Sermon Too Long? Not Really

Have you ever fussed about being in church for a couple of hours or thought the sermon lasted too long? Sure you have. I have too. Just basic complaints borne out of our flesh. There are many excuses as to why we are disgruntled, but I would like to submit the following as a reason why we give way to complaining. It is because our natural ears are open but our spiritual eyes are closed, and our hearts are cold. 

Let's take a look at what happened as Jesus joined some fellows as they walked for two to three hours down the Emmaus Road. Luke 24:13-35 says these two men were discussing the events of the past three days. They were in a quandary about what would happen now that Jesus (the one they expected to be the Messiah) was dead.  

They described Jesus in fleshly terms, based on their "head knowledge" of him. They said, he was a prophet, miracle worker, and mighty teacher  vs19. They had hoped that he would be the messiah of Israel vs 21. Yet, he was crucified, buried, and now his body was missing vs 24.

Before Jesus reveals Himself to them, He calls them fools or unwise, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken vs 25. In other words, they were depending solely upon their fleshly understanding of what had taken place. Then He proceeds to expound upon all the scriptures that were written concerning himself. 

While I know that it takes the Holy Spirit to open our spiritual understanding, it takes faith to receive and act upon that understanding. It was during this two to three hour journey, that their faith was being built. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. They could not have heard it any better than hearing the incarnate Word declare it to them directly.  

As the narrative continues, we read how they compelled Jesus to go home with them. A meal was prepared. And as Jesus broke the bread and gave it to them, their eyes were opened. Jesus vanished. They became evangelists who went back to Jerusalem proclaiming/confirming that Jesus had risen from the dead.

The preaching of the Gospel is the breaking of the Bread of Life. If we will but receive it by faith and allow our eyes to be opened; our minds will be illuminated and our hearts will be set on fire for God. Then, we will set ourselves about fulfilling the Great Commission, telling the world that Jesus saves.

Additional notes:

"burn" same Greek word as "light" a candle  in Matthew 5:15  per Strong's Concordance 

Burn- start a fire, creation of light, illuminate

Their hearts burned within them as Jesus OPENED the scriptures/WORD. Yet, they only acknowledged the "burning" after their eyes were opened.

They were walking with the living Word.... the living Word was speaking to them...sharing the written Word (John 1:1) 

In the KJV as per translation from the Greek, "opened" is the same word in vs 31 as it is in vs 32.

*Average walking speed is 2.5 to 3 mph. The distance between Jerusalem and Emmaus was approximately 7 miles.

Post resurrection times that Jesus reveals Himself around the table, breaking bread Luke 24:41-43. John 21:9-15 , Acts 1:1-9 (during 40 days prior to ascension).

While They Slept

Every where you look, you see or hear something related to this "holiday" called, Easter. While there is so much wrong with the commercialization of it, there is everything RIGHT about the Bible account of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. Read about it in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and John chapter 18. These passages are rich with principles that we need to apply to our lives daily. 

One such principle: When Jesus says, "watch & pray", WE NEED TO WATCH & PRAY! The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, & Luke, all record Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying three times. All three times, He returns to his closest friends (Peter, James, & John) and finds them sleeping.

When we sleep (I'm talking about spiritually sleeping) , we MISS out on opportunities to labor (bear burdens) with Jesus. We MISS sharing in His sufferings, which causes us to  lack in sharing His glory. We MISS what Christ models as true intercession. 

Not only do we miss out on important things, we open ourselves up to be tempted. When we are spiritually asleep, we let down our guard, we leave the door open, and basically welcome the enemy to come and rob us blind. 

We are truly living in perilous times. We can not survive without the Lord Jesus Christ. We must have the power of the Holy Ghost in order to keep our spirits and minds alert for the devil's attacks as well as prepared for opportunities to labor for the cause of Christ.

As Sunday approaches, we are preparing to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. However, there would be no resurrection with out the cross. My prayer is this, "Lord, help me to crucify my flesh so that I will  live the life that you bought for me on Calvary."

"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Matthew 26:41

Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and John 18

An Agent of Healing

 Thinking I had given adequate time to the Good Samaritan narrative, I turned my attention to a different thoroughfare; the road to Emmaus. However, that will have to wait; for the Lord has continued to bring the Good Samaritan to my mind/heart.

 "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him." Luke 10:33,34 KJV

In general, wine is a liquid that can be made from most any fruit, but most commonly made from grapes. It is consumed as a beverage, poured on like cleansing agent, applied as an antiseptic, used as a base for an elixir, and in large quantities will dull the senses. Primitive cultures use it medicinally and others serve it with meals as we would serve iced tea. 

From cooking oil to massage oil, olive oil has millions of uses. In biblical times, it was used as fuel for lamps. Today, it can still be found listed as an ingredient in custom made candles. It's consistency makes it an excellent medium for herbal enhanced salves. As for it's fat content, it is considered as a "healthy" fat to be included in our diets. 

Scripture makes no mention of the Good Samaritan going to buy wine and oil. This tells me that he had those items with him for his personal use. Perhaps the wine was to refresh him on his journey or it could have been a part of his "first aid kit". Same could be said of the oil. He may have planned to use it to soothe his sunburned skin or fuel a lamp, once the darkness came. At any rate, it was his and he freely gave it to the wounded traveler.

