December 1, 2013
Evening Service

In His teaching, Jesus did not sugar coat anything.  He told it exactly like it was.  We saw that this morning as He prophesied of the many conflicts that would result from His teaching.  Though He taught peace, love, mercy and forgiveness, He knew the result would be division, strife, persecution, and even bloodshed.  His ways are not man’s ways.  The carnal heart of man will always battle against the Holy ways of God.  It is a battle we also fight daily.  We are not invited to “party” with Jesus, we are invited to surrender, sacrifice, and even die with Him.

A call to follow Christ is a call to come and die.

He harshly criticized the crowd present with Him for being able to anticipate the weather, yet unable to recognize the gravity of the situation they found themselves in.  God had come down and pitched His tent among them and they could not comprehend it.

As we pick this up tonight in verse 56, Jesus continues the thought of being able to recognize the times.

 

Luke 12:56-59 Hypocrites! You know to discern the face of the heaven and the earth, but how is it that you do not discern this time?  (57)  And why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?  (58)  For as you go with your adversary to the judge, make every way possible to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer cast you into the prison.  (59)  I tell you, you shall not depart from there until you have paid the very last penny.

• Jesus uses a reference to the justice system to prove His point.  If one is headed to court it is best to settle before you get in front of the judge.  Jesus here is referring to God as being the judge.  We are all headed to a day in court where we stand before God.

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment,

 

2Co 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive the things done through the body, according to that which he has done, whether good or bad.

• Because of this truth, Jesus taught, it is far better to have the matter settled before you are standing is His presence.  As He taught them this truth 2,000 years ago it has to be much more relevant to us now.  Time is running short and we need to have our all matters settled before the end comes.  We do not want to use our own righteousness as a defense, because we all know that would fail.

Hebrews 10:30-31 For we know Him who has said, "Vengeance belongs to Me, I will repay, says the Lord." And again, "The Lord shall judge His people."  (31)  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

• We serve a God who is defined by love (I John 4:8), but a God who is also just.  We are warned here to be fearful and reverent of Him and to make our preparations before we enter His courtroom.  If found guilty we will pay for our sins with our part in the lake that burns with fire.
• The only hope we have is to accept Jesus as our personal Savior and His own blood will pay the debt we owe for our sins in full.  Our only defense will be our ability to proclaim Jesus’ righteousness as our own.

 

Gal 3:27 For as many as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.

• God now will judge us by Jesus’ righteousness, not our own.

 

Jesus expects us to recognize that this Day of Judgment is quickly coming upon us and we need to be moved to action.  He now issues a call to repentance to Israel as a nation and to us as individuals.

 

Luk 13:1-5 And some were present at the same time reporting to Him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.  (2)  And answering, Jesus said to them, do you suppose that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things?  (3)  I tell you, No. But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.  (4)  Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were sinners above all men who lived in Jerusalem?  (5)  I tell you, No. But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

• Jesus enters into some deep water here as He addresses the question of “Why do terrible tragedies occur?”  He makes it very clear that it was in no way these peoples’ sins that brought this calamity upon them.  It is the nature of the fallen world we live in.  Tragedy and sudden death is a part of our world.
• His true point here is for each of us to repent now before any such tragedy overtakes us unaware and we have not made our peace with God.  Israel was headed for such a day.  Titus came and destroyed Jerusalem in the year 70 AD.  Jesus loved them enough to call out to them to repent and accept Him.  He offers the same call to us today.  We have no idea what our future holds.  He urges us to repent and to “pick up our cross daily and follow Me.”

 

2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

• It is God’s long-suffering love towards us that all should come to the place of repentance and accept the gift of life He offers.

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  (17)  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.

• That is the God we serve.  He wants us all to accept invitation for salvation.  Jesus was not sent to condemn us, but to create the path by which we can be saved.
• Jesus illustrates His heart with a parable about a vineyard.

 

Luke 13:6-9  He also spoke this parable: A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard. And he came and sought fruit on it, and found none.  (7)  And he said to the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none. Cut it down, why does it encumber the ground?  (8)  And answering, he said to him, Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and throw manure.  (9)  And if it bears fruit, well; and if not, then after that you shall cut it down.

• This certainly supports Peter’s statement that God is long-suffering and not willing that any should perish.
• How many of us are the beneficiaries of His patience?  We didn’t answer the first call or even the second or third.  He, however, did not give up on us, praise His Holy Name!
• Then there are those many times even now that our actions deny His calling upon our lives.  He does not give up on us as long as we continue to sincerely repent.

 

Jesus wants us to be able to discern the time that we are living in.  The scriptures call us to not be caught sleeping.  Paul wrote this to the Roman church:

 

Rom 13:11-14  This also, knowing the time, that it is already time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we believed.  (12)  The night is far spent, the day is at hand; therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.  (13)  Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in revelry and drunkenness; not in co-habitation and lustful acts; not in strife and envy.  (14)  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lust.

• Wake up!  We are not in heaven yet.  We still have work to do.  Let’s buckle down and put God first in everything.  Redeem the time He has given us.

 

Lord may we be awake and working for your kingdom at Your return.