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When You Believe God Will Judge
Psalms 57
December 15, 2019

Tonight we come across a Psalm that has a special link
To 4 other Psalms in the Bible.

Psalms 57, 58, 59, and 75 all have a common distinction.
In the subheading we read that they are “set to Al-tashheth”

This is a Hebrew phrase that means “Destroy Not”

This is somewhat interesting distinction since,
As you will eventually see, every one of these 4 Psalms deals with,
To some degree, the coming judgment of God upon the wicked.

For example in Psalms 57:
• (3) “He (God) reproaches him who tramples upon me.”
• (6) “They dug a pit for me; they themselves have fallen into the midst of it.”

Psalms 58 is much more direct:
• (6) “O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.”
• (10) “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.”

Psalms 59 continues the thought:
• (5) “You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to punish all the nations; do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity.”

And even Psalms 75 says:
• (8) “For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams; it is well mixed, and He pours out of this; surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.”

But you see my point.
These 4 songs are all set to the tune of “Destroy Not”
And yet all of them speak about God’s coming destruction of the wicked.

Obviously then
We know what David DOES NOT MEAN by this tune or setting.
David is NOT implying that God should not or will not destroy the wicked.

For that is clearly not what he says in the songs.

Then what is the point?
The point of these Psalms is one that we find over and over in the New Testament.

And it is best articulated by the apostle Paul:
Romans 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”

When David sets these 4 Psalms to the tune of “Destroy Not”,
He’s not talking to God, he’s talking to you.

It is a cry for you to have enough faith to endure suffering
And allow God to be the One who deals with your oppressor.

• It is a call for you to trust God and turn the other cheek.
• It is a call for you to trust God and go the extra mile.
• It is a call for you to trust God and not demand your coat back.
• It is a call for you to trust that God will one day do the vindicating.

That is the common theme of all 4 of these Psalms.
Namely to trust that God will one day judge and so you don’t need to.

That is why I entitled tonight’s sermon on the 57th Psalm,
“When You Believe God Will Judge”

Because in reading Psalms 57 we know that David believes God will judge, and we know that because David defers to God for it.

And this perhaps opens for us
An uncomfortable way of EXAMINING OURSELVES.

We are people who would no doubt claim and defend our theology that we certainly believe that:
• Jesus will return
• Jesus will set up His earthly kingdom
• Jesus will judge the living and the dead
• Jesus will reward the righteous and destroy the wicked

But it may also be true that while we believe this theologically, we struggle with it practically when refuse to suffer unjustly.
• When people wrongly oppress me…
• When people wrongly persecute me…
• When people wrongly portray me…
• When people cheat me…
• When people take advantage of me…
• When people in effect slap my cheek or take my coat…

How I respond to such things indicates whether or not
I believe God will one day vindicate the righteous.

• If I instantly fly off the handle and fight back…
• If I return with my own verbal assault…
• If I slap their cheek right back…
• If I “take my own revenge”…

Then it is apparent that I don’t think God will actually do it.

You probably never thought of an absence of meekness
As a testimony that God is not a just Judge,
But that’s exactly what it is.

And that is really the heart behind Psalms 57.
“Destroy Not”; as in, don’t take your own revenge, but let God do it.

And on that note, I would remind you that
GOD MOST CERTAINLY WILL DO IT.

When we read the New Testament, we are often confronted with realities of Christian suffering and persecution.
• We read warnings of parents betraying their children and children their parents…
• We read warnings of being dragged before kings and rulers…
• We read warnings of being kicked out of synagogues…
• We read warnings of being hated by everyone…
• We read warnings of being killed…

And we even see some of those warnings fulfilled in Scripture.

We know the abuse of God’s children by this world is a real thing.

But in all those warnings, and in all those instructions about suffering, we are also GIVEN TWO VERY IMPORTANT WORDS.

Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

Jesus certainly speaks of persecution and endurance,
But if you’ll notice He also gives a time reference phrase.
He says, “to the end”.

That is to say, this won’t go on forever.
There is an end that is coming.

Perhaps you remember the parable of the tares of the field who corrupt God’s world with wickedness and evil.

Matthew 13:49 “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous”

Later in Jesus’ ministry the disciples asked Him about this coming end.
In that Olivet discourse we get statements like these:
Matthew 24:6 “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.”

Matthew 24:14 “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

There is always a coming end.
There is always a day of consummation.
This is not an indefinite experiment that is going on.

The Scripture speaks of a definitive end to all of this.

And this end comes as a day of vindication for God’s people.

Romans 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”

Revelation 3:9 “Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.”

Perhaps you remember even in the book of the Revelation (6:9-11)
• As those souls are seen under the altar who are crying out “How long, until you vindicate us..?”

God tells them to wait just a little while longer
Because it is not yet the end.

But then we see the end don’t we?
Revelation 19:1-2 “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.”

That is the coming of the Lord Jesus and the judgment that He brings.

There is a coming end and vindication for God’s people.

And if you believe that, then you can obey Paul’s command
To never take your own revenge but to leave room for God’s wrath.

If you believe that God is a righteous Judge
Who will save His own and judge the wicked
Then you can listen to what David says here and “Destroy Not”
But leave that responsibility to God.

That is what this song is about.
It is a song of genuine faith in the fact that
GOD WILL EXECUTE JUSTICE SO I DON’T HAVE TO.

Now you will also notice that this Psalm comes with a specific setting.
“A Mikhtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.”

David did this a couple of times, but when you study this Psalm
It makes which time this Psalm is referring to obvious.

READ: 1 Samuel 24

So there you have the famous story.
• David on the run
• Saul in pursuit
• David receives the opportunity to kill Saul
• But David refuses to take revenge

It is the events of that story that inspire this Psalm.

We’re going to break it down into 3 main points tonight.
#1 DAVID’S CONFIDENCE
Psalms 57:1-3

This Psalm begins in like fashion to the 56th.
“Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me”

You’ll remember from last time what David means by this introduction.
“gracious” there is CHANON
Which means “to stoop down in kindness to an inferior”

We again see David as the humble man on the floor,
Unworthy to come before God
But counting on God’s marvelous mercy and pity as he does.

One thing we did not discuss last time in regard to this phrase, but that is worth mentioning is the OBVIOUS THEOLOGY TO SUCH A REQUEST.

If you are in danger and you go to God
And ask Him to deal with the situation out of His mercy and grace
THEN THERE ARE CERTAIN THEOLOGICAL ISSUES AT PLAY.

It is obvious, for instance,
That David believes God to be sovereign and able to help.

• If David doesn’t believe God to be able to help in the situation then why ask
Him?
• If David doesn’t believe God to be sovereign over His circumstances and
powerful enough to change them, then why ask?

Secondly, it is obvious
That David believes God to be merciful and gracious, or why ask Him?

The simple point I am making here is that
A REQUEST FOR GRACE IS AN ADMISSION OF SOVEREIGNTY.

The request for grace depends upon the belief that God is sovereign.
If you don’t believe God is sovereign
You’re going to have a tough time asking for grace.

David obviously believes God to be sovereign.

And the reason David twice appeals for God to have mercy on him here
Is because David has set God up as his only hope.

“For my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by.”

David is currently in a cave, but it is obvious that
He doesn’t think much of the cave as a means of safety.

One might even be tempted to look at that cave as a trap
Since if you are detected there is no way to escape.

That is why David speaks of God as His “refuge”

And the poetic imagery is that David is going to hide “in the shadow of Your wings…until destruction passes by.”

You’ve probably heard of the story before of the mother hen
• That hid her babies under her wings as the hawk flew overhead,
• Or the story about the fire and the mother hen who had died, but the chicks
that were under her wings survived.

That is what David refers to here.

The cave won’t protect him, God will.
The cave won’t hide him, God will.

And then comes the great statement of David’s faith.
(2-3) “I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me. He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.”

The theological statement is easily identified here.
David is going to “cry to God”

And the reason is seen in the fact that David calls Him
The “God who accomplishes all things for me.”

That is an interesting distinction.
• If you’ll notice in your Bible, the words “all things” are italicized which means they aren’t in the Hebrew text.

Literally the phrase is simply,
“To God who accomplishes for me”

It is left without an explanation as to what exactly God accomplishes.
The Bible translators simply chose to leave it wide open
And put “all things” in there.

But things like that intrigue me.
• The word “accomplishes” is GAMAR (ga-mare)
• And it means “to end” or “to complete”

David here says that He is hiding in God because
“God is the one who “ends” or “completes” for him.”

It immediately brings a gospel reference to our minds
As we heard Jesus on the cross say, “It is finished”

It is the same mentality here.
• God will do this.
• Not “through” me but “for me”, David says.

The battle is real, the danger is real, but God will end it.

So you already see then that David is looking to “the end”.

And here is what David is confident God will do in the end.
(3) “He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah”

Two things David is confident God will do in the end.
• He will save me
• He will vindicate me

Do you see that?

And then we just see the word “Selah” which refers to a rest or a pause, and when David picks back up the song he restates those same truths.

“God will send for His lovingkindness and His truth”

• His “lovingkindness” speaks to my salvation.
• His “truth” speaks to my vindication.

SO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE HERE.
You have David hiding in a cave and he is confident
That God will both hide him and put an end to his current threat.

He believes that God will save him.
He believes that God will vindicate him.

He is confident that God can handle it
Because God is the “God who accomplishes all things for me”

Since David is currently on the run from Saul and hiding in a cave;
That makes this song all the more real doesn’t it?

It is quite a confidence that David is expressing in God.

But, as you know,
• We have often heard the saying that “Talk is cheap”.
• It’s one thing to “talk the talk” it’s another thing to “walk the walk”

David is about to get his opportunity to put his money where his mouth is.

We read 1 Samuel so you know what happens next.
• Saul enters the cave to go to the bathroom.

And do you remember the advice that David received from his friends?

1 Samuel 24:3-7 “He came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. The men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.'” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD’S anointed.” David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way.”

Well there you have David passing with flying colors don’t you?
• He had every opportunity to take matters into his own hands.
• His friends were even telling him that this was some sort of divine providence, namely that God had delivered Saul to David so David could kill him.

But understand something here.
• God did deliver Saul to David, but not for David to kill him.
• God delivered Saul to David to test David’s faith.

Just because circumstances align
Does not mean we are permitted by God to break His commands.

God commands us not to take revenge.
• Just because it looks like your enemy has fallen into your lap does not give you the right to break that command as though God was making it ok.

David passes the test.
He doesn’t kill Saul.

But what does happen here is even greater.
God confirms David’s faith.

David’s Confidence
#2 DAVID’S CONFIRMATION
Psalms 57:4-6

You will notice that as this stanza begins David is still in great danger.
He describes it in very poetic fashion.

“My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.”

Obviously it’s poetic language.
• They aren’t actual lions & They don’t actually breathe fire
• Their teeth are actually arrows or spears & Their tongue is not actually a sword

It’s figurative language to speak of a very dangerous foe.
It is poetic language to speak of a very destructive enemy.

It is an enemy that will not hesitate to devour David.
HE’S IN REAL DANGER.

And we must pause here just for a second
To make a FURTHER APPLICATION.
The presence of danger does not discredit the commands of God.

God tells us not to take our own revenge.
He does not qualify it by saying, “unless it’s really dangerous”

We are to follow the example of our Lord here.
1 Peter 2:23 “and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

Peter tells us that Jesus is our example.
• No matter the hostility.
• No matter the danger.
• We are to bear up under it as people of faith who trust that God will fix it all in
the end.

1 Peter 4:1-7 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God. The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.”

Did you hear Peter?
• Embrace suffering…
• Don’t give in to sin…
• Don’t be surprised when the world attacks you…

But Peter also says
• That “they will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living
and the dead”
• And that “the end of all things is near”

They are simply asking you to not let hardship
Cause you to disregard the expectation of God.

