The Truth About Following Jesus – Part 2
Luke 9:57-62 (59-60)
December 23, 2018

You are very aware of the portion of Scripture which we are studying.
It is one of absolutely profound importance.

A chapter which not only definitively named Jesus as the Christ,
But one which has also been very clear about His requirements.

In Luke 9 we have seen that
Jesus is without a doubt God’s anointed and chosen King.

• It is Jesus whom God has ordained to literally rule the world.
• To Him God has decreed that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.
• Submission to Him and His will is the divine mandate and expectation.
• Refusal to submit to Him brings only wrath and judgment.

The Psalmist prophesied in Psalms 2
Psalms 2:6-12 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

The Psalms was clear.
• God has already chosen His reigning King.
• This King is in fact God’s Son.
• God has given Him the very ends of the earth as His possession.
• And God has decreed that He will rule the earth and literally break anyone
who rebels as with a rod of iron like one shattering a clay pot.
• The warning then was made that all men (even the kings of earth) should
come trembling to God’s King
• They should do homage to Him and submit to Him so that they not fall under
His wrath.
• Instead they should take refuge in Him as their means of salvation.

That was the call of Psalms 2.
When you find God’s King (who happens to be His Son)
Then take refuge in Him, but do not rebel against Him.

It left the world asking, “WHO IS THIS KING?”
And in verse 20 of this chapter,
Luke made it very clear that this King had been identified.

Luke 9:20 “And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
Jesus asked His disciples IF THEY KNEW who He was AND THEY DID.
“You are that King that God promised.”

The implication then is that now that we know who this King is,
It is time to take refuge in Him; to do homage to Him;
To submit to His divine authority and will.

God has appointed Him to rule, we now submit.
That was made clear.

THE NEXT QUESTION is also of absolute importance which would be,
“What does He require?”

And Jesus made that clear in:
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.”

This is the requirement of God’s chosen and anointed King.
• Deny Yourself
• Take up the Cross
• Follow Him

He is God’s King, appointed to rule, and this is what He requires.

The rest of the chapter then has been to flesh out what that means.

We most recently saw 3 examples which shed light on the subject of self-denial. In fact we saw 3 bad examples of self-denial.
• The disciples Disdained the Least
• The disciples Disrespected the Laity
• The disciples Disregarded the Lost

All 3 done because they still had not learned what it meant to deny self and let go of their own ego and their own pride and live solely for the glory of the King.

And now we are at the final point of the chapter which is
3 more examples which now shed light on the subject of following Jesus.

As we said last time we have 3 men with 2 things in common.
• They all profess a willingness to follow Jesus.
• None of them knows what that means.

And so we are again learning from bad examples.
Namely we are seeing what it does not mean to follow Jesus.

And how important this is to get right!
Since it is true that our Lord has promised that in the final judgment
There will be a great many people who lived their entire life
Assuming they were following Jesus when in fact they were not.

Do we remember our Lord’s warnings in the Sermon on the Mount?
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Those are people who THOUGHT they were following the Lord
And who THOUGHT they were headed for eternal life,
Only to find at the end that they were not.
That is terrifying.

These people emerge again at the end of that same sermon.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

The warning is clear. Not only must you follow the King,
But you must follow as He commands, not as you desire.

And here at the end of Luke 9 we get 3 examples
Of those who DID NOT intend to follow as He commanded.

We looked at the first last week, let me briefly hit it again.
#1 FOLLOW JESUS IS NOT FOR THE AMBITIOUS
Luke 9:57-58

Here we met a man who came to Jesus and initially said the right things.
“I will follow You wherever You go.”

• To our limited discernment this man seemed to have it figured.
• It seems as though He is giving the Lord a blank check.
• If he were to set in our church would never suspect His genuineness.

But the Lord looks at the heart.
The Lord knows all men.
There is no creature hidden from His sight.

And our Lord knows that this man
Has very selfish and carnal reason for following Jesus.

This man supposes that Jesus will be his means
To obtaining worldly comfort and riches and glory.

In short, this man is ambitious for the world
And he sees Jesus as his meal ticket for acquiring it.

It is the very essence of today’s prosperity gospel,
Whereby men suppose that Jesus is some sort of genie in a bottle whose sole purpose is to provide for you all the worldly extravagance that you flesh desires.

Jesus SQUASHED this man’s carnal hopes.

He said, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Jesus points out the obvious to this man
That Jesus Himself had not acquired the world.
In fact Jesus was homeless.

Any notion of following Jesus to worldly riches and fame
Was a misguided notion.
Jesus had not acquired the world
And He would not be leading His followers to that end either.

And so we learned that
• If our motivation for following Jesus is because we think Jesus will be some ticket to earthly bliss and prosperity,
• Then we are not following as Jesus commanded.

We are thus deceived and quite frankly,
According to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount,
It is even likely that in that state we could very well be
On the wide road leading to destruction.

Following Jesus is not for the Ambitious

Having learned that last week, this morning we move to the next example.
#2 FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE ACQUISITIVE
Luke 9:59-60

(Not inquisitive, but acquisitive)
ACQUISITIVE it means “eager to acquire things; materialistic.”

We are talking here about those who are only interested in the wealth of this world.
• They love the world.
• They want the world.
• That is their goal.

Now immediately you might ask,
“How then is this man different than the first?”

After all, didn’t we just say that this was the problem of the first man;
That he wanted wealth and comfort and prosperity?

Yes we did, but there is a fundamental difference between these 2.
There is an important distinction between these 2 men.

The first man thought Jesus to be his means of acquiring prosperity.

This man knows Jesus is not, and so he wishes to delay following until he can satisfy that craving.

Whereas the first man believed the prosperity gospel,
This man does not believe it.
He is well aware that following Jesus
Will not lead to earthly prosperity and comfort.
And it is that understanding that is causing his dilemma.

Let’s look at this man and I’ll show you what we mean.
(59) “And He said to another”

Here we find that (different from the first man) Jesus initiates this invitation.

• The first guy approached Jesus and offered to follow.
• But Jesus approaches this guy and asks him to follow.

The fact that Matthew also puts these 2 examples together
Seems to indicate that these two examples happened at the same time.

Meaning, it is likely that both of these men approached Jesus,
And possibly for the same reason.

And the first man offered to follow, but Jesus quickly shut him down indicating that there would be no prosperity gained in following Him.

The implication is that the second man then was kind of left speechless.
He doesn’t make the same offer to follow that the first man made
Because Jesus has made it clear that He won’t grant what they desire.

So perhaps this man is just willing to walk away and never say anything.
But Jesus doesn’t allow that.

As this man stands in silence Jesus looks at him and addresses him as if to say, “Well, what about you?”

“And He said to another, “Follow Me.”
• It’s not a confusing command.
• It’s the same command that our Lord introduced earlier in the chapter.

This is the King
And He is asking here for submission.

In fact, He is requiring it, “Follow Me”

NOW REMEMBER, this man just learned
That if He says “Yes” then he will NOT be following to prosperity.

So, he answers like this to Jesus.
“But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”

• So in a simple sense we see that this man does say, “I will”.
• But before he follows there is one thing he wants to do first.

Wait until I “bury my father” and then I will follow You.

Now we should point out that THIS MAN IS ALREADY OUT OF LINE
Because he is in no position to make requirements.

• This is the King, He has heavenly authority.
• This is not a negotiation.
• You have no leverage.

But this man still gives Jesus his terms of consent.
I’ll follow after I “bury my father”

And I’m quite sure that the first time you read that,
You probably thought something like, “Well that’s certainly reasonable. Surely Jesus will have no problem with that small stipulation.”

And then we are shocked to hear Jesus say:
(60) “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.”

Now first let’s deal with the elephant.
Are you seriously saying that Jesus
Wouldn’t even let this man go bury his father?

THAT EXACTLY WHAT I’M SAYING. THAT’S WHAT JESUS SAID.

And there’s a reason Jesus won’t let this man bury his father.
IT’S BECAUSE HIS FATHER ISN’T DEAD

• It’s NOT LIKE this man was at his father’s funeral and simply told Jesus, can you give me 20 minutes until we finish up here?

What this man meant was, “I will follow You, but let me wait until my father dies so that I can first collect my inheritance.”

SO DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE?
• Both of these men approached Jesus with the idea of following Him to
prosperity.
• The first man spoke up about their willingness and Jesus revealed that they
would earn no prosperity by following
• Perhaps they were both willing to walk away at that point
• But Jesus asked this other man to follow anyway
• And he agreed so long as Jesus would let him gain some financial security first

It is as if he said, “If following You isn’t going to make me rich, then I need to obtain some financial security before I follow.”

It’s NOT the prosperity gospel.
It IS the idol of greed.

IT IS SEEN IN PEOPLE
• Like the Rich Young Ruler who will not give up his wealth to follow.
• Who make statements like, “I plan on getting saved after I do the things I want to do first in this life”
• Who make statements like, “Once I finish my job, once I raise my kids, once I cash in my pension, once I…. then I will follow Jesus.”

We could certainly say that this man was just as ambitious as the first.
But the problem Jesus addresses here is that this man is ACQUISITIVE.

Jesus exposes that this man loves the world.
He has the idol of greed.

AND YOU CANNOT (and will not) FOLLOW JESUS
IF YOU LOVE THIS WORLD.

That is obvious to us isn’t it?
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.”

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

We know this right?
If your preoccupation is with gaining the world then you will never follow Jesus.
• The timing will never be right…
• The greed will never be satisfied…
• You will daily deny the Son of God so that you can keep the world…

THAT’S JUST THE TRUTH.

That’s why Jesus said regarding the Rich Young Ruler
Luke 18:22-25 “When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

And THE IMPLICATION there from Jesus is clear.
It’s not just hard for a rich man to enter heaven, IT’S IMPOSSIBLE.

In fact “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

If you love the world you won’t follow Christ.
If you love the world you can’t follow Christ.
FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE ACQUISITIVE.

But there is really even MORE HERE THAT JESUS SAYS
That we can draw upon.

When this man gave the terms to Jesus about first collecting his inheritance
Jesus DID NOT SAY, “Why don’t you give your inheritance up.”

Instead He said this, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead”
What did Jesus mean by that?

Jesus just made a harsh statement of fact.
Namely that those who live for this world are what? “dead”

Not physically dead; obviously.
Those who live for this world are spiritually dead.

That is to say they do not have within them the life of God.

Isn’t that what James and John both implied earlier in those passages we read?
• James said if you love the world you are an enemy of God.
• John said if you love the world you don’t love the Father.

Those who love the world and seek to acquire the world
Are spiritually dead.

And this isn’t the only place where that truth is revealed.

Speaking about the requirements of widows in the church.
1 Timothy 5:6 “But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives.”

Or do you remember how the Prodigal Son was described?
Luke 15:24 “for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

Luke 15:32 “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'”

Paul spoke of it to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

That is to say that those whose goal
Is to indulge the desires of the flesh are dead.

