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LUKE CHAPTERS 10 & 11 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel See previous page Lk 10,1-16 (71ab) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have authority from God to evangelize the world >> We have authority to propel the gospel into all the world – We are ambassadors for Christ, who gives us authority to represent Him in the world. When we tell people about Jesus, it is as though Jesus Himself we are speaking to them. In the name of Jesus Christ we have authority to bring His gospel to the world with all signs, wonders and miracles. Performing signs and wonders while proclaiming the gospel go together like peas and carrots, but the Church today thinks signs and wonders are obsolete, but they must be present for the Kingdom of God to have come near to them (v11). The disciples were able to heal sickness and cast out demons prior to Pentecost through an anointing that Jesus gave them, appointing them His spokesmen, so those who rejected them were in trouble with God. Lk 10,1-8 (150b) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Instructions on evangelism – Jesus called His Father the Lord of harvest. The laborers may pick the fruit but the Lord harvests them. It would behoove the laborers, therefore, to choose a field that has crops fully matured and ready for harvest, rather than go into sparse, desolate lands hoping to find a plant. Those who aspire to be evangelists or missionaries might want to think long and hard about the country where God is leading them, basing their decision on the potential for harvest, where God has prepared people’s hearts to receive the gospel. Where in the world are they who long for Jesus today? That is where we need to go and that is where God would send us. He is not interested in sending His missionaries and evangelists to people who are not open to the gospel, not to speak of countries whose governments are closed, but referring to the people themselves. If the people are open to the gospel, though their governments are restrictive, there is always a way to get the gospel to them, but if whole nations resist our gospel, don’t bother with them, because we are taking away from others who have set their hearts to know the Lord, and they long for someone to come and show them the way. Lk 10-1,2 (129d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing the fruit of evangelism >> Bearing the fruit of the gospel – Jesus said about those days, “Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest” (Jn 4-35). The people in Jesus’ day were ready to listen to the message about a man who lived and walked as the Son of God and at the end of his life was crucified and then rose from the dead by the predetermined plan of God, so anyone who believed in Him would have eternal life. This was good news, and people were ready to give up whatever sins they were doing in order to believe in Jesus, and so many people got saved in the first century. This indicates that God sent His Son at a certain time. We wait and wonder where is the promise of His coming. Years and decades peal off our lives, centuries and millennia have traversed the age of grace and He doesn’t come, so people have given up on His second coming; they are done waiting for Him, tired of believing in something they have never seen, but they don't realize that God is waiting for the proper time. We think the best time is now, but God sees a time coming that will be better. He is waiting for the fields to become white with harvest again, not in developed countries of the world, but in third-world countries where the gospel has been scarcely preached. Prior to the return of Christ, God will effect a Great Endtime Revival and many hundreds of millions of people will get saved. Lk 10-1 (8k) Responsibility >> Responsible to defend God’s cause >> Preparing for the ministry – Just like John the Baptist, these seventy were to prepare the way for Jesus when He came to preach the gospel in the regions where He sent them. Their job was to crack the ice, so the things that Jesus said would not be completely foreign to them. The seventy went to present the concept and open the peoples’ minds to the things of God, and then Jesus would come and present the substance of those things. (72g) Transferring authority >> Receiving the delegated authority of Christ Lk 10-2,3 (83h) Thy kingdom come >> Jesus intercedes for us >> He represents us before the Father – Jesus prayed to the Lord of harvest to send out laborers into His harvest, and then sent His disciples. He intercedes for his evangelists, suggesting they have a special ministry both with Christ who prays for them and with the people who are objects of their ministry. He sits at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens and prays for those who have shod their feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace (Eph 6-15), for “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Isa 52-7; Rom 10-15). In verse three He says, “Go.” It is one thing for a mission board to send us, but it is another thing for Jesus Christ Himself to send us into the mission field. People depend on mission boards a little too much; they assume the role of Christ in sending out his laborers into His harvest and are a poor substitute. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 10-3,4 (197g) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Distracted from a fruitful life – In chapter 9 he sent His twelve disciples to perform healing, to cast out demons and to preach the gospel of the kingdom, and in chapter ten He appointed seventy others and sent them to do the same. We all know about the twelve, but not everyone knows about His seventy. He told them to carry no bag and no extra shoes and greet no one on the way. I thought we were supposed to be friendly. We can respond to those who would greet us along the way, but otherwise keep going. This is the way Jesus brought the gospel to the people who wanted to hear it. This method may overlook some people, but that can be expected. For example, in Lk 18,35-43 he would have walked right past the blind man but he called out to Him and persisted until Jesus stopped and turned to Him. The only reason He stopped was that the man entreated Him. Lk 10-3 (165g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not partake of the world >> Be in the world but not of the world (172c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Devils among the saints >> Wolves among the sheep – He said, “Go, behold I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” This will not be a bloodbath, for the Lord knows how to take care of His own. God would send us to a people who are longing for the Lord, though living among a people who have wolf-like tendencies. A wolf is a predatory animal, and animals are not capable of a conscience or a sense of remorse, which are also things lacking in psychopaths. Behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of reprobates, people who fight us at every step and resist the word of God. Lk 10-5,6 (126b) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Peace >> God is at peace >> The Peace of God – There are many people who are not pursuing a life of peace; Jesus said to offer our peace to them, but if they reject it, we should allow it to return to us. Peace belongs to us; it is one of the many promises of God, and we should not let them take it from us. We offer our peace through our words and we allow the words to convey a Spirit of peace to them, and the person who rejects our peace will do so with his words. When our peace returns to us, we are never to offer it again to them. Lk 10-7,8 (1c) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God and people >> Avoid the appearance of evil – Jesus is speaking to missionaries, instructing them to remain in the house of the people who invited them, and they are often the first to believe. Therefore, those who practice such hospitality should be treated with honor and respect. But if the missionary leaves that house and stays at another house, thinking to spread the blessing, the only thing he will spread is scandal and rumors why he left. The missionary will shame a family that meant only good, and the gospel will be reviled. Don’t pick things out of your food that you don’t like. If it is not your favorite food, eat it anyway. Avoid offending everyone. In virtually every culture food is at the center of everyone's life; therefore, how a person receives the cook’s food is how the cook receives the evangelist and his message. If a person judges the plate that is set before him, the cook will judge the gospel and the one who proclaims it, and these are God’s people we are offending for whom Christ died. These are the people whom God has prepared, so to offend them is to offend God. There is more than food shared; there is friendship, trust and salvation; people can be won or lost around the dinner table. Lk 10-7 (71f) Authority >> Ordained by God >> Worthiness of man >> Preachers are worthy of their support KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 10,9-11 (32l) Gift of God >> Father will honor your devotion to Him >> He will honor your faith – Jesus created faith wherever He went; the people couldn’t help but believe in Him, yet they crucified Him anyway. This has also happened to missionaries over the centuries; people have received their message and heard the gospel in power and have believed for a season, only to revert to their old ways, proving that faith in the world is a treasure more rare and valuable than gold. Those whom we think will never believe our message are often the ones who do, and those we think are most likely to believe in Jesus sometimes don’t. It goes back to the parable of the sower; seed fell on the road, the rocky soil, in the weeds and on the good soil. Only God knows who has good soil waiting for the seed of the gospel. If we preach the gospel and don’t see results right away, the good soil does not spring up a green stem immediately; the miracle of salvation is working just below the surface, sending down roots, so when the stem finally appears, it has a way to draw nutrients. With some it matures into a great tree, feeding all the animals that come to it for food, spreading its canopy to protect from the scorching sun, providing shelter for the birds for many years to come, and has seed in surplus to reproduce. People can find the gospel easily enough; it is in their bibles on the shelf, but they just can’t find it in their hearts to believe it. God calls many to salvation, but only a few are chosen, and it is those who respond to the gospel who are truly chosen. (149h) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Authority of the rhema given to evangelism >> Preaching the gospel by the power of God – We should not be quick to write off anyone; we should make sure the Kingdom of God has in power come near. One community that rejects our message can be only a short travel from another community that receives us; there can be great differences within small distances, so not to be discouraged. It is up to God to invite people into His heaven through us, but if anyone rejects our gospel, we have no choice but to keep moving. One way we will know if people receive us is whether they are healed of their sicknesses when we pray for them. If God’s healing power will not affect their bodies, nor will His salvation affect their souls, for healing and salvation are inseparable. The thing that Jesus stressed in His evangelists and missionaries was that they bring the gospel of His kingdom to the people in power, not just in word only. He commanded us to heal the sick, cast out demons and preach the gospel of the kingdom in a boldness. Lk 10,10-16 (64d) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Limits of God >> God cannot help but judge sin – Jesus is comparing cities, some where He spent a long time teaching and preaching and performing many miracles, yet they did not believe in Him with other cities, such as Tyre and Sidon. He said that had they received the same witness as Chorazin and Bethsaida, would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. Therefore, when God chooses to visit our city or our school or our household through an evangelist, it is just as important to respond to the gospel as it is to proclaim it, and they are both equally a privilege. The purpose of miracles is to persuade us to believe in Jesus, but if we decide to respond in a way other than faith, it has the opposite effect of increasing our sin. (199d) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Frustrating the grace of God >> Frustrating Jesus >> Frustrating the apostles – Isn’t it interesting that an entire community can either accept or reject the gospel? The problem in our day and age is that most people have already heard the gospel, maybe not in clarity and power, but everyone has heard the name of Jesus; everyone knows He was a religious figure who died for our sins on a cross. To preach the gospel to someone who has already heard it ensures that we will not be telling them anything new; and if they already know these things, then they would have been already been saved if