All of us have one thing in common with the lawyer who questioned Jesus in Luke 10:25-37. We have a tendency to justify ourselves whenever we do wrong or fail to do what we know we should. For example, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company received the following list of explanations for car accidents:

1. “The pedestrian had no idea which way to go, so I ran over him.”
2. “The other car collided with mine without warning me of its intention.”
3. “I had been driving my car for 40 years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had the accident.”
4. “As I reached an intersection, a hedge sprang up, obscuring my vision.”
5. “I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.”
6. “The telephone pole was approaching fast. I attempted to swerve out of its path when it struck my front end.”
7. “The guy was all over the road. He had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.”
8. “The indirect cause of this accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.”
9. “An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car, and vanished.”

The man who approached Jesus was a lawyer-a student of the Mosaic Law, also called a scribe. He did not ask his question sincerely but intended to trap or test Christ. The religious scholars of the time loved to discuss the urgent social problems of the day without ever wanting to solve them. To this lawyer, love was merely a concept to study.

The lawyer was trying to justify himself by obeying the law. He trusted in his own deeds. Jesus pointed out that the lawyer needed a righteousness that was better than Jesus’  own. The law is designed to help us see our own flaws. When we see them, we’re prepared to welcome Christ’s righteousness which is better than our own.

This lawyer had sufficient knowledge of the Word of God to answer Jesus’ question, but he did not know how to apply its truth. The question, “Who is my neighbour?,” gave him away. He demonstrated that his head knowledge had never penetrated his heart.

The scribes and the Pharisees believed that one’s neighbours were only people who were righteous. According to them, the wicked-including sinners, Gentiles and Samaritans-were to be hated because they were God’s enemies. They cited Psalm 139:21-22, which states that hatred of evil is the natural consequence of loving righteousness. The problem is that the truly righteous person’s “hatred’ of sinners is not spiteful, personal hatred of individuals. It’s a righteous hatred of all that is evil. God’s hatred is represented by grief over the condition of the sinner. This is tempered by genuine love for the sinner. To put it another way, God loves the sinner but hates the sin. 

Jesus used the Parable of the Good Samaritan to show the man the proper view of our sinfulness and how short his efforts fell in meeting the law’s requirements. Jesus made the lawyer his own judge and forced him to admit that the Samaritan-someone from a race hated by the Jews-showed the kindness of a neighbour, while the priest and the Levite denied it to their own countryman.

The fact that the Jews and Samaritans didn’t deal with each other rendered the Samaritan’s act of compassion so striking. It was in stark contrast to the conduct of the priest and the Levite. The Samaritan saw the wounded man as a neighbour, someone who needed help. The Samaritan made sacrifices to show kindness to the stranger.

How often do we do something similar? How often do we stop to help someone in need, especially if that person is a stranger or an enemy? Stories of people helping strangers in need are often in the news. In fact, as I prepared this message I heard a news story about a man who was filling his truck with gas when another man jumped into the truck and tried to drive off. The owner and another man who was in the garage subdued the would-be robber and held him until the police arrived.

Who is our neighbour? Neighbours come in different forms. They come from different races, social backgrounds and even different countries. When God puts someone in our path, it’s important to show love to him or her and help meet their need. It doesn’t matter if the need is physical, mental or emotional.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan, perhaps more than any other parable that Jesus told, illustrates what it means to love others. A follower of Jesus cannot separate his or her relationship with God from relationships with other people. Jesus showed what we should do to those who need our help. He showed us who and what a neighbour is and He did it in a way that disarms our prejudices.

The Jews had so many priests in Jesus’ day that each “team” served in the temple for only two weeks out of the year. Perhaps the priest in Jesus’ story did not want to risk missing his term of service by helping an injured traveler. Also, if the man was dead and the priest touched the body, he would be ceremonially unclean for seven days, making him unfit for temple duty. Levites led religious worship and maintained the temple grounds. Both men showed that religious work does not make someone a true servant of God.

The usual trio of characters expected in such a story would have been a priest, a Levite and a Jew. But when Jesus substituted a Samaritan for a Jew, He forced the lawyer to change his thinking. The thought of a kind Samaritan would have been intolerable.

The priest, the Levite and the Samaritan all noticed the man, but the Samaritan was the only person who saw the man with eyes of compassion. The word compassion means “a deep moving within the inward spirit.” Matthew’s Gospel uses this term three times to describe Jesus’ loving and active relationship with people.

Compassion is not the same as “fixing” people. Genuine compassion is first being willing to feel the pain of other people. If we can’t prevent pain, we can lessen the load with compassion. One of the reasons we are forced to deal with difficult people is because the more pain we experience, the more compassionate we will be.

The injured man saw love in action. Love bandaged the man where he hurt and took him to a place of safety. Love cared for him and paid to do it. Love acted without needing to be repaid. Love will do more than seems reasonable and do it with joy.

When people understand the depth of God’s love, they can learn how to love even the least loveable, becoming Good Samaritans to those around them. Compassion does not originate in religion or responsibility, but in a relationship with God. While people may have different opinions on the subject of religion, and while they are zealous for what they hold to be the truth, they should still be kind to each other and help each other when necessary. Christian kindness is not to be hindered by worship.

We are to give from a heart of love because God gave, not because someone deserves it. The heart of love doesn’t look to do as little as possible, but rather it goes as far as it can to express God’s love.

When we realize that we are loved by God now and forever, we can be like the Good Samaritan and say, “Whatever is mine is God’s and whatever belongs to God belongs to my neighbour because my neighbour belongs to God.” The Good Samaritan does what is instinctive and natural because of who he is.

If we want to find ourselves living with total freedom, we would find ourselves loving God with all our heart and our neighbours as ourselves. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Society is full of examples of people who have the attitude of “me first” or “What’s in it for me?” They rarely (if ever) show compassion by helping someone who is in need.

As Christians, we can be the best neighbours around because our love for others flows out of the life of the ultimate neighbour-Jesus Christ-who loved and sacrificed His life for us. Compassion is not based on wealth, social status or political party lines. It’s based on a willingness to help with whatever we have.

When Jesus entered this world, His priority was to save us. When the world’s representatives challenged Him, when Satan tempted Him, Jesus held on to His Father’s priorities. Nothing was able to move Him from His desire to save us from our sins. The empty tomb of Resurrection Sunday is God’s sign and seal that Jesus was successful in His work of saving us.

Now He wants us to have proper priorities. He tells us, even as He told His original listeners, that we should “go and do likewise.” Jesus wants us to be a witness to the world. He wants us to show that we love others because He first loved us. He wants us, through our words and our actions, to bear witness to the forgiveness, grace and salvation we have received. He wants us to show the world that the Saviour has changed our priorities.

This story tells us about another way to live-as people who are living as inheritors of eternal life and not as people trying to earn their salvation. We are to live lives that model the Samaritan in this story-as people who have no reason to serve others save for the love they have for God. It is the kind of love that spills into the world as mercy, love, kindness and compassion for the less fortunate people in society. What keeps us from living and loving as the Samaritan did? What might give us new hope or energy to more closely follow the Samaritan’s example?

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp.1407-1408)
2. Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament. Part of Wordsearch 12 Bible software package.
3. Larsen, B. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 26: Luke (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1983; pp. 189-190)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Mary Southerland, “I Feel Your Pain.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
6. “To Capture Our Heart’s Devotion.” Retrieved from dailyreadings@ransomedheart.com
7. Kelly McFadden, “Love Your Neighbour.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
8. Pastor Ken Klaus, “Proper Priorities.” Retrieved from lh_min@lhm.org
9. Richard Innes, “I Know It but I Can’t Explain It.” Retrieved form www.actsweb.org
10. Marvin Williams, “A Good Neighbour.” Retrieved from noreply@rbc.org
11. Dr. David Jeremiah, “Compassion for Your Neighbour.” Retrieved from turningpoint@davidjeremiah.org
12. Vikki Burke, “Love in Action.” Retrieved from dbm@dennisburkeministries.org
13. The Rev. Janet Hunt, “The Samaritan: Where is God at Work in the World?” Retrieved from http://dancingwiththeword.com/the-samaritan-where-is-god-at-work-in-the-world/

An old farmer sat on the steps of his small shack chewing on a piece of straw. He was approached by a passing stranger who was looking for a cool drink of water. Wishing to start a conversation with the farmer, the stranger asked, “How is your cotton crop coming this year?”

“I ain’t got none”, replied the farmer.

“Didn’t you plant any?” asked the stranger.

