A Study in Luke Ch.9 - Jesus Our Source

In learning a new skill, there is a point at which being told how to do something isn’t enough. You need hands-on experience. You need OJT.

When Jesus decided the Disciples needed some OJT, He sent them out to do two things: proclaim the Kingdom of God and heal. To equip them for this work, He gave them power and authority over all demons and to heal all diseases. He wasn’t giving them ability but authority. They could only act on His behalf as they represented Him.

An ambassador represents the country from which He’s sent. More specifically he/she has authority to speak on behalf of the President or King. So, in essence, the ambassador’s words carries the weight of the one who sent him as though the one who sent him was actually speaking.

Paul and John demonstrated this authority with a crippled man at the Temple in Jerusalem. Act 3:6-7, 12, 16 But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene--walk!" And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened…But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, "Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? …And on the basis of faith in His name [authority], it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

They were very clear that this wasn’t an ability they had, but an authority granted to them by Jesus. What Jesus gave them authority to do, they could do, but couldn’t claim credit for doing it. It was Him working through them.

So back when He gave that authority to the Disciples, Luke says: Luke 9:6 Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Then, Luke 9:10 When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done.

But it raises the question: how extensive was this authority? Was it for this one mission trip or was it now part of their ministry privilege? Could they heal anyone at any time? Or were they only able to do so when the source of this authority wanted it done?

Because of the human tendency for pride to overshadow our accomplishments, Jesus knew these men could never handle being given the freedom to heal as He could. He had no restrictions. These men didn’t have God’s wisdom regarding each person’s life. They knew what would be good, but not what was best.

That’s why He could never give them a gift to use at their discretion. At this point He couldn’t trust them.

In the Book of Acts, there’s a story about a magician named Simon who had a rude awakening about the gifts of God:

Act 8:9-11 Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, "This man is what is called the Great Power of God." And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.

Act 8:18-21 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

This story is after Pentecost. Peter now has discernment. So, though Simon said authority, Peter knew he meant ability because he wasn’t interested in operating this gift under the Spirit’s direction. He wanted to give the Spirit to whomever he wanted. That is a gift operated by selfish desires.

To teach the Disciples this same lesson, so they might avoid such a battle later, it is possible Jesus took that authority back for a bit. Luke 9:10b-11 Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.

I would think that with twelve men authorized to heal, this would be a great time for them to step in and share the load, help Jesus heal all who came to Him. But, still, Jesus did all the healing Himself. Why? Because maybe they needed to learn what He gave them was never to replace Him.

The people were seeking Jesus as their answer, not His representatives. When someone wants the real thing you don’t send in a substitute.

You and I never want people to come to us thinking we’re their answer. Our job is to point them to Him. An ambassador never upstages his president.

A bit later in this chapter Jesus meets a man whose son has a demon. The man came looking for Jesus to heal his son. I like Mark’s version better:

Mar 9:17-18 And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it." Mar 9:22-23 "It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" And Jesus said to him, “If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."

The disciples had been given the authority to cast out demons, why couldn’t they take care of this one? It was nine against one. Did you know we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes? Michael Jordan said once that he learned more from missing a shot than making one. You can accidently make a shot but you can’t accidently miss. Perhaps failing at something would better teach them how things were to operate.

Jesus told them: this kind can only come out by prayer and fasting. What does that mean? Prayer and fasting are acts of humility—admitting with prayer and demonstrating by fasting that we are dependent on God. They reboot us, refocus us on the One who is in charge. They are, as Jesus prayed in the garden, moments that remind us it is His will we seek and not our own—that He is the One who is in charge, not us.

Was He sensing arrogance? Were they confusing authority with ability?

So, to clarify the difference, a little test: Luke 9:12-17 Now the day was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place." But He said to them, "You give them something to eat!" And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people." (For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, "Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each." They did so, and had them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.

Asking them to provide for so many people was beyond the scope of what they knew they could do. He hadn’t given them all power, only limited, specific power over demons and to heal, and perhaps only for that mission trip. So why tell them to feed the crowd? Again: to humble them. It’s humbling to have to admit we can’t do something.

When the Spirit would be given on Pentecost, they would be receiving tremendous power to accomplish God’s will. But today, at this point, they couldn’t handle that power. The power of God is designed to accomplish God’s purposes, not their own.

Pride would have them assume they were the source. This test reminded them He is the source. He is the one meeting the needs, not them.

He had to show them it was not always the spectacular moments when God works but also in meeting everyday needs.

On the scale of life-impacting moments, this miracle seemed less significant than the others but Jesus had to show them the promises not only covered big problems but also affected the regular stuff of life.

When God said through Peter: 1 Pet 5:7 cast your cares upon Me for I care for You, did He put any restrictions on what qualified as a care?

When Paul wrote: Phil 4:19 My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus, were there any needs not covered?

When David wrote: Ps 138:8 The Lord will accomplish what concerns me, were there any loopholes he forgot to mention?

In the Model Prayer, Jesus told us to ask: Give us this day our daily bread. Why would we need to acknowledge God for something we can provide on our own? Because it’s easy for us to think we, and what we have, is the source of meeting our own needs. Things we can do for ourselves, without acknowledging God’s provisions, lessens our dependency upon Him. Was that what He was afraid that the Disciples would do? That’s why He gave them authority rather than ability, so they wouldn’t lose their need for Him.