So the danger is real… Just endure anyway.

THAT IS WHAT DAVID IS DOING.
He is trusting God even though he’s in a lot of danger.

BUT THEN SOMETHING VERY ABRUPT HAPPENS.

In one verse David goes from
Talking about how bad the danger is to praising God.

Without any warning or any transition we simply read:
(5-6) “Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.”

In an instant David goes from lamenting to praising!

David is announcing the glory of God!
“Be exalted above the heavens, O God!”

We would ask, “Why?” or “What happened?”

And David tells us in verse 6.
“They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they dug a pit for me; they themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah”

What did he just say?
They fell into their own trap!

It’s reminiscent of Haman being hung on the gallows that he built for Mordecai.

• They were setting traps for me everywhere.
• Their hope was to catch me unware.
• Their plan was to sneak up on me and kill me.

But would you look here?
Saul just fell into a trap!

What happened?
Saul entered that cave to go to the bathroom!

Now, certainly we note that
David DID NOT take sinful advantage of that situation and kill Saul.
That is NOT WHY David is rejoicing.

David is rejoicing because God just confirmed in David’s mind
That He is more than able of handling Saul.

• David was stepping out in faith that God could hide him and protect him and save him and vindicate him.
• After Saul walked into that cave and back out David was more certain than ever before that God could do it.

And that is why after Saul leaves DAVID DOES THE UNTHINKABLE.
He actually comes out of the cave and confronts Saul!

1 Samuel 24:8-12 “Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, ‘Behold, David seeks to harm you’? “Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’S anointed.’ “Now, my father, see! Indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill you, know and perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life to take it. “May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.”

If you are still afraid of Saul
You don’t come out of that cave until Saul is long gone.
But David isn’t.

He is now more confident than ever
That God is able to bring this to an end in His timing.

God just confirmed David’s faith.

That, by the way, is why in chapter 26
When David gets another opportunity to kill Saul
It is even easier for David not to take it.

1 Samuel 26:8-11 “Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.” But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’S anointed and be without guilt?” David also said, “As the LORD lives, surely the LORD will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down into battle and perish. “The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD’S anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go.”

David knows that God will end it in His time.

You see that his faith has been confirmed.

David is not the only one to have received such confirmation.

Consider Paul:
2 Corinthians 1:8-10 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,”

• Paul was in a dark place when God broke in and confirmed his faith as well.
• God delivered him from “so great a peril of death”
• And taught Paul not to trust in himself, “but in God who raises the dead.”

Paul saw that God will in fact save and vindicate.
Which is why Paul closed with a statement in faith saying,
“And He will yet deliver us.”

We see that conviction again in his last letter.
2 Timothy 4:18 “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

• That is why Paul didn’t feel the need to lead a revolt and bust out of prison.
• He knew God would take care of him.

Isaiah spoke of the same:
Isaiah 35:3-4 “Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.”

What a promise!
And it is a promise for every believer.

You don’t have to take your own revenge, God will do it.
Just trust Him.

Well now David’s faith is stronger than ever.

David’s Confidence, David’s Confirmation
#3 DAVID’S COMMITMENT
Psalms 57:7-11

“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;”

That is to say, “I’m not moving from this”

That also helps us understand why David was so angry at the Amalekite who eventually killed Saul.

2 Samuel 1:14-15 “Then David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the LORD’S anointed?” And David called one of the young men and said, “Go, cut him down.” So he struck him and he died.”

Now you understand why David was angry.
• He saw this man’s behavior as an act of defiance and an act void of faith.
• He should not have stepped in and performed a deed which was for God and
God alone to do.

David is committed to the fact that
Destruction in is not for him to accomplish,
But for God to accomplish on his behalf.

His steadfastness reminds us of that great 1 Corinthians 15
• Where Paul talks about how Christ was risen from the dead, and how we will be raised, and how Christ will rule.

In fact, at one point Paul says:
1 Corinthians 15:24 “then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.”

That whole chapter is written in view of the end that is coming
Which sees Christ returning, judging, and reigning victoriously.

And based on those realities, the chapter ends with an admonition that we be steadfast.
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

Because we are confident that God is able to save and vindicate, We remain steadfast in trusting Him alone to do it.

That is where David is.
And David is steadfast in his praise of God for this.

“I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!”
• Are we grateful to God for being our salvation and vindication?
• Are we grateful that God will one day bring our enemies to an end?
• Are we grateful that vengeance is the LORD’S?

Then praise Him for it.
Sing His praises!

(8) “Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn”

It is the picture of David praising all night long and into the morning.
• Don’t go to sleep.
• Wake up!
• Praise the Lord!

(9-10) “I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your lovingkindess is great to the heavens and Your truth to the clouds.”

Here is an interesting concept.
• David is here praising God for God’s deliverance.
• David is here praising God for being His savior and vindicator.
• David is here praising God for sending lovingkindess and truth.

David could not have been praising God for those things
IF he had taken matters into his own hands and sought his own revenge.

And this goes back to the point of the Psalm.
It is the “Destroy Not” tune.

Don’t take your own revenge.
Let God bring things to His rightful end.
And you praise God for His ability to do that.

But if you take matters into your own hands
It merely reveals that you have little faith that
God can and will save or that God can and will bring justice.

IN OUR COUNTRY,
We hear the police reminding us not to take the law into our own hands.
• And we know that if we do that that we can also be found guilty under the law.

But why do people do it anyway?
Answer:
They do that when they have little confidence that the police can bring about justice.

Now do you understand what we are saying about God
When we do the same?

That is why I tell you,
• When you really believe that God will judge;
• When you really believe that God will save;
• When you really believe that God will vindicate…

Then you don’t take your own revenge,
And instead you praise God for His promise to do it for you.

That is what David is doing.

And he closes with the same theme he started his song of praise with:
(11) “Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.”

So we also then follow the example of David, and the example of Jesus, and the example of the apostles

Who also endured a great hostility against them
But who did so without taking revenge
Because they believed that in the end
God would save them and vindicate them.

The church is called to sing this same song and follow this same pattern.

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The Lost Son – Part 1
Luke 15:11-32 (11-20)
December 15, 2019

Last time we met we began this popular chapter of Luke 15.
It is quite possibly the most popular chapter in the book.
It is a parable that contains three beloved parables.
• The Parable of the Lost Sheep
• The Parable of the Lost Coin
• The Parable of the Lost Son (often called “The Prodigal Son”)

We saw the first two last time, but also important
Was the setting for why these 3 parables were given.

I must remind you of it again, because
If you don’t understand what prompted Jesus to give these parables
Then you’re going to miss the main point.

The setting is found in the opening verses of the chapter.
(1-2) “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

We have here a familiar scene of Jesus eating with “tax collectors and sinners”
• It is hardly the first time.
• In fact, the religious elite had already given Jesus a derogatory nickname as “friend of sinners” because He was so accustomed to doing this.

We might also point out that
• Tax collectors and sinners weren’t the only people Jesus ate with.
• We’ve already seen four times in Luke’s gospel when Jesus ate with Pharisees too.

And we also said that we are under no misconception as to why Jesus was doing this.
• There is no doubt that He was preaching the gospel to them.
• There is no doubt that He was preaching repentance from greed and sin and love of the world, etc.

This is just what He did.
He did it when He ate with Pharisees
And I assure you that He did it when He ate with tax collectors.

And without rehashing everything we said last time,
We just point out that this was A Good Thing that was happening.

These are lost people who are flocking to Jesus
And who are hearing the gospel and presumably being saved.
THAT IS A GOOD THING.

The problem was found in verse 2, “Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble”

• They didn’t like what they saw.
• They didn’t like Jesus eating with sinners.
• And they grumbled.

IT WAS THEIR GRUMBLING THAT INSPIRED THESE 3 PARABLES.
We saw the first two last time,
And as we said, they both have identical meanings.

You have a lost sheep and a lost coin.
• And anyone who loses one of those will naturally go and look for it.
• And when the seeker finds what he sought he will rejoice.
• There is nothing exceptional about that.
• It is routine and common place behavior.

But the application Jesus gave to those parables
Is where we begin to see the issue.

(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.”

(10) “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

And what we learned was that the Pharisees
Actually begrudged God the same joy that they had.

They rejoiced over finding sheep or finding coins
But thought it wrong when God did the same for a sinner.

The point thus far has been clear.
• The heart of the Pharisees does not line up with the heart of God.
• They have no concept of who He is.
• And as we will see going forward, they have no love or desire for Him at all.

But that was the first two parables.

This morning we move into the 3rd and most detailed.
It is also the most confrontational, convicting, and revealing of the 3.

Jesus is about to drop the hammer with perhaps
The greatest job of storytelling that has ever occurred in the world.

The story that Jesus brings here was a brilliant story meant to
• Grab the attention,
• Shock the listener,
• Keep them hanging on the edge of their seat,
• And then leaves them with the most curious cliffhanger imaginable.

It begins in verse 11.
“And He said, “A man had two sons”

Often times people read this parable
And all the focus is on the prodigal son or the younger son.
And that CONTRIBUTES TO THE MISUNDERSTANDING of the parable.

We don’t read here about a man with one son.
We have here a story in which “A man had two sons”

There are then 3 players in this parable.
All three play an important role in the story.

Go Read: “A Tale of Two Sons” by John MacArthur
I learned much about this parable from him.

Let’s work our way through the characters this morning.
#1 THE YOUNGER SON
Luke 15:11-20a

IF YOU’RE IN TO OUTLINES, there are two main points to be made about this younger son, and then many sub points.

THE FIRST: HIS SIN
• (and then there are 8 shocking revelations about this sinful young man)

THE SECOND: HIS SALVATION
• (And then there are 5 revelations about his salvation)

I’m not going to put each on the screen,
But you’ll hear them if you like to take notes in an outline form.

But let’s begin by talking about THIS YOUNG MAN’S SIN.

And let me tell you from the outset that Jesus set out here in this story
To paint the worst sinner imaginable, and in His culture
He could not have painted a worse picture than this young man.

Today if you were to tell the story with similar horror it would no doubt include something regarding pedophilia, and rape, and drug addiction, and abortion, and homosexuality, and extortion, etc.

The whole purpose in this story from Jesus’ perspective is to paint a picture of the most audacious and vile sinner imaginable.

I can promise you that with each revelation this crowd would gasp.

As I said, we see 8 revelations here from Jesus about this young man’s sinfulness.
1) HIS DEMAND (12)
“The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them.”

This may not seem like much to you, but to Jesus’ listeners
This was about as vile and disrespectful as one could imagine.

Several things are in play in this request.
• Probably the biggest issue is the lack of honor that the younger son gives to the father.

As the younger son, he would have been in line to receive 1/3 of the inheritance and he wants to cash it in.

By asking for his share of the inheritance he is basically saying,
“Father, I wish you were dead, because by being alive you are standing in the way of all my plans. I need my inheritance, and since you won’t die, just give it to me now.”

That is the heart of this request.
It is disrespectful, it is harsh, it is unloving, it is rude,
And to Jesus’ crowd it would have been the ultimate of scandals.

Such a disrespectful demand from a son would have warranted
At the very least a public slap from the father
And for the father to disown the son publicly.

The father would have even been within his Biblical right to stone the son to death.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 “If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown. “They shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ “Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.”

At the very least society would have expected him
To publicly shame and disown this son for such a demand.

But in a shocking move (and one that would not have made the father look good) the father “divided his wealth between them.”

In short, the father would have had to take out the deed
And divvied up the land the livestock, the household goods,
The commodities, the clothes, etc.

At this point:
• Ownership transfers
• But the boys (due to honor) would still not have made changes
• The father would still have the right to do whatever he wanted with it
• But on paper there has now been a shameful transfer of ownership
So the first issue is NOT the loss of wealth by the father,
But the audacity of this young son to have such disrespect
And disdain for the father that he would demand such a thing.