“Nope,” said the farmer, “I was afraid the boll weevils would get it.”

“Well,” asked the stranger, “how is your corn?”

“Didn’t plant any corn either,” replied the man, “I was afraid there wasn’t going to be any rain.”

“If you didn’t plant any cotton or corn, what did you plant?’ asked the man.

“Nothing,” said the farmer. “I just played it safe!”

Well, I guess if you don’t plant anything, it makes the harvest a lot easier, doesn’t it?

In our Bible reading today, Jesus sent out people to bring in the harvest. The harvest Jesus was talking about was not cotton, fruit or vegetables. He was sending out workers to bring people into the kingdom of God. He said that there were many souls who were ready to be harvested, but there were not enough workers. One reason it was hard to find workers was that it was very difficult work. Jesus warned that the workers in his kingdom would often be treated very unkindly.

The sending of the seventy mimics the sending of the twelve apostles in Luke 9, including leaving no essentials behind. The seventy were to focus on the mission at hand-the proclamation that God’s kingdom has come near.

The seventy were sent out to preach immediately and chiefly where Jesus was about to come. They were to prepare the way for His coming. The apostles were to be with Him; to hear His instructions, and witness the sufferings, death, resurrection and ascension that they might proclaim these things to all the world.

The seventy were sent in twos so they could help, counsel, sustain and comfort one another. Every Christian needs such a friend-someone to whom he can share his concerns, feelings and prayers. All of us need someone to help us live the life of Christ, someone to pray with, someone we can bounce ideas off, someone to hold our feet to the fire when we struggle, someone to watch our back when people oppose us. In ministry, to labour together is better than to go it alone. The God who is the Lord of the harvest reminded the disciples that their responsibility was to work diligently. His responsibility was to ensure they had something to harvest.

Greetings among the Arabs consisted of many gestures. These required time. The business of the seventy was urgent, so they were not allowed to delay their journey with long, formal greetings. The seventy were told not to go from house to house because of Arabic customs. When a stranger arrived, the neighbours (one after another) invited him to eat with them. There was a strict etiquette. Failure to observe this system was resented and led to alienations and feuds. It wasted time, caused distractions, and counteracted the success of a spiritual mission.

Jesus wanted the seventy to focus on the essentials. That’s why He gave them instructions. When the essentials are known, all decisions are simplified. The seventy were not to waste time on people who yawned or got angry or wanted to argue. Jesus advised them to tell the exciting news to people who were ready to hear it. This is good advice for us to follow today as we continue the mission of the seventy. Like Jesus, we have a limited amount of time. We have to spend that time spreading the Good News to people who are eager to hear it. We can’t afford to spend time on people who are opposed to it.

The message of the seventy was crucial. The mission was time sensitive. The seventy had to prepare the villages for Christ’s visit, which could happen at any time. We have the same mission today. We have to spread the message of the Good News of salvation before Jesus returns. Since we don’t know the exact date and time of His return, our mission is also time-sensitive.

The disciples were excited when they returned because the demons had submitted to them. For Jesus, this was not the most important thing. What was far more important for Jesus was that the disciples had been welcomed into God’s family. Jesus’ response to the report the seventy gave when they returned does not mean they should take no satisfaction in their ministry, which included successful exorcisms. Rather, they should delight more that God has chosen them to be part of His eternal family. Ministry success is wonderful, but it cannot compare to the eternal joys of calling the God of the universe one’s Father-assured that one’s name is written in heaven.

Jesus sent the seventy out to preach the Good News and do the Kingdom work. He knew they were ready because they were transformed by spending time with Him, following His instructions and receiving His authority. He sends us out today. He has prepared us. We have received His authority to spread the Good News.

Have we been transformed? How much time do we spend with Jesus? How much time do we spend reading or listening to His life-changing truths? How often do we allow His attitudes and words to flow into us and change our hearts so that His words flow out of us to others?

As believers in Jesus, we often feel weak and insignificant in the face of bad situations around us. Matthew 28:18 tells us that Jesus has all authority, and the passage from Luke tells us that He has delegated this authority to us if we are His followers. We should trust in that authority to stop unlawful actions, because we’re empowered to challenge the way the enemy is working when he or his forces are breaking God’s divine rules.

Evil forces may seem dangerous and far too scary to tackle when we feel small by comparison. We have to remember that we have Jesus’ authority and that His laws will stand for eternity. No matter how big and strong the evil forces seem, they must submit to the authority delegated by Jesus to His followers.

When we’re in the centre of God’s will and plans, we don’t have to be afraid. When we’re under God’s authority, we have His authority. The devil does not have any authority over us. The devil can’t take us out of the world. Only God can do that, and He won’t do it until our mission is complete.

The church can be compared to a giant hockey game, basketball game or baseball game where 20,000 people in the stands and watch a few people do the work on the ice surface, the court or the field. The church stands on the sidelines and shouts, “Go, team, go.” God is saying to us at the same time, “I want you down on the field, or the ice surface, or the court. I want you to carry the ball, throw the ball or shoot the puck. I want you to be a part of what I’m doing.”

In Luke 10:2, Jesus tells us to pray to the Lord to send out labourers. He does not say that we should pray for more observers, spectators or complainers. He says that we should pray that the Lord would send out more labourers.

No one can honestly pray for this work to be done if they are not willing to do it themselves. We must not say, “Yes, God, send more labourers into the harvest.” We must say, “Lord, let it start with me. I want to be a labourer. I don’t know what I can do or what I can offer. I don’t have a lot, but what I have is yours. I give it to you.”

The church’s job is to proclaim the kingdom of God. We’re always tempted to forget that. We’re tempted to believe that our job is to keep the doors open, or to preserve an historic tradition, or to be friendly. Many churches resemble a 21^st century civic club instead of a first century church. We gather together to do good works, but sometimes all we accomplish is keeping the building from falling down around us.

Jesus is still looking for people who will work for him and bring people into his kingdom. That is what the church is supposed to do. It won’t always be easy. In fact, it will be hard. Many people in the church are like the farmer in our story — they are “just playing it safe.” I have read that eight out of ten church members have never invited anyone to church and that nine out of ten church members have never won anyone to Christ.

We have so much work to do. We have to start by speaking the truth and offering mercy and love to God’s lost sons and daughters. Some have them have been badly hurt by the church, especially Native American children who attended residential schools. In those cases we have to offer additional understanding. We have to apologize for the pain the church has caused, even if we don’t completely understand it.

Jesus calls us today to discipleship-a discipleship that involves practicing Godly values among people who have other loyalties. We have to proclaim the message to everyone that the kingdom of God is here now. We have to expect that some will accept the message with faith and others will oppose us. We are preaching a message contradicts the ways of the world.

The seventy were the hands, feet, legs, heart and minds of Jesus. That was the way it was then, and it is still true today. For Jesus to complete His mission in today’s world, he needs hands, feet, legs, hearts and minds. The harvest is overwhelmingly great and Jesus needs willing hands, willing hearts, willing minds and willing spirits. Jesus gets work done today through his disciples who are committed to doing the work.

Our faith is not a private matter. We are told by Jesus to proclaim it in word and deed. When we are persecuted we are not to retreat. We are here to build God’s kingdom, not bury it in our hearts. We can stay in our comfort zones, safely hovering above real engagement with the issues of faith that call out in our time. But if we do, if we refuse to get our hands dirty and our hearts changed, then we risk missing the kingdom of God that has already come near in Jesus. We risk missing the terrifying and empowering journey that requires nothing but faith in God to sustain us and trust in fellow travelers to support us.

