Sifted Faith And Endurance

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You're listening to heat the word with our pastor, teacher Ken Davis. Pastor Ken is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Southwest Metropolitan in Burliston, Texas. Please join us as we study the Gospel of Luke verse by verse.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

When you return to me, strengthen your brethren. What does that say to us? It says to us that when we go through suffering, when we are sifted like weed by Satan, when we go through the ringer of life, and our faith is found pure, and our faith is found true, and our faith is found faithful in the sense that we belong to God, we are rooted and grounded in God, we know that we are born again and bought by the blood of Jesus Christ, that in spite of all the trials and all the tribulations and all the setbacks in our life, we stand in Him that we will be stronger for it.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

The Gospel of Luke is the third account in the Gospels of the life and teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As believers, there are a few studies that will benefit us more spiritually than studying the life and teachings of the Master. God never promised that we wouldn't have any difficulty in our lives. In fact, a careful study of the Word of God and you'll learn the exact opposite. Peter is a perfect example. He made decisions that separated himself from the Lord. But just as Jesus prayed for him, the same can be true for us. We can return to the Word and be used by Him for His glory. Don't forget to stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Heed the Word, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke chapter 22 as we join Pastor Kat.

Worship That Fills The House

Judas’s Indignation And Compromise

SPEAKER_01 1:45

One thing about that. When we worship God in sincerity, when we worship God by giving to him the best that we have. When we worship God by falling at his feet and praising him, then the whole house is filled with the aroma of that worship. Do you want peace in your home? Worship God in your home. Do you want to feel God's presence there? The Bible tells us that he inhabits the praises of his people. So praise God in your home. Worship Him at a family altar. Come together in that place and just give praise to God. And he will fill your house with his presence. Just as this perfume filled the house. And you know, there's something about being close to that kind of perfume. That aroma just clings to you wherever you go, and you smell like you've been with Jesus. How awesome is that. But one of his disciples, verse 4, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, said, Why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the money box and used to take what was put in it. John is the only one of the uh writers of the gospel who gives us that background information. The others tell us that the disciples, some of them, became indignant, but they don't tell us which one. I suppose they were being kind, or perhaps John was giving us greater insight. But the word indignant that they use, that the disciples became, particularly Judas, we see here from John, is the word agonecteo, which means to be indignant or to be moved with indignation. The word is a combination of two other words, which are agon, meaning much, and akomea, which is to grieve. So what that tells us is that some of the disciples were really upset. I mean, they were really grieved about the fact that this ointment, this oil, this fragrant perfume had been wasted. As if anything given to the Lord were wasted. Can I tell you, if you see a homeless person on the street and the Holy Spirit moves upon your heart to give him$10, and you think to yourself, well, I don't normally give homeless people money. I usually, if anything, give them one of the supply bags that we have at the church. You know, I give them that. But for some reason, at that point, the Holy Spirit just moved upon your heart to give that man$10. And so you do. Let's say that he goes and he spends it on alcohol and cigarettes. Was that$10 wasted? No, it wasn't. Because you gave that as unto the Lord. And nothing that is given to the Lord is ever wasted. Now, how it's used ultimately, that's not your concern. The fact of the matter is you were obedient to the Spirit of God that was moving in you, and that is what matters to God. And so it wasn't wasted, and yet they were grieved. They were really, really upset about this. In fact, they were indignant. So much so that Judas just couldn't get over it. So much so that Judas agreed to betray Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Turn back to Luke 22.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

So we know now why Judas was susceptible to Satan. It was because of unrepentant anger and sin in his life. It hadn't started out as a big deal. It had started out as a little thing, you know. Here he's got the money box. Maybe he saw, you know, something that he really wanted, and it was just a few dollars more than he had. And he thought, you know, if I take just a little, no one will notice. And so he compromised with sin. And then when he realizes that no one noticed, he thought, next time maybe I'll take a little more. And before you know it, he was just embezzling all of the money from Jesus and the disciples, right? Do we know that that's how it happened? Well, we don't have a description of it, but I can warrant that that's usually how sin occurs in our life, isn't it? It starts out very small. It's just a little bit of compromise. You know, it won't really matter if I watch the sitcom. I know that it makes light of something that God deems reprehensible, but you know, it's not really that big a deal. You know, I know this movie, it's only PG-13. I know there's some stuff in it I shouldn't watch, but hey, it's not rated R. It's okay. I mean, yeah, they take the Lord's name in vain about 25 times, but it's okay. I can deal with that. I'm a grown-up, right? Little bitty things. Am I sitting here saying, oh, you can never watch movies and you can't watch TV and you can't. I'm not, I'm not getting legalistic on you. What I'm telling you is, why do we look approvingly upon that which God finds sinful?

