Will we be blessed by God or be a disappointment to God? – Luke 6:17-26
Gladstone Baptist Church – 28/11/04 am
"Most people who call themselves Christian would not follow Jesus if he returned today. His teachings were, after all, very radical - love your enemies, turn the other cheek, shelter the homeless, feed the hungry."
This morning I want to open up God’s Word and challenge you with words which Jesus used to challenge people 2000 years ago. For them as it will be for us, these words were very unsettling. This morning I want to ask the question of you “Will you be blessed by God or be a disappointment to God?” I am not going to answer that question for you as I think that God will make it very plain to you where you currently stand in his eyes. The question again? “Will you be blessed by God or be a disappointment to God?”
If you’ve got your bibles there, please open them to Luke 6:17
2 weeks ago I spoke at night about seeking God’s wisdom when making important decisions. Jesus was facing a huge decision – the choosing of 12 men who would carry on his work when after he was gone. When Jesus faced decisions – he prayed to God. He often prayed, he spent quality time praying and He prayed in quiet solitude where God could respond to him. After this night of prayer, Jesus selected the 12 who would be apostles (ones sent out on a mission) and immediately he begins their training program.
Read Luke 6:17-26
Jesus led his disciples (those he’d just chosen to be part of his inner core, and all the others) down to a flat place and began healing those in need and teaching them. What was the first lesson for those newly chosen? It was on the proper VALUES for life. What values would please God and what values would disappoint God.
Jesus doesn’t pull any punches in his words. He lays down before all present what it was that God desired for those who would follow Him. He does this through a series of contrasting values or behaviours which would end in one of two outcomes.
- There were things which would bring blessing from God. These are things which he was pleased with. They were things which were listed in his priority list. They were characteristics which were being requested in those that would follow Jesus. Jesus says “Blessed are the …. Poor, Hungry, Weeping and Despised or rejected
- But just as there were things which would bring blessing from God, there is a converse list of things which would result in disappointing God. They were the opposite values or behaviours to those things just listed. Jesus says “Woe to you.” The greek word here is not a word used to curse or condemn someone, but it is a word that would be used to express regret or pain or displeasure. Jesus was saying … “God is so disappointed in you who are … Rich, Well Fed, Laughing, or who are Mr or Mrs Popularity.
Which group do you most closely resemble? Are you going to be blessed by God or will you be a disappointment to God?
Now do you know why I said that if Jesus was here today, most of you would refuse to follow Him? These teachings are tough stuff and I’m sure some of you are asking some questions right now like
- Well how poor do you have to be to be blessed?
- What is wrong with having enough food to eat?
- Doesn’t God promise to economically bless those who follow him?
- What is wrong with a bit of laughter???!!!
So let’s have a closer look at each of these four contrasts to try to understand what Jesus is saying. I am not going to pull any punches here this morning, but I will endeavour to preach God’s word as He has revealed it to us through Scripture. If you feel uncomfortable this morning – maybe that is God telling you something and asking you to respond. Let’s pause and pray for wisdom, insight and courage this morning.
Prayer Lord, this is your words which are useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training up in righteousness. Teach us this morning from your word we pray. Help us to be open to your rebuke and correction and we pray that you would train us to be more like your son. These things we ask in your name. Amen.
1) Blessed are the poor. Woe to the rich
The first thing Jesus contrasts are the poor and the rich.
We in Australia are extremely Rich by all measures … Compare this data …
Australia Indonesia India Zambia World
Life Expectancy at Birth (years) – 79.0 66.2 63.3 33.4 66.7
Primary, secondary & tertiary enrolments (%) 114 64 56 45 64
Estimated Income (USD per male) 29,945 3893 4070 1009 n/a
GDP per person (USD) 25,370 2940 2840 780 7376
Doctors per 100 000 people 260 16 48 7 n/a
Under nourished people (%) 0 6 24 50 n/a
Data from Human Development Report 2003, United Nations Development Programme
On a world ranking, Australia is #4 on the UN Human Development list after Norway, Iceland and Sweden. USA is number 7 and UK is number 13. We are extremely well off in our country.
But does God judge us negatively for simply being rich or born into a wealthy country?
The answer is No. Good exegesis (interpretation of God’s word) demands that we don’t just pick verses out of context. We can get all sorts of weird and wacky ideas doing that. No, we need to interpret Jesus’ teaching in the light of the rest of his teaching and that of the Bible.