So at first we learn that this son DOES NOT LOVE his father.
In fact, he willfully dishonored his father and offended him.
This son made himself odious to his dad.

The crowd is already shaking their head in disbelief, and then Jesus drops the second bombshell on them.
(2) THE LIQUIDATION (13a)
“And not many day later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey”

Wanting his share was bad enough, but now we find something worse.
This boy had no love for his inheritance.

Understand how this had to happen.
Jesus says he “gathered everything together” which indicates he liquidated his assets.
• You can’t take all your land with you.
• You can’t take all your livestock with you.
• You can’t take all your commodities with you.

Not only now has he disrespected the father,
But the boy takes it even one step further
And begins to sell off his father’s property and assets.

It is now apparent that the father gave the boy his inheritance with no strings attached. (also seen as shameful on the father’s part)
• We see in this certainly a picture of God who does not instantly destroy
sinners who dishonor Him.
• We see in this certainly a picture of God who has good will toward even the
vilest of sinners.
• We see in this certainly a picture of the patience of God as this father let this
son do what he wanted.

THIS BOY SELLS IT ALL.

And even that doesn’t tell the whole story.
If you will remember
• Owning the land was sacred to Israel and they were forbidden to sell it away.
• In fact, if a person became poor and had to sell the land then there was a provision in the Law called “The Year of Jubilee” that said all land that had been sold must be returned to the initial owner.

So follow this…
• Any sale of land would have taken into account that the sale was only temporary.
• Depending on how long it was until the next year of Jubilee this land may not have even had much value to a potential buyer.

Point being, this boy would have had to garage sale all his stuff.
He would have had to sell for “pennies on the dollar”

To turn all his assets into cash, he’s not going to get a good price.
But it didn’t matter to him because he didn’t care about any of it.

• The land was of no value to him.
• The commodities were of no value to him.
• There was nothing sentimental.

This boy, like Esau, despised his birthright.

And so if you are paying attention the story,
This boy hasn’t just offended his father,
He has now offended everyone in Israel.

This whole crowd can’t believe
What an ungrateful, disrespectful, and godless young man this is.
HE IS A THUG OF THUGS.

And it’s still going to get worse.
3) HIS JOURNEY (13b)
“and went on a journey into a distant country”

Oh, how awful!
• Now this boy has left Israel.
• This was their inheritance from God.
• This was the Promised Land.
• This is where God dwelled.

This boy has cashed in, taken his money,
And departed to a Gentile country.
I just hope you can fathom how disgusted the crowd is with this boy.

And it still gets worse
4) HIS DEBAUCHERY (13c)
“and there he squandered his estate with loose living”

The word for “squandered” there is a word that means “to scatter abroad”.
• It was a word used of “winnowing”. As in when you throw up a seed and the chaff into the wind and let the wind blow the chaff away.

For all basic purposes he took all his money, entered a foreign land
And all but threw it into the wind.

Jesus said he wasted his money on “loose living”
• That is a word that means “wastefulness”

After liquidating his entire inheritance, he took it to a Gentile country
And burned through it on wasteful living.

And implied here is NOT JUST that he made bad investments,
But rather that he WAS ENGAGED IN VILE SINFUL LIVING.

Even when he returns the brother announces that had “devoured [his] wealth with prostitutes”

We simply have here a young man who took all his money
And blew it gratifying the flesh in every possible way.

What you have here is a young man who is LIVING OUTSIDE OF ALL RESTRAINTS, because he has thrown them off one by one.

God has pegged humanity accurately.
Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Paul reminded us:
Romans 3:10-12 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

Now, people balk at that a little BECAUSE
They realize that they are not as sinful as they could be,
Or because they see other people more sinful than themselves.

And that bring a good point:
WHY ISN’T MAN AS SINFUL AS HE COULD BE?

Because God graciously put a SYSTEM OF RESTRAINTS upon humanity
To keep them from being as bad as they would be.

THE FAMILY – there are plenty of kids who do what is right, not because it is in their heart, but because either parental punishment, or the fear of shame on a family keeps them from being as sinful as they might otherwise be.

THE GOVERNMENT – the government keeps people from being as sinful as they could be because if you take everything you want then you go to jail and that is an effective restraint on a lot of people.

SOCIETY – the simply shame of society keeps people from doing everything they might otherwise.

Man is sinful to the core, but the restraints that God puts on a human
Do manage to keep him from being as sinful as he could be.

This boy, however, is a picture of one
Who has systematically thrown off all his restraints.

• He has left his father…
• He has left his society…
• He has left his home with its Biblical laws…

He has freed himself to do and live however he pleases.
And so he went and lived it up.

Tragically we see this type of thing most often
Among 18 or 19 year olds who go off to college where no one knows them and mom and dad can’t see everything they are doing.

And parents think that college corrupted their child
WHEN IN REALITY all it was, was a kid getting out from under their parents restraint system and the true colors of their heart came out.

That is this boy.
He is free to live it up and that is what he did.

And by now the crowd is groaning in their stomach at the filth of this young man.
• Surely he is the villain of the story.
• Surely no one in the story could be worse than him.
• This man is the worst of the worst

And we’re only halfway through.
5) HIS MISFORTUNE (14a)
“Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country”

To be sure the famine is not his fault, but spending everything is.
• There was no wisdom in this boy at all.
• There was no understanding of the reality that he was living in a fallen world and you just can’t go blowing all your money on fleshly desires.

And so now, he has found himself in a predicament.
He is out of money and a famine has hit.
• Now the price of food has gone up.
• Now the unrest of the public has gone up.
• Now the availability of jobs has reduced.
• He is a foreigner.
• He has burned every bridge he could have burned back at home and now he is trapped in a foreign land with nothing.

Certainly to the crowd you could now see a few smug grins
And heads nodding as they thought, “Serves him right”.

Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

Well that is certainly happening to his young man.

And this misfortune took this young man to the bottom.
6) HIS POVERTY (14b)
“and he began to be impoverished.”

What a change this must have been for him.
• Living with his father it’s unlikely that this boy had spent many days in hunger.
• Living with his father it’s unlikely that this boy had dealt with any discomfort like this.

But he followed his sinful nature and the impulses of his heart
And now he is reaping what he sowed.
He’s broke and he’s alone in a foreign country.

How quickly his sin has brought ruin to his life.

7) HIS DESPERATION (15)
“So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.”

Now someone might think this is actually a good move, BUT IT IS NOT.
• This is a man trying to avoid repentance.
• This is a man trying to fix the problem on his own.

Instead of humbling himself and returning…
Instead of facing the shame of the people of Israel…
This man tries to hold on to his dignity and fix his dilemma himself.

And in so doing he inherits
The most shameful job imaginable to a Jewish audience.

This Gentile land owner hires this boy to slop the pigs.

This was a shameful job in Gentile culture:
• Required no skill or intelligence whatsoever
• Conditions were horrible
• Usually reserved for the mentally ill

BUT THIS WAS ESPECIALLY SHAMEFUL TO A JEW
• Since this boy is not only working for a Gentile
• But he is feeding an unclean animal

And the entire crowd is getting a lesson of where sin will take you.

8) HIS HUMILIATION (16)
“And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.”

And here the boy hits rock bottom.
He wishes he could eat the pig’s food.

And it wasn’t that the boy wouldn’t eat the pigs food,
It was that HE COULDN’T eat it.

“pods” translates KERATION (ker-a-tee-on)
It refers to a Carob tree and a Carob pod.

Without being processed or ground up they were inedible to humans.
Pigs could eat them but humans couldn’t.

This boy would love to have eaten one but he can’t.
“and no one was giving anything to him.”

In Jesus’ story this sinful culprit
Has been brought down to the lowest of possible lows.

Jesus has just built a character
That was as vile and nasty and despicable as humanly imaginable.

And even though it’s not the main point of the parable,
We’d be foolish not to point out the destructive nature of sin.

Sin kills.
James 1:15 “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”

Romans 8:13 “for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die…”

And this boy is HARDLY ALONE in his story.
• Our world is filled with stories of people who have seen sinful choices wreck
their lives.

• Our world is even filled with stories of young people who wreck their lives with
sinful living before their adult life even gets started good.

• Sexual promiscuity, drug use, alcoholism, pornography, etc. There are young
people who run after those types of sins and ruin their lives before they
ever even get a chance to get their life started good.

SIN WILL DESTROY YOU.
And this young man is a walking example of that type of destruction.

He was the vilest example Jesus could give
And he is the truest example of what happens to a life
That yields totally to sin and the flesh.

His life was ruined. And it was ruined by his own sinful choices.

BUT HERE IS THE MAIN POINT TO THIS STORY:
To this audience this life is unredeemable.
To this audience there is no going back.

This boys crimes are too heinous; he is too far gone.
Do you understand that?

If this boy tried to return,
• It’s doubtful that society would let him,
• But even if he did, he’d have to pay back everything he took,
• And work a life of hard labor and penance forever just to try and regain his
status.

Think of it like that story in Matthew 18:23
Where the man owes the King “ten thousand talents” and promises to repay.
We’ve said the equivalent is like $3.6 billion.
The point is, he can’t. There’s no undoing this.

WELL, THAT’S THE BOY’S SIN.

Now let’s look at the second part of this younger son’s life and that is: HIS SALVATION (17-20)

And I told you, there are 5 revelations here.
1) HIS REGENERATION (17)
“But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!”

Now do not miss this phrase, “when he came to his senses”

• How does one do that?
• How does a person lost in sin actually come to their senses?
• Is that something he chose to do?

All of a sudden he woke up in the morning and said,
“I think I’ll quit being an idiot and start making good decisions”

No, you cannot come to your senses on your own.
THIS IS THE WORK OF GOD IN HIS LIFE.

This is God’s sovereign hand at work.
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

When you are dead in sin and chasing after the things of the world
You do not have the capacity to just stop and turn around.

God must do the work.
This is the work of regeneration.

THIS IS A MONERGISTIC EFFORT (the work of One)
• God must change the heart.
• God must change the will.

THIS IS WHY WE ALWAYS SAY:
That before a sinner can choose God, God must choose the sinner.

Because if God does not intervene nothing will ever change,
But God, by His amazing grace,
Has now allowed this boy to come to his senses.

This is supernatural work on his behalf.
2) HIS DECISION (18a)
“I will get up and go to my father”

• For the first time the boy is thinking clearly.
• For the first time he has realized how good his father was.

THE RESULT OF GOD BRINGING HIM TO HIS SENSES
Is that for the first time he has come to realize
That separation from his father is a bad thing.

Up until now the boy has only wanted away from his father.
• Even when his money was gone he resorted to feeding pigs over returning to his father.
• He was a man of full depravity and totally incapable of choosing what was right,
• But God has done a work in his heart and now he is able to make a good choice.

3) HIS REPENTANCE (18b)
“and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;’”

• No excuses…
• No hiding it…
• This boy has determined to go home and face the music.
• He is going to confess what he is and what he has done.
• He’s not a victim…He’s a sinner…

Take a look at repentance there because it IS NOT a man making excuses
Or simply wanting freedom from consequences.

This man, in repentance is drawing near to the father.
That is what true repentance looks like.

And if you’ll remember from Last Week
Jesus already told us that heaven rejoices over this type of thing.

4) HIS SUBMISSION (19)
“I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”

That is a man who knows he does not deserve full restoration.
He just wants mercy.
• He wants to be regarded “as one of your hired men”
• The word there is the word for a “day laborer” which were the lowest ranked servants of all.

• Day laborers were poor and they were day to day.
• The Mosaic Law even commanded that you had to pay them daily because for most of them they’d have no other way of eating.

This boy isn’t asking for his old bedroom back.
He’s not even asking to be a permanent slave.
He just wants to come work for a day and get enough to eat a meal.

