BLESSINGS AND WOES
Text: Luke 6: 17 – 26
No man can be a Christian without being a controversialist.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892)
(Draper’s Book Of Quotations For The Christian World).
Jesus was often counter cultural in His day. He taught with authority that many considered controversial because He did not compromise. Jesus’s preaching and teaching was not concerned with keeping the status quo when it missed the mark of living in harmony with doing God’s will. Jesus was more concerned about preaching the good news that would amplify the Spirit of the Lord that was upon Him because He had been anointed to preach the Gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty the bruised (Luke 4:18 -19 paraphrased). What was true for preaching of Jesus’s day is often true for us today. As it has been said many times, “Preaching comforts the uncomfortable and makes the comfortable uncomfortable”. There are always going to be people who will be shocked to learn that they received woe when they were expecting a blessing!
Compared to the list of the nine Beatitudes in Matthew 5, the list of the four Beatitudes in Luke 6 are blunt because each Beatitudes in Luke 6 has a negative counterpart.
This passage of scripture seems to ask three questions. What are those three questions? What about reversed expectations? Do those who have the most toys win? Who gets to laugh last ?
WHAT ABOUT REVERSED EXPECTATIONS?
Does everything always turn out like you expected? How many people have the expectation that all that they have to do is live a decent life and everything will turn out just fine? God did not design us to be lone rangers. John Donne once said that “No man is an island entire of itself…”. Without God, long lasting peace is an illusion As St. Augustine once said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord and our hearts are restless until they have rest in Thee.”(Confessions of St. Augustine). To be alone and restless is a sure sign that one is detached like a fresh cut flower. Fresh cut flowers don’t live long because they are detached.
ILLUSTRATION: Consider the detached life of the late Chris Farley. Chris Farley had a role as a regular cast member in the TV show Saturday Night Live as well as the roles he played in some of the movies he was in (The Coneheads, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep). Chris Farley labored for bread that just did not satisfy. “The late comedian and actor Chris Farley…” once thought he had his act together as an actor and a comedian. “… He thought that show business and all that goes with it, fame and money in the bank, would help him reach that place where as he said, "the laws of the universe would not apply". He also noted that philosophy was false because he "still had to work on relationships and battle his weight and other demons as well". It was unfortunate that he died at the age of 33 with a drug habit. (Craig Brian Larson. Choice Contemporary Stories & Illustrations For Preachers, Teachers, & Writers. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1998, p. 251). He was alone and detached. He was poor toward the kingdom of God and yet rich and successful according to the world’s philosophy. Whatever riches he had were a poor consolation that left him void, empty and addicted (Luke 6:20, 24).
How many times have you experienced a conclusion that was probably the opposite of what you had imagined? Henry David Thoreau once said “Even the best things are not equal to their fame”. (Compelling Quotes). Years ago there was a pastor by the name of David Wilkerson who felt compelled by God to go and witness to gang members in New York. Like Jesus, he went against the grain having the power of the Holy Spirit on him enabled him to preach the gospel to an unlikely recipient---a captive who was in need of deliverance. At first, the gang at its members resisted. Then, one day the Holy Spirit broke through the hardened heart of a gang leader by the name of Nicky Cruz. Imagine how people might have been shocked when they expected to find a gang member accept Jesus Christ. David Wilkerson had a hunger for the salvation of others that led him to go the extra mile. He helped another find Jesus as the bread of heaven when the world’s counterfeit version of bread would have left that captive in need of deliverance starving (Luke 6:21 & 25).
DO THOSE WHO HAVE THE MOST TOYS WIN?
Jesus would tell us that those who die with the most toys still die!
Yes, it is possible to be wealthy and own a lot of stuff and yet still be lost. The world has the philosophy that he who dies with the most toys wins. The Bible tells us the opposite. The Bible tells us that man cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24). The Bible also tells us that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Money has caused some to wander from the faith and pierced them many griefs (I Timothy 6:10). Where we place our treasures says something about where we place God in our lives (Matthew 6:20).
How many have expected a blessing only to find woe instead?
1) Luke’s case studies: Think about the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13 – 21); the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18 - 25); the nameless rich man in the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19 - 31).
2) Consequences: Though the rich fool and the nameless rich man are fictional characters of a parables they are the epitome of many fictional characters as is often the case for the characters of parables.
A) Both the rich fool and the nameless rich man were in jeopardy because they had lived a selfish lives where they could have and should have helped others because they had a great abundance.
