["Pomp and Circumstance"]
Most of the content you're looking for from our church
in our video sermon library at
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we're close to, we'll soon
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it's not good when we've got
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and then of course Homeschool Group
they've got a PE class on Thursday October 6th at 10 AM
Upcoming Cleaning Crew, you can check for your name there
there's other things there for you to look at
please don't forget to turn your cell phones off
or place them on silent during the service so that they're not a distraction to anybody
if you look at the back of the bulletin
birthdays and anniversaries for this week
we have Lainey Usher's
birthday is tomorrow
on September 26th
and Ezra Nellitescu's birthday
is on September 27th
brother James Bahamundi
and Miss Connie Ramirez
and Genevieve Rosenberg
all have a birthday on September 28th
also brother David Nellitescu
has a birthday on Wednesday
September 28th, brother John Reed
has a birthday on September 29th
and Miss Cricket Duran has a birthday on
October 1st
Praise Report, Money Matters
all those things are there for you to look at
and I think that's it
for all of the announcements
so we're going to go ahead and sing the chorus of the week
which is the insert in your bulletin
and we'll sing mansion over the hilltop
as we prepare to receive the offering
this morning
and let's go ahead and sing it out on the first
I'm satisfied with
just the cottage below
a little silver
and a little gold
but in that city
where the ransomed gold shine
I want the gold wine
that silver line
I've got a mansion
in that bright land where
we'll never go home
and from the yonder
we'll never more wander
but what on streets that
are root as stone
sing it out on the second
though I've been tempted
tormented and tested
and like the prophet
my fellow has come
and though I find here
no permanent dwelling
I know he'll give me
a mansion I own
I've got a mansion
just over the hilltop
in that bright land where
we'll never go home
and from the yonder
we'll never more wander
but what on streets that
are root as stone
sing it out on the last
don't make me pour more
please earn it all
I'm not discouraged
I'm heaven bound
I'm just a pilgrim
I want a mansion
a harp and a crown
I've got a mansion
just over the hilltop
in that bright land where
we'll never go home
and from the yonder
we'll never more wander
but what on streets that
are root as stone
Amen. Good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering
at this time and let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer
Heavenly Father, Lord, we do thank you for allowing us to gather today. We pray that you bless the offering
the gift and the giver. Lord, we ask that you meet with us as we take time to study your word
to dissect and study another portion of scripture. Lord, I pray that you'd help us to minimize
distractions. Help us to have listening ears to be ready to receive
from your word, Lord, that we might draw closer to you. In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
We're there in Luke chapter number 14. And of course, we are making our way through the Gospel of Luke
verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We're in a series called Journey with Jesus
and we are studying the life of Christ through the Gospel of Luke, which is one of the most
comprehensive Gospels in the Bible. And this morning, we're going to
in Luke chapter 14, and we're gonna join
the Lord Jesus Christ in a dinner party.
You'll notice here in verse number one,
the Bible says, and it came to pass as he,
the he there of course is referring
to the Lord Jesus Christ,
as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees
to eat bread on the Sabbath day that they watched him.
And of course, we know that the Pharisees,
the scribes, the lawyers, the religious elite
have been the nemesis of the Lord Jesus Christ
through his ministry.
And here he's been invited yet again
to a dinner, to a meal in the house
of one of the chief Pharisees.
And what we're going to see this morning
in this passage, we're gonna make it through
verse number 14, and what we're going to see
is that the Lord Jesus Christ teaches
three different lessons at this dinner party.
Often when people have conversations at dinner,
this is referred to as table talk.
And sometimes you are told that things are appropriate
to bring up in regards to table talk,
and sometimes you're not.
In our culture, we're often told
that you should not speak about politics
and religion at dinner.
And whether you agree with that or not,
what we're going to see this morning
is the table talk of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You may find that he is not,
he doesn't follow the rules of appropriateness
as you and I might consider today,
but we're gonna look at the Lord Jesus Christ
and we're gonna see his conversation,
the way he speaks at this dinner
and the different lessons that he teaches.
Now, if you're taking notes this morning,
and I would always encourage you to take notes
on the back of your course of the week,
there's a place where you write down some things.
If you've not brought your own notebook or some way
to be able to write down some things,
there's three lessons we can see in this passage
in this table talk with the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I'll give you the first heading to begin.
The first thing we see is Jesus' table talk
about hypocrisy.
We see the Lord Jesus Christ teach a lesson
on the subject of hypocrisy.
And when you look at this story,
you'll notice that there's a blatant hypocrisy
and then there's subtle hypocrisy.
There's the hypocrisy of the situation itself
and then there's also the hypocrisy
of the setup of the situation.
I want you to notice both.
Notice there in verse two, we see the situation.
The Bible says, and behold,
there was a certain man before him
which had the dropsy.
The dropsy is referring to a disease or a sickness
and we don't know exactly 100%
what the dropsy is referring to.
We're told that it is referring to some sort of a disease
where this individual was retaining fluids
and having maybe organs
that were being overwhelmed and shut down.
And here, the Bible tells us
that at this dinner party that Jesus is invited to,
he's invited to have a meal at the house
of one of the chief Pharisees.
We're told that a certain man before him
which had the dropsy, verse three,
and Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers
and the Pharisees.
And remember, a lawyer in your New Testament
is a religious position.
It is an expert in the law of Moses and the law of God.
So here we have the Lord Jesus Christ
at dinner with this religious elite.
He's literally at the house
of one of the chief of the Pharisees,
not just a Pharisee, but a higher up Pharisee.
And he's having this dinner
with these certain religious teachers
and lawyers and Pharisees.
And Jesus puts forth this question in verse number three.
There's actually two questions
that he gives us in this passage.
I want you to notice the first one in verse three.
And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers
and Pharisees saying, here's question number one.
Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?
Now, why is it that Jesus asked this question?
He asked this question obviously
because of the fact that it is the Sabbath day
in the day in which they are.
Notice there again in verse one,
the last part of verse one,
the Bible tells us that they went
to eat bread on the Sabbath day.
So they are there at the house
of a Pharisee on the Sabbath day.
And it so happens that a certain man
which had a disease and a sickness,
obviously at this time in the ministry
of the Lord Jesus Christ,
it has become abundantly clear
that sickness cannot stand in the presence
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And whenever anyone who has a demon
or a sickness would come before the Lord Jesus Christ,
they would leave healed.
And here we have this man which has the dropsy.