they were interested in the message. Americans in these last days have hardened their hearts to the gospel, but there are other people in the world whose minds are open, largely because no one has ever cared about them. Therefore, it is important to a person, a community and a country that once we've have heard the gospel, we must obey it, otherwise our hearts will harden to its message of repentance and faith, which spells the decline of that country. (200b) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Rejecting Christ >> Rejecting the will of God >> Rejecting the gospel (202g) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running from the word of God >> Running from the gospel (218a) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> You cannot control the judgment of God >> You cannot control how God responds to rejection – The evangelist has responsibility to bring the gospel in power. If he brings a mealy version of it, God will hardly judge anyone for rejecting it, but if the evangelist brings the gospel with power, the people have an obligation to receive Christ, else God will judge them for rejecting a heavenly message with God’s very own signature stamped on it. Some individuals and people groups will reject the gospel, but if an entire city reject the gospel after the Holy Spirit has visited them in power, there will be hell to pay. The more God Himself proves the gospel, the less excuse they have to reject it. Lk 10-10,11 (148b) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Solemnly testify against unbelief (222d) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God does not entrust his treasures to dogs >> Do not give to dogs who will not receive you (242l) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Responding to persecution – The evangelist has the power to change everybody’s eternal future within earshot of him, whether they believe in his message or not; for if they believe the gospel and become Christians, they will be counted on the rolls of heaven; but if they don’t believe, their sentence will be increased on the Day of Judgment, because they heard the gospel of Christ and rejected it. If a whole city rejects him, the evangelist should pronounce judgment against that city by wiping the dust off their feet in protest against them. This symbolism suggests that the evangelist doesn’t want any part of their city clinging to him as though removing any forensic evidence that he was even there, and Jesus added, “yet be sure of this, that the Kingdom of God has come near.” KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 10,12-16 (51b) Judgment >> Church with the world >> Warning about hell Lk 10,12-15 (19m) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Unwilling to believe >> Spirit of unbelief (48i) Judgment >> Levels of judgment >> Judged according to your knowledge of God – It will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of homosexuals, than for the city that rejects the Lord; that is, rejecting the gospel of Christ is more evil than desiring sex with angels! The greater the revelation of God’s glory, and the more miracles, signs and wonders a person has been privileged to witness, and the greater the offer of eternal life and forgiveness he has received, the greater the judgment for rejecting Him. The more a person witnesses God’s greatness and glory the more obligated he is to believe in Him. People think, ‘Oh goody, Jesus has come and now we are all blessed.’ If we obey Him, that is true, otherwise God will judge us for knowing the truth and doing nothing with it. His judgment will fall harder on the unbeliever of the new covenant than those in Old Testament times. The United States has been enlightened with the gospel possibly more than any other nation in the world. So many people for so many decades have had access to a Bible and could have studied it for themselves, yet never turned the pages to see what it says, preferring to have a mental ascent about God when they could have had an educated faith. (169f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is blind to God >> Willful blindness (185k) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy >> Responding with contempt to the Holy Spirit >> Indifferent to the Holy Spirit – The gospel is not about believing a set of facts. If you believe Jesus died, rose again on the third day, ascended to the Father and is seated at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens, you have believed well, but that doesn’t mean you are saved. Rather, a person is saved when he receives the Holy Spirit as God’s pledge of eternal life. Therefore, if we do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, then we do not belong to Him. This is the one and only criteria that God will use to determine whether we should go to heaven. There will be no way to lie our way into heaven or out of hell. People may still make up excuses and continue their lies and deceptions in the very presence of God, but at least then they will know why heaven is not the place for them. Lk 10-16,17 (72h) Authority >> Hierarchy of authority >> More Authority The More Responsibility >> Closer we get to Jesus the more authority we have – Jesus outlined the hierarchy of authority that exists in heaven that He wants to establish here on the earth among His people, as Paul taught, “He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph 4-11,12). As evangelists we are to go into the world and tell people about Jesus and make disciples. They have spiritual authority in the world, whereas pastors have spiritual authority in the Church, and there are prophets who know the mind of God, who go from church to church and disclose what God wishes to do among His people. God has given all His people authority, but He has given prophets special authority to speak in ways that no one else can speak, yet the prophetic ministry is an accentuation of the gift that He has given to all His children, and for this reason they understand the words of the prophet, for his words are spiritually appraised. Lk 10-16 (195a) Denying Christ — Key verse for the entire chapter – In contrast to the devil victimizing the world, this chapter is a sequel to "Works of the Devil" that concentrates on man's involvement in the demise of his own faith. It points out how we subtly deny the Lordship of Jesus Christ by our daily lifestyles apart from God's council that eventually leads (for some) to deny Christ as their savior. As a list of prerequisites, it takes the reader through the New Testament to every Scripture that refers to denying Christ, and denotes the consequences of their actions. (199d) Rejecting Christ (Key verse) KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 10,17-20 (45m) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Satan VS the saints >> Demons are subject to the Church through Christ – When they said, “Even the demons are subject to us in Your name,” they were saying that many people who heard about the Kingdom of God submitted to the gospel. However, if we go into a place where the people do not receive our gospel, the demons that rule that area will not submit to us either. It is like meeting a man walking a vicious dog, if he doesn’t receive us, neither will his dog, but if the man receives us, we can even pet his dog. In the same way, if the people receive us, we can cast out their demons, but if they don’t, the demons may incite the people against us. (70i) Believers’ Authority (Key verse) (70jb) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have been given authority over all creation >> We have authority over the elements Lk 10-17 (67f) Authority >> Jesus delegates authority >> Name of Jesus >> Performing miracles in Jesus’ name – People in the Church these days are entertaining a gross misconception regarding the name of Jesus; they teach that His name has power. However, His name merely speaks of the person who wields the power of God. That is, there is a difference between Jesus and His name, just like there is a difference between your name and you. For example, when I say, “I am Jim,” I don’t mean that my name is me but that my name represents me. Therefore, the name of Jesus only represents Him. Moreover, since a name is a type of word, and Heb 1-3 speaks of “the word of His power” (and not ‘the power of His word’), it is safe to say that the name of Jesus has no power, though the person of Jesus Christ is indeed the power of God. In addition, since it says in Rev 19-13 that Jesus is the word of God, we can replace the name of Jesus with the phrase “word of God,” and then repeat the popular statement, “there is power in (Jesus’ name) the word of God.” That contradicts Scripture! The word of God (the Bible) doesn’t have power; it only represents the power of God. If it did have power, man would have destroyed himself with it long ago. However, it is true that speaking the word of God elicits the power of God, but we need to separate the word of God from the power of God and realize that the two are not the same. People try to cast out demons in Jesus’ name, but we can’t cast out demons through false teachings. The only reason Jesus is mentioned in the casting out of demons and other miracles is so everyone who witnesses them may know who to credit with the power of God. Lk 10-18,19 (46e) Fall Of Satan (Key verse) (46h) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Satan falls from heaven – Jesus said that He watched Satan fall from heaven, speaking passively regarding His role, suggesting that He was a mere spectator of his fall. He fell to the earth, God the Father originally overcoming the devil at the attempted siege of His throne. This is the only time we see God the Father working alone; He didn't even work alone when He created the heavens and the earth, but Jesus worked alongside Him as a Master Builder to create all that was made, including Lucifer. Note that prior to this Jesus told His disciples He was sending them as sheep in the midst of wolves; we have authority over demons, but we don’t have authority over people who harbor demons, referring to wolves. These people use the demons to get what they want and are in absolute agreement with them, yet there is spiritually nothing we can do about it. Not even Jesus attempted to cast out demons from the Pharisees. Lk 10-19,20 (35d) Gift of God >> God is willing to Give >> No partiality with God’s generosity Lk 10-19 (68c) Authority >> Jesus Delegates Authority To Execute Judgment >> Against Satan – There are snake-charming Christians who take this verse literally and play with venomous snakes, taunting them and God. During Jesus' wilderness experience Satan paid Him a visit tempting Him to sin. He had Jesus climb to the pinnacle of the temple and then told Him to jump, that if He were really the Son of God, the angels would “bear Him up lest He strike His foot against a stone,” but what was Jesus’ response? “It is written, you shall not put the Lord thy God to the test” (Lk 4,9-12). Isn’t that what these snake charmers are doing? They take this verse literally, but in fact when Jesus mentioned serpents and scorpions, He was speaking more about demons than he was about literal snakes. So are these snake charmers interested in properly interpreting the Scriptures rather than playing with their snakes? No, they think if they can play with snakes and not get bit, they have the blessing of God on their lives, and this is their seal of God’s approval, rather than having God’s seal of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them (Eph 1-13). What else did Jesus say about snake charming? “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” Lk 10-20 (248l) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Values >> The Highest Values >> The life to come is more important than this one – Faithfully use the power of God for the purpose it was intended, and don’t get too excited that the demons are subject to you, because in heaven the need for this authority will become obsolete; rather, be excited that you are going to heaven! KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 10-21,22 (66g) Authority >> Jesus’ authority >> He owns everything from the father – We need to understand that Jesus is the second member of the triune God and that He was never created but has always existed, that throughout eternity He has been co-owner of everything with His Father. Hence, for all things to be handed to Him by His Father is a conundrum, because we were of the impression that He already possessed them. This brings up an interesting question: If Jesus has been given all things by His Father, then who had all things before Him? It is possible that God created the heavens and the earth and then handed all things to Lucifer, and He immediately blew it, just like Adam and Eve did. This means Lucifer had ownership of the universe but didn't have authority to make decisions, for this authority originates from the throne of God with Christ seated at the Father's right hand, sticking Lucifer with taking orders from Him, and for this reason Lucifer sought the authority of God's throne. This scenario suggests that God wanted to demonstrate to His creation that no one but God has enough character to