How about you? Are you willing to work for Jesus and invite people to come to church? Will you go and tell people about Jesus’ love and that He died on the cross so that they could have everlasting life? Are those around you surprised by the love you show? Are you a work-horse for Jesus? Are you sharing the hope of Christ with those who are lost or hurting? Are you looking for opportunities to bless others in practical ways? There are many souls who are need to be brought into God’s kingdom, but there just aren’t enough workers. When we say “yes” to proclaiming the Gospel and being a co-labourer with Jesus, there’s no limit to what God will be able to do in and through us.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp.1406-1407)
2. “Harvest Time.” Retrieved from www.Sermons4KIds.com
3. Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament. Part of Wordsearch 12 Bible software package.
4. Larsen, B. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 26: Luke (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1983; pp. 184-188)
5. Denise Cross, “Whose Voice Are They Hearing?” Retrieved from info@seedsofthekingdom.net
6. Dr. Ed Young, “A Daily Word with Dr. Ed Young.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
7. Denise Cross, “They Seem So Dangerous.” Retrieved from info@seedsofthekingdom.net
8. Pastor Greg Laurie, “Right Where you Are.” Retrieved form Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
9. Christine Caine, “The Adventure of a Lifetime.” Retrieved from no-reply@christinecaine.com
10. Gwen Smith, “a Challenge for the Changed.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
11. Richard Niell Donovan, “Exegesis for Luke 10:1-11,16-20.” Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
12. The Rev. Alan Brehm, “Contradictions.” Retrieved from http://thewakingdreamer.blogspot.com/2013/07/contradictions.html
13. David F. Sillery, “Love Among the Wolves.” Retrieved from https://us6.campaign-archive.com/?u=dbffd2070718c7bba1b9b7e0&id=387bb43a3b
14. The Rev. Edward Markquart, “Commissioning of the Seventy-Gospel Analysis.” Retrieved from http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_commissioning_of_the_seventy_GA.htm
15. The Rev. Christopher Henry, “The Nearness of the Kingdom.” Retrieved from http://day1.org/1030-the_nearness_of_the_kingdom.print

“What are you doing, Mr. Ward?” Scott asked when he saw his neighbor–who was also his Sunday school teacher–getting out some tools.

“I’m going to use my garden tiller to get rid of some weeds,” said Mr. Ward. “Do you want to help?”

“Sure,” responded Scott.

Mr. Ward started the tiller and showed Scott how it worked. “Start here, and keep your eyes on the space between the plants. Walk straight down the row,” said Mr. Ward, pointing to the other end of the garden. “When you come back this way, you can take the next row.”

Scott began eagerly, hoping he would do a good job. His confidence built as the weeds in row after row disappeared. He was almost finished when he heard someone call his name. Turning his head, he looked back and saw Mrs. Ward with a tall glass of lemonade. “Shut it off and take a break,” she called.

Grinning, Scott turned to shut off the machine. To his dismay, he saw that while he had been looking back toward Mrs. Ward, the machine had swerved and taken out a few garden plants.

Mr. Ward saw what had happened, too. “Don’t worry about it, Scott,” he said. “There’s not much damage. Come have some lemonade, and then you can finish the last row.”

As they sat under a tree with their lemonade, Scott mentioned a problem he was having with some of his old friends. “Those guys are always after me to do stuff I used to do,” he said.

“And why don’t you do those things now?” Mr. Ward asked.

“Well, I’m a Christian now,” Scott replied. He sighed. “I know it would be wrong to do some of that stuff, but . . . sometimes it looks like fun,” he admitted.

Mr. Ward gazed over the garden. “When you turned and looked back while working in the garden, it messed up a row,” he said, “and looking back at your old lifestyle could mess up your life. Instead of looking back to old friends, look to Jesus and God’s Word for direction in your new life.”

After a minute, Scott nodded. “In the end, I know that will bring me more fun anyway,” he said with a grin.

Up to this point, Luke’s Gospel has concentrated on Jesus’ deeds. From now on Luke concentrates on Jesus’ words. From this point forward, the focus remains on Jesus’ imminent death in Jerusalem. Christ did not run from this destiny but set His face toward Jerusalem and the divinely appointed consummation of His ministry. He begins the long road of teaching the disciples and us how to follow Him.

James and John thought they would please Jesus by calling down fire on the Samaritans who refused to offer Him hospitality. No doubt the disciples had in mind the story of the prophet Elijah calling down fire on the emissaries of the king of Samaria. They still had not learned that Jesus came to rescue people, not annihilate them.

The Samaritans’ refusal was not surprising because there was a good deal of animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans. It began centuries earlier when the Assyrians took most Jews into captivity and re-populated Samaria with foreigners who intermarried with the remaining Samaritan Jews. The Samaritans became known for pagan worship and the Jews regarded them as tainted racially and religiously. When the Jews returned from exile, they refused offers from the Samaritans to help with the rebuilding of the temple. The Samaritans then built a rival temple on Mount Gerazim and tried to prevent the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.

Samaria’s location between Jewish Galilee and Jewish Judea made the situation worse. Jews often travelled through Samaria-many of them pilgrims going to or returning from the temple in Jerusalem-a temple whose validity the Samaritans did not acknowledge. It’s not surprising that the Samaritans would refuse to welcome a pilgrim whose “face was set toward Jerusalem,” as Luke wrote in Luke 9:53

The calling down of hellfire and brimstone still has appeal. Churches that take a strong stand against sin are prospering and people will flock to join them, but are these churches showing God’s love for sinners? Jesus loves the sinner, but He hates the sin. Jesus loved the Samaritans even though they rejected Him. The heart of most prophetic warnings in the Scriptures is time-time to repent. Sometimes we are too ready to call God’s wrath on our enemies.

Similarly, Jesus loves us even if we reject Him. Do people who reject Him deserve to be destroyed? It is not for us to decide, because our standards are different from God’s standards. People we reject can be acceptable to God (especially those who reject Him and later accept Him as their Saviour), and people we accept can be rejected by God. God’s glory is in everyone. As we go about our daily lives, we will find Him in every circumstance.

Christ’s response to the Samaritans reflects the attitude we should have regarding all forms of religious persecution. The Samaritans’ worship was pagan, and they were intolerant. Jesus could not retaliate or rebuke them. He came to save people, not destroy them. He responded with grace instead of destructive fury. He was on His way to die for people like them. His mission was one of love, not hate.

The unnamed man mentioned in verses 57 and 58 boasted that he would follow Jesus anywhere, but following the Son of Man involves great hardship. Even animals have more adequate and permanent provisions than Jesus did. Following Jesus is not easy. It’s a hard life with no place to call home. It means doing hard, ordinary work. It is in the ordinary things of daily life that God’s glory is found. If we want to follow Jesus, we have to go where He would go and do what He would do.

Have you made commitments and then backed out? Sometimes when things get tough, we just drop out. God challenges us to commit to Him fully right now. He wants to make sure we know that this is a serious commitment. He doesn’t want us to be rude to our loved ones or abandon family members who depend on us. The commitment to follow Jesus is not a commitment we can make half-heartedly. Jesus gave His all for us, and in return He expects us to give our all for Him. When we do, something remarkable and life-changing will happen.

The encounter in verses 61-62 reflects the story of Elijah commissioning Elisha. Elisha asked permission to return to his family and say goodbye before beginning his apprenticeship. His farewell to his family, however, expressed no reluctance about his new career. Instead, he slaughtered the oxen that had once plowed his fields and never looked back.

There are some pitfalls that we need to avoid when Jesus asks us to do something that we feel is beyond us-including making the commitment to follow Him:

1. We must not let fear stop us. We have to trust God and let Him lead us to things beyond our human limitations.
2. Don’t ask for clarity. When we ask Jesus for clarity, we aren’t really obeying Him. Saying “yes” means that we don’t have all the details, but we trust God and His plan.
3. Don’t use responsibility to avoid following Jesus. He is more important than our families, our jobs or any other responsibilities we have.

If we’re serious about being used by God, we have to ask God what we have to let go of. We need to ask God to remove the barriers that keep us from following Him. When we decide to follow Jesus, things that are of less importance have to be set aside or handed on to those who have a different calling.

This passage is about setting priorities, specifically Jesus’ priorities (which are to be our priorities as Christians). Jesus is not simply taking a walk in the country. He is marching toward Jerusalem and His crucifixion. He has a lot to do and not much time to do it. He was not going to let anything stand in His way. He was telling everyone that because of their excuses they were not fit to be His disciples. Today, He tells us that if there is anything in our lives that we believe is more important than our faith in Him, we are not fit to be His disciples.

Jesus calls us to follow Him on the path to our own crucifixion where we die to self and come alive to a new life in Christ. Every day we have to have our eyes, ears and hearts open to answer Jesus’ call, knowing there is no turning back.

We are called to discipleship not as individuals but as a collective Body of Christ. Each of us as individuals are part of God’s plan. God will use us as individuals in ways that will be the best use of our gifts. Jesus reminds us in Luke’s Gospel that we have to discern His will in our lives, and we have to remember that the world will try to work against us.

Following Jesus won’t be easy. Chances are we won’t receive approval or fame. We won’t be rewarded on earth with all the comforts of life in exchange for following Jesus. We have to be willing to do what Jesus wants us to do, even when and if it’s inconvenient. Our reward will be in heaven. Jesus doesn’t reject anyone, and we as His followers will have to do the same.

