Jesus continues to teach and cast out demons as He walks towards Jerusalem.
Luke 11: The Lord's Prayer
1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."
2 And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread,
4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."
5 And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves,
6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him';
7 and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything'?
8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.
9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;
12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Jesus and Beelzebul
14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marvelled.
15 But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,"
16 while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.
17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.
18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.
19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe;
22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armour in which he trusted and divides his spoil.
23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Return of an Unclean Spirit
24 "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'
25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.
26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first."
True Blessedness
27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!"
28 But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
The Sign of Jonah
29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.
30 For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
31 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
32 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
The Light in You
33 "No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.
34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.
35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.
36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light."
Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers
37 While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table.
38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.
39 And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?
41 But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.
42 "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it."
45 One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also."
46 And he said, "Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.
48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs.
49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,'
50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation,
51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.
52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering."
53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things,
54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.
Things to think about…
1. In Luke 11:1-13 we see a few elements of the Lord’s prayer that are missing from the one described in Matt 6. The key point is that we will get what we are praying for if we are persistent and desire that the Lord’s kingdom will break through this world and overcome it. The words of Jesus really impact me. If they are not true for those who are praying to the Heavenly Father for Him to break through and answer, then what must we do with this text? God either keeps His Word and His promises, otherwise His Word is not true, and He is a liar. What is on your heart that you are asking God to hear and answer? Be bold, you are promised to be heard, and an answer will come. Persist even to the point of impudence, vs 8.
2. In Luke 11:14-26 we see Jesus saying His authority is not from Satan because a kingdom cannot stand if it is divided. If he were in Satan’s kingdom and casting out demons, his kingdom would be divided. Jesus casts out demons because He is not of Satan’s kingdom, a fact that was missed by those whose eyes were spiritually blind. Verse 23 says, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” We are living in an age where there are those who attend churches and who preach from pulpits who are not with Christ. They ignore obvious clear truths of being for the logos – Jesus, whether it concerns the first chapter of Genesis 1, or the consequences of sin and eternal punishment and sadly even how the church is to be structured and governed. As a result, especially in the last 10 years, we seen a good deal of scattering away from Christ and His bride, the church. God have mercy on this generation.
3. What do you think about Jesus saying that seven more demons, worse than before, entering in after the “the house swept and put in order”, vs 25. If the Holy Spirit does not possess a person after an initial spiritual encounter, what generally happens is that they become hardened to truth and as the years go by, they become more worldly and conceited. Encourage yourself and others to listen to the Spirit.
4. In Luke 11:27, 28 Jesus again shows the higher order of His ministry and message over the familial ties of His mother Mary. This flies in the face of the Roman Catholic teaching of Mary being the Mother of God and intercession being possible through her. Jesus says the more blessed thing is to hear the Word of God, and then obey it. Jesus is the Word and as we shall see in Luke 9:35, the Father in heaven says of Him, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
5. Luke 11:29-32 exalts Jesus and His message above the greatest points evangelistic endeavour and wonder in Israel’s history. These were the preaching of Jonah to the Gentile Ninevites and The Queen of Sheba hearing the words of wisdom from Solomon. Jesus is saying both He and His words are greater the these previous instruments and messages. Of course they are, Jesus has the words of eternal life, and He is the only saviour from sin.
6. The eye and its desires for the Christian should reflect the gospel light and true spiritual health is to be maintained in the world, Luke 11:33-36. The first sin in the Garden of Eden was because the desire of the eyes was enticed away from the true light by a false light; that of Lucifer. The “desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions”, 1Jn 2:16 are swallowed up when we look to Jesus and set our gaze upon Him for now and into eternity.
7. Jesus has a stern word for the Pharisees and the Lawyers, Luke 11:37-54. In vss 38-44, Jesus does not ceremonially wash His hands, vs 38. reprimands them for keeping the most minute outward detail of fulfilling the law – their tithing of everything, yet leaving off the greater matters of “justice and the love of God”. It is interesting that Jesus includes their lack of love for God in His rebuke. He saw their hearts. They were serving as Pharisees only to serve themselves. Plenty of people can go to church, be religious, even tithe, but have no love for God. In our day they are even more blatant than that. They don’t even tithe (more money for their hearts desires) and yet still go to church. Although this is generally only every second week or once a month. Better that they were fully in the world or fully in the church, loving Christ. As it is they are a drain on the churches resources and a burden for any church to bare, compounded by their faithless lukewarm witness in the community.
8. Jesus says also pronounces a ‘woe’ upon the lawyers. They were the ones who added the extra laws to the Law of Moses. As such they were hindering people from getting into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said they were waiting for judgement to come upon them as a result of killing righteous prophets from the beginning of creation to the second temple period (the blood of Zechariah), 2Chr 24:20-22. The judgement of 3500 years of sin would be poured out upon their generation, vs 51. These words were literally fulfilled in AD70 when the armies of Titus had broken through the walls of Jerusalem after a 3 year siege. This would be a partial fulfillment that is to be completed upon Israel in the last days before Christ’s return, when the horror of Jesus’ words will come true. Jesus said there will be a “great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be”, Mt 24:21. Pray for the gospel in Israel and the One for Israel ministry we support. Please see today’s prayer points.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer Points
1. ‘One for Israel’ have asked for our prayers. There is another court case this month against them for proclaiming Jesus as Israel’s Messiah. The message of Yeshua is seen as anti-Israel and could have profound consequences, potentially leading to the gagging of the gospel in Israel
2. New members course – 3 week course. First 2 weeks completed. See CBC’s Youtube page if you need to see them.
3. Pray for the seats still being counted after last weekend’s election.
4. Pray for peace over the Israel/Gaza, Ukraine/Russian wars.
5. New Life group starting soon in Fernvale/Lowood after membership course
6. Those that haven’t come to church for a while to return.
7. Revival over our city.
8. Finances to cover our needs
9. Pray for PlayPatch, Kids church, Creche and Kids Hope at Karalee State school.
10. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Mothers Day celebrations both on Saturday and Sunday. Well done Graham and Suzanne
2. New equipment in and working. Thankyou Nathan and Jonathan
3. More visitors on Sunday
4. The Lord’s grace over our lives and country
5. Café, music, kids church, admin, sound and technical team every week
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. 3rd and final Membership Class course 18th May after church.
2. Quarterly Members Meeting 25th May after church.
3. Ministries this week. Life group, Kids@Church, Kids Hope - Karalee.
4. PlayPatch 1-5yos, Fridays 9:30am at church.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for May...
Q. 32. What is a change of heart called? A. Regeneration.
Bible References – Titus 3:5-7.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