handle the responsibility of the entire universe. Jesus said a few verses earlier, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” God wanted to prove to His creation that no one but God can have all authority without it going to his head. This is a lesson in humility: we could say that it is the most powerful force in the universe. Humility allows God to rule His creation without destroying it, while jealousy is just the opposite, it is the most destructive force in the universe. See also: Satan wanted to be God; he wanted His throne; 1Cor 3,21-23; 33l Lk 10-21 (23a) Sin >> Pride closes the windows of heaven – People going to heaven are those who are children at heart; they are the only ones who can understand the gospel, not the wise and intelligent and not those who think they are nearly as big as God. The humble and contrite of heart are small enough to relate to God. The world thinks just the opposite that to relate to God we must be big, because God is big. Yes, God is big, but God is humble too, and it’s easy to trip over Him if we are not watching. We don’t trip over a telephone pole or a tree; we bang into it with our faces, but we trip over a crack in the sidewalk or a root on a trail, things much smaller than ourselves, things like God. Jesus is the son of man, the smallest and youngest of all. No matter how much we humble ourselves, He is humbler than us, and He invites us into fellowship on His level. Those who think they are smart will never understand His smallness or His gospel. Theology is good, but if we never get around to actually believing what we know, none of our theology means anything. This is how God righteously judges the world: those who humble themselves will receive the gospel and those who spurn humility find the gospel incomprehensible. See also: Paradox (More Bibles, less knowledge); 2Pet 1,2-11; 80b (33f) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Greatness is expressed as being a child – God reveals Himself to babes, not referring to the naïve or inexperienced or undisciplined, but to those who are children at heart. Children have it built into them to trust their parents; they can’t fend for themselves or supply their own needs or fix most problems; they need their parents for virtually everything. God wants to raise us in the admonition of His Spirit, so as we mature, we will develop His attributes. We will never become adults in His eyes but will forever remain children, dependent on our heavenly Father. That doesn’t mean we won’t mature; it only means we will never grow to an intellectual level of wisdom that rivals Him. He has given us eternal life as a gift because we have no power in ourselves to achieve such status on our own. Throughout eternity we will depend on God for everything, even as we do now. (140d) Temple >> Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >> Living in the spiritual revelation of the word – The Bible represents the truth as a tool we use to ascertain the Truth from God. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14-6); He is the very embodiment of the truth, the embodiment of the Holy Spirit. Jesus wasn’t talking about the words we read from the Bible but the same words upraised by the Spirit. In this way it acts like a hidden information system that only certain people can access because of their relationship with the Holy Spirit, but in fact they are the same words as the Bible; we just have a revelation of them and that revelation is the Truth. Having a logical and intellectual understanding of the Bible is where we start, and then we obey what it says to receive a spiritual understanding of Him. The Holy Spirit will reveal Christ to us as we obey Him. This protects the truth from the wise and intelligent, who are synonymous with disobedient and rebellious. The difference between knowing the Bible and knowing God is the difference between earth and heaven. Those who understanding God by the Spirit are a rare people on earth who have the power to change the world in positive ways that no one else can. (166f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Wisdom of the world >> Nature Of Man’s Wisdom >> Man’s wisdom does not know God – It is fine to be wise and intelligent, but if it keeps us from the truth, what good is it? Jesus didn’t have anything against being wise and intelligent, so long as it didn't refer to something Solomon wrote in Proverbs 26-12, “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Anyone who has an inflated opinion of self will find it very difficult to understand God’s word. He can read the Bible and comprehend it just fine, and if he wants, he can commit the Scriptures to memory or even teach it to others as a highly respected citizen in his community. He may know what the Bible says, but he will never know what it means until he is born of the Spirit, walks by the Spirit and lives by the Spirit. (192c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Life for life >> Losing your identity to gain God’s identity (207f) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The Kingdom of God >> Children of God’s kingdom – The simple gospel is the door that leads to the glory of God, opening to a whole world of truth, a world that continues to unfold, revealing itself as the most important aspect in life. (221d) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden behind the veil from the world >> God hides from the mind of man >> He hides behind man’s intellect (247i) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> God’s interests >> Things that please God Lk 10-22 (207i) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The Kingdom of God >> Salvation authority of Jesus Christ – Those who know God are the exclusive children of God. Unbelievers don’t know whom they don’t believe. We come to know the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit, for anyone who does not possess the Holy Spirit, does not belong to Him (Rom 8-9). They may know about God; they can read books about Him; they can even read the Bible, but unless they have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, they do not know God. (219a) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> The elect >> Man is a spectator of his own salvation >> God elects us through His sovereign will KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 10-23,24 (77b) Thy kingdom come >> Hunger for the essence of God >> Hunger for His presence – Of all the people Jesus could have named that didn’t experience the things the disciples were hearing and seeing, He named prophets and kings. We would think they would be the last people He would mention, since prophets already have the word of God and kings have authority. However, no Old Testament prophet prophesied or even fathomed the words that Jesus said in the previous verse, “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (v22). Such words were far greater than any Old Testament verse. The prophets would have enjoyed being in the disciples’ shoes, since they were close to God and resulted in the word of God they preached and ultimately got many of them martyred. Of course Jesus referred to righteous kings like David, who was also a prophet. He would have loved to seen Jesus and hear the word of God come from His mouth. If King David danced before the Lord at the returning of the Ark of the Covenant (2Samuel 6,12-14), what would he have done in the presence of Jesus? If he acted this way because of a box, imagine how he would have leaped for joy at the Son of God? If some of the greatest people who lived longed for these things, imagine how people on lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder would have appreciated Jesus. He would have meant freedom for them, freedom from bondage to poverty and from forces that reside above them that keep them in check, disseminating propaganda for them to believe by government and media, orchestrated by robber barons, proposing a perspective on life that simply doesn’t work, designed to enslave them. They would have loved to hear the word of God too, and now they can by reading the Bible, so why don’t they become free? One thing is missing—faith. The evil forces of this world have led them to believe that the Bible cannot be trusted, and for this reason few are being saved. (241b) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Obstacles in the way of the kingdom >> Ask but don’t receive >> Asking for something that is not in His will Lk 10-24 (106e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> Having the ability to hear (215c) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> Fulfillment of God’s time >> The moment we have all been waiting for – The prophets of old who longed to see the fulfillment of scripture never saw it, as Heb 11-39,40 confirms, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” We are living in the days of fulfillment; we are just as blessed as the disciples who saw Him in the flesh, in that we have received the Holy Spirit, which is even better than Jesus in the flesh. The old covenant prophets longed for the fruition of new covenant promises, who prophesied these things; they may not have understood completely what they were saying, but they prophesied in part until the fullness of the time came and Jesus was revealed and fulfilled all that was intended from the beginning. (232l) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Seek the essence of his kingdom >> Seeking the truth Lk 10,25-37 (23c) Sin >> Pride is defensive – The lawyer didn’t ask this question, “And who is my neighbor?” from a sincere heart, but in attempt to win an argument with the Lord. He was a lawyer who made it his career to interpret Mosaic Law, which was the subject of this conversation. There were scribes who transcribed manuscripts, which was their photocopy method of creating new manuscripts and replacing old ones that the Jews read every Sabbath in their local synagogues. There was also the Levitical priesthood consisting of many workers and priests and the high priest, who maintained the temple, performed its many services and dedicated themselves to understanding the biblical manner of temple worship. These professions were the backbone and hierarchy of Jewish government, based on their Old Testament Scriptures. This lawyer, then, had a good handle on the Old Testament, having spent many years interpreting it, and he showed his understanding and knowledge by answering correctly the question that Jesus asked him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself,’ getting these from Exodus 20 and Lev 19-18, though he was probably parroting the teachings of Christ, since Israel didn't think on these terms until Jesus came and re-introduced the teachings of the prophets that they seemed to have forgotten. In other words, whether the lawyer believed his own answer is questionable. See also: Israel (Catholic Church despises the Jews); Col 4-11; 190h (235e) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Tithing >> Offerings >> Help your weaker neighbor (alms) – That could have been the end of the discussion, but the lawyer wishing to justify himself pursued the matter, which inspired Jesus to tell this story. Samaritans were low on the social order; Samaria was barely above a leper’s camp. The Jews hated them for mixing their bloodline with the neighboring gentiles and for not stringently following Jewish law. They were like Mennonites to the Amish communities. However, when we take a closer look, the Good Samaritan did obey the law in its most fundamental requirement, which was love. He was on a journey and had all he needed with him, not having access to resources like the locals but used what he had to help the guy. If this is what Jesus expects of us regarding our neighbor, how high are his expectations regarding our brother in the faith? KJV WEB / / Navigation Bar Lk 10,25-29 (21j) Sin >> Premeditated sin >> Having no Intensions of loving your brother – This is one of the most revealing statements in the New Testament regarding the transition between the old and the new covenants. We have Jesus who died for our sins advising a lawyer to live by the law, suggesting that with respect to the law there is no difference between old and new covenants, but this is not how Paul explained it; he said, “Through the works of the law no flesh shall be justified” (Gal 2-16). If we want to go with Paul, then we can say that the old covenant was about faith just as much as the new covenant. Therefore, we say that new covenant salvation fulfills the law by faith in Jesus. This suggests that people back then believed in God through the promise of His coming Messiah and were commanded through Moses how to behave in the meantime. Jesus approved the lawyer reducing the law to loving God and our neighbor. Loving the Lord our God is an internal exercise, while loving our brother is external. Nothing has changed about that in the new covenant. There is an internal loving of God as a student of His word and as a disciple of prayer; then there is the ministry toward one another, doing nothing to anyone that we wouldn’t want done to ourselves. (205j) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> Faith versus works >> The faith of