The commitment Jesus requires is radical. The life of a disciple is a journey, a steady pilgrimage to a cross. Those who follow Jesus on that journey can expect that what happens to Him will happen to them. Discipleship is a call to put Jesus above care of self, care of the dead, and care for our families.

Each of us as Christians needs to be attentive to Jesus’ invitation and think about how to respond to it. Following Christ should be at the core of our lives and the basis for the decisions we make. The reading we heard from Luke’s Gospel is about a moment of decision, not just for the people in the passage, but for each of us.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp.1496)
2. “No Looking Back.” Retrieved from keys@lists.cbhmministries.org
3. Larsen, B. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 26: Luke (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1983; pp.181-183)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Dale Melenberg, “Follow Me.” Retrieved from today@thisistoday.net
6. Pastor Allen Jackson, “A Life-Changing Assignment.” Retrieved from contact@intendministries.org
7. Bobby Schuller, “Trust-Destroying Pitfalls.” Retrieved from www.hourofpower.org
8. Pastor David J. Risendal, “First Things First.” Retrieved from www.OneLittleWord.org
9. Pastor Rick Warren, “Don’t be Distracted from the Work God Has for You.” Retrieved from connect@newsletter.purposedriven.com
10. Chris Bellefeville, “Luke 9:51-62.” Retrieved from communic@luthersem.edu
11. Fr. Peter Clarke, “Questionable Following of Jesus.” Retrieved from www.torch.op.org
12. Jude Siciliano, O.P., “First Impressions, 13^th Sunday -C-.” Retrieved from firstimpressions@lilsts.opsouth.org
13. Richard Niell Donovan, “Exegesis for Luke 9:51-62.” Retrieved from www.lectionary.org
14. Matthew DeLorca, “Following the Promise.” Retrieved from https://crossings/prg/text-study/third-sunday-after-pentecost-c/?print=print
15. The Rev. Janet Hunt, “No Turning Back.” Retrieved form http://dancingwiththeword.com/no-turning-back
16. Mikeal C. Parsons, “Commentary on Luke 9:51-62.” Retrieved from https://www.workigpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2911
17. “Luke 9:51-62-A Plain Account.” Retrieved from http://www.aplainaccount.org/luke-951-62
18. Mark Sargent, “The Color Purple.” Retrieved from http://day1.org/458-the_color_purple.print
19. The Rev. Rosemary Brown, “Hide and Seek.” Retrieved from http://day1.org/616-hide_and_seek

There was a little old lady who would come out every morning on the steps of her front porch, raise her arms to the sky and shout, “Praise the Lord!”. One day an atheist moved into the house next door. Over time he became irritated at the little old lady. Every morning he would step out onto his front porch and yell after her, “There is no Lord”.

Time passed, and the two of them carried on that way every day. One morning in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted, “Praise the Lord! Lord, I have no food and I am starving. Please provide for me, oh Lord!”

The next morning, she stepped out onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there. “Praise the Lord!” she cried out. “He has provided groceries for me!” The atheist jumped out of the hedges and shouted, “There is no Lord. I bought those groceries!”

The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted, “Praise the Lord! He has provided me with groceries, and He made the devil pay for them!!

A few years ago, there was a television show called “Extreme Makeover Home Edition”. It was a show where a construction crew comes into a home and does a complete renovation, usually for a low-income family or a family that has seen other hardships. There is nothing new about extreme makeovers. In fact, Jesus performed many extreme makeovers in the Bible. We heard one such makeover in Luke 8:26-39.

When Jesus healed the demon-possessed man, he was no longer shameless. He was clothed. He had a sense of what was decent and proper. In other words, he had morals. The man was in his right mind. He saw the world as it was…a world with both enemies and friends. It doesn’t matter what they are or how severe they are. Jesus has the power to overcome our demons.

The story of Jesus and the demon-possessed man is an example of spiritual warfare. Jesus declared war on Satan and his demons. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about demons, but it tells us enough. They are real and they deal in fear and deception. They are opposed to God and everything he does. We do not have to fear demons because we have faith in God’s power.

All of us have our own inner demons, but they usually are not as severe as those who controlled the man. Our demons include possessiveness, hoarding things, extreme individualism, self-centeredness, racial prejudice, homophobia or exclusiveness. They could be spiritual questions, family secrets, health issues or anything else. They exist in the minds of perverts, rapists, murderers, child molesters, other criminals and anyone who thinks, does or speaks evil. To be possessed is culturally acceptable, and to be demon-free goes against our culture. That is scary because it goes against the status quo.

When demons control us, we are not ourselves because we are not in control. In contrast, sin is what we do because we are in control of our lives. The freedom demons offer is a false freedom because it dehumanizes and isolates its victims. Just look at how the demon-possessed man was treated. He was isolated from the community by having to live in the cemetery. He was isolated when the townspeople tried to confine him in chains.

Who are the people in our society that we try to restrain in various forms of chains? Are they people like the mentally ill or clients of sheltered workshops? What places does Jesus take us to that scare us? Are we scared of people who are different from us because of race, colour, creed or other petty reasons? Jesus forces us to confront our demons. How do we react when that happens? Do we react like the demon-possessed man did when he was healed, or do we react like the townspeople did?

This story reveals the emphasis that Luke’s Gospel places on salvation. It shows the depth of human suffering into which God’s salvation can reach. Jesus seeks out the oppressed, understands their plight, redirects their rage and reincorporates them into the community. Jesus’ power is greater than all the forces in the world. Jesus never went out looking for demons, but when he found them he dealt with them immediately and severely. We do not have to go looking for demons. We need to keep our eyes fixed on God.

The demons knew what their fate was supposed to be. They knew that they were supposed to enter the abyss, which was known as the place where God confines demons. They pleaded with Jesus to go into the pigs instead. Since pigs were unclean animals in the eyes of the Jews, it was logical that unclean spirits sought out unclean things. Even though the demons thought that they had won when Jesus agreed to their request, in reality they lost because the pigs entered a natural abyss when they fell off of the cliff.

So how do we deal with evil. There are four steps:

1. We must expect struggles with evil. Satan has been defeated by Christ, but he will never give up. He will keep fighting.
2. We must actively live out our faith. Satan’s cronies tremble before God’s awesome power.
3. We must resist evil with the power of the Holy Spirit. We do this by going to the Lord in prayer for everything.
4. We must remember that as believers in Jesus we are on the winning side. We will be injured, and we will suffer from time to time, but we will be free from spiritual bondage.

Jesus acted as a friend to the demon-possessed man. He asked the demons hard questions and expected mature responses. The demons knew that Jesus would radically change their lives, and they were not ambivalent when it came to radical change. When we encounter Jesus, we can expect radical changes in our lives. We won’t be the same. Either our hatred of Jesus will grow, or we will draw closer to him in faith. The demon-possessed man received a new identity when Jesus answered his problems. The demon-possessed man sat at the feet of Jesus, which meant that he was now under the authority of Jesus. He chose to act responsibly. The man became free when he submitted to Jesus’ authority.

The demon-possessed man was so grateful for his healing that he wanted to join Jesus and the disciples. Instead, Jesus told him to stay home, minister and witness to the people. In a sense, the man did join the group. He became a disciple. We are also disciples when we follow Jesus by faith by ministering and witnessing wherever we are. Sometimes we will be called to a different calling than the one we would have chosen, but it is important to listen carefully and obey the call to which we have been called. It is better to be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than to be a prince or princess anywhere else-unless God has called us to be a prince or princess.

There was a cost to the healing. The cost was the loss of the townspeople’s livelihood when the pigs died. The pigs were expensive property. They were sold to the Roman occupiers for food. The people did not care that the demon-possessed man was healed. They were only concerned with their livelihood. In other words, they were more concerned with material things than they were with spiritual things. They knew what to do when the man was sick, but now that he was healed they didn’t know what to do. They could have rejoiced with the man, but to do that they would have to have been healthier themselves. They were sick and could not deal with the healed person in their midst, so their natural response was to reject this new element that had come into their lives, just like a body sometimes rejects a transplanted organ.

Christianity preaches a message of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. There is no violence in that message, so why do so many of the other religions in the world persecute Christians? It is because they recognize that Jesus can do things for the people that they can’t. Jesus paid for our sin debt on the cross. No other religion can offer that. In other words, people of other religions are jealous of Christians-plain and simple!

Now that the man was healed, the townspeople would have to find room for him in the village. Will his family welcome him home? Has his wife remarried? Have his children made peace with his absence? How will he make a living? Will he become dangerous again? Will one of their daughters fall in love with him? Jesus solved one problem but created the potential for more problems. It’s no wonder that the townspeople asked Jesus to leave.