He understands his wretchedness
He understands how he burned a bridge.

5) ACTION (20a)
“So he got up and came to his father.”

It did not stop with intention. It did not stop with emotion.

THE BOY DID IT.
• He stepped out to face the music.
• He stepped out to own up to his sin.
• He stepped out to ask for forgiveness.
• He stepped out to fully submit to his father.

We have a word for all of that.
It’s called FAITH.

• This boy is certainly near death.
• He hasn’t eaten well at all, and the journey back home is likely going to be a difficult one.
• He is going back home and placing it all on the mercy of his father.
• If his father chooses not to be merciful it is over for this boy, he will die.

This is what we mean when we talk about placing it all on Christ.

When Jesus says:
Luke 9:23 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

When you read in the beatitudes:
Matthew 5:3-9 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

This boy is demonstrating those kinds of attitudes.

• God has opened his eyes, not just to the goodness of his father, but also to the wretchedness of his own sin.
• He sees what he did and he sees how good his father is.
• And in genuine faith, he has now decided to go and throw himself upon the mercy of his father.

Now, I really wish we had another hour together this morning
So we could finish this parable because the best is yet to come.

But for now, even though they are not the main point,
Take a few lessons from the life of this younger brother.

Sin will destroy your life.
Following the flesh will kill you.

And the only solution is
• For God to graciously open your eyes to that.
• For God to show you the shame and reproach of your sin and to grant you repentance.

BUT LISTEN…
• If God has graciously done that.
• If God has shown you your sin.
• If God has shown you the wrath that you deserve.
THAT IS GRACE!

Now, act on that gracious provision.
• Humble yourself,
• Confess your sin,
• Return to God,
• And surrender your life to Him as you beg for His mercy.

That is what salvation is.
It is sinful men, who have been made aware of their sin,
Who have returned to God in humility to beg for His mercy.

THAT IS THE STORY OF THIS YOUNGER BROTHER.
And just for the sake of understanding.
• He is a picture of the tax collectors and sinners that Jesus is eating with.
• They were people who committed heinous crimes,
• But having come to their senses they have now approached Jesus for
mercy.

And friend, if that is you, all I can do is ask you to do the same.
RETURN TO CHRIST FOR MERCY.

As you’ll see next week,
He is a merciful Savior who will receive you joyfully.

Download Here

When I Am Afraid
Psalms 56
December 8, 2019

Tonight we come to the 56th Psalm
And we deal directly with the issue of handling fear.

One thing we know in our world is that fear is a massive motivator.

Certainly the advertising world has picked up on this powerful motivator.
(Perhaps the only thing they use more than fear is sex, but fear runs a close second)

• As a child when my parents had no money they still paid to have heat detectors installed in every room of our home because the salesman showed them pictures of children who were burn victims.

The insurance industry thrives on fear. Everything they sell is because of the “what if” reality.

The medical industry thrives on fear. Reminding us of all that could happen to you if you don’t get routine tests or screenings or certain preventative care.

Politicians thrive on fear. Each side seeks to get elected by showing you how the other side is anti-American and out to ruin your way of life.

New stations thrive on fear as a way to boost their ratings and keep you motivated to watch.

The point being is that our world is constantly pumping before your eyes reasons for you to be afraid about something.

And so I will tell you at the outset that
I AM CONVINCED THAT FEAR IS ONE OF THE GREATEST ENEMIES
That has faced the people of God throughout history.

It is perhaps the greatest motivator for disobedience to God’s truth
That we face as a people.

And it shows up in various ways.
• It shows up in the form of anxiety and worry which the Christian is commanded not to do.
• It shows up in our greed and hoarding of wealth as a fear of not having enough in the future.
• It shows up in our lack of evangelism and mission work as a fear of persecution or rejection.
• It shows up in our failure to confront sin as a fear of losing a relationship.
• It shows up in our hatred of other people who are not like us and my threaten our way of life.

FEAR SHOWS UP EVERYWHERE
• We see fear of failure
• We see fear of change
• We see fear of death
• We see fear of persecution
• We see fear of rejection
• We see fear of suffering

We are constantly bombarded with fear,
And it is this fear that routinely leads the church into disobedience.

The Bible however only justifies one type of fear.

Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

We are also told that:
Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

We are told to have a fear of the Lord,
But other fears are routinely forbidden in Scripture.

• We are specifically told not to worry about money or clothing or food.
• We are specifically told not to fear persecution or the intimidation of the enemy. (1 Peter 3:14)
• We are specifically told not to fear death or the afterlife. (John 14:1-4)
• We are specifically told not to fear men (Matthew 10:28)
• We are specifically told not to fear governments or rulers or those in authority (Luke 12:11-12)
• We are specifically told not to fear for the future (Isaiah 35:4)
• We are specifically told not to fear false gods (Jeremiah 10:5)
• We are specifically told not to fear ministry (Luke 5:10)
• We are specifically told not to fear suffering (Rev. 2:10)

Fear is NOT the calling of the believer.

My pastor from growing up, Bro. Bob Norsworthy used to say that
“Fear is the Opposite of Faith”

“When God asks us to move forward in obedience
The enemy will always counteract with fear.”

And think about it.
How many times has God asked you to obey Him in one way or another and the first thing you do is start fearing the ramifications?

• And we have this internal war about all the reasons why we can’t do what God is asking us to do, and those arguments are nearly always revelations of our various fears.

• And following that fear ends up with us not obeying God.

That is why I say that fear is one of the greatest enemies
That has faced the people of God throughout history.

Find a sin that God’s people committed in the Bible
And more times than not you will also find the fear at the root of it.

I’m NOT SAYING that every sin ever committed is the result of fear,
Certainly there are many which are simply a lust of the flesh,
But a great number of them are certainly motivated by it.

That means that learning how to deal with fear
Is very important for the believer.

A believer must learn how to overcome fear
Or else they are destined for a life of disobedience and regret.

NOW, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT
Jesus has already won the battle to free us from fear.

Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

Jesus Christ became human, fulfilled the Law,
Atoned for our sin on the cross, and rose from the dead
Certainly to reconcile us to God, BUT ALSO TO CONQUER OUR FEAR.

That means that the battle has been won.
John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

Believers are free from fear, often times they just don’t know it.
We don’t have to give in to fear.

Psalms 56 is a great testimonial song of David
That shows believers how to handle their fear.

Now you will notice that this Psalm also comes with A SETTING.
“when the Philistines seized him in Gath”

We have actually now several times looked at that event since that time period in David’s life inspired a great many of the Psalms.

But just to make sure we are on the page.
• Saul offended God and God rejected Saul as king.
• God then selected David to be the next king.
• David came into the service of Saul as a harp player and a warrior
• Saul became jealous of David and tried to kill him
• David had to flee for his life and when he did he fled to Philistia

• Remember he went to the priest Ahimelech and ate the consecrated bread
• And took Goliath’s sword and then fled to Gath (Goliath’s home town).

1 Samuel 21:10-12 “Then David arose and fled that day from Saul, and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath.”

There you have the backdrop for this Psalm.
David is afraid and he must face that fear.

Clearly this Psalm deals with fear.
(3) “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.”

So we understand the heart of this song.

I would also point out to you however that
This Psalm seems to have WITHIN ITSELF A REPETITION.

The Psalm actually repeats itself,
And each time it ends with the same statement.

For example.
(1-2) – David’s Complaint
(3-4) – David’s Commitment

Culminating in verse 4 with the statement “In God, whose word I praise, In
God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?”

And then the Psalm repeats itself.
(5-7) – David’s Complaint
(8-11) – David’s Confidence

Again Culminating in verses 10-11 with the statement “In God, whose word I
praise, In the LORD, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust, I shall
not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

And then the Psalm ends in verses 12-13 with David’s Commitment.

But you see a sort of parallel structure here.

What YOU ALSO SEE in this parallel structure
Is that while the song does repeat itself, the second time through comes with MORE INFORMATION AND SEEMS TO INTENSIFY
(like any song would do)

For example:
• In verse 1 David simply says, “Be gracious to me, O God”
• Verse 7 clarifies what David wants more specifically by saying, “Because of wickedness, cast them forth In anger put down the peoples, O God!”

So Verse 7 gives intensity and explanation to verse 1.

We also see
• Verse 1 David says that “man has trampled upon me”
• Verses 5&6 explain that more fully saying, “All day long they distort my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil. They attack, they lurk, They watch my steps, As they have waited to take my life.”

It’s the same truth, only it grows clearer the second time through.

We also see
• Verse 3 David says, “I will put my trust in You”
• Verses 8-9 explain WHY David is trusting God for he says, “You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; This I know that God is for me.”

It’s the same truth only more intense and rich in explanation
The second time through.

And they both then of course culminate in the confident statement that
“I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

And I give you that to sort of help you grasp the flow of the song
And to be able to see more fully what David is doing here.

And so now, let’s just sort of work our way through this Psalm
And learn about how a believer deals with fear.

#1 DAVID’S COMPLAINT
Psalms 1-2, 5-6

We begin with the cry “Be gracious to me, O God”

The word “gracious” there is CHANAN (hka – nan)
And it means “to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior” Or “to have pity”.

The picture there is that David is humbled.
• David is prostrated.
• David is an inferior.
• And he would come approaching God asking for this High King to stoop down in His kindness and give David an audience.

It brings to our mind that picture of prayer in the New Testament
Regarding the WIDOW who routinely came before the unrighteous judge
Asking for him to do the same for her.

You of course remember that he for a long time was not willing to do so,
But eventually she wore him down.

GOD HOWEVER, we are told in that same story,
Is a gracious Father who most certainly will stoop down in kindness
To answer the prayer of His elect.

Luke 18:8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

David is appealing to that God here.
He’s asking God to stoop down in kindness and answer His lowly servant.

Now, when you jump down to the SECOND HALF of the song you’ll see David’s request take on more fullness we see even better what he wants.

(7) “Because of wickedness, cast them forth In anger put down the peoples, O God!”

I will admit that this is a somewhat difficult verse to grasp.
We see that it correlates to David’s initial request for God to be gracious to him.

If that is the case then it almost sounds like David is saying:
• Be gracious to me, but angry with them.
• Or give me grace, but give them justice.

And that sounds a little peculiar.

I think the secret is found in the words here.
“cast them forth” is actually a Hebrew word that means “escape” or “deliverance”

• And that is why if you read the KJV it says, “Shall they escape by iniquity? In thine anger cast down the people, O God.”
• Whereas the NASB basically shows David asking God to “escape them” or “deliver them over to wrath”
• The KJV saw it as David asking God to not let them escape.

Another key phrase is the statement “put down the peoples”.
• It sounds to us like David is asking God to put them down in a similar way that we might put down a rabid dog.
• But the word there literally means “to prostrate”.
• It’s not so much a request to kill them as it is a request to humble them and put them on their face.

Now, perhaps it makes a little more sense what David is asking.
• He appeals to God in verse 1 as one who is lowly and humble and prostrate before God and he wants God to bend or stoop down to acknowledge him.

• But David also sees the arrogant who are not humbled or prostrate before God and David is asking God to humble them.

And now his complaint is making more sense to us.
We have here a group of arrogant people who do not fear God
Attacking the man who does and David asks God to right that ship.
Listen to me God, and humble them.

David doesn’t like the fact that
The arrogant are winning and the humble are being oppressed.
• How can it be that David is God’s anointed and yet he is the one having to flee?
• Flee from men like Saul or the Philistines no less? Men who don’t fear God.

So David’s initial complaint is that
God would address that situation which is way out of balance.

And then David begins to explain their arrogance.

(1b-2) “for man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me. My foes have trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me.”