God versus the faith of men >> Faith is the law of righteousness – Jesus told the lawyer to mind the old covenant and that would prepare him to receive the new covenant in His blood. This is in reference to Paul’s version of the gospel, who gives us a new way to serve God: instead of keeping the law we walk in the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit starts with love just as the law did. The first commandment they fulfilled with their hearts, and all the other commandments they fulfilled with their bodies, and nearly all of them were preceded with the word “don’t.” That is, to fulfill the law they used their bodies to not break it, which is paradoxical. In other words, if they didn't use their bodies at all, they would fulfill the law. In a similar way, the new covenant fruits of the Spirit are all attributes that cannot be performed with the body, but refer to a state of being: love joy, peace patience… (Gal 5-22,23). These are all things we possess in our hearts that change us from the inside-out. For example, we must first have patience before we can be patient with our neighbor. These are all states of being, not commandments to perform, and they accomplish the same thing, fulfilling the law. God wants to change us from the inside-out in the new covenant, while the old covenant wants to change us from the outside-in, but that doesn’t work. Knowing God, it wasn’t intended to work. Lk 10,25-28 (90e) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> Law is our tutor >> It leads us to God – The lawyer regurgitated the law in condensed form to show how he should treat his neighbor, probably having heard it from Jesus sometime earlier; however, the Ten Commandments that God wrote on stone tablets for Moses, outlined in Exodus chapter 20, spoke nothing about loving our neighbor, but was implied, for how can we love our neighbor while we are having sex with his wife, or stealing his property or lying to him? Loving our neighbor as ourselves is extrapolated from the law, but Jesus spoke plainly about it through the course of His ministry. If we love our neighbor we will bandage up the man lying along the road, such as in the story of the Good Samaritan. After the lawyer gave a discrete answer Jesus replied, “Do this and you will live.” There must therefore be a connection between the old and new covenants. Paul taught in Gal 3-24,25 that the law is our tutor to lead us to Christ. If we have been living by the law all our lives and someone comes to us with the gospel, there won’t be many hindrances to believing in Jesus (except self-justification of religion), as opposed to unbelievers who have no regard for the law. They are the ones who walked on the other side of the road to avoid the man in need. Inherent in the one who fulfills the law is the recognition that he is a sinner, in that he must fight his flesh to do the works of the law, so when he hears that Christ died to forgive our sins, he immediately believes in the gospel, whereas the one who cares nothing for the law does not acknowledge his sin. (208bb) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The kindness of God >> You can be saved without ever hearing about Jesus – What about the person who never heard the gospel or never knew the law? If he lives like the Good Samaritan, when he dies and meets Jesus, he will immediately sense he just met his best friend and brother, and Jesus will say to him, ‘If you would have heard about Me, you would have believed in Me.’ Lk 10-29 (174e) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Justifying yourself – Those who develop an attitude of self-righteousness about the law are usually the ones who fool themselves about following it. These are the ones who invariably ignore the first and foremost commandment to love God; how can they love Him if they don’t have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them? It turns out that conveying the gospel to the self-righteous and to the sinner is equally difficult, and God views them both as heathen. Jesus could have just as well asked the lawyer, ‘Which one of these do you think would be most receptive to the gospel?’ (200i) Denying Christ >> Excuses for rejecting Christ >> Using irresponsibility as an excuse to reject God >> Trying to talk your way out of accountability KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 10,30-37 (123c) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love >> Spiritual affection >> Compassion >> Compassion is the emotion of the Spirit (225m) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables >> Parables about generosity of heart (242j) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Worldly pressure >> World pressures you to forsake your neighbor – The Old Testament taught that a brother was his fellow Jew, while neighbor referred to the gentile nations. One reason Jesus refused to minister to anyone but His fellow Jews (with few exceptions, Mk 7,24-31) was so people could properly interpret everything he said and did. Since Jesus was solely devoted to His Jewish brothers, when Jesus answered the lawyer’s question, “Who is my neighbor?” He used a Samaritan in the story to take care of the man who was beaten and robbed, who was half Jew and half gentile. In the Old Testament when God speaks about a Jew helping another Jew, He refers to them as brothers, which implies being of the same ethnicity, while neighbor implies different ethnicities. When we transpose this idea to the New Testament, the word brother comes to mean our fellow Christian and neighbor means an unbeliever, regardless of nationality. Therefore, Jesus' crossbred parable means that Christians are obligated to help people in the world too, not just their fellow Christian. However, the New Testament teaches that our priority is first to our immediate family members, then to the Church, and last to the world (our neighbors). See also: Brother versus neighbor; Act 3-22,23; 29i Lk 10,38-42 (1h) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> False burden >> Serving God in ignorance >> Not knowing His will – Martha had a false burden, hoping to please the Lord, intending to prepare a nice dinner for Him. Although this had its place, Mary was in a better place, seated at the feet of Jesus, finding favor with Him more than Martha, who merely tended to His temporal needs. What Martha was serving would last maybe a day, but what Jesus was serving would last forever. It’s not what we do for Jesus, but what He does for us that counts the most. (4c) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Being accountable to the word of God (79j) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word >> Listen to the word >> Listen to Jesus (195b) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Serving two masters >> You can only serve one at a time – Jesus was not always the greatest servant. For example, Martha loved to serve people; she had a servant’s heart and strove to serve the Lord by cooking Him a nice meal and was doing all the work by herself, while her sister Mary was sitting at His feet listening to the word of God. Martha finally complained that her sister wasn’t helping her. Martha's place should have been at Jesus' feet next to her sister. When Jesus died for the sins of all mankind, this was His greatest act of service. Everything else Jesus did as the son of man, but dying on the cross He did as the Son of God. This was His service to mankind, and if God is willing to serve us to the point of death, even death on a cross, how much more are we to serve one another? (235ga) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Giving (your inner self) >> Hospitality (providing a temporary home) >> Being a good guest – Martha had a practical approach to her faith, like the Father who had a practical love for the sinner and sent His Son to save us. The Bible teaches that love is practical. To be willing and able to open her home to others is similar to Jesus’ ministry in heaven, where He will share His home with us. Hospitality is a gift that the Church today needs to rediscover as an environment for God to work among His people in a person’s home. (248h) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Values >> Valuing God >> Knowing God is more important than serving Him – There were times when Jesus would take a sabbatical and enjoy a few pleasures in life. Other days, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Mat 8-20). Everything was changing all the time, sleeping in a bed one day and sleeping on the ground the next, using a rock for a pillow. Martha’s gift was hospitality, which absolutely has its place in the Church, but plays a secondary role to the word of God. Jesus had no problem with Martha working hard in the kitchen preparing the meal, but neither did He have a problem with Mary sitting at His feet listening to the word of God. He didn’t complain to either one of them, but then Martha came and complained to Jesus that Mary wasn’t helping. Jesus wasn’t one to be an arbitrator; He didn’t want to get involved in people’s disputes, even though He is the judge of all mankind. Rather, He encouraged Martha to sit next to her sister and forget about dinner for now and everyone will have a chance to share their thoughts, then eat later. Jesus was showing the priority of spiritual fellowship. Martha's hospitality was important, but Jesus thought the word of God was more important, so hospitality took a seat next to Mary and enjoyed the fellowship. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 10-39 (114d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy Spirit >> Obeying the revelation from heaven >> Obeying the revelation of God’s word (255d) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> God’s word is Spirit >> Jesus is the word of the Spirit >> Jesus is the authority of God’s word Lk 10-41,42 (24f) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Anxiety >> Worrying about the things you need Lk 10-42 (247a) Priorities — Key verse for the entire chapter – Scientists struggle to unravel the mysteries of the universe. They often get their priorities backward and it blinds them to the evidence that lay before them. Getting our priorities straight is like turning the tumbler on a combination lock; if we know the right numbers but not the sequence the lock will not open, but if we know both the numbers and sequence, the lock opens for us. Similarly, how can we accurately interpret the Bible or live a godly life without identifying and properly arranging our priorities? There are weights and measures, sequences and prerequisites to nearly everything we do. Therefore, we cannot over-stress the issue of priority. It plays a vital role in molding our value system, defining wealth and ultimately shaping our belief system about our lives and the Bible. The reader will come away from this chapter with a renewed urgency to adjust his life so that significant matters take precedence over things of less importance. We have all heard this colloquialism: Which came first the chicken or the egg? As common and simple this expression, it is no less one of the most important questions we can ask, and if we answer it correctly, we can solve some of the greatest mysteries. Here is another similar figure of speech: Don't put the cart before the horse. In one instance the horse is pulling the cart, and in the other the horse is pushing the cart. One way is practical and the other is not. (248g) Valu es (Key verse) _________________________________ LUKE CHAPTER 11 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 11,1-8 (83j) Thy kingdom come >> Church has the ministry of intercession >> We prepare ourselves to meet Jesus Lk 11,1-4 (120d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >> Forgiving your brother >> As God has forgiven you – The Law falters in the Lord’s prayer where is says, “Do not lead us into temptation,” for the Law inadvertently does this very thing, according to the teaching of Paul who dissected the Law and said, “sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me” (Rom 7-11). However, the grace of God delivers us from evil. While John the Baptist taught his disciples to walk in obedience to God’s precepts, Jesus taught us to walk according to the Spirit that he gives, which replaced the Law and inadvertently fulfilled it. Without even trying, the believer in Jesus fulfills the commandments of God as he walks by the Spirit, leading him “in paths of righteousness for His namesake” (Psalm 23-3). He is careful to treat others in ways that he prefers to be treated. In a world like this, being reciprocated in a loving manner is unlikely, but that doesn’t stop the Christian from living out his faith that he received from God, who has loved and blessed him with favor. God has lavished his Spirit on us and introduced His mercy and continually reminds us of His promises (Isaiah 46-11). He gives us His Spirit and calls us to obedience that we might understand these things in a practical way. We don’t use man’s standard to measure out treatment to others, since God was kind enough to adopted us; instead, we have adopted His standard for treating others with kindness and mercy. (205j) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> Faith