It's the Sabbath day in the house
of the chief of the Pharisees.
And Jesus puts forth this question.
He puts forth this question
because he knows what they're already thinking.
And he asked the question,
is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?
And again, the word lawful there
is in reference to the word of God.
He's not saying, is it legally okay to do this?
He's saying, according to the word of God,
according to the Bible,
is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?
Because of course the Old Testament taught
that the Sabbath day was to be a day of rest.
But the religious elite had turned that
and skewed that into something much more.
They had added burdens, the Bible tells us,
that the Bible does not add.
They had added also to rules of things
that were or were not allowed on the Sabbath day.
So Jesus asked the question,
is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?
Notice verse four.
And they held their peace.
No answer.
He asked the question to the people
that are supposed to be the experts,
the lawyers and the Pharisees,
but they were not able to answer him.
You say, why did they not answer the Lord Jesus Christ?
They did not answer the Lord Jesus Christ
because they did not like the answer to the question
that the Lord Jesus Christ was asking.
The Bible tells us they held their peace.
And I want you to notice Jesus
and the way that he treats these individuals
who really are hostile towards him.
It's interesting to me that the lawyers and the Pharisees
are hostile towards the Lord Jesus Christ.
And yet the Lord Jesus Christ
will often receive their invitation
to have a meal with them.
It reminds me of Psalm 23,
where the Psalmist says,
thou has made a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies.
And the Lord Jesus Christ here
is having dinner with his enemies.
He asked the question,
is it lawful to heal on Sabbath day?
And they held their peace.
And then notice what Jesus does
since they don't answer the question.
He doesn't answer the question for them.
He doesn't give any more comments.
The Bible simply tells us there in verse four,
and he took him and healed him and let him go.
I love how that's phrased there
because hey, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?
Crickets, no answers to the questions.
Nobody says anything.
And then the Bible tells us,
he just grabs the guy,
he heals him and then he lets him go.
Verse five,
and answered them saying.
Now Jesus has another question.
Here's question number two.
He says, okay, you don't wanna answer the question
of whether it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath day.
Jesus says, I'm not gonna answer your question.
I'm just going to heal this guy.
And that should give you the answer to the question.
My answer to the question,
my answer to the question is this,
that I'm gonna take him,
I'm gonna heal him and I'm gonna let him go,
even on the Sabbath day,
even here in the presence of the Pharisees and the lawyers,
you don't wanna answer my question.
Jesus says, here's another question for you.
Verse five, and answered them saying,
which of you shall have an ass
or an ox fallen into a pit
and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day?
So Jesus says, let me ask you a different question.
Which of you having an ox?
Which of you having an ass?
And of course, we know that Jesus is living
in an agricultural society.
This was a farming society where the average person
would have these types of beasts of labor.
Of course, this was before mechanics.
This was before tractors and things of that sort.
So an ass and an ox was a beast,
but it was not simply a pet.
It was a tool.
It was, they had this to work with.
They use this to produce.
They use this to make money.
And he says, look,
which of you shall have an ass or an ox?
You have these beasts of burden.
You work with these beasts.
They make you money.
And they accidentally fall into a pit.
They fall into a hole in the ground on the Sabbath day.
He says, which of you will not straightway pull him out?
And to give you kind of a modern equivalent to this,
it would be like asking this,
which of you would be on a deserted highway
and on the Sabbath day and have a flat tire
and wait till the next day to swap out the tire.
He says, which of you shall have an ass or an ox
fall into a pit and will not straightway
pull him out on the Sabbath day?
And of course, Jesus,
what I love about the Lord Jesus Christ is that he,
whenever Jesus asks you questions,
and I try to do this to the best of my ability
as a leader is, you know,
and always be wary of this, especially you young people.
When your parents are asking you questions,
when your pastor's asking you a question,
when your boss is asking you a question,
usually they're asking you the question
because they already know the answer to the question.
And Jesus already knows the answer to this question.
When he asks the question,
which of you shall have an ass or an ox
fall into the pit,
Jesus has already witnessed probably these specific people,
but if not these people, their friends,
their fellow Pharisees and lawyers and scribes,
he's already seen these people out on a Sabbath day
with ropes, with pulleys,
doing their best to bring an ox, to bring an ass,
to bring a horse, to bring an animal out of a pit
that has accidentally fallen into a pit
because obviously if an animal falls into a pit
and it is injured and it needs help,
even on the Sabbath day, logically,
even if it's the Sabbath day,
you're gonna help the animal,
you're gonna get it out so that it doesn't die,
so that it doesn't injure itself.
And Jesus is saying, which of you, asking the question,
which he already has the answer to
because he's already probably seen them do it
and he's definitely seen people in that culture do it,
which of you shall have an ass or an ox fall into a pit
and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day?
Notice verse six,
and they could not answer him again to these things.
So why don't they answer Jesus?
Because they already know the answer
to the question that Jesus is asking.
And Jesus already knows the answer
to the question that Jesus is asking.
And the answer to the question is this,
yes, we have in the past,
we have at times when an ox or an ass falls into a pit,
yes, we have pulled them out even on the Sabbath day.
And what Jesus is doing here,
and this is what I love about the Lord Jesus Christ
and we tried to imitate this in our soul-winning seminar
when it comes to guiding people
to a place of understanding.
What Jesus does, and of course we know
that Jesus is the master teacher, the master instructor.
He does not simply tell people what the truth is,
although he obviously is within his rights to do that
and we're within our rights to do that.
But what Jesus will often do is he'll ask questions
that'll lead someone down the logical path
to a conclusion.
See, it is a powerful thing.
It is powerful to tell somebody the truth
and the answer to the question,
but it's even more powerful to guide them
and lead them to that truth on their own
through logic and through questions.
We often see the Lord Jesus Christ doing that
and that's exactly what he's doing here
because they're judging him and saying,
he shouldn't be healing on the Sabbath day.
So he asks this question, he highlights that idea.
Is it lawful to heal a man on the Sabbath day?
They don't answer the question.
Then he asks another question.
Would you help an animal on the Sabbath day?
And the point that Jesus was making is this,
is that it is hypocrisy to say,
I would help an ass or an ox or a bull,
a beast, a burden, a beast that costs me money.
It is hypocrisy to say, yes, on the Sabbath day,
though we are supposed to be resting,
we would not allow an animal to be injured,
an animal to be hurt, an animal to not be healed.
