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What is Jesus saying? Are we obeying?
One morning Jesus was with his disciples. He was spending some personal time in prayer. Maybe all night. The crowds started coming and they grew and grew throughout the day. People were being trampled the crowd was so large.
The crowd was made up of many different people. The disciples, critics, ex-demon possessed, sincere seekers, scribes, pharisees, hypocrites, and many other kinds of people. We are gathered here this morning in front of Jesus.
Which one of these groups do we fall into?
In Timothy Paul describes a group of people as being, “ever learning, but never able to grasp and apply it to life.” Hopefully that is not us this morning.
Whenever and wherever people meet Jesus, there is a response. We all respond one way or another when we encounter Jesus.
Luke 11:12-36
All of us want to be blessed by God. To find that blessing we are told here that we need to “hear the word of God and keep it.”
Jesus knows our thoughts
Scripture tells us that Jesus knew the thoughts of those who followed him. Jesus knows our thoughts as well.
This is a direct invitation to confession. Agreeing with God that our thoughts are not his thoughts is the most reasonable thing, because God knows our thoughts.
Romans 12
God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
If we are going to think thoughts that God is not ashamed of, we need renewed minds.
God and I work together
Jesus made it very clear here that he and God work together. Jesus tells us that he is the finger of God working among the people he was walking with.
Husbands and wives must work together. If they don’t their marriages and families will fail.
As a church, if we don’t pull together failure is certain. Working together under the power of God is the way to success.
Satan is powerful… but God is all-powerful.
Jesus says that a strong man can hold something until another man comes along who is stronger. Jesus is that stronger man.
Satan is powerful, but God and Jesus is way stronger. Jesus will always comes out on top if we trust in him.
This is a great encouragement for those who have chosen Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Either we are working for Jesus or we are working against Him
Is there evidence that we are working for Jesus? Remember that Jesus knows our thoughts, he knows if we are working for or against him.
Are our thoughts gathering thoughts or scattering thoughts? Are we calling people to Jesus or pushing them away?
It is a serious thing to be scattering what Jesus is trying to gather.
There is no middle ground. Jesus tells us clearly that there are two kingdoms. We are either working for the kingdom of God or against it.
A lot of people think that life is lived in “neutral.” Life is not lived in neutral, either we are gathering or scattering.
Jesus says, we are blessed if we hear and obey
When God went to send Jesus to earth as a baby. What kind of process did he use to choose Mary? We don’t know.
Mary was chosen, she was an outstanding young lady. But she too needed Jesus shed blood just as much as you and I do. She too needed to listen to her son, Jesus, and obey.
Another time Jesus family came to talk to him. He explained to his followers that they were his family. We are part of the family of God if we are followers of Jesus.
Jesus tells us to hear, to hear and obey. Make it a way of life. It isn’t just what is going on in your head, it is what goes on in your actions and the things you do. It makes a change.
Jesus on the present generation
How would Jesus describe our generation? Would he call us an evil generation? What lessons from scripture would he bring to our attention?
Who will stand up and condemn us on the judgement day?
Jesus tells us that in the face of truth the only proper response is repentance
Jonah was faithful to preach judgement to the people of Nineveh. The people responded in repentance.
Acts 2
Peter was preaching and he told the people to repent. Without the repentance there is no remission of sins.
All of us probably have prophets in our lives today. We don’t always like when these people bring us face to face with truth. It can make us squirm just a bit. Rather than receive the message a lot of times we start attacking the messenger.
Let us be grateful for the prophets in our lives. Just like God sent Jonah to the Ninevehites God is sending people into our lives to bring us face to face with truth.
A lack of diligence in searching for wisdom of God will condemn us at the judgement
The queen of Sheba diligently searched for the wisdom of God. We don’t know exactly what kind of lady she was, but Jesus reached back and said that she will stand up and condemn that generation because they were not making an effort to know the wisdom of God.
Is there any generation that has as much at their finger tips as we do? Are we taking advantage of the wisdom of God that is right here in front of us. We don’t have to go as far to seek out the wisdom of God as the queen of Sheba did.
James 3:17
Jesus is saying, “be sure the light you think you have inside of you is not really darkness…”
Godly people are drawn to light. The ungodly however like darkness. They like things to be a little confusing and unclear.
What kind of person are we? Do we have things to hide? Do we like the shadows and would rather people didn’t know what we are thinking?
Be sure that the light that we have within us is not really darkness.
If you think of a candle being lit and giving light, that is the kind of light God wants us to be. Open, honest, giving light to all we come in contact with.
Conclusion
Jesus knows our thoughts. That is a call to confession. Repentance is the only response.
Jesus reminds us that he is the finger of God among us working.
Jesus reminds us that there is no middle ground.
Jesus promises that we will be blessed if we hear and obey his word.
Jesus says that if we are faced with truth we must depend.
Jesus tells us to search diligently for wisdom.
Jesus asks us to let our light shine brightly and unhindered for the whole world to see.