LUKE CHAPTER 14
LUKE CHAPTER 14
SCRIPTURE
Today I will summarize Luke chapter 14 where Luke wrote about Jesus healing another person on the Sabbath. Jesus taught people how they should be humble and generous and Jesus taught about how people can be his disciples. Jesus was invited to a Pharisee’s house for lunch on a Sabbath day. The Pharisees also invited a man whose legs and arms were swollen. The Pharisees wanted to trap him or accuse him of working on the Sabbath. Jesus knew this man’s treachery. Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him away. Jesus asked him and all the teachers of the law there a question. He asked,” If anyone of you had a son or an ox that happened to fall in a well on a Sabbath, would you not pull him out at once on the Sabbath itself? Is helping someone considered work? But they were unable to answer him and were speechless. At the lunch, Jesus noticed how all the guests were trying to get the best seats at the table and to sit at the places of honor.
Jesus spoke to the crowd and said, “When you are invited by someone to a feast, do not take the place of honor when you choose your seat. Someone more distinguished than you may have been invited. The man who invited both of you will say to you,” Give your seat to this other man and you find another seat. There won’t be any good seats left and you will need to sit at the worst possible spot and you will be humiliated in front of all the other guests. Here is what you should do. Go and sit in the worst seat when you arrive. When the one who invited you sees you sitting there, he will say, “Come on up, my friend, to a better place.” This will bring you honor in the presence of all the other guests. In the same way, God will humble those who exalt themselves and he will exalt those who humble themselves. Jesus then spoke to the in charge of the dinner who invited everyone.
He said,” when you give a lunch or dinner don’t just always invite your friends or relatives or rich neighbors. If they will invite you in return that will be your repayment and you do not want to be repaid in that way. Trust me! Instead invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. They do not have the means to repay you in this life. But God will pay you at the resurrection of the righteous and you do want that to be your payment. Someone at the table said without knowing what he was talking about, blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God. Jesus heard him and said,” Indeed, but most people do not even want to even come if they are invited. They hate the one who invited them. Most of the guests will make excuses, as to why they are not coming. They will say things like I bought a piece of property and I need to look at it, or I bought five yokes of oxen and I need to try them out or I recently married a wife and I cannot come. The man who invited them knew these were all illegitimate reasons. He understood they did not want to come to his dinner because they hated him. So, he said, “So be it.” The previous guests will not taste my dinner. That’s their loss and what a devastating loss that will be. But I want my house full of people who will love me.
They will enjoy my feast. Slaves go into the streets and lanes and bring in all the poor, all the lame, and all the blind. Go into the highways and hedges and find all the homeless people you can find. Bring them all here to my feast. The slaves did as they were told and the master’s house was full. All the guests were delighted to be in the presence of that man and that man was overjoyed that they were all there. Jesus noticed that large crowds of people were following after him because he miraculously healed and fed many of them. He turned to the crowds and said,” Why are you following me? Whoever who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Do you understand what that means? If you want to build a tower, you first sit down and calculate the cost. See if you can complete the project. Because if you are unable to finish the project, and the project is incomplete. And all who see what happened will laugh at you. If you want to go to war with your army, you sit down and consider if you are strong enough to win the battle. If you want to follow me you must consider the cost and the cost is high. Unless you love me more than your father, mother, wife, children, brother or sister, or even your own life you cannot be my disciple. If you are not willing to give up everything that you have you cannot be my disciple. This is going to cost you everything. Most of you are not ready for that but there are a few of you who are willing and ready.
OBSERVATION
The thing I think the lord wants us to understand after reading this chapter is having compassion for other people more than God the father overrides every law. God wants us to humble ourselves and avoid being proud/arrogant. The Lord wants us to focus on being rewarded by him in the future the resurrection of the righteous. This includes doing good things to the people who could never repay us. God wants us to understand that people make excuses as to why they will not turn to Jesus for salvation because they deep down don’t want to give up their evil ways and habits. They hate the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Lord wants us to see that he wants his house to be filled and wants the poor, crippled, blind, and Lame to come and God wants us to understand that taking up our cross daily and following him men to sit down and consider the cost of being a disciple and then following through with paying that price. Are you spiritually poor? God wants you to come to his feast. I want to encourage you to surrender everything to the lord right now and become one of his disciples.
After all, why do you want to hold on to something that you can’t keep? Instead of gaining something you cannot have for life. You are going to lose everything in this life anyway the moment you die. Why not entrust yourself to the one who judges justly? Why don’t you let God rescue you? There is still time now to repent for your sin and place your faith in Jesus Christ the Lord for salvation. Humility is important because it sets things in proper order and perspective. The enemy would have us thrown into arrogance and price, which skews the lens through which we see the world and how we would see others. God wants better for us.
It is when we clothe ourselves in humility that our hearts can see things clearly. We recognize that we are not above anyone, rather, we are all equal in his sight. Humility also blesses us to walk in true freedom, no longer weighed down by the weight of competition. It is in seeking a humble spirit that we can walk to be a blessing to others, a blessing to the kingdom, and to be open to being blessed in return. Part of following Christ is humbling one’s self. The Lord humbled himself as a human to walk among us, so if we are to truly follow his lead, humility becomes part of our walk. Becoming humble allows for us to have open hearts and minds to move and be moved by the spirit of God. Walk humbly, love mercy, and seek his heart this day.
PRAYER
To Love God First
Dear heavenly Lord, let me love you above all things, Above all people. Let my heart seek you first, as you are life- you are love. Let me not demand from anyone what you alone can give me. Eternal peace and confidence and peace come from you alone. Let me not ask anyone to grant me the promises that only come from your grace. Let my heart understand that in loving you first I can love others more. For that hunger and thirst have nothing left to give. Fill me with your spirit, make my inner life abundant, So I can love as you love, giving my life and asking nothing in return. Even though I failed and sinned you call out to me. Your goodness drew me in. Let me love you first, Oh Lord above all other things in Jesus’s name I pray. Amen
Humble Heart
We pray for the heart position of humility. Humility in such a way that we do not cheapen our worth or value within, but that we take the alignment that we are here for a greater purpose than just our gain. We pray that you will highlight to us what it truly means to live a humble life and that our worth will be revealed by your light. It is only then that we may truly live in freedom and right standing, for we will hold our values correctly. Lord, we welcome you to mold and secure our hearts in true humility by your lead. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.
To walk humbly.
The Lord has told us what is good, and this is what he requires of us. To do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. Today we choose to live by your Holy Spirit and to follow your lead. Help us to hear you, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, we want to walk with you. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.
Humble Spirit
Father, today we ask for your help to walk humbly with our brothers and sisters. It is all too easy for us to fall prey to our flesh and walk in arrogance, but pride causes division and we desire peace. Lord help us to humble ourselves so that we do not let the lies of the enemy overtake us, rather, help us to count ourselves as equals with one another. It is then that we will stop attempting to be better than others, and we can love their hearts for the unique person you made them to be. Help us to value one another in this humble spirit so that we may live to the fullest. In Jesus’s name, we pray Amen.
