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Luke 14 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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0:00Luke 14:1
0:03It happened that when he went into the
0:05house of one of the leaders of the
0:08Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread,
0:11they were watching him closely.
0:14And there in front of him was a man
0:17suffering from dropsy.
0:20And Jesus answered and spoke to the
0:22lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it
0:25lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?
0:29But they kept silent and he took hold of
0:32him and healed him and sent him away.
0:37And he said to them, "Which one of you
0:39will have a son or an ox fall into a
0:43well and will not immediately pull him
0:45out on the Sabbath day?" And they could
0:48make no reply to this.
0:51So again, he's trying to teach them that
0:55they have lost the point of the Sabbath.
0:58The Sabbath was created by God as an
1:02opportunity for human beings to cease
1:05from their economy and their labor and
1:09to dwell on the Lord to give that day a
1:12day of reflection and rest to the Lord.
1:16Amen. They're supposed to keep it holy.
1:19But they had turned the Sabbath into
1:21something else. They had majored on the
1:24minors. They had added all sorts of
1:27layers and rules and regulations to the
1:30commandment of scripture.
1:32They view Jesus's
1:35miraculous healings as laboring on the
1:38Sabbath, like building a house or
1:40cleaning out the chicken coupe. And he
1:43finds that preposterous
1:46because the work that he's doing is the
1:50work of the spirit and it amounts to
1:53ceasing from human natural labor and
1:56entering into God's grace into God's
1:58work. So
2:01he asks them these questions repeatedly
2:03and and the essence of the question is
2:06if your animal fell into a well or was
2:10tied up, would you free it on the
2:13Sabbath? The answer that he knows is the
2:15truth is that they would free it. If a
2:18man or a beast fell into a well, the
2:21Sabbath would not prevent them from
2:22pulling it out. And he's basically
2:25saying, you're not even consistent with
2:27yourself. When it comes to your economy,
2:31when it comes to your animals that are
2:34essential to your work, you actually are
2:37more quick to do something on the
2:39Sabbath. But you think that me leaving
2:42this man in his broken physical
2:45condition is okay. He's just trying to
2:48help them see it's not okay. I have the
2:51power to get this man out of the pit of
2:53his pain and I'm going to do it. It
2:55doesn't matter what day it is. And of
2:57course in John it says my father is
3:01always working. So the question is not
3:04whether any works are being done. It's a
3:07question of whether human works, natural
3:10works. And to move in the power of the
3:13spirit and to perform supernatural grace
3:17is not working on the Sabbath. And even
3:20if you thought it was, they would work
3:23as much to save an ox or a donkey or a
3:26slave.
3:28And he began speaking a parable to the
3:31invited guests when he noticed how they
3:34had been picking out the places of honor
3:36at the table, saying to them, "When you
3:40are invited by someone to a wedding
3:43feast, do not take the place of honor,
3:46for someone more distinguished than you
3:49may have been invited by him."
3:52and he who invited you both will come
3:54and say to you, give your place to this
3:57man, and then in disgrace, you proceed
4:00to occupy the last place.
4:05But when you are invited, go and recline
4:07at the last place, so that when the one
4:10who has invited you comes, he may say to
4:13you, "Friend, move up higher."
4:16Then you will have honor in the sight of
4:19all who are at the table with you. For
4:22everyone who exalts himself will be
4:24humbled, and he who humbles himself will
4:28be exalted. I doubt whether he is
4:31concerned so much about where you sit at
4:35at a wedding feast. I think this is
4:38merely a parable for what they're doing.
4:41They are exalting their opinion. They
4:45are exalting their judgments and they
4:48don't understand that someone greater
4:52has come and that someone is Jesus. And
4:55so they're constantly being humiliated
4:58because they don't take the lower place
5:02in questions like the Sabbath, in
5:04questions like healing and the law. They
5:07don't take the lower place. They don't
5:09come in in humility and take the low
5:11place and wait to learn something and
5:14wait to be called forward. They come in
5:16and take the place that they know what
5:18they're talking about, that they know
5:20what they're doing. And so they're
5:22constantly being humiliated by Jesus.
5:24So, I actually think he's telling them
5:27in a in this kind of parable. He's
5:29saying, "If you guys would would ask
5:32more questions and you would start off
5:36in a place of more humility, then God
5:39would call you forward and he would
5:40acknowledge what you have that is of
5:44him. But instead, you come in and you
5:46presume a place, you presume a role at
5:50the wedding feast." And the wedding
5:51feast that Jesus is concerned about is
5:54the marriage between him and his bride.
5:57And they're not even going to be invited
5:58to that because they're so arrogant.
6:01They keep coming and passing judgment on
6:03him. So let's think of it beyond just
6:07where you sit at a person's table. Let's
6:11say at the table of discussion, at the
6:14round table of questionable matters, new
6:18things, discussions, do we come in as
6:21know-it-alls? Do we take the place of of
6:24honor to oursel or do we come in as a
6:28student? Do we come in in humility?
6:30Well, then God will will call us forward
6:34because he's always going to give grace
6:36and even exaltation to those who come in
6:39in humility.
6:41And he also went on to say to the one
6:43who had invited him, when you give a
6:46lunchon or dinner, do not invite your
6:49friends or your brothers or your
6:51relatives or your rich neighbors.
6:54Otherwise, they may also invite you in
6:56return and that will be your repayment.
7:01But when you give a reception, invite
7:03the poor, the crippled, the lame, the
7:07blind, and you will be blessed since
7:10they do not have the means to repay you,
7:13for you will be repaid at the
7:15resurrection of the righteous."
7:18When one of those who were reclining at
7:20the table with him heard this, he said
7:21to him, "Blessed is everyone who will
7:24eat bread in the kingdom of God."
7:29What a dumb statement. As far as I can
7:32tell, that man is saying, "I don't have
7:34a clue what you're talking about.
7:37I don't know that the kingdom of God is
7:39spiritual.
7:41I don't get the whole point of what
7:44you're trying to minister to us." What
7:46Jesus is saying in this second
7:48admonition is he's telling them that the
7:53purpose of generosity
7:56is to build the kingdom, is to build
7:58friendships.
8:00And it's not just for you to have a good
8:02time.
8:04If you have a good time, that's fine,
8:06but that's your whole reward. So that's
8:09not a completely fruitful event. But if
8:13you invite people who
8:16can't repay you, who don't make you feel
8:18good about what you did, then maybe you
8:21can be repaid by your father. Maybe you
8:23gave something and your father sees and
8:26he'll repay you. But he's trying to
8:29encourage us. Don't just live in your
8:31circle.
8:32Don't just hang out with the people that
8:34are easy to hang out with. Don't just
8:37laugh with your friends and family. Open
8:40your table. invite others. And it
8:42doesn't have to be people who are
8:44physically poor.
8:46It may be people who are relationally
8:49poor, people who don't have a history,
8:52don't have a story yet, who don't know
8:55how to laugh and to get along. And maybe
8:57you invite them, and you add riches of
9:00relationship and grace and generosity to
9:04their life. And when they're when they
9:06walk away from your table, maybe they
9:08don't give you anything. Maybe they
9:09don't have the means to show you the
9:12same grace that you showed them. And
9:14Jesus says, "Be excited about that. Be
9:16good with that because that means your
9:18father is going to repay you." And
9:20that's a much better repayment. But then
9:22this guy, he doesn't say, "Wow, Lord, I
9:26think I understand. You're wanting us to
9:28expand the circle of our love. I think I
9:31can do that." He just spouts off,
9:34"Blessed is the one who eats bread in
9:37the kingdom of God." And you're like,
9:39"Wow, they really didn't get it." But
9:41Luke wants us to know that. Luke wants
9:44us to know that they were completely
9:46blind and unable to see what he was
9:49speaking,
9:50but he said to him, so the guy says,
9:54"Blessed is everyone who will eat bread
9:57in the kingdom of God." But he said to
10:00him, so Jesus is going to counter that.
10:03A man was giving a big dinner. And he
10:07invited many.
10:10And at the dinner hour, he sent his
10:12slave to say to those who had been
10:14invited, "Come, for everything is ready
10:17now."
10:19But they all alike began to make
10:21excuses.
10:24The first one said to him, "I have
10:26bought a piece of land and I need to go
10:28out and look at it. Please
10:31consider me excused."
10:34Another one said to him, "I have bought
10:36five yolk of oxen and I am going to try
10:38them out. Please consider me excused."
10:43Another one said, "I have married a wife
10:46and for that reason I cannot come."
10:49And the slave came back and reported
10:51this to his master. Then the head of the
10:54household became angry.
10:57And he said to his slave,
11:00"Go out at once into the streets and
11:03lanes of the city and bring in here the
11:06poor and crippled and blind and lame."
11:12And the slave said, "Master, what you
11:15commanded has been done, and still there
11:18is room."
11:20And the master said to the slave, "Go
11:22out into the highways and along the
11:24hedges and compel them to come in so
11:28that my house may be filled.
11:31For I tell you, none of those men who
11:34were invited shall taste of my dinner."
11:40So the guy says, "Oh, it's going to be
11:43great to eat bread in the kingdom of
11:44God. Can't wait till we're in a new
11:46situation. It's almost like saying next
11:48year in Jerusalem."
11:50And he basically tells them, "No, you're
11:53not going to be part. There's going to
11:55come a day after the Holy Spirit is
11:59poured out,
12:01after 3,000 are added in one afternoon
12:04in Jerusalem. There's going to come a
12:06day when they continue in the breaking
12:10of bread with gladness of heart. And all
12:12of you, you're going to be circling
12:15around in the courts of the temple
12:17whispering about how the man at the gate
12:19beautiful shouldn't have been healed.
12:21You're going to be beating John and
12:22Peter. You're going to be completely
12:25excused because you can't see the
12:28kingdom of God. You can't relate to what
12:30God is actually doing. So, keep
12:33dreaming. You're not going to be part of
12:35it. But God is going to bring into this
12:39family, this fellowship, people from all
12:43over the world. Those on the highways
12:45and byways are the Gentiles. Those are
12:48the less learned. Those are the people
12:50without a history or a tradition. Those
12:53are the people who without a righteous
12:55family. They're going to find their
12:57place until God's house is full. His
13:00house is his church. It's his temple.
13:03It's his family and it's going to be
13:05full. But the sons of the kingdom, those
13:08who were invited, are not going to
13:10participate.
13:12Now large crowds were going along with
13:15him. And he turned and said to them, "If
13:17anyone comes to me and does not hate his
13:19own father and mother and wife and
13:22children and brothers and sisters and
13:24even his own life cannot be my disciple.
13:27Whoever does not carry his own cross and
13:30come after me cannot be my disciple.
13:35For which of you, when he wants to build
13:38a tower, does not first sit down and
13:40calculate the cost to see if he has
13:42enough to complete it? Otherwise, when
13:45he has laid the foundation and is not
13:47able to finish, all who observe it begin
13:49to ridicule him, saying, "This man began
13:52to build and was not able to finish."
13:55So, what does this mean? Does Jesus want
13:57us to loathe our parents? No. In
14:01Matthew, he says that we forsake the
14:02commandment of God when we say that
14:04we're going to give to the temple what
14:06belonged to our parents because the Lord
14:08says to honor your parents. So, he's not
14:11wanting us to hate in that sense. But it
14:14literally means by comparison. So, it's
14:18if you love anything more than me,
14:20Matthew renders it. So when you loved
14:23something more than something else, it
14:27could be said that you hated that
14:28something else. Even though you didn't
14:30hate them in the sense that we use that
14:32word, you didn't put them first.
14:36Amen. So he's saying if anyone comes
14:39after me and does not put me before his
14:43father and mother, sisters, yes, even
14:45his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
14:49And whoever does not carry his cross and
14:51come after me cannot be be my disciple.
14:54And he's telling us that putting Jesus
14:56before family feels like carrying a
14:59cross because that family is going to be
15:01sure to make you feel it. They're going
15:03to make sure you hurt for your choice of
15:06putting God first.
15:09And then he says, "For which of you when
15:11he wants to build a tower does not first
15:13sit down and count the cost?"
15:17Is he discouraging us from following
15:18him? Is he saying I don't recommend you
15:22come after me?
15:24No, he's saying, "I do recommend you
15:26come after me because there's no life
15:27anywhere else. But don't you commit
15:30until you've considered how much it's
15:32going to cost you. And what is where
15:34it's going to cost you is in your
15:36relationships.
15:38It's going to cost you your approval and
15:40acceptance with mother, father, sisters,
15:43brothers, even your own life and
15:46priorities. If you haven't dealt with
15:48that, then you're going to say, "I can
15:50build this house, but when it comes to
15:53family tensions, you're going to
15:55collapse
15:56because you love father, mother, sister,
15:58brother more than him."
16:02And he says, 'Then you're going to get a
16:04good foundation,
16:06but you're not going to be able to
16:07finish.
16:10All who observe this are going to begin
16:13to ridicule and say, "Oh boy,
16:17he had such a good start.
16:20He gave so much to the kingdom of God.
16:23Look at how beautiful and strong that
16:25foundation, those first years of
16:27faithfulness were." What happened?
16:31What happened? He did not trust God as
16:35the source of his love for family.
16:39He instead let family control his love
16:42for God when he should have let his love
16:45for God control and guide and sustain
16:49his love for family. When you put God
16:52first, that's the only way you can be
16:54faithful to your family because you
16:57cannot give them human love and expect
17:00it to produce anything but heartache.
17:02But if you give them God's love, that's
17:05the only thing that's going to give them
17:06what they really need.
17:09He says, "Or what king when he sets out
17:12to meet another king in battle will not
17:14first sit down and consider whether he
17:17is strong enough with 10,000 men to
17:20encounter the one coming against him
17:22with 20,000.
17:24Or else, while the other is still far
17:26away, he sends a delegation and asks for
17:30terms of peace. So then none of you can
17:34be my disciple who does not give up all
17:37his own possessions. I thought we were
17:40talking about family. Do you possess
17:42that? Are they your possessions?
17:47Or are you possessed by God? And are
17:50they in his hands also? Have you placed
17:53everything in his care, in his
17:55ownership?
17:56So then none of you can be my disciples
17:59who does not give up all his own
18:01possessions. Therefore salt is good. But
18:04if even salt has become tasteless,
18:08with what will it be seasoned? It is
18:11useless either for soil or for the
18:14manure pile. It is thrown out. He who
18:17has ears to hear, let him hear. When you
18:21have clear priorities and you know that
18:24Jesus comes first, you have saltiness.
18:30And salt is a preserving agent. It's not
18:34just to make your food taste better.
18:36It's to preserve meat from rotting.
18:40It's to keep your flesh from decaying in
18:43this world.
18:45And the only way salt loses its savor is
18:48if salt crystals are placed against
18:52moist earth. And that moist earth sucks
18:57the salinity out of the mineral until it
19:02becomes less and less salty. So when you
19:05place your life
19:07not on the rock of Christ but on the wet
19:10soil of a fallen world in time you're
19:14going to cease to be salt and you're
19:16going to become more and more
19:17compromising.
19:19But when you say Jesus comes first I'm
19:22going to love you better when I love him
19:25first. But he is always going to be
19:28first in my life. He is the foundation.
19:31He is the cornerstone. He is the
19:33capstone. He is my what. He is my how.
19:37He is my with whom. He is my why.
19:42Then and only then can you actually be
19:46an influence on other people's lives.
19:50You can actually influence your family.
19:53You can influence your world as salt
19:56that helps them keep from rotting.
20:00So even though it's uncomfortable, if
20:01you don't choose that way, it's not
20:03going to work. And he mixes the metaphor
20:05here. He says it's it's also like
20:08somebody who is about to be conquered by
20:11a more powerful king. He's saying you
20:14only have 10,000. They have 20. The
20:17world is twice as powerful as you are.
20:20There are twice as many people in your
20:22life who are going to disagree with the
20:24will of God.
20:26Twice as many pressures telling you to
20:29compromise,
20:30telling you to collapse, to cave, to
20:33water it down. Twice as many pressures.
20:37And the only way you can say, "I am
20:42I'm coming against him with 20,000 even
20:44though I only have 10,000 is if you say,
20:47"This isn't about the numbers of how
20:50many are with us. This is about who's
20:53inside of us and whose glory we're
20:55fighting for. Greater is he that is in
20:58you than he that is in the world. The
21:01world is
21:03many times larger. The worldly are a
21:06much bigger crowd. But inside of you is
21:10not only a cause. It's the presence of
21:12God.
21:14And with him I can scale a wall. With
21:17him I can break through a troop. The
21:21psalmist says,

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