Deut 6:10-12 Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

“I just don’t want to bother God with petty stuff.” Most of life is petty stuff. I don’t think we want to leave God out of most of our life?

Sure I can take from my income and go to Kroger and buy bread, but in the bigger picture, my income, my physical ability to go to Kroger, their availability of bread are all things I can thank God for.

James said: James 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

God calls us to acknowledge Him as the source of all the blessings in our life—not just those we characterize as spiritual. So, here’s Jesus doing an incredible miracle of making dinner for thousands out of a handful of ingredients and having plenty left over. He showed them His blessings are not limited by what He has to work with. So Paul, later, could write: 2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; Can we acknowledge that?

That’s the lesson: neither the authority given to the Disciples, nor our own sufficiency, are able to meet all our needs. We cannot do for ourselves what Jesus can.

So, after we learn that lesson, we now can honor Him, love Him and depend upon Him. When we do, we will agree with Paul: Eph 3:20 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.

Never think you don’t need the Lord.

Never just keep Him in reserve for the things you can’t handle on your own.

Never limit His concern over you.

Never stop depending upon Him.

Never believe you know better than God for what’s best in for your life.

TAKEAWAYS:

1. Jesus never intended to be an add-on to our lives, another interest among several; He must be the vital piece that completes us.
2. It is within His plan that we remain dependent upon Him for all our needs.
3. Any part of our lives in which we say, “I don’t need the Lord here,” weakens our commitment to follow Him completely. 
4. As we learn to yield more of ourselves to Him, we will discover there is no such thing as conditional surrender to the Lord

A Study in Luke Ch 8

Luke 8:22-25 Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." So they launched out. But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?"

Two significant questions are asked in this story: Where is your faith and Who is this? Let’s take the second one first. The disciples had committed to follow Jesus because of the authority of His teaching.

Luke 4:31-32 He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.

Matt 7:28-29 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

But now, that authority was affecting things like: illness, death, demons, sin and now nature. What did that mean? They knew of only One who operated like that—God Himself. This took their thoughts about Jesus into a whole new realm.

Having just seen Him command the winds and waves, they realized He was superior to the forces of nature. Not only was His teaching powerful, but what He said happened. To them, Jesus was operating in God-territory. Doing what only God could do.

Moses told us about God-territory: Num 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?  What God says, He does.

For the Jews, God existed and operated in a category of One. In the first commandment they understood they were to have no other God’s before Me. God didn’t say this in response to any threat of there being another God to take His place but it was a warning for the people to recognize His superiority and not minimize it by substituting something else higher than He was.

He had no rival, no equal to compete with. But He knew that, because of the frailty of their imaginations, unless the people intentionally acknowledged Him as God, accepting His sole position of being superior, they would let something else take precedence over Him. Most of the Old Testament is the struggle between Almighty God and His people’s failure to honor Him as such.

His words became the revelation of His character, His ability, His intentions and His ultimate plan.

In older days, a contract could be negotiated with a handshake. A man’s word was his bond, his guarantee that he would honor what he committed to.

God has always used His words as promises of His intentions. Not only did the words bind Him but they revealed the response He expected from His people. You could risk your life on them being true and hang your future onto what He said. Because what He said, He would do.

When you have unrivaled, ultimate authority, what You say carries ultimate weight.

Bring that into the New Testament: John said: John 1:1,14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. John was telling us that the same unrivaled authority God expressed from the beginning was now being seen in Jesus.

Realize what that meant to whatever Jesus said or did. When He spoke, God spoke. When He did, God did. Jesus operated from that same category from which God reigns – the category of One, superior to everything else. So what Jesus said, was a word from God. And what God says, He will do.

Which brings us to two unique words used to explain how God communicates to us:

·         Logos – the subject matter of what God wants to say. It is the content of the message. It is the Scripture from cover to cover.

·         Rhema – the portion of the Logos that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention. It is when God makes a specific application of His Word to us in our current situation, personalizing the message to us specifically.

For example: the Bible gives us the Gospel message, the mystery of a personal relationship with God that He has promised from before creation to this present day, written for all people. How do we know He intended it for all people? Paul says of God, the author of that message: 1Ti 2:4 He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

That Gospel message lies within Scripture. But when we hear or read the message, the Holy Spirit taps us on the head and says, “That message is for you.” The message suddenly becomes personal. The message is no longer a general statement to all men, it is a word to us that requires us to respond.

Paul writes: Rom 10:13, 17 "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED." One day I read that and felt the tap on my head and realized that the whoever was me. So I called on the name of the Lord.

Paul says a few verses later: So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. The Rhema of God: the personalized word from God to me.

Faith was not created by hearing. We are born with faith—the ability to trust. A baby absolutely trusts its mom. Young children trust everything to be good for them. We learn to discern as we get older but all of us have the capacity, the ability to trust. Throughout most of our lives that trust is misplaced as it looks for some satisfying hope to connect to, but faith is there. Spiritually, it is asleep until God speaks and it wakes up. God-awakened faith seeks for Him.

Initially, when the message of the Gospel becomes personal to someone, faith says, “I want to respond to that.” If they accept the message as truth for them and give themselves to it, faith has served its role in salvation.

