Religious Hypocrites - Unlikely Alliances

 

 

"Now it happened that on another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He heals on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" And he stood up and came forward. And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?" And after looking around at them all, He said to him, "Stretch out your hand!" And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they themselves were filled with rage, and were discussing together what they might do to Jesus."

Luke 6:6-11

 

 Good Morning my beloved,
 
We welcome you to worship today in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It brings us immense joy and happiness to have you here with us today glorifying God. I am grateful to those of you who have been faithfully praying for me and this ministry, as well as those who have helped to spread the Word of God by sharing the website and social media outlets with their friends, neighbors, and loved ones. I pray that all who hear this message today will embrace Jesus Christ, as their own Savior, receiving by His grace forgiveness and eternal life in His glorious Kingdom.

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Everybody, everywhere wants honesty, yet few are willing to confront an unfragmented reality because nobody is brave enough to actually hear the truth, today truth has become subjective, flexible, bending to each persons individual preferences, its whatever anybody wants it to be, you've got your truth and I've got mine and never the twain shall meet. Unfortunately, this personalized version of the truth, where anybody can shape it anyway they want, has gained such popularity, its has infiltrated the church making it's way into pulpit, because there is a lack of courage to speak the Truth. Jesus presented the same Truth to everyone, no matter who they were, where they were from or how painful it might be to hear, even if it was contrary it was to what they believed, because there is only one Truth, God's. 

 

As I was thinking of ways that I could illustrate this to help you to visualize not so subtle scenario in our text today, I was struck by the parallels to the ongoing challenges we are encountering here in the United States of America, which has always been a volatile mix of diverse populations, there were the native Indigenous people, then came the early settlers, then we had an explosion of a multitude of immigrants from various backgrounds, there were Jews, Hungarians, Italians, Asians, you name it, it was a melting pot, a cross-pollination of people that created a sense of tension among unstable and irritable people, many of whom expected the Indians to provide for their existence, a notion that the Indians vehemently rejected by the way, whenever you have that many people coming together, from all different cultures they bring with them their ideas and customs, and all it needed was the right spark and it would explode. And today we’re seeing unprecedented numbers of undocumented immigrants, that are pouring into our borders at record speeds, depending on the citizens of our great nation for financial assistance. What was once sort of a tender box to begin with, has now evolved into an even more precarious situation, in which violence is likely to happen.  

 

Through His preaching and teaching, Jesus assaulted the apostate religion of Judaism, an ungodly works based religious system, which was not true to the Old Testament by virtue of simply speaking the Truth. The greatest compliment that any congregation can pay the preacher, is to sit through a presentation of the Gospel that makes them feel uncomfortable and be interested in what he has to say, in a way that moves people to respond. It goes without saying that if some Christians spent half as much time praying for their enemies as they did bashing them, they wouldn't have time for the latter. You will never heal a nation of wicked people by speaking lies of affirmation about sin, but by lovingly speaking the truth about sin, calling them to repentance. Anytime the true Gospel is preached, it is inevitable that sooner or later you’re bound to have a split reaction, a division in the response it elicits. 

 

Some will receive it, wholeheartedly embracing the message of love, forgiveness, and salvation, the Truth becomes a source of strength and guidance as they strive to implement the teachings of the Gospel into their daily lives, while others being blinded and hard-hearted, their vision and perspective obscured, incapable of accepting their own spiritual bankruptcy, they become antagonistic toward the Gospel, hostile to the Truth, ultimately they will reject the transformative power of the Gospel in disbelief. I believe that is a testament to the depravity of men, how it permeates every aspect of their lives, shaping their decisions in profound ways. Almost everything that dominates a society, eventually makes its way into the church. I'll tell you this, the vile corrupted character of today's culture has had a tremendous effect on the church, and it’s distressing enough to witness such behavior in the world, but when sexual sin in the church has become normalized, boy that's really something. Do not be deceived, its there. Not everybody who's talking about heaven is going there, because many Christians are guilty of following men and movements more than God's Truth.

