True Christianity, Part 2

Let's pray together, Lord you are so great to us and we thank you that your saving grace has been bestowed upon your children. We thank you Father that as we gather together today we come to worship you and to honor your great and glorious name and we pray that the things that we learn today would teach us who you are, what you do, and how it is we follow you as children of the living God. We pray in Jesus precious name, Amen. Turn with me in your Bible if you would to Luke chapter 6 as we continue our study in the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest preacher who ever lived.

As we celebrate this day, the Lord's day, and we honor those who are our mothers, I can't think of a better sermon to preach than to preach about how your mother can be ultimately blessed by God. It's a sermon about blessing, it's a sermon about cursing, it's a sermon about how God wants to bless the life of people and it comes his way. It's a sermon about true Christianity. I can't think of a better sermon for your mother than to have her examine her life and see whether or not she truly knows the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior, as her King, and as her Lord.

And so as we look at Luke chapter 6 we're looking at a sermon preached by God and you got to remember that people pretty much marveled at the life of Christ.

I mean after all, all the things that he did were way beyond anything we can ever imagine. I mean can you imagine just seeing people raised from the dead, people being healed instantaneously, people seeing great things happen right before their eyes. So for the most part people were fascinated at the ministry of the Messiah. They were taken back by the marvelous acts of kindness and goodness he bestowed upon people. But you know all the things that Jesus did, none of that would save a person's life.

None of that saved their lives. The living of the life of God never saved anybody. It was the giving of his life away that saved the soul of man. And that came as he began to preach the truth of the gospel. That's why Jesus was a preacher. Salvation comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So the Messiah could perform miracle after miracle after miracle but that would never save a soul. He could feed thousands and thousands of people but that would never save a soul. He could recover the sight of the blind, that would never save their soul.

So he came to preach. He came to tell the truth. He came to help people understand the gospel. And when he came, he came to preach the same thing John the Baptist preached, the same thing the Old Testament prophets preached. They came to preach about sin and man's need to repent of his sin and get right before the living God. That's what he came to do. And as he began to preach the message, the message of truth, people became greatly offended by what he said. In fact they started to hate all that he said because he confronted their sinful beliefs.

He confronted those things that they believed were true. Sinners, sinners are judged by a divine standard. And God gives us that divine standard in his word. And he came to show the people, specifically the people of Israel, how they did not meet the divine standard. And that irritated them. Because you see in the mind of a Jew, they were right before God. They didn't need to repent of their sin because they had a system that was able to purchase their salvation. They had a system of ritual, they had a system of ceremony, they had a system of good deeds that would allow them to gain acceptance with their God and allow them entrance into the kingdom of God.

So Jesus came and preached and said no, that's just not the way it is. It doesn't happen that way. In fact, it's just the opposite. And they became furious with him. Because he destroyed their illusion that somehow their religion, their superficial morality would gain them entrance to God. And Jesus said, no, you're a sinner. You are far from God and you need to repent of your sin. You need to realize that you have nothing to offer God and that you are completely dependent upon him for everything.

And that there's nothing in you that's any good that will ever gain you any kind of status with God. And they just couldn't believe that. In fact, the message that Jesus preached is the same message we preach. He didn't preach about the cross and the resurrection because that hadn't happened yet, right? He hasn't died yet and he hasn't been raised from the dead yet. But the message he preached was a message that directly hit at the core of man's sinfulness. And when you are into a religious system, when you buy into religiosity, you hate that message.

You can't stand that message because it's a message about grace. It's a message about forgiveness. It's a message about dependency. It's a message that you can offer nothing to God that will satisfy him on your behalf. Nothing. And sinful man has problems with that. Religious man has a problem with that. Especially those who have the mindset that they're going to go to heaven because they have done enough good things, enough right things. So Jesus comes and preaches a sermon. He preaches a sermon that is a sermon that summarizes what it means to be a child of the living God.

