What is Jesus saying? Are we obeying?
One morning Jesus was with his disciples. He was spending some personal time in prayer. Maybe all night. The crowds started coming and they grew and grew throughout the day. People were being trampled the crowd was so large.
The crowd was made up of many different people. The disciples, critics, ex-demon possessed, sincere seekers, scribes, pharisees, hypocrites, and many other kinds of people. We are gathered here this morning in front of Jesus.
Which one of these groups do we fall into?
In Timothy Paul describes a group of people as being, “ever learning, but never able to grasp and apply it to life.” Hopefully that is not us this morning.
Whenever and wherever people meet Jesus, there is a response. We all respond one way or another when we encounter Jesus.
Luke 11:12-36
All of us want to be blessed by God. To find that blessing we are told here that we need to “hear the word of God and keep it.”
Jesus knows our thoughts
Scripture tells us that Jesus knew the thoughts of those who followed him. Jesus knows our thoughts as well.
This is a direct invitation to confession. Agreeing with God that our thoughts are not his thoughts is the most reasonable thing, because God knows our thoughts.
Romans 12
God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
If we are going to think thoughts that God is not ashamed of, we need renewed minds.
God and I work together
Jesus made it very clear here that he and God work together. Jesus tells us that he is the finger of God working among the people he was walking with.
Husbands and wives must work together. If they don’t their marriages and families will fail.
As a church, if we don’t pull together failure is certain. Working together under the power of God is the way to success.
Satan is powerful… but God is all-powerful.
Jesus says that a strong man can hold something until another man comes along who is stronger. Jesus is that stronger man.
Satan is powerful, but God and Jesus is way stronger. Jesus will always comes out on top if we trust in him.
This is a great encouragement for those who have chosen Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Either we are working for Jesus or we are working against Him
Is there evidence that we are working for Jesus? Remember that Jesus knows our thoughts, he knows if we are working for or against him.
Are our thoughts gathering thoughts or scattering thoughts? Are we calling people to Jesus or pushing them away?
It is a serious thing to be scattering what Jesus is trying to gather.
There is no middle ground. Jesus tells us clearly that there are two kingdoms. We are either working for the kingdom of God or against it.
A lot of people think that life is lived in “neutral.” Life is not lived in neutral, either we are gathering or scattering.
Jesus says, we are blessed if we hear and obey
When God went to send Jesus to earth as a baby. What kind of process did he use to choose Mary? We don’t know.
Mary was chosen, she was an outstanding young lady. But she too needed Jesus shed blood just as much as you and I do. She too needed to listen to her son, Jesus, and obey.
Another time Jesus family came to talk to him. He explained to his followers that they were his family. We are part of the family of God if we are followers of Jesus.
Jesus tells us to hear, to hear and obey. Make it a way of life. It isn’t just what is going on in your head, it is what goes on in your actions and the things you do. It makes a change.
Jesus on the present generation
How would Jesus describe our generation? Would he call us an evil generation? What lessons from scripture would he bring to our attention?
Who will stand up and condemn us on the judgement day?