 

I can only compare it to someone being told they are dying of cancer and in disbelief, they refuse to accept the one and only cure. The longer I preach, the more I realize that the world has fallen, the more I expect this to happen, believe me, if the Gospel is proclaimed in a clear-cut and defined manner, it has to cause division, it will literally split things apart, families, churches, you name it. That's what Jesus meant in Matthew 10 when He said, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." And, just in case you haven't noticed, things continue to get worse and worse, Scripture assures us they're not going to get any better until Christ's triumphant final return as King over all the earth and He establishes righteous His Kingdom. 

 

There is an unparalleled number of well meaning Christians think our problems can be solved by the results of the next election. We must realize the decline of our nation is a spiritual problem, not a political one, therefore, its only solution is the Gospel, rather than in the leadership of any political figure of either party. I believe this shift in perspective is a clear indication that the world is steadily being prepared towards the acceptance of the Anti-Christ by focusing on politics in favor of a more spiritually grounded approach to addressing societal transformation, the very principles that transcend political ideologies. To demonstrate just how far the church and Christianity has fallen, we now have churches that are full of spiritually empty people and millionaire pastors who are famous for being famous and nothing else. Truth is the most important thing in the world, and it must be spoken regardless of what the consequences may be, even if all hell breaks loose. However, it's not popular to speak the Truth in evangelicalism today, as a matter of fact, many, if not most, avoid it at all costs, but in order to avoid the Truth you have to dance around the issues by twisting and manipulating what Scripture actually teaches.

 

I believe that Christians need to be reminded, the goal of our mission remains unchanged; to boldly proclaim the Truth, regardless of the consequences, particularly when dealing with false teachers playing around with human philosophy and the wisdom of the world that betrays the teachings of Scripture. This distortion of truth is being purported as if it were God's truth, in an attempt to engage with a broader audience that encompasses a wider range of diverse ideas and beliefs, applying pressure to adapt on individuals who strictly adhere to traditional religious doctrines that is sure to lead to conflict. There is no battle we face as difficult or as crucial as the battle today for the purity of the Gospel against the political religious charlatans who claim to serve Christ while promoting Satan's agenda to undiscerning believers. I believe that we now stand on the threshold of the glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am confident that we are in a poised to see God move in ways that will surpass anything we've ever experienced in my lifetime, and I believe that will encompass the preservation of His true church. 

 

I don't know about you but knowing that Almighty God's hand is at work in our lives and in the world around us brings me a sense of peace and reassurance. The true church understands that we have to stand firm, committed to proclaiming the Word of God to those who are outside the Gospel without fear that they might be offended, and we must preach it constantly. It's interesting that we are commanded not to be afraid more than 100 times in both the New and Old Testaments. And, in Psalm 118:6 the psalmist says "The Lord is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?" It is on the cross, we see mercy and grace and love and through the cross comes forgiveness, yet it is through the resurrection that transformative new life begins, enabling us to live a life of purpose and fulfillment for Christ, a pivotal moment in Christian faith, knowing that a new journey awaits us beyond the trials of the present world filled with darkness. Now is the time to draw the clear lines between truth and error, and between the one path to heaven and the many roads to hell in a world with no absolute truth and without a standard of right and wrong, which is what has lead the world to the state of turmoil, chaos and confusion that we now see, but to proclaim the Truth relentlessly, uncompromisingly.

Let's pray

 

Heavenly Father,
 
Father, as always we are so thankful for Your Word which serves as a humbling reminder of just how wretched we are and the tremendous price Christ paid for our sins to redeem us. We have no reason to feel proud of ourselves, no grounds for superiority, lording over others that we have been made free from sin, we should be even more humbled that a vile wretched sinner could be saved by grace, offering others the same Truth that set us free. Lord, help us to obey Your Word, so that we that we might a true reflection of what You desire, a faithful servant of righteousness, as a true expression of the gratitude in our hearts as those whose lives have been transformed. Thank You for the Greatest News the world has ever known, that Jesus Christ came into this fallen world to save sinners from eternity in Hell and grant them eternal life in His Kingdom. Lord, it is such a great privilege to serve You, we’re so grateful for all that You are doing in our lives, but we know with that privilege comes responsibility, because to whom much is given, much is required. I pray that You would continue to use this ministry to bring clarity to a world where Satan has sown so much confusion. May Your Truth penetrate our hearts for Your glory.

