2023.04.16 Do What I Want
Notes
Transcript
Do What I Want
Do What I Want
Psalm 58 • Luke 12:13-15
Luke 12:13-15
13 Now someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
14 But He said to him, “You there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?”
15 But He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.”
Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “The things you own end up owning you.”
It’s easy to think that living paycheck to paycheck is a problem in the lower tax brackets. A January, 2023 article in Forbes Magazine reported that More than half of Americans earning OVER $100,000 are living paycheck to paycheck. [https://fortune.com/2023/01/30/more-high-earning-americans-stretching-paycheck-inflation/]
I heard years ago that studies had shown most Americans believe they need to earn about 10% more to be comfortable. Regardless of how much money we make, we believe we need 10% more. Once we get there, we still think we need 10% more … and 10% … and 10%. No amount is ever enough.
The things you own end up owning you.
So what do we learn about God from this story?
What do you learn about GOD from this story?
What do you learn about GOD from this story?
Let me begin my observation with a non-rhetorical question: Jesus obviously knows what would be right, here. Why do you think he doesn’t just settle this dispute? [take responses]
Let’s look at Matthew 4 for just a minute:
Satan tempts Jesus for 40 Days, and we have the last 3 specific temptations given:
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.
3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
What is the temptation?
prove you are who you say you are
use your powers to provide for yourself
How does Jesus respond?
4 But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’ ”
Jesus returns the focus to God’s word instead of his own needs or desires.
Next Temptation:
5 Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
6 and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written: ‘He will give His angels orders concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will lift You up, So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ”
What is the temptation?
prove you are who you say you are
use your position to provide for yourself
And Jesus’ response:
7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
Returns focus to God’s sovereignty.
#3 is the ultimate temptation:
8 Again, the devil took Him along to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;
9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”
What is the temptation?
GIVE UP who you are!
Bow down to me, and you’ll have it all!
Is this a familiar temptation to any of us?
So … why do you think Jesus didn’t simply settle this dispute and move on?
Jesus did not come to do Satan’s bidding. He did not come to do our bidding. He came to do the bidding of his Father in Heaven.
What do you learn about GOD from this story?
What do you learn about GOD from this story?
19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
Friends, God Almighty will not involve himself in our petty bickerings.
One thing we can learn about God from this story is that He is not here to serve us. He’s done all that’s necessary for us to become a part of his family, but he will not be distracted by our pettiness.
Jesus refused to bow down to Satan as Lord, because Jesus himself is LORD!
What do you learn about HUMANS?
What do you learn about HUMANS?
This guy doesn’t appear to see Jesus as an authority in his own life. He only sees him as an authority who can settle a dispute for him. This is like people dragging Jesus into our political disputes. We’re not hoping he’ll be Lord. We’re hoping invoking Jesus’ name will settle the dispute in our favor.
Because what we learn about humans in this story is that Human’s don’t want a Lord.
We want a Coke Machine where we put in a little bit and get exactly what we want. And if we don’t get exactly what we want … somebody’s gonna hear about it!
Often, we expect the same thing from the Church. Western culture is infected with an entitled attitude, and the Church is sadly not immune.
I am not hesitant to say that I don’t like officiating weddings. It’s not the wedding itself. It’s not the premarital sessions. It’s not anything of the preparations. It’s because people lose their minds over a wedding … and it’s usually not the couple who lose their mind!
When a couple comes to me for premarital sessions and a wedding, I tell them plainly … this is your wedding, and I will defend what YOU want for this day. I don’t deal with parents, and I’ve had to remind some parents of that a time or two.
One parent came to me and said they didn’t understand why I don’t deal with parents. I explained that an important part of my task is to protect the couple’s wishes because it’s their day. So every decision needs to run through the couple. I’ve seen parents make decisions without even consulting the bride and groom. They can do that for the rehearsal dinner or the reception. But if I’m officiating, they will not do that with the ceremony.
This mom’s response was telling … “But we’re the ones paying for it.”
I thought a brazen confession deserved a blunt response, so I replied, “The Church is not WalMart.”
Times come when we want something from the Church or from God, and in those moments, we don’t want a Lord. We want a Coke machine. We want God to be waiting quietly in the corner until we make a request, and then he’s supposed to jump to it, like he’s ‘The Help’.
But, YOU AND I are ‘the help’! Because HE is THE LORD!
Lord is a title we don’t use in our culture. We inherit the word from Europe, and the term hearkens back to the Feudalist social structure in Medieval Days.
I know many of you have heard this explanation, but it bears repeating because it’s so easy for us to forget.
[Explain Lord in this context]
So given what we’ve learned about God and about humans today … What do you learn about yourself?
What do you learn about YOURSELF?
What do you learn about YOURSELF?
What dispute do you want God to settle for you?
What do you feel like you’re entitled to that He isn’t supplying?
You may not word it this way … but … What do you feel like God owes you?
What needs to change as a result of what you’ve learned?
What needs to change as a result of what you’ve learned?
What needs to change as a result of what you’ve learned?
Jesus refused to bow down and do what Satan wanted.
He will not bow down and do what I want.
Jesus will do what the Father wants.
And Jesus commands me to do what the Father wants.
When I’m feeling my oats, I need to follow Jesus’ example and return focus to God’s desire instead of my own.
Do What I Want
Do What I Want