God does not condemn people who are wealthy because it is God who gives to people riches. Hannah testified in 1 Sam 2:5 “The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.” God gave Solomon incredible wealth, He blessed Job after he had tested him. Abraham was an incredible wealthy man.
God doesn’t condemn wealth, but condemns the ATTITUDES that so often go hand in hand with wealth. He condemns greed, corruption and exploitation. He also condemns the selfish attitudes and independence which makes people horde up money for a rainy day.
1 Tim 6:10 - For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Again and again, Jesus warns people not to store up wealth here on earth. He told the parables of the rich fool who died and couldn’t take it with him. He said “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:18-25) He told the rich man to go and sell everything and give it to the poor.
Why? Jesus wasn’t against Money, but he knew that money brings the biggest temptations of them all – self sufficiency and spiritual suffocation. This is what happened to the good seed that fell among the thorns. The “worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” (Mark 4:19). There is nothing wrong with money, it is the effects of money that you have to watch out for and unfortunately too many Christians in Australia (me included) are under it’s spell. We are typically caught in one of two traps.
1) The First is being consumed by needing to earn MORE. We are focused on the mortgage, the bills, saving enough for the new car or the investment property or the holiday. Or as is often the case – paying off the new car, the investment property or the holiday. We get so focused on things that will rust and corrode that we forget about the eternal things – the things that will last. We don’t go to church, we aren’t passionate about telling others about Jesus. But we are passionate about getting more money.
I was really excited about the thanksgiving offering 2 weeks ago $14,000 raised by this church. What a great effort - $14,000. Fantastic. Goes to show that our church is a generous church. But would it take the shine off this if I were to tell you that there was one donation of $10,000? And probably half of the remainding $4000 was probably given by another 3 or 4 people donations. Are we looking like a generous people now? Where are our priorities?
A Native American and his friend were walking near Times Square, New York. The streets were filled with people, with several lanes of cars honking their horns. Tyres were squealing around corners, and sirens were wailing. Suddenly, the Native American stops and says, "I hear a cricket."
His friend is astounded, "What? You must be crazy. You couldn’t possibly hear a cricket in all of this noise!"
"No, I’m sure of it," the Native American said, "I heard a cricket." The Native American listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across the street to where some shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes and sure enough, he located a small cricket. His friend was utterly amazed.
"That’s incredible," said his friend. "You must have super-human ears!"
"No," said the Native American. "My ears are no different from yours."
"Rubbish!" said the friend. "I could never hear a cricket in this noise."
"Yes, you could," came the reply. "Here, let me show you."
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and dropped them on the sidewalk. And then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within 5 metres turn and look to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs.
"See what I mean?" asked the Native American. "It all depends on what’s important to you, on what you’re listening for"
What are you focussed on this morning? Eternal things or things here and now? Would God be pleased or disappointed with it?
2) The Second Trap we can fall into with regards money is an attitude of SELF SUFFICIENCY. When we have lots of money – we believe that we are able to solve all our own problems. We can afford a doctor, a lawyer, a good mechanic, or what ever else it takes. We don’t need God to help us – we can do it – because we have the resources. We put God on the self and do it ourselves.
Jesus says here to his Disciples – blessed are the poor. This should really read “blessed are the beggars” because the Greek word here is not those who don’t have money, but it has more of the sense of those who are dependant on others for support. Jesus is saying – God is pleased with those who are dependant upon Him for their daily bread and He will reward them for it in heaven. He is disappointed in those who are rich enough to think they can do it themselves – they won’t receive a reward, they’ve already had it.
When John Wesley visited his congregations he would question his assistants as to their progress in the faith. He would often ask if their Christianity had affected their pockets? Will you be blessed by God or be a disappointment to God? What is your attitude to money like? Has your Christianity affected your pockets? Maybe God has to do some major surgery in your life in order to get rid of some bad attitudes and behaviors. Today is a great day to allow him to start changing you.
That’s the first of 4 things Jesus contrasts, but don’t worry, we’ll fly through the other 3 because they are all related to the first.
2) Blessed are the hungry. Woe to the content.
The second contrast Jesus gives is along the same lines as the first. It focuses on a physical need. Jesus is pleased with those who hunger. No He is not into death by starvation or even dieting, but it is again a contrast between those who RELY on God for their daily needs vs those who have everything they need and can provide it by their own efforts – or so they thing.
I like how the Message puts this …
Luke 6:21-22,
You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all. God’s kingdom is there for the finding.
You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry. Then you’re ready for the Messianic meal.
Vs 24-25
But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you’ll ever get.