When we have been freed by Jesus, we are free to follow his version of the Ten Commandments:

1. Be yourself. We can be aware that we are integral parts of God’s creation.
2. Love the world by loving your neighbour. We are all neighbours and we have a neighbourly connection to every other human being on earth, including those who suffer from mental illness.
3. Learn from everyone. We are all equal in God’s eyes. We may have different gifts and talents, but we are specially gifted by God’s spirit.
4. Love always and in every circumstance.
5. Be merciful, just like Jesus showed mercy to the demon-possessed man.
6. Live surround sound. There is never just one voice that we hear when we listen to God speak to us. We can’t hear his voice without hearing the voice of Scripture and being open to receive the voice of the Spirit. There is never just one side to a story. It takes all four gospels to tell the story of Jesus.
7. Learn a living. Everyone we meet has something to teach us. The demon-possessed man taught us how we should respond to God’s grace in our lives. The townspeople taught us how not to respond to God’s grace.
8. Truth is black and green. It is black in the words of Scripture, and it is green in the relationship between creation or nature and the Creator.
9. Trust the Spirit: the power of force is farce. In Jesus the ultimate expressions of power and powerlessness came together.
10. Show Courage. The courage Jesus showed was not just the courage of resistance. It was the courage of endurance. There will be some of us who may be called upon to show the courage of resistance, taking definitive, costly action, in order to stand up for justice, mercy, truth, and love. But every single one of us will find it necessary to offer the courage of endurance throughout our lives. The easiest way for evil to win is not through bombs or bullets, but through the slow erosion of commitment and courage to stand against the current.

Bibliography

1. Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll’s New Testament Insights on Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2012)
2. Alexander Wales, “The Demons Within”. Retrieved from http://www.esermons.com
3. Lawson, B., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 26: Luke (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1983)
4. The NKJV Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2007)
5. Barry, J.D.; Grigoni, M.R.; Heisler, M.S.; Custis, M.; Mangum, D.; & Whitehead, M.M.; Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software; 2012)
6. David R. Cartwright, “What Happens When You Are Not Prepared for What Happens”. Retrieved from http://www.esermons.com
7. Arley K. Fadness, “Liberating the Possessed”. Retrieved from http://www.esermons.com
8. Leonard Sweet, “Jesus’ Ten Commandments”. Retrieved from ww.esermons.com
9. Exegesis for Luke 8:26-39. Retrieved from http://www.sermonwriter.com
10. Rev. Dr. Ken Klaus, “A Man’s Declaration”. Retrieved from http://www.lhm.org
11. Lectionary Homiletics, Vol. XXIV, #4 (St. Paul, MN: Luther Seminary; 2013)
12. Proper 7-Year C. Retrieved from http://www.preachingtip.com/archive
13. “An Extreme Makeover”. Retrieved from http://sermonsforkids.com

This passage is familiar to Christians. The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer Jesus taught us. It’s the model for us to approach God. It has three sections:

1. The honour that worship gives to God.
2. The humility that recognizes our dependence on God.
3. The hope which this rule of God creates.

Nothing is wrong with reading and praying a prayer written by others. After all, the Lord’s Prayer falls into that category. But God’s people must avoid the danger of mindlessly reciting routine prayers without making sure that they spring from the heart. Effective prayer is all about speaking to God on a heart-to-heart level.

The Old Testament uses the work father fewer than 14 times. By contrast, the word Father occurs 17 times in the Sermon on the Mount alone, and Christ refers to the Father more than 70 times throughout the Gospels. Calling God “Father” acknowledges His intimate love for His children and our position as members of God’s family.

Because people are prone to pray for their whims and interests, the Lord’s Prayer provides an outline that encourages a more focused prayer life. Rather than being some sort of spiritual formula that is intended to be repeated verbatim, it presents a systematic coverage of topics. Those who pray according to this model pray the priorities of their heavenly Father.

This model prayer addresses a God who is to be sanctified or praised. Praising the name of God does not mean honouring its letters so much as the Person behind the name. All His names-from His personal name, Yahweh, to the ones that describe His actions and character-reveal who He is. 

The phrase “Your kingdom come” refers both to God’s spiritual reign in the lives of individuals and His coming rule over all creation. When people become Christians, the Spirit of God takes up residence within their hearts, and therefore “the kingdom of God is within.” At the same time, the final fulfillment of the kingdom of God-when Christ returns in His glory and establishes a new world order-is still in the future.

Matthew 6:12- “forgive us our debts”-is similar to Luke 11:4-“forgive us our sins.” Sinners are debtors to God for their violation of His laws. This is the heart of the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus stressed this in the words that immediately follow the prayer.

The phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread” refers to physical bread and spiritual bread. Humans universally depend on God for His provision of food, health, and even breath. Asking God for daily bread acknowledges one’s complete dependence on Him. We can’t have abundant spiritual lives without a daily portion of God’s Word. If we feed on God’s Word every day, we will receive the spiritual nourishment we need to live a victorious Christian life.

The Lord’s Prayer proclaims God’s authority revealed through Jesus Christ. At the same time it recognizes that the devil rules the world. He became the ruler through man’s sinfulness. He is still trying to increase his power.

Believers are to confess their sins so they can be cleansed on a daily basis. This sort of forgiveness is a simple washing for the worldly defilements of sin. It is not a repeat of the wholesale cleansing from sin’s corruption that comes when we accept Jesus as our Saviour.

Jesus has established His spiritual kingdom in our hearts. We are a new creation. Jesus has also prepared an eternal kingdom called heaven-where we will live with Him forever. He wants us to love and act like a child of God rather than as a child of this earthly kingdom.

All of us suffer from broken relationships-with God and with each other. This brokenness will weigh us down spiritually and slow our progress in growing in Christ unless we take steps to mend it. God wants to heal that brokenness and He wants us to take a role by forgiving and seeking forgiveness for ourselves. When we do, we will make peace with God, ourselves and with those we have hurt.

People’s relationships with the Lord cannot be made right until their relationships with others are made right. We can’t call ourselves Christians if we don’t forgive those who have offended us. Upon conversion, Christians receive God’s forgiveness for sin once and for all. But as they live in ongoing relationship with God and others, relational forgiveness should be sought again and again.

When Jesus taught about forgiveness, he was very clear. He taught that if we don’t forgive someone, God won’t forgive us. All of us have had unfair things happen to us. We can choose to hold on to the hurt, become bitter and angry, and let it poison our future; or, we can choose to let it go and trust God to make it up to us. We might not think that we are able to forgive because someone hurt us so badly. Forgiveness is like a door on our hearts. If we shut the door and refuse to forgive, then God can’t forgive us. When we open the door and allow forgiveness to flow from us, then His forgiveness can flow into us. If we choose to forgive and open the door we will receive God’s life, peace and healing today.

There is a story about a man in Spain who had a teenage son. Their relationship was strained and got to the point where the son ran away from home. His father was moved with deep and passionate love and began a desperate search for his son. He finally decided to put a personal ad in the local newspaper. The ad read, “Dear Paco, meet me in front of the newspaper office Tuesday at 12 noon. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Dad.” On the day in question, the man showed up at the newspaper office to discover that 800 men named Paco had come.

The word “temptation” could also be translated as “trial or test.” God does not tempt us. He does subject us to trials that may expose us to attacks by the devil. These moments of testing frequently occur when believers are most vulnerable; thus, they should pray for God’s protection, especially from the source of all temptation: the evil one. God’s people must live in the power of God’s strength.

In the past Jesus delivered so many people from the evils they faced, and He can still do it today. The God who delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt can still free us from oppression today. The God who delivered Daniel from the lions’ den can still deliver us from danger today. The God who rolled back the stone and raised Jesus from the dead can still deliver us from the grip of evil forces today, even when the dangers we face are ones that we brought upon ourselves through bad decisions and sinful behaviour. If we ask Him to forgive our sins and restore us to fellowship with him, He is able and willing to do just that. God can keep us from getting into trouble in the first place if we walk according to His commandments, and He is able to get us out of trouble when we have fallen prey to some danger when we turn to Him with faith and trust.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp.1291-1292)
2. Augsberger, M.S. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 24: Matthew (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; p.18)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2006)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Ron Moore, “Learning to Pray.” Retrieved from www.ronmoore.org
6. Steve Arterburn, “Restoring Broken Relationships.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
7. David Cross, “The Choice of Kingdoms.” Retrieved from info@seedsofthekingdom.net
8. Robin Dugall, “The Power of Forgiveness.” Retrieved from www.homeword.com
9. “The Disciples’ Power.” Retrieved from Biblegateway@e.biblegateway.com
10. Marvin A. McMickle, “Teach Us How to Pray.” Retrieved from www.preaching.com
11. “Our Daily Bread.” Retrieved from info@dailydisciples.org
12. Dan Johnson, “Forgiveness.” Retrieved from www.homeword.com
13. Joel Osteen, “For Your Own Sake,” Retrieved from www.joelosteen.com

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What do you do when someone does something nice for you?