It's a sermon that begins with blessing and cursing. Because Jesus wants the people to know who the blessed ones are and who the cursed ones are. And so we began last week by looking at the context of the sermon because it applies to all of us. Here was Jesus. He had just appointed the twelve to be his followers. He comes down from a mountaintop with them and meets up with his other disciples. And among the other disciples, not the twelve, among the other disciples were a group of people. Some were committed followers.

Some were on the fringe. Some were fascinated with who he was. But they looked at Jesus as their rabbi. They looked at Jesus as their master teacher. And they wanted to hear from him. They wanted to learn from him. But it doesn't mean they were truly committed, all of them, as believers. Some of them were. Some of them weren't. But he came to those disciples and the text says in verse twenty that he fixed his gaze upon them. Because you see, Jesus knows the condition of your heart. He knows where you stand.

And he wants you to know that he knows where you stand. And so he fixes his gaze upon them and he begins to say to his disciples, not just the twelve, the twelve were included, but the huge multitude of people that are there, thousands upon thousands of people that are there on that plain there in Israel. He begins to speak to them concerning things about the kingdom of God. Things that deal with their spiritual existence. Because the text says earlier in the context that he had healed all who came to him.

And that's a lot of the fascination with Jesus because he could turn a life around just like that, a life that was physically ill, it would be instantaneously better. And so he would heal all these people who were blind and who were filled with leprosy and Matthew's account said some were epileptics and some were demon possessed and he healed them all. And so the fascination with Jesus went way beyond anything we could ever imagine. And he knows that his healing of them physically is not going to satisfy their soul's hunger.

He knows that physically they can get better, but spiritually they need to be right with God. And so he preaches a message. A message that Matthew records, a message that Luke records, and while they might emphasize different aspects of that sermon, it hits on the core issues of man's spiritual existence and where man stands with God. So it becomes a sermon for all of us to look at our lives and ask ourselves, are we a true follower of Christ?

Are we a true Christian? Do we truly love the Lord God with all of our heart, soul, and mind? Am I committed to following him? So Christ begins with blessing. Let me read to you the sermon as it begins in the first six verses of Luke chapter six, verse number 20.

It says, and turning his gaze on his disciples, he began to say, blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you and ostracize you and cast insults at you and spurn your name as evil for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their prophets used to treat, or their fathers used to treat the prophets.

But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. And woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets. Christ begins with blessing. He says you are among the blessed or you are among the cursed. The cursed are the ones who will not see God. The blessed are the ones who will see him. So he begins at the outside, almost as if he takes a knife and cuts to the depth of their souls.

He begins just with a pointed message. If you're poor, if you're hungry, if you weep and you're rejected, you're blessed. But if you're rich, if you're satisfied, if you're happy, if you are those who are well liked, you're cursed. Woe to you. Your soul is damned. That's how he begins his sermon. That sermon would not fly in most churches today. That sermon is not preached in most churches today because people don't like that sermon. But Jesus preached the truth. He wanted people to know the truth of their spiritual condition.

So he addresses it. And we talked to you last week about what it means to be poor. It's not about being physically poor or materially poor, economically poor. It's about being spiritually poor, right? Remember Matthew chapter 5? Matthew's account says, blessed are those who are poor in spirit. Those who are spiritually bankrupt. Those who realize that they have nothing to offer God. You see, he's talking to people who believe they have everything to offer God. I mean, after all, they're children of Abraham, right?

They are the chosen people. They have all kinds of things to offer God. God says, you are the ones that I love.

And so, if God loves us, we are the chosen people, we must be going to heaven. And Christ says, on the contrary, unless you're poor in spirit, you'll never see the kingdom of God.

Unless you're spiritually bankrupt, you have nothing to offer God. Unless you see yourself as absolutely poor before him, begging poor. That is, there's nothing you do, no good deeds you do, no rituals you do, no ceremonies you do. Nothing that you have in and of yourself will ever gain you acceptance of God. Unless you see yourself that way, you will never be blessed. Never. Only the poor in spirit are blessed. Same message you preach in Nazareth. Remember that? Isaiah 61. He read that text in Luke chapter 4.

