Don't Assume They Have a Seat at the Table

Service Notes

Aiden will be baptized

Quick review of camp

Dipboyes are headed to Mexico on Wednesday

Split Session tonight - time of prayer for them.

Bible Reading Introduction

Getting to the end of the time that Jesus is warning the children of Israel. He is about to turn His attention to His disciples.

In a section that continues to teach and call for repentance.

In Luke we see many “reversals”

Review

What the Jews expected to come all at once will grow gradually into greatness.

Kingdom is synonymous with salvation; bringing people under His rule.

We do not know who asked the following question but we learn so much from Jesus’s answer.

Luke 13:22–30 (KJV 1900)

22 And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,

24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

Luke 13:31–35 (KJV 1900)

31 The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.

32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

35 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Prayer

We need the clarity to know people must know the message of Christ to come to a saving faith

We must have the courage to stay on mission in a world that wants us to run

We need the compassion that Jesus has upon those who reject Him

Sermon Introduction

Enjoyed the study Stephen gave on Thursday night. Missionaries need a Luther Rice type advocate in their ministries.

John Tayler of KY called Luther Rice a “modern day Tetzel”

Tetzel was one of the greatest or worst fundraisers the world has ever known.

Sold indulgences to help raise money for St Peter’s Basilica

Indulgences: documents that announced that the bearers sins had been forgiven by the holy father in Rome.

October 31st (All Saints Day) was going to bring many people to religious sites this is what motivated Luther to post his 95 statements on the bulletin board that day

Starts like this “Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to life, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, master of arts and of sacred theology, and lecturer in ordinary on the same at that place. Whereof he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us may do so by letter. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.” And then here are the first few of those theses:

Articles starts off with statements about repentance. Summary “The pope cannot remit any guilt except by declaring that it has been forgiven by God”

In every generation there are Tetzel like figures who try to tell the world they know of an alternate way to God and will gladly sell you a ticket to enter.

Salvation is a matter of having a relationship with Jesus Christ

Luke 13:24-25 “24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:”

Will only a few be saved

Luke 13:23 “23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,”

Perhaps he senses that Jesus’ rebukes of Israel means that salvation will not be as automatic or as based on genealogy as some had thought.

“A lot of you are going to assume that you’ll sit down to God’s salvation banquet just because you’ve been hanging around the neighborhood all your lives.”

Right way to enter

Luke 13:24 “24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”

“make every effort”

This implies that there is a specific route by which to enter; that is why Jesus mentions a narrow door and sets forth what it is.

The central issue is knowing Jesus, not just having casual contact with him.

John’s Gospel calls him John 10:7 “7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.”

You live on the frontline.

The belief that Jesus is the only way of salvation is increasingly called arrogant and even hateful. In the face of this criticism, many shrink back from affirming the global necessity of knowing and believing in Jesus. church family I urge you to hold your ground. It would be unloving not to.

If we were a restaurant the “customer is always right.” However, as a church that is not the case. This generation is trying to define love as whatever the other person feels is loving.

Jesus is always concerned with the person in front of Him

Luke 13:23-24 “23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”

The question, “Will the saved be few?” has become, “Will the saved be you?”

To know the truth and not share it is unloving. Romans 13:10 “10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Those who try to prevent the sharing of the Gospel are acting in a way that is contrary to love. 1 Thess 2:14-16 “14 For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: 15 Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: 16 Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.”

Jesus is the only way

Knowing Jesus is the condition of truly knowing the Father, that is God, the creator of the world.

John 8:19 “19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.”

He makes himself, the honoring of himself, the test of honoring the Father

John 5:23 “23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”

Those who have learned from the Father, go to Jesus

John 6:45 “45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.”

What have we been taught of God?

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners 1 Tim. 1:15

There is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus 1 Tim. 2:5

There is no other name but Jesus by which we must be saved Acts 4:12

Jesus is the way, and no one comes to the Father but through him John 14:6

All who call upon the name of Jesus will be saved, but they cannot call on the One they have not heard, and they cannot hear without a preacher Rom. 10:13–14

Wrong questions results in wrong answers

What does it take to live a good moral life?