We of course, because that's gonna,
not because they love animals,
but because it's gonna cost us money.
Although there's definitely an application to be made
for the United States of America in 2022
where there are people in this country
who value the life of an animal
more than the life of a human being.
That's definitely an application that can be made today.
People get mad at you for mistreating an animal
and I don't think we should mistreat animals.
The Bible is clear that a righteous man
values the life of his beast.
But let me tell you something,
a human life is worth much more
than a stinking animal.
And Jesus here is saying, you would help an animal,
but you wouldn't help this man.
Or you'll judge me for helping this man.
Jesus is asking these questions
and bringing them down this road of understanding.
They could not answer him again to these things.
And here's the thing,
the situation itself is a hypocritical situation
because they are judging the Lord Jesus Christ
for healing a man on the Sabbath day
when they themselves,
when they themselves would help an ox or a bull or an ass
who's fallen into a pit on the Sabbath day.
And what we learn here about hypocrisy is this,
that you should be able to answer the same,
to give the same answer, to do the same thing,
to do the same actions,
you should be able to do that consistently
in similar situations.
And when you cannot answer consistently,
it's due to hypocrisy.
See, Jesus says,
let me ask you two very similar questions.
Let's say someone or something is injured.
And let's say that someone or that something is injured
on the Sabbath day.
Let's just pull out two examples,
a guy with a dropsy, a beast of burden.
If you would help one and not the other,
Jesus says, that's hypocrisy.
When you cannot answer a question consistently,
that is hypocrisy.
And I'm gonna tell you something,
we live in a very hypocritical world today.
Because people today have decided
that there is a such thing as standards can be relative.
Standards can be situational.
Today people, and even Baptist people,
and they might not necessarily word it this way,
but they believe in situational ethics.
You say, how do you know they believe in situational?
Here's how I know they believe in situational ethics.
Because they think that some things are right
in certain situations, and other things are right
in other situations, and some things are wrong.
Look, the Bible says, if it's right, it's right.
If it's wrong, it's wrong.
Situations ought not change our standards.
If it's wrong to strip down into your underwear,
in the presence of a mixed multitude,
if it's wrong for a lady to take her clothes off
in front of other men that are not her husband,
or a man to take his shirt off
in front of other women that are not his wife.
Hey, if that's wrong or immoral,
if it's inappropriate,
you say, I would never do that in church,
but you'll do it at a watering hole.
You'll put a pit in the ground
and fill it with water and say, well here it's okay.
Here it's fine.
You say, what do you call that pastor?
You know what I call that?
Hypocrisy.
It's hypocritical when you've got a different answer
for a different question in the same situation.
If the beast is hurt, and the man is hurt,
and they're both hurt on the Sabbath day,
then you know what the non-hypocritical answer
to that question is?
Here's the non-hypocritical answer to that question.
Help them both.
Or don't be a hypocrite and don't help either one,
but don't help the beast and let the man not be healed.
So we see the hypocrisy of the situation.
And you know, this idea of hypocrisy
is something that I've learned
over the last 12 years of ministry,
that it's just something that people do not understand.
The Bible teaches that we should not be respecters
of persons.
That means that we should not treat people differently
based off who they are.
That means that everyone should get the same treatment
no matter who they are, no matter how rich they are,
no matter how poor they are,
no matter how much you like them
or how much you dislike them.
You know what I've learned over the ministry,
the years of ministry, what I've learned
is that my wife and I have received accusations
of being respecters of persons
because we have not treated someone
the way that someone else thought we should treat them.
And what I mean by that is
we've treated everybody the same.
We've said, hey, you know, there's this situation.
What are you gonna do about it?
Well, I'm gonna do about this situation
the same thing I've done with everyone else
in that same situation.
You're a respecter of persons.
You're doing that because you like them more.
No, no, look, I'm doing that
because that's how we treat everybody.
That's actually what it means to not be a hypocrite.
When you treat everybody the same.
When you say, I don't care how much money
you give to the church.
I don't care how much I like you personally.
I don't care if you're my close friend.
I don't care if you're my family member.
We're gonna treat everybody the same.
That's actually not being a hypocrite,
but what I've learned is that when you do that
and say, hey, I'm gonna come down on everyone
in the same way no matter who they are,
then people will accuse you.
Well, I think you're making an exception.
You're letting them pass with something.
You don't even understand what you're talking about.
Hypocrisy is when you treat people worse
because you happen to not like them.
Hypocrisy is when you would help an ox
but not help this poor man with a dropsy
because you don't like him.
Being not a hypocrite actually means,
hey, I'm not gonna be guided by emotions.
I'm not gonna be guided by whether I like you or not.
I'm not gonna be guided by what you bring to the table.
I'm going to have principles that guide my actions,
and I'm gonna consistently execute on those principles.
That's the opposite of hypocrisy.
So we have the hypocrisy of the situation.
But I want you to notice,
not only do we see the hypocrisy of the situation,
we really, and I think this is even more telling
and even more powerful,
the hypocrisy of the setup itself.
Not only does the situation itself highlight hypocrisy,
but this entire setup highlights
the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and of the Lord.
You say, what do you mean by that?
Well, look at verse one.
I like how Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost,
of course, tells this story almost to highlight something.
He says, and it came to pass.
He says, you know, just by coincidence,
as he, Jesus, and I think Luke
is being a little sarcastic here.
I think he's using a little bit of hyperbole.
He says, and it came to pass as he, Jesus,
went into the house of the chief Pharisees
to eat bread on the Sabbath day.
Notice what Luke says, that they watched him.
Notice, this is not, Luke does not give us these words
for a reason, for no reason.
He's giving them to us for a reason.
These words are not here by coincidence.
Luke is trying to tell us this is a setup.
They are setting up the Lord Jesus Christ.
They invite him to the house of one of the chief Pharisees
and when they get there, they're all watching.
The Bible says that they watched him.
Why did they watch him?
Verse two, and behold, Luke says,
and just out of nowhere,
there was a certain man before him
which had the dropsy.
There was, Luke says, there just happened to be
in the house of the chief of the Pharisees
this certain man, this man with the sickness,
this man who would have been ceremonially unclean,
this man who would have been rejected by the Pharisees
and by the lawyers, just so happened that he
got an invitation to the dinner.
There was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.
And look, you gotta ask the question,
how did this guy get invited?
I'll tell you why he got invited,
because it's a setup.
They invite him, they said, hey, let's invite him
and let's make sure, notice what it says there, verse two,
and behold, there was a certain man,
notice these words, before him.