versus works >> The faith of God versus the faith of men >> Faith is the law of righteousness – John the Baptist taught His disciples to pray, who was a disciple of the Law. Jesus also taught His disciples to pray according to the grace of God, being also the direction of the Law. Putting the two together, the Lord’s Prayer speaks of fulfilling the Law by faith in God’s righteousness. It is by faith that we worship God, not by the Law, for the Law is not able to worship God. Lk 11-3 (30a) Gift of God >> God is our advocate >> God knows our needs >> He is our provider – We should ask God for the things we need today, but tomorrow will take care of itself (Mat 6-34). We have no worries about tomorrow, because we intend to pray then too. If Jesus instructed us to pray this way, then it is only fitting that we should live this way. God wants us living in the present; He doesn’t want us living in the future or in the past, though He would have us consider the future when we are tempted to sabotage it, nor does He want us living for today and sacrifice tomorrow. Jesus taught to live in the present with the future in mind, not to jeopardize it for our descendants. We are to leave the world in good condition, not to soak up all the resources and leave our children with nothing, which is basically what the world is doing today. Living in the present is how all the animals live, though there are some rodents in the packrat family that like to stockpile food for the winter. They have their mind in the future; God made them this way, but He has not called us to be like them but like the birds. At certain times of the summer the air is filled with little insects; this is a great time for the birds. They perch on a twig and tweet their songs and flit a few feet to pick off a moth in midair and then return to their twig and continue whistling their song. Storing the moths would not work for them; instead, they enjoy the moment and the day and the season of plenty, and when the season passes and they have to work harder for their meals, they eat other things, expanding and enriching their diet. God wants us to be like them. Just as he helped us when there was plenty, so He will help us when there is less. Lk 11,5-13 (99j) Perseverance (99l) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance (Working to stay in motion) >> Persevere in prayer – Sometimes it seems that God is messing with us when we ask Him for things and He doesn’t give them right away. Why doesn’t He always give us what we ask? God is perfect; He has absolute character, and He wants us to have His attributes. Getting up immediately and giving us whatever we want would not build character, but would turn us into spoiled children and God would become our slave. None of that is in God's interests. It builds character to persevere in prayer, to become determined to receive what was promised. Notice that this parable is not about our needs but our wants. We should not become frustrated with God, for the Bible says He will give us whatever we want, essentially writing us a blank check in Jn 14-14, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it,” with a little persistence as it turns out. God loves us in ways we don’t know; He enjoys us in prayer striving with Him; He loves to see His children walking in faith. The persistent aspect of prayer comes into play when we ask God for things that He is neither opposed nor interested in giving. It is like the child who wants something that his parents don’t think is particularly necessary; he must do extra chores before they will give it. The more we ask from God the things He wants us to have the less persistence we need in order to receive them. Conversely, the things we want that are not on God’s list of priorities, the more we need to persist in prayer. Persistence itself develops character in us, so either way God gets what He wants, developing character in His children. Lk 11,5-10 (70i) Authority >> Sin of familiarity >> There are times when God cannot discern our needs – The first thing that should be immediately obvious about this passage is that the person in this parable is seeking God for his own interests instead of God’s interests, and it takes more effort in prayer to receive things like that. The Sermon on the Mount teaches, “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened” (Mat 7-7,8). In the process of seeking God for the things we want, we mature and begin seeking God for the things He wants, and inadvertently we get our prayers answered. We often must seek hard, knock loudly, and ask often before He will give, because we are His friend. Moreover, God knows that if He doesn’t immediately give us what we want, it won't break the relationship. When we were new Christians we opened our Bible and the words jumped off the page into our hearts, but after a couple years the words quit jumping. We became familiar with the Bible, and God made us work harder for the things we want, because He enjoys our faith. When we were babes in Christ, a few minutes in the word was enough to be filled, but now we spend hours in the word of God and prayer to get the same effect. We have become Bible junkies. God loves communing with us and watching our faith grow, so if he doesn’t immediately give us what we want, He knows we will not harden our heart against Him. He tells us through the door, ‘it’s inconvenient; come back in the morning and I will give you whatever you want.’ If we are unsatisfied with that answer, we can petition Him until He gives us what we need that night. It is unlikely that God is too busy to tend to our prayers; He wants us to grow and mature in the faith, and to do that we must seek Him with all our heart. (225m) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables >> Parables about generosity of heart Lk 11,5-8 (121k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Hope based on faithfulness >> Hope based on character – We ask God for things until we become a fully matured Christian who knows the promises and the character of God, but if we give up in prayer we won’t receive anything from Him. The neighbor can’t go home empty-handed, because he has a friend waiting for him who's come from a long journey and is hungry (note that this story is about hospitality). Building character in our lives is the hope of obtaining His promises, the opportunity to bless God through persistence in asking for provisions to feed his guest. Without character we cannot hope for anything, because our inconsistencies will undo all our achievements. We should consider it all joy like James said to persevere in prayer and never get frustrated or question God’s character, or whether He loves us, or whether we love Him, or whether we are His children, because of unanswered prayer. Some people pray for years and eventually receive their quarry, and they don’t just receive their request but also receive maturity in Christ and a heightened understanding of Him that comes only with persistent prayer. (208f) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being the friend of God >> Relationship with God through obedience >> We are His friends if we keep His commandments – The man went back to bed after His neighbor knocked on His door, whom He had known for many years. Note what Jesus said, “Because he is his friend” he would not get up and give him anything." God has certain expectations on a person who has been a Christian for a long time. He wasn’t afraid of losing his friendship, because they had a good relationship, and for that same reason He knew His neighbor would not take "no" for an answer. This is the kind of relationship God wants with His people. (235g) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Giving (your inner self) >> Hospitality (providing a temporary home) >> Being a good host KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 11,9-13 (83b) Thy kingdom come >> Receiving from God through prayer >> Ask and it shall be given – We have heard these verses quoted many times; we love to hear the promises of God, but what is the premise of the promise? It originates from a context of perseverance in prayer! He didn’t say ‘Ask once and it will be given, seek a little and you will find, lightly tap on the door and it will be opened.’ If answered prayer is really important to us, then we should ask God for things He wants to give. For example, if we ask God for help glorifying Him, there is a much better chance we will get our prayers answered in a timely manner than if we ask for something intended to glorify ourselves. (113j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> The anointing >> Filled with the Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit dwelling in us is God’s pledge that we belong to Him and that our destiny is heaven, yet Jesus was not talking about this. Rather, every born-again Christian has an anointing, and every person’s measure is different, and He wants us all to have just as strong an anointing as we can manage. Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit as a measurable quantity. Note that most Evangelicals view the gift of the Holy Spirit as the person who dwells in the believer beginning on the day of his salvation. Hence, Evangelicals tend to drift over verses like this, whereas other denominations, such as the Pentecostals and the Charismatics, have no problem believing this. They think that in addition to the indwelling Holy Spirit there is also an anointing with which God adorns His people as an external manifestation of God’s inward work. It is similar to the version of the old covenant anointing that Samuel used to anoint David by pouring the anointing oil over his head. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the anointing between denominations, some arguing that the dispensation of the anointing has past, others that the concept doesn’t even exist in the Bible, arguing that the few times the anointing is mentioned is metaphorical. Jesus mentioned the Holy Spirit as an example of the things that God wants for us. This suggests that we need to train our minds to desire the will of God so we can ask Him for the right things. This is not the only instance in the Bible that speaks of various measures of the Holy Spirit, referring to the works that He has prepared for us. The more we allow Him to work in us, the more we can manifest His works for all to see. Lk 11,11-13 (191a) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Baptism >> Immersed in His Spirit (225f) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables >> Parables about wealth >> Parables about a father and his sons Lk 11-13 (16b) Sin >> Man’s nature is instinctively evil >> Man is an enemy of God Lk 11,14-20 (184b) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Darkness >> Hiding behind your own imagination >> Hiding behind a false authority – Paul was a Pharisee, but He was different in that He was following his conscience. Plus, he never met Jesus in the flesh. Had he met Him and heard Him speak, he probably would have acted similar to Nicodemus. In contrast, the Pharisees didn’t care about the truth. Jesus was disrupting their business of religion and unraveling their lifestyle. They didn’t have to work for a living; they were clergy, and they were making a lot of money at it. They were honored by society and had a great thing going and didn’t want to lose it. One way to fight against Jesus was to spread rumors about Him. (186da) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> Man’s role in becoming a reprobate >> The fool throws Jesus away for something better >> Israel betrayed the Lord – Most people agree with this as the formal definition of blasphemy: Jesus is the ruler of the demons, meaning the Pharisees accused Him of being Satan. If the blasphemer really believes that Jesus is the leader of the demons, then technically he is not blaspheming; he is just wrong, but this was not the case with the Pharisees. They knew the Scriptures backwards and forewords, and Jesus revealed Himself as the very fulfillment of Scripture. Somewhere in their blackened hearts the Pharisees knew Jesus was their Messiah, probably better than anyone; that is, they knew He was the Son of God. They weren’t just telling a boldfaced lie; they actually believed their own lies! They knew the truth and believed a lie at the same time, distorting their view of Jesus. To make matters worse, they received help believing their own lies through demonic influence. Do you see the hypocrisy in that? Demons led them to believe that Jesus is the ruler of the demons and sealed it into their conscience as with a hot branding iron! It has now become their truth, and no one could dissuade them from it, because it was something they understood by a spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit is greater than any demonic spirit, and that the Holy Spirit delivers people from spiritual bondage, but the Pharisees were different in that they wanted to remain in bondage to their ignorance. Lk 11-14 (146g) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Deliverance from demon possession >> Deaf, dumb and blind spirits – It almost sounded like the demon itself was mute, suggesting that whatever is characteristic of the demon is how it manifests in a person’s life. This particular demon was mute; therefore, it manifested in the man as mute. All demons lie, steal, kill and destroy in one way or another, and on top of these common faults they have personality snags, which define them, and the person who is possessed by them reflect these snags. Lk 11-17,18 (46i) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Satan falls by his own wickedness – Instead of Jesus getting upset about the Pharisees' accusations (what they said was the ultimate insult), He responded by telling them the truth, probably not for their sake, but for the sake of others listening. He proved that what they said was false, in that Satan would not cast out demons, since Satan would then be fighting against himself. In fact, that will be the case in the last days. One of the causes of Satan’s demise will be that he will turn against himself, and the statement that Jesus made here will prove true. In a way Jesus was prophesying that Satan will in deed be divided against himself when the antichrist comes into power, and will take on human flesh and the same convoluted mindset of the Pharisees, and Satan will destroy Himself by his own wickedness, even as the Pharisees did and the whole religious establishment of Israel. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 11-17 (68l) Authority >> Discernment >> Judging truth and error >> Perceiving false reasoning Lk 11-18 (164c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >> Satan rules the world >> The world is his kingdom Lk 11-19 (65f) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Jesus brings division >> Families break up because of faith in Christ – It says that the sons of the Pharisees were casting out demons by none other than the finger of God, suggesting that they believed in Jesus, which couldn’t have made the Pharisees very happy. They must have seen their fathers as cowardly hooligans and wanted no part of them, and saw Jesus as real. It appears they departed from the family business of murdering the prophets. Lk 11-20 (149h) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Authority of the rhema given to evangelism >> Preaching the gospel by the power of God Lk 11-21,22 (45l) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Satan VS the saints >> Fighting against Satan (71c) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have authority over demons – Satan is the strong man; he is fully armored and guarding his house, which is Israel in this case, and his possessions are undisturbed, that is, until Jesus came. Satan’s armor is deception; it is his greatest weapon and his only defense; otherwise he is powerless. If he had power, he would have destroyed the world centuries ago. Satan cannot violate the will of man, for if God will not violate man's will, Satan cannot do it; Satan cannot even influence the physical world, since he is a disembodied spirit. The only real power Satan has is to access to the minds of individuals and societies; in this he is a genius. Using the mind of man as his only tool, he influences man’s worldview, which he uses to change the world, though it is man who makes the changes. The devil is very good at bending man’s thoughts around his worldview to make people agree with his rationale; then he can use man like a puppet however he wishes, but take fear from the equation by reprogramming the mind with the word of God, and the devil is powerless. (112d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Jesus light in us overcomes darkness >> The light of His power Lk 11-23 (200l) Denying Christ >> Whoever is not with Jesus is against him >> He is against Christ who does not receive Him >> Whoever does not receive the Church is against Christ – Following is another way of reading Jesus' words in this verse, ‘He who is not with the Church is against Me,’ or ‘He who does not gather with the Church scatters.’ This correlates with 1Jn 2-18,19, “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.” Jesus also said, “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (Mat 10-40). Reversing this statement is also true: 'Those who don’t receive us don’t receive Christ.' So, we can say that anybody who persecutes the Church is against Christ. However, note that there has been much hypocrisy in the Church in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and many denominations have been invented since the Church was born, and there has been much ridicule against various individuals and denominations, who have maligned the faith and turned Christianity into a money-making sham. Therefore, the fact that some people ridicule the Church doesn’t necessarily mean they are against Christ, for they may sadly be stating the facts. It is when people persecute the Church for the things it actually represents, such as when the saints are obeying the Lord and are persecuted for it, they are against Christ. If the world ridicules the Church for its hypocrisy, we can hardly call that persecution, and in America that is mostly what we have seen. Rather, most of the Church’s persecution in America originates within the Church itself, against those who obey Christ. Take a person who is serving the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, and no matter what church he visits he is not received; that is persecution within the Church; there is more persecution of this kind than persecution outside the Church. When the state passes laws that hurt the Church, not even that should be considered persecution, for it is one institution of the state passing laws against another institution of the state. What Jesus meant by being against Him is when someone directly opposes Him like the Pharisees did. For example, consider the contrast between the Pharisees and Pilate, the difference between what the religious establishment did to Him versus what the state did to him. The religious establishment persecuted Him for the things He was saying and doing that were truly from God, whereas the state (Pilate) found no fault in Him (Lk 23-4). Even while the state martyred Jesus, it still could not be considered persecution, because it wasn’t the state that ordered His death but the religious establishment if Israel, who was the Church of the old covenant. This will not change when the antichrist comes and establishes a campaign of martyring the saints, because again he will be a religious leader, and he will order the execution of the saints, and the state will carry out that order, and what did Jesus say to Pilate? “He who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” (Jn 19-11). They martyred every saint since Christ in the same way, just like they martyred the Old Testament prophets. It has always been the religious establishment. Therefore, when Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me,” He was talking about those within the Church, who persecute the truth, and he says about them that they will ultimately scatter. There are many people who go to church who don’t know God, and they persecute those who love and serve God. When the pastor does this, he can cause great harm to the members of that church, because he has the advantage of the pulpit, who can preach his unbelief into the ears of all who attend and sway them from the truth. Eventually, every false notion, and every false religion and denomination will scatter, leaving the True Church to worship God unhindered throughout eternity. See also: Persecution: the world hates God by default; Rom 8,4-8; 197a KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 11,24-26 (145k) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Demon possession >> Human state >> Their behavior >> Being possessed by demons – When a demon is evicted from a human spirit, it is forced into “waterless places” (a wilderness) looking for new habitation. These are the experiences of demons; if they do not reside in man, they must dwell as dessert nomads. For this reason it is often difficult to cast out demons; they have it pretty good there. Those who find a place in people’s hearts wreak havoc in their lives, doing what they know: steal, kill and destroy. When it finds no other host to possess, it returns to the person from whom it was evicted and finds that person put together and in order. Notice, Jesus never mentioned the person getting saved; this becomes his downfall. The demon wants his house back, so it knocks on the door of the person’s heart and finds him unwilling to let him return, “then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that person becomes worse than the first.” (160b) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit spirit (186e) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> The reprobate >> Man’s role in becoming a reprobate >> The fool >> The fool does nothing with Christ – If a person was delivered from one or more demons, he is obligated to become a Christian, or else his life will disintegrate under the destructive power of demons. Jesus warned that they will most certainly return with a vengeance. The demons come as a dark, united force, their evil increases; they impose their will on the person who cannot defend himself except to become a Christian by asking the Holy Spirit to come live in His heart and protect him from the demon forces of this world, for the demons have no interest in sharing real estate with the Lord. The person got the demons cast out of him, and made the tragic mistake of returning to his old life, so the demons also returned. It is like the alcoholic who decides to quit drinking but keeps going to the bars and visits with his old drinking buddies. This is an example of a seed that fell among the weeds; it won’t be long before he starts drinking again. He never gave his heart to the Lord and never became a Christian; he needs the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to keep the demons off his back. If he gives his heart to the Lord, his heart better represent fertile soil. Then he will fully recover from his spiritual setback and in the end inherit eternal life, but if his heart represents on rocky soil, he will not maintain his faith. Once he falls away, the demons will return, and his life will end in disaster. Lk 11-26 (164e) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >> Satan’s system of authority >> Satan’s hierarchy of evil Lk 11-27,28 (79h) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word >> Practice listening to God’s word so you can hear it (86k) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word >> Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Do the words of Jesus (94e) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective >> God’s Perspective on the Church (173a) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Scripture that contradicts the catholic faith >> Relationship between Jesus and His mother >> Jesus is our savior, not Mary – This is a very serious slam against the Catholic faith. The woman in the crowd was saying, ‘Blessed is Mary,’ being the first to worship the mother of Jesus. Mary indeed bore a Son who was divine, but to say that Mary was divine is to subtract the Father's input in the conception of Jesus Christ. Isn't this what the Catholics do when they worship Mary: diminish the Son of God? Jesus was contrary with this woman, thus with the whole of Catholicism, immediately putting a stop to her regaling and refocused her mind on the word of God saying, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” The woman elevated Mary as blessed, but Jesus elevated all who would come to Him seeking eternal life. Jesus essentially told the woman, ‘Anyone can be just as blessed as My dear mother.’ This passage proves that man had an affinity to fabricate the doctrines of the Catholic faith, that according to the fleshly mind Catholicism was inevitable. Mary was one of the great women in the Bible, but we can all be just as blessed if we listen to Jesus and do what He says, even as Mary did. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 11-29,30 (20f) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Seeking a sign – Why was Jesus’ generation evil for seeking a sign? Actually it was ridiculous, because Jesus went around publicly healing people; He raised the dead; He fed thousands of people with a picnic basket of food, and He performed miracles proving He was God in human flesh. Then people wanted a sign on top of that? They wanted a sign to assuage their unbelief! What sign could He possibly do that He hadn’t already given them? Jesus said in Jn 6-36, “You have seen Me, and yet do not believe.” (141d) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ ministry >> Jesus as the savior – Jonah was thrown into the sea, swallowed by the whale and regurgitated on shore, symbolizing a type of death, burial and resurrection that Jesus was about to encounter on the cross. Jonah came out smelling like the wrong end of a fish, and he preached to the Ninevites in fashion and they all repented, and Jonah was the most surprised of all at his success. Had Jonah not gone through the proper channels, the whale’s stomach in this case, Nineveh may not have repented, but coming to them in that condition must have done something to help them repent. They didn't want what happened to him happening to them. God prepared their hearts to receive the words of a man who looked and smelled like the digestive remains of a chump. Lk 11-29 (221b) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden behind the veil from the world >> God hides from man’s ignorance >> God hides from those who are looking for Him Lk 11-31,32 (48i) Judgment >> Levels of judgment >> Judged according to your knowledge of God – This reveals one aspect of God’s judgment: it is comparative. Comparing our generation to others, He will bring up examples, perhaps saying, ‘The queen of Sheba “came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon,” what’s your excuse for having a hardened heart?’ Lk 11,33-36 (92b) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> Ray of light leading to the face of Christ – Our eyes reveal our thoughts and our thoughts determine our behavior. “Watch out that the light in you may not be darkness.” We are to monitor our hearts, unlike the Pharisees, whose twisted minds tainted their perceptions, who believed their own lies. Nevertheless, it was their truth, and it was something they could not exfoliate from their hearts. Watch out that the truth that we believe is not religious deception. May the truth we believe illumine our body in the good works that God has wrought in us, that all things may become light, wholly illumined by His countenance shining upon us (Eph 5-13). May our eye be clear and our thoughts be true, reflected in the good works that God has prepared for us before all eternity that we should walk in them (Eph 2-10). (112f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Obeying the truth in broad daylight >> Church’s deeds in the light (117k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Seeing through the eyes of your spirit >> Light illumines your spirit (177f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >> Beware of false doctrine – Jesus gives warning that the light within us be not darkness, false light, referring to religious deception. We can tell a lot about a person by his eyes; Jesus called them the lamp of the body. Jesus is talking about what we believe as light, saying that it changes the way we look at things, and it also changes how we appear to others. He says that the truth is clear to those who know it, which makes our eyes clear. Anyone whose eye is clear is an indication that they know the truth, but there are those whose eye is muddy. We look at them and there are clearly things happening in the shadowy background that they don’t want anyone to know; they are walking in darkness. In a person's eyes we can see that their lamp emanates darkness instead of light that they are hiding something. They have skeletons in their closet that cloud their entire bodies and fills their countenance the darkness of sin. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 11,34-36 (74k) Thy kingdom come >> Heart of man is sinful >> The heart determines which light is in you (129m) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Being in one accord >> Single minded >> Avoid contradicting yourself (184c) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Darkness >> Hiding behind your own imagination >> Hiding from the truth Lk 11-34,35 (19b) Sin >> Twisted thinking >> Evil is good >> Darkness of man’s thinking – They say that the eye is the window of the soul. When we look at people, we look into their eyes, like a window that exposes both the inside and outside of the house, so the eye gives a semblance of what is happening within the mind. We can see the result of what they are seeing and can tell the condition of their conscience. Jesus is saying we can look into a person’s eyes and see either a singleness of purpose or the deception of hypocrisy. Looking into a person's eyes we can see whether he has a good, healthy conscience or one trodden by sin. In today’s world a lack of eye contact is a tell in itself; go into a public setting and note how many people will give you eye contact; it means they have something to hide. To avoid eye contact is like refusing a urine test; they fail by default. Many people don’t like others looking into their windows, synonymous with a peeping tom. They want to remain private, which says something about them. Jesus is saying that when people walk in darkness, their eyes can betray them. Those who do the works of darkness, their countenance is darkened, but if their eye is clear, there is a sparkle, indicating they pay attention to their conscience and live by it. (20ca) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Unbelief >> Having a mind that is unable to receive >> Unbelief cannot distinguish light from darkness – Have you ever looked into a person's eyes and seen the windows of his soul so dirty that the light of God’s truth cannot penetrate because of all the sins he has committed? Doing wickedness has the effect of resisting the truth, but sometimes people’s self-righteousness can do the same, which seems like the opposite of wickedness but is really the other side of the same coin. God sees self-righteousness no better than breaking His laws, for both will keep you from heaven. A self-righteous person doesn’t think he needs God, while the one who practices wickedness is afraid of Him and avoids the light, so which is worse? This was Jesus’ answer to his disciples, "With people this [salvation] is impossible, but with God all things are possible." There is no middle ground between a dirty rotten sinner and a self-righteousness hypocrite. Look at Zaccheus, the chief tax collector who climbed a sycamore tree to get a better look at Jesus as He passed through his area (Lk 19,1-10). He was a miracle of salvation. Probably the greatest miracle of salvation happens to those who are wealthy, for money has a repelling effect on the gospel of Christ. They are the ones who believe the most that they have no need of God, returning to self-righteousness, making them appear above others who have less. The ultimate deception of money is to think that being economically above others makes them better, and therefore having a lesser need of God. (182a) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Believing the darkness within you is light Lk 11-35 (79b) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind >> Satan will control your mind if you don’t (84b) Thy kingdom come >> Be on the alert >> Remain on duty >> Keep watch Lk 11-36 (78i) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind by the word >> Spirit renews as the flesh decays KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 11,37-54 (64a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Limits of God >> God cannot tolerate sin >> He cannot allow unbelief in His presence (122m) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Boldness to rebuke the world for unbelief (178l) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Jesus rebukes the Pharisees >> Rebuked for having no love for God – Jesus was the epitome of boldness to be invited into the Pharisee's house and rebuke him right there at his own table. This was the ultimate insult, but Jesus knew what he was attempting to do. He invited Jesus into his house for supper, thinking it would be a good opportunity to sway Jesus away from His truth and to convince Jesus of the ways of the Pharisees, who were steeped in corruption and debauchery. His plan was to coax Jesus into their gang, but He would have none of it. Instead, Jesus became the alpha male and communicated the message that if he thinks for one minute the Pharisees are going to control Him or He had a shred of weakness, Jesus was there to talk him right out of that idea. (201d) Denying Christ >> Jesus is an offense >> Truth offends error >> The word offends peoples’ sinful lifestyles (241f) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Obstacles in the way of the kingdom >> Obstacles that keep you from Jesus Lk 11,37-44 (171g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Outward appearance >> Decorating the outside to simulate the inside >> Playing the part to be accepted by God – The Pharisee complained that Jesus didn’t wash His hands according to the law; washing your hands is a good idea, and He probably otherwise would have, except He wanted to make the point that He was free, that He was not obligated to wash His hands. The Pharisees were only concerned about appearance. They were the very personification of the reprobate mind. The Pharisees were fooling the general public, but they didn't fool Jesus. Lk 11,39-52 (180a) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Leading people for sordid gain – Jesus was saying that when faith gets expensive, people like the Pharisees weasel their way into leadership positions and lord themselves over the saints. What was the key word that Jesus used in explaining this? “Neglect!” When we have church in a church building, we tend to neglect the true issues of Christianity, such as justice, mercy and the love of God. The way church was conducted in the first century, all the many issues of Christianity were established in a set of checks and balances, making it less likely for the pastor to exalt himself over the people being that he held an unpaid position, and there were other people surrounding him who had strong ministries, such as deacons and elders, but the way things are run today is more in line with the Pharisees of Jesus' day, where the pastor is the only real minister in the Church. It was never meant to be this way. Every person has a place in the body of Christ and a ministry and a responsibility to fulfill that ministry. (197e) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Fruitlessness >> A fruitless life offends God – The lawyer in verse 45 automatically exempted himself from the rebuke that Jesus leveled against the Pharisees, not expecting Jesus to be critical of him too, being steeped in self-righteousness. He was so convinced that he was doing the will of God that nobody could tell him otherwise. If we compared most ministries in the Church today with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the way the Church operated in the first century, we have almost nothing in common with the Bible or with the first Christians, who knew something about unity in the body of Christ. Someone might say, ‘The world has changed and we have different needs now,’ but the elementary principles of the world have not changed, and the contemporary church has adopted them in place of running the Church according to the kingdom principles of the Bible, foremostly through humility and submission. Many pastors refuse to submit to the word of God and to the Holy Spirit, but are self-determining. When they seek to be independent of God, they have severed themselves from the vine, more dead sticks added to the pile to be one day burned. Lk 11-39 (16f) Sin >> Man’s willingness to be evil >> Using sin to achieve your goals Lk 11-41 (103h) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Cleanse yourself – Jesus gave His heart to the people, and He told the Pharisees to do the same, but the Pharisees didn’t have a heart. (120k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Contentment >> Content with your standard of living >> Free from greed – The Bible teaches that graciousness and giving are all extensions of the heart, but if we have a heart full of greed, how can we give anything? If God has given us a charitable heart, we are able to part with our things and give to those who are in need. If we give our heart to people and it converts to supplying their needs, it says that all things become clean to us, and what did Peter say about this, quoting the Old Testament? “Love covers a multitude of sins” (Proverbs 10-12). It is not manipulating God if we do acts of love trying to make up for past sins we have committed (Act 9,13-16). What’s manipulative is to willfully sin and then do acts of righteousness in effort to counteract it, so that the whole thing is premeditative. That follows the pattern of indulgences of the Catholic Church in the fifteenth century that rightfully enraged Martin Luther to nail his 95 theses on the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany. (124b) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love >> Acts of love >> Love takes from the rich and gives to the poor >> love is the act of giving to the poor (192d) Die to self >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Receiving from God by substitution >> Wheeling and dealing in God’s spiritual economy (250f) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> Natural then the spiritual (obedience then anointing) KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 11,42-52 (51a) Judgment >> World & church >> Warning of wrath >> Consequences of sin Lk 11-42 (175c) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Wealth gives a false sense of godliness – Tithes and offerings do not fit the description of exploiting people, but then Christianity was never meant to be expensive. If we give thousands of dollars to the Church every year, what can we expect to gain from it? Are we paying for our faith or paying to get into heaven? With