The spirit of God is upon me. I've come to preach the gospel to who? The poor. That's who I've come to preach the gospel to, because those are the ones who realize they have a great need. That they have nothing to offer God. That's why the Bible says, in Isaiah 66, verse number 2, To this man will I look, to him who is broken and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word.

That's the one God looks to. Listen to what Isaiah 57 says. Isaiah chapter 57, verse number 15, says these words, For thus says the high and exalted one who lives forever, whose name is holy. I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit, in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. Who does God dwell with? He dwells with the lowly. He dwells with the poor. He dwells with the broken. He dwells with those who live in contrition.

Because they realize they have nothing to offer God. And the Lord says, the poor in spirit are the ones who have the kingdom of God. You see, the Jews believed that when Messiah came, he would come and accept them the way they were. He'd restore their kingdom. He'd sit on his throne. He'd rule. And everybody would be subject to them. That's how they perceived Messiah. So Jesus comes. He claims to be the Messiah. He performs all the miracles that prove his messianic credentials according to the Old Testament.

So everything about him points to the fact that he is Messiah. But instead of restoring the kingdom back to Israel, he begins to rebuke Israel for their sinful lifestyle. And they just weren't too excited about that. You know, if you come to church thinking you're pretty good, and the sermon preaches on sin, and they hit you, you don't feel so good all the time. That's what Jesus did all the time. That's how he preached. And he began to attack the fact that man, in his perceived goodness, in his perceived righteousness, was truly unrighteous and no good whatsoever.

And they didn't like that. That's why they wanted to kill him in Nazareth. And that's why they will ultimately kill him. They never killed him because of his miracles. They loved him because of his miracles. In fact, in John 6, when he fed the 5,000, they wanted to take him by force and make him their king. But when he opened his mouth and began to preach, they hated him because he spoke the truth. And sinful man, desirous of living a sinful way, hates the truth. Does not want his sin exposed. And Jesus filleted them.

He cut them open and exposed everything evil about them. And they hated him because of it. Couldn't stand him. Ultimately, they would kill him. And so he says, the poor are the ones who are blessed. The hungry. Not physical hungry. Not the physical hungry, but those who are spiritually hungry. They realize because they have nothing to offer God, they are so desperate to be fed by God that they recognize that they are the hunger, those who hunger for righteousness, those who thirst for righteousness.

That's what Matthew says in Matthew 5. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Luke just says, blessed are those who are hungry. For they shall be filled up. They shall be satisfied. See, Jesus knows that the physical healing is not going to satisfy the soul. Although he heals them all physically, he knows that their soul is unsatisfied. So he says, you've got to be hungry in your soul. You've got to be concerned about the emptiness that's there. You've got to be hungry for forgiveness.

You've got to be hungry for fellowship with God. You've got to be hungry for the Word of God. You've got to be hungry for eternal life. Because you hunger and thirst for that which you do not have and cannot obtain on your own. And that's the blessed person. For that's the one who ultimately will be satisfied. Over in Psalm 34. Psalm 34, verse number 10. It records these words. Psalm 34, verse number 10. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger. But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.

That's the satisfaction that God gives to his people. Psalm 107. Psalm 107, verse number 9, says this. For he has satisfied the thirsty soul and the hungry soul he has filled with what is good. That's what God does. You can read Isaiah chapter 25 and Isaiah chapter 49 and it pictures for us the messianic feast. And when Christ gives parables, he talks a lot about the feast and sitting down at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob because the messianic feast is an analogy. It's a picture of complete satisfaction.

It's a picture of those who are hungry and now are completely satisfied. And Christ would refer to that messianic feast in Luke chapter 13, Luke chapter 12 and on throughout the parables that he would give because it was a satisfaction that he would bring to his people. And so here in this sermon he says, if you're poor in spirit, if you're bankrupt in spirit, if you realize you have nothing to offer God, then you come to a point of deep hunger, deep thirst, wanting what God can give to you and you desire it more than anything else.