Jude spoke about men who love the world like Cain or like Balaam or like Korah:
Jude 11-13 “Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”

Jesus spoke to the church at Sardis who had soiled their garments with their complacency and love of the world.
Revelation 3:1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”

Do you get the picture?
• A person may indeed think that they are saved…
• A person may indeed think that they are following Jesus…
• But if that person loves the world they are mistaken.

The reality is that they are dead even if they think they live.

So here we have a man who won’t follow Jesus yet
Because he wants to obtain the world first
And Jesus says, “That is spoken just like a dead man”

“Allow the dead to bury their own dead”

That’s another way of saying, “The preoccupation with wealth and inheritance is a worldly concern, not a spiritual one.”

Remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount?
Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Worry and preoccupation with worldly things is a “Gentile” mentality.
That is to say it’s a “pagan; worldly; lost” mentality.

The spiritually alive seek the kingdom…
The spiritually alive seek righteousness…

Seeking the world is a fruit of spiritual death.
And those who are dead do not follow Jesus, even if they think they do.

And so Jesus told this man “Allow the dead to bury their own dead”

And THEN He said, “but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

I find this interesting as well.
• Namely that instead of saying “Follow Me”
• Jesus got more descriptive regarding specifically what He wanted of this
man.

Instead he said, “go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

That’s an interesting statement.
• But do you see that Jesus is using the phrases interchangeably?

In fact Matthew reveals that Jesus said both to this man.
Matthew 8:21-22 “Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”

So now, if I were to ask you at this point,
What does it mean to follow Jesus?

You can now say, “It means to “go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

Can you see that?

Now let me tie the scene up for you a little more.

We saw last week that Matthew indicated that
This conversation occurred following Jesus healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and all the miracles that He worked at that time.

(You can see that context in Matthew 8:14-22)

But let me remind you what else happened on that day.
Luke 4:38-42 “Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her. And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them. While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ. When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.”

This would have been when these 2 men approached Him.
• That means that these 2 men where part of that crowd that didn’t want Jesus to leave.
• And in desperation had even considered following Him to cash in on prosperity.
• But Jesus confronted both of those men.

And you could put right there these 2 conversations.

And then look at what happened next.
Luke 4:43-44 “But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”

So when I ask you what Jesus came to do?
You can say that He came to “preach the kingdom of God”

And so when He asks this man to follow Him,
It is clear what that means.
You too go and preach the kingdom of God, just like I am.

So when I ask you if you follow Jesus? (and you say “yes”)

You’ll understand why I follow that up with the question,
“Then do you “go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God”?

Does that make sense?
• It may be that people think they are following Jesus, but in reality they are not.
• It may be that they only intend to follow Jesus, but it is their love of this world that has thus far caused them to delay.

“I do intend to follow Jesus, but not yet”

And ACCORDING TO JESUS the reason for the “not yet”
Is because they love the world, they want to acquire the world,
They want to keep the world, and friendship with the world.

Even more directly. The reason they do not yet follow and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God is because they are in fact “dead”.

And that is why we say that:
FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE ACQUISITIVE

Following Jesus is not for those who want the world (to gain it or keep it).
• We already know that Jesus is not going to gain the world.
• But we also know that Jesus left His world behind that He might go and proclaim the truth of the Kingdom.

AND THAT IS THE CALL.
You cannot love this world and follow Christ.
AND YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE ISSUE HERE.

One hand it is certainly an issue of idolatry.
• Christ will not share the heart.
• He is a jealous God.
• When He says that He will have no other gods before Him, that includes the
god of gold.

That’s certainly one issue.
That is what stopped the Rich Young Ruler in his tracks.

That is what is referred to as the “weedy 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.”

Certainly then part of the problem is that if you love the world,
You confess idolatry which the Lord will not tolerate.

But there is more to this issue than just that.

Namely it is that IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE FAITHFUL to follow Christ if you maintain a love of this world.

What I mean is this.
If you seek to follow Christ you will continually be put in circumstances in which it will be impossible to follow Him and do what He asks if you love the world.

For example, look at the early church.
Acts 2:43-45 “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”

Obviously if you love the world
You are unwilling to part with your stuff for the sake of your brother.

Acts 4:34-35 “For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.”

There it is again. Following Jesus there would not have been possible
If love of the world was the driving focus.

Listen to John:
1 John 3:16-18 “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

Again following Christ requires willingness to part with this world.

Look at:
2 Corinthians 8:1-6 “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.”

• There we aren’t just talking about people who had an abundance and chose to part with it,
• But rather people who endured an even greater lack than they already had.

The Macedonians (Philippians) gave out of their poverty.
Paul took that example and then told the Corinthians,
“You need to follow Christ like that too!”

AND THE POINT I AM MAKING HERE IS SIMPLE:

If you’re only love is riches
Then you’re going to inevitably pass on all those opportunities
And in those instances you won’t follow Christ.

Your desire to first go and bury your father will keep you from following.

Look, I’ve got a whole note pad filled up with support Scriptures on this. We could keep going and going and going.

The Bible has much to say about how loving the world hinders following Christ.
• Should we talk about the Rich Man in Hades who wouldn’t help the beggar Lazarus?
• Should we talk about the man who wanted to tear down his barns and build bigger ones so that he’d never have to worry again?
• Should we talk about Lot’s wife who loved this world and looked back?
• Should we talk about the rich in James 5 who had hoarded their gold to the point of rust and James told them they were fattened for slaughter?
• Should we listen to Asaph in Psalm 73 talk about how those who seek wealth are suddenly destroyed in an instant?

The list goes on and on. But the point is simple
Loving this world keeps people from following Jesus.

• FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE AMBITIOUS
• FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE ACQUISITIVE

Luke 16:14-15 “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

How’s that one?
Loving the world like the Pharisees did is “detestable in the sight of God”

YOU GET THE POINT.
We are called to follow Jesus.
• We don’t follow Him because we think He will make us prosperous.
• And we don’t resist following Him because we know it will make us poor.

Those who followed Christ left this world behind
And went everywhere and proclaimed the kingdom of God.

They forsook this earthly city for a heavenly one.
And they followed Jesus to it.

UNDERSTAND what the King is demanding when He says, “Follow Me”
AND THEN ASK yourself if you are.

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.”

A Prayer For Battle
Psalms 20
December 16, 2018

Tonight we look at this 20th Psalm and after reading it,
It is a pretty easy Psalm to understand.
It is the song sung on the eve of the battle.

David’s battles are well-documented in Scripture. He was a man of war.
As one commentator said, “David’s sword may have been severely hacked, but it was never rusty.”

But it wasn’t just that David knew about battle,
David also knew about victory.
• Some of David’s victories are the most improbable and yet famous in all the Bible.
• We are even mindful of that great accommodation which David received that he had slain his “ten-thousands”.

David was a successful warrior.

Tonight we get a song that shows us what made this warrior tick
And what allowed him to so boldly go forward.

The setting is not given, but the scene is yet obvious.
Just a few clues from the text help us understand the scene.

• In verse 1 we know that it is “the day of trouble”. There is a battle to be
fought.
• In verse 2 we know that David has entered “the sanctuary” that he might
seek God’s help.
• In verse 3 we learn that he is offering sacrifice to God.

David is about to go to battle and before he does,
He is seeking the help of the Lord.

WHAT IS ALSO CLEAR is that as King David approaches the Lord
THE PEOPLE HAVE GATHERED ABOUT AND ARE PRAYING FOR DAVID.

• They are praying that God would answer David.
• That God would help David.
• That God would accept David and his offering.

Those things become clear to us, and so we see the setting.
There is a king going to war
And the people are praying for him as he goes.

The Psalm obviously teaches us about the importance of prayer,
But even more than that it teaches us to have confidence in prayer.

Here we can answer some of those questions:
• Why is prayer so important?
• Why does prayer work?
• What does a lack of prayer say about us?

This Psalm is an encouragement to us
Regarding the necessity of CALLING upon God
And TRUSTING the God to whom we call.

You may have never thrown a rock at a Philistine, but you are aware that we are continually in a battle.

Paul lays that battle out very clearly for us.
Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

And then after commanding us to put on the gospel armor, Paul reminds:
Ephesians 6:18-19 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,”

Now earlier when we studied Psalm 5
We said that it was a good example of this type of prayer.
• I have no problem saying that when David entered the sanctuary he prayed
Psalm 5.

Psalm 20 is the prayer of the people who are praying for David.
• Psalm 5 would be an example of Ephesians 6:18 “pray at all times in the
Spirit”
• Psalm 20 would be an example of Ephesians 6:19 “and pray on my behalf”

Both however are prayed before the battle.
So let’s work our way through it this evening.

4 points.
#1 THEIR PRAYER
Psalms 20:1-3

Now we do make here a point of clarification.
We know that David has obviously stopped by the sanctuary of God to offer prayers and sacrifices to God before the battle.

But what we don’t know is what David prayed.
That is not revealed to us. (As I said, maybe Psalms 5)

We don’t know what the conversation was between David and the LORD

What we are given here is what the people prayed
On David’s behalf as they waited outside of the sanctuary.

And to clarify it we can break their request down into 3 parts.
• May He ANSWER YOU
• May He ASSIST YOU
• May He ACCEPT YOU

That’s the first request: May God ANSWER YOU
(1) “May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!”

Here we are mindful of A WONDERFUL AND GRACIOUS REALITY
That is available for the believer.

They are NOT here praying that God would give David what he is asking for. (That prayer comes in verse 2.)

The prayer here is that God would calm David’s heart and anxiety
Simply by showing up and being willing to answer.

No doubt the people understood the anxiety of battle.
• The very fact that David had entered the sanctuary to pray
• Demonstrated that this battle; this “day of trouble” was taxing on him.
• The people could see the struggle

So as David enters the sanctuary the first request of the people
Is that God would “answer” him.

But even more specifically that “the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!”

Often times in the Psalms we get a picture of a person in anxiety
And the cure for that anxiety is typically something along the lines of
God putting me in a large place.

For example:
Psalms 18:19 “He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.”

Psalms 118:5 “From my distress I called upon the LORD; The LORD answered me and set me in a large place.”

• The picture is that of a claustrophobic situation that threatens to smother until
you can’t believe.
• It’s a picture of your options dwindling and the walls closing in around you.

And the relief is seen in that God sets you in a “large place”.

That doesn’t mean that God physically changes your location,
It simply means that He addresses your anxiety and gives you peace.

That is what the people are praying here for David.
That God would “set you securely on high!”
• That God would carry you above your problems.
• That God would replace your anxiety with security.

And they even give the BASIS for that prayer.
Namely that “the name of the God of Jacob” would accomplish that for him.

When we speak of “the name” of God we are referring to
God’s Nature, God’s Reputation, and God’s Character.
We are talking about who God is.

So perhaps now you better understand that initial request.
God answer Him, and remind Him who You are,
So that You may quiet his nerves.