Let's make sure he's seated
right by the Lord Jesus Christ.
I mean, let's make sure he's right across from Jesus
where Jesus cannot miss him,
because you know what Jesus is gonna do,
he's gonna heal him.
And then we'll be able to accuse him
that you've healed on the Sabbath day.
This whole thing's a setup.
And by the way, since this man had a disease,
this man had a sickness, it is particularly cruel
that he would be used as a pawn
by the Pharisees to try to catch Jesus.
And behold, there was a certain man before him
which had the dropsy and Jesus answering,
speaking to the lawyers and Pharisees saying,
is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day, verse four,
and they held their peace, notice,
and he took him and he healed him and he let him go.
Not only is the situation itself a hypocritical situation,
but the setup is a hypocritical setup
where they would invite this man.
Imagine being this man,
just some guy down the road with the dropsy gets in,
hey, you've been invited to the
chief of the Pharisees' house for dinner.
Wait, me?
Yeah, you.
Why?
Just come.
And he comes simply to be used
as a tool and as a pawn is his hypocrisy.
We see the Lord Jesus Christ highlight.
He has this table talk on hypocrisy
and before you get too judgmental on the Pharisees,
let me ask you a question.
Have you ever concealed your bad feelings for someone
under the disguise of a disingenuous smile?
So why do you ask?
Same reason Jesus asked the question.
You know the answer to the question.
That's why you won't answer.
It's hypocrisy.
Have you ever concealed your bad intentions for somebody
under the disguise of friendship or kindness?
It's hypocrisy.
Have you ever invited someone to your home
because of what they could do for you
or what you could get out of them
but you used the pretense that it was honestly
because of something you wanted to do for them
or a blessing you wanted to be to them?
That's hypocrisy.
You befriend someone just so you can sell them something.
That's hypocrisy.
You use someone, invite someone, develop a relationship
just so that it can gain you some resource
or get you some clout.
It's hypocrisy.
See, Jesus begins by highlighting for us
Jesus' table talk.
You say, Pastor, I don't really like this sermon.
Well, you wouldn't like the Lord Jesus Christ
because these are the kind of conversations
he had over dinner.
You say, we shouldn't talk about politics and religion.
Jesus say, okay, let's talk about your hypocrisy.
Let's talk about who invited this man with the dropsy
and why they invited him.
Let's talk about whether it's lawful
to heal a man on the Sabbath day
or whether you would do something different
though last Saturday I saw you
pulling your ox out of a pit.
We see Jesus' table talk about hypocrisy.
But then I'd like you to notice secondly this morning,
as we continue in this dinner with the Lord Jesus Christ,
not only do we see Jesus' table talk about hypocrisy
but I'd like you to notice secondly this morning
that we see Jesus' table talk about humility.
Notice verse six.
And they could not answer him again to these things.
Everyone's quiet.
You gotta put yourself, and I've often told you,
I've often tried to teach you
as you read and study the Bible,
you should put yourself into the story.
Put yourself into,
I mean, it's a dinner party.
They've all been invited to dinner,
to the chief of the Pharisee's house.
They're there on the Sabbath day
and they're there to eat.
And Jesus begins these conversations.
He begins by asking the question, verse three,
is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?
Verse four, and they held their peace.
Verse five, he says, which of you shall have an ass
or an ox fall into a pit
and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day?
Verse six, and they could not answer him again.
You ever been at a dinner where it got awkwardly silent?
It's just like, somebody say something.
It was awkward.
So Jesus breaks the awkwardness
and makes it even more awkward.
Verse seven, and he put forth a parable
to those which were bidden.
Don't miss this, okay?
They're at a dinner party.
They all got invited.
The word bidden means to be invited.
So Jesus put forth a parable to those which were bidden.
He puts a parable.
Jesus is at a dinner party
where everybody received an invitation,
those which were bidden,
and he says, let me tell you a story.
Now, you say, why does he tell the story?
Here's why.
Luke tells us, verse seven,
and he put forth a parable to those which were bidden
when he marred.
What does that mean?
That means when he noticed,
when he took notice of the fact,
notice how they chose out the chief rooms.
So when Jesus gets there,
he's invited to this party.
They tell him dinner's at six.
He gets there at six.
As he gets there, other guests are all arriving.
I'm sure there's some sort of a foyer
where they're mingling and talking.
Somebody's asking to take your coat.
And Jesus takes note of the fact,
he marks the fact that he sees these
religiously grown men
and that they are choosing the chief rooms.
The word room here is not a reference to a room
like we would think of a bedroom,
but it's just the chief spots of the dinner.
Obviously, the dinner is set up,
and there are certain spots open where somebody could eat,
and there are some spots that are better than other spots.
Maybe you don't want to sit at the chair
that is right on the other side
of the door to the restroom.
Maybe you want to sit right next to
the chief of the Pharisees who is hosting the dinner.
Maybe you want to be on his right side
or on his left side
so that you can have a conversation with him over dinner.
Maybe, of course,
we know that Jesus is very famous at this time,
and Jesus has a place assigned to him.
And maybe people are trying to get
to where they can be right by Jesus
and right close to Jesus,
especially since they know that he's being set up
and they are all trying to watch him.
And Jesus just kind of notices
that as they're making their way towards the dinner table
you've got a little bit of shoving,
a little bit of pulling,
and trying to grab a chair.
And he marks, the Bible tells us,
how they chose out the chief rooms.
Do you see that?
Verse seven.
So he put forth a parable to those which were bidden.
He puts forth a parable to those which were invited.
When he marked how they chose out the chief room,
saying unto them, here's the parable,
verse eight.
It's gonna go from awkward to more awkward.
When thou art bidden, Jesus would say,
the word bidden means invited.
Keep in mind, they all just got invited.
They're all there as a result
of accepting an invitation to a dinner party.
When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding.
I like how Jesus does this.
It makes me feel better about myself
because I often do this in preaching.
You're trying to make one point
but you don't wanna offend people.
So you just make the same point
using a different illustration.
Because we're supposed to have the same answer
to every situation.
Have we talked about that?
So he says, I'm not talking about being invited
to the dinner party of a chief Pharisee,
but let's say you were invited to a wedding,
which is pretty much the same thing.
When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding,
notice what he says.
Sit not down in the highest room.
He said, don't try to get the best seat in the house.
Don't try to get the best seat.