And if you do, you'll be satisfied. Why? Because in the kingdom of God all are satisfied. All are. And then he says, if you're spiritually bankrupt and you're hungry, you realize you have nothing, what do you do? You weep and you mourn and you cry. He says, blessed are those who weep. Blessed are those who weep, for they ultimately will laugh. Matthew's account says, blessed are those who mourn, for they shall receive comfort. Those who cry are those who are comforted. Why do they weep? They weep over their lost condition.

They weep over the fact that they have nothing to offer God. They cry out for mercy. They cry out for forgiveness. James says it this way, James chapter 4, verse number 7. I'm sorry, verse number 9. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and he will exalt you. Paul says it this way in 2 Corinthians 7, verse number 10. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation.

But the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold, what earnestness this thing, this godly sorrow has produced in you, what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong and everything you demonstrate yourselves to be innocent in the matter. The point being is that godly sorrow, the kind of sorrow that produces repentance, a godly sorrow, not sorrowful because you were caught in your sin, but sorry that you even began to offend the living God.

Your sin was against God and you have sinned against Him and you realize that and you realize that you are not pleasing to God and there's nothing you can give to Him and you begin to weep and to mourn and to cry, Oh God, be merciful unto me, a sinner. That's the one who will receive comfort. That's the one who ultimately will laugh because they are free from the burden of sin and the guilt that sin gives. That's why mourners are happy and comforted because they're freed from their sin and the bondage and slavery that Satan has held them in for all their lives.

That's why they laugh. That's why there's joy. You see, joy is the dominant aspect of the Christian. How do you know someone's saved? They experience great joy. That's why Romans 14 and 17 says that the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but what is it? Righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit. They experience peace, they experience joy because of the righteousness that God has imputed to them that they might have a standing before God that's pure and right and holy in the eyes of God.

That's what Christ says. Christ says, I want you to truly be blessed. Makarioi, it's a word of deep inner contentment. I don't want you to have a superficial happiness. Granted, if you're sick and you're better, you feel better, you're happy about feeling better. But the next time you're sick, you're not happy anymore because you're sick again. And so Christ says, listen, I want you to have inner joy.

I want you to have inner contentment. I want you to have the joy that goes beyond anything you could ever imagine. I want you to receive true blessing. I'm glad that you're here. I'm glad that you've been healed. I'm glad that you feel better. I want you to be better. And the only way you can be better is if you're poor in spirit, if you hunger and thirst for righteousness, and you weep over the fact that you are a sinner separated from God, and there's nothing you can do to save your soul. Now you'll be blessed.

So you come and you ask yourself, okay, is that me? How do I know that I'm poor in spirit? How do I know that I'm hungering and thirsting for righteousness? And how do I know that I am one who weeps over my sin and I've repented truly of my sin, that there's a godly sorrow that leads to salvation that has no regret in it? How do I know that that is me? Two ways. One, you can get the tape series we did on living like a child of the king when I went into great detail in Matthew 5 to discuss all these and show you the characteristics of those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn and weep over their sin, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

That's one way. Two, is just read on in the text. It says this. Blessed are you women, hate you and ostracize you, and cast insults at you, and spurn your name as evil for the sake of the Son of Man. You see, the first three are how you view yourself.

The fourth one is how the world views you. And why do they view you that way? Because your life has been changed. That's why. Your life has been drastically altered by the Spirit of God. See, one thing that we forget is that when God saves a man, He transforms a man. When God saves a man, He alters his lifestyle. He alters his language. He alters his love. He alters everything about him. When God saves a man, He transforms a man. Everything about the man is different. So those who are poor in spirit, who realize they have nothing to offer God, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they know that they shall be satisfied, those who weep over their sin, are the kind of people whose lives are radically transformed, because they are born again by the Spirit of God, and there's nothing that can compare to that life.

And the world sees that, and the world casts insults at you. They exclude you. They reject you. They spurn your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. That's how you know you're saved. That's how you know you're a follower of Christ. So let's examine that together. Because I think there's some things here we need to understand. Because Jesus always preached this. He always told His disciples about this. He wanted them to understand this. He wanted them to realize that people will spurn your name.