They aren’t yet referring to David’s specific requests,
They just want God to be gracious and to calm David’s spirit.

• Calm him God
• Give him assurance God
• Settle him God
• And do it with a reminder of who You are.

I think about in Ephesians 6 when Paul said:
Ephesians 6:19 “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,”

I think he would have been more than ok with them praying that God would answer Paul, remind him of who He is, and settle His nerves.

Or Consider:
Colossians 4:3-4 “praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”

You pick up on that “the way I ought to speak”

There was clear fleshly battle expressed there.
He knew what to speak, and he knew how to speak it, but it’s still hard.
He would have welcomed a prayer for God to calm his nerves.

Well that’s their first prayer for David. May God ANSWER YOU

Secondly, May God ASSIST YOU
(2) “May He send you help from the sanctuary and support you from Zion!”

Now we are talking about practical aid.
• We have moved beyond peace.
• Now we want literal, actual, physical help.

• Not help from the armory…
• Not help form the treasury…
• But help from the “sanctuary”.

That God would SHOW UP AND PROVIDE ASSISTANCE
For victory in this battle.

And we don’t know specifically what that is, I doubt the people even knew
• Maybe he needs hailstones like Joshua enjoyed
• Maybe he needs the sun to stand still to lengthen the battle
• Maybe he needs confusion in the opposing army like Gideon witnessed
• Maybe he just needs accuracy with his slingshot

Who knows what it specifically looked like,
But the people understood that on his own David was toast,
But if God would show up to help then David would be victorious.

And so that’s what they pray for.
And without this aid, the battle is hopeless.

Samuel Chadwick said, “The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears noting from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at out toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”

Charles Spurgeon said, “Prayers are the believers’s weapons of war. When the battle is too hard for us, we call in our great Ally, who, as it were, lies in ambush until faith gives the signal by crying out, “Arise, O Lord.” Although our cause be all but lost, it shall soon be won again if the Almighty doth but bestir Himself.”

Prayer is mightily important on the eve and during battle.

I’m reminded of the wonderful story of Peter.

Acts 12:1-5 “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people. So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”

Regardless of all the enemy had done…
All the intimidation…
The death of James…
The arrest of Peter…
The four squads of soldiers…
The prison bars…

The writer only says one thing,
And we know the circumstances are about to change.
“but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”

What a difference! What a necessity!

• “For a church that refuses to pray is most certainly a church filled with
arrogance, having forgotten their weakness.

• A church that refuses to pray is most certainly a church filled with apathy, not
caring if they are victorious.

• A church that refuses to pray is most certainly a church filled with apostates,
having no concern at all for the cause of the kingdom.”

Prayer is essential!

Even Jesus prayed before the feeding of the 5,000
Even Jesus prayed before calling out Lazarus.
Even Jesus prayed in the garden and bid His disciples do likewise.

Without God’s involvement, there can be no victory.

David’s people knew that and so they prayed that
Not only would God ANSWER David, but that God would also ASSIST him.

And they pray that God would ACCEPT HIM
(3) “May He remember all your meal offerings and fine your burnt offering acceptable! Selah.”

So the implication is that David has approached God
In order to offer sacrifices to God. He is entreating God’s favor.
And the request of the people is that God would in fact accept David.

In fact the phrase “find your burnt offering acceptable”
Is actual translated “turn to ash”

It was a Hebrew idiom that indicated God’s acceptance.
You knew God accepted your offering if He sent fire to consume it.

Leviticus 9:24 “Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.”

1 Kings 18:38 “Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.”

Judges 6:21 “Then the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.”

The prayer here is that God would be willing to accept David.

The fact that David is sacrificing tells us something else of the posture and attitude of prayer.
• David understands that he has no personal claim on victory nor merits that God should reward.
• David cries in humility and desperation in need of grace

And the people ask God on his behalf that God may grant it.
So as David prays, the people are outside praying in this manner for him.

And the very scene on strengthens our conviction that prayer is essential.

• If God doesn’t show up the battle is lost.
• If God answers, but the answer is “no” the battle is lost.
• If God doesn’t accept the petitioner, the battle is lost.

This is an essential step.

• Do we really believe we are going to see the lost saved by our own charisma
and intellectual argument?
• Do we really believe that we are going to resist the temptation in our own
strength?
• Do we really believe that the necessary courage to stand is just a natural part
of our flesh?

Of course not!
We are ever aware of how desperate we are for God to move.

And verse 3 ends with “Selah” (Pause)
Just keep praying until David comes out of that tent.
Who knows how long it will take.

Their Request
#2 THEIR ENCOURAGEMENT
Psalms 20:4-5

Well now David has emerged from the tent,
And he is looking into the face of his people.

He is about to depart for battle, but before he goes,
THE PEOPLE HAVE A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR HIM.

(4-5) “May He grant you your heart’s desire And fulfill all your counsel! We will sing for joy over your victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.”

It is a very encouraging statement.
• We believe that God will “grant you your heart’s desire”
• We believe God will “fulfill all your counsel!”

And while you go fight,
• We’re going to “sing for joy over your victory”
• And we’re going to start decorating for the victory party; “we will set up our banners.”

We see here an absolute confidence on the part of the people.
• David is about to go to war and the people are giving him a pep rally.
• We know you’re going to win!
• We know you will be victorious!

But what is important to recognize is that
Their confidence had nothing to do with David’s track record
Or David’s ability.

When he comes out THEY DON’T SAY,
• We pity the Philistines because you are David the Philistine killer!
• Who can throw a stone like you?
• Who is wiser in battle than you?
• Many have faced you and all have fallen!
• You are David the slayer of ten-thousands!

That’s the type of pep talk that people in our day would give.

That’s NOT the encouragement here.
The encouragement of the people to David is that
He should be confident because God is on his side.

(Implied then is that God did in fact accept that burnt offering.)

And as David stands before the people
They know that God’s acceptance of the offering
Was a sign of God’s intervention in the battle.

And so the people build David up in confidence regarding his God.
• “May He grant you your heart’s desire”
• “in the name of our God we will set up banners”
• “May the LORD fulfill all your petitions”

What we have there from the people is not only the belief that prayer is essential, but also the BELIEF THAT GOD ANSWERS PRAYER.

And they are encouraging David with that belief.
God will answer you! God will respond!

I’m reminded of Paul encouraging Timothy:
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.”

Or Paul encouraging the Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

Or Paul encouraging the Philippians
Philippians 1:18-20 “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”

It is not just a commitment to prayer,
But a belief that God responds to prayer.
IT IS A CONVICTION THAT GOD ANSWERS PRAYER.

This was a conviction that Jesus tried to instill in His disciples.
Luke 18:1-8 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘ Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “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?”

What was the point? God answers prayer, don’t stop!

What a tragedy when the church either doesn’t feel the need to pray,
Or doesn’t truly believe that God answers prayer.

David’s people are encouraging him
That the God he sought will in fact answer and give the victory.
That’s good Christian encouragement!

Their Prayer, Their Encouragement
#3 DAVID’S ANNOUNCEMENT
Psalms 20:6-8

• So David went to pray and the people prayed for him.
• David emerged from the tent and the people encouraged him.

And now David responds to the people.
It is the last word of the king as he rides off to battle.

(6-8) “Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God. They have bowed down and fallen, But we have risen and stood upright.”

• Obviously David is a man of faith.
• Obviously David believes God will deliver.

What is beautiful to us here is that
David gives the theological basis for his confidence.

There is a reason that David is confident
That God will show up and grant him the victory.
“Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;”

That is to say, “I know God saves those He has chosen to save”

And there is no circumstance that can change that.

Do we remember Paul’s great dissertation to this end?
Romans 8:31-39 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

That was Paul saying the same thing.
• We know that no circumstance can change the fact that God will save those He has chosen to save.
• Nothing can change that.

Listen to the conviction of Jesus to that end:
John 6:37-40 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

That is the truth on which David is hanging his hope.

Perhaps
• As David entered the tent filled with anxiety and began to pray.
• And as the people prayed that God would reveal His name and thus comfort
David.

Perhaps that is the truth that God revealed and thus settled David’s heart.
David, I am the God who saves His anointed!
I deliver My people!

I remember the first time we boarded a plane to go to Africa,
And none of us knew what to expect.
I was pretty well convinced I was gonna die over there.

• Of course during the commissioning service Carrie prayed for me and said, “Lord, You’ve shown me that You will bring him home. We don’t know when or in what condition”

So, my confidence wasn’t really running all that high.
But on the airplane flight from Dallas to St. Louis I pulled out my Bible and began to read. My daily reading that day was in Luke 10.

I read:
Luke 10:17-20 “The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

That was God reminding me that
He saves those He has chosen, and I would be fine.

God encouraged David in the same way,
And he reveals that to the people.

“Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed: He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.”

Then David utters that phrase that you are probably familiar with.
(7) “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.”

Now the word “boast” there is ZAKAR in the Hebrew.
And it DOESN’T MEAN “talk trash” like we commonly think in regard to boasting.

It means “call to mind” or “remember” or “think upon”

David was saying, that he was going to go into battle
And every time he faced the enemy and looked for confidence
He was going to think up or call to his mind the fact
That God saves His anointed.

• He WASN’T going to find confidence in all his horses or all his chariots. Those were not his source of peace.
• He was going to find peace and confidence in calling to mind that God saves those whom He has chosen to save.

David says, other people might find their hope in that,
But we have no such plan.
It’s all on God, and we are confident
He will deliver because He saves His anointed.

To which David utters a statement of victory.
“They have bowed down and fallen, But we have risen and stood upright.”

Because God is on our side, they will lose and we will win.

And we have seen this confidence in David before.
Remember when he faced the Philistine?

Saul wanted David to feel confident in his armor.
1 Samuel 17:39 “David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them off.”

Isn’t that a great statement? “I have not tested them”
I don’t know if they will work.

But David had tested God and he was confident in Him.

And that confidence was seen when David approached the battle field.
1 Samuel 17:45-47 “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. “This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands.”

“Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.”

And to this we are reminded not only in the necessity of prayer or in the conviction that God answers prayer.

BUT WE ARE ALSO CHALLENGED TO WALK IN FAITH
IN THE GOD TO WHOM WE PRAY.

Far too often
• We are a people who pray to God for victory and then go to battle as if He
won’t show up.
• We lean more on our contingency than we do upon our God.

I think of this often in regard to ministry work.
EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT we gather to pray and often times the subject of that prayer is our youth that we will be teaching later that evening.

Teaching youth is hard. They have short attention spans.
Many have no interest in Bible study, they just are there for the social aspect.

And the temptation is to pray that God will speak
And then run to some sort of plan-B gimmick
To try and be more effective.

The passage that runs through my mind continually is:
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

• Do you believe the gospel is powerful?
• Do you believe God honors it?
• Do you believe the Holy Spirit is the only One who can awaken the dead?
• Do you believe you can do that without His word?

Then don’t rely on earthly gimmicks, rely on His word.