Well, the most important thing you should do when someone does something nice for you is to say, “Thank you.” In most houses, people keep a good supply of thank you cards so that we will not forget. I hope you will always remember to say, “Thank you” when someone does something nice for you. I can remember my mother telling me as a child to write thank you notes to people who gave me gifts, especially at Christmastime.

What else should you do when someone does something nice for you? Another thing you should do is to tell others about the nice things that person has done for you.

Jesus spent his life on earth doing good things for people. He was loving, kind, and compassionate. The Bible tells us that he came not to be served, but to serve others and to give his life for them. Wherever Jesus went, he healed the sick and the lame. He gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. Why, he even raised some from the dead! Sometimes the people remembered to say, “Thank you” and sometimes they forgot.

In our Bible lesson today, Jesus met a man who was controlled by evil spirits. He had not worn clothes for a long time, and he did not live in a house, but spent his days and nights roaming among the tombs and in the mountains. People in the town where he lived were afraid of him and tried to bind him with chains, but he was so strong that he broke the chains.

Jesus saw that the man was tormented and he felt compassion for him. There was a large herd of pigs on the hillside nearby, so Jesus let the evil spirits enter into the pigs, and the entire herd ran into the lake and drowned.

After Jesus freed the man from the evil spirits, he was like a different person. People saw the man sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and speaking calmly. He was so happy that he wanted to go with Jesus and follow him wherever he went, but Jesus told the man to go back to his home and tell everyone what God had done for him. The Bible tells us that the man went back and told all the people in the city what great things Jesus had done for him.

We should always remember to give thanks for all that Jesus has done for us. The greatest gift we have ever received is the gift of eternal life. Jesus made this gift possible by his death on the cross. We should also tell others what he has done for us so that they might come to know the he loves them too.

Let’s pray. Dear God, we thank you for all that you have done for us. We are especially thankful for the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, your son. Help us to always show our gratitude and tell others how much you have done for us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Bibliography

1. “Go and Tell.” Retrieved from www.sermons4kids.com

After Jesus’ ascension, the community of believers found its natural leadership in the apostles whom Jesus appointed. There was only one problem. There was a vacancy on the team of apostles. There were 11 apostles, but Jesus appointed 12. Who would replace Judas? How would the replacement be chosen?

The 120 who assembled for this occasion was the number required by Jewish law for a council in any city, which made Matthias’ election not only official but legal. That they prayed together “with one accord” made this gathering a spiritually significant one as well.

When God gives prophecies (as He did in the Old Testament passages quoted by Peter), they will come to pass. Peter used Scripture to reassure the people that Judas’ defection and the choice of his replacement were both parts of God’s plan. God works through human initiative or ordinary people like Peter and Matthias and the 120. Through quiet deliberation and prayer, God set the groundwork for both Pentecost and the whole Gospel mission.

Why were Peter and the other disciples restrained when they told the story of Judas’s suicide? It’s likely for the reasons Peter highlighted in his choice of words. Judas was one of the disciples. He was not some unique stranger who did what we could never do. Judas is so much like us. Any one of us could have betrayed Jesus the same way. We do betray Jesus in our words, acts and thoughts on a daily basis when we behave in ways that lead us to turn away from the truth of the Gospel.

Judas “turned aside to go to his own place.” It’s easy for us to do the same. The Holy Spirit’s grace keeps us with Jesus: repentant, forgiven, thankful for the mercy He has won for us. When we think of Judas, let’s do it with fear and trembling-and with intense gratitude to God who has given us a place that isn’t ours, a place in His own kingdom.

There were two requirements for Judas’ successor:

1. He had to have taken part in Jesus’ earthly ministry.
2. He had to have seen the resurrected Christ. The resurrection was central to apostolic preaching.

When Peter said that an apostle had to be a witness to the resurrection, he was referring to the 40 day period between the Resurrection and the Ascension, when Christ made Himself known to His followers, proving He was alive.

The eleven remaining disciples needed God’s guidance. Casting lots was a sacred, lawful device used to determine divine will. Although it was a common practice in Old Testament times, only here in the New Testament do we find it used by a follower of Christ. God might have spoken through the casting of lots for Matthias. God speaks to us today in a lot of different ways-including the Bible.

Matthias was chosen.  The name Matthias means “Gift of God.” While the apostles waited for 10 days for the coming of the Holy Spirit, they prayed and appointed an apostle to replace Judas. The disciples didn’t know that God had another person in mind to take Judas’ place. The person God chose was Paul.

Paul saw the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. He became a disciple first and then an apostle who was recognized among the official twelve. After his election, we don’t hear anything more about Matthias. In contrast, Paul led the expansion of Christianity. The casting of lots was a poor substitute for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In all fairness, the casting of lots occurred before the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost.

Because the Holy Spirit had not yet come, the 120 were living and operating under Old Testament rules. They were still making decisions and gaining guidance like Old Testament believers. After the Holy Spirit came, the casting of lots was never mentioned again.

There is no need to be down on Matthias. He responded to a call. He was ready with his knowledge of Christ and an open mind and heart to receive His Spirit. He was there at Pentecost-that’s all that matters. Whether his ministry afterward received the recognition of history is not important. The same is true for us. Once we have experienced what Christ said and did for us in His death and resurrection, titles or history’s recognition or even the accolades of people today become unimportant.

Why did the apostles choose a replacement for Judas? They understood that good witnesses were needed to tell others about Jesus (especially the reality of His life, death and resurrection) to fulfill the mission that Jesus gave them. Witnesses are still needed today, and that’s where we as Christians are needed. We can testify to what Christ can do in people’s lives if they accept Him as their Lord and Saviour.

The most important part of the process the apostles used was the use of prayer to discern God’s will. They discerned God’s will by casting lots. How can we discern God’s will for our lives today?

1. We know the framework of God’s will for our lives in this world. We are called to love God and to love our neighbour.
2. We know we live our lives under the canopy of God’s forgiving love. We can pray for God’s specific will to be revealed to us, but few of us will have our prayers answered. We will have to boldly choose our path. Most of the time we don’t know for certain which is the right path to take. We have to choose, but we know that God’s forgiving love will sustain us when we make a decision.
3. We know that nothing can separate us from God’s love.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp.1486-1487)
2. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
3. Ogilvie, L.J. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 28: Acts (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1983)
4. Dr. Kari Vo, “Our Place or His?” Retrieved from lh_min@lhm.org
5. Dr. Kari Vo, “Confession.” Retrieved from lh_min@lhm.org
6. Julius Medenblik, “The Blessing of Witnesses.” Retrieved from today@thisistoday.net
7. Mike Slay, “The Apostles Pick a New Martyr.” Retrieved from noreply@ailbe.org
8. Berni Dymet, “Practical Guidance from Above.” Retrieved from bdymet@christianityworks.com
9. Jeremiah, David: Acts: The Church in Action (San Diego, CA: Turning Point for God; 2006,2015; pp. 37-46)
10. www.workingpreacher.org.preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3659

1. Richard Jensen, “Commentary on Acts 1:15-17,21-26.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org.preaching.aspx?commentary_id=315

Who are we?

The answer to this question will be different for each of us because of the many roles we have in our lives. We could be a spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, doctor, dentist, lawyer or any one or more of thousands of roles. There is one answer that all of us who have come to faith have. We are Christians. There are no barriers of class or ethnic segregation. The Christian identity includes all of us, and that is the point Paul is making in Galatians 3:23-29.

Paul specifies the dimensions of the family of God: its height reaches up to God’s throne, its depth reaches down into baptism in Christ, forever loved and accepted in him; it is wide enough to bring natural enemies together; and it is long enough to trace its ancestry back to Abraham. All who accept Christ as their Saviour become members of this family.

