Introduction: Ever battled the formidable feeling that God has forgotten you, that God is silent regarding the longings of your heart?

Illustration: There’s a passage in Luke 12 where Christ addresses this experience.

Text: “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Lk 12:4-7, ESV)

Teaching/encouragement: If we are honest, I think even Christians battle the sin of unbelief at times. What do I mean? Simply that, even though we profess accurate theology, we may not feel it at times. That’s one reason not to live by our feelings. It’s not about how we feel but about what is true.

The context of Luke 12 here is that Jesus was teaching the disciples about discernment, about the need to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.” Then he addresses the disciples as “friends” (v. 4). Why does he do that? Why that term of endearment? It was in order to show the disciples that the Christian’s obedience is to be unto the Lord. He is to fear the Lord and not fear man. Why? Because not one of them is forgotten by God. Believers are “of more value than many sparrows,” he says (v. 7).

Believers may feel forgotten at times. We all have days or seasons where we don’t necessarily feel the presence and power of God. (Again, beware of living by feelings.) But God is the same–yesterday, today, and forever. We are not forgotten. God sees where we are. He knows. He cares. And our duty is to trust him with everything–even and especially when we don’t feel the closeness for which we long.

Introduction: I was reading through the Gospel of Luke this morning and, again and again, I was struck by Jesus’ teaching about spiritual blindness. It refers to when, in spite of all the clear evidence, some people just refuse to see and hear the truth. To use a cliche, it’s the ostrich burying his head in the sand. It’s the blind leading the blind. The result should be obvious: both fall into the pit. In other words, both parties are damned.

That’s heavy, right? Yes, and it’s straight out of Scripture, straight out of the mouth and Jesus and his apostles. As one example from the apostle Paul, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:3-4, ESV).

Here’s another example from Jesus’ own lips: “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit” (Jn 15:13-14, ESV).

Here’s another example from Jesus’ own lips from Luke’s gospel: “You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” (Lk 12:56, ESV).

Here’s another example from Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians: “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart” (Eph 4:18, ESV).

Over and over again in Scripture we (forgive the pun) see the motif of spiritual blindness. It is rooted in willful recalcitrance, unteachability, and suppression of the truth in unrighteousness. In other words, it’s not a physical problem but a spiritual disease curable only by the gospel of God.

Encouragement: When my family and I lived in another region, I was pastoring a small congregation as a bi-vocational pastor, teacher, and military chaplain. I had a friend in the congregation with whom I shared a strong Christian brotherhood. He, too, had been trained at a fine seminary, and he was one of the few people with whom I could speak about things without dumbing them down. One day when we were discussing this theme, he said something to me I’ve never forgotten: “Jon, Don’t take it personally. Our job is to speak and live the truth. Just cast the seed. Only God can till people’s hearts.” That was one of the best pieces of biblical wisdom I’ve ever heard, and, in sum, that is what all of Scripture teaches–namely, that spiritual blindness can only be cured by the truth of the gospel, not by any deep desire we have to see the scales removed from people’s eyes.

Introduction: I was reading Luke 5:1-11. It’s the episode early in Jesus’ public ministry when he’s healing lepers, delivering demons from the possessed, delivering cripples from lameness, etc. But what’s so moving about the passage below is not just the physical miracles he works. He teaches Peter profoundly–but it’s not just about how Jesus has authority over the fish (Simon Peter was a fisherman, after all, and he knew how to fish)–but Peter’s first lesson here was that Peter was a sinner who needed to be saved.

Text: 5 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. (Lk 5:1-11, ESV)

The Key: The key to understanding this passage is verse 8. It’s Peter’s response: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Why did Peter respond like that? Because Peter had just seen Jesus command him to let down his nets and miraculously, suddenly he could not even haul in the nets filled with fish? No. It was because Peter admitted that he had suppressed the truth of God in his midst. That’s the issue. He finally admitted that Jesus was God incarnate.