That is what David is doing here.
• I prayed to God
• God answered
• I’m going to trust Him

That is David’s Announcement.
And then David in effect mounts his horse and rides off to battle.

And we are left with the final verse.
#4 THEIR REQUEST
Psalms 20:9

“Save, O LORD; may the King answer us in the day we call.”

Commentaries will tell you that this verse can also be translated
“O LORD save the King! Answer us!”

Either way you get the point.
They don’t stop praying once the battle starts, they continue to pray.

They have sought the LORD and they continue to seek Him.

Colossians 4:2-4 “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”

Ephesians 6:18-19 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,”

In the parable of the widow, Jesus asked:
Luke 18:7 “now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?”

That is the prayer of these people.
They continue to pray that God would do what He promised.

And there you have a tremendous song about the importance of prayer in regard to the battle.
• Pray for God’s intervention
• Be confident that God will do what He said
• Trust God not earthly means of victory
• Continue to pray until the battle is won

I have often referred to this as “A Psalm of Commissioning”
Since it could very easily be the prayer for those about to go on mission.

In reality it is the prayer for each of us in all of life’s battles.
And it is essential.

The Truth About Following Jesus – Part 1
Luke 9:57-62 (57-58)
December 16, 2018

Well as you know we are currently in the segment in Luke’s gospel
Which we have referred to as “Messianic Misconceptions”

Luke has compiled a group of stories, sermons, rebukes, and encounters Which all follow the same theme of Jesus correcting the disciples,

If you want to push it deeper, we could say that more specifically Jesus is correcting the disciples thinking
Regarding WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FOLLOWER of Jesus.

You will remember that THE SECTION BEGAN
After the disciples were able to accurately identify Jesus.

Luke 9:18-20 “And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?” They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

That was a pivotal moment in Luke’s gospel; revealing Jesus as Messiah,
And now he is showing what it means to follow that Messiah.

It began with the statement that really encompases the entire point.
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.”

• We remember there the requirements of denying self
• We remember the call to follow Him
• We remember the explanation that we give up this life for the next
• We remember that we must not be ashamed of Him in this life

That passage has proven to be the rudder
That has steered the rest of the chapter.

The remainder of Luke 9 has built upon this.
We’ve seen how the disciples didn’t understand the necessity of the cross
• Both in Peter’s impulsive statement on the mountain
• And the other disciples entering Jesus in fight with a demon

We’ve seen how the disciples did not understand denying self
• In their argument about who was greatest
• In their jealousy over other ministers stealing their glory
• In their propensity to care about themselves more than the lost

Everything we’ve studied over the past 2 months has really just been
To give more weight and depth to that statement that all who follow Jesus
Must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Him.

Well this morning is no different.

Luke concludes this section with one final theme and 3 final encounters.

In the final 6 verses of Luke 9 we run across 3 different men
And they all have 2 things in common.

1) They are willing to follow Jesus
2) They have no clue what that means

So after Luke compiled 3 stories which illustrated the point about denying self;
Luke now compiles 3 stories which illustrate the point about following Jesus.

So we have 3 men who are all at the very least willing to follow Jesus
But in all 3 of these men Jesus stops them in their tracks
In order to address their misconceptions.

We see here that tremendous discernment of Jesus.
John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

• Just because a person claimed to believe, that wasn’t enough for Jesus, He looked at the heart.
• And just because these men claim a willingness to follow, that is also not enough.

Jesus goes for the heart of the matter.

AND THE RESULT IS PURE GOLD FOR YOU AND ME.
We get to see here the truth about following Jesus.
• Jesus Himself begins to outline more specifically what He means by following
and what following actually looks like.

These men had glaring misconceptions about
What it meant to follow the Messiah.
And Jesus both confronts and corrects them.

It is a tremendous evaluator for our own lives.

So let’s begin our journey into what it actually means to follow Jesus.
3 Stories that illustrate THE TRUTH ABOUT FOLLOWING JESUS.

#1 FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE AMBITIOUS
Luke 9:57-58

First we read “As they were going along the road, someone said to Him,”

It is a story void of any sort of time context.
Matthew’s gospel places these first two encounters during the Galilean ministry of Jesus, specifically after Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. (Matthew doesn’t include the third)

• Matthew records that after Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law (there were
several miracles on that day) that a crowd started to form and so Jesus left.

• And as He was leaving this man approached him.

I only reveal that to remind you again that Luke is not arranging these stories chronologically, but rather THEMATICALLY.

This story fits Luke’s theme of pointing out to you
The truth about following Jesus.

Matthew also records that this “someone” who spoke to Jesus was in fact “a scribe”

And that is interesting to the story
Since scribes are stereotyped quite harshly by Jesus in Matthew’s gospel.

Matthew 23:1-7 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”

Scribes were often lumped in with the Pharisees and here we see them specifically as those who crave glory and attention and honor and respect.

That at least gives us some back story
As to WHAT TYPE OF PERSON WE ARE DEALING WITH.

None the less, Luke just calls him “someone”

And this “someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”

Now the FIRST THING we must realize is that
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that statement; how could there be?

• It comes across as though this man is giving Jesus a blank check.
• He’s just a random guy who has seen enough and has decided that wherever Jesus leads, he will follow.

And IF WE HAD NOTHING MORE of the story
We would no doubt PRAISE THIS MAN for his eagerness and commitment and even for his sacrifice.

But as we pointed out, Jesus knows what is inside of a man.
Jesus exposes the heart.

Hebrews reminds us that the word of God pierces soul and spirit and joints and marrow. And of course Jesus is the living word.

Hebrews 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

So while we hear what the man said,
Jesus saw what the man meant.
Jesus saw what the man desired.

And that is what Jesus both EXPOSES and CORRECTS.

(58) “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.”

Based upon Jesus response we know what was in this man’s heart.
We couldn’t have discerned his motives, but all motives are laid bare before Jesus.

And it becomes evident to us that this man obviously thought that
FOLLOWING JESUS WAS A TICKET TO PROSPERITY.

And we know that because
That is precisely what Jesus addresses and discredits.

This is a man (a scribe who loves honor; remember)
• Who just saw Jesus work miracle after miracle
• Who just saw a crowd flock to Jesus so that He had to leave
• And who has decided that Jesus is a meal ticket to everything he seeks to get out of life

To put it more plainly.
This is a man who craves the glory and prosperity of the world
And he thinks that the best way to achieve it
Is by hitching his wagon to Jesus.

He sees Jesus as the means of achieving his fleshly goals.

I don’t know what they called that in Jesus’ day,
But I know what we call that in our day.

Today it is called: “The Prosperity Gospel”

The prosperity gospel is that detestable and blasphemous
System of belief where men peddle Jesus
As the fulfiller of everything your flesh might crave.

It is built off of a terrible twisting and distortion of John 10:10
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Prosperity preachers have taken that truth and twisted it to say that
• Jesus only wants for you to have “abundant life”
• And they translate abundance to mean an abundance of health, and abundance of wealth, and an abundance of success.
• They then credit all loss and struggling and poverty and reproach to the devil (the thief) who stole that from you.

And so the prosperity message is pretty clear and simple.
• Do you have all in this life that you want?
• Are you living in victory and wealth?
• Has the devil taken from you that promotion you deserve?
• Has the thief stolen your new car or your new house?
• Are you living in sickness or pain and the bondage of the devil?

Well friend run to Jesus!

I recently heard a “Christian” song about it:
If you’ve got pain He’s a pain taker
If you feel lost He’s a way maker
If you need freedom or saving He’s a prison-shaking Savior
If you’ve got chains He’s a chain breaker

There’s really not much distinction from the snake-oil salesman who pulls up in his wagon and says:
Are you suffering from gout, fungus, baldness, loneliness, bad breath or irritability? Do you lack energy, appetite, sleep, vision, hearing, or companionship? Then take this bottle of mystery elixir. It stops aches and pains, it cures arthritis, it grows hair, freshens breath, calms the bowls, improves vision, and makes you generally appealing to the opposite sex. Put it in your eggs to make them fluffy, add a drop to your pot roast and make it tender, put some in your milk to keep it from spoiling, and use it to dip your dog to rid him of fleas and ticks. It’ll make your horse stronger, your corn taller, your grass greener, and your wife thinner. Why friends it offers the answer to every problem you face in every walk of life.

YOU’VE HEARD IT.

Well gone is the man in the wagon selling moonshine and guaranteeing happiness; now we have the man in the pulpit selling Jesus for the same reason.

It’s the promise that Jesus will satisfy your wildest dreams and desires.

It’s basically nothing more than an exploitation
Of people who want their flesh gratified.

And the false prophets are in the business of that exploitation.
2 Peter 2:2-3 “Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

They literally get rich off of the poor who want to get rich.

BUT IT’S ALL BUILT ON THIS FAULTY PREMISE THAT
Jesus is some sort of “Sugar Daddy” or “Genie in a Bottle”
Who can use His immense power to make your wildest dreams come true.

Well this guy that approached Jesus
Wasn’t preaching the prosperity gospel,
But he certainly wanted to believe it.

When he saw all that Jesus could do, he was ready to sign up.
And Jesus squashes this misconception
With one simple and yet profound statement.

“The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Jesus in effect releases His tax return to this guy.
He basically says, “I know you want to follow Me because you think it’s the key to prosperity, but look at Me. Do I look prosperous to you?”

In reality, that bird over there and that fox on that hill are all in a more prosperous condition than I am. They at least have a home they return to, and I don’t even have that.

JESUS WAS HOMELESS.

And if you’ll think about it, you DON’T FIND ANYTHING IN SCRIPTURE that gives the slightest indicator
THAT JESUS EVER ACQUIRED ANY EARTHLY PROSPERITY.

We read of His birth:
Luke 2:7 “And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Jesus left the glorious of heaven to purposely enter that type of humility.

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

We read of His life:
We remember the day He was asked by Peter if He should pay taxes for the temple:
Matthew 17:24-27 “When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

Jesus had to borrow money from a fish to pay the tax in His own temple.

Here Jesus reminds that He owned no home, and had no property.

Think about all that He owned
• The donkey He rode at the triumphal entry was borrowed
• The room where He met with His disciples for the Last Supper was borrowed
• The cross on which He died was borrowed
• And the tomb where He was buried was borrowed

John 19:41-42 “Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”

The ONLY POSSESSION we are aware of that He had
Was a tunic that was gambled away at His death.

So what about this Jesus causes you to think
That He is some sort of meal ticket to earthly prosperity?

Consider those who followed Him on earth.

We remember Peter’s assessment of what it took to follow:
Matthew 19:27 “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

We remember James and John leaving their father and their nets
We remember Matthew leaving his tax booth

We remember the day when Peter and John approached the man who was crippled in his feet.
Acts 3:6 “But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene — walk!”

We remember Paul’s testimony about following Christ.
Philippians 3:8 “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”

Christ never obtained the world,
And we don’t see where any of the apostles did either.

