Things that
Really Count
Intro: Howard Huges died a lonely man.
1. Rich--money, poss., notoriety
sent away--MT 7:21-23
empty--those things that are
temporal; 2 Cor. 4:18
2. Hungry--when you are in real need you tend to
put your pride on the shelf (Titanic and orange)
filled--JN 10:10; Eph. 5:18
good things--2 Cor. 5:17; Lk.
15:11-24
Concl.: Don't die like Howard Hughes
Learning
to Love (Erwin Lutzer)
Luke
6:32-33
Topic: Why
human love falls short in a marriage, and only divine love suffices.
Big Idea:
We often base the success of our marriages on he feelings of our relationship,
but we need to rely more on God's sacrificial love to make marriage work.
Keywords:
Divorce; Love; Marriage
Introduction
Learning to
love applies to both the married and unmarried.
People
experience misery in marriage for 4 reasons
Unrealistic expectations: Some people think marriage will
make them happy.
The myth of greener grass: Many are on the slippery slope of
"What if ...?"
Illustration: Lutzer tells a joke about a visit to a mental
institution where two different people are beating their heads against the
padded walls-one in misery because he didn't win Linda's love, the other in
misery because he did
A misunderstanding of the role of conflict: Incompatibility
is precisely how we grow.
A failure to distinguish between human love and divine
love: Jesus gives three statements on
love from the Sermon on the Mount.
Statement
one: If you love those who love you, what credit is
that to
you? (Luke 6:32)
Human love depends on the person who is loved. We tend to
love people who are beautiful and/or have great personality.
Illustration: A woman badly burned says her husband saw her
in the hospital and said, "You're not the woman I married," and left
to marry someone younger and more beautiful. Human love says, "If you
change, my love for you
changes."
It's important to marry the right person, but more important
to be the
right person.
Statement
Two: Love Your Enemies (Luke
Divine love is based on the lover, so it can love even enemies.
Illustration: A couple asks a pastor to approve their
divorce, because there's no feeling left. The pastor tells the husband to love
his wife as Christ loved. He says, "I can't do that." The pastor says
to love her as he'd love himself. He says he can't. The pastor says, "The
Bible says love your enemies. Begin there."
Illustration: A wife tells a lawyer she wants a divorce, and
wants to hurt her husband in the process. The lawyer suggests being kind and
speaking well of her husband for three months, then drop the bomb, because
that'll hurt even more. She follows the lawyer's advice ... and the marriage is
saved.
How should we pray for our enemies? By asking God to bless
them.
Husbands need to communicate; spouses need to feel like they
mean something.
Divine love: "I may not need this, but you do, and I
put your needs above mine."
Statement
three: Love your enemies...you will be sons of the Most High (Luke
When people are hard to love, it's an opportunity for us to
grow in Christ.
Though not stated explicitly, forgiveness is implied in this
text.
Illustration: A woman whose stepfather molested her as a
child now finds it hard to be intimate with her husband. Not until she forgives
her stepfather does she find physical intimacy in her marriage.
Conclusion
The Holy
Spirit is a supernatural resource for loving the unlovable.
Luke
7:36-48
The Marks
of Discipleship
Forgiven
and Forgiveness: The one who can
demonstrate the genuineness of faith by repentance is the one who receives
forgiveness.
Intro: Illustr. 182.
Most Pharisees did not invite Jesus home for dinner.
1. v. 36, some come to God already “saved”
Pharisee—separated--he is above her
Didn’t see all the sin (Jn
“Whited Sepluchres” (Mt
Those “healthy” need not a doctor (Mk 2:17)
“God be merciful” (Lk 18:13)
2. v. 37, others come to God having seen
themselves in the light of His word (in her case, Jesus)
Alabaster (cruse of ointment)—expensive; all you have is His
Hair unbound—signifying her profession
Tradition says it was Magdalene
Not customary for women to do this
Ja 2--her faith is manifested through her works
Are you like this woman?
v. 43a, the one who fully
understands the depravity of his or her heart loves more (1 Jn
all of us are sinners; only some see
it better than others
This leads to repentance (Rom 2:4)
Not worldly sorrow (2 Cor 7:8-11)
3.
v.