Paul wrote: Eph 2:8 For by grace [God’s activity] you have been saved through faith [our response]; and that [salvation is] not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Faith lets us respond to the message but once our salvation is established, that same faith then becomes our lifestyle.

Hab 2:4 The righteous will live by his faith. Three times in the NT is that truth restated.

We now live within the context of faith. We are people of faith. That means we trust God and act upon what He says.

So, you can understand Jesus’ castigating question to His disciples: Where is your faith?

“It’s in there somewhere or you don’t belong to Me, so where is it? Why isn’t it operational in this moment? Why are you falling apart, thinking you’re going to perish, instead of trusting? You have the ability to believe. Why aren’t you using that ability?”

What had He told them? Let’s go to the other side of the lake. Were they to the other side yet? No. Were His words still active? Yes. So a storm in the middle of a promise doesn’t change the promise. Where is your faith when you need it?

Back the movie up to the teaching before they got in the boat and started across the lake.

Luke 8:11-15 Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

The struggle Jesus spoke of is accepting the Word into our lives or acting upon what we know is true.

A youth leader in another church would say: I’m picking up what you’re laying down. The Lord is planting seeds of truth. Are we receiving those seeds into our lives?

James 1:21-22 In humility receive the word implanted…and prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

The obstacles are Satan, shallowness (or lack of interest) and distractions. When I realize the Word comes from the One who has the authority to speak His truth into my life then I must receive whatever He says as personal to me and trust what He says, He will do.

How do I know I have received that word? The fruit. Attitudes and actions produced from seeds of His Word that God has planted within me. Fruit happens when we receive the truth and by faith apply it to what we believe.

What is fruit? Evidence that God is at work in our lives.

So Luke goes on and tells us what Jesus said next: Luke 8:16-17 Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

Light is an exposure device. It shows things we don’t ordinarily see. It could be a person who infuriates us in the checkout line and shows us our anger. It could be that car going slow in the Fastlane and shows us our impatience. It could be a storm that suddenly rushes over us and shows us our fear. The light doesn't cause these reactions, it exposes what's in our hearts. When the light shines on us, it will show the evidence of the fruit of our faith. Either that we have confidence in God’s goodness or we don’t.

Luke 8:18 "So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him."

Has what? Faith. Just like working out strengthens muscles, using faith enlarges faith. So take care how you listen. Listen with the intention of trusting what God says. Because what He says, He will do.

If we listen to what the Holy Spirit makes personal to us when we read Scripture, hear what He whispers in our ear and receive God’s message to us, in whatever we face our faith will be enough. Why? Because it is placed in a God who what He says, He will do.

TAKEAWAYS:

1. A child of God cannot say he/she is without faith.
2. Our faith may be small because it has been rarely used, but size isn’t the factor.
3. Because a mustard seed amount of faith can move a mountain, we have more than enough faith for whatever we face.
4. The question is not whether we have faith but whether we will exercise that faith to trust in God’s goodness or not.
5. If a storm comes in the middle of a promise, it cannot change that promise.

A Study in Luke Chapter 7

A synopsis is a statement that summarizes a larger story. There is much more information and greater detail to the story, but the synopsis is the heart of the matter.

You may tell about a dark and stormy night, of the howl of the wind as it pushes the car toward the ditch, shielding your eyes from the blinding streaks of lightning, hunkering down when the thunder jarred your teeth and the pounding rain drove your wipers at full swipe. The puddling on the roadway blasting water underneath the car as though a fire hose was shooting up from the ground, the debris tossed across the road just at the outer limits of your headlights. The sweat beading up on your forehead, the coffee sloshing out of your cup onto your pants and the voice on your phone pleading with you to hurry.

You’ve given great details but we find out later that the story is about you getting to the hospital in time for the birth of your newest grandbaby. The storm isn’t the heart of the story. It’s about meeting this precious baby. Just tell me about the baby.

Much of the Gospels is synopsis, not novel, not even a condensed version. The story isn’t in the details, it is, in the simplest terms, a who did what, generally explaining something we need to know about Jesus. No one story tells us all we need to know. But added together each adds a bit more to the total picture of who He is and what He does.

Jawbreakers are made in layers. Each layer provides a different color and occasionally a different flavor to the candy. No layer fully describes the jawbreaker. You can’t pull it out of your mouth and say, “Oh, my jawbreaker is red, then again, it’s green, and later, it’s yellow.” No single layer defines the whole jawbreaker.

In Chapter 7 Luke takes us quickly through several snippets of Jesus’ activity, each showing a different layer of the total picture. He wasn’t giving us definitive stories that explained Jesus completely but glimpses that added together reveal details of who Jesus was and what He was capable of doing.

Why? Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ: the same yesterday and today and forever. Who Jesus was explains who He is, and what He did tells us what He can do. Does that matter? It matters greatly. What he can do affects our lives every day.

Jesus was met by friends of a Roman Centurion who had been sent to ask Jesus to heal this man’s servant. When Jesus was on the way, the Centurion sent additional servants to tell Jesus: Luke 7:6 "Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, "I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith." When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

What do we learn about Jesus: He is our healer. God had said to Moses: Ex 15:26 "I, the LORD, am your healer." Healer is more than just one who makes us well when we are sick, or fixes our broken body when we are infirmed.

Matthew said: Matt 4:23 Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.