Giving what we have to help heal another, is what being Christ-like is all about. Material things help. Yet, giving of the spiritual gifts that we possess, will bring eternal benefits. Today, I want to encourage you to stir up the gifts within you. Apply the oil/Balm of Gilead  to the wounded. Proclaim the wine/blood of Jesus as the cure for the sin filled life. Expound upon the scriptures that speak of the "new wine", the Spirit-filled life. Be that Good Samaritan in this world of "priests and levites".

 

bearing burdens together

 I Corinthians 12:12-27 full context

"Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other." Romans 12:4, 5 NLT

"But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it." ICorinthians 12:18 NLT

"If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ's body, and each of you is a part of it." I Corinthians 12:26,27 NLT

"Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.  He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." Ephesians 4:15,16 NLT

Scriptures for Reflection

Three scriptures to bolster the message of the past few posts. I encourage you to read them & meditate on how they apply to your life and how you can live them out in your day to day walk with the Lord.

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?" I John 3:16,17 NIV

"So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith." Galatians 6:9,10 NLT

"And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us." IJohn 3:23,24 NLT

"Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 11 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. I John 3:7 - 10 NLT  

The Road Home

This is my third post in a series rooted in Luke chapter 10, dealing with the account of the "Good Samaritan". However, no where in our text is the Samaritan referred to as "good". That designation has come about due to the humanitarian acts that he performed. It is simply a descriptive word to set him apart from the rest of the population of Samaria, who were by some accounts rogue; in that they held religious beliefs that were in opposition to traditional Jewish doctrine. In Bible times, the Samaritans were generally considered a people of mixed heritage; many of which were the offspring of the captive Jews (that remained after the Assyrian conquest) and the Assyrians who took over the land. ( A brief summary can be found on Wikipedia).

My point is this, Jesus makes it obvious that the "Good Samaritan" is the traveler's neighbor and vice versa. He does not indicate that either of them were necessarily godly or Christian. He simply describes the Samaritan as doing the right (righteous) thing. In this case, that is showing mercy to one that is needy. 

We read no more of the lawyer, but I'm sure he had much to think about. He had no problem with the loving God part of the requirements to inherit eternal life, but was looking for an "out" when it come to what persons he had to love in order to live forever. Apparently the lawyer had not heard Christ's discourse on the Mount of Olives. (See Matthew 25:31-46)  Verse 40 states, " Verily I say unto you , inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

What were the righteous acts of the Good Samaritan? He looked upon the traveler with compassion. He dressed and medicated his wounds. He gave up his own ease of transportation by placing the traveler upon his beast. He took him to a place of safety and comfort. And he anticipated the future need of the traveler and made arrangements to pay whatever expenses that followed.

It is one thing to see a need make an effort to meet it. Yet, quite another to help a person to reach a place that they can then take care of themselves. There is this thing called "time". We tend to value it more than the balance in our bank accounts. I have been guilty of giving a few dollars to assuage my conscience, when it was "time" that I should have spent with the needy person. 

Ummmm, seems this post has taken a turn. No longer talking about being a Good Samaritan or being neighborly. Now, I'm talking about living the righteous life, the Christ-like life, the part of eternal life that we live here on Earth. You see, the road home (heaven) begins in the here and now. Let's get about our Father's business, let's be what He has called us to be, let's put the passion back in our walk with Him. There are untold millions, struggling to find the road home. It is up to us, to show them the way and walk with them until the way is plain before them.

 

The Other Side of the Road

 Many of you are familiar with the account of the "The Good Samaritan" but for the sake of those that are not, I have provided the following scripture reference:  Luke 10:29-37 KJV.

The entire point of Christ's answer to the lawyer, is simply this; your neighbor is anyone that you encounter along life's journey. And you are to love that person in the same manner in which you love yourself. 

My previous post deals with the traveler and the thieves. This post will target the religious men that saw the traveler, passed by him, and went on their way. It is saddening to recognize the parallel that exists between this pair of religious men and many of today's ministers. However, it is not my aim to point out the flaws of various ministers, but rather, it is to cause you to take inventory of your own motives and actions.

We can glean from verses 32 & 33, the fact that both the priest & Levite were traveling along the same side of the road as where the robbed, beaten traveler lay. And the scriptures are clear that these two saw him and crossed to the other side of the road. They did not want to engage with him in any way. And certainly, they did not want to become "unclean" by reason of any physical contact that might occur, if the beaten man was, in fact dead. See  Leviticus 21:1-4 . 

In other words, the priest and the Levite were more concerned about reaching their destinations "clean", than they were about rendering aid to a poor soul that had been robbed, beaten, & left for dead. Perhaps  they were on their way to Jerusalem to minister. If that was the case, then they simply could not afford to become unclean; else they would have to forfeit their ministering for seven days. See Numbers 19:11. And that would prevent them from receiving any offering/compensation for that days's labor.

So, it might not have been about their state of cleanliness. It may have been about missing out on what they had planned to do and what they had expected to receive. Hmmmm... how many times do we hurriedly pass by the homeless, lonely, the stranded motorist, and etc? How many times do we do just "a little something"instead of taking the time/effort to fully see to another's needs? How many times do we avoid the nerd in the class, the noisy co-worker, the broke friend, or even the social media posts requesting prayer?

Just think about it. Question yourself. Examine yourself.  Do you really love your neighbor as you love yourself? Matthew 22:39 KJV  Love is kind and love is patient. You may not be a priest or Levite, but you are called to be like Christ, you are called to be a minister/servant. If you need a refresher on what real love is all about, read I Corinthians chapter 13. Think I'm going to stop right here & read it again.