Are You on God’s A-List or Blacklist? (Part 2)
Luke Sermon Series #20 April 29th, 2001
Text: Luke 6:20-26
Introduction: You have probably heard of Galileo and how about 400 hundred years ago he argued that Aristotle was wrong about gravity. If you took two objects with one heavier than the other, Aristotle had said if one was ten pounds and the other was one pound, the ten-pound object would fall ten times faster. Well Galileo said, ’No. They will fall at the same speed.’ But nobody paid any attention to him. They thought that he was a little crazy. They simply dismissed it, because obviously he was wrong. But then he climbed up the leaning tower of Pisa. He took with him two objects, one heavier than the other, and he dropped them over the edge. To the amazement of the crowd, the heavier one did not fall faster than the light one. The answer to this scientific question was not what everyone was so certain was obviously true.
The same can be said for certain spiritual questions also, such as the question: "What type of people does God favor?", or put another way, "Who would be on God’s A-list?" and "Who would be on God’s Blacklist? To people 2,000 years ago the answer to this question seemed obvious and certain. God’s A-list was comprised of the "good people" - upstanding citizens, popular and well-liked, religious people, those who had in a sense "arrived" and were satisfied. God’s Blacklist was comprised of those who were the rejects of society. Those who were failures, wicked, admitted sinners who were unpopular and rejected. Clearly such people would not be on God’s A-list! Jesus comes along and like Galelio reveals that the popular answer was the wrong answer. In fact the popular assumption about who God approved and disapproved of was totally erroneous.
Those people who were thought by themselves and others to be God’s favorites were actually on God’s blacklist and those whom were thought by themselves and others to especially offensive and rejected by God were actually the ones with the most potential to be on God’s A-list.
How about you and me? Are we on God’s A-list or His Blacklist? Are we in a position to receive God’s applause or His condemnation? Are we approved or disapproved? Blessed or cursed? This seems to me to be a very important question with considerable ramifications for this life and the one to come. On such an important question I’m glad that we are not left guess work. Jesus has answered the important question of who is on God’s A-list and Blacklist in Luke chapter 6. He has given us God’s criteria, which is the only criteria that really counts.
Read Luke 6:20-26
This is message #20 as we continue our weekly message series out of the book of Luke. In this passage Jesus Gives us four characteristics of those on God’s A-list and Blacklist. Last week we also looked at this same Bible passage and noted first of all that Jesus is using figurative language to express spiritual characteristics. We then covered the first characteristic of those on God’s A-list and Blacklist.
I. People on God’s A-list are spiritually humble, while people of God’s Blacklist are spiritually arrogant.
Jesus used the terms "poor" in vs. 20 and "rich" in vs. 24 to figuratively express this truth and to contrast those who came to God with two different attitudes. One was a poor, humble beggar while the other was a rich, arrogant, bragger. The humble come before God and men feeling poor, that is they consider themselves destitute of anything that would make them commendable before God. The arrogant come before God and men feeling "rich", that is self-confident in their righteousness - sure that they are pretty good people and hat overall God is pleased with them. Only those who have the attitude of the humble poor are on God’s A-list and therefore receive of His favor and blessing in this life and in eternity. This is a brief review of the first characteristic that we covered last week. Now it’s time to look a the second characteristic of those on God’s A-list and Blacklist.
II. People on God’s A-list are spiritually hungry, while people on God’s Blacklist are spiritually apathetic.
Read Luke 6:21a, 25a
Jesus said that those who are "blessed", those who are on God’s A-list are those who "hunger now." Jesus is referring to spiritual hunger as is made clear in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is quoted as saying "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness." Jesus is saying that God especially approves of those who have a holy hunger. God’s heart and attention are captured by those who have a burning desire for the things of God. The Greek word that Jesus used here could be translated into English as "famished" or "starving." A starving person has one consuming passion. The famished person has an one overwhelming desire that far exceeds all others. When a person is truly hungry, food is the one thing that captures their attraction and attention far more than anything else. The same can be said of those who are hungry with a spiritual hunger. The thing that has their greatest attention and the most attraction is God. Those who are on God’s A-list long with all their hearts to be closer to Him and more like Him. In a sense these are the fanatics. These are the Jesus freaks. These are those who are often accused of going overboard with this Christian stuff. These are not those who are ½ hearted. Those who are spiritually hungry are obsessed with God and His kingdom. They are obsessed, but they are also blessed by God.
Sometimes such spiritually hungry people are considered foolish because of their zeal and pursuit of God, but other people zealous pursue and are obsessed with other things of much less worth. Some people pursue money with their whole heart. Some people hunger for success in business or politics. Some people are obsessed with sports such as football, golf, fishing and hunting. Some people are chasing after physical health or beauty with their whole hearts. These things may have their place and often get the attention and applause of the world, but it is those who are hungering after the things of God that get God’s applause and approval.