The word used for healing uses means to make us whole. What are the condition of our lives that restrict us from living a whole life? Is it disease, is it soul sickness, is it the emptiness of a broken heart, is it an affliction from which we cannot function. Jesus is our healer.

As healer, He can bring about whatever it takes to make us whole. The Lord can take any circumstance in our lives and bring wholeness for whatever those circumstances have caused. Beauty for ashes.

Luke shows us that whatever the condition, Jesus can make us whole. Healing our physical condition, our emotional condition, our spiritual condition. Whatever infirms us, holds us in its grip and restricts our life, Jesus can speak a word and make us whole.

After healing the Centurion’s servant, He then met a lady whose son had died. Death is final in our world. But Jesus did a miracle that denied death its victim.

Luke 7:13 When the Lord saw the woman, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, "Do not weep." And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and, "God has visited His people!"

Yogi Berra once said: “It ain’t over till it’s over.” That applies in sports as well in life. Pulling the plug too early, giving up before you’ve tried everything, turning off the game with time left on the clock. There are plenty of ways to decide it’s over before it’s over.

Thomas Edison said: When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this—you haven’t. As long as the problem exists and there is time on the clock, it isn’t over.

Until God blows the whistle, there is always hope.

Why did Luke tell us this story? We need to know that even something as powerful as death isn’t the final word. Whatever we’re going through isn’t the end. It is an opportunity for God to accomplish what concerns us.

The story isn’t just about answering the question can Jesus raise the physically dead. He is without limitation. It is a story that makes us ask what else can be considered dead that He can bring back to life.

·         A body ravaged by disease.

·         A man kept alive on life support

·         A marriage cold and lifeless

·         A life absent of joy, hope and promise of a future.

·         A disconnected family

·         A lifelong struggle with demons and personal destruction.

·         A broken heart that seems beyond repair.

It’s not over until He says it’s over!

So after He raises the widow’s son, Luke tells us of John the Baptizer’s doubt. Jesus wasn’t fulfilling John’s expectations of what he thought the Messiah would do. He sent some of his men to Jesus for answers.

Luke 7:20 When the men came to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, 'Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?'"

Ever had doubts? Ever read one of the stories and struggled to believe how this could have possibly happened. Ever wondered if all that you believe is true? Ever questioned if God is there, if heaven is real, if you have the right beliefs?

Well, you’re in good company. John the Baptizer, the miracle baby who grew up to be the forerunner of the Messiah, who saw the confirming sign of the dove descending and remaining on Jesus at His baptism, questioned if Jesus was who John thought He was.

Luke 7:22 And He answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me."

Take offense – means not be tripped up. Don’t let your doubts trip you up, making you fall, stumble or stagger through life. Acknowledge your doubts then go back and look at Jesus. No one can do the things He did unless He was who He claimed to be.

Why did Luke share this snip? We need to know what to do when we have doubts.

·         What if my prayers aren’t answered yet?

·         What if the promise I claim hasn’t come through yet?

·         What if my needs remain unmet?

·         What if the problem is still raging in my life?

·         What if I asked for forgiveness and still feel guilty?

Don’t let the appearance of inactivity trip you up. Don’t let God’s silence make you think He isn’t there. Keep looking to Jesus until you are convinced that He who began a good work in you will complete that work.

The final layer Luke wanted us to see was the ability of Jesus to forgive.

Luke 7:37 And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner." And Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he replied, "Say it, Teacher." "A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  "When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?" Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have judged correctly."

The story at this point seems to be about the amount of sin needing forgiveness but Jesus quickly turns that idea around to the amount of forgiveness being applied. How much? Enough to cover all the sin.

Whatever we bring to Jesus of our faults and failures, presenting to Him our rebellion and selfishness, He will forgive. If we admit the sin in our lives to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive that sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The operative word is all.

Here is a lady presenting to Jesus her entire life by a sacrifice of humility, as a slave who washes feet. Jesus saw her need was forgiveness because He could see she carried much guilt from her lifestyle.

Luke 7:47  "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." Then He said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven." Luke 7:49 Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this man who even forgives sins?"

What did Luke want us to see? How Jesus dealt with a sinful woman? That’s helpful but all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s expectation. I think he wanted us to see how powerful and abundant God’s forgiveness really is. That there is nothing in our lives He cannot forgive.

Luke told us these stories because he wanted us to see Jesus as our infinite Lord who can do whatever needs to be done.

The Centurion’s servant showed us: If we are afflicted, sick, or living with an emptiness in our hearts, He is our healer who makes us whole.

The widow’s son showed us: If we believe we have come to the end, given up, denied there is any solution or resolution to our problems, we need to remember that even death isn’t final to Jesus. He can restore what Satan has destroyed, He can return what’s been taken away, He can replace the joy that life has stolen from us. It isn’t over until He says it’s over.

John the Baptizer showed us: If we have gnawing doubts that hold back our faith and cause us to lose confidence in God’s goodness, we can look at Jesus and believe again. He showed us the faithfulness of God in all circumstances.

The sinful woman showed us: If we feel unacceptable to Jesus, marked by our sins, defined by our faults and failures, cast away from the good we wish we could claim, we need to know our Lord is willing and able to forgive. We are not equipped to carry our guilt. Jesus promised release from the burden. To enjoy that release, we must give Him our burdened souls.