And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long.
Matthew’s gospel records a sermon very similar to this one called the sermon on the Mount. This is commonly referred to the Sermon on the Plain because it is different, even though it has quite a lot of similar material in it. Jesus’ words on the Mountain put a slightly different spin on this contrast. In Matt 5:6 Jesus says … “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
God is pleased with people who are hungry for more of Him and who rely on him to satisfy all their physical and spiritual needs.
I’ll ask you again - Will you be blessed by God or be a disappointment to God? Do you rely on your own devices to supply your needs physically and spiritually? If you are, you need to stop and start relying on God.
3) Blessed are the weeping ones. Woe to the laughing ones.
The third contrast moves to our emotions – Blessed are the weeping ones. Woe to the laughing ones. Again God is not down on laughter. I think God has an incredible sense of humor and loves to see us happy. What Jesus is attacking is the shallow superficial humour that characterises much of our world and particularly our Australian culture. Life is not all fun and games. We tend to laugh a lot, but we laugh at the wrong things. We have been corrupted by the world so much that we are unable to show grief and shed tears at the right things – the injustices of this world, the inequality we see in society, the exploitation, the poverty, the wars. God is pleased with those who show grief and sorrow at the WICKEDNESS AND EVIL in this world.
Kent Hughes has written “We are called to weep over lost souls, people who will go into eternal darkness without Christ. We are to weep over the world’s misery, over injustice that falls on so many helpless people, over the unfairness that victimizes the weak, child abuse, battered spouses, over marriages destroyed by adultery, over homes destroyed by divorce, over rejection, over those who laugh now but who, unless they turn to Christ, will suffer (an eternity apart from God.) [Hughes. Luke: That You May Know the Truth. Vol. 1 (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1998). p. 220]
But we don’t weep do we, we laugh – we think it is all a joke. In the Message (vs 21&25) the contrast is …
You’re blessed when the tears flow freely. Joy comes with the morning.
But it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games. There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.
Will you be blessed by God or be a disappointment to God? Do you recognize the seriousness of sin and the evil in this world and grieve over it or do you laugh your way through life. We need to wake up and take seriously God’s word.
4) Blessed are those who are rejected. Woe to the popular ones.
The last contrast that Jesus makes here is to do with popularity. If everyone speaks well of you, Jesus warns to be careful. Popularity usually means that you’ve sacrificed some principle or value in your life. False teachers gain a hearing by tickling the ears of the listeners – by telling them what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. The bottom line is that most people don’t like the truth and if you uphold it for Jesus’ sake, you won’t be popular.
Jesus says, blessed are those who are hated, excluded, insulted or rejected. He is not saying blessed are the nerds or those terribly irritable people who no one can get on with. But He is saying, blessed are you if you are hated, excluded, insulted or rejected For my sake. If you are rejected because you STAND UP for Christ or his standards, Jesus says you will be blessed. If you are excluded because you refuse to participate in dishonest practices, you will be blessed with an eternal reward. This is always what happens to God’s prophets because people don’t like being challenged.
Vs 26 in the Message reads "There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.
Will you be blessed by God or be a disappointment to God? Do you stand up for his truth and the gospel message which can and will save people who will submit their lives to Jesus’ lordship or do you hide your light under a bushel or in a closet hoping no one will guess you are a Christian.
Conclusion
Jesus expected his 12 disciples to be people who had the right attitude to wealth, a reliance on God for their needs, an appropriate response to evil in the world and a godly character which would stand up for Jesus’ gospel regardless of the consequences. God promises that people who count the cost and follow Christ in this way will be blessed.
Will you be blessed by God or be a disappointment to God? In these 4 areas where would you put yourself on this sliding scale. Are you more on the blessing side or the disappointment side?
In the Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren comments on the attitudes God is looking for. He says …
When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and you realize that life is just preparation for eternity, you will begin to live differently. You will start living in light of eternity, and that will color how you handle every relationship, task, and circumstance. Suddenly many activities, goals, and even problems that seemed so important will appear trivial, petty, and unworthy of your attention. The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.
When you live in the light of eternity, your values change. You use your time and money more wisely. You place a higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievements or even fun. Your priorities are reordered. Keeping up with trends, fashions, and popular values just doesn’t matter as much anymore.
Rick Warren – The Purpose Driven Life p37-38
What specific action do you need to do to move yourself closer to the blessings God has promised us? I’ll give you a couple of seconds to write an action down on the bottom of you pages and then we’ll close.