So why would you think that following Jesus was some sort of gateway to earthly prosperity?

We have seen people in the book of Acts
WHO TRIED TO USE JESUS IN THAT WAY.

Remember Simon the Magician?
Acts 8:18-20 “Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!”

Several threads to that story.
• One is clearly that Simon thought Jesus was a means to making a profit. If
he could just obtain the Holy Spirit he could spin that into quite a business.

Simon rebuked harshly for that one.

• But the other obvious reality is that Peter and the apostles had a chance there
to make a lot of money off of their ministry and they categorically refused it.

They weren’t looking to get rich.
They weren’t using their ministry as a means of obtaining prosperity.

IT’S JUST ALL OVER THE PLACE.
In fact, do me a favor and NAME ONE PERSON in the Scripture
That Jesus made rich.

The prosperity gospel has absolutely no basis in Scripture.

And Jesus squashes it simply by pointing out that He is homeless.
I’ve got nothing, so why would you think following Me would cause you to get something?

But this isn’t the only time Jesus addressed this prosperity gospel.

In John 6 we have quite an eventful chapter.
• It begins with Jesus feeding the 5,000 and as a result they want to take Him by force and make Him king, but He leaves them.
• That night He walks on water and the next day that entire crowd that saw Him as their ticket to a full stomach searched Him out.

Let me show you how Jesus responded to this crowd
Who thought that He was a ticket to earthly prosperity.

Here the crowd searched Him out:
John 6:26-27 “Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”

Jesus is very matter of fact to that crowd.
• You think I’m a ticket to prosperity and that is not true.
• Quit seeking Me for earthly prosperity and start seeking what I really came to offer, which is salvation.

But the crowd isn’t interested.

Now they do understand that He told them “No” to their request.
So their response is even more audacious.

Well, if You’re not going to make any more bread…
John 6:28 “Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”

Look, if You’re not going to do it any more for us, then give us the power to do it ourselves.

Do you see that all these people want from Jesus is a ticket to prosperity?

John 6:29 “Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

Jesus corrects them.
• If you want to be in God’s will, if you want to do God’s work, then believe in Me.
• That’s what you should concern yourself with.
• Be concerned about salvation not bread; not prosperity.
• You should believe in Me.

But again we notice their response:
John 6:30-31 “So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.'”

• Well if You want us to believe in You then You’re going to have to prove
Yourself worthy.
• Let’s see a sign! Give us bread like Moses did.

These people can’t get past their expectation that in some way, shape, or form Jesus is supposed to prosper them?

So Jesus answers again:
John 6:32-33 “Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”

• Jesus tells them that they should not seek the bread of Moses (actual bread)
• But that they should seek the bread of God (Jesus).

But the people don’t understand that He is speaking spiritually
And they answer:
John 6:34 “Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

Hey, Moses’ bread; God’s bread; doesn’t matter to us.
• Just so long as we get bread.
• Just give us the prosperity we are seeking.

And finally Jesus says:
John 6:35-36 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.”

That is a terrific discourse there from Jesus to further enforce the reality He spoke here.
• He DID NOT come to make you earthly prosperous!
• He DID NOT come to make you comfortable!
• He DID NOT come to make you financially secure!
• He DID NOT come to take away all your struggles!

In fact He emphatically told His people
NOT to concern themselves with those things.

Matthew 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

There Jesus even equated worldly concern as lostness;
Indicating that that was a Gentile concern.

But honestly, where did He ever even slightly insinuate that following Him would be some sort of ticket to earthly prosperity?
HE NEVER DID.

And I’m telling you, His first followers knew that.

I think Paul gave us one of the strongest statements regarding the prosperity gospel.
1 Timothy 6:3-10 “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

That’s a pretty obvious rebuke isn’t it?

Men who “suppose that godliness is a means of gain”
• Paul says that is evidence of a “depraved mind”
• And of people who have been “deprived of the truth”

Wanting to get rich is not a Christian virtue.
Desiring to use Jesus to get rich is not a Christian ambition.

In fact, “the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith”

Seeking prosperity does not lead you to godliness, it leads away from it.

Do you remember the servant of Elisha named Gehazi?
• This was after Elisha healed the leper Naaman but would accept no
compensation for the miracle.
• Gehazi saw an opportunity to make a little money off of the miracle.
• So he chased Naaman down and asked for two talents of silver and two
changes of clothes
• He sought to use godliness as a means of financial gain.

Here was Elisha’s response:
2 Kings 5:26-27 “Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female servants? “Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.”

Gehazi’s love of money caused him to wander from the faith
And he was pierced with many griefs.

The points are just obvious throughout the Bible.
• The objective of God IS NOT to make you healthy, wealthy, and happy.
• The objective of God IS to make you holy.

• He will ruin your health to make you holy
• He will destroy your wealth to make you holy
• He will afflict you with adversity to make you holy

This notion that following Jesus is some means of prosperity is notion.

AND YET, SO MANY FOLLOW JESUS FOR THAT VERY REASON
That’s what this man wanted to do.

SO LET’S JUST MAKE IT CLEAR THIS MORNING.

IF YOU HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS
• Because you think it will benefit your bank account
• Or because it will effect some sort of promotion at work,
• Or because you expect it will provide physical relief from your ailments,
• Or because it will shower you with bliss and physical blessing

THEN FORGET IT!

If that’s why you have decided to follow Jesus
Then let me just sort of throw down the gauntlet this morning.

You aren’t following Christ, you are following Baalam.

And I would remind you that you cannot follow both.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

Do you remember Balaam in the Old Testament?
• He was the prophet that Balak, King of Midian tried to hire to curse the children of Israel.
• And when God told Balaam not to do it, he said “ok” until Balak offered him money and then Balaam was willing.
• However God nearly killed Balaam where it not for the smartest donkey who ever lived.

Balaam wasn’t seeking God,
Balaam was seeking how his ministry could make him prosperous.

And people follow him still today.
2 Peter 2:15-16 “forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.”

A person who is seeking to use God or Christ or the Holy Spirit
Or the word of God or the church of God
As a means for earthly prosperity is not following Christ.
That person is following Balaam.

And if that is you, and that is why you come…GO HOME
Jesus is no Genie
Jesus is no Sugar Daddy

Jesus is the sinless Son of God
• Who gave up His heavenly riches
• That He might come to this world and suffer,
• Even suffer as a homeless man,
• And die that He might redeem sinners to God.

He did not come to make man healthy, wealthy, and happy.

And to put it plainly.
The call to follow Jesus is NOT FOR THE AMBITIOUS
• It is NOT a call to men to come and get their best life now.
• It is NOT a call to men to come and get all the stuff the devil stole from them.
• It is NOT a call to wealth
• It is NOT a call to promotion or status in this world

If you think that is what you will get for following Jesus
THEN LIKE THIS SCRIBE HERE,
You obviously have not paid close enough attention to Jesus.

“The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

And so the question is, ARE YOU WILLING TO FOLLOW JESUS EVEN IF IT MEANS POVERTY?
• If following Jesus means no wealth
• If following Jesus means no promotion
• If following Jesus means no fleshly fulfillment
• Are you still willing to follow?

That’s what Jesus asked this man, and that is what He asks us.
In fact that is what He demands of us.

That’s the first conversation, we’ll look at the next two next time.

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.”

Speak O Lord
Psalms 19
December 9, 2018

Many of you will remember our study of this Psalm
From when we studied the 500 years of Reformation,
But covering a psalm again is certainly not a burden.

There is tremendous value in familiarity,
So tonight we want to look at it again.
For this Psalm reminds of the absolutely beauty of Revelation.

I would remind you again that God dwells beyond us in every way.
• It is beyond our ability to get to know Him if He does not first determine to let Himself be known.
• If God doesn’t reveal Himself, you can’t know Him.
• And that is why His revelation; His decision to speak to us is such a wonderful reality.

We know God because God has chosen to speak.
That reality alone puts God’s word at a premium for us.
Tonight we study as Psalm that celebrates that wonderful reality.

Now before we get into it,
I want to make sure you understand the DESIRE OF THE PSALMIST.
Once you understand the desire of the Psalmist
Then you can better understand why he loves God’s word so much.

That desire is articulated in the last verse of the Psalm.
(14) “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”

It’s a verse you’ve probably quoted many times.
It is one of the great statements of Scripture.

And it reflects the all-encompassing desire of the Psalmist
To be “acceptable” to God.

Isn’t that the goal?
That I may be accepted by God.

We do all this talking today about asking people if they will accept Christ.
That’s a horrible way to put it.
The real question is what must be done that God would accept me?

Well, that’s the desire of the Psalmist.
I want to be acceptable, how does that happen?

Well the purpose of the Psalm is to reveal how that takes place,
And the answer is through the revelation of the very word of God.
AND WE MARVEL THAT GOD HAS CHOSEN TO SPEAK TO US
AND THIS WORD DOES A TREMENDOUS WORK IN US.
It is God’s word which works in us to make us acceptable to God.

As you will see, it does so by:
• Converting the Soul
• Giving Wisdom to the Foolish
• Revealing the standards which satisfy the Conscience
• Giving Discernment to the eyes
• Creating a Fear of the LORD
• Warning against Dangerous Temptations
• Revealing Hidden Faults
• Guarding against Presumptuous Sins
All of these are the work of the word.

Paul said to the Thessalonians:
1 Thessalonians 2:13 “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”
That is what we are talking about.
The word which the word accomplishes in our lives.

The writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

It is the word of God which does the work to make us acceptable.
And tonight I want to show you how reliable it is to do just that.

If you want to divide the Psalm into points, we can make two.
#1 THE MORE SEEN REVELATION
Psalms 19:1-6

But what we have here in the Psalm is an acknowledgment of
GENERAL REVELATION.

We talked about “General Revelation” back in our Reformation study.
It is that revelation which the whole world is privy to,
And that which is binding enough to condemn all men to hell.

Let’s look at General Revelation and some of the things we learn from it.
(1) “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”

Here David is looking to the heavens and while different men may gain different knowledge by looking at the stars, David learned one main thing.

“the glory of God”

There is little doubt that whoever created the universe
Must have in fact been a majestic being.

We have no trouble giving credit to a painter who paints a masterpiece.
We have no trouble giving credit to a craftsman who builds a great item.

Then certainly we should have no trouble giving glory to a God
Who could create such a tremendous display as the heavens.

There is more we learn from general revelation.
(2) “Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.”

David says that there is a message being proclaimed by creation
And that is seen in the phrase “Day to day” and “night to night”

And if you’ve examined creation for any time at all,
You must be amazed by the CONSISTENCY which it exhibits.

This ball we call earth has been running like clockwork.
We learn something of the CONSISTENCY of God.
He is not fickle, nor is He unreliable.

This consistency is clearly portrayed.
(3-6) “There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

We could also say we learn of the tremendous POWER of God,
Since it is He who created the sun which “rejoices as a strong man”

We could talk about the OMNIPRESENCE of God
Since “there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

And that is really just the Tip Of The Iceberg,
If we wanted to do a study on all the things we learn of God from creation.

