The Perspective of Truth

The Family of God

Lk 11:24–36

True Blessedness 27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” 28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

The Sign of Jonah 29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You 33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Luke 8:15-21

15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

A Lamp Under a Jar 16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers 19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

His Favored Children

True blessedness… This woman is off target here in her statement to Jesus, but she is also on to something.

You probably recall the beatitudes when you read true blessedness in this passage

The Beatitudes Mt 5:2–12.2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

These are the be’s of the beatitude's. Living the with the attitude of the poor in spirit, a person who mourns over the evil on the earth, who is meek and so on out is living like a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, not Earth. That's a way of living where God favor and blessing land. Your the child who He delights in blessing because your so much like Him.

The Cliff notes beatitudes... Luke 11:24 is the Cliff notes version of the beatitudes. “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Kinda like Love God love others in the to all the Law and the 10 commandments.

Jesus is repeating Himself… He said this in the beatitudes in Matthew, he said it here in Luke. Jesus often repeats his teachings. Throughout the old and the new testament God repeats things and themes.

The disciples repeated themselves often… Both Paul and Peter repeated themselves during their ministries to the same audiences.

Philippians 3:1 “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.”

2 Peter 1:12–15 “Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.”

God often repeated Himself in scripture … Why? Because we need it. Like Paul said in Philippians, it’s for you. We tend to forget the most important truths in life. If we are not careful we get distracted by all the little details and miss the big truths

We need to remember who He is.

We need to remember who we are.

We need to remember what He’s done.

We need to remember what that means to us

The Light by Which You See

Jesus repeats His teaching about light… Jesus teaches right after the beatitudes in Matthew about the light in you.

Matthew 5:14-16 14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

We have talked about this before to some degree… The light Christ we carry inside becomes some thins others see and recognize God in our lives.

What we have not done is identify what that light does in our life's… The light in our lives effects every single thing we do.

So important it’s repeated three times in scripture… The teaching on the light in our lives in Matthew after the beatitudes is also taught twice in Luke. In Chapter 11 and earlier in chapter 8.

Luke 8:16–18 ““No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.””

Both passages in Luke carry a warning… Both passages in Luke carry a warning. Luke 8 “Take care then how you hear” and Luke 11 “Therefore be careful lest”

3 times and 2 warnings… Jesus teaches on this topic three times, probably more but this is what we have recorded, and in two of His lessons He gives a warning with it. Seems like this topic could be pretty important.

What else is the light for ?… So we know the light reveals God through us to those around us. But what does it do in us?

What’s our lamp… Jesus says “ Your eye is the lamp of your body.” So the light in our life comes from the lamp in our life. And the lamp in our life is our eye.

Internal, not external… Do you notice He says your body here. This is internal, not external. He talking about what goes on inside.

The language of your house… Do you see the language of your own house in these passages. No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light and No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.

We are a temple of God… Did you know that we become a temple of God after salvation?

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”

A temple, in otherwards a sanctuary. A place for God to inhabit and take rest. In other words a house. You become and house to your Lord.

The outside and the inside are connected by this light… When you think of your eyes you use them to engage with the world around you. Jesus is connecting here what is outside the house, you, with what is inside the house.

One single lamp… This one single lamp, this one eye, is used to “see” them both. The world around you and the world within you.

The figurative lamp… By now you have probably guessed it, but your physical eye isn’t the lamp of you body. It’s a figurative representation of a spiritual truth. The eye Jesus Christ is talking about in scripture, is you perspective.

Your perspective is everything... Your perspective determines how you enter act with every single thing in the world, both externally and internally. You literally interpret everything in the world through your “minds eye” your perspective.

A familiar phrase… The phrase you and I are probably most familiar with is do you see the cup half full or half empty. In other words do you have half of something or are you missing half of something?

Petty difference?… This can seem kind of like a petty difference to some. But when the truth you operate out life is determined by your perspective, It’s Everything. That’s why Jesus gave two warnings with it.

The lamp is supposed to illuminate… If the lamp in your body is bad, what will it illuminate? The image of the lamp was very intentional of Jesus’s part. It’s used so you can see in the dark. So you can discern what is hidden. When used properly the lamp illuminates what you would otherwise miss.

You have a bad lamp… Before Jesus Christ sets you free, you have a bad lamp. The eye with which you see through is bad. How could that happen you might think?

Pr 14:12 12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

How did man receive a way that seems right to him… If there is only one way, that right, the way the truth the life Jesus Christ, how did we get another way?

