The Road to the Cross

Friends, Here’s the view from my study this Monday morning, the first Monday of June. I’ve tried to give you a head start on the text for this Sunday and my emphasis in the text but, wow, when it came to the mercy seat, I just got carried away in study and ran out of time this morning. Then again, I love getting lost in the Word. That will probably be reflected in the sermon also. The OT mercy seat and its NT corresponding texts is a major theme in Scripture, kind of like the scarlet thread of redemption. Anyway, my emphasis in this text this Sunday will be on saving faith and the majority of the message will be directed to the unsaved, the ‘ex nous,’ those outside, as C. S. Lewis called unbelievers. In the sermon I will be sharing the gospel and reminding our people of the joy of salvation by grace through faith. I hope it is a joyful, celebratory time for the people who know Jesus. The staff and I are reading A Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lilias Trotter by Miriam Huffman Rockness, which I would encourage you to also read. Throughout the book, Lilias understands the power of prayer and relies on it to keep her and her friends safe in Algeria, (English women in a Muslim country in the middle of the 19 th century) and to prosper the Gospel. Thank you for your prayers for your CG, Heritage, the Word and me. My prayer for you is that you will find Jesus to be your all-in-all this week, that he will fill your soul, home, and every place you go with His felt presence. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for loving Jesus. Here’s what I have for the sermon so far. Jesus, the Pharisee, the Tax Collector and Me (Saving Faith) Luke 18:9-14 Intro: In this section of Luke, Jesus is still on his way to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27). He’s meeting many people, but Luke has chosen several specific encounters to highlight various themes in Jesus’ ministry and teaching. In this chapter, Jesus a) tells the story of a widow and a tax collector, and b) meets children, a rich ruler and a blind beggar Each of these stories provide us with Jesus’ definition of faith. In this particular story, it’s the definition of saving faith. First: The Self-Righteous Heart. 9 It is rare but as in the last story, Luke tells us at the very beginning of this story, what it is all about. V 9 - He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: a) They thought themselves righteous b) They treated others with disdain c) A result of grace – grace makes us all equal, unable to Remember last week I mentioned that God is the only self-defining entity in existence. We can’t judge ourselves appropriately. 1 – We all have the same problem Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 2 – Unbelievers have a particular problem 2 Corinthians 4:4 - …the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, Second: Two Different People. 10 a) A Pharisee b) A tax collector c) God’s view – we are all sinners Romans 3:10 - None is righteous, no, not one; Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (v 24-25 - and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Hallelujah for the cross!) Third: The Faithless Prayer. 11-12 a) “Standing by himself”….(Pharisee = separated) b) “God, I thank you that I am not like other men…” – comparison c) “I fast twice a week…” – self-righteous IMP: Self-righteousness is an oxymoron. 1 - When we get saved, God grants us Jesus’ righteousness. 2 – It is an alien righteousness, never ours 3 – It is a declaration based on what Jesus has done, not on us at all Fourth: The Faith-Focused Prayer. 13 Merciful = hilaskomai = to make propitiation The Greek translation of the OT uses the Greek word hilasterion, propitiation, for the Hebrew word, kappuret. Picture of mercy seat: ILL – On top of the ark was the mercy seat, flanked by two cherubim (Ex 25:19). Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest, walked into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat. In response, God’s shekinah glory filled the Holy Place and God met Israel there. Exodus 25:22 – There I will meet with you. John 20:12 – When Mary Magdalene wetn to the empty tomb, she found “she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.” (Stop for a moment and let your heart say, “Hallelujah!”) In the NT, that mercy seat has been transformed into at the throne of grace (Hb 4:16). IMP: What is the difference between mercy and grace? 1 – Mercy = rachimim = compassion 2 – Grace = hesed = favor 1 – Mercy points to forgiveness 2 – Grace grants unmerited favor Romans 3:21-25 - But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation [hilasterion/mercy seat] by his blood, to be received by faith. Fifth: Jesus’ Judgement. 14 – “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified…” ILL: Both of these men stepped into God’s courtroom but only one walked out justified – not by argument but by mercy. Justified = dikaioo = declared righteous Conclusion: 1 – To the proud – Don’t bring your spiritual resume. God isn’t hiring. 2 – To the broken – God’s mercy is greater than your sin. 3 – To everyone – Justification/Righteousness is found in Jesus alone, by faith alone.