all the money we invest in the Church our expectations have been heightened for a matching return, and the things God promises we cannot receive with money. Those who make such exorbitant donations expect things from the Church that money indeed can buy, such as power and control, and this leads the church in the wrong direction. Lk 11-43 (23d) Sin >> Pride wants to be first (56b) Paradox >> Lose by gaining >> Lose your place by seeking the first place Lk 11-44 (183f) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Nursery for the Spirit of error >> Ignorance – Jesus was not describing all pastors in the Church today, but His description does apply to a fair number of them, not that they are necessarily evil or exalt themselves over the saints but are ignorant of the truth, and by that they corrupt the Church. Since they have no life in themselves, they have nothing to offer the people and their ministry is dead. Jesus described them as concealed tombs. Lk 11,46-54 (61i) Paradox >> Two implied meanings God's judgment is prophesied to fall: On the nation of Israel / On Jesus / On the whole world in the last days – Jesus' generation was corrupt, largely due to the religious leaders of His time. It’s true today as it was then that the Church is the salt of the earth, and if we lose our saltiness, how will we be made salty again? The entire generation will be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men! Entire nations are won and lost by the condition of our faith. Jesus accused the Pharisees and the lawyers of approving the murder of their ancient prophets by adorning their tombs, thus in their hearts they played a part in their death, proving that if they had lived in those days, they would have cast their lot against the prophets. Israel hadn’t had a prophet in 400 years, so when Jesus mentioned their fathers, He wasn’t talking about their actual fathers, but their great, great, great grandparents. The Pharisees recognized the historical significance of Israel’s prophets, yet they treated Jesus with as much contempt as all the other prophets who graced Israel. The Pharisees claimed that if they lived in those days they would not have taken part in murdering the prophets, thus claiming to be better than their forefathers, but Jesus disagreed based on the way they were treating Him. The Pharisees believed they were good people serving the Lord, though they were totally devoid of faith. Jesus said that the sins of mankind since the foundation of the world would be charged against His generation, that is, charged against Christ, and it was the Pharisees who would make sure of it. All the wickedness of sin would be heaped upon Jesus, and God would judge mankind through Him. God’s fury was spent on His Son 2000 years ago. He poured out His judgment on His Son, but since then man has continued to sin after God's demonstration of grace, encompassing two world wars, Jesus taking on the full brunt of God’s wrath upon Himself in hope that man would repent, but he would not. Although the price has been paid, yet there is a price yet to pay for sinning in God's face throughout the age of grace. As Jesus paid the price for sin, so at the end of this age this time God will make man pick up the tab. All the sins committed during the 2000-year age of grace will be charged against the last generation, probably our generation. Lk 11-46 (1l) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Carrying a false burden >> Taking on responsibilities that are not yours (162k) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Being slaves of men >> In bondage to the burdens of men >> In bondage to religion – These lawyers were ignorant; they just witnessed Jesus pounding the Pharisees into the ground, so they called attention to themselves as though He wouldn’t do the same to them. The lawyers were just as corrupt as the Pharisees, yet they opened their mouths and invited open rebuke. After a lion rips one man to shreds, the lawyers yell at the lion, ‘Hey, I’m over here!’ What did they think would happen? The lawyers did this because they actually believed themselves to be innocent. Israel's lawyers were experts in the Law of Moses; Jesus was saying that they had taken away the key of knowledge from the people and refused to enter themselves. How did they do that? It was for the sake of love that the law was given, but the lawyers taught that it was for the sake of the law that we obey it. There is no hope or blessing in obeying the law for the law's sake. The law was given to guide Israel to the love of God and man, offering purpose and incentive. Love is key to everything. Lk 11,47-51 (242a) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Killing God’s prophets – Did Jesus just call Abel a prophet? According to this interpretation, anybody who loves and obeys God is a prophet. This is especially true in contrast to the unbelief that exists in the world all around them, namely Cain, who slue his brother for having a better sacrifice. Here is a better way of putting it: Cain killed his brother because of Abel's love for God. Cain could have done something about it, but his heart wouldn't change. The Church today believes that the dispensation of prophets has ended, so there are no longer any prophets, but that belief comes from a spirit reminiscent of Cain, who wanted to do away with the testimony of his brother, who thought Abel made him look bad in the eyes of God, but Cain didn’t need help looking bad; he was able to do that all by himself. Anyone with a remnant of the Spirit is a prophet in contrast to the abject unbelief in the world and even in the Church these days. See also: Patriarchs (Jacob and Esau); Mat 13-44; 63c KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 11,49-51 (37b) Judgment >> The cross >> Father slays His son – Jesus was obviously talking about His crucifixion when He warned that all the sins of the world would be charged against this generation, but look what happened to Israel. It appears that Jesus' prophecy had a literal interpretation for them, suggesting a principle of Scripture that proposes both a spiritual and a literal interpretation to many if not all the prophecies written about the last days. The sins of the world were charged against Christ and He paid for them all on the cross, so that anyone who would believe in Him were completely absolved of all wrongdoing, past, present and future; that is the spiritual end of the principle. However, if people don’t repent, they will go the way of Israel, facing the full brunt of God’s judgment; that is the literal end of it. For example, since God has judged Israel and forgiven the gentiles throughout the age of grace, their roles will be reversed during the fulfillment of endtime prophecy; that is, Israel will lead a Great Endtime Revival, while the Church throughout the developed countries of the world will reject this revival as instituted by God and will be thus required to suffer through the great tribulation to possibly lose their salvation if they ever had it. See also: Role reversal; 194c (194c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >> Running to meet Jesus prior to His visitation – After WWII the world finally awoke from its delirium of anti-Semitism. The Jews got their nation back, but they still don’t know how to believe in Jesus. The Bible prophesies that in the last days Israel will return to their God and believe in Jesus as their Messiah. The Jews will manage the gospel in the last days, consisting of the 144,000 Jewish witness, two of them leading the way into the Great Endtime Revival of the gentiles (her children). If the Jewish nation were penalized for rejecting their messiah, how much more will God's blessing be upon them when they return to their faith (Romans chapter 11)? Revelation chapter 12 says the woman (the 144,000) will flee into the wilderness for safety and protection from the antichrist, though there will be many martyrs. Through the martyrdom of His saints God will judge the world in the same way that God judged Israel through Christ. He promised that anyone who would believe in Jesus and become part of this Great Endtime Revival would be saved even as martyrs, but those involved in martyring them, casting their vote against them by receiving the mark of the beast, will be thrown into the lake of fire, after they suffer the seals, the trumpets and the bowls of God’s fierce wrath. See also: Role reversal; 37b / Great Endtime Revival (Jews will manage the gospel at the end of the age); Jn 12,20-22; 72h (199j) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Rejecting Christ >> Unwilling to receive Christ >> Rejecting Christ as the Messiah – The fact that Jesus paid for the sins of the world means Israel didn’t have to go through judgment; they only needed to repent of their unbelief and receive Christ as their Messiah and God would have forgiven and healed them, just as He prophesied in His Old Testament, but they hardened their hearts against the Lord, as they did throughout their long and speckled past. They lost everything, even their title as a people. All that remained was their Jewish heritage; they were born Jews, and that was all that remained, and even that became a curse to them over the centuries. Many Jewish people have believed in Jesus throughout the age of grace and were saved, but the nation as a whole has not believed. Everything they valued was taken from them; many were killed by the Romans, then disbursed into the nations, where they were heatedly persecuted for the next two millennia, and ultimately wound up in Hitler’s gas chambers and crematoriums. In the last days when they finally repent of their unbelief in Jesus Christ as their Messiah, God will bestow glory on them far greater than all their suffering, for these are the ways of God. Lk 11-50,51 (151e) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> New Testament bears witness of the Old >> The Patriarchs >> The Old Testament prophets Lk 11-51 (25g) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Killing Jesus Lk 11-52 (89g) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Wisdom is the key that unlocks the mysteries of God (240i) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Taking away the key of knowledge >> Hindering people from entering the kingdom – There are many kinds of lawyers: divorce lawyers, trial lawyers, criminal lawyers, real estate lawyers, prosecutors and defense attorneys, but the lawyers that Jesus condemned were lawyers of the Law of Moses. The Pharisees knew the Scriptures backward and forward, so they claimed, but these lawyers actually had title to studying the Law, the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. Jesus rebuked the lawyers for taking away the key of knowledge. What did the lawyers omit that clearly involved the Law? We know from many passages of Scripture that the Holy Spirit and the word of God go together like hand and glove, and when we add obedience to that we get the will of God. Obedience is therefore the key that converts the Holy Spirit to the word of God and vise versa, showing that they are the same. Obedience was also key to converting the Law of Moses from a curse to a blessing (See Deuteronomy chapter 28). Through obedience Israel could have compared the law to their Old Testament prophets in order to fully grasp its intent and understand their true meaning. The key of knowledge was therefore the grace that was to come, the forgiveness and mercy mentioned in their Old Testament writings. All the Major Prophets mentioned mercy from God, and this mercy was the key of knowledge; it is the way we come to understand God. Jesus told the lawyers that they have taken away the key of knowledge, saying, “You yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.” These layers were merciless and taught cruelty in the Law, and it was verified by their culture and passed to neighboring nations, showcased by the way they mercilessly flogged Jesus and nailed Him to a cross to die just for telling the truth. They were cutthroats whose whole purpose in life was to use people to gain an advantage, and they interpreted the Law with that goal in mind. Lk 11-53,54 (18h) Sin >> Twisted thinking >> Can’t distinguish between good and evil >> Jesus is evil (241h) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus because of who He is – It would have been easy for Jesus to open His mouth and trap himself with the things He said being surrounded by enemies who were looking for a way to kill Him, but He was far too shrewd for them. Jesus spoke extensively with the Pharisees, Scribes and chief priests, yet He never tripped on His tongue or gave them ammunition by which they could capture Him. That is something that only a divine being could do. The rest of us open our mouths without really knowing what we are about to say and invariably incriminate ourselves even without having enemies. Imagine how much trouble we would incur if we had enemies surrounding us. They would have hung us on a cross before we had a chance to know what we said. Jesus was careful, but more than that, He was the epitome of truth, and He spoke the truth, which in a world full of liars by nature got Him in trouble. See next page