This passage is a commentary on the struggle between law and grace. The law teaches people about God and brings us face to face with our sins, but it also keeps us locked up in sin. The law does not provide for salvation from our sins. Even the Old Testament sacrifices could not provide for salvation because they had to be repeated. The animals that were sacrificed had to be perfect in the eyes of the priest. The priest also had to atone for his own sins as well as for the sins of the people. Christ was the perfect, ultimate sacrifice for our sins. He was sinless in nature. All we have to do is believe in him and what he did for us on the cross.

In the Greco-Roman world, a guardian prepared a child for maturity. Once the youth came of age, he didn’t need the guardian any more nor did he have any responsibility to the guardian, although the two of them might remain friends. The same is true for the Old Testament law. The law served as a guardian for us. The law prepared Israel for the coming of Jesus, who was the ultimate fulfillment of the law.

The law’s inability to bring life did not mean that the law was useless. The law was put in charge as our teacher to lead us to Christ. It is like a straight edge to show us how crooked we are-and to highlight our need for a Saviour. It is the code by which our lives and society are kept in an orderly manner. When the law becomes destructive or conflicts with God’s will, we must obey God rather than man. It is our responsibility to teach others about the faith until they claim God’s promise of salvation for themselves. When we receive salvation, it means that we take up Christ’s cross and fulfill his ministry of salvation and reconciliation. When we receive Christ in faith, we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness and we receive garments of salvation and robes of righteousness.  

Following World War II, there were more than two hundred French soldiers with amnesia who returned to Paris. They had been prisoners in Japanese camps and suffered through horrible ordeals of privation and torture. These men had been so psychologically devastated by their imprisonment that they lost the conscious awareness of who they were and where they had lived before the war.

Most of the soldiers’ identities were quickly established from Red Cross records or with the help of fellow prisoners, but after all known efforts were exhausted, there were still thirty-two men whose existence seemed impossible to trace. Not only were there no records of them, but none of the other soldiers knew anything about them. The doctors who were treating these thirty-two men believed that their chance for recovery would be impossible unless they were reconnected with family and friends.

Someone proposed publishing photographs of the men on the front page of newspapers throughout the country. A date, time, and place of meeting would also be given, hoping anyone having information about them would come. The plan was implemented and French newspapers soon published the pictures, adding that the Paris Opera House would open its doors for the potential identification and connection with loved ones.

On the assigned day, a huge crowd gathered inside the opera house to view the veterans. Every seat was taken and people spilled out onto the streets. Finally, in a dramatic entrance, the first of the amnesia victims walked onto the stage of the darkened room and slowly turned around under the glare of the spotlight, giving everyone a full view. Then, according to instruction, he and the other thirty-one soldiers who followed asked the same pleading question: “Does anybody out there know who I am . . . does anybody know who I am?”

Thankfully, many of the men were soon reunited with their families.

This is the same question that all of humanity is asking—“Does anybody out there know who I am?”  So what is the answer? For Christians, the answer is clear. We are children of God. Let me explain.

At the time Paul wrote the Letter to the Galatians, only sons could receive an inheritance. Daughters got nothing. In contrast, Paul stated that both men and women who have been adopted into God’s family enjoy all the rights and responsibilities of God’s children-and that includes the right of inheritance. God includes all of us as his sons and daughters. Everyone who believes in Jesus for salvation is part of God’s family; brothers and sisters to one another and co-heirs with Christ.

In addition to being children of God, Paul stated that since we have been baptized we have died to the old ways of law, sin and death. We have risen to a new life in Christ. In this new life, there are no distinctions. Jews and Gentiles are the same. Free men and slaves are the same. Men and women are the same. All divisions have been abolished. All Christians are the same in the eyes of Christ. Since we are all equal, we do not have to observe ancient rituals such as circumcision.

For example, there was a church in the Jesus movement of the 1970s that was growing among the young street kids of the neighbourhood. They had long hair, were dirty and never really wore shoes, but they were just flocking to the church.

One day the church decided to put some new carpeting in their sanctuary. The first time those kids came in, they tracked dirt all over that brand-new carpet. The building committee was furious and demanded that a sign be put up in the church lobby that said, “No dirty feet allowed.”

The next Sunday the chairman of that committee walked into the building for the Sunday service. He was shocked to see that the sign had been removed and the church pastor was on his knees with a bowl of water and a towel washing those kids’ feet right there in the foyer-just like Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. This is what it means to be equal before God. We are to love our neighbours by welcoming people of all backgrounds into fellowship with the body of Christ.

God doesn’t deal with us with a performance/requirement method. We don’t have to do good deeds to earn salvation. God deals with us by means of a promise in response to faith. If we come to him in faith and receive him as our Saviour, we will be blessed with eternal life. Even if life has been hard for us and we are messed up, God still loves us. We can still become children of God.

Being whole in life and having meaning in life are not the result of what we own or don’t own or what we have done or what we have not done. Our lives are complete and have meaning because we are children of God. The only equation that works in our lives is us plus Christ equals wholeness and mercy. God wants us to continually pursue the reign of his kingdom in our lives where we submit to his will. When we do this, we will see new ways to respond.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp. 1627-1628)
2. ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 11 Bible software package.
3. Dunnam, M.D. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 31: Galatians/Ephesians/Philippians/Colossians/Philemon (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; pp. 69-76)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
6. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010)
7. Dr. Neil Anderson, “Wholeness and Meaning in Life.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
8. Dr. Jack Graham, “What It Means to Love Your Neighbour.” Retrieved from www.jackgraham.org
9. Dr. Steven Davey, “Does Anybody Know Who I Am?” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
10. Doug Fields, “The Enemies of Patience.” Retrieved from Crossswalk@crosswalkmail.com
11. Dr. Tony Evans, “Daughters of the King.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
12. Jill Carattini, “The Shape of Affection.” Retrieved from www.sliceofinfinity.org
13. George Hermanson, “Who Are We?” Retrieved from www.georgehermanson.com/2007/06/who-are-we.html.

As we celebrate Trinity Sunday, we focus on the magnificence of creation. Modern technology has given us the means to discover the expanse and wonder of the universe. Thanks to the Hubble telescope and a second generation Hubble that will be sent into an even higher orbit, we see more of the universe. We are amazed at God’s wisdom in creating such a complex universe. When we study creation and combine it with reading the Bible and engaging in loving, merciful and compassionate relationships, we find God.

Are we choosing to fear God, or are we turning from Him? The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. We need wisdom from above to live as Christians in our modern world. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit work together as the three members of the Trinity to give us that wisdom. We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus so that nothing else matters. In other words, we must keep our eyes on the prize.

Chaos threatens to overtake the world, but wisdom makes the world a place where people can live a good life if they follow God’s wisdom. Wisdom travels everywhere in the form of the Holy Spirit because people don’t always pay attention. We are often stubborn and foolish. We turn away no matter how loudly wisdom calls. That’s why God took matters into His own hands. He came to us as Jesus our Saviour. He grew up among us, lived our lives and served everyone He met. He called everyone He met to Him. He carried out the ultimate act of God’s wisdom by dying on the cross for our sins. God is a God of love. He acts for us and among us. He reaches out to us and wants a relationship with us.

When we find God, we find the relationship among all three members of the Trinity. God is self-sufficient. God has been completely satisfied in the interpersonal relationships that have existed among the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God’s overflowing goodness led him to create human beings in his own image and likeness. That same goodness led his Son to become human and live his life for others. That same goodness led God to give us our beautiful world to both preserve and develop in perfect harmony. That same goodness led God to destine us for everlasting life with Him in eternity. God, in His infinite Wisdom, has done all of this for us.

The wisdom of God is available to all who will listen to and follow Lady Wisdom’s call. The poetic tribute in the reading from Proverbs communicates that wisdom and all its benefits (the ability to reign or lead, riches, honour and righteousness) are tied to the fear of the Lord. Solomon’s experience of the rewards of wisdom was unparalleled in human history.

Wisdom is linked to the eternal God. He established it even before creation and brought it forth for use in the creation process. These verses from Proverbs form the background of John’s portrait of Christ as the eternal word in John 1:1-3. Wisdom is God’s delight, and God brought forth the world by the power of His delight. His delight drives Him to create. Human life, guided by God’s wisdom in the ways of righteousness, is His special delight.

Wisdom is the attribute of God by which He created all things. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:24 that Jesus Christ is “the wisdom of God.” Paul also wrote in Colossians 1:15-19 that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation…all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things…in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” In the passage we heard from Proverbs, Wisdom is personified and, as the pre-Incarnate Christ, is described as being with God through all the mysterious, beautiful and powerful artwork of creation.