B) The rich young ruler serves as a non-fiction mirror image of the rich fool and the nameless rich man. Though they were full in this life they would be spiritually hungry, thirsty and empty in eternity (Luke 6:21). privilege can be abused as well as God’s invitation rejected. 3) Blinded by wealth: As someone (R. Alan Culpepper ) has said, “The rich are shortsighted and are lulled into a false security when they think their present abundance ensures their future comfort … The rich are apt to be so preoccupied with their possessions that they fail to respond to God’s invitation”. (Leander E. Keck Sen. Ed. The New Interpreter’s Bible. Volume IX. R. Alan Culpepper. “The Gospel Of Luke”. NASHVILLE: Abingdon Press, 1995, p. 144).
“During an appearance by Howard Stern on the 'Tonight Show' with Jay Leno, the obnoxious display by American radio's leading bad boy far surpassed his typical egocentric schtick. By the time Stern got off his bawdy bits and started hawking his book, no doubt Leno had already lost many family-oriented viewers. The host was obviously uncomfortable with his guest's actions and assertions. At the risk of alienating his audience, Leno took an unexpected stand. To support the claim that his new tome is "the fastest-selling book in the history of books," Stern held up a Bible and announced, "The Gideon company is now putting my book in the place of Bibles in hotels." An incensed Leno responded by holding up the Bible his guest brought as a prop and saying, "Howard, something horrible is going to happen to you. . . . This book will strike you down as you go down the road. It will go through the windshield and pierce your heart. I am sounding like an evangelist now, but I predict that's what will happen-suddenly, all that is in this book is making perfect sense to me." He said it with a slight smile, but there was more than a trace of conviction in his voice. (Steve May. The Story File. “Leno Tells Stern”. Peabody Hendrickson Publishers, 2000, p. 262). Jay Leno was telling Howard Stern that he was being dishonorable to God and mocking God. It was as if Jay Leno was echoing Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (ESV). Howard may indeed laugh now, but the day will come when his laughter could very well turn into despair because as Jay Leno seemed to be warning unless he repented, his laughter could turn into weeping and mourning (Luke 6:25).
WHO GETS TO LAUGH LAST ?
There are celebrities--- atheist celebrities who mock God and ridicule those who believe in God. We could all comprise a list of celebrities who have mocked God. Howard Stern, Bill Maher, Nicky Six, Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne and we could go on and on. . Not all atheists mock God. It must also be said that not all atheist are welcoming to celebrities who are believer. Consider how many celebrities who openly profess their Christian faith who are not offered as many roles as their agnostic or atheist peers.
Will those who laugh, scoff and mock God and those who believe in Him be laughing in the end? Psalm 14:1 reminds us that fools say in their hearts the is no God. In Luke 6:24 -26 Jesus speaks of the woes of those who had the honors and accolades of the world while ignoring God’s grace. Woe to the rich according to the world, they will be poor; woe to the full of the world for they will experience hunger; woe to those who laughed and mocked God and those who believe in God and His gift of eternal life because the idols that kept them also left them spiritually empty; woe to those who were well spoken of because they they will be treated the same way false prophets were treated. According to the woes Jesus spoke of, those who laugh now will not be laughing when they realize too late that God was trying to reach them and save their souls.
Consider Psalm 1:1- 2:
1 Blessed is the person who does not follow the advice of wicked people, take the path of sinners, or join the company of mockers.
2 Rather, he delights in the teachings of the LORD and reflects on his teachings day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted beside streams—a tree that produces fruit in season and whose leaves do not wither. He succeeds in everything he does.
How does our lip service compare with our life service? As someone has said, “You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips”. (Eleanor Doan. Speaker’s Sourcebook. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1960, p. 200). We are all called to make disciples! Before we became Christians, we were called out the world and then we were sent back into the world with a mission to make disciples! There can be no doubt that some will reject us as they also rejected Jesus, but we still have to persevere to win others to Jesus.
Jesus did not say that having wealth is forbidden but he did caution that those who have it must guard their hearts against being satisfied in those things.
How well are we living up to being the ideal people that God has called us to be? God called us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world!
You are writing a gospel,
A chapter each day,
By the deeds you do,
By the words that you say;
Men read what you write,
Whether faithless or true.
Say---what is the gospel,
According to you?
(Robert J. Morgan. Nelson’s Complete Book OF Stories, Illustrations & Quotes. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000, p. 275).
What is stopping us from doing something to alleviate poverty, famine and injustice?
