Gtcotr/012922
It was great to see so many water baptisms last week and this week and it’s possible we will enjoy seeing several more next week. I’m excited to see the numbers of individuals and families devoting their lives to Jesus and making public professions of their faith in Christ and their personal commitment to follow Him for the rest of their lives.
Have you been born-again, water baptized, and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit? If not, why not … and why not today?
For those of you on campus this morning, I’ll be happy to water baptize you and pray for you as we conclude our services this morning. For those of you watching online today, contact me at cotr.com. Click on ‘Connect,’ fill out the information and indicate you want to be water baptized and we will find a way to make that happen for you.
Today is Family Sunday at our Church. About every 13 weeks, effectively 4 times a year, we enjoy a 5 Sundays in one calendar month. When a 5th Sunday comes around, we plan what we call “Family Sunday.” Family Sunday is the Sunday when during our Second Service we encourage our families to worship and hear the word together in the main sanctuary instead of having separate children’s services, classes, teachings, puppets, and plays that Sunday for ages 3 through the 6th grade.
These Family Sundays are also designed to allow the wonderful workers and special teachers who serve in our children’s department to attend worship in the main sanctuary together with their families that Sunday. This morning I have prepared a message with these things in mind and so without further explanation, let’s get right into the Word together.
Please don’t be overly concerned with a little extra movement or some small amount of distraction this morning from the children during the service. They are used to being in a little different environment than our large sanctuary and they normally have a little more room to move around and make a little noise. Parents and guests, on campus and online, won’t mind stretching a little this morning so that you might enjoy big church with the kids and maybe even take advantage of explaining some facet of the Word or Church with them. I also want to encourage those attending church from home this morning to gather your family with you this morning so you might also enjoy church together today. It will be a special morning for all of our Church On The Rock families.
With those things in mind let’s prepare for the Word today by turning to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18, Luke 18.
This account of Jesus takes place during the last 10 days of His earthly life and ministry before He finally arrives in Jerusalem where He will be arrested and crucified by the Roman soldiers as a sacrifice for all of the sins of mankind. Jesus and His disciples were walking along a road that ran beside the Jordan River from the Sea of Galilee in the north to the Dead Sea in the south. They were almost to the city of Jericho where they would turn west and cross over the Jordan River before heading up the steep mountains of the Judean desert to the city of Jerusalem.
It was on this last long walk that Jesus taught so many truths to His disciples and those listening. The lessons we will discuss today are among the “Last Lessons” Jesus taught. Let’s read:
The First Last Lesson for today:
Luke 18
1 ¶ Then He spoke a parable
to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge
who did not fear God nor regard man.
3 “Now there was a widow in that city; and she
came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’
4 “And he would not for a while; but afterward
he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
5 ‘yet because this widow troubles me I will
avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”
6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust
judge said.
7 “And shall God not avenge His own elect who
cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
8 “I tell you that He will avenge His children speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
A Second Last Lesson
9 ¶ Also He spoke this
parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and
despised others:
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a
Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with
himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other
men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax
collector.
12 ‘I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all
that I possess.’
13 “And the tax collector, standing afar off,
would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast,
saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Our Third Last Lesson from Jesus this morning:
15
¶ Then they also brought children
to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they
rebuked them.
16 But Jesus called them to Him
and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of
such is the kingdom of God.
17 “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
There are a several other lessons Jesus taught on the walk that day which cannot all be covered in only one Sunday. Let me encourage you to read the whole chapter and find the other important truths that were on His heart and mind that day and share them one by one with the family. Every one of them has the potential to change our lives and powerfully impact how we act and react to the challenges life presents us today.
In light of the goals the Holy Spirit hopes to accomplish in our lives today, let’s turn our attention to one more lesson Jesus teaches us from Luke 18 this morning.
For The Final Last Lesson today, let’s look at verse:
31 ¶ Then He took the twelve
aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things
that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be
accomplished.
32 “For He will be delivered
to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.
33 “They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”
Perhaps above all the other last lessons that day, Jesus had something quite heavy on His heart that He wanted to share with His closest friends. Sharing our hearts, hopes, and hurts with others who care is not only a natural desire but seems also to have been a spiritual need of Jesus. No doubt Jesus wanted them to know, and He could have used some encouragement along the way. But that didn’t happen.
It was not the first time Jesus attempted to share His burden with His friends and it would not be the last time either. However, every single time Jesus tried to get some support from His friends concerning what He was facing, it appears they weren’t listening, nor did they even try to understand. I feel a little sorry for Jesus. He seems to have been a better friend to His disciples than they were to Him. slipped right by them.
34 But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.
The phrase, “this saying was hidden from them,” does not indicate that God kept them from understanding. Rather, their own narrative and what they believed kept out all truth to the contrary of what they wanted. There was just no way in the world they could imagine the Messiah being scourged or spit upon, let alone crucified and killed.
Our prejudices can make it hard for us to recognize the truth. Perhaps we should all be quicker to listen than we are to think and talk, even to ourselves. So much truth is hidden behind the curtains of an already made-up mind.
It
is evident from these last lessons of Jesus that:
1. God wants us to not
grow weary, get disappointed, and quit praying. He is hoping that no matter how
difficult things may get from time to time that when Jesus returns to earth, He
will find people who are still praying and believing for the best.
2. We should not see
ourselves better than others. Only God can judge. Be humble and let God take
care of the rest.
3. Jesus loves
children, and in many ways, He wishes we were all more like them.
4. We should be quick to hear, slow to speak, and even slower to judge what Jesus says by your own accepted narrative. He may have something to say that lies beyond our already made-up mind.
Have you enjoyed Family Sunday today? Next week we will be enjoying communion together with our congregation on campus and online. Let me encourage those of you who plan on attending from home next Sunday, February the 6th, to take some time this week to prepare. Get some grape juice and a tortilla and be ready next Sunday to partake in the Lord’s Supper together as a Church family.
If you have not yet prayed to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you would like to be saved right now, pray with me while we all stand together and seal today’s word in our hearts. You know you believe in Jesus and if you will sincerely ask Him to forgive your sins and come into your heart, your soul will be saved and you can begin a new life in Christ.
Let’s
all stand and pray right now.