To that end we ask and pray in Christ's name.

Amen

Today's Message: Religious Hypocrites - Unlikely Alliances 

Open you Bibles with me, if you would and turn them to Luke chapter 6. Luke 6:6-11. I trust that you will follow along with me as I read, to get our minds set on God's Word as we open up our hearts and listen for what the Spirit of God has to say to each of us today.

 

"Now it happened that on another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He heals on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" And he stood up and came forward. And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?" And after looking around at them all, He said to him, "Stretch out your hand!" And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they themselves were filled with rage, and were discussing together what they might do to Jesus."

 

I'd like to point out that there are two very distinct, very dominating factors that are true about the ministry of Jesus, the first is that He never compromised, He didn't play church, He consistently spoke the Truth and the second would be that He always confronted error with condemnation, not conversation looking for a common ground. And eventually, the self-righteous religious authorities killed Him because of His relentless commitment and unwavering dedication to the Truth. There have always been and will always be false religious charlatans who claim to be messengers of God, but they are actually aligned with the forces of evil, operating out of the kingdom of darkness. Satan often cleverly disguises himself as an angel of light. Much like today, there are many who talk about God, but the real motivation is not spiritual, it is political, those who prioritize power are often willing take any measures necessary to achieve that goal. Look at what those who wanted to stay in power were willing to do to Jesus to achieve that goal. They fabricated false accusations against Him, conducted sham trials in their biased kangaroo courts, and because He spoke the Truth, they deemed Him deserving of death. 

 

These agents of hell doing Satan's bidding were not the common criminals in the culture, the thieves and murders, they were the most respected religious leaders in all of Israel, the scribes and Pharisees. Nevertheless, as followers of Christ, we're called to represent heaven on earth, not hell to heaven. Therefore, we must always speak the Truth for the glory of God and for the sake of Christ, and the souls of men. However, there eventually comes a point that once a person have been exposed to all this divine revelation and they have continuously refused to accept it, there isn’t anything more that can be attained, regrettably, their resistance to the opportunities that have been presented along with their persistent rejection of Christ has ultimately placed them in a position where believing is no longer a possibility. 

Let's look at verse 6, "Now it happened that on another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered." The Sabbath represented a post-exodus covenant which contrasted between the merciful laws of God and the merciless slavery of Egypt. It belonged to the Old economy, a sign of the Mosaic covenant, much like the rainbow was a sign of Noahic covenant and in the same way that circumcision was to Abrahamic covenant. After Calvary, we see the abandonment of the old covenant economy with all its ceremonies, all its rituals, all its external trappings; the Holy of Holies is gone, the veil was ripped from top to bottom; as of 70. A.D., the temple is gone and to this present day, it still hasn't come back. Jesus is again challenging the status quo, inciting hostility among those who tightly held to their rigid erroneous religious system of legalism, ceremony and ritual, by virtue of preaching the truth, however, it was not His words but His actions that stirred up controversy among the religious leaders on yet another Sabbath, as He confronted their established man-made Sabbath traditions. 

 

