THE LESSON OF BLESSING & WOE—Luke 6:20-26
A woman at a county fair placed a large basket of red apples on a table.
She put a sign in front of the basket which read: These apples are free to everyone, but take only one, God is watching you!
A little boy, Jimmy, studied the sign on the apples with interest.
He spied a large platter of chocolate chip cookies on another table & made a sign which he placed under the cookies.
His sign read: Take all these chocolate chip cookies you want because God is watching the apples.
Jimmy needed a lesson on God’s blessings.
Likewise Jesus’ disciples must take His lessons to heart.
Jesus taught His disciples a lesson of blessing & woe.
Followers of Jesus grasp the lesson of blessing & woe.
What are the possessions of those who take to heart the lesson of blessing & woe?
5 possessions of those who take to heart the lesson of blessings & woe.
1—Those who take to heart the lesson of blessing & woe
POSSESS THE KINGDOM OF GOD(:20, 24)
—Explanation—Argumentation:(:20, 24)
:20—“And turning His gaze on His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”
“Poor”—ptwcoV— Beggars, Destitute of wealth, Lowly, Helpless, Powerless— ‘One who only obtains his living by begging’. The poorest of the poor. As opposed to penhV— ‘One who is so poor he earns his bread by daily labor.’
“Yours is”—Possessed or allocated by second person(you).
*Possessed by you NOW...In your hands!
Mat. 4:13, 17—“...& leaving Nazareth, He came & settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun & Naphtali....“From that time Jesus began to preach & say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Mat. 10:5-7—“These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, & do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Lk. 17:20-21—“Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them & said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Lk. 9:60—“And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Permit me first to go & bury my father. But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go & proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
:24—“But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.”
“Rich”—plousioV—Wealthy, Abounding in material resources.
“Are receiving/Have received”—apecw—Pres. Active—‘To hold back, keep off, prevent...To have wholly or in full.’
“Comfort/Consolation”—paraklhsiV— ‘A calling near, summons, (esp. for help).’ The Holy Spirit is called the “Comforter”—paraklhtov in Jn. 14:26.
*Getting your due right now!
Mat. 6:2, 5, 16—“When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues & in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full....“And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand & pray in the synagogues & on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full....“And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”
—Illustration:
Televised choice of spouse to the Prince of ?/Offered to those who accept conditions/POSSESS the KINGDOM
—Application:
?You Possess the KINGDOM OF GOD?
?You grasped the Kingdom of God?
2—Those who take to heart the lesson of blessing & woe
POSSESS SATISFACTION(:21a, 25a)
—Explanation:(:21a, 25a)
:21—“Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied....”
“Hunger”—peinaw—Idea of pinching. Be hungry or suffer want or be needy. To toil for daily subsistence.
“Satisfied/Filled”—cortazw—To fatten animals or satisfy one’s desire.
:25—“Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry....”
“Well-fed/Full”—empiplhmi— ‘In quantity’—Take one’s fill of, to glut.
—Argumentation:
Php. 4:11-13—“Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, & I also know how to live in prosperity; in any & every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled & going hungry, both of having abundance & suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
—Illustration:
Home loan/Car loan/Hunger for freedom/Out of debt=POSSESS SATISFACTION
—Application:
?You Possess SATISFACTION?
?You grasped the Kingdom of God?
3—Those who take to heart the lesson of blessings & woe
POSSESS LAUGHTER(:21b, 25b)
—Explanation:(:21b, 25b)
:21—“...Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.”
“Weep”—klaiw—To openly mourn or lament as a result of pain or grief.
“Laugh”—gelaw—Laugh
Those currently in the throws of “weeping” will one day laugh again.
Since this is true they are thus blessed immediately.
:25—“...Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn & weep.”
—Argumentation:
Job 8:20-21—Bildad to Job—“Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity, Nor will He support the evildoers. “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, And your lips with shouting.”
—Illustration:
Death of spouse/Wonder if you’ll ever Laugh again/
—Application:
?You Possess LAUGHTER?
?You grasped the Kingdom of God?
4—Those who take to heart the lesson of blessing & woe
POSSESS ACCEPTANCE(:22, 26)
—Explanation:(:22, 26)Ostracism
:22—“Blessed are you when men hate you, & ostracize you, & cast insults at you, & spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.”
“Hate”—misew—Detest
“Ostracize/Separate/Exclude”—aforizw— ‘to mark off from others by boundaries, to limit, to separate to exclude as disreputable.’
“Cast insults at/Reproach”—oneidizw—Reproach upbraid or revile. Declare another’s notoriety.
“Spurn/Cast out/”—ekballw— “To cast out, drive out, to send out; Expel from society, Banish; Force out.
“Evil”—ponhroV—mischief-making, delighting in injury, doing evil to others, dangerous, destructive.
:26—“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets.”
“Speak well of”—Commendably/Honorably regarding religious sentimentalities but not Jesus.
“False Prophets”—Treated warmly
—Argumentation:
Mk. 13:13—“And you[Peter, James, John & Andrew] will be hated by all on account of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.”
Jn. 7:7—Jesus speaking to His brothers—“The world cannot hate you; but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.”
Jn. 15:18-19—“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
—Illustration:
Muslims hate America(ns) because for them we represent Christianity.
Job search after college/disappointing/Skidaway/Acceptance
My college search/Frustrating/Pfeiffer College/Acceptance
—Application:
?You Possess OSTRACISM?
?You grasped the Kingdom of God?
5—Those who take to heart the lesson of blessing & woe
POSSESS REWARD(:23, 26)
—Explanation:(:23, 26)
:23—“Be glad in that day, & leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.”
“In that day”—When we are ostracised
“Reward”—misyoV—Dues earned, Wages.
:26—“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets.”
—Argumentation:
Rev. 22:12—“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”
Heb. 10:35—“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.”
2Jn. 1:8—“Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.”
—Illustration:
Strive to provide nurturing environment for family/Sacrifice-Scrimp-Save/Rewarded when children on own
Our perseverance is rewarded in difficult circumstances.
—Application:
?You Possess REWARD?
?You grasped the Kingdom of God?
CONCLUSION:
Those who take to heart the lesson of blessings & woe possess...
THE KINGDOM OF GOD(:20, 24)
SATISFACTION(:21a, 25a)
LAUGHTER(:21b, 25b)
ACCEPTANCE(:22, 26)
REWARD(:23, 26)
CHILDREN’S— ‘Not Now’
We don’t have some things NOW.
But the promise & taste is enough!
Flour—Taste of flour
Bread—is flour’s fulfillment
Presented 11/04/01am to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, Ga 31797