Don't try to get the best place, the best location.
He says, sit not down in the highest room.
You say, why would I not want to sit
in the highest room?
Here's why.
Less, and our culture is maybe
a little different than this,
but you need to understand,
in the Jewish culture of the first century,
this was a very common thing
where you would go into the synagogue,
you would go into a wedding,
you would go into a party,
and you would have locations
that are better than other locations,
and to some extent, we still have that.
I mean, even if you go to a wedding today,
when they assign you to go get your food at the buffet,
don't they say, the wedding party first?
Don't they say the friends and the family first?
What are they saying?
They're saying, and I'm not saying that's wrong.
What I'm saying is, they're saying,
the people that are the most important go first.
Now, what would be wrong is for you to decide,
well, I know I'm not a bridesmaid,
and I know I'm not a groomsman,
but I'm gonna go ahead and sit in this table
because you guys get to go first.
Jesus says, when thou are bidden of any man to a wedding,
sit not down in the highest room,
lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him.
So why don't you want to take the highest seat?
Here's why.
Just in case someone more honorable than you is invited.
Verse nine, and he, that baby,
the person that gave you the invitation,
and him, the more honorable person
that happens to show up,
and they're more honorable than you,
they're more important than you,
they're more famous than you,
come and say to thee, give this man place,
and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.
Here's what he's saying.
Don't take the best seat in the house
just in case someone more important,
VIP, a very important person shows up,
and they say, excuse me,
actually, this chair was reserved for that person,
and you're not that person,
and they tell you to give place,
give this man place,
and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.
You go from the first table to the last table.
What is it that Jesus is teaching?
Here's what he's saying.
There is no honor in putting yourself first.
There's no honor.
Keep your place there in Luke chapter 14.
That's obviously our text for this morning.
Go with me if you would to the book of Proverbs,
Proverbs 25.
Proverbs is the book of wisdom.
Proverbs speaks a lot about this subject.
Proverbs 25, if you open your Bible
just right in the center,
you're more than likely following the book of Psalms.
Right after Psalms, you have the book of Proverbs,
Proverbs chapter 25.
What Jesus is teaching is this,
that there is no honor in putting yourself first.
There is no honor in saying,
no, I will be at the highest seat.
I will fight and I will choose out the chief rooms.
Proverbs 25, notice verse six.
Proverbs 25 and verse six, the Bible says,
put not forth thyself.
This goes against the American culture so much.
When the Bible says here, put not forth thyself,
it means to put not forth thyself first.
Don't put yourself out there.
Listen, social media culture,
quit putting yourself out there.
Put not forth thyself.
You want everybody to see, everybody to know,
everybody to see how amazing your house is,
or car is, or boat is, or vacation is,
your shoes are, your clothes are, whatever.
You just want everybody to see.
God says, hey, that not be the way that Christians are.
You say, well, what's wrong with that?
Here's what's wrong with that,
is that you only put out the stuff
that makes you look good.
You don't put your bad day,
we'd respect it if you put every day.
I mean, if every day, we saw every day,
and we're like, wow, this day was lame,
this day was lame, this day was lame,
this day was lame, this day was great,
this day was lame.
We could respect that,
but that's not what your social media feed looks like.
Your social media feed looks like,
I'm awesome, I'm awesome, I'm awesome,
I'm awesome, I'm awesome!
That's the culture we live in.
And Jesus says, put not forth thyself
in the presence of the king.
What does that mean?
What do you care about?
Leadership, authority?
And stand not in the place of great men.
You say, why?
Here's why, verse seven.
This is what Jesus is teaching in Luke,
it comes from Proverbs.
For better it is that it be said unto thee,
come up hither, than that thou shouldest be put lower
in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
You know what's better?
Here's what's better,
that somebody says, hey, no, no,
you don't need to sit here.
We've reserved this spot for you over here.
That's better than you taking that spot
and somebody saying, you don't belong here.
This is for very important people
and you're not one of them.
And now begin with shame to take the lowest room.
Look at verse 27, the same chapter,
Proverbs 25, verse 27.
It is not good to eat much honey.
Notice this, especially you men.
Men struggle with this so much.
Let me say it this way.
We struggle with this so much as men.
So for men to search their own glory is not glory.
I know that the average man is so insecure,
he needs to be praised for,
look, I get it, we are petty people, men are.
And ladies, let me just help you out with something
because you don't understand your husband
and I get why you don't get your husband
but you married him so you might as well try.
Your husband wants to be acknowledged for everything.
I mean, he doesn't want to take the stinking trash out
without you meeting him back in the house
with pom-poms and saying,
you're the most amazing trash taker out ever.
You say, my husband.
Look, every husband's like that.
I mean, this is how we are.
They want to be acknowledged.
Men want to be acknowledged
that they are taking care of you,
that they're providing for you,
that they're protecting you,
that they're doing all these things for you.
And I get that.
And ladies, you know, just,
you say, my husband's always fishing for compliments.
Then stalk that lake and be happy.
My husband's not nice to me.
He might be nice, you know, he never buys me.
He might buy you something if you just cheered him on.
You say, but he's so petty.
I know, I know.
Isn't it sad?
Now, that's for the ladies.
Here's for the men.
I know, men.
I know, but here's the thing,
and here's the truth,
and here's why she doesn't acknowledge it.
Because for men to search their own glory is not glory.
And when we have to be constantly telling everybody
how great and amazing we are,
it's not, it's actually,
that's the opposite of being great and amazing.
And we just have to be okay
with doing what you do, even if no one acknowledges it.
Even if nobody thanks you for it.
Even if nobody appreciates it.
Because at the end of the day,
you gotta ask yourself, why do I do what I do?
So for men to search their own glory is not glory.
And what Jesus is teaching is this,
that there is no honor in putting yourself first.
There's no honor in taking the position of preeminence.
There's no honor in fighting for the chief room.
There's no honor in that.
Go to Psalm 131, Psalm 131.
You say, why?
Because that is the opposite of humility.
Humility is such a hard word for us to understand.
Now I wanna take a little bit of time with this
because I want you to get in,
it's what the context of the passage is teaching.
You say, what exactly is humility?
Please understand this.
You gotta write this down.
Everyone should write this down.
You say, why?
Because every single one of us struggles with pride
and the lack of humility.
You say, what is humility?
Humility is this, having the proper view of self
that produces the proper treatment of others.
Humility is having the proper view of self
and that proper view of self producing
the proper treatment of others.
