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LUKE SERIES: CHAPTER 7- THE CALL · Chapter 4, Jesus is called out into the desert- He becomes what He needs to become by making hard choices in the face of very real temptations. · Chapter 5; Jesus goes into life- the choices made, He takes on His purpose. · Chapter 6; The objective of Christ’s purpose is made clear. Now… · Chapter 7; travels full circle- the One called, becomes the caller. The chapter pivots around this passage: 31. And the Lord said, "To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32. "They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: `We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not weep.'
What does that mean? In this chapter, there are three categories of people: Jesus, as the genuine reflection of God; the Pharisees, the religiously established people; and the fringe crowd.
In the world where you and I live, these three categories still exist. There are the religiously established, and those who are a true reflection of God. Ideally, they are the same, but all too often they are not.
And there are people out on the fringes. Many have no interest in God, but there are those precious few- they don’t know a lot about the religious stuff; but at some level, there is a draw to God- whoever He may be. The dynamics of Jesus’ world IS our world. So let’s sift through the categories, starting with…
Jesus- As the Son of God, He is unique. He is the Messiah, Lord of all. But as a man, He is our example. So, as an example, what kind of picture does He paint for us in this chapter?
A Roman who should be hated, a Pharisee who’s a religious snob, a widow who is a nobody in that society; a prostitute who is the scourge of society; He responds to them all. He responds to anyone who responds to the call, regardless of status, motive, or need.
He responds with compassion- Each need is extreme. Sickness, death, a thoroughly ruined life… The level of need is so great that the natural response would be to shrink back. Have you ever dealt with someone with a terminal disease, or someone suffering profound loss? There’s an impulse to shrink back- it’s overwhelming, we’re not sure what to say or do. How about people who are notorious screw-ups? We tend to avoid them. And sometimes, that’s exactly what we should do, they’re bad news! But what if they are also a person who sense God drawing them? What if they are trying to find a way to respond? Do we have the compassion to respond to them?
Jesus responds with authority- John the Baptist sent out a question- Are you the genuine article? And how Jesus answers carries a principle for every Christian life. He doesn’t simply say yes. He doesn’t offer some theological argument on who He is. What He does is, point to Isaiah 29:18,19, and 35:5,6. These verses promise the fruit of the Messiah’s life, when He comes. Then Jesus points to His own life and runs a comparison. “Here’s what Scripture says my life should be. Here’s what is happening in my life.” You do the math.
Jesus doesn’t simply quote Scripture, His life IS Scripture. He is the Christ- proven.
How does that apply to us as “little Christs?” We are supposed to be people filled with the Holy Spirit, the “helper” that Jesus promises; is sent. So how should that show in your life? Gal 5 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23. gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
As true representations of God; we should be able to point to Galatians 5, then point to the nature and fruit of our lives and say, “you do the math.” If we don’t add up, there is a very good chance we are doing more harm to the cause of Christ than good.
The “Christ model” is not to not to simply believe Scripture, but to BE Scripture. That is the gateway to all the power of heaven. And anything else is empty talk. …The next category is…
Pharisees The religiously established- we’re talking people who lived upright lives. -Committed people. -Even sacrificial people. -Experts on the outside motions.
Here’s a scary question: How is it that such God-focused people could actually be rejecters of God’s call?
Jesus tells us, there’s a basic, but crucial element they refused to see. 29. And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
Spiritual life through Christ is so accessible; even people in the most outer fringes got it. But somehow the religiously established, the people in the epicenter; missed it- how could that be?
John’s baptism had one purpose- it was a baptism of repentance. -A turning of direction; right at the core of a person. -And that deep change continued throughout life. Hear this: If a person is unwilling to change TO THE CORE, then they aren’t really responding to God’s call at all- no matter how good they look.
It wasn’t every tax collector that got it- just those who chose God’s change. It wasn’t that every religious person missed it; just those who weren’t willing to do one thing: to change inside. It sounds so simple, why refuse? Jesus gives this reason: 47. "Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.''
A genuine belief, they didn’t have to. …What about us? What would happen if we took the Biblical definition of what it means to be alive in Christ- and compared it to the qualities, habits and the fruit of our lives? –Not perfect people, just the pattern and nature of our lives. How would we add up? Let’s borrow a phrase from Jesus and call it being “born again in the Spirit.”
