MESSAGE AM
SERMON SERIES: “LOVING PEOPLE INTO THE KINGDOM”
“DON’T JUST GO TO CHURCH BE THE CHURCH”
OPENING STATEMENTS
During the month of February we are preaching a series of sermons on “Loving People into the Kingdom.” Don’t just go to church be the church.
REVIEW
Last Sunday we looked closely at the story of what we call the “Good Samaritan” the story Jesus told about loving others and only told by Dr. Luke and recorded for us in Luke 10.
Before I get into today’s sermon I want to put a tag line on last week’s sermon. Remember Jesus was answering the question of a lawyer or a man who specialized in the Law the first 5 books of our Old Testament first 5 books of the Jewish Torah. He was speaking to the religious crowd, the church of the day.
In the story of the Parable you remember there was a man who was leaving Jerusalem and going to Jericho and this man fell into the hands of robbers who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and left him. Jesus said when the robbers got through with this man he was half dead. Let me just get you to visualize this picture, this is a great picture of what the devil does to people in life. When the devil comes into a life he wounds, strips, and takes life out of a person.
That is the devil’s job description. Has been, always has been and will always be.
There were three guys that passed where this victim was lying.
PRIEST: Priest passed by on the other side of the road. Jesus said that the Priest saw the man but he passed by on the other side. He didn’t offer any assistance. A highly respected leader of the Jewish people went out of his way not to help this man.
LEVITE: The Levite was a highly respected leader in the Jewish Temple “Church” he also did just exactly what the Priest did, he passed by on the other side of the street. Jesus did say that the Levite came to where the man was and looked at him, and then turned and walked away.
SAMARITAN: Then there was a Samaritan, not a religious leader not a Jew a man not even accepted by the Jews. This man:
• Came to where this man was
• Bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine in them
• Set him on his own animal
• Brought him to nearby inn
• Took care of him
• Paid the bill and offered to pay for anything else he needed during his recovery.
TRANSITION STATEMENT: This is the thing that I have been thinking about all week. The Samaritan was not the church he actually represented the world.
This is how our level of influence should work:
We start at our Jerusalem- Church
We reach out to those around us – Judea
We reach the un-churched – Samaria
We go into the mission field either in person or financially- uttermost part of the earth.
I SAID ALL OF THAT TO SAY THIS: The Samaritan who represented the un-churched helped this man when the professing church represented by the Priest and Levites turned their heads.
Sometimes it bothers me that we as the church are not more involved in helping people in our community when so many secular groups are reaching out to help others.
THAT BRINGS US TO THE MESSAGE FOR TODAY.
That brings us to the message for today in this series, “Loving People into the Kingdom” subtitled, “Don’t just go to church be the church.”
Today’s Sermon: “Seeing People through Christ’s Eyes”
TEXT: Luke 4:14-21
BACKGROUND OF TODAY’S PASSAGE
• John has baptized Jesus
• Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit was led into the wilderness and was tempted by Satan 40 days
• We get just a scratch of what the devil tempted him with recorded in scripture. Actually the dialogue we have between Jesus and Satan is at the end of the 40 day period. I said that to say this, “Jesus went through shear torture those 40 days being tempted for you and me.” We just have the end of it dialogued for us.
Notice Luke 4:13
Jesus faced it all. It is no wonder you and I can sing Jesus Paid it all.
Luke 4:14-21 (NKJV)
14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.
Note: Our text today takes place several months after the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. There are several months that have passed after verses 13 and 14 in Luke chapter 4. In fact there has been:
• The miracle of changing the water into wine at Cana
• The cleansing of the temple when Jesus went into Jerusalem
• There has been the encounter with Nicodemus and the message of the New Birth.
So, that is why the text says, News of Jesus being in Galilee spread throughout the region.
15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Note: When Jesus came to church on this particular Sabbath Day they were glorifying Him. When he left that same day the crowd hated him. In fact they made an attempt to kill Jesus by throwing Him over a cliff.
Is it possible to praise someone and hate them at the same time? The world does that to Jesus all the time.
On Easter we have huge crowds that recognize the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
At Christmas there are a lot of people who recognize the majestic birth of Jesus and the life He lived here upon the earth.
But when Monday morning comes we kill His influence in our lives.
16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
Note: I love the phrase, “as His custom was, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day.” We worship on Sunday now and not Saturday, but I wish we would instill the custom of going to church on the Lord’s Day. Instill that into our lives and into our children.
This particular Sabbath Jesus was given the honor of reading the scripture. Everyone is excited to hear from him because of all the amazing stories that are circulating about this home town boy.
They hand Jesus the scroll and He reads from what is in our Bibles, Isaiah 61:1-2.
He reads it with authority; I can almost hear Him as his voice fills the temple. (Look at verses 18-19)
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
Note: I would imagine you could have heard a pin drop in church that day. Everyone in the building was looking at Jesus.
And Jesus broke the silence by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
TRANSITION STATEMENT: When Jesus made that statement He was declaring that He was the Messiah, because the Jews knew that when Isaiah penned these words 700 years earlier it was a prophecy of the Messiah that was going to come.
