is very possible, although it is not clearly stated, that she served in an official capacity as deacon in the local church in Cenchrea.

1Timothy 3:12, concerning male deacons, is the same as 1Timothy 3:2, concerning male elders, saying they must be, “the husband of only one wife.” The Greek text in both passages actually reads that he is to be, “a one-woman man,” single-mindedly devoted to his wife, or fiancé, or girlfriend.  This is not talking about whether or not a man is married, or has been divorced, it is talking about him being totally faithful and devoted to his own wife.

Deacons, if married, are to be (1Timothy 3:12) “good managers of their children and their own households” this is applied to elders (1Timothy 3:4), with the additional verse 5 saying, ”if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?.”  And so, a deacon must demonstrate some kind of management ability, by the way he manages his own children and household, just as an elder must do.

Although specific personal and spiritual qualifications must be met by those who serve in the office of deacon, every member of the Body of Christ should seek to exemplify those qualifications, whether they serve as a recognized office-holding deacon, or simply as a servant to the Family of God. The qualifications of 1Timothy 3 should be a goal and a guideline for every believer.

Philippians 1:1-6, “Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

So then, we see that there are two distinct church offices described in 1Timothy 3: elders (male only), and deacons (male and female); but what is the major difference in the manner and the method of service between elders and deacons?  Elders must be equipped and capable to both teach and lead the flock of God, whereas deacons are to serve under the direction of the elders, as they maintain awareness of the basic needs among those in the congregation.

Elders have the primary ministry responsibility of Teaching the Word, and Shepherding the Flock of God; whereas, the deacon’s primary function is to care for the flock’s basic needs, by providing various forms of support: familial, physical, emotional, spiritual, and sometimes financial.  In this way, the elders are freed up to pray, study the Word, oversee and lead the church.

In a special sense, the deacon’s task sums up the essence of spiritual greatness.  Our Lord said (Matthew 20:26-28), “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,” (Mark 10:45), “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

The Lord Jesus Himself, then, is the model for those who would step into the deacon’s role.  It is a role of service, of sacrifice, and of commitment to others’ needs.  The reward of the deacon’s office is not the temporal glory that comes from human admiration and praise, but rather the eternal blessing that comes from living a life of spiritual service to the glory of God, at the end of which they will, no doubt, hear (Matthew 25:21), “Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful with a few things, [and so now] I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”

 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><