In this passage (17:1-19), Jesus turns himself from the Pharisees and the temporal kingdom they are trying to build, to his disciples and the characteristics of his eternal kingdom.

Passage: Luke 15:8-10 Exegetical Theme: This story demonstrates the true value of what is lost, the searcher’s efforts and the worth of the effort, experienced in the joy of recovering the coin. The Botton Line : The search for lost people is worth Heaven’s investment. This is my potential outline for this sermon. First: The Context. 1-2 Second: The Lost Coin. 8a Third: Three Different Kinds of Lostness. Luke 15 Fourth: The Search. 8b Fifth: The Joy. 9 Sixth: The Necessity of Repentance. 10 This story takes us all the way back to creation because value is assigned by God in the imago dei. One sheep or one coin may not be of much value, or worth the risk to unfaithful shepherds. The lost coin is worth about a day’s wage and circumstances may have dictated whether or not it was worth the search. Yet both stories highlight the joy and celebration of recovering something precious to its owner. As you noticed last week, I’m using all three stories to focus on Heritage’s part in God’s saving mission in the world. In its simplest form, missions is all about looking for God’s sheep, coin and sons. The “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10) is that, in each story, what is lost is found. What an encouragement to evangelize “here and around the world.” I hope you’ll think about this in connection to your world and that of your CG. There are lost sheep, coins and sons in our families, at the grocery store, where we work, where we or our children go to school or socialize, where we play sports or have hobbies, literally everywhere. Their value is assigned by God and demonstrated in the blood of the cross. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to see the world with God’s eyes and heart and then go with God into the world to find his lost sheep, coins and sons.

Jesus came to seek sinners, not righteous people.

Text: Luke 14:15-24  Friends, as I look at Sunday’s passage, I see these exciting things. Exegetical Theme: In this passage, Jesus tells the Parable of the Great Banquet. The host (representing God) invites many people to a feast (symbolizing the kingdom of God). Those initially invited (the Jewish religious leaders sitting at the table with Jesus who represent Israel) make invalid excuses and refuse to attend. The host then extends the invitation to marginalized people who are normally not invited to such gatherings – the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame— (symbolizing ostracized Hebrews like the man with dropsy). Even though they accept the invitation and attend the banquet, there is still room for more who also are invited (symbolizing Gentiles). Meanwhile, those who initially refused the invitation will not (ever) be allowed into the feast. Bottom Line: Don’t let anything get in the way of accepting Jesus’ invitation to eternal life. When Jesus was born the angels sang, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (2:10). And when Simeon first saw the baby Jesus in the Temple, he said, “…my eyes have seen your salvation…a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (2:32). Throughout this Gospel, Luke has reminded Theophilus of that great promise. He has already highlighted the Old Testament inclusion of Gentiles in the salvation stories the widow of Zarephath and Naaman. He’s already told the story of the Centurion’s faith and will later tell the stories of the Samaritan leper and Zachaeus before he concludes the book in 21:24 with a word about “the times of the Gentiles…” This is a theme he more fully develops in the book of Acts when the good news leaves Jerusalem for “the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). He then dedicates the last half of that book to the story of Paul and his mission to Gentiles. Lest we miss Jesus’s love for “…the cripped, blind and lame” (vs 13 &21), Larry LaPlue, the CEO of Luke 14 Ministries, will be with us on Sunday to share how we can serve those “affected by disability” and help them “find community and connection to Jesus through his church.” Fortunately for Northeast Tennessee, Luke 14 is headquartered in Morristown. You can learn more about this ministry at https://luke14ministries.net/ . I hope you will take the time to read this passage every day this week, allowing the word of Christ to richly dwell in you (Col 3:16), transforming you (2 Cor 3:18) into the image of Jesus, who is the Best, most beautiful and perfect person, and in whom it is your best interests to be like. PS. It’s also in the best interest of those you love and the entire world. Lord willing, (Deo volente) I will see you on Sunday. - Reggie Weems