By eating the fruit of a certain tree… By eating the fruit of a certain tree in the garden that was “desirable for making one wise”. Sound familiar?

The old way of thinking needs to go… The old way of thinking needs to go. Thinking through selfishness and our own wisdom, doesn't seem to be all that wise does it.

We are supposed to become different… Once we accept Jesus it’s time for old ways of thinking and bad perspectives to die.

Ro 12:2 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Not every perspective dies immediately… Not every bad or false perspective dies immediately after salvation. The are some thing that have to be held up to the light of the truth revealed by God through scripture and the life of Jesus Christ before we can see clearly enough to break away from them.

Any perspective withheld… Any perspective withheld from the truth of God is a place for the way you see the world and truth of scripture, even God Himself, to be warped and changed in a distorted way. Remember when Jesus said you evil and twisted generation? He was saying you people who are so far from the truth God created you in. You look at the world through eyes of selfishness and perversion. That was the crowds Jesus spoke to then. Do you think the world is any less wicked, twisted of perverse today? How do we as a society come to a place where men marrying men, woman marrying woman or if a boys a boy or a girls a girl is actually a debate? This generation is no less lost or twisted that the one Jesus spoke to then.

Anything you hold up to Jesus for truth the light will illume. But anything in here or here you hide from Him is a place for the shadow of darkness to be cast your mind and heart.

Right before Jesus teaches on the lamp of your life in Luke He gives them the parable of the good soil. The last passage in that parable is this..

Luke 8:15 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Pay close attention… Pay close attention church, ‘those who hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart’

He’s talking about you perspective church. How are you receiving the word of God and the revelation of Jesus Christ? Is it in a honest and good heart?

Notice he said honest… That’s not just with God, but with yourself as well. Have you been deceiving yourself by the way you view your life and world around you? Have you been avoiding uncomfortable truths within your life that need held up to the truth of God. Area’s that God would deal with but you have failed to surrender?

There is no place too dark… There is no place too dark in a persons life for Jesus to give illumination to. The light always overcomes the darkness. And here is great news, He never says no when you seek Him for transformation in truth.

Sandwiched in the middle of this Jesus compare the crowds to two different biblical figures

Jonah and Nineveh… He, went to wicked outsiders who had no concept of who God was, and they repented and believed

The Queen of the South and Solomon… She, and outsider came and saw all the wisdom of God on display and believed.

Both the Ethiopian Queen and Nineveh shared something in common... Their perspective of who God was when He revealed Himself was healthy. When the seed of truth was planted into the soil of their hearts it sprouted and grew and bore fruit.

And so that takes me to my final revelation as I studied these passages.

The woman from the crowd praised Jesus’s mother as a blessed woman for raising Him. She recognized that Jesus was special.

Right after Luke 8 where Jesus was teaching on the lamp of the body, the narrative transitions to a passage about His family.

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers 19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

Seems out of place… It seems kind of out of place until you consider the woman in the crowd who said Jesus’s mother just like when Jesus mother came to see Him and he addressed the topic of family to the crowds. There is a connection in these two passages to family and Jesus’s mother.

The closeness of a mother… The relationship of a mother with her children can be one of the closest and most cherished relationships a person has. There is a special bond that forms when a mother carries a child for nine months.

Honoring hearers and doers… Yet when Jesus’s mother came He did not honor her with His words to the crowd. Instead He honored those who hear and do the word of God.

Mary the wonderful mother… I cant think of a more wonderful example of motherhood in the bible than Mary. This was not Jesus discrediting His mother, but instead pointing to a deeper and power spiritual truth.

Closing…

Church here is the revelation I got when I studied these scriptures. I hope it blesses you as much as it did me.

If your perspective is right church. If you receive the truth of God and the revelation of Jesus Christ with an honest and good heart, then the presence of God will grow in you. It may take some time, patience like scripture says, but it will grow. You will become much more to God than an earthly family member of flesh. You were born again in the spirit, your no longer just flesh. In the spirt you become even closer to God than a mother of this world. That's how intimate the relationship God has invited you into is. The invitation is for the closest of relationships you will ever have.

So let me ask you, how close are you getting to God. Is it the intimate relationship of child loved by a Father. Do you get close enough to soak up His love and great pleasure of knowing you. Or are you still holding out on Him. Hanging back for the many different reasons people come up with.

My challenge today is stop holding back. Quite hiding. Trust His good works and His truth. Believe what He says about you. You have believed in Him at the level of your heart are sozod. Saved, healed and delivered. You can trust your God.