43b, the Pharisee judged rightly—he knew of earthly things, but not spiritual
(Jn 3; 1 Cor 2:14); v, 47, little is forgiven
Concl. Not until we see ourselves as God sees us do
we seek genuine repentance and can start our walk with God.
Children’s
Sermon (Lk 18:13)
Two GI
Joes. But both have sin written on their
chest.. One knows he is sick, the other
doesn’t, because he still has on his shirt.
We think the one looking better will be declared righteous, but not
so. If we look to ourselves in the light
of Christ, we see our need of Him.
Luke
9:46-48
Empty
Recognition
Intro: Churchill and humility. In Luke, chapter 9, the disciples could learn
a lesson from Churchill. They had been
with Christ on the mount of Transf., and Christ had just spoken to them about
his soon death. All that was on their
mind was, “Who would be greatest?”
1. The human desire: Who is greatest? (v. 46)
Is. 14, Satan would be like the most high; our sin nature
requires the same of us; he tempted the first couple and Christ with the same
Argument started—after Jesus just told them he would soon
die, and shortly after the transfiguration (where the inner circle may have
boasted about the event to the other nine)
Among disciples—supposed to be the cream of the crop; you
can tell man did not write this-we would have had the disciples look flawless.
Greatest
More interested in their legacy rather than their fruit
I wanted the Scout Buck knife
2. The appropriate illustration: Jesus took a child (v. 47-48a)
Knew their thoughts
Jn. 2-3
Heb. 4:15 and Satan’s temptation in Matt. 4
Took a child
May have been Peter’s child
Children are brutally honest, uninhibited, and will believe
most of what you tell them—and sometimes they get a little confused about Bible
history (read stories)
Average parent spends 3 min. / day in conv. w/ children
(Menninger Clinic, 2-96); parents spend 17 hrs./wk. with their children in
1991, compared to 30 hrs./wk. in 1965--CNN stat, 26 July 1991; we really don’t
look at children as really important people
MT 18:4 seems to indicate Christ was speaking of a
conversion to a newborn spiritual child, characterized by faith and humility;
and later of those who receive these children; not as this child humbles
himself, but shall make himself humble as this little child is lowly—shall
willingly become by spiritual process what the child is by nature
God asked Job, “Where were you when I was creating the
world?”; Ps. 8, When I consider the stars—the closest is Alpha Centari, 4.3
light years away (light takes 8 minutes to get from the sun to the earth)
3. The answer not expected: The least is the greatest (v. 48b)
Least
Christ came not to be served, but to serve (MK 10:35-45)
Rom. 12:3/Gal. 2:20, taking ourselves off the throne of our
lives
Among you all
We are each given a calling from God (a vocation); 1
1
J. Baptist qualifications for the greatest (Lk. 7:28), Jn.
3:30
Ask God to use you each day; to fill you as an empty
container
Greatest
Conclusion: Churchill had abased himself, probably having
read Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction…” Christ encourages us, who look forward to a
day many people will look up to and emulate us, to remember the way to
greatness is not by notoriety, nor is it by upward mobility, not even by wealth
or political power–but by humility and service.
Luke
10:38-42
The One
Thing Needed
Intro: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev used to tell
of a time when there was a wave of petty theft in the
“Oh, just
sawdust and shavings,” Petrovich replied.
“Come on,” the guard said, “I wasn’t born yesterday. Tip it out.” And
out came nothing but sawdust and shavings. So he was allowed to put it all back
again and go home. When the same thing happened every night of the week the
guard became frustrated. Finally, his curiosity overcame his frustration. “Petrovich,” he said, “I know you. Tell me
what you’re smuggling out of here, and I’ll let you go.” “Wheelbarrows, my friend, “ said Petrovich,
“wheelbarrows.”
There are a
multitude of things in this world that drag us away from what is most important
in life, and keep us interested in sawdust and shavings. It was no different during the time of
Christ. In the 10th chapter
of Luke, Jesus was with some of His followers, walking from town to town and
talking to the people. He entered
1.