As of this morning, I’ve broken the text, Luke 14:1-14, down into these thoughts. Exegetical Theme: A Pharisee invited Jesus to supper. (Was it one of the “some” in 13:31?) Sitting at the table, Jesus taught several important lessons about kingdom living. The first three, which we will cover this Sunday, include unaffected service, genuine humility and sincere kindness. Bottom Line: Jesus is teaching us how we ought to live, in effect, reversing the curse of Adamic selfishness. He’s not turning the world upside down. He’s turning it right-side-up. This is the way it used to be and will one day be again…and permanently. I’ve put the text together like this. First: The Heart of Unaffected Service. 1-6 Jesus is unaffected by the Jews’ abuse of the Sabbath and heals a hurting man. Second: The Heart of Genuine Humility. 7-11 Genuine humility does not think less of oneself but of oneself, less. Third: The Heart of Sincere Kindness 12-13 The difference between sincere and insincere kindness is expectation. IMP: At some point, I’ll connect all three of these characteristics to Adam in the Garden, demonstrate how he failed at each of them, illustrate how we are affected by his sin and then demonstrate how Christ’s perfect service, humility, kindness serve as the model for the world as it ought to and will be. Friends, Jesus is creating the most wonderful world. This little eco-system that surrounds him in his incarnational ministry is a review of Eden and a preview of the New Jerusalem. Now, we live in the ‘already’ – there are already people who live like this – and the ‘not-yet’ – everyone does not yet live like this (but they will!). The challenge is to believe Jesus, to live like this even though it is counter to the world around us. But the way the world lives now is self-destructive. We witness it every day. Yet Jesus is rebuilding the real world. (He’s not building an alternative world). The challenge for us as Christian disciples and as shepherds of our people is to live this way and to encourage others to live this way. What will it take? Looking to Jesus, not to ourselves, others or the world at large. That can be so discouraging. Instead, “let us also lay aside every weight, and sin [think about the weights and sins of Luke 14:1-14] which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1-3). Thank you for loving Jesus, his church and the world over which he cries, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…” No one’s heart ever broke like the heart of Jesus because no one else has ever seen how beautiful it was, understands how terrible it has become and longs for it to be reconciled to the Father. No one’s heart ever broke like the heart of Jesus because no one else has ever seen how beautiful it was, understands how terrible it has become and longs for it to be reconciled to the Father like our Savior.

Each day we separately walk different sandy roads to arrive at the same destination so that we can talk about Jesus with one another. Then we eat lunch from a common bowl, a symbol of our united hearts. Today, Sunday, we participated in communion, reminding us that we have Christ in common with one another. There is so much that draws us together. But there is also much that is uncommon/different between us and our African brothers and sisters. During the testimony time this morning, M, thank God for taking his family to Heaven. Just last week soldiers pursuing terrorists, massacred 150 people in his village, killing M’s mother, two sisters, cousins, and nieces. And yet today, on Sunday, he, thanked God for grace and Heaven. S was a sheep thief. It’s how he made his living. But one day he met an American missionary, who told him about Jesus. S refused Christ but soon found himself in a sandstorm like no other he had ever encountered. As he covered his face and knelt in the sand, he prayed, “Oh God of the Christians, save me, and I will serve you.” S survived the sandstorm, found the missionary and trusted Christ. As of today, he has discipled a multitude of new believers in his country. When J became a Christian his father shot at him with a shotgun, trying to kill him. Today he says, “I am my father’s favorite son.” Fortunately, his father, who is not a Christian but who carries much influence in his community, has enabled his missionary son to be released from prison multiple times. When E became a Christian, he prayed seven years for a wife. He eventually led a woman to Christ, married her, and they had a baby. But when her Muslim parents found out their daughter and her husband were Christians, they used the country’s law to threaten to take the child. Rather than abandon their baby, E’s wife returned to her family who moved her and the baby to an undisclosed location in their country. He however, considered Christ the greater treasure, and could not turn back from following Jesus. Like every other story, I have told in this post, there are now innumerable believers in these countries, because of the sacrifice these Christians have made. These are just a few of the countless and common stories of common men and women who have opted to follow Jesus in Muslim dominated countries. Suffering and sacrifice is as common to their Christianity as sand is to the ground of the countries in which they serve. Uncommon in our world but common to much of the world.  Today, during the preaching time, I thanked them for loving Jesus, and told them they were the model for the American church. It astounds them to believe this is true, but it is. We have much to learn from our African friends. And we are watching them…thanking God for them…and hoping to imitate them in their love for Jesus.

