Luke 18 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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1. 0:00Luke chapter 18 [music] verse 1. Now he
2. 0:03was telling them a parable to show that
3. 0:04at all times [music] they ought to pray
4. 0:07and not to lose heart saying, "In a
5. 0:11certain city there was a judge who did
6. 0:14not fear God and did not respect men.
7. 0:18There was a widow in that city and she
8. 0:20kept coming to him saying, "Give me
9. 0:23legal protection from my opponent."
10. 0:25[music]
11. 0:27For a while he was unwilling.
12. 0:31But afterwards he said to himself, "Even
13. 0:34though I do not fear God nor respect
14. 0:36man,
15. 0:37yet because this widow bothers me,
16. 0:40I will give her [music] legal
17. 0:41protection.
18. 0:43Otherwise by constantly coming she will
19. 0:46wear me out."
20. 0:48And the Lord said,
21. 0:50"Hear [snorts] what the unrighteous
22. 0:51judge said.
23. 0:53Now will not God bring justice for his
24. 0:57elect who cry to him day and night?
25. 1:01And will he delay long over them?
26. 1:04I tell you he will bring about [music]
27. 1:06justice for them quickly. However, when
28. 1:10the Son of Man comes, will he find faith
29. 1:13on the earth?"
30. 1:16So in this parable Jesus is not at all
31. 1:19suggesting [music] that God is unjust.
32. 1:22But he is suggesting that sometimes God
33. 1:25feels unjust to us in the way he waits
34. 1:30and delays to answer our prayer.
35. 1:33And his point [music]
36. 1:35is that we should keep faith alive and
37. 1:37not quit praying.
38. 1:39But Jesus is saying
39. 1:41that we've got to be as persistent
40. 1:44[music]
41. 1:45as that
42. 1:46poor widow.
43. 1:48Not because God is unjust. God is not
44. 1:50unjust, but because [music] God's delay
45. 1:53feels like injustice to us.
46. 1:56And he says we've got to keep knocking,
47. 1:58we got to keep asking, we got to keep
48. 2:00praying, and we got to put the delay
49. 2:02part in God's hands. But we have got to
50. 2:05be vigilant to stay after him.
51. 2:08And through persistence,
52. 2:10through patience,
53. 2:12we will keep [music] our prayers alive
54. 2:15and we will keep our faith alive.
55. 2:17And then when he comes,
56. 2:20he will find faith on the earth.
57. 2:24And he also told this parable to some
58. 2:27people who trusted in themselves that
59. 2:29they were righteous and viewed others
60. 2:32with contempt.
61. 2:35Two men went up to the temple to pray.
62. 2:38One a Pharisee and the other a tax
63. 2:41collector. [music]
64. 2:42The Pharisee stood and was praying this
65. 2:46to himself.
66. 2:48"God, I thank you that I am not like
67. 2:52other people,
68. 2:54swindlers,
69. 2:56unjust,
70. 2:58adulterers,
71. 3:00or even like this tax collector.
72. 3:03I fast twice a week.
73. 3:06I pay tithes of all that I get."
74. 3:12But the tax collector standing some
75. 3:15distance away
76. 3:17was even unwilling to lift up his eyes
77. 3:19to heaven,
78. 3:21but was beating his breast saying,
79. 3:24"God,
80. 3:25be merciful to me, the sinner."
81. 3:31And then Jesus says,
82. 3:33"I tell you this man went to his house
83. 3:37justified
84. 3:39rather than the other.
85. 3:41For everyone who exalts himself will be
86. 3:43humbled,
87. 3:45but he who humbles himself
88. 3:47will be exalted."
89. 3:50So in this story
90. 3:52Jesus says that there are people
91. 3:56who justify
92. 3:58themselves
93. 3:59and imagine that they are righteous and
94. 4:02they view others with contempt.
95. 4:06So the Pharisee tells God first what he
96. 4:08doesn't do.
97. 4:10"I don't swindle, I don't commit
98. 4:13injustice, I don't commit adultery, I'm
99. 4:16not like this tax collector." And then
100. 4:18he tells God what he does do.
101. 4:21"I fast twice a week, I pay tithes."
102. 4:26So this is where his trust is. His trust
103. 4:30is not in God.
104. 4:32His love is not in God, it's in himself.
105. 4:35He trusts in himself.
106. 4:38And the tax collector is completely
107. 4:41different. Let's look at how the tax
108. 4:42collector behaves.
109. 4:44The tax collector is standing some
110. 4:48distance away.
111. 4:50So he still honors God's presence.
112. 4:54He still feels the shame of his own sin.
113. 4:59He still feels the fear of God.
114. 5:02So much more honor is in his heart for
115. 5:05God.
116. 5:07And he's not willing to lift up his
117. 5:09eyes. He is ashamed.
118. 5:15He's beating his breast.
119. 5:19He sees who he is in the light of God's
120. 5:23presence, God's glory.
