Please open your Bibles to Luke 14…..
We note at the very beginning of Luke 14 that Jesus was invited to a Sabbath Feast. All Jews during Jesus’ time celebrated the Sabbath and all homes were open to anyone. Jesus went to a house of a prominent Pharisee, a Religious and Community Leader.
Before reading our passage for this morning, let us together pray our commitment to the Bible…..
Read along with me now Luke 14:7-17….
What is the main issue with people which Jesus dealt with in this passage??
In v7 Jesus noticed people seeking selfish honor; in v12 Jesus noted the reason people invite is for selfish returns.
Jesus dealt with the issue of selfish pride!
If we look up all the Bible verses about pride, will we find a good thing or a bad thing? Almost 100% of the time, pride is mentioned in the Bible in a negative way.
What is main problem with selfish pride??
Psalm 10:4 tells us, In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
Selfish pride ignores God and leads only to troubles.
What did Jesus teach about selfish pride in Luke 14? Jesus shared two parables, stories with a lesson.
In v8-11, Jesus taught about pride when invited.
Let’s take a closer look. What did Jesus teach? What did Jesus notice? People fought for the honored seats!
v8: do not assume you are the honored guest when invited.
And what happens when pride drive attitudes and actions?
v9: pride leads to humiliation
What attitude should one have?
v10-11: always be humble!
Now in v12-14 Jesus taught about pride not when invited but when one invites someone. As I alluded to earlier, this passage is also about selfish pride.
v12: do not invite people for selfish gain.
And what is v13-14 saying?
v13: Invite those who cannot repay you physically.
v14: Do to others for heavenly blessings, not earthly ones.
If we can summarize Jesus’ lesson in v8-14, I believe it is this: Watch out for pride, always be humble, and do things with eternal significance.
Now, I purposely included v15-17 in our passage.
Why do you think one of the persons Jesus was talking about made the comment in v15??
The person in v15 wanted to change the subject because he felt convicted by Jesus’ words. The person in v15 tried to avoid what God wanted him to do.
Did Jesus change the subject??
Jesus continued to teach the lesson after v15. We will study this lesson next week.
What biblical principles can we apply to our lives fromv8-15?
Jesus warns about pride. What kind of heart does God look for? By the power of God the Holy Spirit, King David states in Psalms 51:16-17, You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
And so, before anything else, we must check our own hearts; or more powerful is to have God search our hearts. Let us make a commitment to,
1. Pray always Psalm 139:23-24!
Only God knows our hearts! We can easily deceive ourselves and fall into trouble. Think about this for a moment: We certainly can be proud of many things but if it is elevated above God, then God will be grieved.
Am I taking pride on something or someone but ignoring God? If so, I am sinning against God! You see, it is okay to take pride on something or someone if you give god the glory for them! We can take pride on things and other people just as long we yield them to God!
As Christians, we are to yield to God the Holy Spirit not grieve Him.
And as Jesus noted in Luke 14:14,
2. Do things not for temporal selfish gains but for eternal blessings!
Ask yourself often, Is what I’m doing or about to have a connection with eternal life?
And finally, let us note that we cannot avoid God’s commands. And so,
3. Do not run away from God’s commands.
God will discipline those He loves even if they try to run away! We can not change the subject when God is speaking to us!
Let us close by praying quietly to our Lord Jesus Christ. You probably noticed that I didn’t say anything about kneeling before our pastoral prayer earlier. I am blessed by many of you who have made kneeling before the Lord a habit as we pray. But I thought that now is the appropriate time to kneel before the Lord if you physically are able. God of course knows our hearts and so whether kneeling or sitting down, quietly take a moment to pray; ask Jesus Christ the words from Psalm 139:23-24, which is in front of our bulletins.
Confess any prideful things you have elevated above the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let go of things without eternal significance!