Let's run some verses, Psalm 131.
Psalm 131, look at verse one.
Lord, here's the proper view of self.
My heart is not haughty.
What does it mean to be haughty?
Haughty means to be arrogant.
It means to have a high view of self.
My heart does not have a high view of self.
My heart does not have a superior view of self.
My heart does not have an arrogant view of self
nor mine eyes lofty.
What does it mean to be lofty?
It means to be proud or self-important.
Neither do I exercise myself in great matters
or in things too high for me.
So what does that mean?
It means that I do not believe
that I have an inert importance
that gives me the right to exercise myself
in great matters.
It means that I don't necessarily think
that my opinion is the opinion
that needs to be heard by everybody.
It means that I got a view of myself
and the view of myself is that
by the grace of God, I am what I am.
And whatever I am and whatever success I've had
and achievement I've had,
it's not because of anything within me.
It's because of God's grace in my life.
And as a result, I understand that I am a sinner
saved by grace.
If I got what I deserve, I'd die and go to hell.
I've got a proper view of self.
My heart is not haughty nor mine eyes lofty.
Neither do I exercise myself in great matters
or in things too high for me.
Go to Galatians chapter six if you would.
If you kept your place in Luke,
if you go from Luke, you have John, Acts, Romans,
1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians.
John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians.
Galatians chapter six.
What is humility?
Humility is having the proper view of self.
What's the proper view of self?
Galatians 6, three.
For if a man think himself to be something
when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
The first step to being a humble person
is to have the proper view of self.
The second step to being a humble person
is to allow that proper view of self
to produce a proper treatment of others.
Go to Philippians, Philippians chapter two.
You're there in Galatians.
You've got the book of Ephesians,
and then right up to Ephesians, you have Philippians,
Philippians chapter two.
See, pride, here's what the Bible says in Proverbs.
By pride cometh contention.
Whenever you find yourself at odds with someone,
realize that pride is playing a role in that thing.
Now, it may be one of you that is proud,
and usually it's both of you that is proud,
but pride is always involved when there is contention.
Mark it down.
You say, how can you say that?
Because the Bible says that.
That's how I can say that.
Pride is always involved when there is conflict.
Philippians 2, three.
Let nothing, here's what Paul says,
let nothing be done through strife, that's conflict,
or vainglory, that's pride.
You say, why does he say that?
Here's why.
Because whenever there is vainglory, there'll be strife.
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory.
Here's the opposite, but in lowliness of mind.
You say, what does that mean?
That means the proper view of self.
You guys remember, humility is having
the proper view of self
that produces the proper treatment of others.
But in lowliness of mind,
that's the proper view of self,
let each esteem, the word esteem means to yield
to the other party, to give them importance,
to give them preference,
let each esteem other better than themselves.
See, humility is this, having the proper view of self
that produces the proper treatment of others.
You say, what's pride?
Pride is having the improper view of self
that produces the improper treatment of others.
Pride is having the inappropriate view of self
that I am better, I am greater, I am smarter,
I am better looking, I am more talented,
I have more resources, I have achieved more,
I'm more wealthy, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm.
I, I, I, I, I, sounds like Lucifer in Isaiah 14,
having the improper view of self
that then produces the improper treatment of others
because you think so highly of yourself,
you have disdain for others.
Humility is having the proper view of self,
but in lowliness of mind,
which produces the proper treatment of others,
let each esteem other better than themselves.
Look at verse four.
Look not every man on his own things.
Isn't that what we do by nature?
Isn't that what we do by default?
Look not every man on his own things,
we just worry about ourselves, interested in ourselves.
What about me?
The Bible says, look not every man on his own things.
Here's the opposite, because that's pride,
putting myself first.
We live in the culture of self-love.
You need to love, I'm so sick and tired of hearing
people say, I gotta love myself.
I gotta spend time for myself.
Look, you will never find that concept in the Bible.
The Bible never tells you to love yourself.
You say why?
Because you're already pretty good at loving yourself.
You do it by nature.
I've never had to tell somebody like,
hey, you gotta take some time and take care of yourself.
People take care of themselves to an excess.
Look not every man on his own things,
here's what does not come naturally.
But every man also on the things of others.
When you say I'm not gonna put myself first,
I'm gonna help other people.
I'm gonna seem other better than myself.
Go to verse 21, same chapter, Philippians 2 21.
For all seek their own.
We're naturally interested in ourselves.
Humility is having the proper view of self
that produces the proper treatment of others.
Pride is having the improper view of self
that produces the improper treatment of others.
But let me just say this.
Beware of this fake humility.
Cause I've noticed that you'll preach sermons like these
so then really proud people, which is all of us,
find ways to be, continue to be in pride
while having this facade of humility.
This fake humility.
You say what is it?
It's being down on yourself and putting yourself down.
You say what's wrong with that?
Here's what's wrong with that.
When you put yourself down
and when you're down on yourself,
the focus is still yourself.
It's taking the lower seat when the whole time
you're thinking I should be sitting up there.
Someone should really tell me to go sit up there.
Look, you say what is, I don't understand
what humility is.
Some of you are confused and you're confused
because you got a problem with this.
Let me help you understand this.
Humility is not thinking less of yourself.
So okay, well I'll be humble.
Instead of telling people how great I am,
I'll tell people how terrible I am.
I'm the worst this and I'm the worst that.
That's not humility.
You're still focused on yourself.
You just went from talking about how great you are
to talking about how bad you are.
But here's the thing,
you're still talking about yourself.
You say then what is it?
Here's humility.
Humility is not thinking less of yourself.
It's thinking of yourself less.
It's not talking, downgrading yourself.
It's just not talking about yourself.
Humility, and beware this fake humility
that just put, you know, you're putting yourself down.
I'm so depressed, I'm so discouraged,
I'm so terrible, I'm so bad, I'm so this.
And it's like, but you're still so self absorbed.
It's still pride.
Those are the people that say,
I'm so humble, I'm very proud of it.
Some of you will get that later.
I heard somebody said,
I'm writing a book on humility.
It's called Humility and How I Attained It.
That's the person that says,
I'm not conceited, but I have every right to be.
It's pride.
There's no honor in putting yourself first.
You say then what is it?
Then what do we do?
I'm not sure if you kept your place in Proverbs.
I meant to tell you to keep your place in Proverbs,
but go back to Luke just real quickly.
Luke chapter 14.
There's no honor in putting yourself first.
