Luke 4:38-44

Luke 4:38-44

Lessons from Jesus

1. “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.”

Romans 2: 17Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; 18if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."

Translate that cliché into “Put Your Actions Where Your Mouth Is,” or “Live What You Teach.”

Illustration:

Luke 4: 38Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

Lesson – We are saved to serve.

2. Flip Wilson said, “What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG).”

25Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the^[c] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

Translate that cliché into: “The outward symbolism of your life (your deeds) reveal more about who you are than hidden or obscure symbols.”

Illustration:

40When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.

Lesson: It is not enough to know who Jesus is if we have no intention to obey Him and follow Him.

3. Dorothy Parker said, “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep, But Ugly Goes Clean to The Bone.”

28A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

Translate that cliché into, “You can’t correct what is wrong in the outer man with more symbols or even actions; you have to change his heart.”

Illustration:

42At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." 44And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Lesson #1 – Jesus prioritized the preaching of the gospel over everything else, because only the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.

Lesson #2 – You can’t stay where you are and follow Jesus.