What name is that? Bill, Bob, Joe, Betty, Sue? They're going to spurn. No, it's the name Christian. Follower of Christ. They will do that because of me. Because of the Son of Man. They will do that because of what I have done in your life. They will do that because how I have worked in your life. They will do that because really they hate me, and the only way they can get at me is to despise you, so they will despise you. They don't want you. They're going to deal with you, because they hate me. They'll spurn your name because of me.

It's my message that you're giving. It's my gospel that you're giving. It's my salvation that you're offering. And because it's mine, they will spurn you, because they can't get to me. That's what they will do. And Christ says, they will hate you, because you echo and exemplify my way and my words.

That's why. You exemplify and echo my way and my words, and because you do, they will spurn your name. Now this is important. Why? Because Jesus said this all the time. We forget this. We don't understand this in this day and age. Let me read to you what Jesus said over in Matthew chapter 10, verse number 16.

Remember, in Matthew 10, he sends out the apostles. He sends them out to cast out demons. He sends them out to preach the gospel. He sends them out to do great and mighty works. I mean, think about it. You have been commissioned by God, and you're going to go around casting out demons. You're going to go out healing all kinds of sickness and diseases, and you're going to preach the gospel. That's a powerful person, right? And you think that, well, if I'm going to go out there and do all that, people are just going to say, wow, you are amazing.

In fact, on the contrary, Jesus says this, verse 16. Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues. What? Wait a minute. I can cast out demons. I've got power to heal people's sicknesses. And I'm going to preach the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ, my Lord. And they're going to scourge me? They're going to throw me out of their synagogue?

Really? Read on. It says, And you shall even be brought before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you will speak. For it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak. For it is not you who speak, but it is the spirit of your Father who speaks in you. And brother will be delivered up by brother to death. And the father is child, and the children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

And you will be hated by all on account of my name. But it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next. For truly I say to you, you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. Verse 24. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and the slave as his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household.

Christ says, listen, they're going to treat you the same way they're going to treat me. They're going to scourge you. They're going to hate you because of my name. Wow. Now, we read that and we think, come on. Who's being scourged today? Who's being beaten today because of the name of Christ? Well, David Barrett, the editor of the World Christian Encyclopedia says that 300,000 Christians are martyred every year. That's over 830 per day. We in America don't necessarily face that, do we? But that's the truth.

In fact, Barrett concludes that the worldwide chance of being martyred as a Christian is one in 200. If you're a missionary, it's one in 50. If you are a native evangelist, it's one in 20. I don't know if any of you read the email we received from Lipok from India, one of the disciples of Bruce McLean when he was there for the years that he was there before he moved on to where he is today. Lipok sent this email to us last week. He says just a half an hour back two of our church planters returned back rejoicing after being beaten for showing the Jesus film to some Hindu leaders.

They rejoiced because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name above all names, Acts 5.41. Our church planters' names are Mr. Himal Lama and Hemang Temang who love the Lord. Himal was beaten in the mouth. The Jesus film had been protected and they are now back home. This incident happened in the Margarita area in Assam. Please pray for our church planters, he says. Our front liners as the Spirit of the Lord is sweeping through this region with our church planters having already penetrated 100 villages since January of 2008.

But there's a lot of spiritual warfare. We need prayer for warriors, for these warriors. Today one of our church planters came to our house saying that he had been expelled from his church because he went to another people group to preach Christ. Imagine if this can happen from within Christ's body, what will it be with the people from other faith? This morning's headlines in the local newspaper was to stop Christianity in the world's biggest river island Mahuli. We planted a church in May 2004 when one of our believers was killed because of his faith.

The Hindu extremists said they will go to the extremes to stop missionaries in Mahuli. And that was just last week. See we're so far removed from that we don't understand it. We don't get it. We don't get it. Jesus said these words in John chapter 9. Remember I'm sorry John chapter 15. Remember in John 9 about the young man who was the man born blind and Christ healed him and he received his sight and the religious leaders couldn't believe how this guy who was born blind could now see. And they went to his parents remember and asked his parents how is it that your son now can see?