So here's the point that Jesus is making.
Well, let's look at it.
Luke 14, 10.
But when thou art bidden, when you're invited,
go and sit down in the lowest room.
Not because you're throwing a pity party
and you want people to notice you there,
but because you have the proper view of self,
and you say, you know what?
I don't know what I deserve.
I don't know that I deserve to sit up there.
I'm just gonna sit here.
I'm definitely not gonna fight with you
about where I'm gonna sit.
That when he that bade thee cometh,
he may say unto thee, friend, go up hither.
Then shalt thou have worship,
the word worship there means reverence or honor,
in the presence of them that sit at me with thee.
You say, what is it that Jesus is teaching?
Here's what he's teaching.
There's no honor in putting yourself first,
but there is honor in others putting you first.
There's no honor in you saying, I deserve this seat.
But there is honor in you saying,
hey, I'll just take whatever seat is available.
I don't, I'm not some prima donna.
I can sit wherever.
And you sit somewhere, and then the host of the party
says, friend, what are you doing here?
No, no, no, you don't know.
This is not for you.
I've got a place for you over here.
See, there's no honor in you putting yourself first,
but there is honor in others putting you first.
My wife and I often have this conversation.
I've been thinking to myself,
I'd like to be nice to this person.
I'd like to be a blessing to this person.
I'd like to do something for this person,
but I never have the opportunity to,
because they're always just putting themselves first.
I'd like to say to someone, you know,
hey, you don't belong here.
You belong over here.
But I always find them over here anyway.
There is no honor in putting yourself first.
But there is honor in others putting you first.
Go back to Proverbs 27, look at verse two.
And look, this is where that thing,
you say, what if somebody wants to honor you?
Let them honor you.
Now you should not force that.
You should not be bitter if they don't.
You should not be upset if they don't.
But also, don't be this person when somebody says,
hey, thank you for doing X, Y, and Z.
To just, oh no, I'm so terrible.
I'm the worst person ever.
That's pride.
You say, well, then how do you respond
when somebody thanks you?
You're welcome.
I really want to thank you for helping me with X, Y, and Z.
No problem, you're welcome.
That's the normal, humble response.
Not, well, yeah, I mean, I'm pretty amazing.
Make sure you put that on Instagram.
No, that's not, that's pride.
And, no, I'm the worst person ever.
That's pride too.
You say, what's humility?
Humility is not being focused on yourself.
Thank you for X, Y, and Z.
You're welcome.
God bless you.
Have a good day.
Proverbs 27, two.
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth.
A stranger, and not thine own lips.
You know, many of you encouraged me with the preaching,
and after service you'll say something,
pastor, thank you for the sermon, great.
You know, I never said,
whoa, that was the greatest sermon ever, wasn't it?
But you'll notice, I was gonna say like, oh, no, no.
Say, what do you say?
I say, glory to God.
Say, why do you say glory to God?
Because all glory should go to God.
Thank you, I appreciate that.
That encourages me, thank you.
That's the normal, humble response.
There's no honor in putting yourself first.
There is honor in allowing others to put you first.
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth.
A stranger, and not thine own lips.
Say, but they won't put me first.
Maybe you're doing something wrong.
Just saying.
Go to Luke 14.
So we see Jesus' table talk.
You would not want to have Jesus at your dinner party.
We see his conversation about hypocrisy.
We see his conversation about humility.
Now I'd like you to notice, thirdly, this morning,
and I'll try to not take very long with this.
We see Jesus' table talk about hospitality.
Notice verse 12.
Then said he also to him that bade him.
Now he goes from, look, he insulted all of them.
Point one, hypocrisy.
Then he insulted the guest.
When thou are bidden, I noticed you guys
were all fighting for the chief seats.
When thou are bidden, he insulted the guest.
Now Jesus finishes by insulting the host.
Then said he also to him that bade him.
Now he's talking to the guy that invited him,
the chief of the Pharisees, remember that guy?
When thou make us a dinner.
And I don't know, and I don't want to add to scripture,
obviously, but I kinda, when I read this,
I think to myself, like, Jesus was like,
I noticed you guys were all fighting
for the chief seats, and the host is like, uh-huh.
Yeah, I noticed that too, Jesus.
You know, because it's his house,
so he's like, that didn't apply to him.
So then Jesus was like, and that reminds me.
Then said he also unto him that bade him.
When thou, now keep in mind, he's talking to the guy
who just invited a bunch of people to his house
for a dinner party.
And he says, when thou make us a dinner or a supper,
which is where they're at, what they're doing,
call not thy friends, who do you call?
His friends.
Nor thy brethren, who do you call?
Probably his family members.
Neither thy kinsmen, his relatives.
Nor thy rich neighbors.
I got to believe that Jesus is giving this list
because these are the people that are present.
Lest they also bid thee again,
and a recompense be made thee.
So what is Jesus teaching us about hospitality?
Here's what he's teaching us.
Don't do for those that can do for you.
He says, don't have a dinner party
and just invite people who are just gonna invite you
to their dinner party.
When you have a supper, call not thy friends,
nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen,
nor thy rich neighbors,
lest they also bid thee again,
and a recompense be made thee.
You say, well then, what should we do, Jesus?
Here's what we should do.
We should do for those that cannot do for us.
Verse 13, but when thou make us a feast,
call the poor.
They're not gonna invite you to their dinner party.
They can't afford to have a dinner party.
The maimed, the lame, the blind,
and thou shalt be blest.
You say, why?
There's more blessing to give than to receive.
For they cannot recompense thee.
And the Pharisees are thinking, yeah, exactly.
That's why we didn't invite them,
because they cannot recompense us.
And Jesus says, that's why you should have invited them.
For they cannot recompense thee,
for thou shalt be recompensed
at the resurrection of the just.
Go to Luke chapter six real quickly.
Luke chapter six, you're there in Luke 14.
Just flip back to Luke six.
Jesus taught something similar to this in Luke chapter six.
We'll look at it quickly and we'll be done.
Luke chapter six.
We saw the lesson on hypocrisy.
The hypocrisy of the situation
and the hypocrisy of the setup itself.
We saw the lesson on humility.
There is no honor in putting yourself first.
There is honor in others putting you first.
So you just go about your business
and you do it for the right reasons
and the right motives.
You do it for God.
And if people acknowledge you along the way,
praise the Lord.
And then we see the lesson on hospitality.
Don't do for those that can do for you.
