Know of Jesus, be like Jesus

Whose in the family?

Where getting straight into it today, straight into the scripture. have you read Luke this week, particularly chapter 8, today we are looking at 3 verses 19-21.Let me give you a heads up so you can read it multiple times before next week, Luke 8:22-25, the storms of life; This is important, it’s not about just turning up for church sunday getting your weekly fix or doing your weekly duty to God, there’s more to this walk with God than that. Maybe as we go through this today, i might offend you, maybe your sleeping & need to be woken up, maybe your Christianity is led by your cultural preferences or political stance, which leads you down wrong paths of what Jesus would do or wouldn’t do. where actually nyour life needs to be led by the Holy Spirit working in you, by what Jesus teaches not what we think He should teach.

Maybe it’s time for a Spiritual check up!!!!!!

Luke 8:19–21 ESV

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

Some people think this is harsh of Jesus, that maybe Jesus was rejecting His family, it’s something that has been twisted by the Devil, neglect your family for God. ministry does not come first, family second.

But actually Jesus is asserting Kingdom priorities, John’s account of the crucifixion includes Jesus tender concern for His mother.

John 19:26–27 ESV

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Jesus was not neglecting family relationships or duties, He doesn’t call us to abandon our families, but He is actually stressing the primacy or pre-eminence of the Kingdom for His disciples, that’s you & me.

Iv’e said before my priorities is God first, my relationship with Him has to be first so that i can love my wife, (second in priorities) children (third) rest of my family (4th) Church family (5th). When i pray, i pray that i can be the best man that i can be, that means my connection with God is right. Because if i am then i am the best husband for Tam, the best dad for my kids, best son, brother, uncle, nephew, friend, Pastor. But God has to ne first. He has to come first not at the detriment of your family but for you to love your family better, including your church family. Is He first.

This episode in Jesus life is recorded in Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3:31-35 & here in Luke 8. According to Marks writings the family members stay outside & send in someone to call Jesus, but He is busy at the time with a crowd of people who were listening to His teaching & were open to the will of God. They were connecting with Jesus & Jesus looks around Him & says “here are my Mother & brothers”.

He was aware of thos who were truly interested in learning about life in the Kingdom of God. Matthew says anyone who does the will of my Father in Heaven is my brother, sister & mother. But Luke is very concise, “my mother & brother are those who hear the word & do the word”.

Know of Jesus,be like Jesus.

Charles Spurgeon says “This was an opportunity to exalt His mother above the rest of Humanity, blessed though she was in bearing Him, He gave her no more honour than any of the common people who heard the word of God & obeyed it.

We start the service at 10.30 am, we don’t wait for the seats to be filled first. It’s not about honouring me or who ever is speaking, it’s about honouring God with your time, if you can get to work on time to earn a living, you can get to church on time or before the service starts to honour God. If we wait for people to arrive what value or honour am i giving to the people who have arrived before the service starts.

I said i might offend you this morning. Someone may pray or fast or sing all day long, but if you do not hear Gods word & do His word then they are not really drawing close to God, they are a clanging symbol. He calls us to love others, that means getting up of your bums & do something to show love. We can’t cherry pick what part of following Jesus we like & what we don’t the same applies to what parts of the Bible we agree with, we won’t read the parts that make us uncomfortable. It’s the whole word that is good for us. Maybe pray that dangerous prayer, search me Lord for anything i need to put right.

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

We are to let the word guide us in this life, let it in to your very soul so that it changes us into the people that God has called us to be.

How are you? Hows your passion for Jesus? Would you be included in His family?

Joshua 1:8 ESV

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

This morning isn’t about going away from here feeling condemned it’s about challenge on how we live, would Jesus count you as family, it’s a Spiritual check up. I’m not doing it the check up, that’s not my job. I’m just posing the questions for you to ask yourself. I Am asking myself the same.

I said this a little while ago, the church leadership has a responsibility to help you grow in your walk with God but it’s not all on us, you have to take responsibility to respond & apply what is taught to your life.

As the leader of this Church i would like to apologise to you all, i have let you down, but not anymore. You see i have been so against people being bullied into being at Church or prayer meetings whether in person or on line that i went the other way & didn’t challenge at all so not to offend or upset but that doesn’t help you in your walk with God, i have to take some of the responsibility for that the rest is yours.

I said a few weeks ago that we are starting a discipleship course, 9 weeks it will last, i am, sorry Tom will be chasing you up to do the course, that includes leaders. It really will be great. We need to step up as a Church, as the Church. We have book club on Monday nights on zoom, prayer meetings on Tuesday now in person hear at 6.30pm & on zoom, you need to get to it, we’ve all got a bit lazy, a bit to comfortable with being on the sofa. We didn’t like the masks for worship so we didn’t really sing our hearts out to Him, no more masks but are you really going for it.

Still on prayer & study, God doesn’t need us to pray but if we want to see change in this world He wants to see that you want it, don’t leave it to others, Men where are you? we’ve been on line 5, 6 ,7 nights a week for 20 months you have been in the back ground or not there at all. leaving it to the women of the Church, step up Adam didn’t & let God down & Eve down. We are going to have a mens ministry, i expect to see you at it, breakfast will resume in November, date to be sorted.

This is a Church wide problem, the least attended meeting in the Church is prayer, come on. You want to see God do great things in your life & in the life of this Church then there needs to be change in us, You want to see revival, drugs gone, homelessness gone, mental health gone, food poverty gone then we need to pray. “but i do at home”, Awesome, well done but scripture shows that we should gather. Acts 2:43-47, Psalm 133:1, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” . There are plenty more. Praying together is essential. It builds up the church & it also builds you up to.

Jesus said read the word & do the word, that is every aspect, we need to step up our commitment. God isn’t second or third in our life, He has got to be first.

Communion