If we think we can make the miracle happen in our lives, that we are sufficient to meet all our needs on our own, we are greatly mistaken. But living inside us as a child of God is the same one who did all these things. Call out to Him and trust Him for what concerns you.

TAKEAWAYS:

1. If we have any doubts about Jesus it is because we have failed to understand who He was is who He is.
2. If we choose to carry our own concerns instead of giving those concerns to Him, we will break under the strain of our own lives.
3. Faith requires us to present our needs to Him, then anticipate He will accomplish what concerns us in the way that is best.
4. Even when we struggle to remain faithful, He will not, for He cannot deny Himself.

Study in Luke - Chapters 5/6

It has been evident throughout history that people will not willingly follow someone they feel superior to. You’ve seen it in business when a younger, less-experienced person has been promoted above those with age, skills and wisdom. In the military, a Second Lieutenant, fresh from the academy has a hard time gaining respect from seasoned Master Sergeants and war-hardened troops. Guys with life experience aren’t easily persuaded by those with education.

Peter faced a similar challenge. Jesus was asking him to, “Come follow Me.” Now, here’s a man’s man, a crusty fisherman who gives more orders than he takes, does what he wants, goes where he wants, says whatever he wants. How is he going to submit to someone else leading his life? How is he going to give control to another person?

Remember, after the big catch of fish, Peter fell down at Jesus’ feet and said: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

Peter is in the middle of an identity crisis. That happens when you get a glimpse of yourself stripped of ego, standing exposed for who you really are. He was humbled.

Humbling means lowering your perception of yourself. The Bible says not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. It tells us we must humble ourselves before God will lift us up, but also it shows us how He can humble us.

When Peter saw himself in contrast to who Jesus was, he was humbled. When he fell to his knees he was humbling himself.

In that moment, Peter saw that he was less of a man than he had promoted himself to be. He looked at Jesus’ purity. He saw his sin. He looked at Jesus’ purpose. He saw his floundering. He looked at Jesus’ power. He saw his weakness.

In an instant, this man who made life all about himself gained new perspective. To follow Jesus, Jesus must become the center of Peter’s life.

A few years ago, the word of the Year by the American Dialect Society in Anaheim, CA, was plutoed. It was coined when a vote involving just 424 astronomers at a meeting of the International Astronomical Union in Prague, on August 24, 2006, decided Pluto was no longer a planet. The word means “to demote or devalue someone or something.”

Most of us can’t handle the thought of being plutoed. We want to advance, we want to promote, we want to gain the advantage.

But to follow, we must submit—place ourselves under the authority of someone else’s leadership.

Leonard Bernstein, the famous orchestra conductor was once asked: what is the most difficult instrument to play in the orchestra? He said: second fiddle. Everyone wants the lead. Nobody wants to follow.

It would take humility for the men Jesus chose to play second to His lead to be able to follow Him.

When pride rules, it is hard to admit we need a God, a Lord, a master, to even say, we need help.

Someone said: When pride walks onto the platform, God walks off.

When Peter saw the limitations of what he brought to the table, he faced the challenge and chose humility.

Levi (or Matthew) had a similar moment.

Luke 5:27  After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, "Follow Me." And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him. And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house, and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

Was Jesus looking at Matthew when He said this? At other times Jesus proved He could see inside the minds of people and know their thoughts. He could see into their hearts and know the sincerity of what they were saying or doing. Was this why Matthew dropped everything at the tax table and followed Jesus?

Or was he the tax collector of another story? Luke 18:10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Here’s a man showing the kind of humility required to follow Jesus. Are we seeing a pattern yet? The path to being made right with God or to inviting Him into the issues of our lives requires us to acknowledge we are more with Him than we are without Him.

Those who don’t believe they are sick are not going to go to the doctor. Those who don’t believe they are ignorant are not going to seek information. Those who don’t believe they have a problem they can’t handle are not going to admit they need help.

Look at healing. Jesus healed many people throughout His ministry. Luke tells us of one where the man confessed Jesus as his only hope. Luke 5:12  While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately the leprosy left him.

What made this healing unique was the confession: Lord, I have a need. You have the answer. I submit my need to You and trust You for the result. That’s humility. I can’t fix my problem. You can. I’m not the most important one here, You are.

What did John the Baptizer say? He must increase; I must decrease. Or in a more personal statement: For Him to increase, I must decrease. I will not place myself underneath the Lord, nor will I ever submit to His control over my life as long as I feel I am more important. We cannot compete with Him for who’s in control.

The Pharisees saw themselves in control of Jewish life. One day they were challenging Jesus about His obvious disregard for their traditions, specifically, the Sabbath obligations. “Why do you and your men do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” In other words, Do You think You are above our rules?

Luke 6:5 And He was saying to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" And he got up and came forward. And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?" After looking around at them all, He said to him, "Stretch out your hand!" And he did so; and his hand was restored. But they themselves were filled with rage…

Why? They saw Jesus acting as though He was superior to them and their beliefs, which is an interesting observation because He was! His words challenged them because they came with authority which means you have to believe or dismiss. They can’t be ignored.

So He challenged them with outcomes. Let’s play this out. According to your response, one of these two results will be true.

Luke 6:46 "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? "Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. "But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."