There are some words there that really jump out at you.
• “trampled”
• “all day long”
• “many fight proudly”

We have here a man who is under extreme and constant duress.
And certainly it is not that he is fighting 24-7
But the enemy has laid continual threats at David’s feet
And certainly he cannot escape them.

Even when he lays his head on his pillow at night he does so in fear of Saul or in fear of the Philistines.
• Their threats are in his head.
• Their desires have consumed him.
• They are beating him down over and over.

Years ago I had a man verbally accuse me before a group of men with accusations that were false, but awful.

• The incident only lasted about 10 minutes but it played on my mind 24/7 for
about a month.
• Until finally I had another man explain to me how watching that tape over and
over in my mind was not going to be of any value to me.

But I understand what David is saying.
Maybe you do to.

It’s not the present danger, it’s the constant threat and fear
That has a way of stealing your mind 24/7.

That is where David is.

And he explains that further in the SECOND HALF down in verses 5-6
“All day long they distort my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil. They attack, they lurk, They watch my steps, As they have waited to take my life.”

Now we get it.
• They have twisted David’s words
• They have plotted against him for evil
• They are attacking him, watching him, spying on him
• They are planning to kill him

SIMILAR TO WHAT THEY DID TO JESUS
And it is because of their scheming and planning and plotting
That David has become a paranoid mess.

Back during that time when I was falsely accused I COULD TALK TO YOU ABOUT PARANOIA. I would see two men talking over in a corner and instantly in my mind I was convinced they were talking about me.

• Everyone was a spy
• Everyone was plotting
• No one could be trusted
• (Or so I thought)

That is where David is.
• Can you see the walls falling in around him?
• He’s overrun with fear and anxiety and paranoia.

It is similar to the modern day warfare of our time.
• No longer do armies line up against one another in contrasting uniforms and
fight.
• We have now reached the age of terrorism where the enemy seeks to look
like you, dress like you, talk like you, and then attack you unaware.

The whole tactic of such warfare is why it is called “terrorism” it is meant to provoke terror.
• It is meant to cause you to be afraid of everyone and everything.
• It is meant to rob you of personal peace and simply give you fear that at any
moment something terrible could happen.

That is where David is.
And so in his complaint he has humbly asked God
To humble these godless men and not to let them
Get away with their plans and their schemes.

That is David’s complaint.
#2 DAVID’S CONFIDENCE
Psalms 56:3-4, 8-11

Here is David’s decision:
“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.”

Notice here that this is not an emotional response, it is a willful one.
The emotion is fear.
The will is trust.

Emotion can certainly be a good thing in the life of a believer.
• Certainly elements like love or compassion or joy are attributes that are enhanced by our emotions.
• We are even called to worship God “in Spirit and in truth”
• There is an element there where our emotions should be involved.

BUT EMOTION IS NEVER THE GUIDE.
We never follow our emotions.

And there are definite times when our will
Must override our emotion and tell it to sit down and be quiet.

This is one of those times.

David ignores his emotion in order to make a willful decision.
“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.”

Also important to us is the basis behind this statement.

Down in verse 8 David begins to explain the basis for his trust in God.
(8-9) “You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me.”

And if you want to sum up what David says there
It is that God is both intimately acquainted with David
And fiercely loyal to him.

David knows that God is intimately acquainted.
• “You have taken account of my wanderings” – You know exactly where I am and why I am here.
• “You have…Put my tears in our bottle. Are they not in Your book?” – That shows a God who cares deeply about David.

We have that same promise.
Matthew 10:28-31 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”

We see here a man who is confident in God
Because God is so interested in him.

Have we not read what David said in the famous 139th Psalm?
Psalms 139:1-6 “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.”

David can trust God because he knows that God is interested in him.
What a valuable truth to have in our corner
That the God we cry out to knows us intimately!

The God you trust in knows the number of hairs on your head
(granted for some that’s not that impressive) but you get the point!

He cares for you!

That truth prompted Peter to write to the suffering church:
1 Peter 5:6-7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

THAT IS WHAT DAVID IS DOING.

And David also understands that not only is God intimately acquainted with him but God is also fiercely loyal to him.
• “This I know, that God is for me.”

Did God not hand pick David to be king?
Did God not anoint David as such?

And do we not have that promise?
Romans 8:28-31 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

We have a God that is fiercely loyal to us as well.

And so David says,
“I’m going to overlook my fear and I’m going to trust God.”

That is how a believer overcomes fear.
You drown it out with truth.

Paul said:
2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

And again:
2 Timothy 4:18 “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Sort of explains how Paul overcame fear doesn’t it?

DAVID KNEW IT.
He used truth to overcome fear.

AND THAT LEADS TO THE TWICE QUOTED STATEMENT
WHICH IS CLEARLY THE POINT OF THE PSALM.

(4) “In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

(10-11) “In God, whose word I praise, In the LORD, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

This is the truth that allowed David to put aside his fear.

And please notice that David doesn’t just say that he is praising God there, but that he is praising God’s word.

• It is God’s word where we come face to face with who God is.
• It is God’s word where we come face to face with God’s loyalty to us.
• It is God’s word where we come face to face with His magnificent promises.

God’s word becomes the source of our confidence.

I heard this from R.C. Sproul,
But what tremendous insight and clarity he gives here.

Do you struggle with assurance? Do you struggle with fear?

Well who is the agent of assurance?
• Who does the Bible tell us is the source of our assurance?
• (The Holy Spirit right?)

Romans 8:15-16 “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,”

It is the Holy Spirit who is charged with
Giving you assurance and confidence.

Was it not also the Holy Spirit who wrote the Bible?
• Was it not the Holy Spirit who inspired the servants of God to pen this book for
us to read?

So do you see how assurance and reading the Bible go hand in hand?
Do you see how assurance is directly tied to the word of God?

The Holy Spirit is the One who gives assurance
And He is also the One who gave us the Bible.
If you want assurance then read His work.

If you aren’t reading the Bible then don’t complain about being overrun with fear and trembling and uncertainty.

David here praises the word of God
Because that is the source of his conviction.

And THE RESULT of that conviction is that “I shall not be afraid! What can mere man do to me?”

God’s word opened David’s eyes to what is true
Rather than to what is perceived.

Threats are scary, but at the end of the day they are only threats.

God never threatens because God is sovereign.
He doesn’t have to threaten, He does whatever He wants.

The enemy and the men he uses threaten all the time,
But that does not mean they can succeed.

“What can mere man do to me?”
• Nothing that God does not ordain.
• And if God ordains it for you then it is promised to be for your good.

What is to fear in that?

Do you see how David overcomes fear with truth?
This church is the answer.

YOU WANT TO OVERCOME FEAR?

1) DETERMINE WHAT IS TRUE
• Don’t listen to empty threats and certainly don’t dwell on them.
• Read God’s Word and see what is true.
• Read of His sovereign power
• Read of His grace toward His own
• Read of His unfailing love to His elect
• Read of His justice to the wicked
• Read of His loyalty to those He has called

Listen to God, not the enemy.

And then:
2) DECIDE TO TRUST
• Once you know what is true then believe it.
• Cast it on God.
• Pray to Him, give it to Him, lean upon Him.
• Forsake your emotion and make a willful decision to trust Him.

This is why “Do not fear” is so often a command in the Bible.
You are commanded to overcome your fears.

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.”

Determine what is true and Decide to trust God.
Isn’t that what Paul said there?

Well Paul said one more thing: “with thanksgiving”

When we see God’s truth and determine to trust Him,
Another key element in overcoming fear is to
DEMONSTRATE THANKFULNESS.

It is the proverbial “Count your blessings” approach.
• The enemy puts in you in fear by diverting all your focus to the one difficult area in your life.
• Don’t let your mind be so one-sided.
• Make sure your mind also focuses on everything that is going right in your life.

As you start to give thanks to God, even in the midst of danger,
You will find that your own soul is lifted up
As you recount all the victories God has won for you,
Is winning for you, and will win for you.

Thanksgiving is a huge part of overcoming fear.
And that leads us to the 3rd point of David’s Song.

So you see David’s Complaint and David’s Confidence
#3 DAVID’S COMMITMENT
Psalms 56:12-13

Here David recounts to God that he ultimately HAS NO CHOICE but to move forward.
• He has pledged his life to God.
• He has signed up for service.

“Your vows are binding upon me, O God;”

That is another great way to overcome fear…OBEDIENCE.
• Are you afraid to share your faith?
• Are you afraid to speak the truth?
• Are you afraid to go on that mission trip?
• Are you afraid to give sacrificially?
• Are you afraid to publicly confess Christ?

Then don’t do it out of confidence, do it out of obedience
Because you already said you would.

David is there.
He’s going forward because he has made a commitment to the Lord.

And in that obedience David now turns to that final aspect we spoke of.
DAVID TURNS TO GRATITUDE.

“I will render thank offerings to You.”

I am going to give You thanks God.

For what?
• (13) “For You have delivered my soul from death” – We call that SALVATION.
• “Indeed my feet from stumbling” – We call that SECURITY
• “So that I may walk before God” – We call that RECONCILIATION
• “In the light of the living.” – We call that LIFE

So you’re afraid of circumstances in your life and you are having a hard time going forward…

You need to Determine What Is True – search out God’s word.
You need to Decide To Trust – lay it all at the feet of the trustworthy God.
You need to Demonstrate Thankfulness – start with the fact that this God saved you when you were in sin, and reconciled you to Himself, and has secured your soul for all eternity and given you life.

Start with that.
And by the time you are finished thanking God for that
You should be adequately convinced that
God is both willing and able to carry you through anything.

This is how a believer overcomes fear.
It worked for David and it will work for you.

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Heaven’s Joy
Luke 15:1-10
December 8, 2019

Isaac Watts penned for us what is
One of the most popular Christmas hymns ever sung.

“Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Let earth receiver her King. Let every heart prepare Him room and Heaven and nature sing! And Heaven and nature sing! And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing!”

It’s a song that’s been adopted for Christmas, But it really isn’t a Christmas song. It is actually a Salvation song. It is a Second Coming song.

But in that song we are reminded that
The chief emotion produced in salvation is that of joy!

Certainly a forgiven sinner should rejoice in salvation.
• When one who was dead in sin is made alive and called out of the grave…
• When one who was clothed in sin is forgiven and clothed in the righteousness of Christ…
• When one who was estranged from God and has no hope is reconciled through Christ and adopted into God’s family…

Certainly the appropriate response (among others) is that of joy.

But even Isaac Watts understood that
THE SINNER IS NOT THE ONLY ONE TO REJOICE AT SALVATION.

He also noted that when sinners receive her King
That also singing a joyful song will be both “Heaven and nature” as well.

REGARDING THE JOY OF NATURE?
• Romans 8 teaches us that fallen nature waits eagerly for the revealing of the
sons of God and the day when this world is liberated from the curse.

Romans 8:19-21 “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

AND REGARDING THE JOY OF HEAVEN?
Well, Luke 15 shows us that.

Truths like we read in verse 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.”

Or again in verse 10, “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

And this truth is one that we not only REJOICE IN,
But also PATTERN OUR LIVES AFTER.

God has made it very clear what should cause us to rejoice.

NOT ONLY THAT, but we also see here the very heart of God.
• We are reminded again that God is by nature a Savior.
• He delights in salvation.

God has revealed through His word that
There is no joy for Him in the judgment of the wicked.

Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’”

That of course DOES NOT MEAN that God won’t judge the wicked.
He is just. He is holy. He will certainly do it.

It also DOES NOT MEAN that God finds no satisfaction judgment.
He does.

We have often times read that famous 53rd chapter of Isaiah and seen the satisfaction God received in punishing Christ for the sins of His people.

Isaiah 53:10 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.”

GOD IS HOLY AND JUST.
He will satisfy His holy wrath in judging those who refuse to repent.

But while God is certainly willing and capable of judging sinners,
It does not bring Him joy.

