Book of Luke - Ch. 18, Vs. 7-28 (05/16/2004)

And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the

Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth.

The Son of Man cometh. Is Russell in here?

What does that mean, the Son of Man cometh? Son of Man, who is that?

Why doesn't he refer to the Son of God? That's right.

He will be so we can recognize him. Now, shall he find faith on the earth?

Where will faith be, David? The faith as it was practiced in the early church.

Well, John, will his believers be void of faith? Then, Debbie, where is faith?

In us. Who is us? The elect, his children.

Well, the answer is no. Where will faith be?

Will it be in his believers? Will they be void of faith? No. The faith will be scarce, yes.

It's not in our churches. They're not full of Christians.

The churches today are not full of Christians. When he comes, the faith will be found in Christians that have been run out of the churches.

How could that be? Bill, how could that possibly be? That the

Christians are run out of churches. Well, it's just in the past.

The popular church is not full of Christians.

Those of us that are not so popular, we don't have a big church.

We can't, or we don't attract the world. This is full of faith, full of Christians, but not full of the world.

And he spake a parable unto certain which trusted in themselves, that they were righteous, and despised others.

So he has pointed out the ones to whom he is speaking. Two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a

Pharisee and the other a publican. David, who were the publicans?

They were the tax gatherers of the

Jews. I mean, the Jews were considered the people of sympathy. One a

Pharisee. Russell, who were the Pharisees?

They took indecision back into the resurrection.

They had left the Word of God and believed in the moral law and the interpretation of it.

It's critical that a lot of them are of the health and the standard of faith in themselves.

He, and so on and so forth. God, I thank

Thee that I'm not as other men. I thank

Thee that I'm not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

So he took notice of those around him. I fast twice in the week.

I give tithes of all that I possess. The churches of today would be bidding for this man's membership, wouldn't they?

He's a great man, well known. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying,

God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Now, David, which one of these two was heard of God?

That poor publican, one that was despised by the world, and that rich Pharisee, thinking that I'm glad I'm not like the rest of these people.

The Lord says, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.

For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased. Russell, what does the word abased mean?

All right. Shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

In Luke 11 and 1, we find this. And it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased one of his disciples, said unto him,

Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples to pray.

Now, please notice that they said, Lord, teach us to pray. Not teach us how to pray, but teach me to pray.

A lot of prayers today are not prayers. A lot of prayers are gossip, or we're trying to tell somebody something.

That's not a prayer. We must learn to pray, a very personal matter.

15, and they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them.

But when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. Why was this, David? Why did the disciples rebuke them?

They didn't think Jesus had time for children, so he was a busy schedule.

And thereby, they were trying to protect his busy schedule. And forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.

Now, Clarence, does that mean that every person has to be a little child to come to the

Lord? No, he's referring to the beginning of his faith and the learning of his faith.

Makes no difference what age you are, does it? Now, the elect children of the faithful are included in the free covenant of God.

Children are included, but not because you're your mother's child.

Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

Childlike innocence. And we can all remember someone, I'm sure.

Maybe yourself, when you first came to the Lord. Now, Jesus makes the child a model for those who enter the kingdom of God.

For those who would come into the kingdom of God. But not the adult model for the child.

He does not say that the child is ready already in the kingdom without coming to him.

Jesus has made child world by understanding the child.

It is like a child when you come. I can remember myself like a child.

I can remember a child that came who was like a child.

I can remember an adult came as a child. And a certain ruler asked him, saying, good master, what shall

I do to inherit eternal life? Now, what shall

I do? This man started off all wrong. He wanted to know why he called him good.

Good master. He was sure that he could do something to gain the eternal life that the master is talking about.

He immediately tried to flatter him and put him on a pedestal. And he says, good master, tell me what can

I do to be saved? Russell, what did you do to be saved?

John, what did you do? Debbie.

Well, this man was sure he could do something. 19.

And Jesus said unto him, why callest thou me good? None's good save one, and that is

God. Thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit adultery.

Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor thy father and thy mother.

And he said, all of these I've kept from my youth up. Now Clarence, do you think he really had kept every one of them?

No. Yes. But he knew there was something else.

Because he didn't have eternal life, and he'd kept all of the commandments. What was it he could not determine?

Joy. Well, let's see.

20. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing, sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come follow me.

Now David, if the man had said, fine, I'll go do that, and he went out and sold all that he had, gave it to the poor and come back, would that have bought him salvation?

No. He's saying that that would get you treasure in heaven.

Well, the man was very, very depressed, unhappy, because he was very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

Do you know we're all rich? If you know someone that has less than you do, that makes you rich.

He refused to part with his riches. And when

Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God, for it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Now, Russell, did Jesus say it was impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom?

Well, rich men do meet with more difficulties than us poor. It's difficult to withdraw their affections from wealth, to place their supreme love upon God in the midst of their money, and to depend entirely upon God.

For the rich man's wealth is his strong tower, that yet the fault lies not in the riches, but in rich men, who, by placing their trust and their confidence in fortunes, do render their salvation difficult, if not impossible.

But the Lord didn't say anything about riches.

He didn't classify people as to you can be saved because you have nothing.

It's not because of anything that we can have, anything we do not have.

It's not because of something in this world. This is difficult and impossible as may seem to men, and yet nothing is impossible with God.

He can change the heart of a rich man by the powerful influences of his

Holy Spirit. That which is impossible with men is possible with God.

And they that heard it said, who then can be saved?

David, these people, these people that heard what he said, were still thinking fleshly.

Now how do we know that? Because they that heard it said, then who can be saved?

If you can't buy your way in, then who can be saved? Well, it goes past human power, but not divine power.

And he said the things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

Then Peter said, lo, we have left all and followed thee. Peter was thinking worldly.

Peter was thinking in the flesh. We've left it all. What all was he talking about?

And he didn't have any. He had an old fishing boat and some nets.

That's right. Mm hmm.

We're so caught up in this world, and we don't know it.

We claim to be Christian, and we are. But even we that hold to Christ are still captured by this world.

I wish there was some way to eliminate that. This is where we're going to stop.

We'll start here next week. Is there anything that anybody would like to add?

Part of that sentence for Jesus told him what to do. It did have to do with salvation, but to come and follow me,

Father. Yes. Because it had to do with relationship, not doing something, like giving up your possessions.

That's not the part that would have saved him anyway. But the relationship of being with Christ is what he advised him to do, and he went away sad.

Because he was very rich. In the world, he was rich.

He let his things become more important than that relationship. Yes. Russell, dismiss this, please.

Thank you, Father. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.