II. People on God’s A-list are spiritually hungry, while people on God’s Blacklist are spiritually apathetic.
Those whom God favors and rewards are those who can not be satisfied by the things of this world, so they seek after God diligently, hungrily, and are rewarded as it says in the book of Hebrews 11:6 "…(God) rewards those who earnestly seek Him" God is looking and longing for a people who say "MORE! I must have more of you O God!" These are the people who have a tenacity like that of Jacob who would not let go. These are the people who have the heart of David who longed for God as the deer for the water. These are the people who are like Elisha when he followed the prophet Elijah and wouldn’t let any obstacle or cost keep him from the blessing of God. The spiritually hungry are those who are like Moses who even though he had been in God’s presence cried out to God for more when he said, "Show me your glory." (Exodus 33:18) These are the people who have found the "Pearl of Great Price" and are willing to sell all to have it!
Are you one of these people? Do you have a holy hunger? Do you have the zeal of the Apostle Paul who despite his spiritual standing, knowledge and success could say in chapter 3:10-14 his letter to the Philipians, "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings…Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize…" This is the type of attitude Jesus was referring to when He said "Blessed are you who hunger now for you will be satisfied."
For us these examples from the Old Testament, words from the Apostle Paul and Teaching of Jesus are reminders to not let our holy fire burn low. They are exhortations to remain zealous and hungry. As it says in Romans 12:11 "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor…" Keep your passion for Jesus!!! Just say "no" to passionless Christianity. Just say "no" to anything that distracts or takes away your fervor or dedication to Him. Cry out to God to give you a hunger for more of God, more of His love and power, more of His righteousness, more involved in His service, more pleasing in worship, MORE! Some things are worth giving our all to have. Sometimes that is what it takes to pursue God with a passionate hunger.
Illustration: A passionate angler at an eastern Slovenian lake caught a fish so big he drowned trying to reel it in, the state-run news agency reported. Determined to land the sheatfish, a type of catfish, the 47-year-old fisherman walked into the lake after hooking it and refused to let go when it pulled him under, the STA news agency quoted a friend of Franc Filipic as saying. The friend said Filipic’s last words before he drowned were: ’’Now, I’ve got him!’’ Police and divers found his body after a two-day search. The fish was not found. How big was it? The friend swore it had to have been more than six feet long and weighed upward of 110 pounds. --USA Today aug98
II. People on God’s A-list are spiritually hungry, while people on God’s Blacklist are spiritually apathetic.
Is anyone here hungry? Jesus promises that those who are spiritually hungry will be filled. This means that they will be satisfied, whereas the things of this world are often very dissatisfying and disappointing. This is why Jesus said in vs. 24 "Woe to you who are well-fed (satisfied) for you will go hungry." This refers to those who are apathetic, indifferent to for the most part to spiritual concerns. These are those who are ½ hearted about their relationship with God and much more obsessed and hungry for other things in this world. These are those who get enough of God on Sunday mornings but find the rest of their week with little time or thought given to God, prayer or His Word. This attitude of apathy is not limited to unbelievers but can certainly be found among those who are true Christians also. These words of Jesus are not meant to condemn as much as they are to warn us against that apathetic spirit because it means that we will miss God’s blessings and favor and, as Jesus warned, those who are filled up with the things of this world will go hungry. In other words if we spend our energy and passion pursuing the things of this world we will ultimately end up dissatisfied and disappointed.
Illustration:
In New York City, there are eight million cats and eleven million dogs. New York City is basically just concrete and steel, so when you have a pet in New York City and it dies, you can’t just go out in the back yard and bury it. The city authorities decided that for $50 they would dispose of your deceased pet for you.
One lady was enterprising. She thought, I can render a service to people in the city and save them money. She placed an ad in the newspaper that said, "When your pet dies, I will come and take care of the carcass for you for $25." This lady would go to the local Salvation Army and buy an old suitcase for two dollars. Then when someone would call about his or her pet, she would go to the home and put the deceased pet in the suitcase.
She would then take a ride on the subway, where there are thieves. She would set the suitcase down, and she would act like she wasn’t watching. A thief would come by and steal her suitcase. She’d look up and say, "Wait. Stop. Thief." My guess is the people who stole those suitcases got a real surprise when they got home. A lot of us are like those New York thieves. We’re chasing after happiness, and we grab what we think will give us happiness; however, when we get it, it doesn’t quite deliver.
If you find that your zeal or spiritual hunger is not what I should be, then I would give you the same counsel that Jesus gave to the church in Ephesus that had left It’s first love for Jesus. Jesus said to them and says to us in Revelation 2:4,5 "…You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first…" So far we’ve discussed two characteristics of those on God’s A-list and Blacklist.
I. People on God’s A-list are spiritually humble, while people of God’s Blacklist are spiritually arrogant.
II. People on God’s A-list are spiritually hungry, while people on God’s Blacklist are spiritually apathetic.
Illustration: Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, told a story about a goose who was wounded and who landed in a barnyard with some chickens. He played with the chickens and ate with the chickens. After a while that goose thought he was a chicken. One day a flight of geese came over, migrating to their home. They gave a honk up there in the sky, and he heard it.
Kierkegaard said, "Something stirred within the breast of this goose. Something called him to the skies. He began to flap the wings he hadn’t used, and he rose a few feet into the air. Then he stopped, and he settled back again into the mud of the barnyard. He heard the cry, but he settled for less."
Conclusion: We can fly in the heavens if we will hear and respond the voice of the Holy Spirit calling us to pursue God with our whole hearts and a holy hunger or we can settle for less and live with chickens in the mud. The choice is ours! I encourage you today to recommit to following God with a consuming passion. Then you will be on God’s A-list.