SPEAKER_02 7:33

Why do we do that?

Preparing The Passover By Providence

SPEAKER_01 7:35

Why do we compromise that way? And there are degrees of compromise in all of our lives, I know that, but we need to recognize and understand that compromise sets our feet upon a dangerous path. And we need to be very wary because Satan will use every opportunity we give him to bring us down. And that's what was happening with Judas. Luke 22, verse 7. Then the day came, the day of the unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. And Jesus sent Peter and John saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us that we may eat. So they said to him, Where do you want us to prepare? You know, this is the point at which Jesus would say, Well, I want you to go, I've reserved a room at 237 Strait Street. Want you to go down there and check in at the front counter, they'll have our reservations on file, right? That's kind of what you would expect, because Jesus is perfect, and certainly he must have planned ahead, right? But it's interesting, Jesus doesn't give them an address. He simply says, Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water. That's a strange thing in the first place, because carrying water was usually woman's work, and yet Jesus knows that there's going to be a man there, and he's going to be carrying water. And he's going to be carrying water at just the same time that the disciples enter the city. So we've got a real big timing issue here that they're going to actually see this man at that time when they enter the city. Follow him into the house which he enters. Then you shall say to the master of the house, the teacher says to you, Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? So Jesus knows they're going to see a man carrying water when they enter the city. They're going to follow him to a house, and when he enters the house, they're going to go in behind him, and they're going to find the master of the house. And you see, this particular house has an extra room in it.

SPEAKER_02 9:32

Of course, every house there must have had an extra room, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:39

Then you shall say to the master of the house, the teacher says to you, Where's the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room. There, make ready. A large room. What about a small room? No, a large one. How about a room at the back of the house? No, the upper room. Jesus knows exactly where he's going. Jesus knows exactly what he's doing. And Jesus knows exactly what's being done to him by Judas. And Jesus knows exactly where you stand with him today. He knows your heart. He knows your fear. He knows the things you do in secret that no one else sees. He knows.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

And he loves you anyway. So they went and found it. Just as he had said to them.

Family At The Table Of Grace

SPEAKER_01 10:47

And they prepared the Passover. That same thing is true of us today. When God tells you something, you can know that you will find it just as He said. And when you find it just as He said, do what He told you to do. Amen. Do what He told you to do. One of the remarkable things of this verse, and I don't want to over-spiritualize this or go too long with it because there's so much more I want to share with you today, but I love the fact that Jesus was about to share the Passover with His disciples. The Passover was that meal that was representative of the time when God had freed the children of Israel from Egypt, where he had told them, I want you to take a lamb without blemish. And I want you to kill that lamb. And I want you to take the blood of that lamb and I want you to put it upon the doorposts of your house. So that when the angel goes through Egypt to slay all of the firstborn of Egypt, when he sees that blood of the lamb over your doorposts, he will spare those in your home. And so that is exactly what happened. God struck all of the firstborn of Egypt, from Pharaoh down to the lowest servant. Even the firstborn of the animals were slain. And yet the children of Israel were spared because they were covered by the blood of the Lamb. Now, this festival of the Passover was something that normally was celebrated with family. It was done household by household. So the fact that Jesus was celebrating the Passover with family, rather with his disciples, showed us that he thought of them as family. These men, these 12 men, were Jesus' family. And he had longed to celebrate this Passover with them. Now, wait a second. In this group of people is a man who will betray him, Judas Iscariot. There's a man that will deny him, Peter. There's a man that's going to doubt him, Thomas. And so there are betrayers, deniers, and doubters, and yet Jesus considers them his family.

SPEAKER_02 13:14

What have you done?

SPEAKER_01 13:18

What have you done in your life that you feel so guilty about that you think God doesn't even want to look at you? Some of you know exactly what that thing is today. Can I tell you that you're still part of his family? He still wants to celebrate the Lord's Supper with you. He loves you, he wants to forgive you. He wants to restore you to relationship with himself and lead you to walk with him the rest of your life. That's what he wants for you.

