Monthly Archives: December 2019

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – IN IT FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT?

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IN IT FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT?

“As the crowd swelled, He took a fresh tack: ‘The mood of this age is all wrong. Everybody’s looking for proof but you’re looking for the wrong kind. All you’re looking for is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. But the only proof you’re going to get is the Jonah-proof given to the Ninevites, which looks like no proof at all. What Jonah was to Nineveh, the Son of Man is to this age'” Luke 11:29-31.

It seems that human nature has never changed. Jesus had issues with the people of His day because they had a lust for entertainment. To many of them, He was nothing but a great entertainer. They followed Him in droves to watch what He could do and to get what He could give but, when it came to the tough decision to identify with Him and take the flak for being a follower, they opted out because the price was too high.

Their excuse was that they wanted ‘proof’ but, no matter how much proof He gave them, they were always demanding more. What did they mean by ‘proof’? Proof of what? Jesus offered them one sign, which He called ‘the sign of Jonah.’ What was the sign of Jonah? Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of a fish because of his reluctance to offer Nineveh God’s mercy. God was merciful to him. He sent him to Nineveh a second time to warn them of His coming judgment because of their wickedness. Why did God want to warn them? Why not just dump judgment on them? Was it not because God was merciful? He wanted to give them an opportunity to repent.

And they did.

Jesus spent three days and nights in a grave because of God’s mercy to all mankind. He rose from the grave as a witness that He is who He said He is, the Son of God and that God is merciful to all who believe in Him. Because of His suffering and death, God can offer forgiveness to every person who responds to His offer and receives Jesus as Lord. Faith in Jesus involves active participation in His life, following, imitating and obeying Him as Lord.

But nothing has changed. Whether it is secular or spiritual, people generally love to be spectators; sport, TV, pop festivals, no matter what form it takes, we sit on a seat somewhere, in front of the TV, in a sports stadium or a concert hall or even a pew in church and watch. Christian TV is big business. TV channels are mushrooming. Which are the most popular and lucrative? Is it not those that offer the most entertainment and the biggest rewards for ‘sowing into their ministry’?

Jesus’ solution is simple but radical. ‘Whoever does not take up his cross daily and follow me, cannot be my disciple.’ The Jonah-sign demands an active response of trust and obedience, getting up off the seat and following Jesus, right to the death of the self-life and into a life of self-giving for the sake of others.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – THE SIGN OF JONAH

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THE SIGN OF JONAH

“As the crowd swelled, He took a fresh tack: ‘The mood of this age is all wrong. Everybody’s looking for proof but you’re looking for the wrong kind. All you’re looking for is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. But the only proof you’re going to get is the Jonah-proof given to the Ninevites, which looks like no proof at all. What Jonah was to Nineveh, the Son of Man is to this age.'”  Luke 11:29-31.

It seems that human nature has never changed. Jesus had issues with the people of His day because they had a lust for entertainment. To many of them, He was nothing but a great entertainer. They followed Him in droves to watch what He could do and to get what He could give but, when it came to the tough decision to identify with Him and take the flak for being a follower, they opted out because the price was too high.

Their excuse was that they wanted ‘proof’ but, no matter how much proof He gave them, they were always demanding more. What did they mean by ‘proof’? Proof of what? Jesus offered them one sign, which He called ‘the sign of Jonah.’ What was the sign of Jonah? Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of a fish because of his reluctance to offer Nineveh God’s mercy. God was merciful to him. He sent him to Nineveh a second time to warn them of His coming judgment because of their wickedness. Why did God want to warn them? Why not just dump judgment on them? Was it not because God was merciful? He wanted to give them an opportunity to repent.

And they did.

Jesus spent three days and nights in a grave because of God’s mercy to all mankind. He rose from the grave as a witness that He is who He said He is, the Son of God and that God is merciful to all who believe in Him. Because of Jesus’ suffering and death, God can offer mercy and forgiveness to every person who responds to His offer and receives Jesus as Lord. Faith in Jesus involves active participation in His life, following, imitating and obeying Him as Lord.

But nothing has changed. Whether it is secular or spiritual, people generally love to be spectators; sport, TV, pop festivals, no matter what form it takes, we sit on a seat somewhere, in front of the TV, in a sports stadium or a concert hall or even a pew in church and watch. Christian TV is big business. TV channels are mushrooming. Which are the most popular and lucrative – those that offer the most entertainment and the biggest rewards for ‘sowing into their ministry’?

Jesus’ solution is simple but radical. ‘Whoever does not take up his cross daily and follow me, cannot be my disciple.’ The Jonah-sign demands an active response of trust and obedience, getting up off the seat and following Jesus, right to the death of the self-life and into a life of self-giving for the sake of others.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – WHO ARE THE REALLY BLESSED ONES?

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WHO ARE THE REALLY BLESSED ONES?

“While He was saying these things, some woman lifted her voice above the murmur of the crowd, ‘Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.’ Jesus commented, ‘Even more blessed are those who hear God’s word and guard It with their lives.'” Luke 11:27, 28.

Jesus was always realistic. Some woman in the crowd was loudly commenting on His mother’s good fortune to have a son like Him. ‘Your mom was blessed to have a son like you,’ she shouted. She was probably thinking what a pleasure it must have been to raise a son like Jesus.

Did she have sons of her own? What problems did she have with them when they grew up – teenagers perhaps rebellious, perhaps failing Beth Safar (Elementary School), perhaps not interested in going to the synagogue every Sabbath. Had they disappointed her expectations? What prompted her to call out like that? We do not know but, whatever it was, it was a cry from her heart.

Jesus did not ignore her cry. Instead he redirected her thinking to something far more important and realistic than what was on her heart. Who are the really blessed ones? Not those whose children never give them any trouble, who don’t add to their grey hairs by disappointing them or abandoning them when they need them. Not those whose earthly circumstances are ideal.

