Sermon Tone Analysis

I cant remember if I have shared this or not but a few years ago Arika’s family was going through this exciting time where they were moving to a new home which theres a good amount of stress but also a lot of joy

and it was really a new chapter for her family where they were going to just this beautiful new home and soon they were getting ready to be empty nesters and eventually retire.

and I remember we were talking with her father afterwards and he was completely exausted but they were so happy to be moved in and were starting to get setteled in

But a couple weeks later we were talking with Arika’s family and they mentioned that her father was still sore and if it continued they were planning to take him to the doctor.

well my fatherinlaw continued to be sore and I remember one day we got the call saying he has leukemia

and all of the sudden what was supposed to be this joyful next chapter in their life was flipped upsidedown.

and I remember Arika and I just being devestated because there was so much uncertainty over what was going to happen next

because we dident know exactly how aggresive the cancer was yet or if it spread anywhere

and really there was just a darkness over the situation, where there was just so much worry and heart ache and the entire family felt just paralized.

But it was an extreamly hard period and as many of you know Arika’s father is in remission now.

But it was a scary thing to go through and it is hard to find comfort in a time like that.

And I am sure many of you have been in through a period like that or are even going through one right now.

Where it just feels dark and there is so much uncertainty and worry in the situation

And this isn’t just with health issues

Because all of us go through dark periods

It might be because of financial strains in our life where we cant pay our bills and worry just overcomes us

It might

It might be because we have been bullied and things just seem dark

It might be because we have a family or friend issue and are unsure if there will ever be healing

We might just feel like we never have joy in our lives and are always in a dark place all the time and we are just gong how can I keep going?

But it is so hard to go through periods like this because there is so much pain.

But today the passage we are in speaks to this and we will be in Luke chapter 6:20-26

and in this passage Jesus is speaking to a large group of people and most of these people lived lives where their entire lives were hard.

They were poor, oppressed, some were hungry, and all around there was very little joy in their lives.

But in the midst of the lives these people were living and the circumstances they were going through Christ delivers a message of hope to them.

And really he even delivers this message to his disciples who have probably lived cushy lives up until now but are getting ready to to face a ton of hardships really for the rest of their lives and we see that they eventually end up losing their lives and being tortured for Christ.

So what Christ says in these next verses are vital for us to understand.

Because it tells us there is hope and that hope is here but it is also in the future.

So Once again we will be in which says:

(NIV)

20 Looking at his disciples, he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessed are you who hunger now,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

22 Blessed are you when people hate you,

when they exclude you and insult you

and reject your name as evil,

because of the Son of Man.

23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.

For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

24 “But woe to you who are rich,

for you have already received your comfort.

25 Woe to you who are well fed now,

for you will go hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now,

for you will mourn and weep.

26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,

for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

So I am not sure if you all read this passage this way but I read it and the question comes to my head “was Jesus delusional?”

because he is talking to this marginalized group and He is saying “you are blessed!”

Hes saying You poor and hungry people you are so blessed!

You people who are sad you are blessed!

If people hate you, guess what you are blessed!

and then he talks to the people who are happy and he goes awh man woe is you

he talks to the people who are happy and goes “wow thats to bad”

He goes to the rich and the people who are popular and well liked and he goes woe is you.

because I am sorry for you guys.

you finish reading this and go “this makes no sense”

why are the people who have nothing and are living these awful lives blessed, while these people living these amazing lives are in trouble?

Maybe add something here because the people who have nothing only have God’s kingdom to look forward to.

But look what this passage does because this passage brings together our present situation that we are in right now and our future that we have.

Because if you look at the language here there are a lot of “now’s”

Those who weep now, those who hunger now

Those who laugh now, those who are well fed now

and what it is saying is you are going through these things now, but it doesn’t stop there because the passage says at the end of each sentence things are going to be changing in the future.

For you will

you are going to recieve comfort

you are going to laugh

You are going to be well fed

or maybe the opposites of all of these…

But what Christ is doing here is he is giving a glimpse and a taste into the kingdom of heaven.

because the truth is that our future hope its not in our health, our financial state, or even how many friends we have,

but our future hope is in heaven and in Jesus Christ coming down, becoming man and dying for every single one of us.

He even died for the people in this passage who he is saying woe too (the people where everything appears to be going great in their lives)

and really the reason he is saying woe to these people isn’t because of there financial state or how many friend are in their lives,

but the reason he is saying woe to these people is because if you compare the lives we are living currently (wether you are rich or poor, popular or a geek) your life is nothing compared to the future we have in store with a Holy God.

because when you compare our lives to a holy God we are poor, we are hungry, we are all of these things.

Its like this: This past week I got a new Laptop because my old one would load for hours on end and I could never get anything accomplished with my old one

I thought my old car was fine but my new car

But I didn’t want to get a new Laptop because I’ve been through a lot with my old one and the others are pricy and I loved my old Laptop.

But Arika made me get a new one and once I started using it Arika and I were amazed because I click on something and it opens immediately, I download something and it downloads.

I can do things without my computer freezing every few minutes.

But now I am going that old computer is a piece of junk.

I have my new one!

But truthfully thats what Christ is saying here because the issue is when we say this life I am living is awesome, this life I am living is the best life ill ever live we are saying the same thing I said with my laptop “its great!” and we dwell in present instead of looking into the life we could live in the future that blows this life out of proportion where we will be satisfied in Christ instead of living a life satisfied by the world.

Because we can live a life going I am satisfied with my wealth, with my friends with how happy I am but our human nature is to always want more.

Because another issue we have is we like to strive for more and more in our live

One of the Rochafellors (who were a very wealthy family which Rockafellor plaza is named after in New York City) once was asked “How much is enough?”

to which he said “just a little bit more.”

and we can keep setting out for more but where does that get us?

William Barclay once said “If you set your heart and bend your whole energy to obtain the things that the world values, you will get them, but that is all you will ever get.

and you know it is not wrong to be satisfied but its wrong when that satisfaction takes away from the satisfaction we have in Christ.

But here is the exciting part, because there is an ultimate satisfaction and an ultimate comfort that will take place in heaven.

no more tears, no more pain, no more fear

and we will just basque in the glory of Christ for eternity

and we have so much hope in that but the truth is that we don’t have to wait completely

because Christ came down for us over 2000 years ago with you in mind.