And they said ask him ask him they said why? His parents said this because they were afraid John 9 22 of the Jews for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess him to be the Christ he should be put out of the synagogue for this reason his parents said he is of age ask him ask him Jesus said in John 15 verse number 18 if the world hates you you know that it has hated me before it hated you if you were of the world the world would love its own but because you are not of the world but I chose you out of the world therefore the world hates you.

Remember this word that I said to you a slave is not greater than his master if they persecuted me they will also persecute you if they kept my word they will keep yours also but all these things they will do to you for my namesake because they do not know the one who sent me. Then chapter 16 verse number 1 these things I have spoken to you that you may be kept from stumbling they will make you outcast from the synagogue but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God and these things they will do because they have not known the father or me.

See Christ wanted his men to know that you are going to suffer persecution you say well well I am not suffering any kind of persecution well listen if you don't speak the truth you are not going to suffer any kind of persecution if you compromise the truth you are going to get along ok with the world ok if you don't say a word against sin people are not going to speak against you but remember the words of Jesus Christ if you are ashamed of me and my words in this generation I will be ashamed of you before my father in heaven is that what Jesus said sure that is what he said you see I can escape persecution if I just don't speak a word for God when the opportunity arises I can escape persecution if I don't speak against the religiosity of our day I can escape persecution if I have a gospel that everybody likes when I preach see but if I speak the truth I am committed to the truth and I live the truth yes you will that kind of gives you a little barometer as to where you are in today's society right that is why Christ goes on to say beware of all men speak well of you is everybody speaking well of you not a good thing that's a bad thing people are saying wow he is a nice guy bad words never want to be known as a nice guy because that means you are not standing strong on anything because if you stand strong you are going to offend those who love sin you will, Jesus did he spoke the truth and so Jesus says these words, listen very carefully, he says blessed are you when men hate you then he says in verse 23 be glad in that day, now what day is that it's the day when they hate you, listen listen to what I am going to say they are hating you they are persecuting you they are ridicule of you it's not every day it's occasional don't think that you are going to wake up and every day this is how you are going to be treated no, it's in that day what day, the day you speak a word for Christ, when that happens on that day, it doesn't mean it's going to happen every single day but it will happen, why, because as Christians aren't we supposed to have a great testimony with those on the outside world sure we are doesn't it say in Acts 2 47 about how those in Jerusalem loved the early church they spoke well of them, Acts chapter 5, the people in Jerusalem held the Jerusalem church in high esteem wow that was after Ananias and Sapphira were killed in church because of their sin and the world was afraid to join the church for fear that their sin would be exposed as well but they held them in high esteem because they saw a group of people committed to the truth and willing to hold to that truth no matter what the cost so they held them in high esteem you can read Peter, 1 Peter 2 verses 11 and 12, it talks about how we are to be aliens and strangers in this land because there is that war going on in our soul that we are to live a godly life so that those on the outside our behavior among the Gentiles will be right before them so that they may see God and glorify God on the day of His visitation so there is that testimony that we as Christians have to the outside world is commended because they see in our lives a great desire to honor God, a great desire not to compromise, a great desire to live a life that's pure and true and holy, they esteem that, they admire that, but as soon as you open your mouth and speak against their religious system against their sin, against their lifestyle, on that day they're not going to like that because the gospel is repulsive to the unbeliever they hate the gospel and the people who hate it the most are the religious people not the irreligious ones, but the religious ones, the ones who think they're pretty good the ones who think they have a system that gains acceptance with God it's those kinds of people that really begin to despise your message because they say you're insensitive you're intolerant you're unkind because you focus on our sin focus on that thing we all have in common what is that?