MISSION STATEMENT
We have a mission statement here at the church it is on the front of your bulletin, “Giving people HOPE in Christ by Helping Other People Everyday.”
TODAY’S TEXT
Today’s text that I have read is Jesus Mission Statement. I have left room on the back of the bulletin for you to follow along; we need to gauge our mission statement with the Mission statement of Jesus.
1) Jesus mission was to preach good news to the poor. People thought in the days Jesus was here upon the earth and sadly many think this the same way today that being rich was a sign of God’s favor and being poor was a sign of God’s judgment. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Jesus came to change the way we view people.
Jesus said things like:
• Blessed are the poor for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
• Jesus encouraged ministry to the poor
• Jesus said the poor widow who threw 2 coins into the offering gave more than everyone else.
• Jesus told John’s disciples when John was struggling with doubt, Tell John that the gospel is being preached to the poor.
Maybe you feel like your life this morning is out of favor with God, Jesus has good news for you.
2) Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted.
A lot of people are hurting in our day and a lot of people are living with broken hearts and the good news is Jesus comes to the brokenhearted.
It is interesting to me that the word “brokenhearted” is only found 2 places in scripture, it is in this same reference, Isaiah 61 and Luke 4.
The Greek word used paints a picture of something that is totally broken in pieces, ruined or destroyed.
Jesus is saying that I have come to trample Satan and put Him under my feet the one that has destroyed you I will bind and destroy.
3) Jesus said I have come to proclaim freedom for the prisoner or the captives.
Whether you are literally imprisoned which I doubt any of you are or you would not be sitting here this morning but even to those that are behind bars Jesus came that they might enjoy liberty in their spirit.
If you are here this morning and your life is caught in the prison of
• Sin
• Addictions of drugs, alcohol, sexual, pornography
• Or any and all other vice that Satan may have on your life this morning, Jesus has come that you might be set free.
In John chapter 8, Jesus gives some great statements about freedom.
John 8:32
“And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”
John 8:36
“Therefore if the Son, makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
In this same chapter, Jesus had just set a woman free that had been caught involved in a terrible sexual sin.
In fact the men of the city brought her to church, and set her right in front of Jesus and accused her of adultery which under the law was worthy of death.
They threw the book at Jesus, “Moses in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned, but what do you say?”
They were testing Jesus hopefully to find reason to accuse Him.
Jesus acted like He didn’t hear them, stooped down and wrote on the sand.
They continued to press Him for an answer. Jesus simply stood and said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.”
He stooped down and He started writing again.
The men that heard that were convicted by their own conscience and left starting with the oldest to the youngest.
Jesus set that woman free.
TRANSITION STATEMENT: Jesus came to minister to the poor; Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted, Jesus came to minister to those in prison.
4) He said I have come to give sight to the blind.
See, there were spiritual significance in what Jesus was saying, The blind were thought to be blind because of some sin they had committed. Remember in John chapter 9 the blind man became the subject of a theological debate.
His disciples asked Jesus when they passed by the blind man who had been blind from birth, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
In short Jesus said neither one but this man is here for the glory of God.
Jesus came to show mercy to people who were physically handicapped and spiritually condemned. John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the word to condemn the word but that the world through Him might be saved.”
When Jesus looks at the world through His lens He does not look with the lens of condemnation but through the lens of redemption.
Jesus does not look at you the way you are but He looks at you for what you can become.
5) Jesus came to set at liberty them that were bruised or oppressed.
The word used for bruised is the same word that is used for the brokenhearted.
It means to be totally devastated.
Other translations here mean those who are oppressed.
Jesus came to set wrongs right, help the helpless, bring justice to those who have experienced injustice.
There is a lot injustice in this world, but at the end of the day, God will make it all right.
6) Jesus said I have come to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
We read over that as if it was nothing, but this “acceptable year of the Lord was a very important time in the life of a Jew.”
This was in reference to what was known as the Year of Jubilee when slaves were freed and all debts were cleared. Jesus is saying the year of Jubilee will be fulfilled in me. If you are enslaved and in debt to sin, I have come that you might be free and have your debts paid.
CONCLUSION
How can you and I see people the way Jesus saw them.
1) Jesus lived His life under the power of the Holy Spirit.
2) Jesus lived His life under the influence of God’s Word. He simply took Isaiah 61:1-2 as His mission statement. No workshop, no long process just took the Word.
3) Jesus mission was a people-focused mission
4) Jesus mission was an outward-focused mission
5) Jesus mission was a mercy and compassion driven mission
6) People was Jesus mission
CONFESSION
As I preach this sermon I preach it with great conviction.
As I finished this sermon I had to hurry because I felt there was someone yesterday that I needed to spend some time with that was alone and just do something special for.
In other words I was struggling with am I going to finish this sermon or go do what this sermon teaches.
I am asking you the same question today “Are you going to do what this sermon teaches?”
