The Open Word (Audio)

When the woman who was caught in adultery was brought before Christ, Jesus did not condemn her. Instead, He said to the Pharisees, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” In today’s message, Pastor David warns us against being too judgmental. He also reminds us that only the Lord God is omniscient and omnipotent. Therefore, only Jesus is fully able to rightly judge an individual. Christians are instructed to show mercy to others because they have been shown much mercy by the Lord.

None of us would know God or follow Him on our own. It is only because of the Lord’s great mercy and grace that we have become His children. In today’s message from the Gospel of Luke, Pastor David admonishes us to be merciful. Showing mercy to others is not an option. We cannot wait until we feel like being merciful, for if we wait until the emotions come, we will wait forever. Instead, Christ’s disciples are to put on mercy like a garment. We are to forgive others just as we have been forgiven.

When Jesus taught, He said, “Love your enemies.” Jesus’s words do not make sense to the un-regenerated mind. How can we possibly love those who persecute us? In today’s message from the Gospel of Luke, Pastor David teaches us that the only way to obey the Lord’s commands is through the power of the Spirit working inside the Believer. When we remember all that God did to forgive us when we acted as His enemy, we can then demonstrate His love to those who hate us.

Many crowds followed Jesus because of the miracles and wonders He performed. However, only a few sought after the Lord enough to be called disciples. It was from this smaller group of disciples that Jesus chose the final twelve. Pastor David points out in today’s message that there are different levels of intimacy with the Spirit. Though there is such a thing as common grace that everyone, even the wicked, enjoys, there is special grace reserved for those that are called to follow the Lord Jesus.

Before Jesus’s influence in their lives, the disciples were a motley crew of undisciplined, mostly uneducated, and unremarkable men. However, it is these very men that God used to change the world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In today’s message, Pastor David teaches us in a message from Luke that God’s ways of doing things are not our ways. God uses the weaker things of this world to accomplish great works so that we might see His glory and give Him praise.

Sometimes God’s ways do not make sense to the limited human mind. Who would ever guess, for instance, that God Himself would take on the form of flesh and enter the world as a tiny fragile baby? However, it was through Abba’s plan that we receive forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation. In today’s message, Pastor David teaches us that no one can understand the mind of God. His ways are not our ways. However, the Lord’s plan is perfect, and His timing is always right.

In today’s message, Pastor David asks us this important question: Are you bound to the letter of the law, or do you live your life in the spirit and the intent of the law? Those that are bound to the letter of the law live religious lives that look good on the exterior, but the inside thoughts and motives of these people reveal a lack mercy, compassion, and grace for other people. The people of God who walk in step with the Spirit obey the Lord out of love and devotion and are like Jesus in His love for Abba and others.

When the Lord God gave Moses the Law, He meant the Sabbath to be a day of rest and a blessing for Israel. However, the Pharisees had turned the Law into a heavy burden on the people by creating a crazy list of rules that people had to follow. In today’s message from Luke, Pastor David teaches us how Jesus answered the teachers of the law when they challenged the behavior of His disciples. The Lord’s answer proves that God made the Sabbath day holy so that His children would have a time of rest, not religious rules.

Jesus is the only Person to have ever lived a perfect and sinless life. However, the Lord is a friend to sinners. He dined with them when He walked the earth and sought them out to rescue them from the prison of sin. In today’s message, Pastor David teaches us that if our Lord reached out to save that which was lost, we too should be doing the same. It is a dangerous thing to insulate ourselves entirely from the world in a holy bubble, for if we do, we cannot carry out the Great Commission to “go and make disciples of all.”

In Luke Chapter 5, Jesus visits the lucrative city of Capernaum. Upon entering the city, the Lord seeks out a tax collector named Levi and calls to the man to follow Him. Levi responded by leaving his post with no hesitation. In today’s message, Pastor David teaches us how Levi the tax collector became Matthew, the writer of one of the four Gospels. Pastor David also admonishes us to be inspired by Matthew’s unabashed and unreserved commitment to Jesus. Matthew was willing to leave his former life behind in service to the King of Kings.