Last night our little body of believers stood in an upper room in this African country and simultaneously sang, “I have decided to follow Jesus” in almost ten different languages. It reminded me of when TS baptized his son at Heritage in the late 90’s. T asked his son a question that was never previously asked at a Heritage baptism and has not been asked since. That’s because T and his family were born and lived in a Communist country that killed Christians as easily as toppling dominoes. What was the unique question T asked his teenage son? “Are you willing to die for Jesus?” We don’t ask that question at American baptisms because Christians in America have never been persecuted to death. Not yet anyway. But in too many countries, Christians are killed for their allegiance to Jesus’ name. Even so, people around the world continue to believe in him. And Tertullian’s maxim, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” continues to prove true. I mean, when killing the Leader results in an undeniable resurrection, what can you do to discourage his followers? Where T lived and where these brothers and sisters live, the defining moment is often baptism, that public confession of faith in Jesus as God’s Son. And yet, presciently knowing the danger but in light of his resurrection, Jesus commanded his followers to take the gospel everywhere, baptizing new believers (Matt 28:18-20). And people continue to be baptized - publically confessing their love for Jesus and symbolizing their faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, as well as death to their past life and new life in Christ - in spite of the inevitable danger. So the next time you witness a safe baptism in America, say a sincere prayer for your brothers and sisters around the world who step into a baptismal pool like the one I took a picture of in this Muslim dominated country where Teana and I are now. They may as well be stepping into a shark infested sea, an alligator ridden lake, or the piranha filled Amazon, risking their very lives to follow Jesus. It seems no one is discouraged by the question, “Are you willing to die for Jesus?” The answer is “Yes. I have decided to follow Jesus,” every time.

I’m not sure which comes first every morning, the Muslim call to prayer or the rooster. They’re almost simultaneous. But the call to prayer eventually stops and the rooster crows all day. Billions of people around the world hear one, the other, or both every morning of their lives. But in the midst of this Muslim dominated world and in some countries where Christianity is outlawed by the constitution, this small Christian mission organization is thriving. Two years ago they had 60 indigenous missionaries in 5 African countries. As of today, they are employing over 130 African missionaries who are carrying the gospel to 14 African countries, “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) you might say. It’s a 10/40 window dream come true. Teana and I are here to participate in the third step of their four-pronged strategy to reach Africa: ongoing education. Team leaders representing those 14 countries have gathered to learn shepherd leadership for their various teams. Last year I taught the principles of Jesus’s shepherding heart in the 23rd Psalm at Heritage and those 7 sermons have become one of the sessions I’m teaching here; along with Ez 34, all four Gospels, John 10 and 1 Peter 5. “How’s it going?” you might ask. Well, try teaching shepherd leadership to men who are literal shepherds. Take S for instance. As a desert shepherd in a country that regularly imprisons and kills Christians, he had a compelling dream about the real God. This prompted him to ask his fellow shepherds and villagers if they knew of any Christians. Just to ask the question was dangerous. Someone told him they heard of a Christian in another village, two days walk away. And so S trekked two days in the hope the rumor was true. By God’s grace it was and he trusted Jesus as his Savior. Now, he’s shepherding God’s flock as a team leader of missionaries who evangelize, begin Bible studies that become house fellowships. Once elders and deacons are established and the fellowship is receiving offerings, baptizing new converts and celebrating communion, it becomes a church. At that point, the missionary moves on to another village. It’s an incredible vision and a successful strategy. If you’re a member of Heritage, God is using your prayers and funding to make it happen. As Teana and I have brought greetings from you, these African brothers and sisters send greetings and gratitude to you. In this life we will never meet every convert of this ministry, but one day we will stand together before God’s throne and sing, “Worthy are you…for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev 5:9). PS. There are no pictures today. It’s literally too dangerous. One man in this ministry has been jailed 12 times. His response, “Thank God no single imprisonment was longer than six months.” BTW, in one prison specifically created for extremists, they eventually had to put him in solitary confinement because he would not stop telling Muslim terrorists about Jesus.  - Reggie Weems