sin that's one thing we all have in common, right? we all sin but there's a remedy for that sin that's a savior and that remedy doesn't come because you've done something, because of your good deeds, or because of your kind acts or because of your so called good attitude that doesn't save you, that is a remedy your sinful condition, only God can do that only God can so Christ says be glad in that day how glad?

leap for joy this is biblical Christian dancing you dance for joy when? when men cast insults at you when men persecute you when men ridicule you you leap for joy, you get excited for behold your reward is great in heaven for in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets listen why do you dance for joy? because of your anticipation and because of your association you dance for joy because great is your reward in heaven you dance for joy because you know that God is well pleased with your stand on the truth, God is well pleased that you would not compromise the gospel God is well pleased that you would stand strong for the sake of Christ, the one you say you love and your reward is great in heaven, so there is this anticipation that you know that one day when you get to heaven, the reward will be great, but there is also an association because that is the same way they treated the prophets who were before you they treated them the exact same way they ridiculed them, they vilified them, they hated them because they spoke the truth and so did you and you need to start dancing because of your association and because of your anticipation of your reward in heaven isn't that what Jesus said about Jerusalem in Matthew chapter 23 how did he characterize Jerusalem, verse number 37 oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her that's how Jerusalem is characterized it's characterized by those who stone the prophets and kill those prophets that were sent to her and Jesus says ah can it all joy leap for joy because great is your reward in heaven and so they did to the prophets who came before you they hated them as well that's the blessing that's the blessed life here's the cursed life says this but woe to you who are rich for you are receiving your comfort in full rich does that mean if I have money I'm cursed no, it's not talking about economic riches, it's not talking about materialism it's not talking about having lots of money in the bank I mean Job was a wealthy guy, right he was the most righteous man on the earth and he had everything, he had all kinds of of cattle and money and all kinds he had it all, he was a righteous man Abraham was a rich man, right so it's not economics that the Lord's talking about, he's talking about spiritual aspect of life blessed are those who are poor but cursed are those who are rich cursed are those who think that they can buy their righteousness cursed are those who think that they can buy their way to heaven cursed are those who think that they have enough in and of themselves to make God happy cursed are them because you know what what they have now is all they're ever going to have that's their comfort not getting anything else what they have in life right now is all they're ever going to receive because in hell there is no comfort there's weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth there is absolutely no comfort in hell and then he says these words woe to you who are well fed now for you shall be hungry, it's a cursing of satisfaction cursed are you who are rich that is those of you who think you can buy your way to heaven, those who think you have enough in and of yourself to appease God and to please God, you're a cursed man all that you have now is all you're ever going to have and cursed are you who are satisfied, you are satisfied with yourself, you are satisfied with self's condition, you are satisfied with self-righteousness, you're satisfied with your spiritual phoniness, you're satisfied with all those things because you'll be hungry forever you'll be hungry forever, you'll be unsatisfied forever, in eternity you will be there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth a phrase used four times in the gospel of Matthew gnashing of teeth weeping and wailing you'll be unsatisfied forever and then he says these words verse number 25 woe to you who laugh now for you shall mourn and weep those of you who are happy happy with your perceived morality those of you who are happy because of your religious achievements, you ever met people like that they're pretty happy that they can give some time to God or give some money to God or just do some things for God they're happy with those things and Christ says cursed are you who are happy now why?