Notice that Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching, He came to preach and teach the Good News, that God's grace, mercy and forgiveness is available to those who will repent and believe in the Gospel, that was His message from the very outset of His ministry. Though He quickly became known as a healer, as one who could cast out demons, that was not His primary focus. The one Sabbath tradition Jesus observed is He went to worship. As we mentioned before, all that God required on the Sabbath was  rest and worship, but Jesus often used it as an opportunity to demonstrate the true meaning of compassion and mercy, and importance of doing good deeds and helping others. The word "withered" is a word commonly used to describe dried plants and dried fruits. Here, it's used to indicate the condition of a mans hand that was shrunk and shriveled up, meaning it hadn't been used for a long time, probably caused by a form of paralysis. By the way, Matthew and Mark record the same story but Luke's the only one who says it was his right hand. I frequently hear people speculate on how Jesus might address controversial societal issues in today's world, some say that He would show solidarity with undocumented immigrants, advocate for abortion and diverse forms of relationships, like homosexuality and transgenderism, He'd be a champion social justice, challenging traditional political systems that restrict individual freedoms and self-expression. Jesus didn't steer clear of conflict, He called His followers to embrace a radical new way of living, by embodying humility and suffering; to deal drastically with our sin by denying the natural impulses of the lusts of the flesh even removing any obstacle that caused us to sin. He taught them the way of modeling an alternative society, was to shame their oppressors by offering them the other cheek, to do good to those who persecuted them, forgiving those who hated them and to pray "Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Unfortunately, the more religious people are the more  resistant they are to the Truth, they tend to become consumed with spiritual pride, such was the case with the Pharisees, appearing to be outwardly righteous, they couldn't see that they were inwardly morally and spiritually corrupt.

Verse 7, "And the scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He heals on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him." The scribes and Pharisees are there and notice it says here they are watching Him closely, the Greek word "paratēréō," has a sort of a sinister tone. It comes from the preposition "pará," which means to come alongside, it stresses nearness or implies intimate participation. In other words, they were as close as they could get. And the verb "tēréō," means to guard or watch over. This is not casual observance, the guardians of the Sabbath are literally as physically close to Him as they can get to Him, scrutinizing His every move to see if He heals on the Sabbath. Keep in mind, they didn’t have any laws about healing because no one had ever done that before. Initially, it may appear that they were watching Him with some objectivity, looking for evidence to see if He could possibly be the Messiah. I mean if He had the ability to heal, that's proof that He had to be the Messiah, right? They wanted to see if He healed on the Sabbath so that they might find reason to accuse Him of  violating the Sabbath. They were already aware of His ability to heal, they knew He had power to forgive sins, He did it right in front of them, they knew He could cast out demons, but because of the hardness of their hearts all that seems to have gone unnoticed, I don't even believe it phased them that He was the only one in redemptive history to go around healing people. They're not looking for a reason to believe in Him, they're only looking to ensure a particular outcome, a reason to get rid of Him and they want to make sure they don't miss anything.  

 Verse 8, "But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" And he stood up and came forward." Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking, He knows they want Him to heal somebody even though they haven't said anything, He just stops teaching and says to the man with the withered hand with such authority, "Get up and come forward!" This man wasn't near death, He could have waited until the next day, but this was not just an opportunity for Jesus to heal this man who had obviously suffered because of his paralysis, this was also the perfect opportunity for Jesus to expose their whole corrupt, compassion-less religious system, these men didn't care about people, they had no compassion for suffering, these people were ruthless and Jesus is going to confront them on it. God's Sabbath Law said nothing about healing, it hadn't ever been done before, that was their ridiculous rabbinical tradition.

 

Then, in verse 9, Jesus drops the bombshell, "And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?" Matthews tells us they questioned Jesus first, asking, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" But instead of answering their question, instead He gave them an analogy, "What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep!" Then He asks them "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?" There is no way they can answer His question, they've read Isaiah they knew the right answer, they just can't give it, because it would either affirm that Jesus could heal the man without violating the Sabbath and their self-righteous pride and moral superiority would never allow them to do that, or they would have to condemn themselves, revealing they're cold, merciless hearts, they knew they were trapped, so all they can do is sit there in silence, like a piece of deadwood, inadvertently giving Him a hearty approval so to speak, not that He needed it. I admire how Jesus seems to have the uncanny ability for posing questions to people they can't possibly answer. The stage is set, here is this man with a withered hand, standing in the middle of the synagogue, right in front of everybody, you have the Pharisees and scribes who were the experts of the law, sitting in the front-row, all eyes are intently fixed on Him, I imagine the silence was deafening, you could have probably heard a pin drop. Folks, Jesus is not the timid teddy bear Savior many would like to have us to believe, He takes charge the aggressor here. He knew they wanted Him dead, if they thought they could have gotten away with it, I have no doubt that they would have killed Him right then and there. The crowd in the synagogue had no idea Jesus was talking about a far deeper issue than what He was going to do for that withered hand, they didn't know these respected religious leaders who were so concerned with observing the Sabbath had murderous intentions toward Jesus. How many today have preached Christ while falling short of following His teaching because of the holiness in their own heart?