He changes the ‘blessed’ (baruch – the supernatural favour of God) to ‘blessed’ (asher – the happiness that a person experiences by making the right choices, i.e., doing life God’s way). Yes, it is true that God’s favour is a blessing but to live God’s way brings happiness now and eternal rewards in the hereafter.

Jesus consistently and persistently turned people’s attention to what really mattered in life, to embrace God’s word and obey it faithfully. To Jesus, personal obedience to God was more valuable than any earthly benefit in life.

When His own family came to ‘rescue’ Him because they thought He had lost His mind, He shrugged off their concerns by asking, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ Pointing to the crowd He answered, ‘Those who do the will of my Father are my real family.’

The really blessed people are not those whose family life is ideal, or whose earthly circumstances are uncluttered with trouble and hardship. These may be blessings from God but, at best, they are temporary because everyone lives in a fallen world which will inevitably produce trouble of one kind or another.

Who are the really blessed people? Those who have received the gift of eternal life – the life of the spirit, connected to Jesus, the source of life, through faith in Him. Whatever happens now cannot take away the promise of life in its fullness with God in the hereafter. Earthly blessings have no influence on the life to come. It is only guaranteed to those who embrace and obey God’s word.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – EMPTY IS DANGEROUS

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EMPTY IS DANGEROUS

“When a corrupting spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn’t find anyone it says, ‘I’ll go back to my old haunt.’ On return, it finds the person swept and dusted, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits dirtier than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse than if he had never gotten cleaned up in the first place.” Luke 11:14-16.

According to Jesus, just as it is impossible to be neutral when it comes to my attitude to Him, it is also impossible to remain empty of a spiritual ‘master’. The human spirit was created to be in submission to God. Satan’s lie is that a person can be his own master. He sold that lie to Eve and it landed her, Adam and the whole human race under his dominion.

The attitude of the human being is expressed in Psalm 2:3, “Let’s get free of God! Cast loose from Messiah”, with the mistaken notion that he can be independent of any controlling spirit.

The opposite is true. If Jesus is not invited in to become the master of my heart, once I have repudiated demonic occupation of my heart, I must not think that I can go it alone. He will return and if he finds no-one in charge, he’ll invade with a whole hoard of controlling spirits worse than himself.

How does this work in practice? Many believers think that they cannot be influenced by demons, but this is not true. What happens when someone is falsely accused, insulted or offended in some way by another person? The first reaction is to be hurt. Anger follows, to cover up the hurt, self-pity, feeling like a victim, the desire to pay back, taking it out on someone else, usually a family member…these are all sinful responses to emotional pain.

An even worse scenario when life deals a believer a blow is to blame, turn on and abandon God as though He were responsible for the suffering. “Why did God allow this to happen?” is the question asked, as though God somehow manipulates people’s wills to do things His way. Man chose to turn from God, (and he still does) and there are always consequences, often involving innocent people.

This leaves the vacuum of which Jesus was speaking and demons, under Satan’s direction, capitalise on the opportunity to invade and occupy. How often it happens when a believer abandons faith in God because of false expectations; he throws all caution to the wind and becomes more sinful than he was before he believed in Jesus.

This is a warning every believer ought to heed. God is not responsible for our woes but He is always ready to bring good out of evil if we choose to keep trusting in His goodness. He never disappoints those who put their trust in Him.

THE GOSPL OF LUKE – THIS IS WAR!

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THIS IS WAR!

“When a strong man, armed to the teeth, stands guard in his front yard, his property is safe and     sound. But what if a stronger man comes along with superior weapons? Then he’s beaten at his    own game, the arsenal that gave him such confidence hauled off, and his precious possessions plundered.

“This is war and there is no neutral ground. If you’re not on my side, you’re the enemy; if you’re not helping, you’re making things worse.” Luke 11:21-23.

The reaction of the crowd to Jesus when he drove a dumb spirit from a man gave Him the  opportunity to warn them that their bigoted opinion of His mercy towards Him put them in a dangerous position – there is no neutral ground when it comes to Him. They could not stand on the side-lines and voice their skeptical and caustic comments and expect to be part of a kingdom that was based on love and trust.

What was His little story about the strong man intended to convey? Was He talking about His mission on earth? Was He telling them to watch out because they were backing the wrong side? Satan thought he was strong enough to guard his territory but he was powerless against one who was stronger than he and who had the authority to evict him and reoccupy the territory that He owned in the first place. The very weapons he thought were invincible, would be his undoing,

What is the weapon Satan thinks will enable him to get what he wants – the allegiance and worship of the people God made for Himself? His most effective weapon is deception, the lies he has woven around who he is and what he does. He is the father of lies. He dupes people into believing that they can live without God, do exactly as they please and then have an afterlife of bliss and pleasure without Him breathing down their necks. What a terrible lie,

How does Jesus unmask the deceiver and take away his weapons? With the truth! The cross is the clearest demonstration and declaration of the truth. What does it say? That God is in charge, that God is just and that rebellion against Him is punishable by death. It also says that God is loving and merciful and He paid the price for our rebellion by taking our penalty on Himself. Satan’s weapon of lies is powerless to cover up the truth.

In relation to this universal conflict between lies and truth, no-one can be neutral. This is war to the death and whoever does not believe THE truth, that Jesus is the Son of God, that He came in the flesh to reveal the Father and to take the place of sinners in order to ransom them and set them free from their debt, is an enemy and doomed to the fate awaiting the devil and his demons.

That is exactly what the devil is aiming for, that he can take as many people as he can down with him. There is only one way out of his trap – to believe and receive the truth. Not to side with Jesus is automatically to side with the enemy and to side with the enemy is to choose destruction. God gives every person what he chooses.