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~ Luke 7:18-35

God Gives Us His Words of Eternal LifeLuke 7:18-35

Found on page 863 - 864 in our guest Bibles.

Today’s Scripture:

This is eternal life, that they know you

the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom

you have sent.~ Jesus of Nazareth, in the Gospel John, 17:3

“Nothing is more easily taken for granted than a faith that

is unchallenged. As long as things go our way, we

continue with a confidence in God that seems strong and healthy. We assume that, spiritually, things are fine.

But what happens when our trust is severely challenged?

“What happens when life crashes down on us with shattering force? When

tensions in important relationships seem utterly

unresolvable? When health or job problems isolate us with no one but God—and

he doesn’t show up?”

The disciples of John reported all

Luke 7:18-19

these things to him. And John, callingtwo of his disciples to him, sent themto the Lord, saying, “Are you theone who is to come, or shall we look for another...?”

“I baptize you with water, but HE WHO IS MIGHT-IER THAN I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I

am not worthy to untie. HE WILL BAPTIZE YOU with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing

fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff

HE WILL BURN WITH UNQUENCHABLE FIRE.”~ John the Baptist, in the Gospel of Luke, 3:16-17

And when the men had come to him,

Luke 7:20-21

they said, “John the Baptist has sentus to you, saying, ‘Are you the onewho is to come, or shall we look for another?’” In that hour, he healedmany people of diseases and

plagues and evil spirits, and on many

Luke 7:21

who were blind he bestowed sight....”

1 A reversal of the curse

2 A foretaste of heaven

Jesus’ Miracles areSigns of the Kingdom

And he answered them, “Go and tell

Luke 7:22

John what you have seen and heard:the blind receive their sight, the lamewalk, lepers are cleansed, and thedeaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preachedto them....”

“...And blessed is the one who is not

Luke 7:23

offended by me....”

When John’s messengers had gone,

Luke 7:24-25

Jesus began to speak to the crowdsconcerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What thendid you go out to see? A man dressed

...in soft clothing? Behold, those who

Luke 7:25

are dressed in splendid clothing andlive in luxury are in king’s courts....

Luke 7:26-27

What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you....’

Luke 7:28

I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

(When all the people heard this, and

Luke 7:29-30

the tax collectors too, they declaredGod just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Phariseesand the lawyers rejected the purposeof God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

“John’s baptism had become a spiritual

continental divide in Israel. John’s baptism

required confession and repentance of one’s sins, and one’s willingness or unwillingness to do so

made all the difference.”

“To what shall I compare the people

Luke 7:31-32

of this generation, and what are theylike? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you,and you did not dance; we sang adirge, and you did not weep.’

For John the Baptist has come eating

Luke 7:33-34

no bread and drinking no wine, andyou say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Sonof Man has come eating and drinkingand you say, ‘Look at him! A gluttonand a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners...!’

Yet wisdom is justified by all her

Luke 7:35

children.”

Why does Luke include this event in his historical biography of Jesus?

Important Question

When we are tempted to doubtbecause we are disappointed

with Jesus, we must remember that Jesus is the King of God’s

Kingdom, not ours.

Main Idea

Prize Christ’s Kingdom over our own

1

Whate’er my God ordains is rightHoly His will abideth

I will be still whate’er He doesAnd follow where He guideth

He is my God though dark my roadHe holds me that I shall not fallWherefore to Him I leave it all

Whate’er My God Ordains Is Right~ Samuel Rodigast, 1676

Whate’er my God ordains is rightHe never will deceive me

He leads me by the proper pathI know He will not leave me

I take content what He hath sentHis hand can turn my griefs away

And patiently I wait his day

Whate’er My God Ordains Is Right~ Samuel Rodigast, 1676

Whate’er my God ordains is rightThough now this cup in drinkingMay bitter seem to my faint heart

I take it all, unshrinkingMy God is true each morn anew

Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heartAnd pain and sorrow shall depart

Whate’er My God Ordains Is Right~ Samuel Rodigast, 1676

Whate’er my God ordains is rightHere shall my stand be taken

Though sorrow, need, or death be mineYet I am not forsaken

My Father’s care is round me thereHe holds me that I shall not fall

And so to Him I leave it all

Whate’er My God Ordains Is Right~ Samuel Rodigast, 1676

Battle doubt by trusting God’s heart

2

God is too wise to be mistakenGod is too good to be unkindWhen you don’t understandWhen you can’t see his handWhen you can’t trace his plan

Trust his heart

~ Bobbie Mason

What is your only comfort in life and in death?

“That I am not my own, but belong in body and soul, in life and in death, not to myself but to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and completely freed me

from the dominion of the devil...;”

“...that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven

not a hair can fall from my head;indeed, that everything must fit his purpose

for my salvation....”

Marcin Brzezinski: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35355198@N05/3626256142/

flickr images courtesy of:

other images:

Photos.com: Ivan Ponomarev/ 154308390

Kayugee: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37831703@N00/4655277889/