121. 5:26And he says, "God,
122. 5:28be merciful to me, for I know who I am.
123. 5:32I know what I am. I am a sinner."
124. 5:36His whole relationship with God is right
125. 5:40because he remembers who God is. He
126. 5:42honors who God is. He believes in who
127. 5:45God is and he knows who he is. He is
128. 5:48nothing. He is broken. He is unworthy.
129. 5:52He is a sinner.
130. 5:54And he goes home justified and the other
131. 5:57man goes home condemned.
132. 6:01And they were bringing even
133. 6:03[clears throat] their babies to him so
134. 6:05that he would touch them.
135. 6:06But when the disciples saw it, they
136. 6:08began rebuking them.
137. 6:10But Jesus called for them saying,
138. 6:12"Permit the children to come to me and
139. 6:13do not hinder them. For the kingdom of
140. 6:16God belongs to such as these. Truly I
141. 6:19say to you, whoever does not receive the
142. 6:22kingdom of God like a child will not
143. 6:26enter it at all."
144. 6:27So this is doubling down on the same
145. 6:30pride
146. 6:31that the Pharisee had.
147. 6:33Jesus is saying, "If you don't come like
148. 6:36a child,
149. 6:37if you don't feel the joy of a child, if
150. 6:41you don't feel the humility of the
151. 6:43child, if you don't run to your father,
152. 6:45if you don't feel the weakness of a
153. 6:47child,
154. 6:49you're not going to enter."
155. 6:51A ruler questioned him saying, "Good
156. 6:53teacher, what shall I do to inherit
157. 6:54eternal life?"
158. 6:56And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call
159. 6:58me good?
160. 6:59No one is good except God alone. You
161. 7:02know the commandments.
162. 7:04Do not commit adultery. Do not murder.
163. 7:06Do not steal. Do not bear false witness.
164. 7:09Honor your father and mother."
165. 7:11Now these are exactly the commandments
166. 7:13that the Pharisee just mentioned that he
167. 7:15observes.
168. 7:19And Jesus knows they're not enough.
169. 7:21But he wants to see if the ruler knows
170. 7:23they're not enough.
171. 7:25And he said, "All these things I have
172. 7:28kept from my youth." Well, there's your
173. 7:29pride.
174. 7:31When Jesus heard this, he said to him,
175. 7:33"One thing you still lack.
176. 7:38Sell all that you possess and distribute
177. 7:42it to the poor
178. 7:43and you shall have treasure in heaven
179. 7:45and come follow me."
180. 7:48He told him you lack something.
181. 7:51He asked for eternal life and he said,
182. 7:53"You lack something." But then he told
183. 7:55him to sell things. How do you gain
184. 7:56something by selling something?
185. 7:59Only if the things that you sell have
186. 8:02become substitutes for what you lack.
187. 8:05And what this man lacked was faith to
188. 8:09follow Jesus.
189. 8:11He didn't have a guiding light in his
190. 8:13life.
191. 8:14He didn't have the joy of being part of
192. 8:18the Jesus band.
193. 8:20But he couldn't be part of that until he
194. 8:23gave up the idols that had taken the
195. 8:25place of following Jesus.
196. 8:28He was following his possessions like
197. 8:31Peter was following Jesus.
198. 8:33So the thing that he lacked was being
199. 8:35part of Jesus' band.
200. 8:38He says, "Sell everything you lack and
201. 8:39come follow me and you're going to have
202. 8:42treasure in heaven."
203. 8:44But when he heard these things, he
204. 8:45became very sad for he was extremely
205. 8:48rich.
206. 8:50And Jesus looked at him and said, "How
207. 8:52hard it is for those who are wealthy to
208. 8:56enter the kingdom of God."
209. 8:58You want to enter that place where
210. 9:00there's righteousness, peace, and joy in
211. 9:01the Holy Spirit? You want to enter that
212. 9:04place
213. 9:05where the kingdom and the reign of God
214. 9:07is inside of you?
215. 9:09You want to enter that place where you
216. 9:11don't brag to God about all the things
217. 9:13you haven't done and all the things you
218. 9:14have done since your youth? You want to
219. 9:17enter that place where you find what you
220. 9:19lack, you become part of the team, you
221. 9:22find your purpose, you find your your
222. 9:25your team, you find your brothers, you
223. 9:27find your Lord?
224. 9:30You got to stop putting your trust in
225. 9:33your wealth. He says, "It is easier for
226. 9:35a camel to go through the eye of a
227. 9:36needle than for a rich man to enter the
228. 9:38kingdom of God."
229. 9:40The eye of the needle was the name for a
230. 9:42very small door in the great big gate
231. 9:45to the city of Jerusalem. And at night
232. 9:47time
233. 9:48when the big gates of the city were
234. 9:50shut, they would open a small gate.
235. 9:53But only a man could get through.