If you are building on the wrong foundation, your life will crumble. You will be like a man who placed his ladder on a wall and spent his whole life climbing that ladder, only to find out he had leaned it against the wrong wall. He didn’t follow the instructions.

Why are we given instructions? Because the success of the final product depends upon accurately putting the pieces together as they are designed to fit.

Instructions are burdensome to those of us who think we can accomplish the end without them. I don’t need no stinking instructions. Instructions are for those who can’t figure out what to do. Instructions are for those who need help. They are a crutch.

Ever hear that in reference to Jesus? Christianity is a crutch. Salvation is for weak people. Following Jesus is for those who don’t have what it takes to blaze their own trails. It is for the ignorant and inferior.

I’ll be the first to admit: I’m one of those. That’s me. I am the sick one who needs a Divine Physician. I am the sinful man who feels ashamed to stand in the presence of the Lord. I am the sinner, beating my chest, crying out for the mercy of God.

Jesus said to the Pharisees, the one who thinks he can justify himself apart from Me can count on his life crumbling. But, the one who humbly submits to Me, he will stand.

In South America, the llama is a cultural metaphor for arrogance. To keep a herd of llamas corralled, you don’t even need a fence. All you need is one rope circling around the herd to keep them enclosed. Just by placing it at a height between the head and base of the neck, the llamas are trapped. Rather than stooping beneath the rope, they will stand tall, proud but captive.

Why were the Nations of Israel and Judah both taken captive? They had lowered the importance of God over them, choosing to run their lives according to their own desires. They elevated themselves and their wants above Him. They plutoed God.

How did God respond: Jer 13:17 But if you will not listen to it, My soul will sob in secret for such pride; And my eyes will bitterly weep And flow down with tears, Because the flock of the LORD has been taken captive.

Pride makes us think we’re the answer. Humility reminds us He is.

·         How do I respond to the doctor’s diagnosis? Jesus

·         How do I handle the crisis of my adult children? Jesus

·         How do I face a life that’s dwindling down? Jesus

·         How do I help my grandchildren deal with life? Jesus

·         How do I rest in peace during my fiery ordeal? Jesus

TAKEAWAYS:

1. The hardest actions are the ones that require humility.
2. Humility doesn’t expose weakness, it admits it.
3. When I admit I need the Lord, I am demonstrating faith not failure.
4. If I refuse to admit I need the Lord, I am not declaring my strength but exposing my lack of it.
5. Since we didn’t create the life, to think we know better how it should be lived than the One who did create it, we are setting our hopes on a false foundation.

A Study in Luke - Ch. 5 Renewing the Passion

When we got our boys a swingset years ago, I was surprised that this massive structure came in a long, narrow box. Nothing was together. There were hundreds of parts, bags of screws, bolts and attachments…and pages of instructions. It took hours to put it together. But finally there it was. The boys loved it. I was proud. And then as I was gathering up the leftover parts, I read the final note on the instructions: retighten all bolts once a month as long as the swingset is in use. In other words: for the rest of my natural life.

I wasn’t providing my kids a play toy, I was making a lifetime commitment to a metal monster.

Making a commitment involves dedicating yourself to something or someone and assuming the obligations and responsibilities of that commitment.

Probably the best picture of commitment is marriage. What begins with vows or promises that establish the foundation for building a life together is intended to continue for the duration of the marriage.

We are so happy making our vows, then life starts. We settle down. Routine, busyness, illness, kids, moving, in-laws, disagreements, change. After a while our commitment grows cold and the vows become a faded memory. We are consumed with duties and responsibilities. The relationship goes stale. What had started as a fiery hot volcano of passion, now is only a Bick lighter that doesn’t always work. Where are the flames, where’s the passion?

Woman asked her husband—“Why don’t you ever nibble on my ear anymore? I loved it when you nibbled on my ear. They’re dangling.” He said, “Well, just a minute, let me go get my teeth.”

Our marriage commitment obligates us to not settle for less but to press on to what’s best. To live out our devotion. To love and be loved and do the actions that demonstrate that love.

If you’ve ever played with fire, you’ve taken a fully enflamed log out of the fire and watched it slowly quit burning and grow cold.

Well, what if we’ve pulled away from the fire? What if we’ve grown cold and somewhat indifferent? What if we’re just going through the motions? How do we get back what we once had? How do we renew a commitment back to how it was in the beginning?

In the Revelation of John, Jesus told the church of Ephesus: But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first. (Rev 2:4)

The issue Jesus had with the Ephesians was they had grown cold in their devotion to Him and were no longer doing the things that they used to do that expressed that love. So He told them, “Think back to the earlier days when what drove who you were also driving what you did. When you lived out the excitement of belonging to Me.”

First rule of fixing a computer that’s quit working is to reboot. To turn it off and restart it to what it was like before things messed up. To bring us back to where we were before we drifted away, often God reboots our commitment, by reminding us how this all got started and what life was like when He was our first love.

Then He gave them the process of renewal: Change your mind, turn your face back to look at what consumed your passion and start doing the things you used to do. Things that expressed your love for Me. I’m not asking you to just change your behavior but renew your mind to the love that used to drive your life. Then live that way.

Deep inside them was life-giving evidence of a changed heart.

Prov 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flows the springs of life.

The heart drives the actions. Reviving the heart will change how we live and what we do.

