Sunday School starts back up Sept. 8, 9:30am
Sunday's Full Service
Announcements
- Sunday School for Adults and children: Sundays, 9:30am starting September 8
- Nursery available downstairs in Room 22. Ask an usher for help finding your way.
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Sermon Notes
The Blessing of Knowing Christ
Luke 11:24-36
Introduction:
- We have a tree in our backyard choked out by vines.
- Competing ideologies choke out Biblical truth.
- FCF - You can be religious yet miss the core of the Gospel.
- You can be morally upright- appear holy.
- You can be a religious event attender.
- You can be a sign-seeking religious observer.
- But if you haven't responded to Christ, If you don’t truly grasp His Word- You’ll miss it.
- We want to be those who Gather for the Kingdom
- Those who Hear the Word of God and Keep it.
- Those whose Eyes bring light to the body.
We are going to look at 3 problems of perception and then we will take a look at the anecdote.
- Problem: Trusting in Religious Moralism (24-26).
- Story- A person’s demon was cast out or left them
- Experience of sorts
- Sweeping and in order gives us a sense of moralism.
- The last state of the person can be worse than the first.
- We would all quickly share the concern of a person who is living in immorality.
- The reality is that those trusting in there morality to save them are often so filled with pride and self-righteousness that they never see Christ
- Jesus had a term for these types of people- Whitewashed tombs painted on the outside, dead on the inside.
- If you hear nothing else, hear this- Christ alone is the answer for plight in the soul of man.
- Mike Mckinley words it like this, “There is no such thing as a spiritual vacuum”
- If you do nothing in your spiritual life- things are somewhat ordered pretty good person.
- If you do nothing- you will be under the influence of Satan.
- You either scatter or gather for the kingdom
- Even a well ordered house is under the influence of the enemy if the Spirit of God is not there.
- There are no morally neutral people
- We are either children of God or servants of the enemy
- We Need Christ
- Problem: Religious Proximity (27).
- While Jesus is proclaiming this truth a woman cries out a blessing on Mary.
- Jesus does not reprimand her.
- What she said was true
- Luke 1:41-44 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
- Jesus doesn’t affirm her response but he refocuses her on the true blessing
- Religious proximity is not the response Christ is looking for.
- St Anne De Beaupre - Trip Advisor -Just outside of Quebec City
- For over 350 years, people of all ages have been gathering at this Shrine dedicated to Saint Anne, the grandmother of Jesus.
- Possess her wrist bone - Roughly 1 million people annually go there
- The cathedral of the miraculous Sainte Anne. One of our spiritual retreat pilgrimage places.
Cathedral Review
Had visited this cathedral three times already in the past, and I always get that different feeling whenever I step inside and start praying. A place for sincere and devotional prayer to the holy mother of the Virgin Mary. Leave a prayer at the foot of Sainte Anne's pedestal.
The main altar is simple and beautiful. Meticulous and detailed art work on the ceiling above the main altar. The other smaller altars are simple and beautiful as well, especially the Holy Family altar on the east wing. If you will enter the cathedral using the main entrance, you will notice that both the main pillars right after the main door are almost filled with crutches, braces and the like. Those are from devotees who were miraculously cured from their illnesses and injuries - by Sainte Anne, who also answered my prayers for my beloved late mom, and our prayers for a close friend. She is always there - visit and pray!
- There is still a prevalent belief that religious proximity saves, heals, and restores.
- Jesus teaches Blessing is for those who hear and Keep his word
- Problem: Religious Sign-Seeking (29-32).
- Jesus calls sign-seekers Evil
- The Sign of Jonah (29b-30)
- 2 Stories to establish Guilt (31-32).
- Queen of the South (Queen of Sheba) (31)- The pagan queen heard Solomon’s words
- She traveled long distances to hear from Solomon
- Something greater than Solomon is here.
- Ninevites (32)- Jonah preached and the wicked Ninevites repented.
- The Ninevites rejected there sinful ways and turned to God.
- Something greater than Jonah is here.
- Jesus' ministry is trending towards rejection.
- On his way to Jerusalem.
- We haven't heard of this crowd growing recently.
- 2 Judges- They will rise up and judge this generation
- The Word of God is sufficient to call sinners to faith in Christ.
- One came from the ends of the Earth- One repented when hearing the message.
- What will your response to Jesus and His word be?
- Anecdote of Hearing and Keeping the Word of God (28,33-36).
- Blessing is given to those who hear and Keep God’s Word (28).
- Φυλάσσω (phylasso)- To Guard; keep; watch; observe; preserve it
- 2 Pe 3:17- translated care
- Blessing is given to those who see (33).
- Darkness clouds our perception.
- In moments of darkness we need light to illuminate.
- Ensure you trust the scriptures (34-35)
Conclusion:
How do we respond to Jesus? (That’s really what this section has been dealing with.)
- Guard God’s Word in Your Life and heart.
- Guard it like words of blessing on your life.
- Guard it like a candle bringing light into your house.
- Watch over it, keep it lit.
- Allow it to correct you.
- Let it be enough for you (we don't need signs).
- Live God’s Word with a heart to please Him.
- Be a light in the world and share the beauty of what it means to know Christ (36).
- My response to God does not end with hearing- it continues into our obedience.
Phil 2:14-16 14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.