Direction
-Martha/Mary (John 11)
Martha- oldest of the
family and ran the household; we find her mostly in the kitchen or serving.
Mary- provided Jesus the
closest thing to a home during his earthly ministry; anointed his feet with
expensive ointment. Mostly women were
left at the cross of Jesus when He died.
-Lord’s feet: signifies readiness to
receive his word; submission to the guidance of Christ. Paul sat at the feet of Gamaliel. First grade class and teacher reading—it’s
real to them
-God wants to talk to His creation
-Some may say Mary was righteous and
was invited by the Lord (LK 15); hold child’s hand now
we have a bent towards
evil; Psalms 51:5, Romans 6:12.
we don’t have to teach
our children to do wrong
-He knows about all we’ve been
through (Heb. 4:15)
-John 15:1-5; IS 26:3
2.
Distraction
-
Pulled
or dragged away—work, PC, new toy, sin, promo, assignments
-
World: Cosmos—pretty
-
Illustr.
#54
- Matt 13:3-8, and 18-23 (esp 22-23); Gal. 5:22 worried/upset (John 14:1; Ph’p. 4:6; 1 Pet 5:7)
- 1 Cor 4:2
3. Desire
-one thing: give yourself up to the
guidance of Christ
-chosen: DT 30:19; God created us
with choice
-give us this day
-not taken away (Matt. 6:19-21,
where’s your treasure today? In your
garage, in your bank, in your sin, at your office, with your social status);
Romans 8:35-39
-illustration on losing treasures-
#94/2 Cor. 4:17-18
Concl.: So many times we have our attention on
sawdust and shavings, while the wheelbarrows go rolling right on by. The world beckons us to keep our attention off
God and on something else. This way
Satan and the world system wins. The day
will come when Martha will wish she had sat where Mary did. She will wish she had reached for the one
thing needed. Focus on that one thing
needed.
Luke
12:13-34
Priorities
in Life-Be Rich toward God
-Baby
locked in car; mechanic smashed window
-My father
told me real family values come out when the inheritance is divided.
-Important
things on my uniform
-More
parables on money than any other subject
-Titanic
and orange
-Palestinians
took their unsettled disputes to respected Rabbis; but Jesus had a way of
turning the request around to His liking
1. The
Crop: God is rich toward us
-those things that go by unnoticed-your
job, your family, your next heart beat
-as long as you are on this earth, God has
a purpose with you (famous missionary:
"I am indestructable until God is finished with me"
2. The Ego:
We spend too much time thinking about ourselves
-note the words "I, my, myself"
-the one thing that never entered his head
was to give any away
-Ecc. 5:10 and salt water
-2 K 3:3-15
3. The Unexpected
-XO called me into his office; It is
appointed unto mankind once to die ...; he wanted something a little more
encouraging
-This man never realized there was someone
else in his life besides himself; he never gave thought about the One Who
created him
-1 Cor. 15:51-52
4. The Target
-Give us this DAY our daily bread; He
wants a DAILY relationship; He is a person
-We are more important than birds to God
-Hussain was focused on the wrong thing
(Marines) when he got flanked from the west
-We focus on the wrong things (1 Tim. 5:8)
Conclusion
One thing
you won't say on your death bed is, "Gee, I wish I would have spent less
time with my family, and more time at work."
The Found
Treasures (Or, how we should act when lost sinners are found)
Intro: Lock down.
1. vv. 1-2, Sinners listened to Him (they
identified with that one which was lost); Professionals (Pharisees, from the
Maccabean uprising) were grumbling (“this fellow welcomes sinners and eats with
them”; badge protectors; “that which is highly esteemed among men …; but they were
like the sinners once—and really were still, only hardened)
2. v. 4/8, Losing that one (one out of 100, one
out of 10, one out of two) (innocently, carelessly, willingly) (focuses on lost, search, restoration);
goes searching for it (sheep dumb, Jesus goes looking for it (even if you were
the only one)—Lk 19:10; Satan looks for those straying; Wild Kingdom); the coin
(probably the woman’s dowry, worth only about 18c--like the worthless soul of a
sinner in the eyes of the Pharisees) was lost at home: some may be lost right there in their own
church
3. v. 5/9, Rejoices when found
4. v. 7/10, Same happens in heaven; angels are
interested in our salvation (1 Pet 1:10-12); Pharisees taught there is joy
before God when those who provoke him perish from the world.