Paul said: 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. (Rom 12:2)

What initiates the transformation? Renewing or reviving the place within your heart that holds your commitment. Jesus called that place your first love. Go back there, let the love grow hot again and let that love control your attitudes and actions. Returning to your first love. That works in marriage. But that process was designed for rekindling our relationship with the Lord.

God used that method with many people in Scripture. Each had a significant moment of commitment but had strayed away. He brought them back to a memory where they first made their commitment and then gave them the opportunity for a second chance.

Jonah 1:1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me."  But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa… Then the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land. Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you." Let’s go back to that moment before the fish…

Jdg 13:5 "For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines." Jdg 16:17  So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, "A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man." Jdg 16:20 She said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. Jdg 16:22 However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.  Let’s go back to the promise from your birth…

Mar 16:7 "But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.'"

But while they were supposed to be waiting for the Lord…John 21:3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will also come with you." They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?" They answered Him, "No." And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch." So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.

Joh 21:11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

John’s memory of that moment was the net didn’t break. Peter’s memory was of a seashore and a different boatload of fish—153 to be exact. There was no other reason to number them. It was a number Peter remembered.

Luke 5:1-11

What was Jesus doing? Tying the two events together to bring Peter back to when his heart was softer and more excited about following Him. Back when he made his first decision to make Jesus his first love, to leave everything and go with Jesus.

In John’s story, the crucifixion had taken the wind out of Peter’s sail, doused water on his fire (use any cliché you like). He was loose from the dock and drifting and Jesus knew it. It was too easy for Peter to go back fishing instead of waiting for Jesus.

Same things as with Ephesus: “Your love has lessened. I can see it in your actions. Don’t tell me you love Me and live like this?” But He wouldn’t leave them there. He offered the way back. “Remember when you first believed, renew your mind to what that was like and start doing again the things you did at first, the things that demonstrated your love.”

What things: Remember…

·         When Prayer became important – Prayer changed from saying words to speaking with God. It was the time in my day I acknowledged God’s presence in my life.

·         When the Bible became alive – When I would intentionally seek insight into the ways of God. Reading to discover something that would help me know God better and live more effectively for Him.

·         When you would Worship – Worship isn’t attending a worship service. It is a heart connected with God expressing praise and devotion. It is telling Him you love Him. Thanking Him.

·         When trusting God with the details of your life was easy – Back when your first thought in a crisis or trouble was God help me.

·         When you would let God help others through you – When you looked for ways to minister and serve—to be of use to the Kingdom.

Commitment speaks of obligation. There are things we do when we’re committed. There are things we don’t do if we’re not committed.

·         The swingset never was retightened again. I wasn’t committed.

·         Marrying my wife was a good thing. That commitment changed my life and continues to change my life for the better.

·         Following Jesus is a commitment that has obligated me to live within the delight of His love. It is renewed daily with an on-going response to continue doing the things that show Him I love Him.

To rekindle our love for Him, God often takes us back and reminds us of those early days of our commitment, reminding us how this all got started and what life was like when He was our first love.

TAKEAWAYS:

1. Commitment is an obligation that begins in our hearts and spreads throughout our whole lives.
2. When we choose to live out our commitment, the evidence of that choice becomes obvious.
3. If the things of God are not obvious in my life, it is because I have moved away from the fire and lost the passion I once had for Him.
4. The journey to renewal reignites that flame, rekindles my love, redirects my thoughts and revives the practices that once expressed my devotion to Him.
5.  A renewed commitment—like a renewed marriage—can be even more life-changing than the original. 

A Study of Luke - Ch 3

The very last thing said in the Old Testament is: Mal 4:5 Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers…

400 years later…Luke 3:1  Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar [began reign in 14 A.D. this would be approximately 28 A.D.], when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea [began in 28 A.D.], and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, Luke 3:2  in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. Luke 3:3  And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;

Mat 11:9-10 "But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, 'BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.' "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer! Mat 11:14 "And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.

Role of prophets – to speak in behalf of God. To bring God’s purposes into whatever the people faced. To stand and declare Thus saith the Lord…

People need rallying points, they need leaders who will stand up and say, “This is the way.” John was that kind of leader.

Churchill was as well: “You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs - Victory in spite of all terrors - Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival. Let that be realized. No survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge, the impulse of the ages, that mankind shall move forward toward his goal. I take up my task in buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. I feel entitled at this juncture, at this time, to claim the aid of all and to say, "Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength."

Churchill prepared an unprepared people for a war that proved to be, by his own words, Briton’s finest hour!

But there was no prophet’s voice for 400 years. With no word from God of substance enough to write down, the people lost enthusiasm for loving God with their whole hearts, minds and spirits. They’d become lazy in expectation. 400 years with no one saying, “Come, then, let us go forward together to the heart of God. Then the time came.

Mark 1:4-5 John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 

How do you distinguish a fresh work of God? Change. Change of attitude, change of direction, change of heart. When God acts, there is a difference.

Baptism wasn’t unusual. In fact it was common practice for a variety of Jewish purification rituals. Gentiles becoming Jews would be baptized.

Luke 11:37  Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined. When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed [baptized] before the meal.