Just about any religion should suffice.

That is the wrong question.

Father-in-law at VBS with the mirror that had the 10 Commandments. What do you see? Yourself.

How do we become reconciled to God being that we are alienated from God in Adam.

Romans 5:12 “12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

“There isn’t another answer out there because there isn’t another problem out there.”

Explains why “in Christ” is the most common expressions for those who have a saving faith

Is there any other way?

Will an alter to an unknown God will not suffice

Acts 17:30-31 “30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”

No value in ignorant worship

In other words, Paul does not reveal to the worshipers in Athens that they are already prepared to meet their Judge because they render a kind of worship through their altar to the unknown god. Acts 17:23 “23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.”

Few or none of you would stand up and tell us to leave the other countries alone. They are good people who are worshipping differently but it is okay as long as they are sincere. But we will overlook the fact that many of our friends and family aren’t worshipping Jesus but at an altar made of many things that are moral and American.

What are we to do with our neighbor Cornelius?

Cornelius is often mentioned as a proof that people can be saved by Jesus without knowing Him.

It is the difference from being saved “in Christ” and “of Christ.” Many teach that Jesus death saves people even if they never hear of it. Their case example is Cornelius.

Acts 10:34-35 “34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”

So was Cornelius already saved before hearing and responding to the message of Jesus?

The “telling of the the words” brought salvation to Cornelius. Acts 11:14 “14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.” The message is essential!

Peter makes a point to say knowledge of Jesus is essential. Acts 10:43 “43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” Knowing the name of Jesus is essential!

There were many jewish men who were devout like Cornelius. This is how Jesus ends his message to them. Acts 2:38 “38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

When people hear the Cornelius story that hear it as a testimony of a gentile coming to salvation. Acts 11:18 “18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”

Man cannot know God by their own wisdom

1 Cor 1:21 “21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

If you think you will just let your kids decide for themselves then you are being unloving.

Deciding for themselves is the only option.

The question is will you be loving enough to give them God’s wisdom from His Word because the world certainly isn’t going to come to the right understanding on their own.

There is a definite message that must be shared

Romans 10:14-15 “14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

They answer is “no”. Romans 10:17 “17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

This rules out the argument that one might somehow meet Christ or hear Christ without a messenger to tell the gospel.

After they reject the message, Jesus laments

Unable to respond they try to get rid of Jesus

Luke 13:31 “31 The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.”

Jesus says I am not going no where until the mission is accomplished.

Jesus knew the Pharisee’s would get a message back to that fox. Indicates their motives. Luke 13:32-33 “32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox,

Jesus’ presentation of himself as a “prophet” underscores his function as the revealer of God’s will. Luke 13:32-33 “32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. 33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.”

After speaking the truth, staying on mission, now Jesus will lament their rejection of Him. This reminds us that this was not a debate but Jesus caring for the souls of men.

Jesus Lament

Luke 13:34 “34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!”

The emotion and pain of his declaration is noted from the start with the double address to the city, like David’s cry over Absalom 2 Samuel 18:33 “33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Judgment is not relished, but its reality must still be declared.

Sadness is increased by the fact they had so much exposure to the truth

Luke 13:34 “34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!”

Jerusalem had already been the place where prophets had been killed Acts 7:52

It is where early Christian witnesses, including Stephen and James, would be martyred Acts 7:59

Sadness in the complete lack of understanding by the people

Herod was also an example of one of those first who would be last. Luke 13:30 “30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.”

This picture of a hen and her brood tells us something about what Jesus wanted to do for these who rejected Him.

He wanted to make them safe.

He wanted to make them happy.

He wanted to make them part of a blessed community.

He wanted to promote their growth.

He wanted to them to know His love.

This could only happen if they came to Him when He called.

Conclusion

Ever told you kids the same things over and over because of how dire the consequences would be if they do not remember? That is where we are at today. It is vitally important to our families, the church, and our ministries that we never forget “there is no other way.”

Ye would not

Jesus said this about them at the end of v. 34 and ye would not!

Let us not say this about our loved ones until we have told them the message, stayed on mission even when they would want to ignore us, and are going to lament their decision.