 

Verse 10, "And after looking around at them all, He said to him, "Stretch out your hand!" And he did so, and his hand was restored." Mark adds He said this after looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, their unwillingness to embrace the Truth. Their whole apostate religious system was unacceptable to God, there was no kindness, no compassion, no mercy; all their rituals and offerings are worth nothing because of the corruption within their cold-dead hearts. The Lord's heart is grieved for every unrepentant sinner, He finds no pleasure in the death of the wicked. 1 Peter 4, "For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?" For many professing Christians, who have spent years, even decades in the church, that will still hear Jesus' haunting words in the end, "Depart from Me. I never knew you," it will devastating "for the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." God's not interested in how you look on the outside, playing the game of church. He's interested in those who hearts are genuine, devoted to Him above else. Jesus reserved His most blistering words for the religious hypocrites who masked their vile, corrupted hearts. Jesus isn't the only One who killed for proclaiming the Truth, thousands upon thousands of Christians are being martyred today by those determined to kill the messengers of Truth. Any true Christian knows that's just the way it is when you refuse to compromise with evil. 

Then, the man stretched out his hand and everybody saw that it was miraculously restored to its original condition. Naturally, you would expect that the immediate response of anyone witnessing a miraculous event right before their eyes would be falling to their knees and exclaiming "Lord, forgive us, we were wrong, we believe!," after all only God could orchestrate such an extraordinary spectacle as this, right? Not these guys, they were far too deeply entrenched in their distorted, false religion to acknowledge that they were wrong about anything, much less anything concerning Jesus.

 

That brings us to verse 11, "But they themselves were filled with rage, and were discussing together what they might do to Jesus." How twisted and bizarre is that? They've just witnessed a miracle and they're  filled with rage, the Greek word "anoias," describes someone with an extreme mental deficiency, devoid of understanding. These guys were so filled with rage, that they were totally out of control, these Truth rejecting self-righteous hypocrites completely lost their composure, they no longer had control of their minds, they went off the deep end, I mean we're talking they descended into a deep state of extreme psychopathic fury! Allow me to remind you that all of this is because Jesus spoke the Truth. Folks, never underestimate the lengths that someone will go to protect their power and reputation, the scribes and Pharisees are proof of that. Sin can only satisfy a man's soul temporarily, but it will eternally destroy it. Notice, the end of the verse, "and were discussing together what they might do to Jesus," they know that in order to protect their reputation, Jesus has to be dealt with, but how? This isn't about Sabbath violations, this is about pride, power, and greed, they are politically motivated. Mark tells us that the Pharisees went out and immediately began taking counsel together with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. The Herodians were secularists, they had absolutely no interest in Judaism or any other religion, their loyalty was to the Herodian dynasty, a political power that had little regard for the spiritual.

It's worth noting, that these two groups couldn't agree with each other on the weather, much less anything of importance, and suddenly they've set aside their differences, and we find them united, not in faith, but in an alliance for a common cause; they are conspiring together to stop the revolutionary teachings of Jesus. I believe it is important to recognize that even the most unlikely groups of people can come together in opposition of the Truth. However, what they failed to realize is that no amount of earthly alliance can thwart the divine plans of God. We are not bound by the alliances of this world, but by the love of Christ, so, when we encounter opposition, and we will, let us respond not with anger or frustration, but with confidence in the transformative power of our Lord and Savior, trusting Him to fulfill His plan of salvation.

So, I urge you to stand firm in your faith, be bold in your witness, and believe that the light of Christ will always shine in the darkness. I love you all.

May it be so..

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name

Amen


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