HOWEVER, THERE IS AN AREA IN WHICH
GENERAL REVELATION IS TOTALLY SILENT.

General revelation tells us quite a bit about our great God,
But there is one thing general revelation doesn’t tell us about
US

• General revelation doesn’t tell me what the Creator wants from me.
• General revelation doesn’t tell me what to do about the mistakes I’ve made.
• General revelation doesn’t tell me how I should go forward.

In short, General Revelation does not tell me how to make “the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart…acceptable” to God.

WHERE DO I FIND THAT?

The More Seen Revelation
#2 THE MORE SURE REVELATION
Psalms 19:7-14

What is the more sure revelation?
It is the revealed word of God of course.
• More sure because it contains the answers for life and godliness.
• More sure because it contains the answer of how to made acceptable to God.

This is what we refer to as SPECIAL REVELATION

And it is this special revelation that David wants you to see.
Let’s look at what David has to say about God’s word.

(7a) “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;”

Now when talking about “the law of the LORD” here,
We are not just referring to the Mosaic Law.
Rather we are talking about God’s revealed commands and laws.

Granted David didn’t have all of the Scriptures that we possess when he wrote this,
But he did have more than just the Mosaic Law
And he did have enough to understand its work and value.

And he said “The law of the LORD is perfect”

“perfect” there the Hebrew word TAMIYM (tie-meem)
And it means “without blemish”

Genesis 6:9 “These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.”

Genesis 17:1 “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless.”

It was the standard God expected for the sacrifice.
Exodus 12:5 “Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.”

So we would say that God’s word is literally “without blemish”.
That is to say that it is everything God intends for it to be.

Sometimes we might write a letter or a post online,
And after we send it we realize we didn’t really say what we meant to say.

That is NOT the way God looks upon His word.
His word is without blemish. It is precisely what He meant to say,
And precisely what He wanted to reveal.

And because that is the case, His word is used for “restoring the soul”

Many read this in a sort of “encouraging sense”,
That God can use His word to encourage or “lift up” the depressed heart.
That is not what is meant here.

The word “restoring” is a Hebrew word
That means “to turn back”

We are talking about “restoring”
Like one might do to an old piece of furniture.

It is to restore what is ruined back to its originally intended state.

This is what God’s word does in the life of the sinner.
It points out what is broken and out of place
And begins to put the pieces back in order.

The King James translates it “converting the soul”
Which is a more telling translation.

God’s word has within it the power to turn back a sinner from his sin and restore him to the condition which God originally intended.

Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“The practical effect of the Word of God is to turn the man to himself, to his God, and to holiness; and the turn or conversion is not outward alone, “the soul” is moved and renewed. The great means of the conversion of sinners is the Word of God, and the more closely we keep to it in our ministry the more likely are we to be successful. It is God’s Word rather than man’s comment on God’s Word which is made mighty with souls. When the law drives and the gospel draws, the action is different but the end is one, for by God’s Spirit the soul is made to yield, and cries, “Turn me, and I shall be turned.” Try men’s depraved nature with philosophy and reason, and it laughs your efforts to scorn, but the Word of God soon works a transformation.”
(Spurgeon, Charles H. [The Treasury of David Volume 1; Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA] pg. 272)

It is everything God wanted it to be to accomplish that task.

2 Peter 1:3-4 “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

While general revelation can show you God is glorious,
It cannot show you how to please Him.
But God’s more sure revelation of His word most certainly does.

AND THAT’S NOT ALL.
(7b) “The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”

Here is another interesting word.
“Sure” translates AMAN (a-man)
It means “stands firm”

It might surprise you some of the places it shows up.
Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed (AMAN) in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

Numbers 12:7 “Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful (AMAN) in all My household;”

2 Chronicles 20:20 uses it three times.
2 Chronicles 20:20 “They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust (AMAN) in the LORD your God and you will be established (AMAN). Put your trust (AMAN) in His prophets and succeed.”

So when we say that God’s word is “sure” what are saying?
That it is resolute, faithful, established.

And as such David says it “makes wise the simple”

How is that?
Have you ever made a decision based upon unreliable information?
• It can make you look foolish can’t it?

God’s word will never do that.
God’s word is always “sure” and reliable.
You can tie your boat to this dock, it will not let you down.

If you don’t know what to do, or how to do it,
Then simply put your trust in God’s word, and do what He says,
You won’t be a fool for doing it.

This statement could be the entire theme of the book of Ecclesiastes.
• In that book the old preacher is writing to the young man to take off his rose
colored glasses, because there are many things in this life that won’t add up.
• There are many things you will be confronted with that won’t make sense.

But wisdom is not measured in understanding.
Wisdom is found in doing obeying God.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

Let’s face it, in this life we are all fools.
None of us knows how to live or what to do.
But God’s word guides us, and if we simply obey, it makes us wise.

For Example:
• “Husbands love your wives”
• “Wives submit to your husbands”
• “Forgive your enemies”
• “Pray for those who persecute you”
• “abstain from immorality”

Those are commands which can at times seem unpractical, outdated,
And may not even make much sense.

However, if you will trust them, and stand upon them
At the end of the day you’ll be found wise
Because God’s word is “sure, making wise the simple”

David goes on.
(8a) “The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart.”

“right” is the Hebrew word YASHAR (ya-shar)
And it means “straight” or “right” or “correct” or “pleasing”

Judges 17:6 “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

Deuteronomy 6:18 “You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore to give your fathers,”

It is the type of idea which we confess when someone says,
“It’s just the right thing to do”
Or on the flip side
“That’s just wrong”

And what people are referring to with a statement like that is that
A specific action either soothed or offended their conscience.

They were just doing what seemed right to them,
And then as a result they felt better about themselves.

Well here David makes the promise that
• If you want peace,
• If you want joy,
• If you want to be able to lay your head on your pillow and rest without guilt,

Then obey God’s word because it is always “right”,
It is always “correct” it is always “pleasing”.

I’ve had plenty of guilt in my life for poor decisions I’ve made, but I can’t tell you a single time I ever felt guilty for obeying God’s word.

Now, do you see what David is doing?
He is revealing how God’s word leads a sinner
Who doesn’t know how to be acceptable to God
Into that very acceptance.

(8b) “The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

“pure” is fairly obvious

Psalms 73:1 “Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!”

It carries the idea of no ulterior motives.
It is sincere.

And that is why David says it is “enlightening the eyes”
That is to say, “it gives light to the eyes”
It is pure. It is the “more sure word”

Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

Peter said:
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

God’s word is reliable because it is never deceptive.
God’s word always gives good information,
True information, enlightening information.

IN FACT, that’s one reason people can have disdain for God’s word; Sometimes it gives to much information, and people prefer the darkness.

But if a person desires to please God it is obvious where they should go. Go to God’s word it is totally “pure” and sincere,
It will give light to the eyes.

(9) “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever.”

In this one David actually lists an EFFECT of God’s word,
Rather than God’s word itself.

He refers to “the fear of the LORD”,
It is that fear which is produced through a study of God’s word.

As God’s word reveals Him, the more we see His glory and our sinfulness. This leads to an undoubted awe and fear of the LORD.

But David says that this “fear” is “clean”

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Ever read Leviticus about all the things that are either considered “clean” or “unclean” (same word)

That which is clean may draw near to God,
That which is unclean must dwell outside the camp.

Here we have a Psalmist who wants to know how to be acceptable to God
And he has learned that God’s word has the ability to produce in him
A “fear of the LORD” which is in fact acceptable to God.

Remember what Jesus said?
John 15:1-4 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”

David knows that it is God’s word which produces fear of the LORD
And it is this fear of the LORD which makes a person clean.

And this, by the way, “endures forever”
It is not short-lived or ineffective.

And then David closes this descriptive section by saying
(9b) “The judgments of the LORD are true, they are righteous altogether.”

“true” is EMETH
And it doesn’t just mean true, it means “reliable”
Or “truth that has been tested and found true”

Genesis 42:16 “Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”

We are talking about that which has been proven true.
And David says that is certainly the case with God’s word,
It is battle-tested and time honored.

It can be rested upon and leaned upon, it will never lead astray.

Now, that is just David’s assessment of God’s word.
• It Converts sinners
• It gives Wisdom to fools
• It gives Peace and Joy to the guilty
• It gives Discernment to the blind
• It produces Fear and Reverence which God accepts
• And it is battle tested and proven to do all of these things

And this is the pathway to learning how to be acceptable to God.

It all starts with the word of God.

It contains everything we need to take a selfish, sinful, foolish, guilty, blind, and unclean human being
And convert him, make him wise, discerning, clean and obedient.

If you have a desire for your entire being to be acceptable to God
Then it all begins with the word of God.

THIS SCRIPTURE HAS SUCH VALUE.

And that is what David continues focusing on here in the 19th Psalm.

Speaking of the Lord’s judgments, David says:
(10) “They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.”

To David there was no possession as valuable as the Scripture.

We certainly don’t have time to cover it, but consider that 119th Psalm where David outlines his love of God’s word.

Psalms 119:72 “The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”

Psalms 119:27 “Make me understand the way of Your precepts, So I will meditate on Your wonders.”

But my favorite stanza is: MEM
Psalms 119:97-104 “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”

David knew the value of God’s word to make him wise
And to guide him in truth and thus he proclaimed it sweeter than honey.

And again we could chase a massive rabbit here
And seek to expose all the ways in which God’s word is valuable,

But if you’ll notice there is one reason David mentions here
As to why God’s word is so sweet to him.

(11) “Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

David understood that God’s word was more than just wisdom to the foolish, but it was literally guidance to the lost.

It was like Peter said:
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

David saw God’s word as a great warning sign
Of potential threats and dangers.

And to fully appreciate this, all one has to do is think for a moment
Where you might be had God not given this revelation to us?

BUT LET’S GET EVEN MORE SPECIFIC.

What specifically did God’s word warn him about?

David here is not talking about some sort of mystic experience
Where God’s word warned him of a lion around the bend
Or of a Philistine hiding in the bushes.

There was an even greater danger
Which David would have never been able to see
Or defend against had God not warned him.

(12-13) “Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.”

What a great question.
“Who can discern his errors?”

How do you know if the things you do are right or wrong?
(Because they seem right to you)

Your own heart is not a reliable witness of what is good.

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

So how in the world are you ever going to discern what is right or wrong according to God in your life?

You’re just going to do what seems right to you?
(Like the period of the Judges)

That might be fine if pleasing yourself was the only objective.

David loves God’s word because it helps him see “his errors”. That is those things which God sees as “errors”.

And discerning his errors was what led David to repentance
That he might be acquitted of these “hidden faults.”

If he had never been exposed, he would have never repented
And then never would have been acquitted.