God’s joy is always found in salvation.

When God saved His people from the land of Egypt we read:
Psalms 105:43 “And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout.”

• You see there the very heart of God as His people began to walk out of Egypt.
• He shouted, He cheered, He rejoiced in the salvation that was occurring.

We move from there to the WILDERNESS WANDERINGS

And the disobedience of Israel there has been well documented.
• At the end of that time Moses delivered one final sermon, (the book of Deuteronomy) where God outlined for His people about the blessing and the curse.
• Namely that if the people did not obey the whole Law then God would curse them.

But even in that, God looked beyond the day of their curse
To the day when God would forgive them and save them.

Deuteronomy 30:1-9 “So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. “If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. “The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. “The LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. “And you shall again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments which I command you today. “Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers;”

God was willing to punish Israel and even scatter them for their sin,
But He would rejoice over them on the day
When He would save them and bring them home.

Jeremiah spoke of this same reality;
Namely that after a period of exile God would rejoice in salvation.

Jeremiah 32:37-41 “Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. “I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. “I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.”

You see it again, God rejoices in salvation.

And this extends even BEYOND the Exodus or even the return from Exile.
This joy extends all the way to the end of this age.

• The prophets also often spoke of a coming Millennial kingdom where God’s Messiah would reign over the whole earth and Israel would no longer rebel against God, but the marriage of the Lamb will finally be consummated with His church.

That day of full salvation is also said to be a day of great joy for God.

Isaiah 62:5 “For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you.”

Zephaniah 3:14-17 “Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. “The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”

And so hopefully you get the point.
God rejoices in salvation.
Saving sinners is the very heart of God.

It is this joy, mixed certainly with His great love
That prompted the very coming of Jesus
And the saving work He performed.

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.”

1 Timothy 2:1-4 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Now this is NOT to get too deep into truths like God’s sovereign election
Or the love He has for the world verses the love He has for the redeemed.

Certainly we could spend some time on those distinctions.

THIS MORNING we simply want to make sure that everyone understands that the heart of God rejoices in the salvation of sinners.

I might also FURTHER CLARIFY that by saying that
GOD REJOICES IN THE TRUE SALVATION OF SINNERS.

If you notice again verses 7 & 10,
• We DO NOT read that “there will be more joy in heaven when a sinner
walks the aisle”
• NOR DO we read that “there will be more joy in heaven when a sinner
makes a profession of faith”
• NOR DO we read that “there will be more joy in heaven when a sinner
gets baptized”

The rejoicing of heaven comes “over one sinner who repents”

GOD HAS NEVER REJOICED AT
The empty words or empty professions of people
Who want to keep their sin and still go to heaven.

GOD HAS NEVER REJOICED OVER
False belief or over shallow commitment.

The REJOICING OF GOD is over true repentance and true salvation.

Perhaps to help you understand the apostle John put it like this:
3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”

• Heaven can rejoice at the initial repentance of a sinner because heaven sees
the true condition of the sinner’s heart.
• When a sinner confesses Christ as Savior, heaven instantly knows if it is
genuine or not and so heaven can instantly rejoice.

The fulfillment our joy has to wait UNTIL we see the fruit of that salvation.
But when we see the fruit of salvation (obedience) we rejoice as well.

We always like to see sinners cry out for salvation
But the truest joy comes when we see the fruit of that repentance,
Which is obedience, and then we rejoice as well.

BUT NONE THE LESS YOU GET THE IDEA HERE.

God’s heart is one that rejoices over the true salvation of sinners.
• God rejoices when sinners leave their sin.
• God rejoices when sinners humble themselves and cry out for mercy.
• God rejoices when sinners believe in Christ and are clothed in His
righteousness.

AND GOD REJOICES FAR MORE IN THAT
Than He does in any religious demonstration that might otherwise occur.
That is the point of Luke 15.

And to gain the best understanding of the chapter,
The SETTING for the parables is ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL.

In fact, if you don’t read the first 2 verses then it is impossible to gain an understanding of why Jesus spoke these 3 parables.

(1-2) “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

YOU HAVE TO GET THIS.
If you don’t, you’re going to distort the meaning of the 3 parables that follow.

The setting is a familiar one.
Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners.

This is hardly the first time.
• In Luke 5 after Matthew was saved, Matthew threw a banquet for Jesus and invited all his friends.

Luke 5:29-32 “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.”

Instances like that actually earned Jesus a REPUTATION in Israel.
Luke 7:34 “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

It was one of the derogatory titles the religious elite assigned to Jesus.
The called Him a “Friend of Sinners”

Well here Jesus is at it again.
“all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.”

By now you are aware why this was such a scandal.
• “tax collectors” were branded as traitors because they extorted money from their brethren to pay the Roman government.
• They were also hated for their dishonesty since it was a common practice to charge more than Rome required and to keep the difference.

• “sinners” is just a common term for those who were “godless” or “irreligious” or unapologetically unfaithful to the strenuous requirements of the religious elite.
• They were people who defiantly ignored the religious mandates of their day.

“the Pharisees and the scribes” Hated Them Both.

They hated “tax collectors” because “Pharisees” were PATRIOTS.
• They got their start during the war to win liberation from Greece.
• It was the Pharisees who rejected Greek influence and liberalism and who
were devout loyalists to Israel and her traditional religious ways.
• Someone who would sell out Israel for money to a pagan government
was about as low as it got.

They hated “sinners” because they totally ignored God’s Law and God’s moral requirements for living.

But now all of them are coming to Jesus
And Jesus was receiving them and eating with them.

ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTICE is THE REASON these tax collectors and sinners were coming was “to listen to Him.”

And by now we should all have a good understanding
Of the sort of things they were hearing.
They were hearing the same messages we’ve been hearing.

Things like:
• (12:8) “everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God”
• (12:15) “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions”
• (12:22) “do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.”
• (12:40) “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”
• (13:3) “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”
• (13:24) “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
• (14:11) “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
• (14:27) “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
• (14:33) “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”

Has that not been the preaching of Jesus?

When Luke says that “all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near to Him to listen to Him.” You can be certain of what He told them.

This was not some sort of Monday Night Football party
Where Jesus was enjoying chips and dip with sinners
While laughing at crude workplace humor.

PEOPLE WHO THINK Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners
• Was akin to bellying up to the bar with a lost man,
• Having a beer,
• And asking him questions about his wife and family are gravely mistaken.

These men approached Jesus and I promise you
They got the same message everyone else had been getting.

There is not a single doubt that
• Tax collectors were confronted for their greed and love of money.
• Sinners were confronted for being unfaithful servants of God and not ready for the second coming.
• All were told of the necessity of repentance in order that they might be saved.

And the point to that is that
THIS IS A GOOD THING THAT IS GOING ON HERE!

If you were a saved person in that day
And you saw obvious sinners going in to speak to Jesus
Then you would have been delighted
Because you knew they were going to hear the gospel.

• You knew they were going to have their sin confronted.
• You knew they were going to be called to repentance.
• You knew they were going to be shown the way of salvation.

THIS IS A GREAT THING THAT IS HAPPENING.
ANY SAVED PERSON SHOULD HAVE REJOICED IN THIS.

And yet that is the problem with the Pharisees and Scribes.
They weren’t saved, and they didn’t rejoice.

So THEIR RESPONSE is just the opposite of what it should have been.
(2) “Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

They saw Jesus receiving and eating with sinners
As an indicator that Jesus approved of their lifestyle.

THAT IS NOT AT ALL WHAT IT MEANS.

If you think Jesus eating with sinners is an indication that Jesus accepted their lifestyle then you are misreading the Bible narrative.

For I would also remind you that 3 times in Luke’s gospel Jesus has eaten with Pharisees too.
• In Luke 7 was the story about the woman who was weeping at His feet. That was while Jesus was eating with a Pharisee and Jesus confronted that Pharisee for his lack of love.

• In Luke 11 Jesus was invited to eat but purposely didn’t wash His hands before He sat down. At that same dinner Jesus confronted that Pharisee (and the lawyers with him) for only cleaning the outside of the dish while having dirty hearts.

• In Luke 14 Jesus was invited on the Sabbath to a Pharisees house to eat bread. Jesus went, but if you will remember confronted them for their self-righteousness, for picking out the best seats at the table, for only inviting their friends and relatives, and for failing to enter the kingdom of heaven.

THE POINT is Jesus at with Pharisees too but no one would accuse Him
Of agreeing with their life choices by doing so.

Jesus ate with tax collectors but when He did
(just like when He ate with Pharisees),
He also confronted their sin.

But the Pharisees took His eating with them as a sign of accepting them.
And Luke says they “began to grumble”

They didn’t think it was appropriate for a man to eat with sinners
Even if He did so for the purpose of leading them to salvation.

AND THEY VOICED THAT DISPLEASURE THROUGH GRUMBLING.

NOW THAT IS THE SETTING.
That is the event that inspires these 3 parables.

Often times these parables are preached almost as evangelistic parables of salvation to sinners asking them to be saved.

And certainly we never have a problem
With any text being used to lead sinners to repentance.

But what you need to know is that
• The primary purpose of this text was NOT to confront the tax collectors who were eating with Jesus.
• The primary purpose of this text was to confront the Pharisees who grumbled about it.

verse 3, “So He told them this parable…”
• The “them” there is the Pharisees and scribes.
• These 3 parables are for them.

They are parables meant to show the Pharisees and the scribes
Just how far their heart was from God’s heart.

They are 3 parables primarily meant to show the self-righteous
That they were nothing like God at all.

God rejoices when sinners repent.
These men did not.

These 3 parables are meant to expose them for that corruption.

This morning we are going to look at the first 2
Because they’re easy to understand, and don’t require much explanation.

But as we read them, I simply want you to read them as Jesus intended and ask yourself if your heart lines up with God’s heart?

So let’s look at them.
#1 THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP
Luke 15:3-7

You notice the confrontational nature of this parable by the way Jesus begins it: “What man among you…”

Jesus is forcing these religious men to insert themselves into the story.
He is forcing them to answer a simple question.

And here it is:
(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?”

Now, I know that often times this story is used to speak of the commitment of Jesus as the good shepherd to leave the 99 and search for the 1 lost sheep.

People like the imagery of Jesus caring enough to save that 1 sheep.
• And we certainly don’t disagree with the fact that Jesus is certainly that type of Savior. He is indeed the good shepherd.

But before you jump into that application
You first need to see the application that Jesus intended.

The point of this parable IS NOT
To reveal some remarkable commitment of a rare shepherd.
The point of this parable IS
To reveal the normal commitment of every shepherd.
Hence the “What man among you..?”

That is what Jesus is talking about.
• If you were a shepherd and you lost a sheep, would you not go look for it until it was found?

And the answer is, “Yes”.
• Every shepherd would do that.
• Every cattle person today would do that.

And honestly,
• Even if you didn’t own the sheep, you’d still go and find that wayward sheep.
• Shepherds were held responsible for lost sheep.

In fact, a shepherd in Bible times would even go and steal back a portion of a dead sheep from a predator just to prove what happened to the sheep.

Amos 3:12 “Thus says the LORD, “Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion’s mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear, So will the sons of Israel dwelling in Samaria be snatched away — With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!”

Yes, Jesus is a remarkable shepherd, we’re not questioning that.
But the point He is making here is that any shepherd would do that.

And so He asks the Pharisees, “If you lost a sheep would you go after it?”
And their answer would have been “Yes”.

And then, when they found that sheep,
Jesus also questions what their response would be.

(5-6) “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “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!’”

And this again is just common practice.
• If you lose a sheep you go look for the sheep.
• And when you find it, you don’t leave it there, you bring it home.
• And when you get it home, you rejoice that it was found (you certainly aren’t unhappy about finding it)

THAT IS THE POINT.
• Every shepherd would do that.
• These Pharisees would do that.
• These scribes would do that.

