Our Elder Brother

The Elder Brother of Luke 15:11-32
 
1.  Receives his inheritance (12)
2.  Does nothing when his brother leaves
3.  The feast for his prodigal brother comes at great cost to him (22-23)
4.  He was angry with their father (28-30)
5.  He disrespected the father by not going in (28)
6.  He was angry with his brother (30)
7.  He didn’t understand the heart of their father (32)

The Elder Brother of Luke 15:11-32

1.  A deep anger (28)
2.  A joyless and mechanical obedience (29)
3.  A coldness to younger brother types (30)
4.  A lack of assurance of the Father’s love (29)
5.  An unforgiving, judgmental spirit (30)

Our Elder Brother (Hebrews 2:11-12) 

Came for us...

How do we get the Father’s robe?  Because He was stripped naked on the cross

How do we get the Father’s feast?   Because He took the cup of wrath that we might have the cup of joy

Our salvation comes at great cost to Him…

I Am the One Leper

"Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?" (Luke 17:17)

The Thanksgiving Lord

Have you noticed there were two thankful people in this story?
1.The leper
2.The Lord

Jesus was thankful for thankfulness.

The Thanksgiving Lecture

Thanksgiving, remember, is therapeutic.
It lifts the soul.
Begin intentionally thanking GOD and others for the blessings surrounding you.

Lessons from the Ten Lepers

1.  A sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ.

2.  We may look for GOD to meet us with mercy, when we are found in the way of obedience.

3.  The others only got the outward cure, he alone got the spiritual blessing.

Thanksgiving 2012

Q: Who am I?

A: I am the one leper.

Our Response to the Light of the World

"I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).

1.  Be enlightened! (John 1:9)

2.  Come out of the darkness! (1 John 1:5-6)

3.  Walk in the light! (1 John 1:7)

4.  Shine! (Philippians 2:15)

Hidden in My Heart

"Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105; NKJV)

Take His Cross

“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”  (Matthew 10:38; NKJV).

What did the word “cross” mean to this first-century audience?

The Symbol.  In Matthew 10:38, Jesus is not speaking of the “cross” of a difficult situation, a chronic disease or a nagging spouse.  I have heard devotional sermons spiritualizing the “cross” to mean everything from a cranky mother-in-law to a leaky roof.  But this is not what the word “cross” communicated to Jesus’ first century audience.  It did not call to their minds the idea of long-term difficulties or troublesome burdens.  It did not even evoke thoughts of Calvary because the Lord had not gone to the cross yet, and they did not understand that He would.

The Instrument.  Christ’s first-century audience thought of a cruel instrument of torture and death.  They thought of dying in the most agonizing method known to man.  They thought of the poor, condemned criminals hanging on crosses by the roadside.  Doubtless they had seen men executed in that fashion.  The Hasmonean ruler Alexander Jannaeus crucified 800 Pharisees (103-76 BC) and the Roman general Varus broke up a Jewish revolt by crucifying 2000 Jews on a single day in Jerusalem (6 AD).  It was customary for the condemned to carry their cross to the place of execution.  And it was a one-way journey.

The Call of Christ.  Jesus’ listeners knew He was asking them to die for Him.  They knew He was asking them to make the ultimate sacrifice, to surrender to Him as Lord in every sense.

A Life of Daily Self-Denial.  Jesus is not teaching salvation by martyrdom.  The Lord was not advising the disciples to try and get themselves killed for Him.  He was referring to a pattern, a direction, a lifestyle.  “I affirm, by the boasting in which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31; NKJV).  Genuine disciples do not shrink back, even in the face of death.  When confronted with a decision between serving self and serving the Lord, the true disciple is the one who chooses to serve the Lord, even at great personal expense.

Conclusion.  Take up your instrument of death.  Crucify yourself.  Allow Christ to live in you.  Live your life by faith in the Son of God, who loved you and gave Himself for you (Galatians 2:20).

The Sign of the Prophet Jonah

Matthew 16:1-4; NKJV

1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 

2 He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red';  

3 and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  

4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed.

Earlier in Jesus' ministry some of the scribes and Pharisees asked Him for a sign.  He referred to them as an "evil and adulterous generation" at that time, but then proceeded to give them some insight into His death, burial and resurrection.  Later in His ministry, He will not elaborate.

Matthew 12:38-40; NKJV

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."

39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  

40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Learn the lessons of Christ the first time.  When He speaks listen.  Take His word to heart and understand.
 

I Am the Bread of Life

My response to Jesus being "the bread of life" - eat of Him.

Eat – trogo – verb – primarily, "to gnaw, to chew," stresses the slow process; it is used metaphorically of the habit of spiritually feeding upon Christ, John 6:54,56-58 (Vine’s).

Read, study, meditate on the WORD!

For the purpose of…
–Experiencing Him!
–Becoming like Him!