But a baptism of repentance was new. It went beyond the cleansing ritual for sin. It accompanied changing your mind or changing your direction. Specifically, it was to give evidence you had turned your life toward God, given your heart (or the control center of your life) to Him.

The use of the word repent is limited, however. In the Gospels and Acts, repent or repentance is only used 18 times. In the rest of the New Testament you will not find repent but you will find repentance used 8 times.

2Co 7:10  For the sorrow that is according to God produces a repentance [desire to change] without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

2Ti 2:24-26 The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance [the desire for change] leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

2Pe 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 [the process of change].

Repentance is that moment of surrendering to God, declaring He has the better life for us than the one we are living on our own. We act on the desire to change the direction of our life from us to Him.

Rom 2:4 Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? The kindness of God creates the desire for change and points us to the opportunity to change.

Change is a process. It begins with the desire for change—repentance—but doesn’t stop with just the desire. The second part of repenting is confessing. I am confessing how I have missed God’s intentions by going my own way. I’m not dealing with sins but sin—the driving force within me leading me away from God. God there are desires inside me that take me away from You, and I have given in to them.

Mark says John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The word for isn’t in the original. It is the word into (which we’ll deal with again in a few minutes). A person didn’t get baptized to get forgiveness. The baptism was because their repentance led them to confess their sin and God forgave them.

They confessed their sins. To whom? John? Why would John care about hearing how they had sinned against God. What could he do about it? They were confessing to the only One who had the power to forgive—God, Himself.

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Why baptism? Why not just have them stand on a rock and shout out loud, “I am turning my life toward God.” Baptism was symbol and a challenge.

·         Leaving an old life, entering a new.

·         Dying to the old self and embracing the new.

·         Having confessed my sin, I am declaring it washed away.

·         Stating for the record, I’m all in, immersed completely surrendered to God.

It was a practice even the Pharisees couldn’t argue with. They used water in a purification ritual. Problem: they thought the water was what cleansed them.

It was the difference in rinsing your hands or washing with soap. Rinsing may make us think we’re clean but stuff remains that won’t come off without soap.

Rebecca told of Joe washing his hands. With soap? He went back to wash again.

John’s mission was to prepare the way for the Messiah, not create rituals. He knew that people needed to be prepared and they weren’t. The war for the souls of mankind was at hand. The first part of that preparation was repentance – turning away from an old and empty life. He started there.

John preached steps for the people to follow:

1. Repent (and confess)
2. Be baptized
3. Live in anticipation that the Messiah was coming

Step three was where John and the people he baptized lived. Some baptized by John took this message to other parts of the world. But the message was limited to Step 3.

Act 18:24  Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

Act 19:1  It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples.  He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism." Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Their understanding was limited because of a lack of information. They had repented of their sins and were baptized, prepared for what God was planning to do. They simply didn’t know that He had already done it. Their picture wasn’t complete. They believed up to the limit of their knowledge but needed the rest of the story to fully come into the Kingdom. Priscilla and Aquila as well as Paul filled in the blanks. The men believed, were baptized into the Name of Jesus who fulfilled the promise for which they were prepared.

Difference between in and into: In is a word of agreement with. We agree with a plan or purpose so we believe in it. We agree with something we’ve been told so we believe in it. We agree that Jesus is who He says He is so we believe in Him.

Into indicates that a point has been reached or entered. We have moved into the house. We have gone into the church. It is a preposition of location.

Where are we with Jesus? Are we in agreement with things we know about Him? Or have we entered into a vital relationship with Him personally?

Jn 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes into Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Believing in simply means I agree with what’s written about Him. Believing into means I have entered into relationship with Him.

That’s how I spent my teenage years in church. Believing in but never moving into.

John wasn’t a converter or an evangelist, but one who prepared people for what God had coming. He wasn’t given them a religious experience through baptism but wanting evidence they have made a life-changing decision to turn their lives toward the Lord so they would be ready for what God was going to do.

That was the promise at John’s birth: Luke 1:16-17 "He will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

But God had a step 4 for John: John 1:31 "I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water."

The ultimate purpose of John’s mission was to identify the Messiah. Later, he’ll say, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” God had told him, when I show you who the Messiah is, your ministry will be completed. The time to prepare is over. Now, it’s time to receive who He is.

Want to know why Jesus was baptized? It was for John. It was the sign John was to see to declare Him the One. It served no other purpose.

John 1:32-34 John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God."

Seeing that convinced John—God was saying to him, “John, this is why you were born. This is your defining moment. John moved into Step 4—meeting Jesus and acknowledging Him as Savior and Lord.

God has that same moment for each of us to discover we were born to meet Jesus.

What happened to John? Luke 3:20 Herod had John put into prison. John never walks free again but will die a fulfilled man.

There is a fulfillment that comes when we know who Jesus is and give our hearts to Him. He blesses us then and continues to bless us throughout our lives. That anticipation John called the people to live with, knowing Jesus was coming, is how we live every day. We live in the assurance He is here.

2018 is going to be a significant year for us. We will see God do amazing things in and through our church. I want you to join me in living in anticipation of what He will do.

TAKEAWAYS:

1. John’s life demonstrated the power and purpose of God.
2. He expected that the people who came to him for baptism had repented: chosen God’s way over their own.
3. The evidence of repenting is a changed life.
4. Believing in Jesus can change our perspective but believing into Him begins a relationship that changes our lives.