But what they didn’t realize is that Jesus just set them up.
They answered “yes” to that entire story.

And then Jesus says:
(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.”

That’s what you call a mic drop.

Jesus just exposed these self-righteous religious people
For begrudging God the same joy that they would have.

They find it acceptable to seek and rescue and rejoice over a sheep,
But they grumble that God would do the same thing for a man.

And all of a sudden their hearts are exposed.
• They love sheep more than they love people.
• They have no compass for the heart of God.
• They have no understanding of who God is at all.

And so we take this opportunity to point out the genuine heart of God.

GOD REJOICES when sinners repent.
GOD DOES NOT REJOICE over the self-righteous
Who don’t think they need repentance.

Now take that revelation and apply it to what we do here every Sunday.

This is a worship service.
• We are here to glorify God.
• We are here to please God.
• We are here to honor God.

And now we have insight into what makes God happy.

If we come to a worship service and sing songs and listen to preaching but it does not lead us to humility or repentance or gratitude for forgiveness can we say that our gathering has brought joy to God?

If we come to a worship service and it only consists of us doing what we want and seeking our own gratification as though we are already righteous and have no need of repentance can we say that our gather as brought joy to God?

That’s a fitting question to ask.

Jesus just nailed these religious elite
• Because they had no barometer for the heart of God.
• They were grumbling about the very thing God was delighting in.

Here were tax collectors and sinners being given the truth and being led to repentance and the Pharisees were angry about it.

There is nothing God-like about that.

Do you see that?

That’s the parable of the lost sheep.
#2 THE PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN
Luke 15:8-10

It’s a different analogy, but the exact same point.

Here is a woman who “has ten silver coins and loses one coin,”

And Jesus wants to know, “what woman…does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?”

And again the answer was obvious.
EVERY WOMEN WOULD.

If you want to better relate let’s just call it your PAYCHECK.
• What person who loses their paycheck would not clean out every stack and mess in their house until they found it?
• You would, everyone would.
• That’s the point.

And, when you found it, would you be happy about that or sad?
• Obviously happy.
• Obviously relieved.

(9) “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’”

Of course she does.

It’s just a common natural response.
• When you find your lost sheep…
• When you find your lost paycheck…
• YOU REJOICE

(10) “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

And again the application is obvious.
These Pharisees would rejoice over finding money
But begrudge God rejoicing over finding sinners.

And here it’s not just God who is rejoicing
But Jesus says “the angels of God”

Even angels who see the face of God and delight in His presence
Rejoice over sinners repenting.
They rejoice because God is rejoicing!
They rejoice because they love God!

But these religious elite do not love God.
• They don’t care what makes God happy.
• They don’t care what delights God.

It’s a simple point that Jesus is making, but it is so potent.

• God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
• God delights in the repentance of sinners.
• God rejoices in salvation.

DO YOU?

• Does it fill your heart with joy when sinners hear the gospel?
• Does it fill your heart with joy when sinners are called to repent?
• Does it fill your heart with joy when sinners do repent?
• Does it fill your heart with joy when you see them walking in truth?

That is the joy of heaven.

That is why Christ came.

Hebrews 12:2b “…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.”

Jesus rejoiced in the fact that His atoning work
Would purchase salvation for sinners.

This is where the church must dwell.
• Our joy CANNOT BE in the production of the worship service…
• Our joy CANNOT BE in the size of the offering…
• Our joy CANNOT BE in the beauty of the sanctuary…

Our joy must be God’s joy.
Our joy must be found in the salvation of sinners.
That is when our heart is most in line with God’s heart.

If our joy resides in any other thing more than that,
Then it is safe to say our heart is out of tune with heaven.

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.”

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The Useless Disciple – Part 2
Luke 14:25-35 (27-35)
December 1, 2019

Last time we met we started listening
As Jesus confronted a large crowd about being a useless disciple.

We saw how He spoke of salt with no flavor
That couldn’t even be used in a manure pile.

IT IS A DIFFICULT CONVERSATION TO SAY THE LEAST.
• So much is said about unconditional love and unconditional acceptance that it is possible that at times we forget that our Lord most certainly had conditions.
• Things like denying self, taking up the cross, and following Him even if it brought persecution from your own family.

And to again be clear.
• We are NOT talking here about being good enough to be saved.
• We are NOT talking here about being faithful enough to earn
salvation.

WE KNOW FULL WELL THAT SALVATION IS
BY GRACE ALONE – THROUGH FAITH ALONE – IN CHRIST ALONE.

We are only justified before God
When the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us.

When we are “in Christ” we are then clothed in His righteousness
And are therefore acceptable to the Father.

What we talk about here is the cost of being found in Christ.

Jesus said in order to be found in Him then we must follow Him.
We must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.

THE TRAGEDY IS THAT
• There are many, who even though they know that righteousness is obtained in Christ alone,
• That still will not follow Christ because following Him requires such a drastic change in their lives.

They are people who, like the “Rich Young Ruler”, know that Jesus is the Savior, but still won’t follow Him because of what it means to follow Him.

And these people are REFERRED TO by Jesus as USELESS DISCIPLES.

And obviously we do not want to fulfill that type of comparison.

So we are listening as Jesus talks about
WHAT MAKES A MAN USELESS DISCIPLE?

There are 4 things listed here. We saw the first last time.
#1 THEY LOVE THE APPROVAL OF OTHERS
Luke 14:26

It’s that mysterious passage where Jesus calls us to
“Hate” our father and mother and other family members.

We learned that it is a “by comparison” statement.
Namely that we should love Jesus so much more that by comparison it makes the affection we have for our family look like hate.

And the reason He says this is because
It is impossible to be a faithful disciple of Jesus
If you are more concerned about the approval of your family.

• Jesus may ask you to confront the sin of your mother.
• Jesus may ask you to obey Him to the disapproval of your father.
• Jesus may ask you to move your family where your children don’t want to go.
• Jesus may ask you to reject the influence of your brother.

Are you willing to do that?
If not, you are of no use to Him.

That was the first indicator of a useless disciple.
They Love The Approval Of Others.

#2 THEY AVOID THE ADVERSITY OF THE CROSS
Luke 14:27

We just heard Jesus mention that loving the approval of others
Will set you up for failure as a disciple.

But hating your family was not all He said.

Jesus went on to say in verse 26, “yes, and even his own life”

You cannot love your own life more than you love Christ.
And that leads into the NEXT ATTRIBUTE OF A USELESS DISCIPLE.

Namely that they Avoid The Adversity Of The Cross.

“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

There again is the rigid reality.
• We are talking about people who CANNOT be a disciple of Jesus.
• We are talking about the DISQUALIFIED.
• We are talking about those who are USELESS to the mission.

And here it is people who do not carry their cross and follow Jesus.

First of all we remember
Jesus has ALREADY REVEALED this reality as the calling of all disciples.

It’s not like Jesus is just springing this on His followers.
He’s been saying this for quite some time.

Luke 9:23-26 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “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. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

Jesus taught us that the unequivocal call of salvation
Is to first “deny himself” and then “take up his cross daily” and then “follow Me”

The calling of salvation (contrary to modern day evangelism)
Is NOT a call to self-fulfillment.
The call of salvation is a call to self-denial.

It is a call that starts with REPENTANCE
• It speaks of a person who is aware of their sinfulness and that in their flesh
there is no good thing.
• It speaks of a person who also understands the utter wretchedness even of
all their good works and religious deeds.
• It speaks of a person who will both leave their sin and their legalistic efforts
behind.

It is a person who in effect tears up their resume.
• They see in Christ the only righteousness that God accepts.
• They see in Christ the only hope of justification before God.
• They see in Christ the only means of atonement and satisfaction of God’s
wrath.
• They see the cross of Jesus as the only way.

And so they repent of their sin
And they cling to the cross and they follow Christ.
That has always been Jesus’ call of salvation.

But it’s NOT JUST a theological belief here that Jesus is referring to.

For Jesus DOESN’T SAY that you must embrace Jesus’ cross.
Jesus says that a man must “carry his own cross”

We are NOT just talking about people who must theologically embrace the cross of Jesus as the sole means of salvation.

Sure, they must do that, but that’s not here what Jesus is referring to.

JESUS IS HERE REFERRING TO THE FACT THAT
All who do embrace that cross must follow Him in such a way
That it will bring upon them the same scorn that He received.

HERE’S THE FACT.
• If you follow Jesus…
• If you act like Jesus…
• If you talk like Jesus…
• YOU WILL BE TREATED LIKE JESUS

The Bible is absolutely clear about that.
Matthew 10:24-25 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”

How it is that the people today can expect
To be loved by a world that hates Jesus is a mystery.

John 15:18-21 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘ A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.”

And just to make sure we are clear here.
Jesus explicitly states WHY the world hated Him.

Jesus told His brothers:
John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.”

This is the forgotten Jesus of our time.
• The Jesus preached today doesn’t call anyone evil.
• The Jesus preached today doesn’t confront or convict or condemn anyone.

And the world has convinced us that if we do call their deeds evil
Then we are not being like Jesus.

STOP LISTENING TO THE WORLD ABOUT WHO JESUS IS
AND START READING YOUR BIBLE.

Jesus testified to the world that people’s deeds were evil
And they hated Him for it.

If you do what He did, they will hate you too.

And perhaps that explains
Why hatred does not exist but friendship does.

• We aren’t enemies with an evil world system we are friends with it.
• We don’t expose sin we condone it, we accept it, and we laugh at it.

Listen to this Psalm:
Psalms 50:16-21 “But to the wicked God says, “What right have you to tell of My statutes And to take My covenant in your mouth? “For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you. “When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. “You let your mouth loose in evil And your tongue frames deceit. “You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. “These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.”

God saw people who loved thieves and associated with adulterers
And then reproved them for thinking that they were just like Him.

Sometimes I think it is the misconception of our culture
That because Jesus ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners
That it meant He accepted them as they were.
HE DID NOT.

The message of Christ was always repent.
He never left people in their sin.
And the world hated Him for that message.

The problem with so many of us today as that
• We choose friendship with the world over friendship with God.
• We would rather offend God than offend the world.

James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

But this explains why we are not persecuted or hated.
2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

SO HERE IS THE REALITY.
• If Jesus came into this world to expose sinners…
• And if Jesus came into this world to preach repentance to sinners…
• And if Jesus came into this world to offer forgiveness for sin to those who
mourn over that sin…

Then how can we follow Him if we are not willing to preach His message?

And how can we be faithful disciples if we are not willing to suffer His reproach for that faithfulness?

THAT IS THE POINT OF JESUS HERE.

The world hated Christ and they nailed Him to a cross.
• If you are going to follow Him then you had better understand that the world will nail you to yours as well.
• If you are not willing to suffer the shame and reproach and enmity that Christ suffered then you cannot be His disciple.

That is to say, you won’t make it.
You won’t do it.

So “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

So the useless disciples are those:
• Who love the approval of others
• Who avoid the adversity of the cross
#3 THEY FAIL TO ASSESS THE COST
Luke 14:28-32

Now these 5 verses actually serve a DUAL PURPOSE.
• On one hand they reinforce the points Jesus just made,
• But they also introduce another glaring issue about useless disciples.

Obviously Jesus uses these two analogies to drive home the reality
That if you don’t do certain things then you cannot succeed as a disciple.

But here Jesus addresses another issue as well.

And it is the issue of people who signed up to follow Jesus
Without ever giving really any thought at all
As to what it was going to require to follow Him.

AND THIS IS ANOTHER GLARING FAILURE
TO THE MODERN DAY CHURCH EVANGELISM MODEL.

Modern day church evangelism
Has grossly misrepresented the hardships of being a disciple.