A number of surveys have moved toward this qualitative question. And here is how the Bible-professing, Evangelical church stacks up: people meeting the definition are as low as 6 to 7%! And here’s the really disturbing thing; Jesus tells us this: John 3:3. … "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.''
As we look the “religiously established”, church people across western culture and we see: divorce rates as high in the church as out; people who don’t miss a service but are more of a curse to their spouse than a blessing; people come home from church and have no problem falling under the effects of alcohol or some other substance; when brothers, sisters, moms, and dads rip into each other with no love, no mercy, or patience; when people profess to have a personal relationship with God, and yet have no routine of the spiritual disciplines, and what’s more, they don’t want one; when 50% of church-going men and as many as 37% of pastors are involved in porn sites, when in countless ways, church people profess one thing, and live another- we need to ask ourselves a very uncomfortable question: Are we really truly and Biblically “born again in the Spirit?” …Do we even know what it means?
It’s an uncomfortable question, but we’re way beyond stepping on toes- spiritual lives in every church are dangling by a thread. It’s not about laying a guilt trip on church people; it’s about the very real suspicion- God is offering a lot more than we are settling for. –There is weakness, failure, and confusion that doesn’t have to be here.
Fundamental Christianity has become intoxicated with the “certainty” of Christ. We’ve developed this unbalanced and unbiblical idea that you make one heart-felt decision and that’s it. We slap a veneer of Christianity over the old person we still are and consider the job done. But, there is a reason Jesus concludes a parable to religious people like this: Matt 25: 41. "…`Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42. `for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink… Bottom line to the parable: There was no real change in the nature of those people, and it showed in the nature of the pattern of their lives.
This is what the church of our culture is missing: The decision that brings spiritual life isn’t merely to accept Christ, it is to LIVE Christ.
And to live Christ; demands that we change… to the deepest part. If at the base of our nature we are still just as selfish, as angry, as suspicious, as lustful, as rebellious- we are withering in the same mistake as the Pharisees. That is not being “born again” and “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.''
The fringe people Who are they in this chapter? · The Centurion- a true outsider, but one who loves the Hebrew God. · The widow- who lost her only son. She is a woman who lost all identity in that culture. All her hope has quite literally died. But she is someone willing to let God touch her greatest misery, her son’s coffin. · A prostitute who has sunk to such depravity, that she is known throughout the whole town. But she is someone who listened from the fringes, and deeply longed for what God has promised.
Out there on the fringes; every one of them had this in common: A desperate desire to approach God. -What they needed was someone who was a clear enough reflection of God; a bright enough beacon. They needed someone who was a representative of the God who was calling.
Jesus had been called into the desert to make some hard choices about Himself, and now the called had become the caller.
All around us, there are people, some who look like long shots. But inside them is a seed, some sense of God’s call. There are people who would respond if they just had some honest and visible point of reference; somebody.
But for you and I to be that clear reflection; we must be willing to allow genuine transformation in ourselves. And here’s the hitch. Before we even consider what we’re here to do; the church people of our culture –the religiously established- have to honestly accept the idea; we have to transform at all! We have to go beyond a skin-deep change.
Romans 12 (with a slight Kevin variation) 2. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, [then, and only then, will you be able to] prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
God has made us in marvelous ways. Our personality, our habits, our nature of living; is in layers. There are elements so deep in us, that we don’t see them ourselves. The funny thing is; others do. The deep things more than anything else affect our connection to God, and our reflection of Him. How many layers are we willing to allow God to peel back …and change?
If broken relationships, explosive interactions, failure at work, wrong decisions, wrong direction are recurring patterns in our lives; there is a reason. …Are we willing to let God show us?
That’s what it means to be called. Those are the hard decisions in the desert. …There is tremendous fulfillment in growing into the caller. There is power and clarity there. But first we must respond to our own call.
31. And the Lord said, "To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32. "They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: `We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not weep.'
In a church culture, where our own statistics find; it’s becoming more shallow, more unresponsive every year- are you willing to break the trend and become the genuine article? Are you willing to respond to your call?
Ps 139 23. Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24. And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
Two thousand years before Jesus even walked the earth, we were given this secret to transforming. Isn’t it time we put it into practice today?
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