SPEAKER_02 13:53

How awesome is that. Verse 14.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

When the hour had come, he sat down and the twelve apostles with him. Then he said to them, With fervent desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. You see, Jesus has made no secret to them that he is going to suffer. And what we need to understand is that he is going to suffer in our stead, in our place, on our behalf. Then he took the cup and gave thanks and said, Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And he took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise he also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. But behold, the hand of my betrayer is with me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he goes, by whom he is betrayed. Then they began to question among themselves which of them it was who would do this thing. See, the Passover had been a memorial service, a reminder, a celebration of what God had done. And Jesus was in this moment instituting a new covenant in his own blood with his disciples and with us. That it was by his blood that we would be forgiven for our sins. That it was by his blood, not by anything we could ever do, but by his blood, that we could come into fellowship with God and truly be his children.

The New Covenant In His Blood

SPEAKER_02 16:14

But even at that moment, Jesus revealed that one of them would betray him. This, friends, is mercy. It's compassion.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

This is Jesus saying to Judas, you don't have to do this. It has to be done, but you don't have to. Judas had a choice. Judas could have repented.

SPEAKER_02 16:53

It would have given Jesus immeasurable joy. And yet Judas would not. It amazes me that Jesus knew that Judas was his betrayer. And yet he broke bread with him.

SPEAKER_01 17:19

That Jesus knew that Judas had already turned on him.

SPEAKER_02 17:24

And yet he offers him forgiveness. What's more, he had even washed his feet.

Greatness Reframed As Service

SPEAKER_01 17:35

As we look at verse 24, it's amazing to me that the disciples from one verse go from, in one verse, they go from saying, Oh, are you the one who's going to betray him? Am I the one who's going to betray him? They go from wondering which of them is going to betray him, to talking about which of them is the greatest. Isn't that amazing? Verse 24, now there was also a dispute among them as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And he said to them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors, but not so among you. On the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater? He who sits at the table or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the one who serves. But you are those who have continued with me in my trials, and I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as my Father bestowed one upon me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. It's as though Jesus is saying, Guys, don't worry about who's the greatest, because in my kingdom you're all going to be greater than you ever hoped to be. He has a plan and a purpose for them that goes far beyond anything that they can imagine, and it doesn't matter which of them is the greatest. In fact, he says, Follow my example. Aren't I your master? Aren't I your teacher? And yet look at what I have done for you. Look at how I have served you, he says. He who is great among you must be the servant of all, Jesus tells us. Turn to John thirteen.

SPEAKER_02 19:25

John thirteen, starting in verse eighteen. Actually, let's go back. John thirteen. Verse one.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come, that he should depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil have having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. Jesus, knowing That the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside his garments, took a towel and girded himself. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. You see, I want you to think about this for a second. Here you are one of the disciples. You're there in the upper room with Jesus, and he's just broken the bread and passed the cup, and he's just told you about this new covenant and this kingdom. And here you are arguing, arguing with one another about who's the greatest. And in the midst of this argument, Jesus gets up and he wraps a towel around himself and he fills a basin with water, and one by one, he comes to you and he begins to wash your feet. The one who knew that he had come from God and that he was going to God. The one who knew that all things had been committed unto him, the one who is omnipotent, having all power and glory.

SPEAKER_02 21:27

Bowed to the ground and washed the dirty feet of his disciples. Then he came to Simon Peter.

The Towel, The Basin, The Lesson

SPEAKER_01 21:38

And Peter said to him, Lord, are you washing my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing, you do not understand now. But you will know after this. Peter said to him, You shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash your feet, you have no part with me. Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. He's like, fine, then hey, if that's what it takes, Lord, man, wash all of me. For the first time I can almost hear Jesus smile in these verses, and he said to him, He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean, and you are clean.

SPEAKER_02 22:31

But not all of you.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

That seriousness comes back again, for he knew who would betray him. Therefore he said, You are not all clean. So when he had washed their feet, taken his garments, and sat down again, he said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? You call me teacher and lord, and you say, Well, for so I am. If then I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. Jesus is not instituting ceremonial footwashing in the church in this verse. We don't see them ever do this in the book of Acts. Not ever. And had that been his intention, they would have done it. But what Jesus is talking about in this verse is this I, who am your teacher and your Lord, have humbled myself before God to become your servant. That there is no task so menial that I should not submit to it as God leads me. That I am no greater as your leader than you are as the one who follows. That we are to love one another enough.

Blessed When We Do, Not Just Know

SPEAKER_00 24:12

Truly, these are some of the most difficult times that many of us have ever seen. The economy is bad, work is sparse, and there's no shortage of strife throughout the world. As believers in Jesus, we've been given many great and precious promises. For instance, listen to this verse taken from our current study. Do not fear, therefore. You are of more value than many sparrows. You see, it doesn't matter how bad things get.