LK 15:11-31
The Found
Son (Or, how we act when lost sinners are found); Illustr. 215; The father is
mentioned 12x, so should be called, “The Searching Father”
1. vv. 12-13, The son was willingly lost
(one out of two); everything he sought in a foreign country was right at
home: abundance, freedom, and rejoicing;
give me that which WILL belong to me; God has a permissive will (quail in the
wilderness; King Saul)
2. v. 17-19, He came to himself; did not assume
to be in the family
3. v. 20, Father ran to meet him—saw him from
afar; forgets his past life, and starts anew
4. v. 21, Repentance; just like God’s children
5. v. 28, Mt 20:1-16 (warns against impurity of
motive in serving); the older son was morally straight, a hard worker, and
obedient—but he was also proud and more willing to focus on the sin rather than
the repentance (Jonah; Jn 21:20-22; Lk 17:10)
Luke 16:24
Dr. Cook
gave someone in the hospital a little water on a sponge to an unsaved
person. He said, "In hell you would
not even receive that much."
Thanksgiving
Lk.
17:11-19
Intro:
Emerson said that if the stars came out only once a year, everybody would stay
up all night to behold them. We have seen the stars so often that we don’t
bother to look at them anymore. In much the same way, we have grown accustomed
to our blessings. Because a loving God
maintains them on a daily basis, we don’t bother to acknowledge them
anymore. God gives to us on a daily
basis, but more times than not we fail to see it. Samaritan.
1. They failed to acknowledge the gift
Ja. 1:17
Paper with dot
Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9
Black Friday; 5% of the population of the world controls 95%
of the wealth
2. They failed to acknowledge the giver
Prov. 3:5-6
Eddie Rickenbacker and the Sea Gulls:
It is gratitude that prompted an old man to visit an old
broken pier on the eastern seacoast of
But there
was an unexpected detour which would hurl Captain Eddie into the most harrowing
adventure of his life. Somewhere over the South Pacific the Flying Fortress
became lost beyond the reach of radio. Fuel ran dangerously low, so the men
ditched their plane in the ocean. for nearly a month Captain Eddie and his
companions would fight the water, and the weather, and the scorching sun. They
spent many sleepless nights recoiling as giant sharks rammed their rafts. The
largest raft was nine by five. The biggest shark...ten feet long. But of all
their enemies at sea, one proved most formidable: starvation. Eight days out,
their rations were long gone or destroyed by the salt water. It would take a
miracle to sustain them. And a miracle occurred. In Captain Eddie’s own words,
“Cherry,” that was the B-17 pilot, Captain William Cherry, “read the service
that afternoon, and we finished with a prayer for deliverance and a hymn of
praise. There was some talk, but it tapered off in the oppressive heat. With my
hat pulled down over my eyes to keep out some of the glare, I dozed off.”
Now this is
still Captain Rickenbacker talking...”Something landed on my head. I knew that
it was a sea gull. I don’t know how I knew, I just knew. Everyone else knew
too. No one said a word, but peering out from under my hat brim without moving
my head, I could see the expression on their faces. They were staring at that
gull. The gull meant food...if I could catch it.”
And the
rest, as they say, is history. Captain Eddie caught the gull. Its flesh was
eaten. Its intestines were used for bait to catch fish. The survivors were
sustained and their hopes renewed because a lone sea gull, uncharacteristically
hundreds of miles from land, offered itself as a sacrifice. You know that
Captain Eddie made it.
And now you also know...that he never forgot. Because
every Friday evening, about sunset...on a lonely stretch along the eastern
3. They failed to acknowledge their destiny
Lam. 3:22
Gal. 6:7