236. 9:55But sometimes a camel could get through
237. 9:58if he got down on his knees and wiggled
238. 10:00through and if they took off all the
239. 10:02baggage on his back.
240. 10:05So he's Jesus is saying, you're going to
241. 10:07have to get down on your knees and
242. 10:08you're going to have to lose all the
243. 10:10things you think you've gained, all the
244. 10:12baggage on your back.
245. 10:14But you can get through the eye of the
246. 10:15needle.
247. 10:17They who heard it said, "Then who can be
248. 10:20saved?" Cuz they thought the rich were
249. 10:22the closest to the kingdom of God.
250. 10:26>> [snorts]
251. 10:26>> But he said to them, "The things that
252. 10:28are impossible with people are possible
253. 10:30with God."
254. 10:31Peter said, "Behold, we have left our
255. 10:34own homes and followed you."
256. 10:38And he said to them, "Truly I say to
257. 10:39you,
258. 10:41there is no one
259. 10:43who has left house or wife or brothers
260. 10:46or parents or children
261. 10:48for the sake of the kingdom of God
262. 10:51who will not receive many times as much
263. 10:54at this time
264. 10:57and in the age to come, eternal life."
265. 11:01Then he took the 12 aside and said to
266. 11:04them, "Behold, we are going up to
267. 11:05Jerusalem
268. 11:07and all things which are written through
269. 11:08the prophets about the Son of Man will
270. 11:11be accomplished.
271. 11:12For he will be handed over to the
272. 11:14Gentiles and will be mocked and
273. 11:17mistreated and spit upon.
274. 11:21And after they have scourged him, they
275. 11:23will kill him.
276. 11:25And the third day
277. 11:27he will rise again."
278. 11:29>> [clears throat]
279. 11:29>> But the disciples understood none of
280. 11:32these things
281. 11:33and the meaning of this statement was
282. 11:35hidden from them
283. 11:36and they did not comprehend the things
284. 11:39that were said.
285. 11:42As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a
286. 11:44blind man was sitting by the road
287. 11:46begging.
288. 11:47Now hearing a crowd going by, he began
289. 11:50to inquire
290. 11:51what this was.
291. 11:53They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was
292. 11:55passing by
293. 11:57and he called out saying, "Jesus, son of
294. 12:00David, have mercy on me."
295. 12:03Those who led the way were sternly
296. 12:05telling him to be quiet, but he kept
297. 12:08crying out all the more,
298. 12:10"Son of David, have mercy on me."
299. 12:15And Jesus stopped and commanded that he
300. 12:18be brought to him.
301. 12:19And when he came near, he questioned
302. 12:21him,
303. 12:22"What do you want [music] me to do for
304. 12:23you?"
305. 12:24And he said, "Lord, I want to regain my
306. 12:27sight."
307. 12:29And Jesus said to him, "Receive your
308. 12:31sight. Your faith has made you well."
309. 12:34Immediately he regained his sight
310. 12:36[music] and began following him,
311. 12:39glorifying God.
312. 12:40And when all the people saw it, they
313. 12:42gave praise to God.
314. 12:45So Jesus is starting out on a journey
315. 12:47and the journey is a journey of total
316. 12:49sacrifice.
317. 12:51You can't come and follow him unless
318. 12:54you're willing to give [music] up
319. 12:56everything else.
320. 12:58And a rich man tries to follow
321. 13:00and that's really what he lacks. He's
322. 13:02not part of the journey with Jesus.
323. 13:05But Jesus says you can't follow me until
324. 13:07you sell everything and the rich man
325. 13:09walks away sad
326. 13:11because it's hard to give up your
327. 13:13substitutes, your idols and come follow
328. 13:16Jesus.
329. 13:18But Peter says, "We've abandoned
330. 13:20everything. We've given up houses to
331. 13:21follow you."
332. 13:23And Jesus says, "And you're going to
333. 13:24find a hundred times more than you've
334. 13:26given up in this life and in the life to
335. 13:28come."
336. 13:29But then Jesus tells them, "Where I'm
337. 13:31going is a place of [music] total
338. 13:33sacrifice.
339. 13:34They're going to spit on me, they're
340. 13:36going to mock me and they're going to
341. 13:37kill me,
342. 13:38but I'm going to rise again and that's
343. 13:40where ultimately all of you are
344. 13:42following me too. You're following me to
345. 13:45pain, sacrifice, misunderstanding,
346. 13:48betrayal and death, but you're also
347. 13:51following me to resurrection and
348. 13:53indestructible life."
349. 13:56So then we end with a man
350. 13:59who is able to find what he lacks.
351. 14:01The rich man said, "I lack something."
352. 14:04But he never found it. He never was able
353. 14:06to follow. But Bartimaeus, the blind
354. 14:09beggar,
355. 14:11he ends up crying out
356. 14:14and
357. 14:15he ends up being healed and he ends up
358. 14:18following and everyone is glorifying
359. 14:20God.
360. 14:23>> [music]