Paul said essentially the same thing.
Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”

• It was God’s word that showed him his sin and ultimately led him to
repentance.
• Paul wouldn’t have even known that coveting was wrong had God’s word not
exposed it.

Ever had God’s word do that to you?

You’re just reading along and all of a sudden – BAM! –
God confronts something in your life?

Only God’s word can do that.
It can expose what is hidden.
And you couldn’t know it otherwise.

Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“In the Lateran Council of the Church of Rome, a decree was passed that every true believer must confess his sins, all of them, once in a year to the priest, and they affixed to it this declaration, that there is no hope of pardon but in complying with that decree. What can equal the absurdity of such a decree as that? Do they suppose that they can tell their sins as easily as they can count their fingers? Why, if we could receive pardon for all our sins by telling every sin we have committed in one hour there is not one of us who would be able to enter heaven, since, besides the sins that are known to us and that we be able to confess, there are a vast mass of sins, which are as truly sins as those which we lament, but which are secret, and come not beneath our eyes. If we had eyes like those of God, we should think very differently of ourselves.”
(Spurgeon, Charles H. [The Treasury of David Volume 1; Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA] pg. 274)

Only God’s word has the ability to expose your sin to you.
Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

When David spoke of God’s word warning him,
He wasn’t talking about dangers on the outside.
He was talking about dangers within his own evil heart.

AND THAT’S NOT ALL.

David also valued God’s word because of the way IT SUBDUED HIS STUBBORN WILL.
(13) “Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression.”

“presumptuous sins” are those which
Most greatly reflect our stubborn human will.

It is when we know better, but defiantly choose to do it anyway.
And David saw God’s word as a check against such defiance.

I chalk this up to the relentless nature of God’s word.
• Ever notice how when you are walking in sin, God seems to address that sin on every page of the Bible?
• God’s word pulls no punches, it confronts and it confronts relentlessly.

David knew that the flesh is far too powerful a foe to conquer on our own.
If given the opportunity we will rebel every time.

However, God’s word is a powerful agent
Able to subdue the will and break the bondage of the flesh.

In short, God’s word was the only thing able to take a sinful man like David and mold him into a man who acceptable in the sight of God.

And again, this was David’s cry.
(14) “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”

• That is the desire…
• That is the goal…
• To be “acceptable” to God.

And when David wanted to know what this was,
There was only ONE PLACE TO TURN; the Scripture.

“They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.”

And this is a song David has prescribed for the church to sing.
We sing to God of the glory of His revelation!
We sing to God of the glory of His word!

We sing:
“Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow’r that can never fail—
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.”

— Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music(PRS) adm worldwide at CapitolCMGPublishing.com exclusing Europe which is adm by Integritymusic.com

The Evident Pride of the Disciples – Part 3
Luke 9:46-56 (51-56)
December 9, 2018

As you know we are currently in a section of Luke’s gospel
That we have referred to as “MESSIANIC MISCONCEPTIONS”
It is that segment in which we hear Jesus correcting the mindset of the disciples.

And really it all centers around 1 shocking reality and that is THE CROSS.
• The disciples were not ready for that.
• The cross didn’t fit their plan.
• They didn’t have room for a Suffering Servant
• They didn’t have room for a Dying Messiah

They expected Him to rule and reign and receive glory
And to ultimately share that glory with those closest to Him.

Jesus is having to address that misconception here.

It began with Jesus’ shocking statement to those who would follow Him.
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.”

That is to say,
• Get all those notions of fame and glory out of your head
• Let go of your sense of advancement and authority
• I came to die and if you follow Me you should embrace that as well

If you’re going to follow Me, you must deny yourself.

But, as we said, the disciples had not yet fully understood this.
• We can actually go all the way back to Peter rebuking Jesus for even mentioning death…
• We could actually go back and listen to Peter speak out of turn on the mountain where Jesus was transfigured…
• We could go back to the disciples enlisting Jesus in a prize fight with a demon as a means to flex His muscle…

It has really been clear that the disciples
Had not yet embraced this notion of the death of cross
And the reality that they must also deny themselves to follow Him.

But if that reality was yet unclear, Luke sets out to prove it.
In verses 46-56 Luke includes 3 STORIES.

It is highly unlikely that these 3 incidents actually happened as close together as it appears when you read them here.

• Even our verses this morning (51) begins with “When the days were approaching…” Which indicates a period of time had passed in between the two events.

But Luke includes them so close together
Because he is making a point as to how far the disciples still needed to go
In order to understand the concept of self-denial.

And so we have said that the disciples remaining pride or lack of self-denial is actually illustrated here in these 3 stories.

We’ve already looked at 2 of them.
#1 THEIR DISDAIN FOR THE LEAST
Luke 9:46-48

The very fact that they argued as to which of them was the greatest
Indicated that they didn’t think much
Of those they considered to be the least.

And if they could in fact have disdain for they figured to be the least
It only indicates that they didn’t have an accurate view
Of how little they deserved to be there.

• None of us where chosen for our value or benefit or usefulness to the Lord.
• We were all chosen by grace.
• Any notion of my own personal greatness only indicates a terrible misunderstanding of how little worth I actually brought to the table.

And therefore Jesus rebukes the disciples and tells them that
They must learn to receive those whom they discern are the least.

Why?
Because the Lord has accepted them, and the Lord has chosen them, and the Lord has saved them.

If you reject the least then you are in effect
Also rejecting the Lord and the Father.

But their remaining pride is seen in the fact that they did disdain the least.

The last week we saw a second indication of pride or lack of self-denial:
#2 THEIR DISRESPECT FOR THE LAITY
Luke 9:49-50

John tells Jesus that they saw a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name
And they tried to prevent him.

Jesus again rebuked them.
Of all the people in Galilee, and of all the different things they are doing, the man you felt the need to stop was the man casting out demons in my name?

And of course we know the reason.
• It wasn’t because this man wasn’t helping people
• It wasn’t because this man wasn’t glorifying Jesus
• It was because this man threatened to steal the glory from the disciples.

And that is what John basically admitted.
“we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.”

They were concerned that this man might threaten their glory.

And again we saw an evidence of pride and a lack of self-denial
And we reminded ourselves that this entire venture
HAS NEVER BEEN ABOUT OUR GLORY.

We don’t follow Christ for our own personal glory, we follow Christ for His glory.
• And if Christ is proclaimed…
• And if sinners are delivered…
• And if Christ is glorified…
• In that we rejoice!

The fact that the disciples couldn’t illustrated their lingering pride.
Their jealousy testified against them.

Well this morning we come to the third indicator of their lingering pride.
#3 THEIR DISREGARD FOR THE LOST
Luke 9:51-56

Before we get too deep into this story,
We do need to recognize a very important indicator verse.

(51) “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem.”

This is now the 4th time in this chapter that Luke has referenced this RESOLUTE COMMITMENT OF JESUS to the cross.

Luke 9:20-22 “And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”

Luke 9:30-31 “And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”

Luke 9:43-44 “And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”

And here we see it again.
JESUS IS COMMITTED.
The word “determined” is a strong word that literally means “fixed”.

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

• Jesus wasn’t in this thing for worldly comfort…
• Jesus wasn’t in this thing for an earthly throne…
• Jesus wasn’t in this thing for fame and honor…
• Jesus had come to die on the cross, to be raised from the dead, and to ascend to the Father.

And although the disciples had seemingly balked at that notion
Jesus isn’t budging.
He is “determined to go to Jerusalem”

Jesus stands as a contrast to the disciples
• He has no pride…
• He has not selfishness…
• He is not simply seeking His own good…
• He is committed to the mission of God to die on a cross for sinners.

Nothing has been able to sidetrack Him from the cross.

And Luke continues to reference that reality
Because it only reinforces the truth that
If we are going to follow Him then we must also deny self.

You cannot walk a path of self-serving gratification
And follow Jesus at the same time.

Jesus was selfless, to follow Him you must be as well.

Well, the disciples struggled here and this morning we see another way and it is THEIR DISREGARD FOR THE LOST

As He is headed to Jerusalem,
He is cutting through the region of Samaria.

(52-53) “and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem.”

Just A LITTLE BACKSTORY on the tension here
That will help you better understand the setting.

• You are familiar that under Saul and under David and Solomon Israel was a big as it ever was.

• But when Solomon’s son Rehoboam became King he was foolish and he actually split the kingdom.
• In fact the Northern 10 tribes defected and so throughout the period of the Kings you have Israel referred to, which was the north, and you have Judah referred to which was the Southern tribe.

The capital city of the Northern Kingdom was Samaria
The capital city of the Southern Kingdom was Jerusalem

Long story short, The Northern Kingdom of Israel rebelled against God and God destroyed them by the hand of the nation of Assyria.

TURN TO: 2 Kings 17
This is the story of their ultimate demise.

(READ 1-6) – So Israel was conquered and their people deported.

• Verses 7-17 explain why God was so angry with Israel, and then in verse 18 we read again. “So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight; none was left except the tribe of Judah.”

And then in verse 24 we learn something of the root of the Samaritans.

(READ VS. 24-41)

Now there is a lot to see there, but basically you learn this.
• Assyria brought in foreigners to live in the land of Israel
• Those foreigners worshiped other gods and thus incurred God’s wrath
• So a priest was sent back to show them how to worship the true God
• They then added Him to their list of gods to worship

In short, you have a polytheistic people
Who do know something of worship of the true God.

• So you have foreigners living in Israel’s land while Israel is in exile.
• It is also generally believed that some of the poor of Israel had remained in the land and intermarried with these foreign refugees.

Now, 186 years later (after Judah is conquered and spends 70 years in captivity in Babylon) all of Israel is granted by God to return to their land.

And as Israel is setting up her new society and rebuilding the temple,
We run across these people living in the land.

Ezra 4:1-5 “Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.” Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

• There was no mix and no agreement.
• Perhaps you even remember the battles Nehemiah fought as he sought to rebuild the city wall.

This tension is seen all the way into New Testament times.
Remember the woman at the well?
John 4:20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”

So between the two peoples you have a lot of disdain.
• The Samaritans resented the Jews for coming back to Israel and seizing their land and instituting worship in Jerusalem alone.
• The Jews resented the Samaritans for being idol worshipers and seemingly traitors who intermarried with Gentiles.

And here we run into a pocket of less than gracious Samaritans
Who will not allow Jesus and His disciples to stay in their village
Simply because He is headed to Jerusalem.

This had nothing to do with Him being the Messiah,
They just wanted to prevent any Jew from worshiping God in Jerusalem.

And this was more than the disciples can handle.
(54) “When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

This of course was “James and John” appropriately nicknamed “The Sons of Thunder” because they were callous and harsh and full of judgment.

The same John who just tried to prevent a man for casting out demons.

They approach Jesus after having been disrespected in Samaria and ask, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

Now first you might ask, “Where did they even get an idea like that?”

Well they got that idea from their history book.

