The Good News According to Luke: Part 4
Pastor: Rollan Fisher
Focus: Jesus redefines our pain to lead us to his purpose which is ultimately good.
Redefining Pain
Redefining Purpose
Redefining Good
Redefining Pain
Jesus redefines our pain through his person.
Luke 6:1-11 ESV
“On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" And Jesus answered them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?" And he said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, "Come and stand here." And he rose and stood there. And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?" And after looking around at them all he said to him, "Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.”
People have church hurts that need to be healed.
Jesus redefined how people understood religion and rituals, including the Sabbath.
Jesus continually brought revelation to people’s interaction with the traditions of the religious community, explaining the spirit behind the law of God.
Many people have been hurt in the church because they were exposed to a religious culture, but failed to connect with the Lord who was to be worshipped within that culture.
They were exposed to law, but not the heart behind that law.
As Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus showed that he came not to hamper but to help those who would turn to him.
The purpose of honoring that which God’s word says to honor is that we might meet with Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, who came to heal.
People have emotional hurts that they try to hide.
As in the case of the man with the withered hand, Jesus brings what cripples us into the light with others not to embarrass or shame us, but to heal us.
“The strangest thing happens when what we have most wanted to conceal is brought into the open. We don’t die. Instead, we often begin to heal.”
-John Ortberg
Eternity Is Now In Session: A Radical Rediscovery of What Jesus Really Taught About Salvation, Eternity, and Getting to the Good Place
“It’s a strange truth that I admire vulnerability in other people, but I don’t want to have to be vulnerable myself.”
-John Ortberg
I’d Like You More If You Were More Like Me: Getting Real About Getting Close
Redefining Purpose
Jesus redefines our purpose through his direction.
Luke 6:12-19
“In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.”
When we commit to honoring that which God honors, he provides eternal purpose for our lives.
Jesus brings definition to that purpose by involving us in what he is doing, making us a sent people to bring his Kingdom as we carry his presence.
Mark 3:13-15
“And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.”
We must first be with Jesus before we can represent Jesus well.
If you’ve made a decision to follow Jesus, it is because he has desired you, called you to himself and is appointing you to represent him in your family, community, workplace and/or school.
When you go into the world with this understanding, you go in Christ’s authority, not your own.
When we encounter Jesus and are touched by his power, we gain the ability to love, because we are cured of that which previously troubled us.
“There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.”
-C.S. Lewis
So how should we live and minister in this authority of Christ?
Redefining Good
Jesus redefines what is good in this world for us through his perfect character that leads us to the cross.
Luke 6:20-49 ESV
“And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. "Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. "Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
"But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."
He also told them a parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
"For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."”
Grandpa’s trees in Florida were always one of my favorite parts of the trip, but I could only ever expect to take home oranges because that is what type of trees he had planted.
There will never be different fruit until you have a different root - you must be born again by the imperishable seed of God’s Word and dig deep to be continually transformed by his Holy Spirit (I Peter 1:23).
There is no sense in getting weary.
Weeding a yard, house cleaning, training your children and tending to your own soul before God are constants that are a fact of life.
If we do not tend to them, we should not be surprised at the mess that is a result.
When we see Christ’s great commands, we realize how much we fall short of God’s perfection and are in need of a Savior.
Christ's perfect character not only gives us a picture of what we ought to be, but leads us to the cross as the only source of true redemption when we fall short.
We must not be hypocrites, looking only at the faults of others, while having logs of sin in our own eyes.
We must come to God in true repentance and faith in Jesus’ sacrificial work at the cross, so we can not only be forgiven of our sins, but by the power of his resurrection, be supernaturally transformed to bear new fruit.
As we do so, we can thereafter build lives of love and grace on God’s word that glorify Jesus, lead to our healing and withstand any storm.
Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher