Luke 17 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Luke chapter 17. Now, we've just heard
2. 0:02the parable of the rich man and Lazarus,
3. 0:05which is the most terrifying story in
4. 0:07all the New Testament. It's a story of a
5. 0:10[music] man who has gone to hell and can
6. 0:13never get out. He's in torment. He's in
7. 0:16pain because he was selfish. He did not
8. 0:20live a life of love. He lived a life of
9. 0:23indulging his good things and ignoring
10. 0:25and neglecting [music] those who were
11. 0:28desperate at his doorstep.
12. 0:31Okay? And the rich [music] man says that
13. 0:35Lazarus needs to rise from the dead and
14. 0:38go warn his brothers. And if his
15. 0:40brothers get [music] a warning from
16. 0:41someone who's risen from the dead, then
17. 0:42they'll repent. Jesus says, "No, they
18. 0:44won't." Because they don't need [music]
19. 0:46more fireworks from God. They need more
20. 0:49obedience to what God has already given
21. 0:51and then the [music] resurrection will
22. 0:52mean something to them.
23. 0:55And he said to his disciples, "It is
24. 0:58[music] inevitable that stumbling blocks
25. 1:01come, but woe to him through whom they
26. 1:06come.
27. 1:07It would be better for him if a
28. 1:09millstone were hung around his neck and
29. 1:12he were thrown into the sea than that he
30. 1:14would cause one of these little ones to
31. 1:16stumble.
32. 1:18Be on your guard. If your brother sins,
33. 1:20rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive
34. 1:23him. And if he sins against you seven
35. 1:26times a day and returns to you seven
36. 1:28times, [music] saying, "I repent,"
37. 1:30forgive him.
38. 1:32The apostle said to the Lord, "Increase
39. 1:34our faith."
40. 1:37Okay. So, let's connect this [music] to
41. 1:41the story that we've just heard about
42. 1:42the rich man. The rich man had five
43. 1:46brothers. Jesus is now saying [music] if
44. 1:49your brother sins.
45. 1:51So if Jesus is talking about a specific
46. 1:54individual likely the high priest who
47. 1:57had five brothers then let's say it like
48. 2:01this. Jesus is saying that
49. 2:05this man was a stumbling block to people
50. 2:09like Lazarus. He was a stumbling block
51. 2:13to the poor.
52. 2:15He lived in luxury. He ate fine food. He
53. 2:19wore purple, not while everyone else was
54. 2:22doing the same, but while his own
55. 2:24neighbors were starving, while the dogs
56. 2:27were licking their sores, because they
57. 2:29didn't have help, medical help. They
58. 2:32didn't have food. They were
59. 2:34malnourished.
60. 2:35And so in that, the rich man has become
61. 2:39a stumbling block to the poor. The rich
62. 2:43man has caused Lazarus to stumble. And
63. 2:47what was the solution? What could have
64. 2:49saved him from the selfishness and the
65. 2:51lovelessness that landed him in hell? If
66. 2:54his own brothers had spoken up. So he
67. 2:58says, "If your brother sins, be on your
68. 3:01guard. If your brother sins, rebuke
69. 3:05him." So he's basically telling the five
70. 3:08brothers of the high priest, you are
71. 3:11responsible for not warning your
72. 3:14brother. And God's judgment came on him
73. 3:16because of how he treated the poor.
74. 3:19See, he says, "If your brother sins,
75. 3:21rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive
76. 3:24him."
77. 3:25There's an equation. You are responsible
78. 3:28not just for Lazarus, but you are
79. 3:31responsible to rebuke your brother when
80. 3:34your brother is sinning.
81. 3:37And if he repents, you can forgive him.
82. 3:41This makes forgiveness conditional on
83. 3:43repentance.
84. 3:45And if he sins against you seven times a
85. 3:47day and returns to you seven times
86. 3:49saying, "I repent." Forgive him. So this
87. 3:51goes for
88. 3:53the five brothers of the bad man who
89. 3:57should have rebuked him and forgiven
90. 3:59him. But it also goes for Lazarus. If he
91. 4:03repents to Lazarus, Lazarus also should
92. 4:05forgive him.
93. 4:08And the only time that the apostles say,
94. 4:10"Lord, increase our faith is when Jesus
95. 4:13says, forgive your brother seven times a
96. 4:16day."
97. 4:18That takes faith. and they feel I can't
98. 4:20do that. I can't do that. I can't
99. 4:23forgive like that. They've seen Jesus
100. 4:26forgive sins.
101. 4:28But they don't know if they can forgive
102. 4:30sins. Maybe they're thinking about the
103. 4:32way this priest treated them. Maybe
104. 4:35they're remembering the way this treat
105. 4:36this priest treated Lazarus or someone
106. 4:39else who died malnourished being licked
107. 4:41by dogs.
108. 4:44And maybe they're here thinking, "But
109. 4:46what if these priests come over and ask
110. 4:47us for forgiveness? I don't know if I
111. 4:50can do that, Lord.
112. 4:52Can I wipe away the debt that this these
113. 4:55people owe us for the way they've
114. 4:57treated us?" And so they say, "Lord,
115. 5:01increase our faith."
116. 5:06So the Lord's going to answer their
117. 5:07their plea. They say, "Lord, increase
118. 5:10our faith." and he's going to answer
119. 5:11their plea. But he's going to do it in
120. 5:14two ways. He's going to show them that
121. 5:17they don't need an increase in quantity
122. 5:20of faith, but they need an increase in
123. 5:23usage of faith.
124. 5:26Okay,
125. 5:27here's what he's going to say. And the
126. 5:30Lord said, "If you had faith like a
127. 5:34mustard seed, you think you need more,
128. 5:37but if you had faith as tiny as a
129. 5:40mustard seed, and you would say to this
130. 5:43malberry tree, be uprooted and be
131. 5:45planted in the sea, it would obey you."
132. 5:50So they say, "Lord, increase how much
133. 5:53we've got." And he's saying, "No,
134. 5:55increase how much you use what you've
135. 5:58got.
136. 5:59because you could already move mulberry
137. 6:02trees if you would act on the mustard
138. 6:05seed that you think is too small.
139. 6:09Which of you having a slave? So now he's
140. 6:12going to tell them the other way to
141. 6:14increase their faith. Okay. Which of you
142. 6:17having a slave plowing or tending sheep
143. 6:19will say to him when he comes in from
144. 6:21the field, "Come immediately and sit
145. 6:24down and to eat."
146. 6:27But will not but will he not say to him,
147. 6:31"Prepare something for me to eat and
148. 6:33properly clothe yourself and serve me
149. 6:36while I eat and drink, and afterward you
150. 6:40may eat and drink." He does not thank
151. 6:43the slave because he did the things
152. 6:47which were commanded, does he?
153. 6:50So you too when you do all the things
154. 6:52which are commanded you say to
155. 6:56yourselves say we are unworthy slaves.
156. 7:02We have done only that which we ought to
157. 7:04have done. So what he's telling them
158. 7:06here is he's saying you disciples
159. 7:10when I Jesus tell you something to do
160. 7:12you do it but you don't take initiative.
161. 7:16You don't act
162. 7:18on the mustard seed that's already in
163. 7:21your heart.
164. 7:22When I tell you,
165. 7:25take this fish and these loaves and hand
166. 7:27it to the poor, hand it to the hungry,
167. 7:29you do it, but you haven't grown in
168. 7:32faith.
169. 7:35You think that the master, the Lord
170. 7:39should feed you and meet your needs
171. 7:42first.
172. 7:43But you should say, even when you come
173. 7:45in tired,
174. 7:47exhausted from working in the field of
175. 7:50God's ministry, you should come into his
176. 7:53presence and make him a sacrifice first.
177. 7:57You should come in and honor him, thank
178. 8:00him, praise him, put God first, even
179. 8:04when you're exhausted. And when you put
180. 8:06God first, he'll meet your need. But you
181. 8:10you are too accustomed to living only on
182. 8:14duty.
183. 8:18You don't act on your own initiative
184. 8:20based on the mustard seed of faith. Do
185. 8:22you get that?
186. 8:24So what he's saying is if you would stop
187. 8:27waiting to move in love and faith only
188. 8:30when Jesus tells you to do it verbally
189. 8:33tells the disciples to do it and you
190. 8:35would start acting on your own
191. 8:37initiative
192. 8:39on that mustard seed it would grow.
193. 8:43His whole point is you've got enough to
194. 8:45do more than what you're doing. While he
195. 8:48was on the way to Jerusalem, he was
196. 8:50passing between Samaria and Galilee. As
197. 8:53he entered a village, 10 lepous men who
198. 8:57stood at a distance met him. And they
199. 9:00raised their voices, saying, "Jesus,
200. 9:04Master, have mercy on us."
201. 9:08When he saw them, he said to them, "Go
202. 9:12and show yourselves to the priests."
203. 9:16And as they were going, they were
204. 9:18cleansed.
205. 9:20Now one of them, when he saw that he had
206. 9:22been healed, turned back glorifying God
207. 9:26with a loud voice.
208. 9:28And he fell on his face at his feet,
209. 9:31giving thanks to him. And he was a
210. 9:35Samaritan.
211. 9:37Then Jesus answered and said, "Were
212. 9:40there not 10 cleansed, but the nine?
213. 9:43Where are they? Was
214. 9:46no one found who returned to give glory
215. 9:50to God except this foreigner?
216. 9:55And he said to him, "Stand up and go.
217. 9:59Your faith has made you well."
218. 10:02Now, having been questioned by the
219. 10:04Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God
220. 10:06was coming, he answered them and said,
221. 10:08"The kingdom of God is not coming with
222. 10:11signs to be observed or analyzed."
223. 10:15Nor will they say, "Look, here it is,"
224. 10:18or, "There it is." For behold, the
225. 10:21kingdom of God is in your midst.
226. 10:26Literally, it's within you. It's inside.
227. 10:31His reign and dominion is something that
228. 10:33takes over our hearts, our minds. So in
229. 10:37this story about the lepers,
230. 10:40modern Christianity tries to turn faith
231. 10:43into something that is merely
232. 10:45intellectual
233. 10:47or even intellectual and emotional.
234. 10:51But Jesus always makes faith something
235. 10:55that is intellectual, emotional, and
236. 10:59behavioral.
237. 11:01Always.
238. 11:03So when these people ask him, Lord,
239. 11:06please heal us, these lepers, these 10
240. 11:08lepers,
241. 11:10did he have the power to just say, be
242. 11:12cleansed?
243. 11:13Mhm. But he wants to show us that faith
244. 11:18that stays in the mind and heart is not
245. 11:21faith at all. So he tells them to do
246. 11:24something
247. 11:26and as they go in obedience,
248. 11:30their faith becomes real and powerful
249. 11:32enough to heal them.
250. 11:36Jesus wants our faith activated. An
251. 11:40unactivated faith is a partial faith and
252. 11:43it's not saving faith.
253. 11:46So he says, "Go show yourself to the
254. 11:47priest."
255. 11:49Did they have anything to show when they
256. 11:51set out on the journey?
257. 11:53No, they didn't. But as they're going,
258. 11:58they gain something to show. And then
259. 12:01the one man comes back to glorify God.
260. 12:05And he's praising God in a loud voice.
261. 12:10And Jesus says, "Why is it that the
262. 12:12Samaritan alone has come back?"
263. 12:16And while this miracle is unfolding,
264. 12:20the Pharisees
265. 12:22question him about when the kingdom of
266. 12:24God is going to come.
267. 12:26And he says, "It's not going to come in
268. 12:29a way that you can put under your
269. 12:31magnifying glass and analyze." Huh. I
270. 12:35wonder is that exactly what it says in
271. 12:37the scripture?
272. 12:39See, that's how the carnal mind wants to
273. 12:43assess the power of God. He says,
274. 12:46"Here's how it's not going to come. The
275. 12:48kingdom of God is not coming with signs
276. 12:51to be observed."
277. 12:53Is that exactly how this should be
278. 12:55happening? I noticed that the Samaritan
279. 12:59was praying in a loud voice. That just
280. 13:01does not seem very reverent,
281. 13:04right? So, it's coming with signs, but
282. 13:07they're not signs that your carnal mind
283. 13:09are going to analyze and observe. The
284. 13:13kingdom of God is when you let God get a
285. 13:15hold of your heart. It's coming within
286. 13:18you.
287. 13:21And he said to his disciples, "The days
288. 13:23will come when you will long to see one
289. 13:27of the days of the Son of Man, and you
290. 13:29will not see it."
291. 13:31They will say to you, "Look there. Look
292. 13:33here, do not go away [music] and do not
293. 13:37run after them.
294. 13:39For just like the lightning, when it
295. 13:41flashes out of one part of the sky,
296. 13:43shines to the other part of the sky, so
297. 13:46will the Son of Man be in his day.
298. 13:49But first, he must suffer many things
299. 13:52and be rejected by this generation.
300. 13:55And just as it happened in the days of
301. 13:57Noah, so it [music] will be in the days
302. 14:00of the Son of Man. They were eating.
303. 14:02They were drinking. They were marrying.
304. 14:05They were being given in marriage until
305. 14:08the day that Noah [music] entered the
306. 14:10ark. And the flood came and destroyed
307. 14:12them all.
308. 14:15It was the same as happened in [music]
309. 14:17the days of Lot. They were eating, they
310. 14:19were drinking, they were buying, they
311. 14:21were selling, they were planting, they
312. 14:23were building. But on the day that Lot
313. 14:27went out from Sodom, it rained [music]
314. 14:29fire and brimstone from heaven and
315. 14:31destroyed them all. It will be just the
316. 14:34same on the day that the Son of Man is
317. 14:36revealed. On that day, the one who is on
318. 14:39the housetop, whose goods are in the
319. 14:41house, must not go down to take them
320. 14:43[music] out. And likewise, the one who
321. 14:45is in the field must not turn back.
322. 14:48Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to
323. 14:52keep his life will lose it. and whoever
324. 14:54loses his life will preserve [music] it.
325. 14:56I tell you, on that night there will be
326. 14:58two in one bed. One will be taken and
327. 15:01the other will be left.
328. 15:04There will be two women grinding at the
329. 15:06same place. [music] One will be taken
330. 15:07and the other will be left. Two men will
331. 15:10be in the field. One will be taken and
332. 15:12the other will be left. And answering,
333. 15:14they said [music] to him, "Where, Lord?"
334. 15:17And he said to them, "Where the body is,
335. 15:21there also the vultures will be
336. 15:24gathered."
337. 15:26So he's saying, "Where will they be
338. 15:27taken? They will be taken in death. They
339. 15:30will be taken out of their place in
340. 15:34God's house. They will be taken to where
341. 15:37the body of Christ has died
342. 15:40and where the vultures are gathered.
343. 15:44They will be taken to where people have
344. 15:45lost their faith.
345. 15:49[music]