Do for those that cannot do for you.
Luke six, 32.
For if you love them which love you.
Isn't that normal?
Isn't that natural?
And by the way, I don't believe Jesus was saying,
don't ever invite your friends or family to dinner.
He's not saying that.
What he's saying is this.
I don't have to teach you
to invite your friends or family to dinner
because you're gonna do that anyway.
You're gonna do that normally.
You're gonna do that naturally.
But I do want you to purpose and invite the people
that you normally would not invite.
You say why?
Here's why Luke six, 32.
For if you love them which love you,
what thank have ye?
Here's what he's saying.
There is nothing commendable about loving those
who already love you.
There's nothing wrong with it,
but there's nothing commendable.
There's nothing worth thanking
when you are nice to people who are nice to you,
when you invite people who invite you.
For if you love them which love you,
what thank have ye?
He says, for sinners also love those that love them.
You're not accomplishing anything extra.
You're not doing anything extra.
Verse 33, and if you do good to them
which do good to you, what thank have ye?
For sinners also do the same.
And if ye lend to them whom ye hope to receive,
you've got some expectation.
This is the whole hypocrisy thing, right?
You're doing something nice for someone
because you're expecting something in return.
That's hypocrisy.
If you lend to them of whom ye hope to receive,
what thank have ye for sinners also lend to sinners
to receive as much again.
So then what are we supposed to do?
Here's what you're supposed to do.
Verse 35, but love your enemies.
But I don't like my enemies, exactly.
But they're not nice to me, right.
But I don't enjoy their company.
Now you're getting it.
Love your enemies and do good and lend
hoping for nothing again and your reward shall be great
and ye shall be called,
ye shall be the children of the highest.
You say, does that mean that that's how we get saved?
No, that's how you will be identified.
When you love your enemies, people will look at you
and say, that must be a child of God.
Amen.
Because nobody would just normally do that.
And ye shall be the children of the highest.
You say, why, here's why, don't miss it.
For, the word for means because.
He, the he that is referring to God,
is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
You know that God loves his enemies.
You know that God is kind.
You know that the sun comes up for the evil
and the good every day.
So Jesus says, Jesus says, look, look, look.
Go ahead and invite your friends.
You're gonna do that anyway.
But purpose, purpose to also include
the people you don't like.
Don't just invite the ones that will invite you.
Invite the ones that cannot invite you.
Don't just do for those that will do for you.
Do for those that cannot do for you.
Don't just give to those that can recompense to you.
Give to those who can't give back to you.
And Jesus says that is true hospitality.
You say, but why would I do that?
Go back to Luke chapter 14.
We'll finish up right here, verse 14.
Luke 14, 14, and thou shalt be blessed.
We're getting ready.
The weather's changing.
We're going into this fall season.
We're going into this Christmas season.
And I love Christmas,
but I don't love the greed of Christmas.
And you know, the truth is that there is no blessing
in having this tit for tat recompense back and forth.
What can I get out of this thing?
Jesus says, thou shalt be blessed
for they cannot recompense thee.
For thou shalt be recompensed.
It's not that you're not going to be recompensed.
It's that you'll be recompensed
at the resurrection of the just.
When you do for those that cannot do for you,
God notices.
God tracks it.
And God will make sure you get recompensed,
not in this life, but in the life to come.
Let's bow our heads in that word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your word.
Thank you for this story, this dinner party.
That Jesus was invited to.
We got to pull up a chair and listen in
to the table talk of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He taught about hypocrisy.
He taught about humility.
He taught about hospitality.
Lord, I pray you'd help us to apply these lessons
to our lives.
That we would attempt to live in such a way
that people would look at us and say,
those are the children of the most high.
In the matchless name of Christ, we pray, amen.
We're gonna have Brother Matt come up
and lead us in a final song.
I just want to give you a couple of announcements.
First of all, I want to encourage you, of course,
to come back next week.
And I want to encourage you to bring a friend.
We're gonna continue our study next Sunday
on the Gospel of Luke, verse by verse study
of the life of Christ, the journey with Jesus.
I want to encourage you to be back with us next week
as we take another section of scripture,
study it together, learn it together,
and invite someone with you, bring a friend with you,
and we'll have a great time next week.
And then, of course, I want to encourage you,
if you're able to and if you can,
we'd love for you to be back with us tonight at 6 p.m.
We have an evening service at 6 p.m.
And the evening service is different
than the morning service,
different sermon that's preached.
In fact, tonight, I'm preaching a very unique sermon,
and I want to just announce this in advance
to try to maybe hopefully get some of you to come back.
And normally, on Sunday night at this time,
I would just go to the next portion of Luke.
But tonight, we're gonna take a break from that.
And I'm gonna preach on a very specific subject.
Some of you think I forgot how to preach topical sermons.
I'll try to disprove that to you tonight.
And my wife and I have been getting a lot of questions
about a very specific subject, a very certain subject.
And tonight, I'm gonna preach a sermon entitled
Why I Will Kick You Out of Church for Smoking Weed.
And I want to encourage you to be back tonight
if that's something you've thought about,
you've had a question about, you've had a concern about.
I will biblically show you the reasons
why I will kick you out of church for smoking weed.
So I want to encourage you to be back tonight at 6 p.m.
If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know.
Remember, Matt, come up and lead us.
Any final song.
Turn to song 129.
One, two, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine.
Rock of Ages 129, sing it out on the first.
Rock of Ages, let go me, let me hide myself in thee.
Let the water and the blood from thy womb inside me fall.
We have sinned and doubled more,
Satan'll rapidly lead the world.
129 on the second.
Could my tears forever flow?
Could my sin ever wane for more?
Leads to sin could not atone.
Thou will sing and God alone.
May my hand hold you to my soul.
And to the price I pay, simply to the price I pay.
Sing it out on the last.
While I draw this fleeting prayer,
when my eyes are closing down,
when I rise, who holds me warm?
Let me hold me on my throne,
but the danger's left for me.
Let me hide myself from thee.
Amen. Good singing before we leave.
If anybody has questions about salvation,
church membership, or baptism,
the pastor will be at the door.
He'd love to talk to you or direct you to someone who's trained to talk to you about that.
I'm going to ask Brother Johnny, would you close the prayer for us?
Heavenly Father God, thank you for being here today.
Thank you for this great service.
Father, I appreciate you helping us to apply for our lives.
And I'll bring it back to you.
Thank you. Amen.
Amen.