In the New Testament, Jesus has assumed the role of Lady Wisdom, but the role of the Holy Spirit is often overlooked. In John 16:12-15, Jesus mentioned that the Holy Spirit will guide and comfort the disciples after He returns to heaven. The Holy Spirit comforts and guides us today.

The Christian worldview begins in God, who disposes all movements without movement of His own, who sees the past, present and future ages of creation equally, for whom nothing is past, nothing remains to come, but all things are present. Nothing that is good offends Him, nothing that is evil gives Him pleasure, by whom nothing was created by nature evil which in itself in only the corruption of good. God exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each equally God, but each having its unique role to play in realizing the economy of glory and blessing that God is unfolding in the world.

Wisdom was present at creation, because Wisdom is part of all three members of the Trinity, who were also present at creation. All three members of the Trinity are eternal and uncreated. Wisdom was a witness to creation. Wisdom was a part of creation. Wisdom was identified with the Holy Spirit at creation. Wisdom’s origin is divine because creation comes from God. Wisdom ties all three members of the Trinity together and enables us to know and understand the Trinity.

This passage from Proverbs has contributed to the expression of Christian faith, of which the Trinity is a key part. One of the themes is the superiority of Christ over all claimants to equality or intimacy with God. The early Christians knew from His claims, miracles, teachings and presence that Jesus was the eternal God. Wisdom’s preexistence, participation in the creation, life-giving power and call to exclusive allegiance provided the vocabulary for the exultation and adoration of all three members of the Trinity.

All three members of the Trinity are present at every stage in world history. They have existed from eternity. They are equal. God sent the Son, the Word, who became one with us in His birth. God and Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. We are spiritually connected to the Trinity because the Holy Spirt makes us members of the Body of Christ.

Wisdom is described as a lady who provides gentle and loving direction and help in life’s moments. Since all three members of the Trinity also provide gentle and loving direction and help, all three members of the Trinity are part of Wisdom.

Since ancient times spiritual writers have understood the source of dignity, worth and wisdom. It is God. We find the same things in the Trinity. The unity of all three members of the Trinity can’t be explained by human wisdom or logic. That is why the concept of the Trinity is difficult to understand and explain. The Trinity has to be believed in the heart. It is the ultimate expression of love-the love shown by God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp.816-817)
2. Hubbard, D.A. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 15: Proverbs (Nashville, TN:Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1989; pp. 118-121,124-127)
3. Fr. Jonak Benedict, O.P.: “To Praise, to Bless and to Preach.” Retrieved form www.torch.op.org
4. T.M. Moore, “Without Beginning, Without Foundation.” Retrieved from https://blogs.baylor.edu/truettpulpit/2016/05/10/proverbs-81-4-22-31/
5. “Wisdom Cries Out.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
6. Julianna Claasens, “Commentary on Proverbs 8:1-4,22-31.” Retrieved form www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2858
7. Dr. Kari VO, “The Wisdom of God.” Retrieved from lh_min@lhm.org
8. Alan Brehm, “God’s Delight.” Retrieved from www.thewakingdreamer.blogspot.com/2013/05/gods-delight.html
9. Elizabeth Webb, “Commentary on Proverbs 8:1-4,22-31.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1708

“Sara’s mad at me,” Inez told her mother as they drove down a country road toward town. “When she got an A on our spelling test and I got a C, I—well, I said she must have cheated. I know I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Why don’t you call and apologize?” suggested Mom. “I know it’s not easy, but it’s what Jesus wants you to do.”

“Okay, I will, but not right now,” Inez said. “I’ll wait until she’s in a better mood.” As Mom turned down a side road, Inez looked at her in surprise. “Why are we turning here?”

“This is a shorter way to town,” said Mom.” I don’t know how good the road will be after the rain we’ve had, but let’s give it a try.”

For a short distance the road was good, but then the pavement ended and the road became very muddy. “I think we should go back,” said Inez.

“I think you’re right,” said Mom. “We’ll have to find a place to turn around.”

“How about there?” Inez pointed to a narrow path leading into a field.

Mom slowed down, but then shook her head. “Those ditches at the side of that path are awfully deep. We need to find a better spot.”

A little later, Inez motioned toward a wider spot in the road. “How about here?”

But Mom passed by that one too. “That’s not exactly the perfect spot either,” she said.

“Mom!” Inez threw her head back against the seat. “If you ask me, the first possible spot is always the perfect spot!”

“I’m beginning to think you’re right,” Mom said as she slowed down and turned off the road and onto a narrow path.

As they turned around, Mom spoke. “Waiting for a perfect spot was pretty silly, huh? We made a mistake in coming this way, and the first chance to correct that mistake was the best chance. That’s also true when we make other mistakes and need to apologize for something. It’s silly to wait for a better time to do.”

Inez raised her eyebrows. “Okay, Mom, I think I get what you’re saying. Can I use your phone? I want to give Sara a call.”

Do you have a hard time saying you’re sorry when you’ve done something wrong? Putting it off usually makes things worse, and it’s not how God wants His children to treat others. So don’t wait for a better time—apologize and ask for forgiveness right away. You’ll feel much better, and you’ll make the person you wronged feel much better too.

This section of Matthew’s Gospel begins a series of six issues from the Law which Jesus interpreted. He gives the full word of God on these matters. The first is the prohibition against killing. The Law said in Leviticus 24:17 that if you take another person’s life, yours is to be taken in return. Jesus says that anything that leads to killing is wrong, including anger.

While someone may say that he/she has never killed, Jesus asks about the inner attitude of anger, hate, destructive words and hostility. Anger hurts other people and damages the spirit of the one who has feelings of anger. We must resolve anger in other ways instead of focusing on personalities. Jesus answers these problems by asking us to take the initiative in reconciliation.

The word “raca” actually means “empty head, worthless, or foolish.” It is a word of contempt. Those who used that word were demonstrating a spirit of anger that could cause them to be called before the Sanhedrin, the highest court in the land. Such anger is dangerous and destructive and has no place in the life of a believer.

Jesus shows the full moral significance of the Law. He shows that the righteousness of the Law involves conforming to the spirit of the Law instead of mere compliance to the letter of the Law. For example, the term, “you good-for-nothing so-and-so” stems from the same sinful motives- anger and hatred-that can lead to murder.

Anger is a God-given emotion. Sometimes it moves us to proper action, but if it is left unchecked, it is a dangerous emotion. The Bible advises settling disputes quickly, before the enemy can gain a foothold in one’s heart and influence subsequent behaviour. Anyone who comes to God without being reconciled to someone they have offended stands judged by doing so. Such a person is a murderer in God’s sight.  That’s why we must first be reconciled to the brother or sister we have offended.

Anger eats away at our souls and turns us into bitter, unhappy people. No one likes to be around an angry person-and that often makes them even angrier. How can we control our anger? Here are four steps:

1. Pray for the Spirit to control our anger.
2. Address our anger daily. Ask God every day to deal with our emotions.
3. Stay away from angry people. They will drag us down.
4. Confront and forgive

Our gifts, offerings and service to Jesus are meaningless when we refuse to resolve issues or build and preserve relationships with fellow believers. One Sunday a minister preached on 1 Corinthians 11-the passage in which the apostle Paul admonishes certain wealthy Corinthians for celebrating the Lord’s Supper unworthily by shutting out their poorer brothers and sisters in the faith. The pastor wanted to make sure his congregation went through a moral inventory before taking the bread and the cup. He concluded his sermon by quoting Matthew 5:23-34 and then said, “Some of you have destroyed a relationship by something you did or said. Even if it might mean missing Communion, God would rather that you get it right now and go into the lobby to call that person and apologize.”

In the silence that followed, a large number of people went to the lobby, pulling out their cell phones as they went. The shining looks on their faces as they came back made it clear that they had been through a spiritual bath and were ready to commune with God.

To be authentic in our relationships, we must deal with our failures by confession, repentance and seeking forgiveness from others. In doing so, we prepare ourselves for deep and loving relationships.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp.1289-1290)
2. Corrine Canavan-Fifield, “The Perfect Time.” Retrieved from info@keysforkids.org
3. Augsberger, M.S. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 24: Matthew (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; p. 18)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Day 35.” Retrieved from biblegateway@e.biblegateway.com
6. Ron Moore, “Anger.” Retrieved from www.ronmoore.org
7. The Rev. Dr. Billy Graham, “Is It as Wrong to Get Angry at Someone as It Is to Murder Them?” Retrieved from https://www.arcamax.com/healthandspirit/religion/billygraham/
8. Gary Chapman, “Authentic Relationships.” Retrieved from Oneplace@crosswalkmail.com