Do Not Fear

Luke 12:1-12, Psalm 145 

In a little while, we will remember the Lord through the bread and the cup and after this have a sharing time, where we all gather in a circle and anyone can share what the Lord has been showing and teaching them. First though, I would like to briefly say a few things about our passage for this week from Luke, chapter 12, verses 1 through 12. I then will have us read through Psalm 145 in preparation for remembering the Lord through the bread and the cup. Here is how Luke 12 begins:

Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to His disciples, saying: "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. – Luke 12:1-3

Hypocrisy

Luke 11:33-54 

I have titled today’s passage “Hypocrisy,” because that is a major theme of the verses we will investigate today. What is hypocrisy? A simple definition gives a hypocrite as a person who pretends to be better than he really is.

Even fairly young children learn pretty quickly how to be hypocrites. They love to point out when their siblings have done something wrong, and they love to ask questions like, “Why does he do it, Mommy? I would never do that!” But although children learn quickly how to be hypocrites, learning how to cover up for the hypocrisy of someone else is a talent that takes much longer to master. I think the following anonymous little story illustrates this quite well.

"One day when they had guests for dinner, Mother asked 4-year old Johnny to give thanks for the food. “But I don’t know what to say!” the boy complained. “Oh, just say what you hear me say,” his mother replied. Obediently the boy bowed his head and mumbled, “Oh, Lord, why did I invite these people over?”

Hear and Obey

Luke 11:14-32

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, "By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. – Luke 11:14-16

We have been going through the Gospel of Luke, line by line, chapter by chapter, and we have seen a lot of miracles. I think it is easy, over time, to become somewhat numb to reality of these events. For example, in this passage, it is really easy to skip over the miracle and move on into the discussion that follows without really appreciating what has just taken place. Let’s look at this miracle more closely.

We have a man who was mute, unable to speak. Based on this passage, we can say that this man had been mute for a very long time and was simply known as a mute man. Perhaps nobody in that crowd who knew this man could remember a time when this man could speak.

Why Pray?

Luke 11:1-13

Today, as we look at thirteen verses from the Book of Luke on prayer, I want to start with a somewhat provocative quotation:

“Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.” – G. K. Chesterton

What do you think of it? On one hand, I totally agree with it – in many areas of life, it is better to do something poorly than to not do it at all. This is especially true for things we need to practice to become better at, such as playing the violin. In the history of the world, I think it is safe to say that everybody, even the world’s greatest violin virtuosi, started playing the violin by playing it poorly. And about 95% of us who worked at it for a while ended up playing better, but still rather poorly. The violin is a tough instrument to master.

Love Who?

Luke 10:21-42 

Verses 21 through 24 of Luke 10 are some of my favorite verses in the Bible. Let’s get right to it!

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. – Luke 10:21

Why is this one of my favorite passages? Because it says that Jesus is filled with joy at the thought of how simple, regular people come to faith. Although some people might conclude from the fact that I am a university professor that I might be wise and learned, when it comes to faith, I am a simple, regular person. I came to faith because simple, regular people prayed for me and shared Jesus’ love with me. To come to faith in Christ I had to renounce my own wisdom and wisdom of this world and admit that I didn’t have it all together. I had to admit that I was a pathetic sinner, addicted to sin. I had to admit my total need for and dependence on Jesus to save me. And even these truths were not things I came up with on my own – they were revealed by God to me. And Jesus is full of joy because He has seen the Father do this for me. Jesus is full of joy – overflowing with joy – because He has seen the Father do this for you! Doesn’t that make you feel good?