In far too many cases the greatest hardship most sinners are ever confronted with is the shame of publicly walking an aisle.

We get to some emotional invitation.
And the battle ground is set.
• We have a non-believer and supposedly under conviction (we hope that is the case and not just one who is emotionally manipulated, but that is another issue)
• But we have a non-believer under conviction for his sin.
• And often times the only struggle that person is confronted with is the shame of publicly walking the aisle.
• They are all but promised if you will just step out and confess Jesus before men then you will be saved and the hard part is over.

What’s the old hymn?
“The Savior is Waiting”

“The Savior is waiting to enter your heart, Why don’t you let Him come in? There’s nothing in this world to keep you apart, What is your answer to Him?
Time after time He has waited before, And now He is waiting again, To see if you’re willing to open the door, Oh, how he wants to come in.
If you’ll take one step toward the Savior, my friend, You’ll find His arms open wide, Receive Him and all of your darkness will end, Within your heart He’ll abide.”

• Here’s this poor Jesus so badly wanting to save you but powerless to do so.
• And then we have the sinner supposedly compelled to come to Jesus but too afraid of the shame of the aisle.
• So the song convinces the sinner that if you’ll just take one step it will all be over and you’ll be so happy you did.

As if the shame of walking an aisle is the greatest barrier you’ll ever face.
That is absolutely ridiculous.

I’m going to be honest with you here this morning.
• If you can’t walk an aisle in a Southern Baptist Church
• And tell a group of your Christian friends and neighbors that you want to follow
Jesus
• Then you certainly can’t follow Jesus where He’s going to ask you to go.

That first step out of your pew is nothing
Compared to what following Jesus every day of your life is going to cost.

That’s just the truth.
• We already saw about how it will cost you relationships.
• We already saw about how it will cost you safety or comfort.

And yet so many in the church today are lured to follow Jesus
Simply by walking down an aisle and are never told
About the coming adversity for that decision.

They remind me of the ROCKY SOIL.
Matthew 13:20-21 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”

SADLY: That is precisely the type of disciple
Most religious services are tailored to produce.

And as a result they fall away.
BECAUSE THEY DID NOT COUNT THE COST.

WANT TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE?
Listen to Jesus when He preaches to people.

Luke 9:57-62 “As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And 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.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Jesus doesn’t say, “Well if you’ll just take one step toward Me then it will all be over.”

He taps the brakes and tells those people what they are up against.
It was very important to Jesus that men know the cost of following Him.

Even the disciples in the upper room, listen to what Jesus tells them.
John 16:1-4 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. “These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. “But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”

• Jesus told them about the coming persecution.
• And then He said, “these things I have spoken to you, so that you may be
kept from stumbling”

I’m telling you this ahead of time
So that you aren’t shocked and fall away when it happens.

That was the night before Jesus was crucified.
AND EVEN AFTER HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD
HE STILL WARNED HIS DISCIPLES OF WHAT WAS COMING.

Remember when He reinstated Peter?
John 21:18-22 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!” Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

It can be kind of a humorous story, but you do get the point.
• Jesus is telling Peter ahead of time even as He continually asks Peter to
follow.
• Peter, you’ve got to count the cost.
• You won’t be any good to Me if you don’t prepare yourself for what is coming.

And to that end, listen to Peter passing that information along
To those suffering saints he wrote to:
1 Peter 4:12-14 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”

This suffering isn’t uncommon or bizarre, it was promised.
That was Peter helping the saints continue to count the cost.

And here Jesus has turned to this large crowd and does the same.
He tells them about the cost of discipleship.

And that makes our point here.
A DISCIPLE WHO DOES NOT ASSESS THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS
ENDS UP BEING A USELESS DISCIPLE.

Two analogies, both have the same point.
(28-30) “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’”

It’s a simple point.
• A man has an impulse to build a tower so he jumps into with both feet.
• The problem is he didn’t put the pencil to it and consider what it might cost.
• And because he didn’t accurately assess the cost he was not able to finish.

He became a useless builder.
Who needs a builder who can’t finish?

The second is the same.
(31-32) “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.”

Here we have a king going to battle.
• And a wise king is going to sit down and figure out whether or not he can win
this battle.
• If he can, fine, go win it.
• But if he can’t, he’d better make the smart move and go ask for terms of peace.

Both of those stories make the same point.
YOU’D BETTER COUNT THE COST

Don’t just sign up to follow Jesus
Without asking what it will cost you.
Because the fact is, it will cost you everything.

Jesus made statements like:
Matthew 16:25 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

We remember those parables about the treasure in the field or the pearl of great value.
• Both of those parables are meant to show you that the kingdom of heaven is worth any cost it might ask.
• The treasure is worth more. The pearl is worth more.
• But it does not change the fact that both men had to give everything they had to obtain those prizes.

So it is with the kingdom.
It will cost you so much more than just the shame of walking an aisle.
• You are going to have to deny yourself.
• You might lose your most intimate relationships.
• You might lose all your possessions.
• You might lose even your own life.

YOU HAD BETTER KNOW THAT BEFORE YOU SIGN UP.
Failure to count the cost inevitably makes you a useless disciple.

ONE MORE ILLUSTRATION TO THIS EFFECT.
• It was Paul’s first missionary journey.
• He set out with John Mark and Barnabas.

Acts 13:13 “Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.”

• Nothing more is said of John’s departure than that.
• He left, and we aren’t told why.

However after Paul returns and it is time to set out a second time, here is what we read:
Acts 15:36-38 “After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.”

What was Paul saying?
• It does us no good to take someone along who isn’t ready to face the
opposition.
• It does us no good to take someone who runs when it gets hard.

And over the years many of crucified Paul for being “too rigid” here,
But I might add that verse 40 of that same chapter says, “But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.”

THE CHURCH SIDED WITH PAUL THERE.

A disciple who won’t do the work is of no use to the mission.

Now, I might also add that at the end of Paul’s life and ministry when he was in that Mamertine prison awaiting execution, he told Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:11 “Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.”

We can assume that Mark learned from his mistake,
Counted the cost, and became useful.

But hopefully you get the point.
• A disciple who loves the approval of others is setting himself up to be a useless disciple.
• A disciple who avoids the adversity of the cross is setting himself up to be a useless disciple.
• A disciple who fails to assess the cost is setting himself up to be a useless disciple.

And here’s the final characteristic of the useless disciple.
#4 THEY CHOOSE AFFLUENCE OVER FAITHFULNESS
Luke 14:33

Here is another hard to swallow passage.
“So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”

And again we are often confronted with all manner of hermeneutical maneuvering to keep that verse from meaning what it says.

Earlier in Luke’s gospel we read:
Luke 12:33-34 “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

• And when we read that verse I told you how often we dance around it as
though it can’t possibly mean what it says.
• I also told you that I could read that verse to our brothers and sisters in Malawi
and they wouldn’t balk at it at all because that’s exactly how they live.

This is a hard statement for Americans to hear.
It’s hard for us to think that having financial security can be a bad thing.

SO LET ME BE CLEAR.
• Having money isn’t a sin.
• Having extra money isn’t a sin.

Later Jesus is going to tell His disciples:
Luke 22:35-38 “And He said to them, “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” And He said to them, “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. “For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, ‘AND HE WAS NUMBERED WITH TRANSGRESSORS’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.” They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”

Clearly there Jesus spoke of the disciples
Being good stewards to be ready for ministry.

We even recognize that our church is able to give to places like Malawi
Or places like Texas Boys Ranch because we have money.

THE PROBLEM IS WHEN YOU THINK
IT IS YOUR MONEY INSTEAD OF THE LORD’S
And when you are unwilling to part with it for the Lord.

Just look at the followers of Jesus in the New Testament.
• Andrew and Peter left their nets and followed Jesus.
• James and John left their nets and their father and followed Jesus.
• Matthew left his tax booth and followed Jesus.
• The flipside is a man like the Rich Young Ruler who would not leave his possessions.

The fact is Jesus routinely asks His people to part with their wealth.

SOME DO IT TO GO ON MISSION.
• Think about Chris and Meagan Weaver who were here a few Sunday nights
ago and are headed Papau, New Guinea. Before he left I offered them
all one of our leftover Disciple Now T-shirts to which he said, “Don’t
give that to me, we just can’t take it with us.”

So what if Jesus asks you to go, can you leave your stuff to do it?

SOME DO IT THROUGH GIVING.
• Think about Malawi or Texas Boys Ranch or Gideons or Lottie Moon or any
other number of legitimate needs around us.
• Are you willing to give up what is yours for them?

Most are willing to give up their extra,
But the thought of giving when it hurts is typically foreign.

But is it the Lord’s money is or is it yours?

Because when you signed your life over to Christ
You were supposed to give Him power of attorney.
Everything you have became His.

If you won’t give it, how can you consider yourself useful?

We remembered last week the one guy who wanted to follow Jesus but who first wanted to get his family’s approval and Jesus told him no.

But what about the other two?
Luke 9:57-60 “As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And 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.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

One wants comfort, the other wants his inheritance
And Jesus tells both of them “no” as well.

We remembered earlier the rocky soil as the one who won’t count the cost to follow Jesus and falls away when it gets hard.

But what about that other soil?
Luke 8:14 “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.”

People who love the world can’t follow Jesus faithfully
Because Jesus could care less about acquiring the world
Or keeping the world.

AND SO THINK ABOUT ALL THESE FOR A MOMENT.
JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT THE USELESS DISCIPLE.

And one man loves the approval of others too much. He is unwilling to offend his family members.
• How can Jesus use that man to lead his family to salvation if he is unwilling to offend them?
• How can Jesus use that man to take the gospel to the ends of the earth if he is unwilling to leave them or to take them with him and put them in harms way?

He can’t.
Because that man loves his family more than he loves Jesus
He is useless to Jesus for service.

Or take the second man. He avoids the adversity of the cross.
• How can Jesus use that man to confront the evil system of the world?
• How can Jesus use that man to call men to repent?
• How can Jesus use that man as an example of righteous suffering?

He can’t.
Because that man avoids adversity he is useless to Jesus for service.

Or take the third. The man who fails to assess the cost.
• How can Jesus send that man into the dangerous places of the world?
• How can Jesus even use that man to confront corruption and sin in his workplace?
• How can Jesus use that student to speak to his friends at the school?
• When that person is going to quit as soon as it gets hard…

He can’t.
Because that man won’t count the cost he is useless to Jesus for service.

Or the 4th man. He chooses affluence or comfort over faithfulness.
• How can Jesus ask that man to leave his fortune and move to the mission field?
• How can Jesus ask that man to give beyond his comfort to those in need?
• How can Jesus ask that man to be faithful amidst financial risk?

He can’t.
Because that man is not willing to part with his possessions
He is useless to Jesus for service.

DO YOU SEE THE POINT?
Those men can’t serve Jesus faithfully because they are not 100% all in!

(34-35) “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

• The man who doesn’t love Jesus more is like salt with no flavor.
• The man who avoids the scorn of the cross is like salt with no flavor.
• The man who won’t count the cost is like salt with no flavor.
• The man who won’t leave his possessions for Jesus is like salt with no flavor.

He has nothing to offer a world that doesn’t know what true life is.
He has no fertilizer to encourage the growth of the seed of God’s word.

In fact, he is only “thrown out”
Because he serves no purpose to the mission of Christ.

And listen friend, I know that is a hard passage.
• But you have to understand it was Jesus who said this.
• It was Jesus who saw “large crowds…going along with Him”

We have got to understand that there is a level of commitment
That Jesus clearly expected from His disciples
That has been tragically omitted in the church.

But just because the church doesn’t talk about it
Doesn’t mean that Jesus didn’t say it.

But now we have read it, and we cannot plead ignorance.
• Do you hear Him?
• Do you have ears to hear?

Are you useful to the Lord?
If you aren’t, are you willing to be?