for you shall end up mourning and weeping forever then he says woe to you when all men speak well of you, that's a great verse, that should be your life verse woe to, cursed are you if all men speak well of you for in the same way their fathers used to treat the, who? false prophets woe to you, cursed are you if you have designed a religion that everybody likes cursed are you when you preach a religion and nobody is offended people should be offended when you preach the gospel if they are unwilling to submit to the truth of the scriptures greatly offended because you confront them in their error so Jesus says cursed are you if all men speak well of you cursed are you if all men like you because you have designed a system that everybody likes that everybody can live with and everybody is satisfied with because that's exactly what false prophets did Jesus said this way in Jeremiah 5 verse number 30 an appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land the prophets prophesy falsely the priests rule on their own authority and my people love it so but what will you do at the end of it all God says the priests do what they want to do on their own authority the prophets prophesy falsely and everybody in the land loves it they love it they accept it it's an acceptable message it offends nobody everybody likes it everybody leaves church happy and the Lord says woe to you you are cursed if all men speak well of you because that's exactly what they did with the false prophets of Israel I read this sermon and we're not even done with it yet but I wonder how people felt when they heard what Jesus had to say now we know that at the end of the sermon there's no record of any conversions nobody gave their life to Jesus in Luke chapter 6 and nobody did in Matthew chapter 7 oh they were astonished at the words that he said because never had a man spoke with such authority no one had spoken like Jesus had ever spoke and so they were marveling at his words but there's no record of anybody ever getting saved no record of anybody ever repenting of their sin nobody ever falling down and said oh God be merciful unto me a sinner because for the most part they just didn't like the sermon they heard and then they hated the man who preached it because it was against everything they thought was right and Jesus said no it's all wrong everything you thought was right that would get you to heaven it's wrong can you imagine growing up in a Catholic church and coming to hear this sermon today and realize that everything you have ever done does you no good before God I've preached to many Catholics before and they just hate that I've spoken to Mormons who have yelled and screamed at me leaving my doorstep mad saying that I'm intolerant, unkind insensitive, how can I ever call myself a Christian and all I did was say I'm sorry you're not going to go to heaven, you're going to go to hell because you do not believe that Jesus is the only God of the universe you believe in polytheism you believe in a works based religion you're wrong, it goes against scripture you're wrong they get so angry because they have a system of religion that's been ingrained in their lives and all of a sudden you say you know what, everything you believe is wrong it's all wrong you're going to hell, that's what Jesus said you guys are all wrong, this is not the way it is it's never the way it is, it's never been that way it's always been this way, that's why Jesus said you have heard that it was said by the prophets of old, that's in Matthew's count, Matthew's 5, 6 and 7 you have heard that it was said this way, but you know what this is the way it really is you have heard that it was said this way by the prophets of old, but this is the way it really is because they were all wrong so Jesus said unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and pharisees you're going to hell people say how can that be, they're so religious they're so pure they're so right, they're so holy, they're our religious leaders, how can our righteousness ever exceed theirs, it's because their righteousness was won from human achievement the righteousness that God gives is the righteousness of divine accomplishment it's given by the divine God himself, see it's interesting to note in Luke's account in Luke chapter 7 the very next chapter Luke gives us an illustration of one who exemplifies every quality in Luke 6 he's not a Jew he's a Roman centurion because he understood spiritual bankruptcy he understood he had nothing to offer God, he understood that he was empty and he would hunger and thirst for righteousness and because he did not have it he would weep over his sin and God saved him God saved him he was the blessed man and I wonder today if you're among the blessed if you're among those who yes Lord I understand that there's nothing in and of myself that will ever make you appreciate me or like me any better or get me into heaven you're among those who say Lord I have nothing to offer you, I am a sinner I am separated from you and I am bound for eternal hell, I need you to save my soul Lord, I can't do it but you can because the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which is lost and you know what God does when God saves a soul he completely transforms a soul he turns your whole life around and everything about your life changes and you know what the world's not going to like that and so when they speak against you and they ridicule you and they ostracize you they spurn your name because the Son of Man that's the day you get excited because great is your reward in heaven and that's exactly what they did to every true prophet of God and for that you can be thankful let's pray our most gracious heavenly father we thank you for the truth of the word of God and we thank you Lord that as we read this sermon, a sermon that was heard by thousands in Galilee we can imagine, only imagine what must have been going through their mind for the most part they were just words that were spoken they were so excited they've been healed physically that they weren't even thinking about their soul's condition that's the way a lot of people are today everything's okay financially, everything's okay physically, I'm not too concerned about my soul's condition yet Lord that's the only part of man that's important his soul and where he'll spend eternity if there be one among us today who does not know you as Lord and Savior may today be the day of their salvation may they turn from their sin repent of their sin and give their life to Christ we pray in Jesus holy name Amen