Encouragement: Think of how disappointing it is to have fished all night but caught nothing. Instead of being filled with fish, you’re filled with disappointment and frustration. Then, at the word of God, you can’t even haul in the massive loads of fish. The temptation might be to ask Jesus to go into the fishing business with you. But Peter got the bigger issue–namely, that Peter was in the presence of God. That changes a lot more than the fishing forecast. Now Peter would be transformed into a fisher of men. For what purpose? For God’s. And Peter would go on–imperfectly, to be sure–but he would go on to herald the name above all names.

Introduction: I was completing another reading through the Gospel of Mark this morning. I came to the passage in Mark 13 where Jesus is answering questions about eschatology/end times matters. For the sake of transparency, I am not terribly interested in eschatology. It is a subject about which many people have much zeal but less knowledge. So I try to temper engaging with the rants and ravings about end times talk. But it is a subject addressed in Scripture and we are to grapple with it, but hopefully we can do so with cool heads and kind spirits. What I focus on below is not concerned so much with the when as with the theme of endurance. I hope you’ll follow along.

Text: And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

“But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (Mk 13:3-13, ESV)

Context, Context, Context: Again, this was part of a conversation Jesus was having with Peter, James, and John when they asked Jesus about matters related to the end times.

Teaching: It is important to take note of several things. First, Jesus tells them to be discerning, to not be led astray, because there will be many impostors. Second, the many wars and rumors of wars are part of the plan. Third, there will be many disasters, like earthquakes, famines, and national upheavals. Fourth, Christians will be persecuted. Fifth, the gospel will be proclaimed to all nations. Sixth, there will be a great falling away and division over Christ. Lastly, there is the true sign of salvation–the endurance and perseverance of believers.

Encouragement: Again, I think kindness is called for here. We can disagree about how it all plays out, but we should have the humility to say no more than what the text actually says. Regardless of how many times I read the Bible, what I see again and again is this: believers will endure. Believers persevere. Believers don’t fall away. Many go out from us because they were not of us, John wrote. But those who are true believers endure. That’s the great comfort.

BLUF: A Paradox of Leadership

Text: And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” (Mk 9:33-37, ESV)

Context, Context, Context: In Mark’s account of this event, it follows immediately after Jesus’s transfiguration (Mk 9:2-23), and Jesus’ healing of the boy with an unclean spirit (Mk 9:14-29), and Jesus’ foretelling of his soon-to-occur death, burial, and resurrection (Mk 9:30-32). Events in Mark’s gospel occur quickly. John Mark loves the adverb immediately. He’s a plot-driven writer, if you will, who keeps it moving. But we see in the snippet above Jesus’ penetrating question to some of his disciples: “What were you discussing on the way?” Hmmm, why would the omniscient God the Son ask questions of his students? Well, for the same reason any master teacher might query his students–namely, to get them to dive deeper into the wisdom that’s about to be revealed.

The Disciples Didn’t Answer the Question: Why didn’t they? Because they were too consumed with jockeying for position and power. They’d argued with one another about their status. They were, well, a lot like people today. Why? Well, because human nature’s a constant. Pride is just part of the program. Find people and you’ll find pride—lots of it. But Christianity turns everything upside down, doesn’t it? It says if you want to be first, you must serve. It’s not about being at the head of the table; it’s about setting the table. It’s not about being served, but about serving. It’s not about you or me being the greatest, because if we’re honest, we know we’re debtors to grace.

Encouragement: Biblical leadership’s difference is that it’s known for its selflessness. It’s a pouring out for others. It’s self-denial for the sake of the greater mission. The Christian gospel is the greatest true story ever told because it’s about the only holy and righteous Leader (God) becoming a slave and being a rejected and despised lamb for slaughter. Why? For the sake of puffed-up, prideful sinners who were jockeying to see if they were the greatest? Yes. Because as prideful as those disciples were in that scene, they’re a lot like we are. Again, it’s that constant of human nature. Here’s the great news: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Prideful disciples, skeptical Pharisees, and more. Broken sinners. In other words, fellow sinners who are a lot like the man or woman you see in your mirror each day.