In 2 Kings 1 you have an Israeli King reigning in Samaria named Ahaziah
• And he injured himself and became sick and he wanted to know if he would get better
• So he sent messengers to “Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron”
• And when he did this God sent Elijah to rebuke the king for seeking a pagan god instead of the true God of Israel.
• This offended the King and he sent to apprehend Elijah.

Here is what happened.
2 Kings 1:9-15 “Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.'” Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. So he again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he said to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.'” Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. So he again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. “Behold fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.” The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king.”

No doubt remembering that story and keenly aware of the power of Jesus,
And having recently seen Elijah on the mountain,
John and James want to know if it is time for history to repeat itself.

• Don’t you think it’s time that these pagan sinners know who they are dealing with?
• Don’t you think it’s time they learn a little respect?
• There’s no way they should have the audacity to treat You like that, how about we call down fire on them like Elijah did?

That’s the disciple’s response.

It is the response of Jesus that helps us understand
Just how little the disciples understood about self-denial
And the mission of Jesus.

(55-56) “But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.”

Now first of all you recognize that much of these [two verses is in brackets] indicating that it is not in the oldest manuscripts.
If you read the NIV you actually have to look down into the margin
To see the middle statement.

When a passage is found missing in an older manuscript it is an indicator that it is a phrase which must have been added later and not a part of the original text.
(There are several of these in Scripture: John 5:4 where the angel stirred the water, John 8 and the story of the woman caught in adultery, the end of the book of Mark)

What this means is that in copying the original text someone added the verse in to most likely give clarification.

What do we do with it?

1. We recognize it wasn’t part of the original and so are careful awarding full authority to it as the inspired word of God.
2. We recognize that God has allowed it to remain so we understand that while we may not treat it as fully authoritative, we don’t necessarily treat it as inaccurate.

Luke’s original statement was simply that Jesus rebuked the disciples
And they went on to another village.

The added statement just gives us insight into the specifics of the rebuke,
And since it is a statement consistent with what Jesus says in other places we have NO PROBLEM WITH IT remaining.

NOW, WHAT WE KNOW IS TRUE is that Jesus rebuked James and John for their desire to bring ultimate judgment down on the Samaritans.

And even if Jesus didn’t specifically give the clarification here,
He did plenty of other times as He reminded the disciples
That He did not come to condemn but to save.

AND THERE IS SOME IMPORTANT THEOLOGY THERE TO UNDERSTAND.

You are all familiar with John 3
John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

What do we learn there?
It is NOT AS THOUGH man is in a neutral condition before Christ came
And He either condemns them or saves them.

Man is already under divine condemnation by reason of his sin.
If Jesus wants men to be condemned all He has to do is “nothing”

He didn’t have to come to condemn, man was already condemned.

John the Baptist mentions this again at the end of the chapter.
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Paul alludes to this in Romans 1
Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

What that indicates is that there is only 1 reason
To explain why Christ came to this earth.
AND THAT IS TO SAVE MEN.

Man didn’t need to be condemned, he was already condemned.
Jesus came because they needed to be saved.

Everything about His ministry was all for this purpose.
• His birth
• His righteous life
• His miracles
• His preaching
• His death
• His resurrection
• His ascension

IT’S ALL ABOUT SAVING MEN, NOT CONDEMNING THEM

Paul said it as clearly as anyone:
1 Timothy 1:15 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”

And if you understand the fundamental purpose of Jesus
Then you understand why this is such a bizarre question
From James and John.

“Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

Seriously?
• You think I left heaven, was born of a virgin and dwelt among men,
• Lived a righteous life,
• And have repeatedly told you of my upcoming death on a cross
• SO THAT WE COULD CALL DOWN FIRE ON MEN?

Do you understand now the rebuke?

And the added informative statement indicates
That this is not an indicator of the Spirit of God, and misses the point.

“And they went on to another village.”

Now let’s talk about that statement for a moment
So that we can get full understanding.

I don’t want you to misunderstand what happened.
• The disciples asked if they should call down fire. Now that would be final
and permanent judgment.
• Jesus rebuked them because He came to save.

However, Jesus then DID PERFORM a symbolic judgment on them.

WHAT WAS THAT?
He left.

Let me remind you of the missionary call of Jesus.

Even when Jesus sent out the 12 the first time, He said:
Luke 9:5 “And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

Matthew’s gospel expounds:
Matthew 10:14-15 “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. “Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.”

There was a temporal judgment here.
• That Samaritan village lost their opportunity to house the Son of God and to hear the gospel message (at least that night)

Jesus did enact a FORM of judgment,
But He did not enact a FINAL judgment of condemnation.

And this is SO IMPORTANT to remember
When dealing with an unbelieving world.
There are a couple of passages I want to put in your mind here.

1 is the infamous “Judge Not” passage.
Matthew 7:1-6 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

Now I’m not going to work all through that one again right now.
• You know that the issue there is self-righteousness and how in your quest to
stomp out sin you should start with your own.
• Jesus doesn’t say you shouldn’t point out the splinter in your brother’s eye, it’s
just that you should clear out your own eye first.

But at the end of that Jesus does give a very important warning.
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pears before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

That is to say, if they don’t want to hear it,
You can’t make them. And you shouldn’t make them.

Things like the religious crusades are not proper evangelism.
You can’t kidnap a non-believer, tie him in a corner
And force him to hear the gospel.

The judgment is seen in that you take what is holy;
You take your pearls, and you move on.
You don’t call down fire on them, you don’t shoot the pigs,
YOU JUST MOVE ON.

Another important perspective is found in 1 Corinthians 5.

• You know that chapter as the chapter about the immoral sinning brother.
• The man who “has his father’s wife”.
• And Paul categorically calls for the church to pass judgment on that man and remove him from the body.

• It is arrogant to smile at what God condemns
• It is a dangerous influence to allow to remain in the church
• Paul commanded that church to hand that “so called brother” over to Satan

However Paul makes a very important clarification after that instruction.
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.”

I hope you pick up on Paul’s clarification.

When we are dealing with a professing believer.
• We are most certainly supposed to understand the role of discipline.
• Now it is not to condemn, but to redeem.
• We discipline so that his soul may be saved.

However non-believers are not treated this way.
• They don’t know any better.
• Why would we expect a non-believer to care about the righteous standard of God?
• We don’t shoot them…
• We don’t hand them over to Satan…
• We don’t call down fire on them…

What do we do?
We give them the truth!
We preach to them the gospel!

Consider Jesus:
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.”

In Luke 15 you’re going to see it again:
Luke 15:1-2 “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.”

Do you know how Jesus responded there?
He gave 3 parables:
• The Lost Sheep
• The Lost Coin
• The Lost Son

It was meant to show that His purpose was to save sinners…
NOT DESTROY THEM!

AND HERE WE HAVE THE DISCIPLES,
IN TOTAL CONTRAST TO THE PURPOSE OF JESUS
Ready to call down fire on the Samaritans all because they don’t like them
And they have inconvenienced them a little.

They would just as soon see the Samaritans burned with fire
As saved with the gospel.

And how tragically we see this.
• Remember Jonah?
• Didn’t want to go to Nineveh.
• In fact, when God finally carried there via the belly of a whale and Jonah did preach, and Nineveh did repent we see Jonah’s response:

Jonah 4:1-3 “But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.”

Why was Jonah so angry?
• Because the Assyrians had been brutally awful to the Jews,
• And in Jonah’s mind they didn’t deserve saving.

Many years ago before coming to Spur, I preached in a little church in Byers and an older deacon there took me to lunch and shared his testimony with me.
• He told me how he had served in WW2
• He told me how he had fought on the islands of Japan
• And he told me how joyful he was when his daughter surrendered to be a
missionary
• But he was not ready to hear her say she had been called to Japan.

His words to me: “Rory, those were dirty Japs and they didn’t deserve saving.”

He then went on to share how God changed his heart and how he had been to Japan and had grown to love those people, but you get the idea.

That tells something of the disdain of James and John.
• They hated the Samaritans.
• The Samaritans represented everything that was wrong in that region.
• The Samaritans represented hardship and struggle and immorality and it was nothing but a pain to have to pass through that region time after time.
• It would be better if God just blasted them off the earth.

The disciples had JEALOUSY, PREJUDICE and BITTERNESS in their heart
And they still lacked the denial of self that is required.

And can I bring that a little bit closer to home for you?

Homosexuality is on the rise in America,
• Is it a sin? Yes, that’s clear
• Will they be judged? Yes, that’s also clear
• But is it God’s desire that you call down fire on them? Of course not!

Muslims, militant to Christianity and even America.
• Is it sin? Yes
• Will they be judged? Yes
• But is it God’s desire that you call down fire on them? Of course not!

Political tensions are high in America. People who support abortion and the spread of sexual immorality.
• Is it sin? Yes
• Will they be judged? Yes
• But is it God’s desire that you call down fire on them? Of course not!

It’s your job to lovingly give them the gospel.

WE DO NOT DESIRE THE DEATH OF SINNERS
• Christ didn’t leave us here to desire the death of sinners
• He left us here to proclaim to them the gospel.

Want a good example of what this looks like?
• Paul went to Philippi where he cast a demon out of slave girl and ended up
being beaten and thrown in the stocks.
• About midnight he and Silas were praying and singing hymns and God sent an
earthquake and opened Paul’s cell door.

Acts 16:25-30 “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

How easy would it have been to just wait for that jailor to kill himself
So that you could be free with no roadblock?

And yet Paul knew he was not there to seek the death of the unredeemed.

Do you understand the point?

I am well aware that America has a growing population of people
Who do not share your values and who seek to make America
Into a land that we don’t want to live in.

It’s the whole: “Don’t California my Texas” bumper sticker…

And yet, this world wasn’t a pleasant place for the Holy Son of God either. But even in the midst of our filth,
He did not come to condemn, but to save.

AND WE MUST DIE TO SELF
AND SEE THOSE WHO THREATEN OUR WAY OF LIFE
AS A MISSION FIELD, NOT AN EXPENDABLE CASUALTY.

And we must understand this.
• If we are only concerned about our own comfort
• If we are only concerned about being around people like us
• If we are only concerned about not being inconvenienced
• Then we’ll never follow Christ.

Look, I realize we can talk about them offending God and deserving judgment. And that’s true, and they must be warned.

But we are talking about our treatment of them,
And that must be like Christ.

Jesus left the glories of heaven to walk among a sin-infested world. Everything about our world must have been an offence and inconvenience to Him. And yet He did not call down fire.

He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

So you want to know WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE if you have lingering pride and have not yet understood what it means to deny yourself?

1) Do you have Disdain for the Least?
• Do you think yourself more worthy than other less important believers?

2) Do you have Disrespect for the Laity?
• Do you think ministry is a means for you to get glory and are you jealous when
the Lord seeks to use someone else?

3) Do you have Disregard for the Lost?
• Do you see your mission field as an inconvenience and would rather see them
dead than redeemed?

Those were the struggles of the disciples,
And they are still indicators of people who have not yet fully understood
The necessity of denying self to follow Jesus.