What Does the World Expect of Christians
What Does the World Expect of God?
Luke 7:18-35
Intro:
- What should the church be doing in the world today? Should it be saving the environment; overcoming AIDS; making peace in the Middle East; overcoming poverty – or all of these or some of these or none of these? Or is there one thing even more important than all the others?
What I want to say: The World does not understand or desire the things of God so it complains about the way the God works. But we have a clear mission to accomplish.
I. The big question (:18-23)
A. Doubt is not necessarily sin
1. John had exploded on the scene and for 1 year was drawing huge crowds.
2. By now, though, he had been in prison for several months and death was probable
3. John’s disciples reported to him what Jesus had been doing
a) Healing the centurion’s servant
b) Raising the son of the widow of Nain
4. John had introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God; John baptized Jesus
5. John preached the coming of the Kingdom; Jesus preached the coming of the Kingdom
6. BUT the Kingdom is not here! John was thinking about all of this.
7. The big question was: is Jesus the One who John thought he was? Who is Jesus?
8. If you have doubts God is willing and able to respond to them.
B. The evidence is the answer (:21-22)
1. Jesus does not simply say, “I’m the Messiah”, He proves it.
2. At that very hour Jesus began to heal many
a) Diseases & afflictions – both chronic and acute
b) Evil spirits – demonic influence
c) Blindness
3. When Jesus was asked to read Scripture in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:18-19), He defined His ministry with these words from Isaiah 61:1-2:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
Isaiah 61:1-2 ESV
4. Who but God could do these miracles? Who is Jesus? He is God!!
5. (:23) blessing comes to those who believe in Jesus
C. What should God’s messenger be like? (:24-28)
1. John was powerful in speech and person (:24); He was no shaking reed
2. The people went out into the wilderness to see this man they heard much about.
3. (:25) they did not go to see a man in fine clothes but a hermit in the wilderness.
a) It was known that John dressed like a wild man – in animal skins – not like a prince
4. :26 – the thing that was so attractive about John was that he was a prophet – the last of the OT prophets – he told the truth boldly
5. Jesus raised the question: What were you looking for?
6. The world does not seem to know. It rushes here and there to follow each new voice that promises answers but it is not sure of what it seeks.
D. Greater than the greatest prophet (:28)
1. Jesus is very clear in His view of John the Baptist: he was the greatest of prophets and among men.
2. But here He says that even the least person in God’s kingdom is greater than John. How can that be?
3. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the knowledge of the gospel and the ability to tell people how to trust in Jesus. Even John could only point people to Jesus – you can lead them to faith and into God’s eternal kingdom!!
II. Do nothing and nothing changes (:29-34)
A. Not to respond is to respond (:29-30)
1. The ordinary people responded enthusiastically to God’s message
2. The tax-gatherers are noted here because they were a particularly hated group since they were Jews who worked for the Roman government and were known to cheat their fellow countrymen. If everyone else were sinners, they were super-sinners!
3. But these people all acknowledged their sinfulness and were baptized.
4. At the same time, the religious leaders, the Pharisees refused to listen to any such messages calling for repentance.
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Matthew 12:30 ESV
5. It is not possible to be merely neutral about Jesus. If you do not decide to trust in Him, you have decided to deny Him.
6. These two groups are still among us today.
a) Some hear the word of God and find hope that their sins can be washed away
b) Others, deceived by their pride, believe that they do not need a savior.
B. A childish generation demands that God perform for them (:31-34)
Video of whining children. It is summer and for many mothers that means that children are home – saying “I’m bored”.
ILLUS> I remember playing “cops and robbers” as a youth. We ran from place to place on our block either hiding behind some neighbor’s bushes or chasing a “robber”. The game always came unglued when someone was “shot” but refused to acknowledge it and kept playing. “I got you!” “No you didn’t!”
1. Jesus compares the people of Israel to children playing a game in the public market
2. One time they pretend to be having a wedding and playing the flute for the guests to dance
a) But their playmates did not play what they wanted them to play
3. Another time they are pretending to be at a funeral wanting the guests to mourn
a) It is known that one children’s game of that time was called “bury the grasshopper”
b) But their playmates wouldn’t do that either
4. So they whined that no one would play the game right!
5. There is a difference between being “childish” and being “child-like”
a) “childish” is selfish, petty, demanding
b) “child-like” is innocent, trusting and attractive.
6. Jesus was saying that generation was “childish” because while insisting that God send the message the way they wanted it, they refused the message in any form.
a) John was an ascetic – his critics said he must have been demon possessed
7. Jesus was very social – his critics said he must be a drunkard
III. It is not the style but the message (:35)
A. What should the Church be about?
1. The Church should respond to human needs with all the vast resources at its disposal
a) We should be caring for orphans and AIDS sufferers and those in poverty
b) But we know that we are not able to make this a perfect world – it never will be as long as sin is in the world.
2. The Church is about using every means to save sinners because salvation is eternal
B. The proof is found in changed lives (:35)
1. The way we know that God’s message is powerful is not from the style of delivery of preachers but from the results in changed lives.
ILLUS> Michael Glatze, founder of “Young Gay America” magazine has become a Christian.
In his WorldNetDaily column, “How a Gay Rights Leader Became Straight,” Glatze writes:
Part of the homosexual agenda is getting people to stop considering that conversion is even a viable question to be asked, let alone whether or not it works.
In my experience, “coming out” from under the influence of the homosexual mindset was the most liberating, beautiful and astonishing thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life….
I believe that all people, intrinsically, know the truth. I believe that is why Christianity scares people so much. It reminds them of their conscience, which we all possess….
As a leader in the “gay rights” movement, I was given the opportunity to address the public many times. If I could take back some of the things I said, I would. Now I know that homosexuality is lust and pornography wrapped into one. I’ll never let anybody try to convince me otherwise, no matter how slick their tongues or how sad their story. I have seen it. I know the truth.
Americans for Truth web news 7/4/07
2. The gospel message changes lives!!! One person at a time is how the kingdom grows
3. When the great multitude of the redeemed are gathered in heaven, singing the praises of God, we will have the final proof.
4. Between here and there, we will see sinners set free.
Concl:
In May 2002, Leonardo Diaz, a Colombian hiker, decided to do some serious mountain climbing with friends. Their goal was to reach the summit of the Nevado del Ruiz, a volcano in the Andes.
On the second day of the climb, a major blizzard hit. Diaz lost sight of his friends and became separated from them. Although not initially worried, the novice climber soon began to run out of rations and suffer from the bitter cold.
Although he had his cell phone in his backpack, his pre-paid minutes had already expired. With no way to signal for help, Diaz realized he was not going to make it.
As he lay in the frigid snow preparing to die, his cell phone rang. It was a phone solicitor in Bogotá wanting to know if Diaz was interested in purchasing more minutes!
"We called him to remind him that his cell phone was out of minutes," said Maria del Pilar Bastos of Bell South. "He said it was the work of an angel, because he was lost in the Andes."
Diaz described his location to the caller and asked that his family be notified so they could dispatch a rescue team.
The Bell South operators, who could tell from the sound of his voice that hypothermia had already begun to set in, called Diaz every 30 minutes to keep him awake and to maintain his hope of survival. Seven hours later, rescuers arrived.
Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, Illinois; source: Margarita Martinez, "Courtesy Call That Saved a Dying Climber on the Andes,"
What ordinarily might have been perceived as a nuisance call saved his life. Some critics of the message of the gospel don’t want to hear it so they complain about how the message is delivered. But the message is life-saving. It is not the style that matters but the substance. If you know it, keep on sharing it!